Dave Clarke

I have for many years flirted with the gym and despite taking regular exercise I have always run very fast to stand still with my weight and body shape. I have trained hard but I’ve also and ate and drank well but all this has changed recently.

In March of 2010 I had the offer of a lifetime, a ride on a MotoGP motorbike with a former world champion at the British GP. This is an offer than any right minded biker couldn’t refuse but when I read the small print I was horrified to note that the maximum weight limit for the pillion passenger would be 90kg. As I stood there at nearly 110kg with many years of gym failure behind me,my childhood dreams began to evaporate. The goal of losing 3 stone in just shy of 3 months seemed to me to be an unassailable target but before I gave up all hope I looked for professional guidance.

I have known Dave Hughes from Tamworth & Solihull for several years and if anyone would give me a straight answer,he would. And he did. I asked Dave if this sort of weight loss would be possible and he looked almost bemused that I should ask such a silly question. He then gave me a few days to decide if I was up for the challenge that lay ahead. I had no doubt as to the size of the task ahead but resolved that some goals are so glorious that the effort is well worthy.

Dave started off by looking at my diet and weighing and measuring me. This gave me a base setting and direction on where I wanted to go. An exercise plan was hatched and away I went. In the first few weeks the pounds started to fall away as Dave encouraged me to partake in classes, running, squash, Boxercise and Fit Camp UK training sessions. My diet had a radical overhaul and on Daves advice I cut out a lot of the little vices that had become habits. Four weeks in and people had started noticing my weight loss. This really spurred me on and gave me that extra encouragement to continue. At weigh in I had shed 6 kilos really quickly but what amazed me was how much my waist had shrunk. I was getting results and fast.

3 months is a long time to stick to a hard regime and whilst there where a few little slip ups I ended up 6 weeks away from my ride with 7 kilos of ballast over the minimum. It was here that Dave really came up with the goods. The diet went super strict  no carbs,no alcohol. Training went stricter  two sessions per day,six days a week and a target of 1,000 cals to be burnt each day. I won’t pretend this was easy. Some days I could really have walked away from it all. It was here that Dave from Fit Camp UK was always ready with encouragement (as well as a beasting for being soft!) and this helped in amounts that I can’t describe. I particularly loved the Fit Camp sessions. Joining like-minded individuals in the sun or pouring rain in a public park for a super hard 60 minute workout is a real driver and formed the foundation of my weight loss. Add to this the calories in/calories out aspect of Daves food regime and I was on to a winner.

On the 18th June 2010,after 3 months of highs,lows,laughter and tears (I’m a new man!) I got to chuck my leg over a Ducati Desmosedici with Randy Mamola and enjoy the fastest minute and a half of my biking life! The photo attached hear will forever be one of my proudest moments. Not because of the day itself but because of what I achieved to earn it.

I stand now just over 90kg in weight,healthier,fitter,stronger and with far more vitality than I ever thought possible. At nearly 40 I am fitter than many men half my age with a waist size reduced from 42 inches to under 36 inches. I have had work colleagues gasp at my sculpted arms and girls comment on how fit I am! These comments are a great massage for the ego and would never have been uttered to a nearly 17 stone,paunchy,chubby,middle-aged bloke. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dave Hughes and without him I very much doubt that this life change would have happened.

I will continue to doyour Boot Camp Boxercise sessions at Fit Camp UK with Dave amongst my workout regime and even though my diet is a little more liberal now I have learnt lessons for life.
Dave you are truly a star and I love you for all the help you’ve given me fella.

Dave Clarke
Heart FM DJ & Professional Entertainer

If you would like some more information on Daves services please contact him on dave.hughes@activ8-fitness.com or go to www.activ8-fitness.com/contact.html or call him on 07966 638 009.