Our clients come from a range of professional and personal backgrounds and we are pleased that they’ve embarked on their fitness journey with our Melbourne Personal Trainers.

Our personal trainers travel throughout Melbourne to give you the most convenient service possible.

Read on to hear what our clients have to say!

“When I first decided to change my health and life style I was a size 16. I had just been through a number of life changing experiences including a divorce. I started my journey by surfing the internet looking for a fitness professional to help me improve my choices.”

“I found the Fitness Goal Personal Training web site and sent through a query. Within a few hours I was matched up with Fernando Solis who in turn became my trainer. After our first consultation I signed up for twenty sessions. He listened to my needs and we set the goals I wanted to achieve. Not only did he set up a weekly exercise program for me, but he also set up an eating plan and referred me to a physio to help me with my knee injury.”

“Fernando also referred me to a friend who held a meditation group, which helped clear my head after my divorce. Within a couple of weeks I was well on my way to connecting my mind, body and soul. My lifestyle and eating choices changed quickly. I trained with Fernando three times a week and I was also going to my local gym on the days I was not training with him. I felt confident when training on my own as he made the program easy to follow.
Training with him three times a week kept me focused and he would push me to limits I had not achieved in the past.”

“Twenty weeks later I had dropped to a size 10-12 and resigned as I saw the value of having him as part of my health regime. When I first started training I thought that having a trainer was expensive. Now I realize that I save a lot more money on healthy food choices and have greatly cut down negative lifestyle choices which were adversely affecting both my physical and mental my health.”
Eva Rachwalski – School Teacher

“Fitness Goal Personal Training not only improved my general fitness and core strength, but it also helped me loose excess weight. The support and information in relation to my day to day diet ensured I had the necessary energy to complete a training session after a long day at work.”

Thanks Fernando
Alex McHarg – Construction Management

“I have trained with Fernando for about 7 months, he is always seems to have new training idea’s to keep the sessions interesting, meaning you have no idea what you are going to be doing from session to session. Just don’t let him show you the duck walk! I am well on the way to my target weight loss and have to attribute that to Fernando’s ability to push me beyond my comfort zone! “
Andrew Wynn – Banking and Finance

“After I broke my olecranon (elbow) last year, I included fitness sessions with Fernando along with regular physiotherapy sessions. The physio reported that I had one of the worst breaks he had seen, but achieved one of the best recoveries. I put this down in part to the activity Fernando and I worked on together.”

“Having weekly PT sessions booked also motivates me to work on my fitness between sessions.”

“My blood pressure was increasing with occasional peaks up to 160. When I was told there was some bleeding in my eyes I got enough of a scare to join a gym. After 18 months of fitness training, including weekly PT sessions I’m now back to my old levels of 120 on 80.”
Bruce Black – Bank Project Manager

“I found Fernando to be an innovative and highly motivating PT! He inspired me with his knowledge and passion for all things fitness. When I was having a down day I’d get a text or email to see how I was doing and to encourage me to keep up with my fitness goals.
I loved that he taught me functional compound exercises, working many areas at once, rather than your “same old same old” routines.
I would highly recommend anyone needing a lift or change of routine to go and see Fernando!”
Helen Warden – Education Administration

Fernando Solis is available for personal training sessions throughout Melbourne’s northern suburbs and at Fitness First in Melbourne’s CBD.
For a consultation send us an email or contact Fernando directly on 0419 326943

Are sporting champions born or made?

Some will argue that sporting champions come from the womb and that the combination of natural ability and talent, destiny and a lesser emphasis on training will lead them to success.

Others will argue that hard work, determination and countless of hours of training can bridge the talent gap and will lead an athlete to elite competition.

History shows that world class champions of many sports have come from both extremes or have been a combination of both talent and hard work.

