Real World Fitness

30/10/2025

Training Your Glutes (including a FREE glute-training programme)

Glute training has become a social-media craze. Every week there’s a new “booty-band” challenge or influencer-led programme promising miracle growth. Predictably, you can probably tell at RWF we don’t go for fads and passing trends.

At Real World Fitness in Nottingham, we’re not here for gimmicks.
We care about strong, well-functioning glutes — the muscles that drive your squat, deadlift, running stride and hip stability. They’ll also change the way your clothes fit.

Why Glute Training Matters

Performance. The glutes are the prime hip extensors — crucial for sprinting, jumping, climbing stairs and shifting decent weight.

Spine & hip health. Strong glutes support the lower back and keep the pelvis stable. Weak glutes often show up as knee or back niggles.

Balance for lower-body lifts. If the glutes lag behind, your quads and hamstrings take the brunt, which is a recipe for aches and strength plateaus.

Shape & aesthetics. They fill out shorts and leggings naturally when trained with compound lifts and progressive overload.

Do the Big Work First

Mini-bands, cable kickbacks and adductor/abductor machines have their place for warm-ups, but nothing beats big loaded hip-extension moves:

Barbell Hip-Thrust / Glute-Bridge – the easiest way to pretty much isolate the glutes. We have an excellent Titan hip thrust machine here at RWF.

Back Squat – a great glute builder when you hit proper depth

Front Squat or Safety-Bar Squat – same as above, but just loads you differently and changes focus slightly around the hips.

Deadlift (conventional or trap-bar) – done properly, forces growth in posterior-chain strength

Bulgarian Split Squat / Rear-Foot-Elevated Split Squat – single-leg glute building; and quads are hit hard!

Step-Ups / Deficit Step-Ups – brilliant for athletes, hikers and climbers that rely on strength through the entire range of motion

Click below and read our full article, including a FREE glute training programme:

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/training-your-glutes-in-nottingham-real-strength-hip-health-and-shape/

27/10/2025

Training for Under 16s at RWF.

We’ve always aimed to make strength training accessible, safe, and properly guided for everyone. While our core membership is adult-focused, we know there are plenty of younger people who want to learn how to train properly, build confidence, and develop healthy habits early on.

That’s why we allow under-16s to train at RWF, under specific conditions that keep things structured, safe, and stay true to what makes our gym different.

Read more about how we make this work, and how you and your child can start training, here:

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/under-16s-gym-training-in-nottingham-real-world-fitness/

22/10/2025

Caroline doesn't really look like this.

My "anonymous editing" skills on IG do, however. Not everyone wants to be insta-famous, hence the scribbles.

That aside, here are some nice words about RWF and me!

"As a 61 year-old woman who has always loved being active—open water swimming, hiking, cycling, and yoga—it was incredibly frustrating to feel held back by persistent back and shoulder injuries.

For years, any attempt at exercise would cause flare-ups, leaving me discouraged and unsure if I could return to the activities I loved.

Working with Derran at RWF has been truly transformative.

Unlike previous personal trainers I’ve worked with, he took the time to understand my body, tailor a programme to my specific needs, and gradually rebuild my strength and confidence.

I can now swim long distances, enjoy long walks, and stay active for much longer than before—all without pain. My cardio fitness has noticeably improved too"

__________________________________________________

If you'd like similar results, pop us a message. This stuff is our profession, and our passion. Get involved with RWF.

🚫 Capped membership = no overcrowding
🕛 24/7 access for members
💪 Gym Membership – £45/month
👤 Personal Training – from £45/session
💆 Sports Massage – from £45/treatment
🅿️ Free on-site parking
❄️ Fully air-conditioned
🚿 Showers & changing rooms
🌐 Free Wi-Fi & workspace area
🤝 Always seeking great PTs – get in touch!

👉 Message us today to get started!

14/10/2025

At Real World Fitness Gym in Nottingham, we’re proud to be a drug free gym.

Our gym members and personal training clients train hard, eat well, and build their strength naturally, without shortcuts or performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

We know that the fitness world can feel divided on this topic. Some athletes make their own choices to use anabolic steroids or other PEDs, often for competitive or aesthetic reasons. We respect that personal choice, but our gym is not the place for it.

I built RWF to be a safe, welcoming space for everyone, from beginners who’ve never picked up a barbell to seasoned lifters chasing their next personal best.

I wanted this gym to be a place I was happy for my daughter to grow up in. PED use doesn’t fit that mission for a few important reasons, which we explain in detail here:

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/drug-free-gym-in-nottingham-real-world-fitness/

06/10/2025

At Real World Fitness Gym in Nottingham, we’re proud to be a drug free gym.

Our gym members and personal training clients train hard, eat well, and build their strength naturally, without shortcuts or performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

We know that the fitness world can feel divided on this topic.

Some athletes make their own choices to use anabolic steroids or other PEDs, often for competitive or aesthetic reasons.

We respect that personal choice, but our gym is not the place for it. You can find out more about our stance here:

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/drug-free-gym-in-nottingham-real-world-fitness/

02/10/2025

Don't know where to begin with getting stronger?

We've got you covered with our new Strength Kickstart programme.

Over 8 weeks you'll learn everything to do with barbells, dumbbells and squat racks. You'll learn how to lift safely, how to progress and how to plan your training.

Including 16 one-to-one personal training sessions, and two months gym membership included, you can't help but succeed - and hopefully we'll get you started with a bunch of new habits well before the festive season gets under way.

