Reviews – Carl Chatfield Fitness

Client Reviews

I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of fantastic people, each with their own personal goals. Each person has taken steps toward achieving what they are after. The most successful individuals are the ones willing to make lifestyle changes and put the effort in themselves, during and away from our time together. They listen to, and follow the advice and guidance I offer through online coaching and during PT sessions.

Ellie Mills

I first started training with Carl in September 2020. I’d just back from holiday and had never felt so out of shape and unhappy in my body. I’ve had numerous attempts at trying to sort my fitness out on my own but each time I’ve failed. As a young female I’d find going to the gym quite daunting and never really feel like I knew what I was doing- I’d do about 20 mins of cardio (being too scared to use the weights!) and then go home. I’d lose motivation within weeks, get bored and then not bother with exercise until a few months later. Now however, I couldn’t be more different. Carl is one of the most positive, kind and patient people I have ever met. He genuinely cares about his clients and wants to see everyone succeed and achieve their goals. He’s really took the time to learn what sort of exercises I enjoy, what I struggle with and what I can improve so that each session I’m reaching my highest potential and pushing myself. Carl’s quickly adapted to training outdoors since the shut down of gyms and still delivering top quality sessions thanks to his creative and innovative approach. Stats wise I’ve lost 10kg and dropped 2 dress sizes since we started training together but for me it’s been my shift in mindset and overall confidence that’s had the biggest impact. I thoroughly enjoy exercising now and have never felt so confident in the gym, things I never thought I’d say if you’d have asked me this time last year. I can’t recommend Carl highly enough!!

Jen Bushell

When I met Carl 18 months ago I was 18 months postpartum, over 2 stone above my pre pregnancy weight and got out of breath walking a flight of stairs! I had tried numerous diets but never exercise, the thought of entering the gym was horrifying and I thought I was too tired to do anything as my toddler is not a sleeper. Roll forward 5 months I am nearly 3 stone lighter and I feel the best I have felt in years. I remember the first thing Carl asked me “do you enjoy exercise” I laughed and said “absolutely not”. Now I really do, especially strength training and yoga. I have also walked a marathon for charity which is incredible considering I couldn’t get up the stairs without panting, on route back from the marathon I booked my next one! My energy levels are matching my 2 year old toddlers which is exactly what I needed. It sounds corny but my quality of life really has changed dramatically in the past 18 months. Carl genuinely cares about his clients and their success and this really shows. He is really professional and knowledgeable, 17 months ago I was diagnosed with silent reflux and was told I had to rapidly change my lifestyle. Immediately he adapted my training and nutrition, with the weight loss I am confident my health is improving. I will never be able to thank Carl enough for all he has done for me. If you are considering personal training do it, invest in yourself, this is your guy! Review Date: Aug 2019 Image Date: Oct 2020

Dave Whitaker

Stepping into a gym for the first time at 50, unfit and overweight can be a bit of a traumatic experience and without the support of Carl as my personal trainer I seriously doubt I would have made it past the first few weeks! Speaking to friends the most common reasons they give for not going to the gym are time, injury and boredom! Having a fixed day and time for my one to one with Carl ensures I at least hit the gym once a week even if life and laziness takes over. More importantly having a skilled trainer constantly checking that you are exercising properly with the correct form and posture has ensured that I have never suffered any injury from my workouts. Carl also takes the stress out of organising your workout as he always has a well-structured plan introducing new challenges and exercises whilst his constant recording of your performance provides great motivation and a clear demonstration of your progress. Carl has been my trainer now for 12 months and during that time as well as increasing my general fitness, core strength and vastly improving my posture and body shape I have also reached my target weight, increased my energy levels and improved my diet. Carl has provided me with the guidance, motivation, patience, humour and understanding to enable me to meet my goals and feel stronger and healthier than I have ever felt. Carl has great natural empathy, understanding when you can push yourself further or when you need a little encouragement and I always leave the gym feeling positive and pleased with my workout. Now with a new set of goals and targets I never thought would be possible a year ago, I look forward to continuing to make the most of his expertise, guidance and motivation in the future.

Jo Draper

I 100% recommend Carl. If you want a great personal trainer Carl is your guy. For me Carl has been so kind, patient and he really does care about my fitness goals and targets. I love our PT sessions, as he comes up with fun ways to do exercises. If I'm not keen on any Carl is super quick to think of new exercises to do. I've learned so much from our pt sessions and still learn everytime I see him. Thank you for all you are doing for me, I can't wait to see what we can achieve. X 😁💪

Robert Grimley

Started out back in June 2018, I was overweight and not happy with my general fitness and lifestyle. Being the nerd I am; having an IT based job and loving video games meant my posture and body shape were slacking. Something had to be done. I decided to try a gym which was recommended by a work colleague and had been curious to try a Personal Trainer to motivate myself going more/getting more out the gym. It just so happened my first session was with Carl, this was the beginning, it all changed from here. My first goal was to drop the weight, so we started with mostly high intensity and calorie burning exercises. At one point we even did 4-week crunch at 2 sessions per week, this was tough but incredibly rewarding by the end of it. Safe to say the weight dropped off fast. From the first year alone, I lost 3st/19kg even with moving to do more strength/muscle building exercises later. Without Carl’s help I would have not achieved anywhere near these results, heck I don’t think I would still be going the gym! In the past I always gave up early or talked myself out going with excuses. Now it’s all changed and I’m putting in the effort myself and still having the occasional session to push myself further (and keep my posture/form in check). Sessions are always nicely organised and tracked to ensure you are progressing well. He tends to mix things up and is creative to keep exercises interesting and different. The man knows his stuff especially when it comes to the body and nutrition, he’s helped create meal plans and always gives great advice for what you want to achieve in terms of training. Each session is always fun, a good laugh as well getting some serious workout done in a small-time frame. From this whole experience I can highly recommend his services if you want a change or just help yourself to a healthier, better lifestyle. Even during these Covid-ian times, the sessions are continuing to date with his mobile outdoor gym. Now that’s dedication people!

