I'm Emma and I've been training with Paul for two years.

Originally I started lifting three years ago because I was a manual labourer so I wanted to get stronger to make my job easier. In April 2016 I decided I was going to start training powerlifting-style so I went in search of a club. That’s how I found the Temple Powerlifting Club and how I met Paul.
My first competition was back in November 2016. I’ve competed several times since and had some success - English National Champion 2017 as an u47kg and winner of four commonwealth silver medals in South Africa, in September 2017. It sounds a little daunting – first competition to competing internationally within a year but with the support of Paul I’ve never felt in over-my-head or afraid of the weights. Paul has a calming presence and is very attuned to how I am feeling (even though most would say I’m a hard read) so knows when I’m not feeling up to it. If I am going to push my limits I make sure that it’s in a session with Paul because I trust him fully and know he wouldn’t let me do anything I couldn’t do. When i train with him I’m confident in myself and my abilities and safe in the knowledge that if I were to fail I could do so safely and that we could discuss why and try again with a new approach.
The past year hasn’t been all plain sailing. I’ve had a few problems – one of which was very tight hips, especially on my left side which was causing me pain. When I told Paul about it he volunteered to help me with a hip mobility session (part 1,part 2, part 3), I continue to do some of the mobility work to this day and haven’t had any problems with my hips since. I’ve also been diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid disease. Again, when I let Paul know he jumped straight in with offers of help. He got someone to look over my nutrition with me to and made sure to keep checking in to see if there were any updates. This is one of many reasons that Paul is a great coach – he genuinely cares about you as a person and not just about your results.

Paul is a very humble man. If you were to ask Paul if he though he were a great coach he’d probably say no (so it's a good thing he's got these testimonials to speak for him!) but if you were to ask his athletes and those in the powerlifting world they’d all be in agreement that he one of the best. He respects others approach to things and is always willing to learn from them. He’s always quick to respond to my (endless) questions and open for discussion if you need clarification or if you disagree with him. Although full of knowledge Paul is always looking to learn more, he speaks to lots of different people, attends courses and stays up to date with the latest research, and tries out new approaches on his athletes. As Powerlifting evolves as a sport Paul evolves as a coach – not stuck in his ways, his approach is flexible and ever adapting.
I can list a million more attributes of Paul but I think that you only have to look at those who train with him to see what a great coach he is. It’s a testament to Paul as a person that such great people all put their faith in him. He has single-handedly created a community of lifters that are some of the most knowledgeable, supportive, genuine, and strong people that I have ever known and I am very lucky to have such great people in my life. Powerlifting and training with Paul have greatly enriched my life and I'm sure they'd do they same for you.