The example of John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl come to mind. Both of these tennis greats competed against each other through the eighties and battled for the number 1 ranking.
McEnroe was a naturally gifted genius, whereas Lendl was a hard working professional that got the best from his talent.
I remember seeing an interview where McEnroe said he possessed more talent in his little finger than Lendl had in his entire body, but that Lendl was prepared to work harder than he ever was. Both achieved sporting greatness following different paths and relying on different attributes.

On today’s competitive sporting fields a sportsperson that relies solely on natural talent is just not going to reach their full potential and risks been outdone by someone prepared to work harder.
Less talented opponents with limited ability that train hard on their athletic attributes and have competent skill levels will compete equally with those that are gifted and may be preferred by some coaches rather than the talented athlete that cruises through.

My message is simple:

– If you are talented at your chosen sport, work hard to master your skills and condition your body for peak performance. Do this and you will always be ahead of the game.
– If you are limited in you natural abilities work hard to bridge the gap. You may need to practice longer and work harder but persistence pays off. Whether it’s mental or physical strength – use them to your advantage.

The key is to refine and polish your strengths and place special priority on improving your weaknesses until they become your strengths!

Arnold Schwarzenegger took this approach to get his calves up to scratch. He cut the bottoms off all of his track pants so he had no way avoiding their lack of size and had no choice but to see them everyday in the gym!

Keep up the hard work no matter what your passion is….it always pays off!

In this news post I’ll discuss the importance of practicing skill work on an individual basis. This extra skill work is additional to organized club training and personal training sessions.

For those that have trained with me in Melbourne you will know the emphasis I place on carrying out your own training. I will go even further and say that if you don’t do this extra work you seriously reduce the chances of any improvement. If you are aspiring toward a professional career its and absolute must!

I also like to remind the younger ones that their parents are investing in a personal trainer for them to improve, so the best way to get something out of it is to practice!

With out practice and improvement their is no progression.

Club Training

Most players will train with their clubs twice per week for about 2 hours per session plus have a match on the weekend. This will equate to approximately 4 hours of structured training undertaken by a coach.
In club training coaches need to cover the following concepts:

- Passing
- Ball control
- Dribbling
- Heading
- Shooting
- Ball shielding
- Positional sense and tactical awareness
- Defensive and attacking principals
- Fitness and conditioning

Depending of the age of the players the time spent on these skills and concepts will vary.

As you can see it’s a lot to cover in only 4 hours of weekly practice!

Matches are the culmination of all the weekly training where all concepts of play unfold. The speed and intensity of training is never quite the same as a match and a player will find they have very few touches of the ball and little time to have the ball in their possession.

In the elite soccer countries kids are training at their clubs from 3 to 5 times per week. If you do the math it amounts to several hours of extra training per week. When you consider that it takes over 10 years to produce a player capable of playing pro soccer this will equate to countless hours of less ball time our developing players don’t get here in Australia.

Cultural factors also play a part (not as much as some make it out to be) with kids playing at school and in their spare time with friends.

Personal Training and Soccer Academies

Personal or individual soccer skills training with a specialist coach and private soccer academies are now common place in the soccer circles and are filling the void clubs leave in regards to player development. Clubs offer few training sessions and unfortunately the quality of the coaching is not always great.

I’ve been successful in improving many of my clients through my specialist individual skills coaching. But I do emphasize to my players the importance of carrying out the drills they learn with me on their own. Repetition is the key!

Practice with Friends or on your own

If you interviewed anyone who knew Maradona, Pele, Ronaldinho, Zidane or Messi as a kid, I’m sure they’d all say the same thing. “Yeah I remember that kid – every time I saw him he was kicking a ball around”.

The aim is to spend as much time with a ball as possible. Playing at school, meeting friends after school at a park or at a friends house.
It’s in all these hours of imaginative and free play that kids will improve their skills and become better players – and all under no pressure!

If kids are alone that’s ok – all they need is a ball, a park or patio and a wall – that’s it!!
It sounds too good to be true but I can assure you that’s all it takes for radical improvement. Watching the best players on TV and copying their tricks will keep you busy for hours.
Juggling the ball, running with it, left and right foot, shooting and passing it against a wall 1000 times.

