From Zimbabwean Childhood to Personal Training Success – Exclusive Interview with Brendon Kawondera
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
Brendon Kawondera is a London-based personal trainer, educator, and entrepreneur committed to raising the standard of the fitness industry. With years of hands-on coaching experience, he has built a thriving in-person business by focusing on real results rather than trends.
He helps personal trainers develop the skills, confidence, and professionalism needed to excel in their careers. Unlike many industry voices pushing online coaching, he believes the gym floor is where great trainers are made. Through his coaching, courses, and educational content, he empowers trainers to refine their craft and build sustainable, high-value businesses.
Brendon Kawondera, Personal Coach
Who is Brendon Kawondera?
I am a young man born in the beautiful nation of Zimbabwe. I grew up with a lot of friends, and we had plenty of space to run around and expend a lot of energy. In Africa, people have a lot of kids, so in a street of 14 houses, you would have at least 7 kids around the same age as you and probably went to the same school. Every day after school, you would get about 3-4 hours of organised competitive sporting activity set up in someone’s back garden. Monday, we will be at house number 5, swimming. Tuesday, we’re doing boxing at number 10. On Wednesday, it's football at Alfred Beit School vs Haig Park, and I’m the captain. Thursday, we were playing cricket in my grandmother’s back garden, probably getting in trouble for smashing the windows. Friday, we were getting chased by the dog at number 12 because we were trying to retrieve our tennis ball that went over the fence. When it's time to go home for supper, I’m planning in my head how I’m going to win the next game we're playing. When inside the house, I’m probably training and coaching my young sister on how to catch a kids' softball. My very active childhood lifestyle made me competitive, resilient, and very fit. This carried on for years throughout high school, where I would play volleyball, cricket, football, and my favourite athletics season, where I would compete in the 100-meter sprint. After relocating to London in 2011, I quickly built a reputation in the district as the fastest. I knew something was up. I took sprinting more seriously and joined the local club Herts Phoenix. Sprinting made me stay out of a lot of trouble as a teenager, as it requires a lot of discipline and focus. Sprinting was my happy place. I fortunately got to represent my University at the BUCS Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Spending a lot of time with the coaches and the physiotherapists made me appreciate the work that goes on behind the scenes to realise the potential of human performance. This was deepened even more by my studies of BSc Sport & Exercise Science, where I would take part in most experiments and studies to improve performance. My whole life has been dedicated to the improvement of human performance. My sprinting dream to be at the Tokyo Olympics ended in 2020, not as a failure but as a huge learning curve, which led me to qualify as a Personal Trainer in the pursuit to improve my life and the people around me. The magic really began when my first client got their results, and they were over the moon. I never doubted the power of carefully curated exercises delivered appropriately. The current Brendon originates from the early days of seeking meaning and fun in childhood play. After 6 years of Personal Training, I’m still improving and changing people’s lives through movement.
What inspired you to start your bespoke training business?
Getting results for my friends and family gave me the confidence to believe in myself that I could change people's lives. Also, my own results I was achieving reinforced my coaching philosophy. It’s always satisfying when clients finally get the results they wanted.
How does your approach to personal fitness differ from “standard” personal training?
My coaching is more than just counting reps and chasing the weight loss on the scales. I usually start working with individuals from the ground up. From the feet up to the knees, then to the knees we go to the hips. Once the hips are fixed, we address any gut issues and then core strength issues, and then lead up to the neck and shoulders. Once we have established imbalances, we look to build strength, if strength is not the issue, we address mobility. All this work is done in conjunction with spirit/mind work. Usually, I introduce people to basic breath work, body tapping, and meditation. A good book on this is Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza. This is just simple. I’m not a psychologist or therapist, but my one trick is installing the program into your brain of positive thinking and self-image. Another book that I highly recommend is Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz.
Can you explain the philosophy behind your UPGRD Method?
I came up with this when I realised the missing link between people's goals and their good efforts is when someone falls off the habit train. UPGRD stands for Uplift Performance Grow Resilience Daily. You can plant seeds in your garden, but if you do not constantly tend to that garden daily, if you don't take away the weeds that come and compete for nutrients, if you don’t water it, you will not get to eat the fruits. The same applies to your health. I’m talking about High-intensity training, Cardio, Recovery, Nutrition, Flexibility, Good mental health, all these aspects of your health that need to be taken care of.
Who is your ideal client and what kinds of results do they usually achieve?
