Posted on August 02, 2018 by Kate Halsall

We’re excited to introduce you to the newest addition to the Motive8 team: Alex Parry. He’s just set our Monthly Challenge for August and if you haven’t already, you’ll be sure to meet him in the gym and classes. As he’s only just started as one of our Personal Trainers, we’re keen to learn a little more about him!

Personal Trainer Leeds

Tell us a bit about you

I’m a personal trainer who specialises in strength and conditioning. When I’m not helping you smash your goals at motive8 HQ, I’m over at Leeds Beckett where I work as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and study for a masters in the same topic. I’m also a coach and tutor for British Weightlifting.

Cool, but tell us something more interesting

What most people don’t know about me is that I’m probably the furthest possible thing from a natural athlete. In fact, I’m a huge geek who spent most of his childhood reading. Over the years I’ve worked incredibly hard to develop myself both as a coach and an athlete, so a lot of what I coach is grounded not just in research, but also in my own personal experience.

What’s your education/experience?

I studied for my undergrad degree in History & English at Oxford, so not exactly super-relevant for my career as a coach. For the five years following university I worked from the ground up, building up a range of qualifications including level 3 personal trainer and level 2 British Weightlifting Coach. I’m also currently working towards my level 7 Masters in Strength and Conditioning. Across this time I’ve also been lucky enough to secure some great mentorships from respected coaches in the fitness industry.

Favourite exercise?

My favourite (and least favourite!) exercise is squats. I definitely have a sort of love-hate relationship with them.

Top Training Tip

Complicated is not the same as effective. Keep your training simple and get really good at consistently executing the basics to a really high standard.