The Fitness Story You Weren’t Expecting

If you go on Instagram and search for Warren Trains, you’ll find him. That’s how I found him. Or he found me — I can’t remember. What I do remember is that he asked me one question no personal trainer had ever asked me before: “How can I help you?”

Not “here’s my price list.” Not “how much do you bench?” (Don’t ask.) Just… how can I help?

So when Warren Koekemoer — yes, I made him teach me how to say that live on air — came into the Mix 56 studio, I knew we’d have a good chat. What I didn’t expect was quite how honest he’d be.

Warren’s a Transformation Coach and Personal Trainer at The Gym Group in Altrincham, six years in the industry, an Instagram full of jaw-dropping before-and-afters. The picture of health.

He also lives with ulcerative colitis.

Living with Ulcerative Colitis:  22 trips to the toilet in one day

If you’ve not heard of it, you’re not alone — Warren admits he didn’t understand it himself when he was diagnosed a few years ago.

It’s a condition where your immune system essentially attacks your own body, causing inflammation, exhaustion, aching joints, and — let’s be grown-ups about this — a lot of very urgent trips to the toilet.

I asked Warren what his worst day looked like. His answer stopped me in my tracks.

Twenty-two trips to the toilet. In one day. Twenty-two. With blood. Exhausted, in bed, waiting for the next one.

And here’s the bit that really got me: that was his final year at university. Final module. The flare-up put him in hospital, he missed the module entirely, and he had to retake it.

Picture that — everyone else celebrating, and Warren’s back in a hospital bed. He still finished. He still got his degree. But when he says “here we are” with a shrug, you realise how much is packed into those three words.

Because that’s what a flare actually takes from you. It’s not just the toilet, Warren told me — it’s everything else. You can’t go anywhere, because you can’t be away from a bathroom. No walks. No gym. No seeing friends. No seeing family. You’re just… in bed, waiting. For someone whose entire life is movement and helping other people move, that’s the real punishment.

From telling nobody to talking about it on the radio

And here’s the thing — Warren nearly didn’t talk about any of this. He admitted that at the start, he’d rather have told nobody. It’s awkward. It’s bodily functions. It’s not exactly polite dinner conversation. Now? “Open as ever” — ask him anything. That shift, from hiding it to owning it, might be the biggest transformation on his page.

After four hospital stays, and with doctors offering ever-stronger medication, Warren chose to tackle the lifestyle side first — diet, sleep, stress — all under regular medical monitoring, with routine blood tests keeping an eye on things. Right now, his inflammation markers are down and he’s on minimal medication.

His message for anyone newly diagnosed? “There is something out there that will work for your body.” It does get better. From someone who’s lived it, that carries weight.

What it’s like training with a personal trainer in Altrincham who’s lived it

It’s also shaped how he trains people. As one of his clients, I can confirm: you don’t just turn up and lift things.

There’s a weekly check-in covering sleep, stress, recovery, motivation, food, water. I thought I could wing it. I could not wing it. Warren reads everything.

His top tip for gym beginners? Stop going overkill. If you can definitely manage twice a week, do twice a week — consistently — and build from there. Consistency beats heroics. (I felt seen.)
Running the Great North Run for Crohn’s & Colitis UK

This September, Warren’s taking on his first ever Great North Run — Sunday 13th — raising money for Crohn’s & Colitis UK, the charity supporting people just like him. He’s close to his fundraising target already. I reckon we can nudge him over the line.

Hear the full interview right here on this page — then go find @warrentrains on Instagram. And if he asks how he can help you… tell him. It worked for me.

• Support Warren on his AJ Bell Great North Run marathon for Crohn’s & Colitis UK