Repeat these simple skills over and over again.

Remember this – Repetition is the Master of all Skill.

As I mentioned earlier – The best players in the world have superior skill because of the countless hours of individual skills training they did as developing players.

When the pressure is on and time and space is of a premium, the best players stand out because of the comfort and ease that they have to maneuver the ball around.

There are no easy paths to improving your game. That’s the honest truth.
Dedication, commitment and sacrifice are necessary, and if you have the self discipline and drive to practice I guarantee you will become a player of the future.

Good luck.

Stay tuned for my new upcoming web post – Why Repetition Training Works.
This article will explain the scientific and biological reasons that prove why repetition training is a successful development tool.

Personal training is available in Melbourne’s CBD with Fernando Solis at the first class Fitness First gymnasium in Bourke St. If you are low on time and work in the heart of Melbourne sneak in for some personal training! He is there 5 days per week and offers a complimentary first session at Bourke St Fitness First.
Fernando is also available for personal training and soccer coaching in select locations through Melbourne, so contact him for availability.

We are having great success with personal training in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs with personal trainer Gus Moschensky. He’s working from Busy Bodies gymnasium in Boronia and is also available in the eastern suburbs for mobile soccer coaching.
Contact us to book with Gus for some personal training today!

Our network of personal trainers spans throughout Melbourne, so please feel free to get in touch with us to see if we have your area covered.

Be well and happy training!

It’s time to get your team fit for the upcoming soccer season – So what have you planned for your running and fitness conditioning?
In this article I will cover the important points you need to consider when putting together your soccer team fitness conditioning program.

As a coach, you must have a fitness program that takes into account the different phases of the season and the appropriate work rate that is required for each stage of the season, this is commonly known as periodization training.

The main concept coaches don’t understand is that of aerobic fitness vs. anaerobic fitness. Below is a brief explanation:

An aerobic activity is classified as exercise that is performed at an intensity level where oxygen is used as the main source for energy production. It relates to activities that last for 3+ minutes that are performed at around 65 to 80% of our maximum output. A classic example of this would be middle to long distance runner.

An anaerobic activity is one where exercise is performed at a high intensity level lasting 5 – 10 seconds where energy (ATP) stored in the muscle and creatine phosphate (CP) are used as the main source of energy production. It relates to activities performed in short bursts at around 90- 100% of our output. It can take up to 3 minutes for this energy system to recover after a maximum effort.

We also have the lactate system which sits between the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems which peaks in its contribution to ATP production at around 90 seconds of activity.

So what type of fitness conditioning do soccer players need? If we analyze the information above we can agree that soccer is a combination of all 3 energy systems. It can be described as a series of high intensity activities (sprinting, jumping, tackling, etc.) performed over an extended period of time (2 x 45 minute halves).

Therefore, soccer players require anaerobic endurance and this should be the main focus of all fitness conditioning. An effective fitness program should aim to condition and improve the efficiency of the body to recover muscle ATP through improved phosphate and creatine phosphate production.

In the pre-season it is advisable to start off with lower intensity sessions that are longer in duration. This would be the only time to do long slow distance (LSD) running training of 2-3 kilometers to build an aerobic base for later high intensity training. Players should also be encouraged to perform their own off-season training.
The basic aim of your periodization training plan should be to begin with drills and sessions that are low in intensity and longer in duration. As the competitive season commences and progresses you should aim for the reverse – High in intensity and shorter in duration.

General protocols and guidelines to consider are:

Types of running

Avoid excessive straight line running. Make sure distances are mainly short (5m-10m-20m) and there are changes of direction for the players.
Players need to work on acceleration/deceleration, lateral and backward running and zig-zagging. Create drills that make the players run and move in all directions.

