Teaching strength, flexibility and movement confidence

Who I work with

Over more than ten years I've trained with around sixty personal training clients — some for a single block, some for years — and coached hundreds more through classes and workshops at Bristol Co-operative Gym and elsewhere. Among the many and varied reasons people have come to me:

• Starting weightlifting in their fifties, sixties and seventies
• Preparing for multi-month treks in Nepal and other mountain country
• Rebuilding strength after injury, surgery or illness
• Training through pregnancy, and recovering after birth
• Chronic fatigue, with training that adapts to how each day actually feels
• Micro-workouts that fit inside a new parent's day
• A first pull-up, or a double-bodyweight deadlift
• Strength training for boxing and martial arts
• Building muscle to affirm a gender identity, or recovering from gender-affirming surgery
• Running overuse injuries — first the recovery, then a plan to stop them coming back

What a session is actually like

I tailor the session to the client and their goals, so it's hard to describe a typical session. Generally though, there is a kind of narrative — an introduction, the working focus of that session, and then a conclusion.

We'll prepare well, both by warming up the joints we'll be using and feeling like we're really present and inhabiting the body, drawing a line between however the rest of the day has been and what we're doing in this hour.

Then we'll do the main work, which is often based around big movements of squat, hinge, push, pull or carry. We'll do this with great technique and using whatever version of the movement works best for your body at that moment.

In rest periods, I'll explain all the decisions I'm making and why, so you can understand the reasoning too, and build that training knowledge alongside your gains in strength and fitness.

“Guy took on the role of coach, and with a very detailed eye showed me all the technical elements of each lift and what could be improved on each set. During breaks between sets we talked about training philosophies, mobility and wider cultural aspects of training, which really impacted me and which I still apply to my training to this day.”

Nick, Bristol client

A private, well-equipped home gym

I offer sessions from my front room in central Hay-on-Wye, on Heol-y-Dŵr.

There's a rack, a bar, plates, rings, dumbbells and enough floorspace. Unlike a typical gym, it's completely private: nobody's waiting for the equipment, nobody's watching, and you can choose the music.

You can park on the road outside for the length of a session, or there is a free car park down the road.

The front door is quite narrow and there are two steps to enter.

Training in someone's house is a reasonable thing to feel unsure about. If you'd rather meet somewhere else initially, just let me know.

Making the most of where we live

Hay sits in remarkable walking country, with the Black Mountains at the end of the street and the Wye running through town. A lot of my training points outdoors: strength for big days in the hills, a back that can carry a pack, confidence for scrambles and cold swims. And training doesn't have to be solitary — I can point you towards clubs and groups worth joining, or help you start one.

How the year works

I teach in eight-week blocks — four a year, with breaks between them where I do the planning for the blocks ahead, and a long summer holiday for travel and research.

Eight weeks is long enough to see real changes and short enough to stay pointed at one thing: we set a goal at the start of a block and build everything around it. Expect to notice changes by the end of your first block, and extraordinary differences after two or three.

My aim is to put myself out of a job — I want you to be able to train independently. Each block concludes with work you can continue yourself, with the knowledge and skills we have developed together.

I teach about twelve people at a time. I keep this limit so I can offer my best, truly personalised teaching. Places fill up ahead of time but I keep a waiting list that I update with availability.

2026/2027 dates:

• Block 1 26th October – 18th December
• Block 2 11th January – 5th March
• Block 3 15th March – 7th May
• Block 4 24th May – 16th July

What it costs

What	Cost
First consultation	Free, an hour, no obligation
One session a week, eight-week block	£460 — £57.50 a session
Two sessions a week, eight-week block	£820 — £51.25 a session
Single sessions, once you've finished a block	£60

My in-person clients receive 10% off any of my courses and classes.

The first fortnight of your first block is a trial. If it isn't working, say so and I'll refund the rest.

A few things people ask before they get in touch

About me

I'm Guy Lochhead. I live in Hay-on-Wye with my partner and our son.

I've been doing this work for over ten years.

I initially trained as a personal trainer and weightlifting coach because I wanted to open a gym that provided a welcoming and inclusive alternative to mainstream fitness culture.

In 2016 I founded Bristol Co-operative Gym, a not-for-profit member-owned gym in a community arts centre in St. Anne's, Bristol.

In 2023 I co-founded Bristol Community Sauna to provide an inclusive, community-led place to relax and unwind.

Alongside that I welcomed clients to train with me in my home gym in Bristol until 2025, when I moved to Hay-on-Wye.

As well as my PT qualifications, I have trained as a teacher in mainstream and Montessori approaches, a writer and an artist, and I'm a graduate of the Building Beauty diploma, which considers the influence of our environment on our feeling of aliveness.

My approach to coaching, which I describe as “lifelong physical learning”, draws on all these influences. I work with deep care and attentiveness, without assumptions, and consider the supports and demands of your life as a whole in order to find the best approach to movement for you.

I am constantly learning in order to improve my practice and I write about all of this on my blog.