Testimonials - Performance Sport
"I worked with Nick and he helped me get fit to play rugby to a world class standard for England.
Nick is excellent at adapting things for indviudals, the profesonalism this guy has and the amount of respect you have for him makes you want to work harder."
Dave Wilson (England Rugby)
“Working with Nick and the Smart Fitness team over the last nine months has been a ‘light bulb’ moment. I have been re-energised, re-invigorated and re-focused in committing to being motivated to achieve my goals. Their professionalism, knowledge, experience and ‘personal touch’ has been unique and without their support I don’t believe I would be as fit, healthy and strong. This is the platform I always needed, setting me well on my way to achieving my goals. Smart Fitness recognise the individual and work on that detail which makes them excel. Value for money? Yes definitely. Value to me? PRICELESS.”
Karen Johns (800m Runner and Smart Fitness Member)
"Nick recently looked after one of England's brightest young rugby talents. At all times, he was positive, motivating and professional in the way he supervised our player through a series of training sessions across a 3 week period. His experience, qualifications and personal skills make him an ideal strength and conditioning coach that we will often call upon to train and coach Northern based England rugby players to international standards of fitness."
Calvin Morriss (England Rugby - Senior National Fitness Coach)
"I have had the pleasure of working with the team at Smart Fitness from the day they opened their training facility. The coaches are without doubt very knowledgeable and they always manage to get the message across. They constantly adapt the training sessions to suit my particular needs at the time. Everyone at Smart Fitness is very approachable, friendly and flexible and they always take a keen interest in my progres as a pole vaulter. I would have no hesitation in recommending Nick and the team at Smart Fitness to any athlete who shares the same passion as I do to be better at my sport."
Tim Parkin (U17 UK Pole Vault Champion and Smart Fitness Member)
"Having the opportunity to train with Nick and his team at Smart Fitness has been fundamental in me achieving my goals during 2008. The knowledge and skills I have gained has been vast, and consequently the strength gains have translated into all the disciplines of the triathlon resulting in significantly improved performances. A personal best in both my short course and Ironman swim times, improved power outputs on the bike which bring me into T2 in a great position to run strongly, culminating in PB marathon times in the Ironman! All in all I know that without the strength and conditioning I would not have achieved the results I have during this season. It's thanks to the coaching and knowledge of Nick and his team at Smart Fitness. Roll on 2009!!"
Phil Smith (Triathlete, Ironman and Smart Fitness Member)
“Playing sports for a number of years I thought I trained well and was physically well prepared. When I started to train with Smart Fitness I was not sure what a difference strength and conditioning could make and if I would stick with it. The difference has been significant. The change in all aspects of my physical preparation and performance is certainly something I would not have achieved without the expertise, support and motivation from the Smart Fitness team. I would recommend them to anyone without any hesitation. This certainly has been value for money, with great results.”
Nicola O’Donnell (Football Player for Newcastle Utd Ladies and Smart Fitness member)
“I started training with Smart Fitness after one of my friends recommended them to me. During the initial evaluation process I found the coach to be very professional and they helped me plan what I needed to do with my training schedule to get the results I wanted. Starting slowly and gradually building up the personally designed programmes have massively improved my physical fitness and performance on the rugby pitch. The Smart Fitness coaching team help me to get the most out of every single training session.”
Ralph Appleby (Rugby Player and Smart Fitness member).
‘With humour, skill, knowledge and innovation Nick Grantham revolutionised the attitudes of national netballers to strength and conditioning. He also contributed to the establishment of a major culture change at the elite level of the game.’
Lyn Gunson (Former England Netball Coach)
‘I found Nick to be a very knowledgeable and professional Strength and Conditioning Coach. He also had great enthusiasm and motivation which made you push that bit harder.’
Maria Eilberg (World Class Performance Dressage Rider)
‘I was fortunate to work with Nick Grantham, then Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach for the English Institute of Sport in the West Midlands when I became personal coach to a young talented rower Zac Purchase (Olympic Gold Medallist), who joined us from the GB Junior programme. The real effectiveness in Nick’s approach was the individualisation of the programme and his ability to teach the skills. Along with this was introduced a constant degree of challenge with the technique and the weight lifted. Nick can take a good deal of credit for the rapid development of Zac Purchase through 2005 to the present to be Great Britain’s top lightweight international and with his two seasons in the single and recent qualification for Beijing one of the top lightweight rowers in the world.’
Darren Whiter (Great Britain Rowing Team)
Nick’s knowledge and application undoubtedly contributed to the athlete’s progress in all aspects of fitness.’
Clare Palmer PhD (Former All England Netball Association Sport Science Manager)
'I worked with Nick for a number of years at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre. During this time our clients came from a wide range of sports with the majority being professional & elite athletes. Nick has the ability to deliver very practical physical conditioning programmes that are based on sound scientific principles. Nick communicates effectively and is an excellent motivator who invariably gets the best out of his clients. Nick's no-nonsense approach to the subject of athletic strength & conditioning is a breath of fresh air to an aspect of sports preparation that has become increasingly important in the contemporary competitive sporting world.'
