Exercising in the credit crunch

Trends have changed slightly, I have noticed over the last 12 to 18 months that people are starting to use personal training as a way to save money on expensive gym memberships!!!! How can this be I hear you cry? Personal training is famous for being an expensive luxury that started life in the Hollywood and celebrity world.

I will explain and even back it up with a bit of maths. A typical gym membership cost between £20 and £40 pounds a month and you can go as many times a week as you want. Typically after your initial induction you are left to get on and look after yourself. This often makes peoples workouts unstructured and not at all time efficient. You find yourself wondering round the gym trying to decide which bit of equipment is least busy.

A personal trainer typically costs between £30 and £40 and for that they will come to your house and write you a program. They will show you how to do it in your home with equipment you already have lying around or with no equipment at all. They will tell you how to progress your program so you can keep improving for up to 8 weeks on the same program. Then after 8 weeks have another personal training session where they will write a new program and start the process again.

The program will obviously be well structured, tailored exactly to your fitness goals including all the correct elements of fitness for you to achieve your aims. It will also be very time efficient and there won't be 50 other people all queuing up to use the same exercise that you want to be on.

Clearly there is one huge downfall????? The best program or training plan in the world is only any good if you actually use it. Being on your own at home, knowing you should use the time to exercise still takes a lot of self motivation, as does dragging yourself down to the gym after a tough day! Having a personal trainer stand over you and make sure the training is done correctly and to the correct intensity is a huge plus.

More and more people are cancelling gym memberships for these reasons and I can honestly say personal training has only got busier in the last 18 months. More people take to the roads and start exercising from home and they appreciate the importance of having correct guidance. A good personal trainer will be able to write you a specific program for you to do in the home or outside. They can create plans for Pre & Post Natal, injury rehab, weight loss training.

Please don't take any trainer at face value and ask for evidence of qualifications and experience.

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