Anyone a Virgin Active member? Personal trainers.

I have a Personal Trainer at Greens. She charges £140 for 10 half hour sessions - I mean, you could have 5 one hour sessions but I prefer to make them last a bit more. Generally, I do tend to get through them in a month though (two sessions a week and most months are longer than four weeks) so it can add up.

I had the first, introductory session, for free (that was an hour) and one month she offered me 12 for the price of 10 which was fab. Last week we had to change a session at incredibly late notice so she gave me an extra half hour for free so she has been really good to me.

I love the sessions - I call it Personal Torture - and by God she works me hard and I can see the differences - I can work on higher levels on the cardio, I work with higher weights, my recovery times are improving and my figure is changing too. If I could afford more sessions, I really would!! ?

How fab of him! I have to say I've never used a personal trainer but afaik they aren't that cheap. I wonder whether their creche might be a better way to spend your money? They give you a free induction when you join and work out a programme for you, and their staff are good, present and helpful - I can't help thinking that personal trainers are a bit of a load of wank unless one's very serious. I think what you need is flexibility (in terms of time not yoga bendiness!) at this stage.

Sophie speaks a lot of sense too - I don't have any children so I have a bit more disposable income and can afford the sessions and yes, as you can tell, I'm very serious!! ?

I agree with Sophie.

I go to La Fitness - they gave me a once over when I joined and took about an hour to go through a regime with me - wrote it all down on a card, even gave me drawings to explain stuff incase I forgot. I was really nervous about going it alone incase 'i did it wrong' but actually it was all fine. I go when it is quiet (1ish) and usually there is me and 5 other over weight oldies building a sweat!

I get a review every 6 weeks and there is always someone about to ask silly questions. So in short, I think the right gym is more important than a pt at the minute.

No idea about virgin active but the PT's at my gym (david lloyd) range from £30 - £45 a session depending on the level of the PT. I have been thinking about it but could only afford/justify 1 session a month and i dont know if thats worth it

Fab that your husband has sorted something for you.

Enjoy

Alas the one I am looking at joining has no creche and is strictly adult only, but it is within 5 mins walking distance from the house so worth it. I know what Mum's birthday budgets are (and they are pretty generous) so I will still look into it. I just think someone to help keep me going would be good, I am notorious for not asking for help from people what work there randomly as I find it really hard to talk to strangers (staff included usually) so having a 1:1 session once a week for a while would do well to guide me whilst I get into this kind of thing.

I might look at Greens [also no creche] too, although that is a short drive it is an one that doesn't get too clogged with traffic (and may be bikeable in the summer too).

I'm with Virgin Active. They were offering a free training session recently to see if it was for you IYSWIM Have they put you on a programme yet? They used to give that session away FOC, not sure what the norm is now cause I joined when our gym was Esporta and then they changed over to Virgin Active. I know that those sessions to get a programme were £20 each.

I posted this on a thread of yours a couple of weeks ago Puss, but I'm not sure if you saw. I recently joined my LA gym, and it's fabbity fab and much cheaper (and nicer) than private ones, and has a creche. Might be worth a look? I pay £38 a month, which includes all classes and swimming in 3 or 4 places. Bargainosity!

Thanks Sophie, I did see but had forgotten (short term memory is pretty much non existant at the moment!) I will have a look at that too, I know the nearest one is Purley which is a bugger to get to at anything but off peak traffic (and I am 90% sure still doesn't have a creche...gah!).

The idea is at the moment is that as soon as Mr P comes in, I go out. This is very appealing to me as a, I REALLY need out at that point of the day as my tether's end is usually reached about 30 minutes before he walks through the door and he will do all of bedtime (which he usually does). Only snag in this arrangement is his inability to do plaits in P's hair ?. I can do an hour, and be back in time to still have an evening with him and kiss the kids before they go to sleep.

I haven't joined yet Sunset, need to wait until next month as all bills have been paid and we are penniless again for the time being ?. We are going to go to when he has been paid again to sign up. I am info gathering until then.

