Owner of Improve Glasgow
Personal Trainer
SFN Main Stage Speaker
BBC Radio Scotland Contributor
Lift The Bar's 'Personal Trainer of The Year' 2015
29/06/2025
Thanks to a monumental effort from all involved, Improve Giffnock opens tomorrow.
Proper hard graft, but we got there.
Excited to step into the next chapter, not so excited about the prospect of my alarm going off in 5 hours time…
Alas, let’s go and positively impact a load of new people’s lives.
That’s what it’s all about.
07/05/2025
Smiling through the chaos.
One rep at a time, we keep moving forward ⏩
05/05/2025
We’re cooking 👨🍳
20/04/2025
10 years ago to the day, myself and my old man ripped out the first iteration of down in Tradeston.
A little over 6 years ago, we made the jump around the corner into 2.0.
It’s been some journey…
From a one-man-band in an empty scout hall with a borrowed set of kettlebells to building and running great teams and training literally thousands of people in one of the country’s coolest facilities.
May marks 10 years of Improve and we’re celebrating our ‘gymiversary’ with something special.
Can’t say much more yet 🤐
But all will be revealed soon...
07/04/2025
How it started vs how it ended ➡️
Marathon number 5 ticked off in Milano.
Achieved a PW (personal worst), and that’s okay.
Sometimes showing up and getting it done is all that counts - that was what yesterday was all about.
Worst time but best/most enjoyable experience 🤷♂️
19/01/2024
Five takeaways after a bunch of kick-off calls from our upcoming Accelerator Programme at
Hope they help!
09/11/2023
Picking up injuries and niggles is demoralising - no doubt about it.
But what’s more demoralising is the mountain you face when you stop training altogether instead of working around the injury/niggle and at least ticking over.
A 20% dip in strength and fitness is a lot easier to bounce back from - physically and mentally - than having to start again after 3/6/12 months of inactivity.
Keep up trucking (sensibly).
05/11/2023
Like butter wouldn’t melt 🐾
03/11/2023
Runners refer to the 18-20 mile mark as ‘the wall’.
It’s the point they’re out of energy and their legs just won’t carry them any further (without significantly dropping their pace).
I hit it hard in my first two marathons.
The first one at mile 18.
Mile 20 in the second.
Third time around, I managed to hold my pace the whole race.
What made the difference?
- Proper preparation
- Experience
- Tried and tested fuelling strategy
Ask yourself these questions with regards to your own goals:
1. Am I even at the wall yet?
Us humans are impatient and want results faster than my Staffy will chew through a tennis ball.
Oftentimes we chuck it before we’re anywhere near the wall, which is just a damn shame.
2a) Is it because you haven’t done enough?
I totally underestimated my first marathon.
Figured I was fit enough to run it on 8-weeks notice with no running training.
The humble pie it served up didn’t taste pleasant.
Is it the same with you…
Too big a gap between effort required and effort put in?
2b) Is it because you don’t have the knowledge/understanding to achieve the goal?
I hired a running coach for my second marathon.
I acknowledged that I didn’t know enough to achieve my goal and so enlisted the help of someone who could help me.
That decision, and the accountability it brought, helped me take 45-mins off my time.
2c) Is it because what you’re eating and drinking aren’t aligned with what you’re trying to achieve?
I started training for a marathon so I could eat what I want and not have to worry about my waistline creeping up.
Third time around, I knew I couldn’t wing it anymore.
I dialled down my diet, reduced my body fat, increased my muscle mass (difficult under the circumstances but not impossible) and ensured I was in peak condition.
Would it help if you did the same?
02/11/2023
If I’m as fit as they are in 25-30 years time, I’ll be a happy chappy.