LAURENT BIDARI

How did you participate in health/wellness and personal training activities?
I’ve been passionate about sports since I was a kid. It immediately gave me satisfaction, well-being, and pleasure. I have played many sports such as basketball, judo, football, table tennis, handball, athletics, tennis, running … So I naturally wanted to live off my passion. So I got very quickly after my science degree, passed my first state degree in sports. Then I followed, over the years, several formations: physical preparation, athletics, Pilates, yoga, Gasquet method, aromatherapy, bio-energy ( martial art ), yoga therapy. Personal One-to-one personal training is a privileged relationship that suits me to accompany, transmit my know-how, in a personalized way, to successfully achieve a defined objective with my client.

Can you tell us about some of the celebrities you’ve worked with and who is the most difficult?
Yes, I can for some movie celebrities where my name is on the film credits while others particularly from the business and luxury world, I cannot because of non-disclosure contracts.

For example, with the actor Gilles Lellouche, who has become one of the greatest French actors and directors, I coached him for three months to prepare for the film “Close Range”. It is an action movie with many chase scenes that had to be done during the actual shooting to escape from killers. So without pretending, you had to run very fast to escape! Without specific preparation of sprint and resistance to achieve these scenes, he would not have been able to withstand the days of physically challenging shoots.

Another example, with Mélanie Doutey, one of the top French actresses. I coached her for several months, with nutrition tips, for a physical transformation for her role in the film RTT, where she played a high-flying thief, able to fight, climb and so on. The three months of coaching helped her to develop her physical abilities, draw herself, body and athletic attitude, tonic to be in the role of the character.

The most difficult task is to determine the right pressure to put at the start of the coaching to encourage the person to pass through the effort, without discouraging her; and encourage her to go above and beyond for her own good with a view of the final objective. It is a work of listening and being in a good relationship with her to move forward together in the same direction.

What type of exercises or activities would you recommend to a busy traveller who wants to maintain good physical fitness?
I firstly recommend exercises to oxygenate and activate the circulatory system and to relieve any potential fatigue due to travel where the body remains inactive and loses its vitality. It can be brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, and so on. And then do some exercises in the form of mobility workouts and stretching, such as yoga or Pilates.

How can we ensure that a child is getting enough exercise?
Generally, a child has more potential energy than an adult, but everyone is different. Thus, it is of great importance to be observant to determine when to stop training.

Can we eat what we want and still be in shape?
No, not really! Sooner or later, even if you feel fit, an unhealthy diet will have a negative impact on the person's fitness.

What is your main rule when it comes to food?
Eat everything in small quantities to provide the body with all the nutrients it needs to function properly.

How do you advise your clients on diet?
Based on my client's eating habits, I challenge them to make improvements that they can achieve. Now if the major goal is weight loss, then I suggest he or she work with a nutritionist at the same time to optimise his/her management.

What is a perfect menu to stay healthy?
We are all different, but the more we eat natural, unprocessed products - ideally organic such as vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat as opposed to industrial-prepared meals with lots of additives, the healthier it will be.

How to choose exercises for different age groups?
Age has an impact, for sure but I see older clients in better shape than some younger clients. So there is no set rule; it is through assessment and observation that I determine the type of exercises that are interesting for my client, in order to help them safely improve.

When the summer months becomes extremely hot, many people prefer to stay indoors to keep away from the heat. Can you share some of your best tips for keeping your mind and body energized during this time?
Yes, it's true that hot weather is harmful, but that doesn't mean you can't work out nor stop you from going to the gym, going to the pool, or working out at home. In fact, for me, there is no excuse for not doing good exercises when we know that it is vital for the body and the mind.

Are there any activities that come to mind that are particularly unhealthy in this kind of heat that would be better avoided?
Yes, avoid prolonged exposure to high heat..., and any physical activity that could lead to dehydration or exhaustion.

How do you guide women to engage in physical activity?
I motivate and guide them on which activities after an assessment and an interview. It is very important to find the physical activity which they could also enjoy and get satisfaction. Otherwise, it is a constraint, and therefore it will not go very far!

What are the health benefits of sport for older women, and what motivates women to become active at all stages of their life?
With age, muscle mass and strength can decrease by 40% to 50% depending on the individual. Shortness of breath, weight gain is not uncommon and balance is more difficult to maintain. When balance becomes more and more fragile. Remaining inactive represents danger from a certain age. It is a fact that sport, practised gently is a very good therapy. Thus, sports activity allows to decrease the risk of falls, reduce the risk of obesity, reduce stress and prevent heart disease, contribute to lowering cholesterol and fight against cholesterol, fight against osteoporosis, improve the immune system, maintain the muscles, decrease the risk of depression. So what are you waiting for? Start now!

What is your favourite type of personal training?
I like to do a lot of different things, mainly running and strength training. And right now, I play a lot of tennis for fun.

What do you think is the main reason why people fail to achieve their fitness/loss goals?
Usually, they start out with good intentions. But on their own, it's very difficult to motivate themselves, to know what to do to discipline themselves over time. That's why most of them don't go all the way. It's a real job, so with coaching, they can more easily maintain consistency, one of the keys to success..

How do you keep your fitness knowledge up to date?
As someone who is passionate about sports and coaching, I stay connected to all the trends that come on the market through trade shows and professional networks around fitness. I am constantly learning. It is a real pleasure to discover, and evolve for more understanding and applications.

Why is it important for people to stay fit... and how can we overcome procrastination and fear of working on a regular basis?
Staying fit gives us freedom of action in all areas of life! Our bodies are made to move. If we want to feel good, operational and healthy, we must give the body what it needs to survive and to make a physical activity becomes a duty to bring energy to it. Some of my clients have acquired all the basics and now know how to train on their own. But they keep me as their coach so they don't fall into procrastination. They make appointments so they don't have any excuses for not doing their training because they have experienced and know the benefits of this regularity.

What are the best exercises to burn fat at home?
It's not easy to do this at home. But you can do cross-training (a series of exercises in the form of circuits) with body weight. This allows you to work the cardio and the muscles at the same time. It is quite intense but a very effective fat burner.

How can we make sure that each person's training is truly personalized?
Each person is different, so even if there is a common base, each exercise is adapted to the morphology of the person in respect to individual bio-mechanics. Their efforts are personalized to have the best possible performance, according to the objective.

What is your perspective on technology and fitness?
Technology is there to help the coach, not to replace him. For example.., a heart rate monitor that measures heart rate during exercise is a useful indicator to modulate your effort when you start this type of training. It is a technology that will assist the coach. On the contrary, when I see, for example, group classes with a virtual teacher, who executes training a class like a robot course, you can see the limit because there is no supervision.., no corrections. Therefore, for me, technology itself does not serve as real coaching. Supervised coaching does.

What types of exercises are appropriate for certain age groups like 20 / 30 / 40 / 50
As I mentioned above, age is an indicator but not enough to say which exercise! You have to see the person, test them, make an assessment, and depending on their current abilities, we can give them the exercises that are suitable for them. In any case, the exercises must be one that the person can do without hurting themselves and that they can be aware of their progress.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I see myself in another country, having created my own training on my method to share and making it useful to others.