Get yourself a better body in Sevenoaks

LOCAL sportsmen are hoping to get one up on their rivals this coming season by utilising the Better Body Shop in Sevenoaks.

Top junior athletes, Sevenoaks Rugby Club, Hove Rugby Club, Tonbridge judo stars and a host of local cricketers have been using the training facility since it opened opposite Bat and Ball station a couple of months ago.

With an indoor sprint track, a sledge track, five lifting platforms, a 5,000 sq ft strength area and 2,000 sq ft personal training zone the centre is very much based on an American model of fitness training – breaking down the session to suit the individual needs of those taking part.

Jason Crow, the senior exercise specialist explained: “The best way to explain it is to say we are a shop selling physical improvement. People come to us, like they would any other shop, to buy something. They’d say this is what we want to improve and we’d set out a program for them.

“We make sure you get what you need. If a rugby team was to come in and say they want to get ready for the new season, we have everything there to get them ready in eight weeks.

“We’ve kind of created a Swiss army knife of preparing people for their sports and we want to be the premier conditioning centre in the south east.”

Jason certainly put me through my paces when I went down for a session earlier this month.

He wanted to give me a taste of what people would expect in eight weeks in just one hour so, after checking my blood pressure and pulse, he set me off on an easy warm-up. Then it was off to the sprint track for a few runs, increasing the heart rate all the time.

A bit of ladder running was thrown in for good measure before we moved on to the sledge.

Sadly, I wouldn’t get a well earned break by sitting on it!

For some power training Jason first had me pulling the sledge, with him on it, before I had the much tougher task of pushing the sledge.

Both exercises made me use different muscles, but both got the blood pumping.

Jason finally had me using a variety of leg weights to build up the muscles, before I had a well earned stretch out.

As you can see there was massive variety in the session. It wasn’t a case of going to a gym, having a run and lifting some weights – every aspect is there for a purpose.

“The plans for the next six months are to go out to most teams in the area,” Jason said. “We want to make them aware we are here and the programs we offer. The difficult thing is making people understand what the service is. It’s not something necessarily available to anything other than professional teams, but I don’t think it should just be down to centres of excellence.”

If you are interested in getting your team down for a session or taking part in a personal training session (and you don’t have to be a sports person) contact 01732 451979. Jason will be writing a regular personal training column for the Chronicle.