Sod the gym

Here's a fact: most clients that ask for my services are not looking to achieve peak physical fitness and more efficient performance. It's likely that very few are looking for sport specific training to improve their body's strength and speed or to lower heart rate, blood pressure and decrease the likelihood of disease. Most clients simply want to look good. I don't blame them, to be honest. I'm much the same. Most of us are. As cliché as it sounds, we live in a society that is saturated with the idea of perfection and beauty. Billboards advertising soap will find reason to stick at least a half naked, trim and smooth body over half the advert. It's intimidating. And while we may have occasional notions of running a marathon or cycling across a country, most of our concerns and conversation have more to do with aesthetic appearance and appeal.

Okay, fact number 2: if you focus on a sport, an active discipline, a hobby that demands particular functions of your body, you'll see the benefits of your time, effort...and enjoyment. Find something you love to do and something you want to be better at and as you push your body, as you endeavour to climb higher, run farther or faster or cover more distance on your Sunday morning bike ride, your body is going to shed fat, build necessary and functional muscle and increase the efficiency of your cardiovascular system. You'll feel better, be better, have an added branch to your social group...and, of course, look better.

This is the kind of fitness I care about and care to encourage. Personally, I loathe the gym. It's time consuming, expensive and usually packed out to the point where you'll need to compromise your workout plan because some oak is sitting on the weight bench, checking himself out in the mirror.

Added to this, it's far too easy to get into a rut, blunder through a stale program and, essentially, waste your time.

Fitness can be simple, cheap, effective...and sociable. I first opted to become a personal trainer due to my love of working with people and my enjoyment of fitness...and I'd never set foot in a gym. Unfortunately, the entire learning process pretty much forces a student of the fitness industry into that environment. My body suffered, as did my enthusiasm, soon leaving me a tad despondent about the entire idea. So, back to the fun stuff.

The best workout I've ever experienced was in a boxing club. It was a shabby hall with a few skip ropes and a boxing ring. For floor work, you were lucky to get a mat. But I got into the best shape I've been in, before or since. There were no weights, no treadmills....just a bunch of likeminded people pushing their bodies to the absolute limits using high intensity movement, plyometrics and body weight. It strips fat, it tones and builds muscle in a more comprehensive way than you' might see in the gym and it ups your fitness levels, while being cheap, quick and sociable. Plus, it's very easy to do it in your living room or a sunny park. .