Our Approach
Our Story
We started The Lab Fitness with one goal in mind - get more people to move, learn and self help in order to achieve a sustainable lifestyle change that promotes balanced wellness and happiness.
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Each one of us brings a unique point of view which helps us create that balanced and practical programming for our clients be that individuals or businesses.
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We know that in order to achieve this we need to change mindsets and this is never an easy task. We use physical programming, biomechanics, wellbeing webinars and educational talks to not just kick start the change but also to sustain and learn to self regulate and self help.
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We know what it feels like to be tired, overworked, stressed and unmotivated. We also know what it feels like to be happy, rested, focused and excited to achieve goals while feeling the taste of achievement. We see this battle unfold and often continue for a long time in the life of all our clients. This battle is so multifaceted that it can't be fixed with a unilateral approach. It requires a diverse but balanced mix of tools applied in our customers' at work and at home life.
Whether an individuals or an organisation - we all share the same challenge, achieve balance
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Meet The Team
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Matt McElligott
I have been in the health and fitness industry for over 13 years training and coaching clients from weight loss and body transformations to event preparation and injury rehab. In all my years of experience I never once believed that one size fits all. On the contrary, variety, purpose, context and all round wellbeing are all part of the set of ethics I apply when I programme for my clients no matter where and who they are.
My goal is for the The Lab to carry through these personal and professional ethics which I feel are quickly being lost in a sea of social media fitness trainers and self proclaimed experts.
Every year I find that the number of clients who come to me with injuries and misinformation on many fitness related topics is growing as quick as the industry itself. Such clients are often led to believe that transformations can happen overnight, that weight lifting is bad, that calorie deficit is a very complicated process and can easily be replaced by the latest fad diet.
Every client I meet and work with is different but it is likely we all share the same struggles. I have myself been through weight gain and weight loss. I have worked in an office environment and have suffered through shift-work life. I have experienced the intensity of countless marathon preparations and injuries. When I started my career as a Health and Fitness professional all I could think of was how can I best help and educate others to achieve a lifelong change in their overall wellbeing through physical fitness.
I know the journey firsthand and the struggles along the way and have passed my knowledge to my clients, learning with them through their personal journeys.
Izzy Raffy
I have spent over 15 years working within the challenging and stressful environment of tech start-ups, corporate and retail world. I know first hand the damaging effects it can have on mental, physical health and lifestyle not just on myself but also on the individuals within the teams I've led.
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You don't have to convince me how difficult it is to set the alarm for 4.30am so that I am able to hit the gym by 6.30am and be in the office in time for standup or morning meetings while also planning food, nutrition, and agonise over that one caramel biscuit that could trip my carefully 'prescribed' nutrition plan.
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When I started looking for ways to bring more balance into my life I struggled to find accessible and practical information on how best to achieve that. There is so much information out there and I have done my fair share of classes, personal training and retreats to experience enough that I am able to make informed judgement calls on what works for me and how I am able to share my experience and learning with others.
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In my quest for knowledge I also completed a Personal Trainer qualification and a boxing instructor training.
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But that’s MY story and these are some of my daily battles. Everyone is different and behaviour changes from home, to work to On the Go. It depends on how fast or slow you live your life.
I started The Lab so that I am able to help more people learn the tools they need to self help, build resilience, overcome, silence fitness fallacies and achieve a balance that is right for them.
Given that on average we spend circa 1,795 hours at work p/a, it is imperative that we pay attention to wellbeing at the workplace as well as outside in order to set up for a successful balanced life.
