In recent years, gyms have become increasingly accessible to almost everyone. This is mainly due to the huge influx of budget gyms that we’ve seen over the past 10 years or so.
As a private micro gym owner, specialising in health and wellness coaching, you would assume that I don’t like the idea of the ‘budget gym’. You would be wrong though. I think they have their place and as a professional coach who wants to see the world fitter, healthier and happier, having exercise facilities accessible to as many people as possible is always a positive.
For experienced gym-goers who are comfortable training independently, budget gyms represent excellent value for money.
In fact, I actively encourage my students to join a budget gym to help supplement their programme with us, as they are usually well equipped and have enough equipment to get a really varied full-body workout. As long as you’re committed to making good use of your membership you can’t fail to get value out of it.
Don’t fall into that trap, be honest with yourself! Either use your gym membership or lose it! Make it pay for itself.
Budget gyms do have their flaws though. One of which is a by-product of the business model. For the budget gym, it’s all about getting as many people on the books as possible. As a result peak times are usually packed. Getting access to everything you need can be a bit of a struggle. Many of them are open 24 hours though, and you can get a free run of the place if you’re an early riser or if you have a flexible work/life routine.
Now on to coaching. Working with a personal trainer at a budget gym can be a mixed bag. I know because a lot of my students have worked with budget/commercial gym PTs and expressed a bit of cynicism about professional coaching when we first meet them during their success sessions.
I’m not saying that all PTs in budget gyms are bad though. There are undoubtedly good trainers with years of experience, who care about their clients, but they can also be a revolving door of inexperienced coaches.
I believe a dedicated facility like ours (DMC Fitness HQ) is a much better option for coaching. I’m extremely proud to have a staff of 4 highly experienced, specialist coaches who have been consistently working in the industry and delivering results for over a decade-plus. I think our clients would agree that this helps give them confidence that they’ll get the results they are looking for.
No matter whether training with a specialist facility like DMC Fitness or with an experienced successful personal trainer in a budget gym, it’s always a positive step in your health and fitness journey that I totally encourage.
Until next time “Strength for Life”
Davie
Davie McConnachie
Davie McConnachie is Scotland’s leading health and wellness coach, multi-award-winning gym owner, motivational speaker and the founder of DMC Fitness, a fitness education facility known as the premier choice for 1-2-1 personal training. He has inspired thousands of people to fall in love with fitness – his true purpose and mission in life.
Diving into the world of fitness and wellness has helped Davie to deal with his own trauma and inner demons. He, overcame many dark times using his own unique methods to continue his cycle of healing.