Best personal trainers

Published on Wednesday 16 May 2007 00:33

1. PAULINE KERR, 0131 555 4578

Kerr, married to Olympic judo champion George Kerr, would scare the living daylights out of unfit bodies on a first meeting, but is a softie at heart. It's not all about pumping iron; Kerr feels more is achieved from stretching and toning up muscles while taking care of the whole person. Makes you think about your body, what you eat and drink and encourages you to reassess your diet. You leave feeling relaxed, but on inspection in a mirror, you soon notice the subtle differences.

2. VAL RIAZANOV

www.valriazanov.com

Riazanov teaches a Russian martial art called Systema, based on an tradition going back centuries. He achieved TV celebrity in 2005 as the intimidating Russian army fitness trainer in Channel Four's Space Cadets. Based in London but routinely travels for seminars.

3. LEE MEADOWS, Centre for Sport and Exercise, University of Edinburgh, 0131 650 2585

www.sport.ed.ac.uk

Meadows, based at the university gym in the Pleasance, is unpretentious, unintimidating, and, best of all, a bargain at just 20 an hour. Members can use his services as often or infrequently as required. For the fee you get one-to-one professional advice not only on exercise but also diet, lifestyle and personal injuries. The guy drips more gems of gym know-how in one hour than most of us drip in sweat over a year. His empathy is balanced with sufficient pushiness to edge you just that little bit further each time.

4. WILL STURGEON, Balmoral, Edinburgh, 0131 622 8880

Not only works with all the hotel's VIP guests, but also has a long list of personal clients he whips into shape. Makes you lift weights you'd never normally glance at in the gym. Just one weekly session of resistance training with him has a massive impact on your figure. That doesn't mean you bulk up; building muscles properly can leave you lean and toned in all the right places.

5. SJ FITNESS, 37 Ruthven Lane, Glasgow, 0141 357 5902

Bubbly SJ works out of a sleek studio in the West End and excels in one-to-one sessions. Equipment including a Pilates machine and space-age vibration plate (which claims to give a hour's workout in just ten minutes) helps get wobbly bodies back into shape in no time.