Not Your Average Gym

So I don’t know if you’ve heard but we’ve opened a new training studio. Take a look:

I think you can probably tell from the picture its not your average ‘gym’. No machines, no dumbbells/barbells, no treadmills, cross trainers or bikes…. Alright, I get it, there’s not a lot in there. But then do you really need all that stuff to get into the shape you want to be?

The answer is no. I’ll let you in on a little secret… I’ve been a personal trainer for six years and out of those six I’ve had a gym membership for a grand total of one year. That was during my first year at university. Even then I can count the number of times I actually used it on one hand because it became such a pain fighting for the weights with guys from Bath Rugby. They usually won. Well, they always won

‘So what did you do?’ I hear you ask. Surely you can’t be a personal trainer and not train yourself?! Of course I trained, but most of the time just at home, or outside. I started off with a bench and some adjustable dumbbells in my room like a lot of people do. Then a year or two later my family moved to a small farm and I was lucky enough to nab a bit of space there to workout in that wasn’t my bedroom. It wasn’t anything fancy, it was this thing:

Its an old container body off the back of a lorry/truck that was just sat out in the yard. By this point I’d given up on the bench and dumbbells. They took up a lot space, it took too long and was an awkward process trying to adjust the weights, and it just wasn’t cost effective to keep having to buy more weight as I got stronger. So instead of traditional weight training, I started focusing on using my own bodyweight. I had a pull up bar (some old scaffold tube), a pair of gymnastic rings, a few kettlebells for a bit of variety, and that was pretty much it.

Pull ups, press ups, dips, swings, squats and the odd Turkish get up. That’s how I trained in that old lorry body. There was no heating or electric, so in the winter it was bitter cold (icy pull up bars and kettlebell handles…. Brrrrrr), damp, and often dark, so I would have train using a headlamp. Then in the summer, there were no vents or windows (other than the doors) so it would heat up like a hot box and I felt like I was in a sauna. It was not glamorous, and it sounds like I’m complaining, but really I’m not. The whole time there was nothing stopping me from joining a shiny, bright, white commercial gym, but I didn’t want to. I had my space and it was great. And it taught me that you didn’t need all the high tech and fancy equipment, or the next new gimmick to get fit. All you need is a bit of space, your own body, a bit of knowhow and (most importantly) dedication. Oh yeah, and a pull up bar, cus who doesn’t love pull ups!!

That’s how I still train and how I’ve trained all my clients to date, in their own homes or outside in parks/gardens and they’ve gone on to achieve exactly want they wanted from their fitness, with a few even competing in triathlons.

And that’s what our new training studio is about. I understand not everyone knows how to get the most out of training when all you’ve got to work with is your body. But over the years I’d like to think I’ve learnt a thing or two about calisthenics and bodyweight training. So we’ve got the space and the knowledge, all you’ve got do is bring yourself and be prepared to work!