I am grateful for all the feedback and wonderful comments I have received. Here are just some of things -
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A Personal Trainer I contacted from the Upper Blue Mountains recommended a Trainer to me in my local area- Jen Brown from Sparta PT. I figured that a Personal Trainer recommended by a Personal Trainer must be a pretty safe bet!
I visited the Sparta PT website and was immediately drawn to the mention of “minimising the risk of injury”.
I have had problems with my knees over the past few years that led me to believe I would have to give up my much loved running and trade it in for low impact exercises (which are of no interest to me- I love the feeling of my heart pumping and breaking into a sweat!).
Thankfully I decided to bite the bullet and contact Jen and I have to say contacting her was the best decision I could have made! From my first meeting with Jen she was attentive and understanding of my concerns and needs. She took the time to make sure she knew my full history, including past injuries, so that she could best cater to my needs. She discussed my goals with me and made sure I was in the right head space to reach them. She closely assessed what areas of my body needed strengthening and targeted these areas in our sessions together. As each session passed I could notice huge improvements in my strength and fitness level.
I am very pleased to say that with the help of Jen I reached my goal and am feeling the best I have in years! I truly believe Jen was the catalyst for finally getting me mentally and physically prepared to reach my goal weight and my desired level of fitness.
I can not thank her enough and I certainly can not recommend her highly enough as a Personal Trainer!
~ Lisa Kew
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Since training with Sparta, I’ve noticed an overall improvement in my fitness, flexibility and overall health.
My mindset has changed from someone who didn’t really like going to the gym to do ‘training’, to someone who can’t wait for the next session with Sparta. My confidence has also improved, and I love trying the new moves Jen throws at me.
I LOVE my 1:1 sessions with Sparta. It’s great to work with someone ‘real’ who understands what it takes to do triathlons, and how to get the best out of someone. I want to be a better, fitter version of myself and that includes being able to improve run, ride and swim times. With Jen’s help, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I might not be a Triathlete, but I am a TRYathlete. Recently, I took 5 mins off my time for the 8km Mothers Day Classic funrun.
The group core strength sessions are fantastic and a lot of fun. We have a lot of laughs but we work hard too. The participants come from all different areas/sports and everyone is made to feel welcome, no matter what your fitness level/ability is.
For anyone thinking of training with Sparta – stop thinking about it and DO IT! You won’t regret it.
~ Fiona Thomas
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I have been competing in Triathlon now for 4 years and for 3 of those I was constantly fighting off injuries to achilles and calves. Since I started the strength and core sessions with Sparta this year I have not had any injuries and have been able to improve on all my race times and more importantly, not limp over the finish line. Recovery time is also a lot less so I am able to get back into training a lot quicker.
I credit a lot of my improvement in Triathlon to the Sparta strength and core sessions that I attend on Thursday nights. The sessions are professionally run with structured exercises but most importantly they always include plenty of fun. The group activities engage you with the other participants and these usually end up finishing in laughter.
When I think of Sparta, I think of a fun way to improve your core strength and stability, rather than just pumping out repetitions of exercises under instruction from a trainer.
I always encourage friends to come along and join the sessions and would recomend them to anyone looking to increase their core strength to improve in triathlon or running.
~ Adam Roberts, Ironman Australia 2012 finisher
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SPARTA’s training programs were very specific and after the first week, I could already notice changes in terms of improved balance, flexibility and leg strength.
Sparta also helped mentally by working through the times of my Ironman which I would find hard and specifically targeting the muscles I would need for those times, as well as talking em through mental strategies to prepare myself for down times. Sparta’s website also had some great (and well timed!) articles on mental preparation, positive thinking and visualization which were invaluable in preparing for my first Ironman.
Sparta is unlike any personal training I have ever done. For me – I would actually call it sports coaching as it wasn’t just physical training. Sparta knows my sport inside out and helped me physically, and most importantly mentally prepare for what was going to be the biggest challenge of my life. In an Ironman race you are doing it tough by yourself for a very long time, but in the end – it’s only one day. Getting to the start line is a long and arduous journey and you can’t do it alone. I did it – and with Sparta’s help, I got to the finish line too 
~ Rachel Byrne, Ironman Australia finisher, 2011.
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Jen has the right mix of intelligence, patience, people skills and a genuine interest and care for people. She has the research skills, developing experience and instinct to know how far to push and what strategies to use for each individual under her care.
~ Martin Pluss
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If you want a personal trainer who doesn’t have over a decade of experience in fitness, gained from adventures all over world, who doesn’t know what it’s like to have a life and work pressures to juggle, and who doesn’t know the best ways to recover from and stay away from injuries – go see someone else!! Do it smarter, go see Sparta PT!
~ Ian Elgey
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I have known Jen for many years and know how passionate she is about activity, goal setting and overcoming adversity. I also knew that she would handle her business and clients with utmost integrity and professionalism.
SPARTA is different so give it a month and you’ll see the benefit. You won’t want to go back to being screamed at and grinding out boring repetitious exercises. You’ll be more flexible, strong, calm, focussed, happier and you’ll have a good mental workout too!
~ Lorna Downes
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In the eight weeks I have been going regularly to Sparta, I have noticed a niggling hip injury has gone & I am finding I am less prone to injury. I certainly feel stronger overall, which is good, because as a runner we tend to use our legs the most & core & upper body are often forgotten. Not any more!
I have also found that there is a knock on effect in my thinking when I am making a regular effort to address overall fitness, and that is more attention to diet.
- Sonia Liddell
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Jen, I absolutely love your sessions, they are fun (it’s a constant laugh between all), varied, not too hard, not too easy & the group is the perfect size.
I have an extremely weak core (hence why I’m coming) & I always leave feeling like I have worked it…..& worked it the right way!!!! Most of all is the laughter, jokes and fun we all have without thinking too much about the pain we are in!!!!!!
~ Melissa Brown
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Jen,
Just writing to let you know how much I am enjoying the Sparta PT Group Sessions. In just a few sessions I am noticing how much more core strength I have, and in particular, I have noticed for the first time (in a long time) my core kicking in while swimming & cycling.
The group sessions are not only a great work out, but so much fun. I look forward to catching up each week & see the new ways you come up with to activate & challenge my core. As you know, I have enjoyed it so much my fiance, sister and brother in-law now come along too.
Being the geek I am, I came up with a little formula for you:
Sparta PT = Unique Exercise Routines + Planking + Fun = Healthy Core
Keep up the great work.
~ Andrew McMahon
