I started training with Matthew in December 2009 with the aim to do better in endurance sports, specifically triathlon races. I have been participating in endurance races like marathons and triathlons since 2004. After years of participation, race completion is not the main issue, but the challenge is to gain speed and achieve better timings. As an avid triathlete himself and representing Singapore in international triathlon races previously, I was very assured that Matthew would be equipped with all the experience, knowledge and skills to help bring my endurance racing experience to the next level.

Matthew has the innate ability to identify strengths and weakness of his clients. His meticulous training plans ensure that I am well prepared for races I’ve signed up for. Not only is he knowledgeable in the physical aspects of endurance racing, he is also very well versed in the psyche of an endurance athlete. In my time training with him, I find myself becoming more focussed and confident in races.

Triathlon is a sport that requires an individual to devote much time and effort on trainings. Matthew’s dedication in training his clients is best reflected in his training sessions that start as early as 530am on weekdays and even earlier on weekends. He also goes the extra mile to help in making sure that I race with the best and most efficient equipment in triathlon races and is selfless in spending his own private time to help set up my racing bicycle. He is most up-to-date and current on the latest race specific gadgets and is generous in sharing this knowledge.

In my time training with Matthew, I have experienced tremendous improvement in my race timings and very confident that he can help bring me to an even higher level in terms of performance. In October 2011, I was able to achieve 13th position as an individual in the 50km duo category of The North Face run and this is despite suffering from a foot injury a few weeks before race day. This amazing feat was made possible by his knowledge on rehabilitation and muscle release and his strong assurances and encouragement.

And in December 2011, I achieved my Personal Best (PB) for the Standard Charted Marathon 21km category at 1:52 which was 6 mins faster than my previous PB at the Sundown Marathon barely just six months ago.

His vast knowledge and meticulous nutrition planning during the race was a major factor in helping to achieve the PB timing.

I highly recommend Matthew to people who have the desire to perform better in races or who simply want to keep fit whilst doing endurance races.

I had attributed the pain in my knees and upper back as part of getting old. I had given up my casual running, become resigned to the fact that my deteriorating flexibility and high cholesterol were here to stay.

When I first met Matthew I had very modest fitness goals. I wanted to stop my decline in flexibility and to get back in to shape (since I could no longer run) to see if I could gain control my cholesterol. As I worked with Matthew and he began to learn my real problems, we tackled them one by one. I learned that much of my ailments were a result of sitting at a desk all day long. He worked on my balance, strength and flexibility with all kinds of crazy and creative exercises. As the pain subsided and my strength returned I was able to start running again. I gained so much confidence in my fitness level that we began training for a marathon. Saturday morning workouts began at 5 am. They were very challenging but having a fitness goal made all the difference. We ran up and down Mt Faber, along ECP, Singapore Zoo and MacRitchie Reservoir. Matthew always kept it new and interesting. He also has excellent knowledge of equipment and nutrition. Last year I finished both the Sundowner and the Standard Chartered.

Another benefit of my improved physical conditioning was my Cholesterol. Having been on Cholesterol medication since my late 20’s I had given up hope on getting it into the “normal range”. I had always been a healthy eater and never been really overweight. My elevated levels have always been attributed to bad genes. With Matthew’s training I achieved a level of fitness that I never had before and although I am still on medication, I have been able to get my cholesterol into a “normal range”.

I have now been training with Matthew since 2009. I continue to learn and enjoy the training. The team of personal trainers are dedicated to educate themselves and their clients in pursing their fitness goals and I highly recommend them to anyone. 

Prior to training with Matthew, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I might not ever run again. I have had a long standing problem with my right knee and after going through periods of activity followed by pain and swelling in the knee for almost 8 years, I finally succumbed to going for my first knee surgery in June 2008. I had a tear in my right lateral meniscus and part of the meniscus had to be removed. After surgery I was back to limited activity and again struggling with swelling and pain after my very short runs. In December 2008, just 6 months after my first surgery, I had my second. This time for persistent pain and swelling that would not go away with rest or medication. I was told that the cartilage in my knee was very badly worn down and that I had “50 year old knees”. My orthopaedic surgeon suggested that I should give up running and join them on the golf course instead.

I did not think I was quite ready to give up just yet. After the surgery I was back to a workout regime consisting largely of resistance training and stability work. I was able to slowly get back to running intermittently on the treadmill but not outdoors as the unevenness of the roads would result in pain and swelling after. In January 2010 I sprained my right ankle, so that put all running to a grinding halt. Despite rest and continuous work to improve the stability of the right ankle I was not able to run any more. Any attempts to run, resulted in immediate pain in my right knee.

