Personal Trainer Vss Gym Membership

11-57am

As I went off to a boot camp this morning with my personal trainer, I thought about how motivated I am to exercise. Since 28th February this year, I have gone diligently twice a week (bar one Monday when I had bad backache) to Melanie’s personal training sessions. And then a few weeks ago, when I found out she had a ‘boot camp’ on a Saturday morning, I joined that as well. At the personal training sessions, there are 3 of us. At the boot camp, anything from 4 to 6. In 7 and half months of frequent, regular, varied exercise, I have achieved far more than when I had my gym membership for 7 years!  Personal trainers are always going to be more expensive than a straight gym membership, but there are some huge benefits.  I wrote down the pros and cons of each.

Gym Membership Pros
~ Price – joining a gym will be less expensive than having a personal trainer.
~ There are staff at the gym who are trained to show you how the equipment works and will do fitness assessments on you.
~ The gym is open 7 days a week and you don’t have to make an appointment to go.
~ You have access to all the equipment all the time.
~ Gyms may offer extras at no additional cost such as spinning, stretching, core building sessions.

It all sounds brilliant – too good to pass up on, until you get to the cons.

Gym Membership Cons
~ We are human – the novelty wears off, very , very quickly.
~ Exercising alone at a gym can be brain-numbingly boring.
~ Although there are trainers there to show you how the equipment works, they soon just let you get on with it. They are NOT there to be your personal trainer, so don’t expect them to.
~ Working alone at a gym, you don’t push yourself.
~ You end up using the same machines over and over again, your favourites and many times you end up stagnating and not progressing to the next level.
~ Disciple is key – you HAVE to discipline yourself to go, when it’s raining, when it’s cold, when you’re tired, when you just don’t feel like it.
~ You are tied into a monthly subscription to the gym, which you may end up not using.

Personal Trainer Pros
~ Your trainer knows what works, so can target certain areas, strengthening core, getting cardio fit, working upper body.
~  Your workout can be individualised for you, so you don’t overdo it, but you do progress to a better level of fitness.
~ You always have someone on hand to show you if you are doing a certain exercise wrong, or using equipment incorrectly.
~ You have constant company, so the boredom levels are non existent.
~ The variety is unbelievable. Equipment that the gym had, I never used until I started with Melanie. I found muscles I’d never used before in my life!
~ There’s no place for complacency – the personal trainer will push you to greater fitness.
~ This is an appointment. You know someone is waiting for you – you make sure you go, especially if you, like me, pay in advance.
~ If you don’t like exercise, a personal trainer is ideal – just twice a week – 2 hours out of 168 – you can manage that.
~ You gain a friend and if there are a few of you, as at boot camp, you gain a few friends.
~ A personal trainer keeps you motivated.

Personal Trainer Cons
~ They are more expensive than joining a gym.
~ You have to make an appointment and can’t go whenever you feel like it.
~ 2 to 3 hours a week may be too little for you, although there is nothing to stop you exercising in between – walking, running, climbing mountains, cycling etc.

For me, having a personal trainer, especially Melanie, has worked very well. More than 7 months later, I’m seeing great results, I’m motivated and getting stronger and fitter by the week. It’s worth every cent.

Back at the house, we have made great strides in getting ready for Granny’s memorial service on Tuesday. I’ve even decided what to wear. With Granny loving the colour blue, blue it will be!

 James 5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”

If you are suffering, pray! If you are cheerful, sing praise!

Such great advice!

God bless you loads!

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