Work rest ratios

Set work to rest ratios for your drills. Initially it could be 1:3 (60 seconds work: 3 min rest) and you can progress through to 1:1 (30 sec work: 30 sec rest).
Keep in mind that you can run ball orientated drills and small sided games using the same principal.

Agility Conditioning

Work on jumping and footwork with agility circuits using hurdles agility ladders and poles.

Planning your season is extremely important and will take the guesswork out of your training sessions and make them more enjoyable for your players, and most importantly help to effectively physically prepare your team for a successful competitive campaign.

Fitness Goal Personal Training offers soccer coaching and fitness conditioning consulting for soccer teams and clubs in the Melbourne area.

In this article I wish to communicate the importance on the mental and physical focus an athlete requires to properly develop and prepare for competitive sport and have the opportunity to excel through hard work.

Ask any professional athlete about the formula to competing successfully at the top level and I can guarantee they will all mention and highlight the importance of pre- season preparation.

An athlete who works on the right facets of his/her game and prepares well during the off-season break will have significantly improved performances in the following season.

Note that the pre-season period is not only the training you will do with your club, but the work you do on your own before you participate in structured team training.

Make no mistake about it – those willing to make the sacrifice with work hard are in the best position to succeed in their chosen sports. Drive, dedication and commitment are required no matter how technically or physically gifted you are as a junior. This is particularly important to emphasize in junior sportspersons as there is often disparity amongst children in strength, speed and standard of competition which can lead to an overestimation of ability and overall talent.

Many child sporting prodigies are reeled back into the competitive pack through their late teens as others naturally develop their physical attributes, technique and mental strength.

My main point being:

• If you are excelling in your chosen sport – keep working hard to improve and develop.
• If you are falling behind the rest – do the extra work required to put yourself back in the game

So what should you do on the off-season? That will vary with the requirements of each individual. An experienced coach/trainer should put you on the right track and advise you on what you should focus on. Each sport has a different competitive calendar and the time available for off-season conditioning will often determine the frequency and modality of your training.

Here are some of the most common areas that athletes focus on in the off-season:

Physical Weaknesses

All sports require a desired type of athlete with certain physical characteristics. This may be determined by a combination of factors such as body composition, strength, speed, power and agility. When we consider team orientated sports, there will be contrasting requirements between individuals playing in different positions.
The off-season is the time to take on a conditioning program specifically designed to tackle strength related deficiencies in an athlete.
A well designed weights program will target and develop weak zones in the body through isolation training and should then be progressed to functional exercise patterns relating to the demands on the body in that sport.
An effective personal training program will maximize and improve single leg stability, balance, power, speed, core, co-ordination and rotational strength and efficiency

Skill Development

Being a fast and strong athlete will count for little if you don’t have the technical ability required for your chosen sport. Skill and technique refinement should never be neglected and the off-season is the ideal time to concentrate on areas you are deficient in. It’s important to consider that the blueprint for technical ability in children will be instilled between the ages of 7-13. But no matter your age you will improve technique through good old fashioned high-repetition drills appropriate for your sport.

Fitness Base

The first 2-3 weeks of any team sport club training will usually comprise of general aerobic conditioning (eg. running for soccer/AFL), co-ordination work and flexibility training. Doing your own running and flexibility program on the off-season will greatly assist your body to cope with initial training loads and reduce the risk of picking up an early injury that could put a massive halt to pre-season training.
It’s hugely important to perform the correct type of endurance conditioning that applies to your sport. Our body has 2 basic energy systems – aerobic and anaerobic. There is a major difference between aerobic endurance and anaerobic endurance and different training methods are needed to prepare the body for both.