In April 2010, I decided that integrated movement training was something that I needed to help me get back to running again. I must say that I was not hopeful considering my failed prior attempts at getting back to painless running.

Training was targeted at strengthening the lazy muscles that were responsible for supporting the knee as well as those around the hip and buttocks. All my areas of weakness were identified and worked on. I was impressed at how specific and individualized the training was, as my previous personal trainers had never put that level of thought into getting me back on track.

After training with Matthew Pinkston for three months, not only did I begin running again, I completed a 10km race in July 2010. I have remained pain free even after my long runs. My knee does not swell up any more. On 15th Oct 2011, I ran and completed 25km in the 50km Duo Northface Run event!

Thank you for giving me the ability and the freedom to run again. My friends who know how I’ve struggled with my injuries are amazed at the results. I have been recommending to my friends and my patients because I am so confident that you can help them to achieve their fitness goals.

Twenty years of playing squash had left me with injured knees. The knee caps are worn out and the bones in the joint are grinding against each other. Often, I would feel pain when I walk. Swollen knees are also common. If I have intensive physical activity such as a game of tennis, I would walk stiffly the next day.

After training with Matthew Pinkston for a year, I still have some pain. BUT there’s a huge difference now. I can enjoy physical activities such as race walking, bushwalking and trekking without resulting in swollen knees and without sustaining another injury. I can walk down stairs pain free, something which I’ve not been able to do for a long time.

Despite this injury, I was determined to press on with physical activities. Granted I may not be able to play squash seriously again although I’m passionate about the game. Because I was a competitive player in the ladies premier grade, I trained at high intensity almost every day for 20 years, each time for 3 to 4 hours. I played through the pain and went through many physiotherapy sessions. In my mid-30s, my sports doctor said my knees were 60 years old.

I remember the day 12 years ago, when I decided to hang up my squash rackets. I’d an especially tough match. The next day my knees were painful and swollen. I couldn’t walk properly and my hips were stiff and walking was difficult. I didn’t want to end up in a wheelchair and made that painful decision to retire from squash. I then worked out with a personal trainer and took pilates and gyrotonic classes. Although my muscle and core strength and stability improved, my knees would still be painful and swollen after intense physical activities. I also had to undergo surgery on one knee to repair the worn out knee cap.

It was frustrating because my choice of activities were limited. I also feared picking up another injury to my ankles or other parts of the body. I couldn’t do the activities I enjoyed such as trekking and race walking. If I persisted, there would be pain and swollen knees.

All this has changed since I started training with Mathew a year ago. For the first two months, he worked on rehabilitating the knees, mainly ironing out the knotted thigh muscles that have built up from years of playing squash. He continued with specific exercises to reactivate lazy muscles in the legs, buttocks and hips that were responsible for supporting the knees.

What I like about Mathew’s training is that he’s systematic. I like it that he explains the training programme and how it will help me.

Since I’ve started race walking, I could not improve on my timings for 2.4km and 5km. Matthew’s training helped me shave off a couple of minutes. I’ve been amazed at how hard I’ve been able to push myself without worsening my knee condition and sustaining another injury.

When age catches up with Demi Moore, she gets a $200,000 cosmetic surgery (and a virile young man thrown in). For the rest of us people, we either learn to live with the aches and pains or find real help. For the longest time, I scoffed at the idea of joining a gym because gyms, in my mind, were for vain, image-conscious people who try to outdo each other in their latest spandex and the toniest body – and of course, why pay money for what you can do for free. But my idea of gym has since changed when I signed up for training with Matthew in 2007.

Growing up active in all kinds of sports, I used to think myself invincible. But to cope with the changes to my body in the last number of years, my mantra has been: “lao liao, pai liao” (hokkien for everything starts to breakdown with age). Plagued by lethargy, weight issues and pain, I felt fed-up and decided to I needed real help. Matthew has had to deal with all my complaints from knee pain to frozen shoulder. Each one was addressed with specific and particular exercise or treatment to resolve, not just to alleviate, the pain.

What I appreciate most is Matthew’s commitment to give personal and professional care and advice to meet and suit the needs and temperament of his clients. He does not make me feel like I need to meet someone else’s standard of body beautiful. And at FTI, being what it is set up to do, I don’t feel I need to prove anything to anyone but myself.

Friends and relatives kept warning me about the damage running can do to my body, especially my knees, whenever I let slip that I was having some pains after a run. My concerned husband would discreetly leave articles about “damaged runners” and the “evils of running” lying around for my attention.

