How about this for a new Liberte Fitness exercise?

Imagine if Liberte Fitness had existed back in the 1950s.

Alas, Papillon's grandparents never thought of it way back when, but if had existed, perhaps it would have looked something like this.

This picture recently emerged from my family's archive (sounds a bit glamorous that - in reality it's from my grandad's photo album that he keeps in a draw next to his stash of peanuts and just in front of his collection of 50 pence pieces).

The picture shows my grandad's brother Richard, or Dickie as he was known, strutting his stuff at Barking Fire Station in the late 1950s.

Can you see the family resemblance? Apparently he used to put on shows like this during downtime a t the station where he was stations as a fireman.

Don't you just love that he felt the need to take his to off while everyone around him just seemed to want to spark up a fag - and that's not to mention the men who just want to look up the woman's skirt!

Maybe we should give it a whirl at Liberte - we just need a volunteer to be lifted up like a dumb bell.

Liberte scoops two awards at Velvet Magazine award

They did it!
Premier outdoor training company Liberte Fitness are celebrating scooping two gongs at last night’s annual Velvet Magazine awards, held at Wooddittion, near Newmarket.
Liberte beat off the fierce competition from boot camps and gym-based companies to take the Best For Diet and Fitness Award.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the company, which was founded in 2009, then went one better by taking the coveted First For Customer Service award in which they topped the voting of more than 180 companies across Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
That was the cue for a night of celebration for Liberte founder Papillon Luck, head trainer Gareth Thomas and Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket members.
An overjoyed Papillon was thrilled with the wins that means her award-winning company has been recognised as East Anglia’s best fitness company – and the best in the region for customer service.
She said: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I was obviously hoping we would win but didn’t want to get too excited in case it didn’t happen. But when I heard that Liberte had won, it was such a good feeling.
“When I think back to when I had the initial idea and compare that to now, it really has been a fantastic journey.
“Winning the Diet and Fitness award is amazing, but the Customer Service award probably means slightly more. To be recognised as providing the best customer care is really important to us and the fact that we’ve been singled out in front of so many of our brilliant members is just the icing on the low fat cake!”
As well as celebrating with a glass of bubbly, Papillon wowed the audience with what else but a perfectly executed trademark Liberte exercise. Yes, she actually did a burpee in her cocktail dress!

Can Liberte Fitness scoop their first award on Friday night?

Liberte Fitness has been up and running for two years and this Friday night they could be celebrating winning their first award.

Liberte have been nominated twice in the Velvet Magazine 2011 awards which will be announced in Newmarket on Friday.

Up for Best Health and Fitness company and Best Customer Service, the awards, which are being voted for by the general public, the award would be the icing on the low fat cake for Papillon and Gareth's hard work.

Watch this space for news on how Liberte gets on.

How Liberte have the edge when it comes to customer service

When Bury Liberatrian Nikki-Bosely Temple slipped and sprained her ankle in July, she couldn't have been in better hands.
A month since the incident in Nowton Park which ended her Saturday morning session after 10 minutes, Nikki is fully recovered, thanks in part to the swift treatment she received from trainer Gareth Thomas.
After the routine warm up, Gareth moved the class to the benches for the start of a gruelling circuit of exercises which involved step-ups on the seat of the picnic benches.
But within seconds Nikki was on the floor in agony after going over on her ankle and flaring up an old injury.
She said: “I’d done the ankle before but as I went to step down from the bench I felt something go. I fell to the floor in pain, but it was fortunate that Papillon and Gareth were on hand to help me.
“Within a minute, Gareth had handed control of the session to Paps and he was comforting me on the bench. He quickly diagnosed the problem and I had a compress on the ankle within a couple of minutes.”
The care didn’t stop there as Nikki was carried to the Liberte Land Rover and driven straight to the casualty ward so the ankle could be checked. Fortunately it was just a sprain and Nikki was back in action within a week.
Liberte Fitness founder Papillon Luck said: “We would never let anyone just go off on their own after being injured like that. Taking Nikki to the hospital was a no-brainer. We want to make sure our members are looked after from the minute they set foot in the car park to the minute they leave the car park."
The Liberte customer service story doesn’t stop there. In the last year there have been numerous times when people have taken knocks and blows and the Liberte first aid kit has been whipped out. Gareth has even gone to the aid of a footballer who broke his leg in Nowton Park.
Papillon said: “Customer service is so important to us and it extends to wanting to socialise with our members. We don’t just want to take their money and give them an hour of our time. In the last year or so I’ve made some great friends through Liberte and we all regularly socialise. It’s one thing to meet all these lovely people, but to now count them as friends perhaps shows just what an impression they have made on me.
If you’ve been impressed by Liberte’s customer service then you can vote for the company to win a Velvet Award this weekend. The company has been nominated in the Fitness category and the Customer Service category.
Click the link here to vote.