Toni Frances

I came across Carl by complete accident on Instagram. After the first lockdown and months of doing home (mostly) HIIT workouts I found myself feeling really anxious about returning to the gym. I made contact with Carl without really understanding myself what I wanted to achieve, for me it was all about regaining my confidence within the gym environment which can be extremely daunting for females in particular. Over time, Carl has helped me to establish new goals in becoming more confident in strength based training and weights. He genuinely cares about his clients and wants to see you achieve. During outdoor sessions he is quick thinking and diverse, he will utilise anything he can around you - whether that’s a tree, a gate or a road pavement 😂 Training with Carl for me personally is not about a ‘quick fix’ 4 week programme or a transformation, it is about falling in love with the lifestyle and feeling the benefits of exercise physically and mentally- I really feel Carl has helped me to do that. I feel so much more confident in and outside of the gym environment. If you are a female who feels anxious and intimidated in the gym, please make contact with Carl 🙂

Jakob Seo

Hi. I'm Jakob from Korea. I had the pleasure of training with Carl at CityFitness in Auckland, New Zealand. I had many experiences of personal training before I met Carl. However I can say Carl is my best trainer still now. When we were training, I called him a sweet devil. Because during training , he always aimed high and wanted to do more and more and harder and harder. So every time I suffered from muscle soreness, I felt my muscle was tearing with him. At that time, he always asked me with a smile, " how do you feel about doing more?" And I thought, "Do more?? Can I??" But as a result I did more and more with him. What I want to tell is if you have the will to exercise or diet, you can get motivation from him. During training time, he concentrates on you 100%. You cannot think anything without exercising during that time. So he will be a devil to you but after hard time of his training you can taste the sweet result on your body. Good luck everyone.

Glen Pountney

A very big thank you to Carl for the gym sessions we’ve done together. I approached Carl to undertake regular sessions with my son and we and asked him to devise a plan meet to our individual personal goals. Over the course of several sessions Carl was happy to change the plan up, to include more exercises for us to target specific areas. From the outset Carl has been very professional, always punctual and easy to deal with. Our sessions have been hard but fun and very informative. We both now feel confident to use all the equipment in the gym and understand the impact they have on the body. Overall we would not hesitate to recommend Carl as an instructor you can rely on and trust.

Christian Munokoa

I've worked with Carl at CityFitness for 6 months and over that time I've gained so much knowledge and also have accomplished goals I've never thought I could. I increased my bench press 1 rep max from 40 kg to 75 kg within 4 months of training with him twice per week. Carl is a very good trainer, he is clear in his instructions and explains why you are doing a particular exercise. He keeps the session friendly by talking to you and I'm always being pushed to get the best out of every exercise.

Joycelyn Smith

If you want an amazing PT look no further than Carl Chatfield Fitness! I first met Carl at my local gym in 2019, taking part in one of the classes that Carl runs which involved strength and circuit training. Carl was really friendly, welcoming and supportive during the class and he was very encouraging especially to someone who had never really lifted before! Over the next couple of weeks I progressively increased the weights I was using and with Carl’s encouragement to push me to try a higher weight than I had previously used I saw a visibly difference in my physique with lean muscle being built and my strength increasing. In March 2020 and I saw on Carl’s instagram that he was doing 1 to 1 sessions in local park’s. I really missed the heavy weights of the gym so I messaged Carl and we started meeting once a week for a 1 to 1 session park session. Carl’s positive energy and big cheesy smile always brushed off on me especially if I was having a bad or stressful day and I always left his park sessions feeling accomplished and smiling. I liked Carl’s approach as he would take the time at the start of each session to ask what I had trained the day before, if I was sore anywhere and if there was anything I’d like to train in particular during the session. He would track our sessions so we would know for next time what weight and reps I should aim for so that I could keep smashing my PBs. As lockdown restrictions were eased and we shifted our location to the gym where we were able to really focus on improving my compound lifts. Although I’m very comfortable to train in the gym solo I feel it does make a difference having someone there during those big compound lifts. Carl would make sure my form was correct (most important) and with his encouraging and supportive personality enabled me to push and push for PBs on my squats and deadlifts which feels amazing! With lockdown 3.0 we have shifted back to our weekly park sessions which once again prove to be a weekly source of fun, enjoyable social interaction. I have become stronger since we began are 1 to 1 park sessions in the summer so this does give Carl permission to push me and kill my body every session (in the nicest possible way haha). He shows total dedication in doing the park sessions in what ever weather, come rain or snow because he knows no matter what the weather I will train. So in summary I 100% recommend Carl if you’re looking for a personal trainer, whether you’re at the start of your fitness journey or you’ve been training for a few months/years I think anyone would benefit from getting trained by Carl (despite his sometimes questionable taste in music and dances moves). His friendly and positive personality will definitely brush off on you and you’ll wonder how you didn’t sign him on as your personal trainer sooner. You won’t regret it!

The First Step

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No commitments & no pressure with the guarantee of walking away with more knowledge of exercise and ways to live a healthier lifestyle.

I’m happy to give anybody my time and undivided attention. Together, we can assess your goals and ambitions then start to look at how you can take steps towards achieving them!