To pay over £1k for a PT?

[itswednesdayy]

I’m trying to sign up to a local gym, but it is a private service with 1-1 personal trainers, complete with personalised diet plans.

They give you 3 60 minute sessions per week for 12 weeks (you can’t visit the gym outside of these sessions). There wouldn’t be anyone else visiting the gym during these sessions to ensure the equipment is free and that you get a complete/consistent coaching service. They are very popular online & seem to deliver results.

The downside is the price, would you pay £360 per month for this? YABU = No. The total cost is £1080 which works out to £30 per session. I’ve never been to a gym before so unsure if I need this level of support.

I work 9-5 and they run these sessions during that time. So I’d have to try and squeeze the sessions in during my lunch breaks @ work and not sure how I’d get changed in time as I work in-office in smart clothes (though the gym is next door to my office).

I don’t think there’s an issue with the price and I’d pay that for 12 weeks. £30 an hour a session is good value.

I think the bigger issue is that it’s just not convenient for you in terms of timings.

Have you ever been a gym member before OP?

If you join a decent gym, they should be able to give you an induction, teach you how to use the equipment and give you a programme to follow based on your goals. Not all gyms do this, but my current one does. It also includes classes, a pool and steam room etc.

Why do you want a personal trainer? To show you what to do or for motivation?

If you have £1080 spare, you could also set up a fairly decent home gym instead?

And I would say go for it, if the initial £1080 was an investment for getting you set up for getting fitter and healthier. But it doesn't sound like it is if you can't actually use the gym without them!

I actually think a good PT, who is focused solely on you, and is next door to your office, could be a godsend. £30 ph is well worth it, IMO.

I know someone who spent a few grand on a few months for a ladies only gym. I honestly thought someone was pulling her a fast one. She had a lot of weight to lose but indeed, it sparked a huge fitness journey for her and she stayed for years beyond those months (probably too long tbh)
never the less she went from a 22-12.

have you seen real reviews, and not mock ups advertising themselves ?

But OP can’t do the suggested time of 3pm and it would all be a rush even if she could. Plus she hasn’t said if she wants 3 sessions. Those are the issues I think, not the cost

I think my running club membership works out at 28p a day or something.
Go running OP!

God absolutely not. I’m struggle to pay £50. I’m not sure what your intended aim is, lose weight, get fit? One or other or both? I lost 24lbs during lockdown 1 by counting calories, upping my steps and doing online fitness workouts from YouTube. That didn’t cost me a penny. If you’re wanting to get fit just join a normal gym, then you can go when you want and can probably sign up for a PT once a week, a lot cheaper or just do your own thing. Lots online to tell you how to make the most of gym equipment etc

Im sure someone has said it somewhere but personally I would join a gym which offers PT sessions. I used to go to Virgin £45 a month general memebership I think then I signed up to a PT package twice where I got so many sessions for an additional amount I had them weekly for a bit then dropped to bi weekly then monthly. Was good as I could manage when i wanted the sessions and shown how to use equipment I wouldn’t have been comfortable in such as free weights.

You would be better with a PT who has their own studio.

You basically need a different gym or a different PT.

Have you thought about having a PT who comes to your home? That's what we do, we work out in the lounge or garden (both tiny!). It's convenient and means we actually do it. No wasted travel time. No need for a gym really - you can achieve a lot with pretty minimal equipment that the PT can bring. You'd probably pay a bit more (depending on area) for a good PT though. We pay £50/session for ours in London.

This is key. It doesn’t fit your lifestyle so you need to try something else.

Fwiw dh and I have both had pt’s. Dh still works with his but I just do my own thing now. The main benefit aside from the training is that they come to our home and fit around our schedule. If a pt can’t work around your needs and can only offer one hour a day as an option then I think you would be better looking elsewhere. You can get plenty of good programmes online or training apps that cost much less.

This REALLY doesn't need to be this complicated!

If @itswednesdayy has limited flexibility re. getting to the gym, working out at home is the answer.

Get a pair of dumbbells and look up a few trainers on YouTube. Work out for 30-45 minutes 4-5 days a week. Go for lots of long walks, at a vigorous pace.

Online trainer suggestions:

If you are a beginner: Lucy Wyndham Read or Rebecca Louise

Very different styles, but both are excellent for those who are new to working out.

Intermediate: Heather Robertson or Cindy Cummings or Growingannanas

Check them out and see who you are comfortable with.each one of them will help you get fit. Personally I like Growingannanas because her workouts are very professional and well structured, and she doesn't chat while she's working out.

