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 don’t go to a gym but do go out running. I do tend to stop over winter as I hate going out in the cold and dark. Should probably go to a gym at that point. I think I prefer doing an actual sport rather than targeting specific muscles to look better. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it just doesn’t motivate me.

Might be worth thinking about regarding bone density/osteoporosis, at some point, @smooththecat It's certainly not all about looking good.

Thanks again for all the responses. The thread's really helpful, and some of you have been very open about your insecurities. Thanks especially to @AllotmentTime , for mentioning clothing. I will definitely be mentioning that it doesn't matter what you wear in my next batch of marketing. Not sure how to tackle the 'Farting is welcome' issue though..! You're probably getting plenty of exercise at the allotment, I certainly am on mine at the moment

Time, I would say money but I’d manage to make it work financially. With a 1 year old, 12 year old, working full time with a supportive currently SAH hubs yet makes time very limited. Once baby is in some sort of nursery I’m planning on starting back

Might be worth thinking about regarding bone density/osteoporosis, at some point, @smooththecat It's certainly not all about looking good.

@Watchkeys , she already runs, which is proven to reduce the risk of osteoporosis by improving bone density.

Exactly this! 🤣

Money, mostly. But I also worked with a personal trainer for a month, and she gave me a nutrition plan, and the plan itself wasn't unreasonable (40% protein, 30% each fat and carbs) but I felt absolutely dreadful for the whole month and didn't continue because I felt as though I was constantly having to stuff myself with chicken and quark and not eat enough vegetables, and I had to supplement fibre because I wasn't getting enough and I just felt sluggish and I'll and moody and constipated the whole time, and I felt that I could do better by myself.

This is a biggie for me. When I started looking for a PT I tried out quite a few and the majority were talking about the 'nutrition plan' they were going to put me on. Most didn't have any qualifications in nutrition and were definitely not dietitians, and I had not asked anything about nutrition, I just wanted to learn to strength train.

The PT I have now is very passionate about nutrition and will do an optional nutrition plan, but she doesn't push it on people, she waits for them to start talking about it and then asks if they want support/ advice.

PT focus should be exercise first and foremost unless they are actually qualified in nutrition.

Fear of exposure.
I'm a fat 55 year old. Very unfit. I would love to find a PT but they are either gym based/communal changing/mirrors/others or outside, puffing round a park for all to see.

I am very unfit, slightly overweight, and rubbish at following a routine. In short, I’m too embarrassed/ashamed.

Time and DC. I work 50 hours a week. Every minute I'm not with DC is spent working. And when I'm with DC it's full on. Now my youngest is nearly 4 I can occasionally do some (2 mins) yoga but he tends to come and push me over/sit on me

The expense. Can't spare it right now.

Also, I prefer walking in nature to being in a smelly gym and being yelled at. I am peri-menopausal and 50, and I don't believe many personal trainers understand how tough it is to lose weight at this age. I used to be a size 6, now I am a 12. Still not fat, but midlife weight gain is a thing that many younger people do not understand.

The cost. The worry that they wouldn't understand my condition which means my spine is vulnerable and I have chronic fatigue. Boredom. I find going to the gym boring. I know I'd get sick of it, so don't see the point. Fear of failure. Lack of mental space. Demands from elderly parents and teens.

I like walking and swimming because during the former I can look at stuff and during the latter I can sort out my thoughts. I know I need strength training. Keep thinking I'll find time at some point.

Also, I really struggle being in the company of people who are so evangelical about training. Makes me feel inadequate.

Oh also, I don't have a typical British diet, and I think some personal trainers may struggle with the idea of someone who won't eat meat.

I have an excellent PT and they’ve made a massive difference to not just my health and fitness but other parts of my life like my confidence and career (I’ve been promoted twice since starting with them!).

I was very overweight after having children and lost the majority through running and diet, but turned to a PT to try and fix an IT band injury. I’m not sure if I would have had the confidence to use one when I was very overweight, but have no doubt it would have got me to my goal a lot quicker. 10 months on and I’ve lost another 2 stone, built muscle and love going to the gym. I’m doing things I never thought I was capable of and just wouldn’t ever have tried hadn’t it been for my PT. They are expensive, but I’m able to afford
it by making it a priority and not spending on other things like the junk food and alcohol I was buying before. That’s not to say everyone can make a few sacrifices and afford a PT, unfortunately it’s out of reach for the majority.

It's the 1 on 1 pressure of a personal trainer that stops me. I would love to join a small group programme of 4 or so people who get training sessions together and can support each other through the programme.
I spend a fortune to go to the classes at a lovely gym which are great but the group of people at the class never the same so doesn't have that support element

This!!

I also don’t want to be shouted at in a positive ‘come on your can do it’ way or judged. I am a plus size menopausal lady, I eat healthy in the main, I don’t drink much, I drink loads of water and walk the dog everyday on top of the gym, swimming and a dance class per week. I do go to the gym its so boring but its close to my house and it gets me moving. I much prefer dance classes like clubbercize or aqua zumba.