Ah right, well in that case they should assign you one session with a member of gym staff who will show you how all the equipment works (kind of like an induction) but will also give you a training programme based upon what you want to achieve ie. losing weight/toning wobbly bits etc. Then you can always ask about cost of personal trainers.

I am and have a PT. They chare me £140 a every 4 weeks which gets you 1 x 60 min session a week. Individually they are £40 each.

I'm with Virgin Active and have personal training. I pay £130 a month for four one hour sessions. Used to pay £260 a month for 8 sessions, but reduced it when I reached target as I was now trying to maintain rather than lose. When you start you get one free one hour session. If you go today or tomorrow you can take up the Move More Challenge, which gives you a free PT session as well.

ETA: Just saw you mentioned Purley. Which VA are you thinking of joining? I go to the one at Colliers Wood so could recommend a trainer if that's the one you're looking at.

Hmmm those fees are doable I think, certainly for a months worth which would be enough to get me started I think. Will have to talk to Mum.

Melancholie, I am looking at the Grants one as I am literally 5 minutes away. Thanks though.

Ooo, that one's only about a year old so should have some nice facilities. Good luck with it. ?

4 years, but only Virgin Active for a year. It was a Grants before that (as we looked around when we first moved here and then I got up the stick rather faster than anticipated). It is lovely in there though (from what I have seen from the reception desk as I can't take the girls in ?). I am quite excited about it now!

I remember them handing out leaflets in Croydon when it first opened as VA. Two years ago I'd never thought I'd say this, but I love going to the gym. Have fun!

Puss - not stalking you, honest, but if your gyms are much of a muchess on the niceness front, I'd go for the one a short walk.

Once you get into longer walks or car journeys you can think of many more reasons to avoid going where as a 5-min walk is hard to come up with reasons why you can't manage!

Not going to a gym at the moment, but I found it much easier to push myself with an instructor present than by myself, they are also good for keeping an eye on technique which is easy to get wrong/slip by accident, esp when starting out.

I'm really jealous - I don't think there's one in walking distance of us which is a shame as I've enjoyed it in thepast.

That was my thoughts too Zeb, I know myself waaaaay too well and I know what techniques I can employ to not go ?. I have to say being able to walk out of the door at 6.30 and be home to have an evening with His Nibs is a good incentive too, especially as I will miss the bedlam that is bedtime [bad mother icon].

I used to go to the one by Lidl's in Chelt (behind Argos) and absolutely loved it so I am hoping I can find that love again. Roll on April and signing up I say ?.

Oh really Jess, that would be fantastic!

Jess, thank you so much but don't worry about it. As a turn of fate we got a letter through the door from Virgin Money (we have a credit card with them) offering a free month so I am going in tomorrow to sign up ?. Am very excited and will now spend tomorrow afternoon finding all my old gym stuff (and praying the moths haven't got to it ?)

I had a personal trainer when I was a member of Virgin Active and he was brilliant. I paid £30 for an hourly session by Direct Debit, I think it was £40 per session if you didn't choose the Direct Debit option. Once I'd been there for a while I cancelled the DD and starting paying him directly at £22 per hour (this was strictly off the record though!).

I loved having a personal trainer and actually really miss it now. It was honestly some of the best money I've ever spent. On the bright side I learnt a lot that I can now incorporate into my own workouts. It helped that I got on really well with my trainer but even if I hadn't it would have been worth it, maybe even more so as I might have done more exercising and less chatting ?

I love my PT. It is expensive - there's no getting around that little fact - but I no longer consider it an optional spend. He gets me doing things I simply would not do without him and I feel the health benefits of it everyday. He also gets me into the gym far more often than I would go otherwise.

I have to say, I don't see any weight loss through PT - if anything the reverse. The muscle I build in my PT session was for a long time negating any weight loss I was managing. However, I now seem to have tipped the balance and the fat loss is exceeding the muscle build. Now I've tipped the balance I'm delighted to find that all the muscle building has meant I am really toned.

Your post is really interesting Dopper - I'm not quite at the point where the balance is tipping for me but I don't think it'll be too much longer. I'm loving the definition I'm starting to see but your experience has cheered me. Fingers crossed I'll soon be getting the results you are.