Want in?

Check the details here:

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/strengthtrainingforbeginnersnottingham/

01/10/2025

01/10/2025

It's unlikely there's many gym goers that don't want bigger, or at least better defined, arms.

Biceps are a big part of that.

Here's some tips for training them for performance, strength AND aesthetics 💪💪💪

_________________________________________________

🚫 Capped membership = no overcrowding
🕛 24/7 access for members
💪 Gym Membership – £45/month
👤 Personal Training – from £45/session
💆 Sports Massage – from £45/treatment
🅿️ Free on-site parking
❄️ Fully air-conditioned
🚿 Showers & changing rooms
🌐 Free Wi-Fi & workspace area
🤝 Always seeking great PTs – get in touch!

👉 Message us today to get started!

29/09/2025

Squatting - why the box?

Hopefully you notice that some of these clients use the box, some don't.

It depends on their circumstances, goals and current abilities.

Sometimes you'll use a box as a depth guide, to make sure that every squat is to the exact depth. The box is merely there for some sensory feedback - tap it gently and head back up. For some clients, especially ones who have zero need to ever compete, it's a perfect, almost zero risk, way to get confident enough to squat big weights with excellent form.

Sometimes it's about actual box squats. Killing the momentum in the hole so that the "up" has to be generated with zero muscle/joint bounce. It's way harder than a normal squat. Used properly, it'll train a lifter to be able to shift bigger weights when they are allowed to "bounce" out of the bottom position again.

Sometimes it's just all about what works to get a client squatting. A movement that can be terrifying for gym newbies. Putting a weight on your back and pretending to sit down into thin air? Why would a 40yr old never been to a gym before NOT be terrified? The box gives confidence to at least try and know you won't end up in a heap with a barbell wrapped around your head.

Anyway. Long story short: we don't believe in just making a client's body fit the way WE train, or WE think is optimal. It's whatever gets them moving, doing the stuff that will be most beneficial for them.

Of course, it helps that we know what we're doing! If you'd like some expert coaching that's actually about you, and not just the last programme that got pulled off the shelf, come and have a chat - or pop us a DM

_____________________________________________

🚫 No overcrowding – capped membership
💪 Train your way: Gym, PT or Massage (from £45)
🕛 Open 24/7 for members
🅿️ Free on-site parking
🌐 Wi-Fi & workspaces for members
❄️ Fully air-conditioned
🚿 Showers & changing rooms
👤 PT not required to join – and you don’t need membership to PT!
🤝 We’re always looking for top trainers

👉 Join Nottingham’s most welcoming gym today

29/09/2025

Triceps last time, but let's be honest - everyone's more interested in biceps. Ask most people about training their biceps and they’ll say ‘curls’.

That’s definitely a big part of it, but if you want useful arms that pull hard, protect the elbows and look the part, you need more than endless cables.

At Real World Fitness in Nottingham, we build biceps on a foundation of big pulls first, then intelligent assistance work. That’s how you get arms that help your rows, deadlifts and pull-strength and not just a temporary pump.

Pulling strength. Biceps support your grip and upper-back work on rows, pull-ups and deadlifts.

Elbow health. Balanced biceps and forearm strength helps manage tendon stress from pressing and gripping, and can help keep away things like golfers and tennis elbow.

Size and shape. Well-trained biceps (and brachialis) add the “peak” and arm thickness people actually notice.

Carry-over. Strong biceps improve athletic pulling and make using lifting straps less of a crutch.

Want a free programme and some more tips/finishers etc?

Hit the link :)

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/biceps-training-in-nottingham/

27/09/2025

Most people only think about training their triceps when they want bigger-looking arms. Your triceps make up around two-thirds of your upper-arm size, so if you’re after filling out a T-shirt sleeve, training them is pretty much essential.

But at Real World Fitness in Nottingham, we care just as much about what your arms DO as how they look.

Your triceps are the engine behind your pressing strength: they finish the lock-out in bench presses, push-ups, dips, overhead presses and even the close-grip work you do for powerlifting or sports performance.

If you neglect them, you’ll hit plateaus on your bench, struggle to progress with pressing overhead, and often end up with niggly elbows or shoulders.

Click the link for a full programme, some finishers to tack on the end of any other training day, and some more general tips and tricks to help grow and strengthen your triceps...

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/training-your-triceps/

26/09/2025

Over years of training clients at Real World Fitness Gym in Nottingham, and answering questions via email and forums, I’ve nailed it down to one truth: consistency is the defining factor between those who succeed and those who don’t.

I’ve never met someone who made true progress training in the gym just once a week. Yes, there are clients who only see me weekly, but from day one I make it crystal clear: if you only train when I’m present, you won’t move the needle forward. I can immediately tell who’s put effort in throughout the week and who hasn’t.

Many people tell me they’ve been ‘training on and off’ in the gym for years. Here’s the blunt truth: if your approach is two months on, one month off, repeat — you may as well not bother. That stop-start mentality undermines your body, your mind, and your momentum. If you’re cycling through short bursts of effort interrupted by long breaks, you’ll rarely (if ever) see lasting change.

In fact, this pattern often harms more than helps — especially psychologically. Every time you ‘fail’ for the umpteenth time, you reinforce the idea that you can’t stick to anything.

Read a little more here:

https://www.realworldfitness.co.uk/gym-consistency-is-king/