Matt McArdle Msc is a forward-thinking health and fitness professional who, for many years, has been blending personal training with physiotherapy practice to provide his community with a wraparound service of care, focused on prevention and protection.

McArdle has elevated the scope of his clinic by placing an Egym Smart Strength Series circuit at the centre of his community practice, with impressive results.

Optimising training time
“Most people are very capable of being active, without the intervention of a coach or personal trainer, but very few will know how to optimise training time to achieve desired health outcomes safely and effectively,” says McArdle. “This is where a community training space, supported by qualified professionals, has a vital role to play.

McArdle runs his business from an independent community gym, NRGym, in Keighley, West Yorkshire. While he has full access to the gym, he also rents a consultation room and a dedicated rehabilitation and training space, which includes an Egym intelligent Smart Strength Series.

“Egym has been a complete game changer for the business,” says McArdle. The beauty of Egym is its automation and performance feedback capabilities. Once clients have completed an instructor-led induction on the kit, they can access and administer bespoke workouts independently, freeing my time to dedicate to coaching and mentoring.

Performance feedback
“The performance feedback, with regards to strength and imbalance testing, is something I couldn’t glean by any other means with the same level of simplicity and reliability. I find this functionality absolutely invaluable in my rehabilitation work.

It also motivates clients, because they’re provided with regular evidence that their efforts are translating into the achievement of specified goals. This keeps them training and financially committed.”

Egym has enabled McArdle to attract a broader client base. He says: “60 per cent of my clients are now independent of my physiotherapy services and represent a diverse segment of the local population.

“The equipment’s pre-installed, scientifically-based programmes enable me to target specific population groups. For example, Metabolic Fit is designed to tackle diabetes, whilst Immunity Boost helps fight infection. These personalised programmes are largely self-managed, freeing up my time to focus on coaching.”

The pandemic has obviously created challenges for McArdle and prevented him from fully optimising the benefits of the Egym install but he’s incredibly optimistic about the future, saying: “While there have been many negatives associated with the pandemic, one positive is the heightened awareness of the importance of maintaining health and fitness in order to protect against infection and disease.”