ABSOLUTE HEALTH & FITNESS

Published on 1st January 2025
Absolute Health and Fitness has moved from the Knepp Estate in West Grinstead to a new home at Horsham Sports Club in Cricket Field Road. Here, owner Stuart Wilkinson talks about his passion for personal training and how he has created a friendly, welcoming atmosphere at the gym…
STARTING OUT
I qualified as a personal trainer and sports massage therapist 25 years ago, but since then, PT has been my sole passion as I love helping people to get fit and healthy. I spent a decade as a trainer at Cottesmore Golf & Country Club before establishing my own business, Absolute Health and Fitness. For five years, I hired the gym at South Lodge Hotel, steadily growing the number of regular clients. However, when the hotel developed the Botanica Spa, I needed to find a new home.
The business moved to a small yet comfortable barn on the Knepp Estate. It wasn’t always plain sailing, as we had to survive the pandemic and sometimes new clients struggled to locate us, occasionally finding themselves avoiding herds of deer near the castle! But I have many happy memories from Knepp, as my eldest son was born during that time and grew up enjoying the countryside around us. However, the time came when I considered other options and it was then that I came across Horsham Sports Club.
I knew that there used to be a gym based at the Sports Club, but the space it occupied was no longer being utilised. It was the perfect size for Absolute, with an amazing view, looking out across the cricket field and beyond to Denne Hill, where I used to run cross-country as a pupil at Tanbridge House School. I grew up nearby and used to wave at trains from the railway bridge behind the sports field. Now, I take my own children to the bridge for the same reason, so it feels like the ideal location.
Everyone loves the view and it takes away the pain of exercising. During the summer, clients have occasionally walked into gym equipment while engrossed in a cricket match! Even when there’s no sport on, it’s nice just to look out at green space or watch the trains fly past, rather than staring out to traffic or an industrial estate. Many people don’t realise just how close we are to town either, but it’s only a five-minute walk from the Carfax, with free parking for gym users too.

FRIENDLY FEEL
As well as personal training, we run group sessions at times that suit modern lifestyles, from 6:30am to 7pm, with sessions held every day apart from Sundays. Group sessions are limited to eight people and the impact can be powerful, as groups include a range of abilities. There’s a friendly, community feel to the gym, with no egos or undercurrents of competition.
A gym should never be scary, yet some can feel like walking into a locals-only pub, where everyone stops to stare. At Absolute Health and Fitness, everyone feels welcome and we have friendly groups that take people under their wing. Starting at a new gym will always have the feeling of a first day of school, but we try to make it less daunting and nobody will be judging you on how you look or what you wear.
Sessions include cardiovascular work, strength and conditioning, toning exercises, core work and general fitness. In the group sessions, people move around, working individually or in pairs. We might split a session into two groups, with one focusing on lower body work and the other on upper body exercises, before swapping around. There might be gentle elements of competitiveness, if for example we set groups a collective target to achieve on a treadmill or exercise bike, but the focus is always on encouragement and teamwork. In the summer, we hope to introduce outdoor exercises too, taking advantage of the sport club’s setting.
On the personal training side, we offer three, six and 12-month packages, so there’s flexibility. We tailor sessions to each individual, so that they can progress and achieve their goals, taking into account any injuries or limitations to help them train safely. If you want to be able to run 5km, you may only need a three-month package, whereas someone who wants to lose five-stone may need longer. We use these different timeframes to engineer a programme that suits the individual and set achievable targets.

PLAY TIME
We have a range of state-of-the-art cardiovascular machines, as well as weights and other functional equipment. This includes a traditional treadmill and a curved treadmill, which is self-powered and has less impact on the knees. The gym also has a recumbent bike, which has a backrest and positions the user lower to the ground, which works the upper legs harder, as well as a pair of Concept2 exercise bikes.
Cross-trainers offer a full-body workout, so are great for general fitness. We also have two Concept2 rowing machines and two SkiErg machines, which imitate movements skiers use to propel themselves down the slopes. We also have a cable machine that can be used for a wide range of workouts. Our functional exercise equipment includes medicine balls, steps and dumbbells.
In my opinion, there are people who ‘play’ at exercise and go to the gym just so they can post a picture on Instagram. That is not what we’re about. All our group sessions are coached, whether that’s me or Henry Stell, another experienced personal trainer. So, there’s always an instructor around to help. Sometimes people join a gym but they’re not shown how to use the equipment properly and don’t know what to do. Typically, they will not progress with their fitness and will soon stop going to the gym at all.
I have had opportunities to take on management roles at hotels or country clubs in the past, but always turned them down as training people is what I love doing. I wouldn’t want to step away from that to work behind a desk, as I still love running and keeping fit myself, having competed in many ultra marathons, with several more planned for 2025. When somebody achieves their goal and tells me that they wish they’d done it years ago, I still feel the same sense of satisfaction and fulfilment that I experienced when I first qualified as a personal trainer all those years ago.
WORDS: Ben Morris / PHOTOS: Alan Wright
urther information: Visit Absolute Gym at Horsham Sports Club, Cricket Field Rd, RH12 1TE.
For details about sessions and to contact Stuart, visit the website at www.absolutehealthandfitness.co.uk