Phil Newton (Lilleshall Sports Injury Rehab www.lilleshall.com)
‘The Marathon Des Sables is one of the toughest endurance challenges in the World (a 6 day run covering 143 miles across the Sahara Desert. Nick worked with me for 6 months, during which he assessed my fitness levels and developing a structured and progressive training plan, adjusting the training programme accordingly…….his professionalism and sense of humour enabled me to enjoy working with him………it was a joy to work with Nick and I would happily work with him again.’
Ciaran Horgan (Ultra Endurance Athlete)
‘Success in netball at an elite level requires exceptional skill in combination with high levels of speed, power, agility and overall endurance. Nick developed my individualised training plan which enabled me to maximise my playing performance.’
Tracey Neville (England Netball Team, Commonwealth and World Championship Medallist)
‘Nick Grantham is one of the most practical and applied conditioning specialists in the World today. He has the uncanny ability to take the science out of the textbooks and into the real world. More importantly he gets results. One of the best practitioners I have ever met.’
Alwyn Cosgrove (Strength and Conditioning Expert)
'In the short time I've known him, I've been extremely impressed with not only Nick Grantham's extensive knowledge, but also his dedication to helping elite athletes and weekend warriors alike reach their goals. It's rare to find someone who has both the "in the trenches" experience and the book smarts - and the passion to leverage those abilities to ensure success in those with whom he works.'
Eric Cressey Performance Enhancement Specialist www.EricCressey.com
‘Thank you for the work you did with me over the last 4 years. It has made a huge difference in my performance over a tournament which concluded in me win a bronze in Athens Paralympics and this year a silver in the European Championships which also meant we qualifier for Beijing. You are very professional at what you do. Thanks for everything’.
Sinclair Thomas (Paralympic, World and European medallist - Wheelchair Basketball)
‘Nick Grantham is a dedicated responsible coach. He is a watcher and a learner. Needless to say he doesn’t blindly follow the ‘latest trend,’ or incorporate the new fad of the moment. He is however, always open to new ideas, but he remains true to the training philosophy that he has developed through numerous successful years working as strength and conditioning coach. Through Nick’s experience and expertise he manages to combine fundamental training principles with innovative ideas that get the job done, effectively, efficiently and expertly.’
Fuzz Ahmed (International athletics coach, and adviser to several Premier League Football Players)
‘Nick Grantham was my Strength & Conditioning coach for about 7 months. With his help throughout this period I was fully prepared for major tournaments, and was at my strongest and fittest. The knowledge and support that he gave me has helped improve my technique, my strength and my endurance and will help take me further in my judo career.’
Becky Dunning (GB Judo)
‘I have worked with Nick for the best part of 6 years as an individual and part of the England Netball squad. He was the major influence in our squad becoming the fittest strongest and fastest we had ever been. He set up individual training programmes for athletes from which I was a major beneficiary. Not only did Nick improve my fitness in general but he was the only reason I was able to prolong my career. His rehabilitation programmes have helped me through 3 ankle operations and were it not for him my second Commonwealth Games Bronze medal would not have been a reality. Training never has been my favourite past time and I'm sure Nick never looked forward to the individual training sessions with me but his personality, persuasion and belief in me meant the difference between winning my medals and not. Were it not for his time and dedication I would never have achieved my dreams.‘
Olivia Murphy ( England Netball 1993-2006; 95 caps; CWG Bronze medallist 1998,2006; World Championship Bronze medallist 1999; England Captain 2000-2006)
'Nick has a great way with the people he works with, whether it's a professional athlete, private client or colleague - Nick will always make every effort to invest his time in those he works with to help them achieve their goals. He's a great coach, manager and mentor.'
Peter Elliot (MBE) (Regional Manager EIS Yorkshire)
'Nick is a dedicated and knowledgeable S&C coach. His commitment to helping me achieve my goals away from the pitch enabled me to excel on it.’
Kim Shaylor (England Women's Rugby - no. 11)
‘Nick Grantham has made a significant impact on the Great Britain Wheelchair basketball program through his expertise in the 6 years he was with the program. His attention to detail and professionalism is outstanding. His ability to motivate and achieve improvement in the Great Britain Wheel chair athletes has enabled the team to achieve its world class ranking in recent years. Nick is thoroughly respected by all of the squad members and it has been our loss to lose his services.’
Murray Treseder (Head Coach Great Britain Wheelchair Team)
‘During the last several years Nick has made an invaluable contribution to my third year undergraduate Sports Science Support module in delivering a three hour session on’ Interdisciplinary Aspects’ drawing on his extensive experience working in high performance sport. Student feedback on these sessions was exceptionally positive. It has been my privilege to monitor Nick’s outstanding progress from his undergraduate degree through his MSc programme of studies to his current position.’
Dave Kellett (Senior Lecturer – University of Chester)
'Whilst working as the PGMOL Head of Sport Science, I approached Nick to deliver a range of practical sessions on various aspects of strength and conditioning that all the referees could introduce into their training regimes, along with some advice on aiding the referees’ recovery in between games. The sessions that Nick delivered to the Select Group referees were very well received by all due to his excellent presentation skills, his ability to link the theory with the practice in a sport-specific context and also his capacity to coach and communicate new training techniques to a new audience.'
Matthew Weston (Former PGMOL Head of Sports Science)