I have been running for around 4 years ever since I discovered the joy of community running, especially overseas. After progressing from 5km to 10km to 15km and to 21km, I thought for about 2 years of running a full marathon. However, partly because of the various body pains, I procrastinated, but finally signed up for a full marathon in Shanghai this year. I presumed I could just train on my own by increasing the mileage. I was not concerned about timing and just wanted to be able to finish the run. However, I found out to my horror I just couldn’t run more than 25km. I was suffering from knee and ankle pains and severe headaches after each run. 8 weeks before the marathon, I was considering giving up the race when 2 friends who are training under Matthew recommended him. I had to leave for a Hokkaido holiday planned sometime ago, and that left around 4 weeks before the marathon to seriously train with Matthew.

I was a little concerned initially since I am not the kind of “elite runners” that usually trained with him. However, the first thing that struck me during training was Matthew’s attention to details. It was mind-boggling! He watched and observed (like a hawk) to trace the problems you are having and tried to solve them for you. I know I have issues with my posture and running gait, which are causing the headaches. I have seen sports doctors and physiotherapists who were able to identify the problem but were unable to help me correct them. Matthew painstakingly made me go through various exercises repeatedly until I finally understand what he was driving at and use the correct muscles.

Matthew’s attention to details was not limited to during training. He guided and taught me what to use, to eat and drink before, during and after runs, how fast to run, when to run and when to rest. This was what I (and I suspect all first time marathoners) needed very much. I have never prepared for long distance races and never bothered to read up on what is required. I followed Matthew’s instructions as closely as I could, my knee and ankle pains have completely stopped, the severe headaches have been reduced to mild and sporadic headaches, which we are still working on. The support that Matthew provides extends way beyond the call of duty. He checks on my progress and responds to my questions, concerns, quirks at any time of the day (and night). When I found out the day before the marathon that there was cut-off time at various distances (to ease the Shanghai traffic) e.g. 10km, 20km, 30km, I panicked because my 30km timing was very close to the cut-off time. Matthew reassured me repeatedly and calmly instructed me to run at certain pace for certain distance to beat the cut-off time. I focus on his instructions, stopped the panic, and of course I finished the race before the cut-off time: 5:42:19.

In fact, I believe I came in 1st for Singapore Women (since I was the only one ). What is more critical was that I felt great physically after the race, and would have been able to run another 10km the next day.

My next target is an Olympic Distance Triathlon in May 2013. I am leaving everything to Matthew and have full confidence that he will bring me through to the end.

For the last 10 years I can’t remember a day go by without experiencing some aches and pains. I was feeling tired and my body was aching in various places, varying day to day, but especially so in the morning. The main problem areas were my hips, pelvis and back. At first I thought it was just tiredness from looking after my 3 young children, then I realised it might have to do with the 3 C-sections I had.

I love playing hockey and tennis, running and swimming, but due to all the physical problems I lost confidence in my physical abilities. I started worrying that I might get a serious injury or illness. Every little pain in my body started to make me very worried. I’ve seen physiotherapists, personal trainers and chiropractors. I’ve done acupuncture and sports massage every week. Nothing seemed to work.

One day I phoned my gynaecologist, Dr Christine Yap, to ask her what she could recommend. She told me to see Matthew Pinkston, a personal trainer. At first I thought: “Oh no! Not another trainer”. I want a solution, right now! However, since I had no other option, I thought to give it a try. I was training for a half marathon in Beijing so I felt that it was better to prepare with someone who is experienced. So I went to Matthew. He checked my whole body and told me what he thought what my problems were and assured me he could fix it. But I had to be patient! I was still worried that I had something more serious than just a rotated hip so I went to a sports doctor to check and be sure that I did not have any serious injuries or illnesses. He confirmed Matthew’s findings. Nothing serious at all!

During rehabilitation, I felt very assured of the fact that I was in good hands. Matthew seems to know so much about the human body and soul that gave me the courage to through some pain again, knowing now that it’s “OK”. He taught me a lot about my body. Part of being able to accept some discomfort is to understand where it’s coming from. Matthew taught me how the whole physical system works, which gave me the patience I needed to be able to forge ahead. My body did not seem to recover as fast as I wanted at first. I ran the half marathon in Beijing and took some rest. Then we started on the training again, and after a few sessions the majority of the injuries seemed to have disappeared. Some old discomforts did come back, but after a few more sessions they were mostly gone. Matthew seems to slowly peel off each layer of discomfort and pain that I was experiencing; going deeper into older problems till nothing is left.

