Meet the team

Chris Norris
Gym Manager

I’m Chris! I have a wonderful wife, Liz Norris (the other face of the gym), and I am proud to say I am born and bred in Tarporley, and apart from my 3 years at university, I have spent my whole life here (except for a brief stint in Leeds). We have been living in the village for over 7 years, and I can’t see us going anywhere anytime soon, as we both love it here. We have an ever-growing family, a loving Sprocker Spaniel puppy called Luna, and Liz is also pregnant with our little boy, due later this year.

I played rugby at Chester since the age of 10; it has been a massive part of my life, and I have made some amazing friends over the years.

A few years ago, I had a pretty serious ACL reconstruction that has kept me away from playing, but I never say never (although Liz may disagree).
Outside of work, gym and rugby, I have been getting into hiking. I love to explore different mountains and find new ones I haven’t visited across the UK. Most recently, taking part in a 24-hour hike for the charity, Tommy’s, which is a really important charity to me and Liz.

I generally always loved sports as a kid, (things haven’t really changed much since) and PE always seemed to be the one subject that I could rely on to look good on my school report.

Naturally, I found myself taking A Level PE, and it happened to be the only subject that I didn’t have to resit multiple times. This led me to the easy decision to study Sports and Exercise Science at Leeds Met.
Once completing my degree I knew that I wanted to stay in this industry so I continued to develop, first of all as a Sports Massage Therapist and then finally, as a personal trainer. I ended up at Instinct and the rest is history…

Quick Fire Round

What do you love about your job and what motivates you?

Most people spend their day frantically running around after their children, loved ones and work. This is often the only hour they have for themselves, and I love that I get the opportunity to be a part of that one hour, where I can try to make an impact on their day.

I genuinely like helping people; I get a real kick out of seeing people’s success. There is nothing better than someone changing their lives for the better and being able to play a role in that transformation.

What is your favorite quote?

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate;
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were all meant to shine as children do.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”

What is your favorite and least favorite exercise?

Favorite? It’s got to be a Pull Up! In my opinion, it’s the ultimate upper-body exercise; it’s all about power-to-weight ratio with a lot of grit and determination. As a bonus, there is very little room for “cheating”; you can either do it or you can’t.

Leased? Nordic Hamstring Curls. If you have ever tried them, you will 100% understand why… as soon as you start, it feels like your hamstrings are either going to cramp up or tear and then you’re falling to the floor face-first, it’s just a horrible combination.