SPORTS PERFORMANCE
difficult to remember that you deserve your place because you are constantly surrounded by so many champions . With people like Usain Bolt and Mo Farah walking around the stadium many athletes will be in awe of them and forget that they are there to beat these top names , but advice from Hazel is to “ believe your own bullshit ” and no matter what room she finds herself in she has the confidence to know that she deserves to be there .
This approach has served her well as she transitioned smoothly from being an elite athlete to becoming first a personal trainer , and then into the TV and entertainment work .
Her obsession with planning and organisation hasn ’ t subsided since leaving Athletics either and the former Olympian has created ‘ The Podium Effect ’ which gives even the most average of us the chance to train under her tutelage . “ Everything I do for my clients is based on the long-term plan . Even if I am writing a short programme for someone , the level of detail and the planning will be second to none . The way in which I structure the programmes I ensure that I am hitting all of the muscle groups together at the same time . I don ’ t train anyone like a bodybuilder with a chest day , or a leg day etc . I prepare them to be an elite all-rounder and I think that there is no better way to take an office worker or general member of the public and to improve the way they move , feel and look . Unless of course they want to be the person in their office with the biggest biceps and smallest legs . In which case , crack on haha . But that is not how my programmes work ”.
Speaking of programmes , you can ’ t have missed Louise on your TV screens in recent years . She has appeared on ‘ A Question of Sport ’, ‘ The Chase ’, ‘ Ninja Warrior ’, ‘ A League of Their Own ’ and ‘ The Jump ’ to name but a few .
“ Working in TV and the
‘ entertainment ’ industry is an absolute privelige . Most recently I even appeared on an ITV2 special of ‘ Release the Hounds ’, so you just get to take part in things that you never would have dreamed of in a million years . For me it is fun and true escapism - it keeps me fresh , keeps me alive and keeps me on my toes . I love the physical challenges but also by appearing on ‘ The Chase ’ I had a great opportunity to show my mental capabilities and my ‘ pub-quiz knowledge ’ as well as my competitiveness ”.
Being competitive is second nature to an Olympian , but even though she has now retired from competitive Athletics Louise is extremely vocal with her opinions on how the decision makers at the top of the sport and at a government level are potentially hindering the opportunites for future Olympians . “ The bee in my bonnet has been that the Olympic legacy was very much focussed around grass-roots
108 MUSCLE & FITNESS / APRIL 2018