Body Composition

Every sport has an ideal type of build for its athletes, and within those ‘ideal types’ there are specialized body structures required for different positions within those sports.
When participating in a position orientated team sport it’s important you get your body composition right. For soccer, the ideal outfield player will have low total body fat with greater muscular development in the legs and core. Upper body strength is required but it’s non beneficial to carry excessive weight though the upper trunk and arms. Whereas a soccer goalkeeper does need more attention on upper body strength, demonstrating that players within the same sport require different body compositions.
Dieting to reduce body fat through a competitive season is unfeasible as athletes must eat high calorie meals to recover from matches and prepare the body for the next training session.
Muscular growth and development is also hard to work on as delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) will result in extended recovery periods which will not work in with team training sessions.
The off-season is the right time to work with a dietician and personal trainer to get your body in the right shape for your chosen sport.

Psychological Preparation

An often forgotten facet of participating in competitive sport is the area of psychology.
Let’s not forget that the mind must be healthy in order to maximize on-field performance.
It’s important to set individual goals on what you want to achieve as an athlete and continually focus and visualize on those positive goals you set. This can be done by speaking to successful and experienced athletes and team mates and learning from the experiences of others, not only in sport but life in general. Surround yourself with positive people and seek a person that is willing to be a mentor.
You may also consider seeking the help and guidance from a professional such as a sports psychologist.
Motivating yourself in the right ways will also help you improve not only as an athlete, but as and person also.

Fitness Goal Personal Training has effective off-season strength and conditioning programs for participants of all sports throughout Melbourne.
We also have specialized programs for soccer players in Melbourne looking to improve their game.

Fitness Goal Personal Training head soccer skills and fitness and conditioning coach Fernando Solis is now a member of the first class coaching set up at the GISS academy.

About GISS

The GISS academy has no equal in Melbourne when it comes to paving the way for junior and youth soccer players looking to become professional soccer players. The GISS academy also works in affiliation with Italian Serie A giants AS Roma with its AS Roma Australia Clinics to develop young players using the latest coaching methods, and providing them the opportunity to attend trials at professional Italian and European soccer clubs.

FGPT – GISS Partnership

In its search for excellence the GISS academy contacted Fitness Goal Personal Training to enquire about personal training and soccer specific services. GISS academy director Maurice Pagniello was impressed by our expertise and the specialized soccer development training programs we offer and a partnership was forged.
Fernando’s role at the academy is to oversee and implement all conditioning programs for GISS players which range from 10 to 18 years of age. Furthermore, players heading overseas for trials are getting into top form with Fernando in private conditioning sessions.

Contact us for more information about our personalized soccer skills and conditioning programs held throughout Melbourne.

We are happy to be able to show you a little more about our personal training and soccer coaching services running throughout Melbourne via this new video page.

The page currently has excellent video demonstrations on soccer strength and conditioning training that focus on exercises for junior and youth soccer players. There are also some great clips showing exercises and circuits we use in our personal training sessions in Melbourne.

We will aim to post as many video clips as we can about health, fitness, personal training, injury management and our soccer skills coaching and conditioning.

Our personal training now goes beyond Melbourne, so no matter where you are you can access us and do your favorite workout online!

If there is any thing you’d like us to cover send us an email and we’ll do our best to answer your questions, or even better still we’ll put it on video!!

Enjoy!

Fitness Goal Personal Training Melbourne would like to introduce to you its founder Fernando Solis, who is also an active personal trainer of the Fitness Goal Personal Training team operating throughout Melbourne.

Fernando is a personal trainer that has years of personal and professional experience in a broad range of client training needs such as:

• Weight Loss
• Muscle gain
• Functional Strength Training
• Injury Management and rehabilitation
• Posture Correction
• Flexibility and Core Strength Training

He is also a PowerPlate certified Trainer.

Fernando also specializes in soccer skills coaching and conditioning for junior and youth soccer players of all levels.

Fernando has had great success with clients of differing training goals and he’s on hand to help you on the way to a healthier and fitter you!

He is currently available for personal training in Melbourne at Fitness First Bourke St CBD.
He is also available through the metropolitan Melbourne through the week and weekends for personal soccer coaching and conditioning.

Contact us for more details about Fernando Solis or contact him direct on 0419 326 943.