I have been training for 7 months, and thanks to Matthew not only did my chronic pain go away but I also feel so much fitter and more confident. I have played 2 hockey matches again and I have hardly had any pain apart from some normal muscle ache. I have picked up running again and while running down slope used to give me issues, now my hips and pelvic area feels strong and steady. I changed my diet into a low carbohydrate one which I think definitely increases my energy level during the day.

It still amazes me to think daily now: “Hey, I don’t feel any pain today!” I strongly recommend everyone I know to IMS. I truly feel they know exactly what they are doing. It’s not about the quantity but the quality!

For the past 5 years, I have been suffering from body aches and pains, especially on my legs. Pain has become so familiar and usual that I can barely remember a morning during which I do not experience any pain on my legs when I wake up.

The pain seems to worsen after I turned 30 years old. Knowing very well that it is not normal for me to be experiencing pain all day long, I looked up on the internet for help and had tried many ways to find the remedy. I had seen specialists, taken countless X-rays and blood tests and had had eaten painkillers almost every other day. I was also referred to attend physiotherapy sessions at the Hospital. The physiotherapy sessions were good as they taught me how to better manage the pain. However, as soon as improvement was seen, I was discharged. It could be due to the surmounting stress at work and/or lack of exercise, the pain on my legs came back.

I moved on to see TCM and did acupuncture which was a real torture for one who has a phobia for needles. Little improvement was seen though.

I had also invested much money on hiring a personal trainer with a renowned gym studio. Though I mentioned very thoroughly to the trainer my condition, nothing much was done to better it. I can still remember the days when I had to force myself to do the painful exercises even though my legs hurt a lot. The exercises with the Personal Trainer did not help, to be honest.

Tired of all the futile attempts I had sought so far, I didn’t hold much expectation when I attended the first session with May the trainer.

May has been a very patient trainer. She never doubts my pain whenever I tell her the aches. She would even get me to better describe where the pain was and assured me that it is normal for me to experience the pain (due to poor posture, or over-use of certain muscles). On sessions when I was not in my “tip-top” condition for training, May would first massage the painful muscles to relief some pain before we moved on to doing the exercises. She would take efforts to explain to me why I was experiencing the pain and often peppered her explanation with some physio-knowledge. Once we were done with that, she would get me to do exercises that focus on strengthening the weaker muscles. In fact, on the first lesson, I learnt quite a bit of pain-relieving exercises that totally work on me!

I have attended 8 sessions with May so far. As said, I had not held much expectation on the program. The “turning point” came after the 7th session when I began to notice that I had not experienced any pain on my legs for a week!! The feeling was truly liberating!!!! To be honest, I had long forgotten how it felt to have ache-less limbs!! It was such an indescribable feeling mixed with both joy and disbelief!!

The exercises May made me go through worked. The discipline (okay, I have to admit that I did not do the “the homework” every day) that went behind it paid off. I think above all these, what really impressed me is the commitment my trainer has to ensure that the money I spend is worthwhile and that I am regaining more confidence in how my body should be functioning. I am still afraid of doing squats because of the pain the exercise induces. It may be both a psychological and physical pain. But now with the promised results seen soon after 7 sessions, I am really looking forward to attending the training sessions with May and seeing more positive progress on my body condition.

Thank you so much for working with my wife Caroline between June and August 2015. Caroline is a stroke survivor who has made huge strides in regaining her mobility here in the U.K. since her stroke. She left the hospital in a wheelchair in 2005 with almost total left side paralysis. We have been working with a personal trainer and sports injury specialist to help regain mobility and balance for the last seven years. Sadly, the 14-hour flight took it's toll on her and she arrived in Singapore on 17th June in a regressed and poor condition, struggling to balance. She was walking in a very unstable and poor fashion. Our son and daughter-in-law recommended that Caroline see you. We came initially for a 1-hour session admittedly very skeptical about how much we could expect to achieve in the time we were there.

However, it became very clear that Matthew and May were committed to seeing improvement in Caroline's posture and walking. With a combination of very astute analysis, manipulation to release locked muscles, exercises and encouragement, they achieved remarkable results in the first session. We decided to book additional sessions while we were in Singapore (9 in all) and over the 8-week period we saw a huge improvement in Caroline's walking before returning to the UK. Her posture even after the long return flight is much better than it has been since the stroke and she has so much more mobility than before. We can't thank you enough for the work you have both done. We will be visiting again next time we come to Singapore.