Ed and Nikki are feeling oh so Wright - thanks to Liberte Fitness

Liberte Fitness has been up and running in Newmarket for three months this week and everyone who works out at the Severals is getting much fitter.
None more so than Liberte's favorite couple from the far West of Suffolk, Ed and Nikki Wright.
They were there back on May 3 when the Liberte flag was first sunk into the Newmarket turf and in the quarter of a year since, have both seen their health receive a real Liberte-enhanced boost.
Nikki, 40, said that her and Ed, 46, (pictured) have both changed their diets as a result of starting Liberte and are both feeling physcially and mentally happier.
She said: "We found the first session back in May a killer (that's Ed and Nikki working out with Papillon as Gareth watches on in the picture) Ed ached for days afterwards and I was just amazed at how unfit we both were, but we knew we had to carry on to start seeing results
"We love the sessions even more now! They aren't getting any easier as Papillon keeps adding new things to push ourselves even further, but we have noticed we are certainly becoming fitter as our recovery periods are getting quicker."
The pair took their love of training at the Severals up to the North Norfolk coast last month when they both took part in the beach weekend. It proved a valuable lesson in terms of diet and they've used that weekend as the springboard for a new healthier lifestyle.
Nikki said: "Since the Holkham Beach Weekend and Gareth's talk about food and diet and where I was going wrong (eating devil food!) we have changed what we eat and how we eat. We noticed differences within a week to the extent that Ed has had to go to the next notch on his belt to keep his work trousers up! We both feel so much healthier, not just physically, but mentally too."
As well as getting something back from the sessions by losing weight, Nikki loves the fact that Ed and herself can workout together as well as being part of a team.
"They're a good group," she said. "Not just in Newmarket but in Bury too which we've seen from the Saturday morning sessions and it was great to meet some of the Norwich crew and new people on the beach weekend. We all encourge each other and Paps and Gareth are a mine of information, they also make you feel that they are also your friends and that means alot today where customer service just doesn't seem to matter anymore. Although, we don't feel like customers any more, we feel like part of a team., so big, big praise for Liberte."

Getting hot and sweaty after a day in the office

August 1st meant a new job for me to start today and it was back in the office after around a year of working from home.
So Liberte Fitness has taken on a whole new world – I now have spend my pre-workout times hot-footing it from the office, changing in the toilets and then having the best hour of the day in the park with my good friends.
Working back in an office, the one thing I notice is just how much crap everyone eats. Sure there’s the office fatty who sits in the corner with his spare tyres for company – but the average person, my average colleague, seems to tuck into crisps and chocolate all day long.
And it's not just that - my boss was seemingly keen to ensure I soon became as unhealthy as possible within ten minutes of starting.
On my tour around the office I was shown where I could go if I needed a fag, the drinks machine that would serve me a Coke for 80p and the chocolate machine that would give me a quick fix of Cadbury's finest.
By this point I did feel slightly insulted - I mean, could they not see that I was a lean, clean Liberte machine?
It did make me proud to say I had to dash just before six as I had to go and workout in the park. While everyone else was probably heading down the pub to waste money on alcohol and increase their waistlines, I had a great hour session with Gareth and 12 pals and it felt better than ever.
Sitting at a desk all day makes you yearn for just one thing – the sun, the camaraderie and the burpees.
So for anyone who goes to Liberte after putting in a day at the office, I now know what it’s like and I salute you.
I just may need to warn my new colleagues that I may do a couple of deltoid press ups next time I’m standing by the photocopier!