If you already know what you want to do, feel confident training on your own and can keep it going, you may not need Personal Training.
If you want more individual help with what to do, how to adjust it and how to keep moving forward, Personal Training may be useful.
This page is here to help you make an informed decision.
The trade-offs
There are some obvious downsides:
It costs money.
You need to make time for booked appointments.
You still have to turn up and do the work.
You are paying for support you could try to work out yourself.
For some people, those trade-offs are not worth it.
For others, the extra support saves time, reduces guesswork and makes it easier to keep training towards something that matters to them.
What you get in return
You come in knowing what you are doing
We start with what you want to improve and why it matters to you.
Your training is then built around that goal, rather than you walking into the gym and trying to decide from scratch what to do.
You have someone to help when things need changing
Bodies do not feel exactly the same every day.
If something does not feel right, the answer is not automatically to push through or stop everything.
We look at what can be changed — the exercise, load, range, pace, effort or amount — and find a workable option where appropriate.
You know how to move things forward
You get individual feedback while you train and help deciding when it makes sense to increase, change or progress something.
The aim is less time spent wondering:
"Am I doing enough?"
"Should I increase this?"
"What do I do if this feels different today?"
and more time actually training.
Exercise has a place in your week
Booked sessions give training some structure.
You still have to show up, but you are not relying entirely on finding the perfect time or motivation every week.
Why work with me?
I mainly work with adults 45+ who want to get stronger but are not completely confident exercising around joint pain, stiffness or previous setbacks.
A lot of my work is with people who want to exercise but are unsure how to make strength training fit when their body does not always feel the same.
My approach is practical:
find a sensible starting point;
explain what we are doing and why;
help you use gym equipment with more confidence;
adjust the training when something is not working;
build things up gradually; and
help you become more confident making your own training decisions over time.
Through my work delivering the Nuffield Health Joint Pain Programme and 1:1 Personal Training, I have spent a lot of time helping adults exercise around persistent joint pain and move from supported sessions towards using the gym more confidently.
I am a Level 3 Personal Trainer and nutrition coach. I am not a physiotherapist or doctor, and Personal Training is not medical treatment.
This may suit you if...
You want to get stronger, but you find yourself thinking things like:
"I don't really know what I should be doing."
"I don't want to make it worse."
"What do I change when it feels different today?"
"I keep starting and stopping."
"I don't feel confident using the gym on my own."
You do not need to have been on the Joint Pain Programme to work with me.
Personal Training options
12-week pathway
12 × 40-minute 1:1 appointments
£236 per month for 2 months
£472 total
£39.33 per coached appointment
This is the main option if you want regular support across roughly 12 weeks.
Appointments can be spaced flexibly across the pathway where useful.
At the end, you can decide what suits you next:
train independently;
use occasional support; or
continue regular Personal Training.
Start with 6 sessions
6 × 40-minute 1:1 appointments
£278
£46.33 per coached appointment
This is the smaller starting option if you want individual support but would rather make a lower initial commitment.
Which option makes more sense?
Choose the 12-week pathway if you already know you want regular coaching across the next few months and want the lower cost per coached appointment.
Choose the 6-session option if you would rather start smaller and decide later whether you want more.
Want to talk it through?
If you are not sure whether Personal Training would actually be useful for you, ask me.
I can explain how I would approach your goal, what the support would look like, and you can decide from there.
If you decide to start, payment is made through Nuffield Health and we book the first 40-minute appointment.
After the sessions you choose, you can decide whether you want any further Personal Training.