My usual client is someone who finally opens up their mind and accepts they should be doing something about their health and fitness. Usually, after working with me, people find mental clarity and get an understanding of what their human body wants and needs. I always educate my clients to understand why they have to move their bodies in specific ways. I’m not just talking about performing squats or doing chin-ups. We dive deeper into why fascia release, acupressure point release, and CNS recovery techniques. All these key factors affect one’s performance.
What is the single biggest mistake you see people make with their fitness journey?
The single biggest mistake people make with their fitness journey is that they think supplements and quick hacks are the ticket to achieving their goals. The reality is, whatever goal you have in mind will take longer than you expected if you don't get the fundamentals in order. You need to respect this biological mass of cells, tendons, hormones, glands, trauma, injuries, muscles, and organs that you call “ME.” This complex system needs time to heal, time to adapt, and time to learn. Set some SMART goals with expert advice, invest in your education, or top up your knowledge on the human body. You are invincible.
How do you help high-achievers balance training with busy, demanding lifestyles?
This one of the difficult challenges with clients travelling for work or family vacations. We always have a program set in place to execute wherever they are in the world. Then, when clients are around, we train at a high intensity, and the volume of sessions will be more frequent depending on their work capacity. In some cases, 2 training sessions a day have proven to be the most effective way to keep a sustainable amount of volume done weekly. After saying all this, sufficient recovery must still be prioritised.
Why do you believe personalised coaching is more effective than generic programmes?
I spoke about this during one of my talks when I mentioned Artificial Intelligence vs Human Intelligence. Personally, I believe nothing beats 1-2-1 training sessions. Being able to train someone and get instant real-time feedback allows the coach to prescribe appropriate loading based on what they can physically see the clients meeting the demands of the exercise and intensity. Generic programmes do not take into account the clients' needs on a singular basis. They offer just set expectations without consideration of injury, training history, muscular or structural imbalances, nutrition, or how the person is feeling on the day.
What's one change in mindset you aim to instill in every client?
Trust your body, it has the power to heal itself if you look after it. Don’t underestimate your body’s full potential, it can do amazing things, you just need to give it time to adapt and learn. That’s why we train every day. That’s why the D in UPGRD is a crucial ingredient to the recipe.
How do you integrate movement, nutrition, and lifestyle for long-term success?
I always view this as mandatory on a weekly basis for my clients to do 3/4 strength training sessions, 2/3 hours of cardio, but also listen to the body if you’re tired or if you have a bad night's sleep, just do something light. In terms of nutrition, just eat to live, fuel the body properly when you are hungry, and allow one day per week of cleansing, maybe half a day or a full day of fasting every week. Socialise as much as possible, laugh with your friends and family. Try to get a personal trainer or someone who is on the same journey/ path as you.
What stories or transformations from clients are you most proud of?
After my visit to the US, working under a Chiropractor, I realised the strong link between personal training and recovery. I strongly believe that I can change people's lives. The most recent experience is with an 86-year-old who visits his wife in a care home daily for 60 minutes each way. After some issues with his right knee, he got used to walking with a walking stick, which caused skeletal muscle imbalances. In 2 months, we managed to get rid of the walking stick and began to walk more steadily. After regaining confidence and building more muscle and bone density, the client managed to cut his journey travel time down to 45 minutes compared to the previous 70 minutes. 6 months later, he got a dog. A goal that he had previously shared was expressing his love for dogs. Another story is of a young 16-year-old who came to me with balance issues due to his growth spurt. His hips and knees started giving him problems due to the sudden spike in height. I designed a bespoke training program which focused on basic strength and conditioning for football players, with an emphasis on their knee rehab and hip mobility. 3 months later, that program evolved into more performance-based training to improve his jumping ability for heading the ball, agility, power, speed work, and strength. This made him an exceptional centre back with all the attributes of a competitive player. At 17, he got scouted to go and play in the US. This preparation was one of my favourites because of my own previous background in sprinting and football. It was really nice to see the young man flourish and show resilience. He currently plays in Europe, and he is the captain of his team.
What’s the first step someone should take if they’re serious about transforming their health and performance?
First step is to make sure that you are getting a good quality and quantity of sleep at night. There's nothing worse than trying to exercise and push your body when you are tired. Exercise then becomes a less enjoyable process. Physiologically, you get hormone imbalances, which just destroy your performance, and psychologically, you will soon run out of motivation, lose the drive, and fall off the dopamine train. So, having enough recovery will ensure your long-term sustainable fitness journey.
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