Mark (Rhino) Smith

Ex Gladiator Qualifies as a Personal Trainer

One of the toughest Gladiators has qualified as a personal trainer. Mark 'Rhino' Smith successfully completed his Level 3 Personal Training programme with leading training provider, Lifetime Health & Fitness, after joining the state of the art Harpers Gym in Willesden.

The 38-year-old shot to fame in the early 90s when he joined TV's 'Gladiators' as 'Rhino' in 1995, where he reigned for five years. Warners cast him in his first major film project in the blockbuster 'Batman Begins' and he has since appeared in 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', 'Rollin' with the Nines' and 'Shooters Paradise'. He has also starred in several TV dramas including 'Trial & Retribution', 'The Bill', 'Inspector Morse' and 'Robin Hood' to name a few.

Mark achieved his personal training qualifications with Lifetime as well as built up a strong portfolio in less than nine months which will enhance his 13 year career in personal training. The NVQ programme provides students with the skills, knowledge, resources and expertise required to work as an employed or freelance personal trainer. Modules include gym instruction, nutrition and weight management, advanced programming and business skills.

Mark says: "The personal training course was brilliant. The staff and tutors, particularly Alex Gillet at Lifetime, were really helpful and their way of teaching made the information so much easier to absorb. I'd recommend Lifetime to anyone who wants to work in the fitness industry as it's a great sector to be part of. At Harpers, there is a great atmosphere - I'm working with a fantastic bunch of clients and colleagues."

In addition to spending his time acting and developing properties, Mark is now delivering one-to-one sessions at the Harpers facility in Willesden on a freelance basis seven days a week. He also teaches Spinning in the studio plus circuits classes at the centre's indoor 60m 'running tube', which attracts a massive 80 people per session!

Mark trains people right across the spectrum from people on the Top 20 Rich List and celebrities through to the everyday Londoner. The clients' goals include weight loss, general health, event training and body building, says Mark. "I'm very pro-active when it comes to training my clients. It's important that I experience it myself to understand their needs - taking part in activities like bodybuilding and running marathons means I will know what my clients are going through."

Mark is now off to LA to film but will be watching the new 'Gladiators' series when it returns to Sky One in May. "Gladiators is great fun and it will also play an important part is raising awareness of the benefits of fitness, especially with the obesity crisis being so topical."

"The show helped my fitness massively - I did more general fitness training, running and boxing. The events are explosive, lasting around one minute, so the new contestants will need to have strength and stamina. My advice for them is to do some cross training, sprints, interval training and Fartlek training plus basic strength exercises."

For more information on Mark Smith visit www.rhino.me.uk