Up close and personal

Three-quarters of gym members rarely bother to go. No wonder London's most beautiful don't trust their own willpower, they look to a personal trainer to keep them on track. These top toners are as sought after as the lean looks they create, says Charlotte Williamson.

Jon Roberts

Jon is the younger brother of Matt, celebrity trainer to Naomi Campbell and Trudie Styler. Both are directors of Matt Roberts Personal Training, whose Jermyn Street gym was the first of its kind when it opened eight years ago. Jon read sport and marketing at Cheltenham and Gloucester College before doing a masters in human movement and body dynamics in Dallas. It was through the latter that he learnt about how the body works - principles he uses in his personal training. 'When I'm devising a programme, I think about how exercise should be applied to the whole body. I look after the whole package, so as well as exercise, an understanding of diet is crucial.' He charges from £65 an hour. The brothers were destined for sporty things: their father was an Arsenal footballer, their mother played netball for Wales. She now owns a chain of clothes shops in the North West. As well as the Mayfair gym, Matt and Jon have fitness centres in Mauritius and Dubai, and this month their home-gym equipment and vitamin range goes on sale in Boots.

Efua Baker

'I don't like working in gyms, I find it too distracting,' says Efua. So although she's based at KX gym in South Kensington, she's happy to go wherever her clients need her (her rates vary, depending on the location). Efua's parents are retired professors, yet all four children are more sporty than academic: one brother plays basketball, the other does martial arts and her sister is a runner. Efua started out as a model before deciding that she loved working out so much she might as well make it her career. Much of her philosophy derives from mental fitness. 'If I can't get an idea of what makes someone tick, I can't work on them losing weight,' she says. Although Efua trains models and actresses, she believes her best work is with 'real' people. 'I really believe a 35-year-old woman with two kids can have a better figure than a 25-year-old because they will be more focused.' Being a mother of two herself, this is something she knows all too well. Next up is a book about how to eat well and look great. 'I don't believe in dieting,' she says emphatically.

Adam Daniel

Adam works for Liston Wingate-Denys at APT - he's one of a staff of four. He was formerly head of training at the Lancaster Road branch of Holmes Place, but much of his work now is with athletes. 'Because I concentrate on biomechanical exercises, many of my clients are professional rugby players and golfers,' explains Adam, whose rates start at £50 an hour. 'I try to improve someone's game in a gym situation, so I can help amateurs, too.' And, of course, people simply wanting to shed a few pounds. The former 400m hurdler and professional rugby player ('I've been playing rugby from the age of six - I went to St Olave's in Orpington, one of the best rugby schools in the country') gave up sport because of a knee injury. Yet he still feels the need to work out every day. 'You need to look the part in this job and, anyway, I love it.' Like his boss, Adam believes in a more holistic approach to fitness - using nutritionists and osteopaths, for instance - and sees this as the future of personal training.

Jamie Baird

'I've been playing sport since I was six,' says Jamie. After reading sports science at Loughborough, he moved to Australia where he wrote fitness tips for the back of cereal boxes. On his return to England, he started as a personal trainer and has been at the Sanderson hotel for two and a half years. 'I'm a life coach as well as a trainer,' he explains. 'People need to be mentally sorted out before they start working on their body. Weight gain is normally a symptom, so you have to root out the original problem.' As well as hotel guests and celebrities such as Donna Air, many of his clients are businessmen. 'I have lots of self-made people because they are the ones who can afford me,' he grins. He charges £60 an hour. Originally from Leicestershire --his father is retired, his mother works for the council - his dream is to become the Jamie Oliver of fitness. He's part of Do Or Diet, a daytime TV programme which starts next month, followed, he hopes, by a book and interactive DVD.

Jacqueline Agyepong

Jacqueline is a record-breaker: the 100m hurdler won a Commonwealth silver and held the British indoor record. Her natural sporting abilities were spotted early on by a PE teacher who introduced her to the local running club in Hendon. 'I was the only girl at my school who could actually get over the hurdle,' she says modestly. Well, it is in her blood - her mother was a long-jumper and her father a sprinter. Her personal trainer USP is that she is a trained massage therapist, too. 'Injuries come with keeping in shape,' she says. 'Because I've had so many I wanted to educate people on what to do. Releasing tension through massage is a massive part of rehabilitation.' Her rates at The Third Space in Soho start at £50. She is also a qualified chef and her company, Firm Angels, organises weekend retreats to the country. 'We use everyday items like cans of beans for weights to demonstrate that you don't need to be a member of a gym to work out,' she says.

Liston Wingate-Denys

Liston owns APT (Active Personal Training), a small gym exclusively for personal training tucked away behind Ladbroke Grove. Canny Liston spotted a niche in the market two years ago. 'I saw a trend towards people wanting the personal yoga teacher, the personal nutritionist --basically, I think, because today's lifestyles dictate that everything has to be immediate.' APT also offers sessions with a physiotherapist to deal with any back or shoulder problems. Prices are from £35 an hour. Liston started out competing in national judo tournaments before moving into personal training. Clients range from company directors to actors looking for discretion; they can park their car right outside and sneak in for a workout. Liston envisions APT's future as more of a one-stop shop: as well as physiotherapists, Liston hopes to introduce alternative medicine practitioners and osteopaths. 'It's like getting your hair cut,' he says. 'You'd get your colour done in the same place as the cut, wouldn't you?'