If you wish you had a Personal Trainer or went to the gym, what stops you?

[Watchkeys]

I'm curious about this, as a PT myself. I'm sure there's billions of people out there who are too shy or not financially able or... well, I wonder what else stops people. I train beginners and my aim is to get non-starters started, and build confidence.

What would help you get started?

“I would do anything to be fit, except get up early or take any form of exercise. “

Oscar Wilde.

I’m in team Oscar.
😉😁😁😁

PT - partly cost. I can do 3-4 really good classes for the cost of one PT session.

Also partly the 1:1 factor. I’d need to get on fairly well with the PT and like their style of instruction. If I try one but don’t like it much, it’s a bit awkward to say nope not again thanks. If a class is a flop I just don’t rebook and it isn’t personal in the same way.

Also space. I don’t have a gym type space at home. Don’t want to exercise outside all the time. If I go to a local gym there is a limited choice of PTs there and not necessarily the best ones.

I agree your small group session would solve quite a few of these issues.

Money

The thought of entering a gym where there are a bunch of trendy youngsters is excruciating to me. Now if there was a gym class strictly for menopausal women over the age of 50 who are beginners... that might sway it!

I am lazy and overweight.
After work I couldn't face it.
I could not enter a gym.

Money, but also all the pictures put up on social media and websites are of very slim, pretty people which I am not therefore as a fat person I am worried about reaching out for embarrassment of my body and how much I could do.

I am lazy and overweight.
After work I couldn't face it.
I could not enter a gym.

Definitely the price, I would love one so I could learn proper posture and movements for weight lifting. But near me they are all around £35/£45 per hour which I really can't afford

@StillMedusa I know you could be anywhere in the world haha, but my husbands friend in Somerset runs small group classes specifically for over 50's and mainly women as that's one of the things he specialises in

Just money. I'd love a personal trainer.

My ex was a PT. It put me off for life

I have lost a lot of weight, 5 stone, and needed help with exercise as walking every day was not enough. I started exercising with a PT four weeks ago. She has helped me change my food plan and I work out 3 times a week. Luckily I can afford this but I have cut back on my outgoings slightly to help. I feel so much better and the changes to my body in such a short time have made me more determined to continue. She has helped me so much and I now look forward to working out. She only has clients on a 121 basis. Wish I had done it earlier.

@ANNIESIMPLE

5st! That's simply very impressive.

Ditto

Money and convenience. The nearest gym is 20 mins away which as a round trip adds an hour to the workout by the time you have parked and signed in etc.

PT - I have twice had PTs. Generally a positive experience but very expensive and I did notice after a short while they tend to talk and talk. I had to shut them up and ask if we could work out. If I left them to their own devices I'd have been paying £45ph but only getting 30 mins work out. I also found they seemed to have their favourite exercises. One was a squat demon. We did literally hundreds of squats at every session. Which is fine - I am now still very good at squats and was useless at them when we started – but I really wanted to work on inner thigh muscles and upper body too.

Tbh, I can choose the right workouts for free online these days. If I had unlimited money I would have a trainer to keep me accountable. But I don't. with COL on the rise it is one of the first things I've dropped.

Finances stop me having a personal trainer. Have some weights at home and work out to online programmes instead.

I used to go to the gym numerous times a week, really enjoyed the sense of achievement, becoming fitter and lost serious inches.

The gym owner used to have his friends in and I was doing a class one day and they were watching me and finding something funny. I was a size 12 and fit, so unsure what it was. That situation knocked my confidence so much I'll probably never set foot in a gym again.

Sadly I've since seen other people who have cancelled their memberships at his gym now, due to feeling insecure, too.

I went to a gym which was hard to get to and difficult to park - they had a special offer of 6 sessions for the price of 4 which I signed up for and saw results but then lapsed due to location.

I’m now at a new gym a 3 minute drive away with loads of parking so very easy. A session every 6 weeks with a PT is included in the membership but they don’t push their services. I’d probably engage more if the club partnered with the trainers and emailed offers to the members eg. come along for a group strength training session focusing on form; nutrition advice, 6 sessions for the price of 5. At the moment the Pts are there but in the background so not much engagement.

Time and money basically. Simple as that.
Between us DH and I have 2ft jobs, 2 kids and 2 dogs. That takes up all the time in the week, and the bills/food take up most of the money, with a little bit left for fun stuff.

Same I do really need the support right now
Unfortunately my salary has no gone up and everything else has and I just cannot justify the expense when I have an extra £100 a month to spend on the mortgage
I do go to the gym though and do classes

Cost

It's far too expensive - £50 an hour where I am

I earn a good salary, but couldn't justify that just for PT. Especially as I do other weekly activities which I also pay for.

The main thing that stops me is just...fear of the unknown I suppose, plus just not knowing where to look.

My council-owned gym has some trainers, but I'm not sure if that means I have to use one of them or if I can find an "outsider", and if I do - whether they will insist I go to a different gym.

I also don't know what to look for: what's good/bad behaviour or training style. The expectation level - am I supposed to have an hour a week session - and will they give me a gym plan for the rest of the week or will I expect them session? I don't want to look stupid or uncommitted as soon as I walk in the door - by saying - I'd just like a once a week thing, or I just want help planning my goals, and a structure in the gym, when the expectation is I sign up for months on end for 3 days a week!

I worry I suppose, in probably a mistakenly judgy way - that the gym is their life/main hobby - and that by asking for their help, I also want this to be my life....I don't - I just want to lose weight and get fitter ( and even the "get fitter" part is vague).

Money is kind of an element. It IS expensive but its 121 tuition! I think its more the value for money. I don't want to pay £30 every other day for a 30 min session. £30/40/ a week or every fortnight for a 45/60 mins is pricey but if I come out with 1/2 week plan to do alone - that seems more worth it.

So I suppose the thing that stops me, is its just not clear what at least the basic expectations and prices are for most personal trainers that I look at.
>How often do you want to see your clients
>What to expect from a typical session
>What will you give me beyond the session (e.g. food plan, exercise plan or goals)
> How long do you expect to work with me - so I know how long I'm committing to the weekly/monthly cost - I could afford say £200 a month for a couple of months but not every month if that makes sense. Expecting to work with me for 12 weeks is very different to long term ongoing commitment.

Money.

PTs often struggle to cope with my disabilities (particularly joint hypermobility).

Every PT I have spoken to has insisted that I have to be weighed despite my protests and my own & family history of eating disorders. Even writing this out leaves me feeling defensive, and I want to point out I’m slim.

I do go to the gym at least twice a week though, I found a nice one that isn’t intimidating - everyone looks kinda like me!

Money. Convenience.

also I have tried PT’s in the past and for me they aren’t tailored enough. They all assume your goals are cosmetic- ie lose weight or “tone up” for bikini season.

my goals are to get some of the flexibility, range of movement and strength:weight back I had when I was a dancer.

but that’s not within a PT remit. They bring out the kettlebells and planks every time.

dance and adult gymnastic classes tend to be once a week, so while fun aren’t going to improve or move things forward.

i can’t even find circuit training classes any more. They really worked for me, especially if there was a proper stretch at the end.

Embarrassment
I used to go to the gym a lot and was very fit
I hate the thought of people I knew at the gym seeing me like this