I've had PT's in the past and would consider on again but would need to be the right one. Some of the thing that are stopping me/have stopped me are:

1. Money - I appreciate that PT's have to train and should be appropriately compensated for this but to make having a PT worthwhile/see the benefits you need multiple sessions a week (IMO) and at £30/£40 a session its just not affordable.

1. I prefer one on one sessions in a private setting rather than at the gym. I appreciate everyone is there for the same reason but having always had weight issues I have bad body confidence and end up focusing too much on thinking people are watching/laughing at me (I know their not) than doing my workouts.

1. Time - I work full time and have various things to do after work which leaves little time to fit exercise in. I've found in the past that some PTs were only willing to work during the day when I was at work.

1. PTs thinking you can only be fit and healthy if you are slim, yes I've met a couple! Not everyone wants to be super slim and super toned like them. Some of us just want to be fitter and healthier. When you tell them that you see them instantly lose motivation to train you and before you know it there are excuses why they can't make this session, then the next etc. Forcing you to drop them and look elsewhere.

1. This one is the biggest issue for me. Having a PT that truly undersrands health issues. They alway say yeah, no problem I can work with health issues but they never do. I have multiple health issues that means I suffer from pain, at times limited mobility and extreme fatigue. It makes exercise extremely difficult at times but I know it helps keep me healthy. I know my limitations and PTs need to listen when I say I'm done and I can't push through that one last set. Not, you can do it, you'll be fine! No, I won't. I know my body and I know if I do this one last set I won't be able to walk for a week, end up with a frozen shoulder etc.

I hired a PT for a year to come to my house and make me exercise. After a year I’ve stopped because I’ve seen no results - not stronger, not fitter, no tangible difference.

First of all i don't see going the gym as a chore or even as 'exercise'. For me it's a hobby/special interest so I do enjoy lifting weights, I don't do any cardio at the gym except when I have to do lots of reps with lighter weight. I follow a programme to be able to progress and the fact that it's an activity that keeps me fit it's a bonus.
I had a PT when I first started. He was OK but he wasn't particularly good at listening. I wanted to focus on free weights and he was determined to put me on machines all the time which I didn't really enjoy. Also, he wouldn't give me a proper progressive overload programme, just a multitude of different exercises with no actual structure. I should have put my foot down and told me to actually do what I wanted him to do. So when I finished the block of sessions with him I just follow a programme on my own with the help of an online group.

After a few years I got a powerlifting coach for a couple of years . He was 100% better but at £40 a session was something I couldn't afford long term.

Money.
Not wanting someone in my house.
Not wanting to go to someone's house.
Not wanting to go to a gym/outdoor exercise and 'be seen' as a fat bitch.
Preferring to do something online.
Not liking weights / HIIT / burpees etc and preferring dancing or something 'fun'. instead.

Oh sorry I missed that you are a peri-menopausal woman too @Watchkeys . In that case, you may have an edge!

Various things - added cost on top of my gym membership is the main one. If the ones at our gym offered training to groups of 3/4 so we could share the costs, I'd likely consider that.

I would absolutely love a personal trainer but I don't earn enough and live very far from any town.

I have a PT and gym membership.

I’m only able to do the former as my Dad died and I allocated some of my inheritance as an investment in my health.

I like it but as COL continues to rise and my salary doesn’t it will be my first economy.

I tried a couple. First guy was disinterested and robotic. I did two out of the three sessions I paid for and he never got back to me to book the third. I very much felt that I was a fat middle aged woman and didn’t matter.

second guy got three sessions with me when I complained about not getting my third paid session with the other bloke. We’ve really gelled (and I do think the dynamic matters). He is 20yrs younger than me but we have a good chat. I know about his M&D, girlfriend etc. he knows about the people in my life.

He listened to what I wanted to achieve - strength and fitness but didn’t want to do cardio fitness in PT. So we do loads of weights/exercises (squats!!) and he checks in that I’ve been going to spin regularly periodically.
It’s worked I am fitter and stronger, but perhaps less dramatically than I expected after a year.

gym wise it’s the great range of classes and nice facilities that keeps me going. I have membership across the whole chain and travel to do the classes I want e.g I spin on Mondays at my home club but tend to go to another branch for my second session of the week due to class timings.
I usually manage 2 spin classes, 1 Pilates class and a yoga class each week.

periodically my PT will challenge me to try a new class and I’ll go and give it a whirl.

I have never been this consistent about attending before.

before I joined I thought I would mostly swim! I’ve swum < 5 times in 15months.

I’ve had gym membership before and not used it nearly as much. Things that have made a difference.
*I Committed to classes this time and respond to the penalty system for late cancellations by turning up!
*being older and less worried about making a tit of myself in a class the first time I go
*other users seem less judgy/body beautiful than before (most of them are very slim toned but I don’t feel the dismissive vibes I have in the past that I’m not).
*i now own decent gym gear so although shape wise I don’t fit the gym ideal I look the same as everyone else.
*using my resources - I was scared before my first spin class but tagged along with a friend the first couple of times.

I prefer PTs who work at boutique studios so when you have a session you have the place to yourself. I hate PT sessions in big gyms.