Wellness Redefined
Barry’s Lucky 7 programme begs the question; why wait until the new
year for the new you?
words Will HALBERT
Barry’s is a firm believer in the idea that there’s no time like the present to up the ante and kick things up a gear. Back in September, Barry’s Lucky 7 initiative gave people the opportunity to do exactly that. By offering seven individuals a holistic, once-in-a-lifetime, 8-week wellness package (consisting of five classes per week alongside expert nutritional advice and top tier psychotherapy) Barry’s has redefined the very notion of wellness.
‘For over four years, I have been trying to get in shape, but never managed to maintain any new plan I came up with for more than a week or two. Barry’s has given me the excitement, enthusiasm and energy to enjoy exercise, to challenge myself and to actually be focused on achieving something.
‘The Lucky 7 programme is designed to transform you into the person you have always wanted to become,’ says Barry’s Bootcamp founder, Sandy Macaskill. ‘It will enhance both your physical and mental wellbeing and if you give us your commitment, we can guarantee that you will see change and feel better than you have ever felt before.’ Having run from 30th September to 24th November, Barry’s is now able to reveal the ultimate winner of the programme: Manchester’s Michael Atherton. ‘I can’t thank everyone enough,’ says Michael. ‘The experience has, and will continue to, truly change my life.’
‘You have given me the confidence, self-belief and a new attitude to carry forward on my journey and for that I can never thank you enough. I’ll see you in the Red Room.’ EJ
barrysbootcamp.co.uk
Expert Help
Barry’s Manchester trainers, Mark Ross & Amelia Smith, talk us through their time with Lucky 7 winner, Michael Atherton
words Amelia SMITH & Mark ROSS
Michael was new to Barry’s when we started mentoring him for Lucky 7. It was important that he understood from the beginning that this was his personal journey and to not compare himself to anyone but himself in the Red Room. Barry’s is a workout designed for everyone, no matter your fitness level, but it can be frustrating for some when the mindset isn’t quite right. Wanting to be the best version of yourself versus trying to be the most fit in the room are two totally different things and we didn’t want Michael to experience this as he was building his fitness up. Instead of aiming to be as fast or as strong as the person next to him, we made him focus on the ‘mini wins’ in each class, which could be him controlling the weights better, having better form, or improving his own speeds by 0.2 here and there on the treadmill.
Before we knew it, he was one of the best lifters in class because he only focussed on himself, he always felt great once finished, which was the goal.
We had to work on Michael’s mindset a lot towards his training, he had always thought that the motivation behind training was ‘just’ to look good, but we wanted to turn that around and show that taking a Barry’s class has so many more important benefits. After a while, he was getting up at 6am because of the way the class would make him feel after it and how it would set up his day to succeed in his job and life.
We believe that most people go to the gym initially to look good, but they stay around long term for how it makes you feel. Michael has been no exception to this.
Towards the end of the 8-week program of Lucky 7, Michael’s body was obviously fatigued and we just shifted his mindset to focus the last couple of weeks on his mental toughness, rather than it being about his physical strength. Sometimes you need to work out for your body, other times work out for your head. EJ
