CARL’S 15 YEARS OF FITNESS

Carl Baker has been a BMF Instructor since May 2002. That’s 15 years during which he has taken precisely 4,127 classes. That means he's dished out 41,000 press ups, sit ups and burpees at the very least! So he's responsible for creating a fair few six packs and extra pounds of muscle around London during that time too! Here's his story.

Area Manager Keith Walkman presented Carl with a Long Service award to mark the occasion. He said: "Carl is extremely professional, very funny and passionate about what he does. He has really high standards and totally understands what we are trying to deliver to our members whether it is a mean green class or a low impact Walkfit session. He is a positive person to be around, always smiling and a real asset for BMF.”

CARL, HOW DID YOU END UP WORKING FOR BMF?

I was taking redundancy from my job in a gym at the Royal Mail headquarters on Old Street and I saw an advert in the local job centre for ex-forces personnel and it really appealed to me. I had been in 216 Para Signals at Aldershot and I wanted a role that still had that military connection. I joined BMF in 2002. Since then I’ve been Park Manager at Blackheath and Area Manager, then I scaled things back but I’m still 2ic at Blackheath, Dulwich and Danson Parks.

DO BMF MEMBERS KNOW YOU FOR A PARTICULAR CATCHPHRASE?
They know me for my corny jokes! I always try and keep them topical so the other day it was all about the election and how we’d go with the ‘majority’ bib colour that day and how we’d all be wearing blue bibs in the morning.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE RECEIVING YOUR LONG SERVICE AWARD FROM BMF?
It was a nice acknowledgement because it shows that the company is keeping an eye on how long you’ve been around. Experience counts for a lot and it’s good to be able to pass that experience on to some of the younger guys working in the parks now.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE EXERCISE?
The Talk Walk! Keeping the members active, like taking them around Cox’s Walk in Dulwich which is a reserved woodland, while enabling them to be social is great. They get to know each other and I get to know them quite well too – what they can and can’t do.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT TAKING WALKFIT CLASSES?
BMF introduced Walkfit back in 2009 after getting referrals from people who had injuries or who were looking for something to help with their fitness but they weren’t sure about BMF – they thought it was maybe too hard core. So we started some classes that were low impact and that definitely didn’t involve rolling around on the floor. As an instructor, it’s good fun because you really have to use your imagination to make the Walkfit classes varied and interesting so I might take along some tennis balls and do exercises to help with hand-eye coordination or I might bring along some resistance bands.

What’s nice as well is that Walkfit members highlight things that you would otherwise take for granted. They point out the colour of the blossom in the spring or the leaves turning in the autumn or they might comment on a particular group of trees. It’s quite an eye-opener. All these sights are a bit of a blur for BMFers but when you’re walking you notice things like that and it can be really therapeutic for members to enjoy the natural environment.