More advanced: Caroline Girvan

Caroline is in a different league - absolutely the best, but her workouts are challenging. Ease your way in by using one third of her weights. Her workouts require commitment, but they are exceptionally well structured and totally addictive. Life-changing actually. (Speaking from experience 😎)

I'd definitely recommend trying these before dropping £1000 for gym sessions that may or may not work for you, especially if you are new to fitness training.

I've seen adverts like that in train stations.

Can you say how much they are? (I've always wondered.)

This thread is about one of these transformation programs actually. They don’t publicly list their prices.

I think more than anything I wanted to go to this gym out of convenience aa it’s local to where I live/work. I want to lose a bit of weight but mainly get fit and improve my strength. I will try out the suggestions on this thread first, thank you

That is incredibly cheap for that level of 1:1 PT. Round my way you would be looking at more like double that for a package like that and about 75ph otherwise.

Absolutely not

In London I pay 55 a session but also includes free use of the gym whenever I want

@RethinkingLife I don't remember the details exactly; the person I know did the twelve week programme and the results were amazing, so I looked it up (not on their website, which doesn't list prices) and the eight week one was £2K, I think. It's ROAR Fitness if you want to get in touch with them

For what it's worth, if I had the money and needed a total overhaul with full support I would pay it in a heartbeat. The PTs at my gym are £85 or £95ph, so I also agree that £30 is a very good rate if that's the way the OP decides to go.

I did something like this last year because I knew I wouldn't go to the gym without the extra motivation. In my case it was small group personal training sessions. I did well but couldn't afford it long term. I also worked full time. When it stopped I joined a cheaper gym but I just found it so boring. Now I do an exercise class on mini trampolines a couple of times a week which is much cheaper and great fun.

Overall I would say the first gym was useful at getting me started with fitness but I do cringe a bit now at the money spent. I also found some of the nutritional advice useful for keeping the weight off long term but not useful for someone like me who really needed to just get their weight down first then work on keeping it off. And the food plans they wanted me to follow were extremely expensive! So make sure you check that out. From what I've heard from talking to other people at those sort of gyms they assume that if you can afford that sort of money you have another fortune to spare! There's always something else extra they suggest that may help you.

In terms of losing weight which is what I really do need to do for health reasons, I've lost more just calorie counting and going to these mini trampoline classes.

If I could go back, I think a beginners boot camp might have had the same goal for getting started out with fitness and ended up a lot cheaper with the aim of finding a class I wanted to do long term at the end of it.

I do a 45 minute session in a similar environment during a 1 hour lunch. IMO it's completely possible, but......
You need to have a shower after.
Sometimes my hair is soaked in sweat.
If you wear make-up, the chances are you'll need a complete re do.
Depending on how the session is, you sometimes feel a bit sick after from all the rushing / exercise.
You'll need to meal prep your lunch, you won't have time to pick up something after.
Putting on tights in a rush when your still a bit damp / hot / sweaty is hell on earth!
If you pay a lot for a gym you bloody well use it!!!! It's a great motivator for me!
You learn to get dressed and undressed really quickly!!!
Good luck OP
I've done it for 6 years, average of 5 days a week, it's changed me for the better!

Wow. It feels like there are two different worlds with regards to costs to keep fit here.

On the one hand there are the people who manage to train, exercise and keep fit with either a gym membership or their own equipment and a bit of you tube. On the other hand there are some who must pay thousands of £££ per year on £85ph PT instructors and schemes like the OP's.

If a PT instructor had bookings for say 4 hours per day, 5 days per week thats £88,400 annual earnings. Wow!!

@Tessasanderson I just checked the instagram of the main PT and he’s a millionaire apparently

The set up you describe it is reasonable- £32 for a PT session with sole use of equipment is a bargain!! But the set up seems fairly inflexible.
@Tessasanderson of course it doesn't work that way! Average cost of a personal trainer in London is £50, and average outside is £30-40, and those who work in gyms get more like £20-28/hour.
They also need to buy equipment or hire a space and pay for liability insurance, and if doing it in peoples homes, travel. Then if they work under an umbrella firm they need to give them their cut.
Average earnings for a PT in London is £32,000, which means gif every elite high earning trainer there are quite a lot more barely making any money at all.

Op, where I live I pay 60 pounds per session which lasts one hour. The gym only does personal training so there may be one other client in there with their trainer when I’m there. It’s money well spent and an investment in my health and well being. Give it a go for three months, you’re worth it and it’s money well spent.