Despite running up to 40km weekly for years, Daniel couldn’t achieve the physique he wanted. After putting his trust in an ATP Personal Training coach, he lost an impressive 20kg in just 20 weeks—finally revealing the abs he’d always wanted and becoming healthier than ever before.
"I realised I needed to try a different approach and I'm so glad I did. ATP Personal Training has really changed my whole perception of what weight training is."
Many people believe that running is the ultimate solution for weight loss and achieving a lean physique. Daniel’s experience tells a different story:
“I’d actually been running for years, almost my whole life, but somehow I was always skinny-fat and I never looked quite the way I wanted. My weight would get down to a certain point and not budge and none of my clothes would really fit properly.”
This common plateau—where cardio alone stops producing results—led Daniel to seek an alternative approach after years of frustration.
For Daniel, the decision to try weight training came from an unexpected source: “It wasn’t a ‘what’, so much as a ‘who’ – my wife had been trying to encourage me to train with weights for years and a good husband always does what his wife says!”
After 20 weeks of dedicated training with his ATP coach Jerome, Daniel achieved remarkable results:
"These factors really, really helped me compare where I was and what I had achieved over the last week or on a monthly basis. Seeing those gains actually helped me stay motivated."
Contrary to what many runners believe, adding strength training doesn’t hinder cardio performance—it enhances it. Daniel discovered this firsthand: “Fitness-wise I can run a 5K in under 22 minutes, so I’m fitter and healthier than I was when I was just running.”
This demonstrates how a balanced approach to fitness combining strength and cardio can produce superior results compared to focusing solely on one modality.
One of the most significant benefits Daniel experienced was the mental transformation:
“If you can dedicate yourself to training for a long period of time, it shows discipline, and you can use that discipline in all aspects of your life, not only at the gym. It crosses over into everything you do. It’s made me better at work, better at home.”
Daniel’s experience highlights the psychological benefits of strength training:
“It might sound funny but I feel as though I am better than before somehow. Being stronger in the gym makes me feel that I can tackle anything in life. I can do the hard stuff at work, then come home and still be daddy, throwing my girls up in the air. They seem to get lighter as they get bigger, which is good for me!”
This increased capacity—both physical and mental—is a common benefit reported by those who commit to structured strength training programs.
When asked about ATP Personal Training’s core philosophy of D.N.A. (Daily Routine, Nutrition, Activity), Daniel revealed an unexpected challenge:
“The hardest thing for me personally was simply being honest with myself and with my coach all the time. For example, if I wanted to eat something I knew I shouldn’t, I knew I’d have to tell my coach and also be able to look at myself in the mirror and be honest with myself if I wasn’t sticking to the plan.”
Many transformation programs focus exclusively on workout routines and meal plans. Daniel’s experience demonstrates why accountability might be even more important:
“He would ask me every day, ‘How are you sleeping?’, ‘What are you doing when you’re not at the gym?’, ‘What are you eating?’, and it made me really think about the answers to those questions and how I wanted to be able to answer them. Being honest with myself has forced me to change my mindset, and how I view food and diet.”
This level of accountability—both to a coach and to oneself—creates a powerful environment for lasting change.
When Daniel first started, his expectations were modest: “Initially I think I wanted to lose 10kgs and maybe learn a bit more about food and diet, hopefully feel healthier too.”
What he achieved far exceeded those initial goals: “Never did I think I would ever get the results I have in such a short time. I had always wanted to look in the mirror and see some defined abs, but I thought it would be a consistent two-year effort, nothing close to what we actually achieved!”
This highlights an important truth about fitness journeys: with the right guidance, results often come faster and more dramatically than people expect.
For Daniel, the environment and relationships formed during his journey were as important as the physical results:
“I have really enjoyed the whole journey. I enjoyed the people and just how being part of ATP Personal Training made me feel. Coming here every day, it’s really friendly; everyone says good morning, it’s surprisingly relaxed.”
The rapport with his coach was particularly valuable: “My ATP Coach Jerome and I have a really good relationship; we have a good bond and good banter! But we both also know that we have to get the work done.”
When asked what advice he would give to someone starting their fitness journey, Daniel’s answer was straightforward:
"The one thing I would tell them is just to trust everything. What I mean by that is you have to trust your trainer, listen to what they have told you and trust the process."
In an age of endless fitness information and contradicting advice online, trusting one approach can be difficult. Daniel emphasizes the importance of commitment to a single methodology:
“You need to have an end goal in mind and want to get somewhere, but you’ve really got to enjoy that journey as well. Again, trust is the key. Trust the advice, trust your trainer, and listen to everything you’re told, and you will get there. Quicker than you think.”
His final insight cuts to the core of successful transformations: “The truth is, if you want to achieve the goal, you’ve got to follow the process.”
Daniel’s journey from dedicated runner to complete fitness transformation demonstrates that with the right guidance, accountability, and training approach, dramatic changes are possible in just 20 weeks.
Are you running consistently but not seeing the body composition changes you want? Are you stuck in the “skinny-fat” phase despite regular cardio? ATP Personal Training’s approach might be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Book a free consultation to learn how our coaches can help you achieve your own transformation.
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