Ed JamesBBC Radio WM and
Tanya GuptaWest Midlands
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Matt Kendrick said the performer’s schedule was “insane”
Ed Sheeran’s personal trainer has told how the star used the machine-based fitness system Reformer Pilates to boost his health on tour.
Matt Kendrick, founder of West Midlands-based MK Health Hub, has worked with artists including Demi Lovato, Little Mix and Black Eyed Peas and is currently in New York on a worldwide tour with Ed Sheeran.
He said he got a call from the singer’s manager, asking him to work with Sheeran because the performer “really wanted to focus on his health and his wellness”.
The trainer said: “We met Ed in Dubai, end of Jan, and from there, it was literally India, China, all over the US, Europe – it’s been a real journey, it’s been an incredible experience.”
Mr Kendrick said: “I can genuinely, honestly, say he is one of the nicest people you could possibly meet.”
He also described the musician’s diary as “the most insane schedule I’ve ever seen in my life”, and revealed he had “perfect” timekeeping.
“I don’t know how he does it,” he said. “He’s superhuman. Literally from the start of the day to the end of the day, there is no stop.”
Reformer Pilates uses a bed-like machine, spring-loaded for resistance, that includes a sliding carriage, straps, bars and pulleys.
Mr Kendrick took a foldable machine with him while he toured with the Shape of You singer.
Handout
Matt Kendrick does Dynamic Pilates, a faster version of the fitness system
For anyone who wanted to follow Sheeran’s example, Mr Kendrick said it was important to start with “small, simple changes”, adding: “Tiny little improvements will make a difference over time.”
His advice to a healthy person is to eat well, move and be disciplined 80% of the time and for the other 20% “do whatever the hell you like”.
After working as a fitness instructor, Mr Kendrick started MK Health Hub in Birmingham and Solihull with his wife in 2001.
The pair focused on Dynamic Pilates, which is a faster version of Reformer Pilates, and they also have studios across Birmingham and in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire.