JLife speaks to Mitchell Harris, founder of Linked Health Fitness, to discover how the team are bridging the gap between injury rehabilitation and personal training to help the community stay fit and injury-free.
During his time as a strength and conditioning coach with professional rugby league side Hunslet RLFC and as a player himself, Mitchell knows better than most how quickly injury can impact your physical and mental health. Founding a Leeds business with a uniquely combined focus on physio and fitness, Mitchell and his team work closely to provide a complete health solution: “Our physiotherapist Aimee Baldwin, who has helped athletes from the Leeds Rhinos to the Catalan Dragons, will diagnose and work through any injuries before handing you over to myself or my colleague Ieuan Fairclough, who will take you through the correct steps to strengthen the affected muscle groups.”
Armed with a first-class degree in Sports Performance, Mitchell has helped countless clients live pain-free during his eight year stint as
a personal trainer: “I’ve worked with people who have suffered back pain for 30 years and managed to repair it in a couple of hours. Often with an area of pain, all you have to do is loosen off the muscles in the right places and that tightness disappears. Many physios simply offer that short-term relief, only for the injury to reoccur later down the line. The differences with us, is that when you come in with a problem, we fix it for good. Only by understanding the root of the problem, can we help you to avoid the cycle of reinjury.”
The team offers a tailored analysis of an individual’s needs, and endeavours to provide long-lasting, surgery-free solutions: “It’s often
cheaper for the NHS to replace a knee than it is to give people the hours of care they need. A 60 year-old lady came to me in constant pain having been told she needed a knee replacement. But since working with us, she has returned to her consultant and told him she doesn’t want the knee replacement. In some cases, it’s about injury prevention as much as anything else, stopping issues from getting worse, with the hope of making it better. If someone has already undergone surgery, they must still strengthen that area, as there’s an underlying issue that needs to be resolved.”
Linked Health Fitness doesn’t just work with those who are injured. Through biomechanical analyses to bespoke meal plans supplied by
their in-house nutritionist, the team regularly helps top athletes seeking increased professional performance and those simply looking to improve their fitness and feel good about themselves.
“In the same way we target the muscle weaknesses surrounding an injury, we can do the same for sports performance. If you have a young
athlete who is not progressing, there may be biomechanical weaknesses that need to be improved, such as a requirement for stronger
hamstrings to be able to run faster, so they can quickly become better at their sport.”
Understanding everyone’s situation is unique, Mitchell tailors his support specifically to where clients need it most: “I’ve helped people rapidly achieve significant weight loss without having to perform excessive cardio because we’ve focused on muscle activation – and properly functioning muscles burn the most calories.”
Providing a one-to-one service in a relaxed, private environment, Linked Health Fitness offers the latest equipment in a COVID-secure safe space, minutes from the city centre.
“Our female clients will often talk about how comfortable they feel here compared to the testosterone-fuelled atmospheres of many gyms,
and we do our best to ensure everyone is made to feel confident tackling their fitness challenges.”
To book your appointment, call Mitchell on 07716 670 284 or visit www.linkedhealthfitness.co.uk