In my travels around the soccer grounds of Melbourne I see lots of great players running around enjoying their soccer. As a personal trainer and soccer skills and conditioning coach I can’t help but identify areas where these players can improve and refine their playing skills and/or conditioning and consequently become better players. It’s amazing the difference some 1 on 1 specialized coaching can make to the progress of a player of any age.

I frequently speak to many players and parents and some see the value in putting a personal training and soccer coaching program into place and others are happy continue with the status quo. After all, the game is there to be enjoyed and not every player aspires to be a professional soccer player.

Fitness Goal Personal Training specializes in personalized soccer coaching for junior and youth soccer players in the Melbourne area for those looking to improve their game and excel in the game of soccer.

Soccer player development

To become a successful and complete soccer player you need to strongly develop 3 major components of the game:

• Skill and technique.
• Physical conditioning – Must be age appropriate and focus on players from the age of 12+
• Understanding of the psychological demands that come with high level competition.

These 3 facets of the game are related to the individual development of a young player which must be correctly introduced and taught between the ages of 7-15 years of age. Only basic game play concepts should be taught during this stage.
Specific team play and tactical concepts are secondary to refining each individual player and should be introduced around the ages of 14-15.

It’s important to understand that a player with limited technical ability will be of little use in any coaches’ tactical structure.

Where are we at in Australia?

In the Melbourne soccer club coaching scene the majority of clubs will train twice per week and play one match over the weekend. This means each player will have only 3-4 hours of supervised coaching sessions and 1 hour of game play per week. Some players will also be involved in school teams – usually with unqualified teachers as coaches. That is simply not frequent enough for the proper and correct progression of a player. Let me also add that the quality of the majority of this coaching is lamentable and will further slow the development of a player.

Deficiencies in Melbourne soccer coaching

• Lack of quality coaches that don’t understand how to properly teach and that implement age inappropriate soccer concepts and progressions.
• Not enough weekly coaching under quality supervision.
• Lack of attention to the needs of each individual within a team.
• Lack of identification of physical weaknesses that can cause future injury.
• Application of incorrect conditioning methods and training structures.
• Inadequate knowledge on correct nutrition and injury management.

How do we compare with the rest of the world?

Let’s consider 2 of the world’s most successful producers of exceptionally talented soccer players – Brazil and Argentina. I have had the opportunity in my coaching education to travel to Argentina and see junior club player development first hand.
In both these countries clubs are structured to develop players with the basic structure I’ve outlined above.

The 2 main differences between them and us are:

• Players will have 1-3 hours of structured daily practice sessions under expert supervision.
• Their players are developed in small sided competitions and outdoor pitches of reduced size.

With the thousands of extra hours of quality coaching time these players get compared to Australian kids over the 7-8 year maturation period of a junior player, its clear to see why Brazil, Argentina and the other leading world soccer super powers are so far ahead of us.

The cultural importance soccer has in these 2 countries needs to be taken into consideration as does the sacrifice entire families are prepared to endure for a young boy to become a professional player.
But with Australia’s proud history of producing so many international sporting champions, I firmly believe we are underachieving and failing in our production of quality international standard soccer players.

How can personalized soccer coaching improve development?

If we take into account the key points mentioned above, there are several fundamental areas which a personal soccer coach can address, therefore fast tracking and improving the progression of any soccer player.

Fitness Goal Personal Training soccer coaches can help by:

• Identifying skill deficiencies and refining technical execution.
• Give 1 on 1 coaching specific to the needs of each player and increase weekly hours of supervised soccer coaching.
• Assess and correct player movement patterns to maximize speed and efficiency.
• Introduce players to soccer specific resistance training to improve strength and conditioning for improved fitness and performance.

Fernando Solis and Gustavo Moschensky are both available for personalized soccer skills coaching and soccer specific strength and conditioning programs. They are both qualified personal trainers and FFA soccer coaches available for soccer coaching in Melbourne.

Contact us for more details.