I’m going to be very honest. January and gyms is just as crazy as you think. As a gym owner, you’d expect that I love it right? No. Unfortunately it’s a time when the things that bother me most about the fitness industry as a whole come to the forefront.
Today is April 4th.
That means that around 80% of people who started a new fitness programme in January have dropped off. I have that stat but it’s alarmingly true. It’s usually down to short sightedness and unrealistic expectations.
Every Gym claims to have the ONLY programme/6 week challenge for you! The reality is that a lot of the marketing you see around this time uses very negative language.
“Undo the damage!”
“Burn off the Crimbo cals”
“Back in shape for Summer”
"Beach ready"
It’s all built on guilt. We've all ate and drank a bit too much over periods like Christmas, holidays, Easter etc. It happens. What shouldn't happen is that we fall for the guilt marketing tactics and short term approaches to health. You know the secret of the really fit and healthy people? They eat and drink a bit too much on occasion too. They just exercise and follow a good diet all year round. This leaves room to indulge every so often.
I’m not calling anyone out, business is business and that’s how it’s always been done. But this short termism forces gym goers to believe that progress is tracked in 6 week blocks which is just not true.
I wanted to use this blog post to explain exactly what it is we offer at Wicklow Strength and Fitness. Spoiler alert, you’ll never hear me say anything like those three statements above. We take the long term approach because I don’t want you to have a negative relationship with exercise. I don’t want you to associate exercise as something you do when you’ve had a blowout.
If you sign up tomorrow, I want you to come as often as possible for as long as possible. We want fitness to be a part of your lifestyle, not a quick fix. Making long lasting changes to your physical and mental health.
If you join a gym or fitness programme this Summer, it shouldn’t be because you feel guilty about over indulging. It should be because you want to be fitter/stronger/healthier. That’s the kind of choice that will help you join a gym and stay at the gym.
A common question we get asked is;
“What do you actually do here?”
Well, we have 3 primary services. Personal Training, Individualised Programming and Group Training. You can go for one or mix and match to suit you. I’ll break them down for you below;
Personal Training
You and one of our coaching team in a 1 on 1 setting. A set amount of time where that coach is solely dedicated to you and your goals. We always start by assessing you and will build the entire programme around you and your goals. No copy and paste from some internet programme.
The beauty of personal training is that a good coach can adapt any session depending on how you feel that day, if you have injuries or if more time is needed to work on a skill.
Individualised Programming
This is basically a more cost-effective, less personal form of Private Coaching. Your programme is still created based on your goals and your lifestyle following initial assessment. The idea is that you go into the gym and complete the work at any time that suits communicating with your coach via our app or in your Goal Review sessions under the eye of our coaches on the floor.
This is still a great option because the programme is still created for you specifically and therefore your progress is maximised. However, this requires slightly more motivation than Personal Training as your coach may not always be there to push you on or to adapt and change things on the fly.
CrossFit
Training with people is fun, that is the biggest sell of group fitness, you meet like minded people and get to know them creating an internal accountability. Some of my best friends are people I met at the gym. These same people are the ones that give me stick if I miss a session.
While the group class will follow a programme that is not completely designed around you like the two other options I mentioned, our coaching team is always on hand to mix things up to give you the best experience possible. Our small groups mean we can adapt and evolve things as needed for people to maximise results.
Which is best?
Simple answer: None
The best programme is the one that will get you long lasting results. And that’s the one you stick to.
You don’t want to be sitting here next year still talking about starting something. Or thinking about how great you USED to feel. You want to be talking about what you want to achieve next.
I’ve listed our three options up above but there’s so many more available out there. We also offer women only strength for life classes alongside postnatal fitness.
Outside our gym there’s a wealth of options too - From martial arts to dancing, there’s something for everybody. I believe in helping people and sometimes that means I’m recommending some of those other options that we don’t offer at Wicklow Strength and Fitness.
My belief is that a mixture of all of these yields the best results. The hybrid memberships we offer allow a client to mix and match personal training, individualised programming and CrossFit. Sometimes we have people mixing with other sports or other classes, we can help you work them in to maximise results.
There is no “right way” to exercise, it’s just going to be what works best for you. If you need help deciding, you can always come in and have a chat.
Book a free consultation here;
https://api.grow.pushpress.com/widget/bookings/intro
Have a great day!
Liam
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