13 Reasons that may be preventing you from joining Team Training

Maybe you like the look of our Team Training set up but something is holding you back from having a try or joining us. I’ve asked a number of people what might prevent them and tried to answer some of the most common responses. I’ll start with a stumbling block that many have and that is that the price is….

Too Expensive.

I love this one. There are deals to be had but the standard price is £160 per month to work out with me up to 25 times per month. 25 times is far too many but you can do that if you want. The biggest reason we blame price as a stumbling block for a gym memberships is due to the fact 80% of gym members fail to see results. Why then, would we spend money on something that isn’t going to work when we can get something that equally won’t work for less money i.e. a gym membership for £23. If we are going to waste money we will waste what we can comfortably afford to waste without it impacting our lives. £23 per month is the kind of money most of us can chuck away without it stopping us from altering our lifestyle in any way. Plus, by seeing a direct debit leave for a gym every month, we believe we are taking care of ourselves even if we don’t attend.

Here’s the idea with Team Training. You show up, receive excellent coaching and achieve results! The most honest and fair advice I can give you is to not join us if you don’t want to change. If you joined and didn’t want to change it would be too expensive. If you do want to change for the better though, then it becomes extremely affordable and great value. Training with a PT 25 times per month will cost you at least £750 per month and our Team sessions are BETTER than working one to one. Plus – you pay for it with the money you save on avoiding what’s currently holding you back e.g. too much booze, takeaways, cigarettes, shopping for clothes, whatever!

You may even find yourself with more money come the end of the month!

The exercises look too tricky. I couldn’t do them.

There are various levels to all exercises: progressions and regressions. Perhaps the ones I show on video are at times the funkier looking ones but that’s for social media purposes. Whenever anyone comes to see me either for one to one or for Team Training I make sure that the basics are learnt first. This is because there is an order of events and you’ll never be able to perform the final progression of an exercise properly until each stage is mastered along the way. If there’s anything you like the look of that we do, I’ll get you there safely to do it.

People look fitter than I am. I wouldn’t keep up.

Everything is structured so that nobody gets left behind. A great example of this is that for the majority of the workouts we work for time and not reps. So, if we are all squatting then we will squat for perhaps one minute and not 20 squats. This way, whether you do 2 or 200 we all start and finish at the same time.

I wouldn’t make all the sessions so wouldn’t get value.

You’re not supposed to make all the sessions. Attending all the gym sessions is too much stress, plus we encourage you to do other things outside of the gym too like participate in sport or ruck with us.

It’s advisable to hit 3 sessions per week. 4 is perfect. 5 is probably too much unless you’ve really got hold of your routine. You aren’t supposed to go from zero to full gas. Team is about integrating healthy movement into your life. If you try to go full pace you will likely only last a certain amount of time before the stress gets too much and you stop completely. I have years of witnessing this happen on many occasions so relax and have patience.

Try to not think of every time you miss a session you are losing money. Think more that you are part of a Team and every day whether you work or you recover, you are contributing to your overall long term health and fitness by being part of something bigger.

I just need to get this work/holiday/house move etc out of the way first…

This reason is very common amongst busy people. If you find yourself regularly thinking like this, you will always have something to finish first. It is the nature of who you are. Constantly moving from one project to the next. It’s a good thing. Keep going as it shows you like to progress and achieve.

If however, you are unfit, overweight, lonely, or unsatisfied with the way your life is then it will continue to be this way and get worse unless you do something about it. Movement and fitness needs to be incorporated into your life regularly forever and not just for 12 weeks regardless of how busy you are. If you achieve a certain level or look within a short time you won’t keep it, you will lose it as quick as you made gains if you stop so incorporating into your life for the long term is what is needed.

The longer you leave committing to make a change, the tougher it will get.

I’m nervous about the challenge.

Excellent. You should be. If something scares you then this is good because nothing of any significance ever comes easy. When you see these soft commercials telling you how simple making big changes to your life is e.g. “Just 10 minutes a day with abs blast machine and you can look the man or woman in the advert” or “Drink this juice and have the body of your dreams”. When you see these they are plain and simple not true. Yes you can use them as part of your plan but know that overall, making big changes is hard work. Feeling nervous about committing to change is part of the process to making change.

I need to get fit first, then I’ll join.

No. Stop. This is what we do. We get you fit. One thing I notice whenever I take people on is that on average, I get people to become overall fitter than they ever have working with anyone else. It happens time and time again. The levels to which we work are controlled but exciting and I am very good at gauging what you are capable of. It’s very common for people to be totally shocked about what they can actually do. One perfect example of this happened just this week when I asked a man to pick up a weight and put it above his head. He failed, immediately blurted out – “No. No way. Not possible. I can’t do that.” and he walked away from the exercise. One or two words from me later, he went on to lift it 60 times during that hour.

Trust me. I will get you fit. It is what I do.

I need to lose some weight first, then I’ll join.

This is of course very much the same as wanting to get fit first before joining. How are you going to lose weight? You’re going to move a bit more and eat a bit less garbage. Your Team will help you with this. The group is very good at supporting you when the hard times are around. You want to give in to eat pizza and start again Monday? You’ll get words of encouragement and tasks to show up to training so you don’t go off the rails. Each little challenge is a battle but each small victory you make adds to the overall big goal. You’ll find it a lot easier with the support of others.

I feel awkward because I used to see you in the past Paul and you know I left to attend somewhere else.

I’d be overjoyed to see you again. I’d be so happy that you are returning because you know that at least some of the things we did in the past were great and you want to do them again. It’s just the same as you returning to Sainsbury’s after shopping at Morrison’s a few times. You’d never feel awkward going back there and it’s the same with me. It’s only because I’m not as big as Sainsbury’s and I’d personally remember you.

Don’t be shy. Come back. We’ll have a hug and a cup of tea before we resume.

I have an injury that will stop me.

We will work around it. As I’ve said before, the training methods I use in Team are based on my own personal plans and I have not worked out for this amount of years without having injuries and carrying on. There’s always some niggle here or there, especially if we are used to working out and as we age but I will always find a way around it for you. Over decades of hard physical training I have never once let any injury stop me from having a workout.

I’m overweight and I think you don’t like fat people.

Big important one this. I have said many times over, my issue with obesity lies with the governments of this world and not the individual, especially the individual who is desperate to change. I have read many books on weight gain, psychology, obesity and economics and the number one reason that people are obese is because of what governments allow to be sold indiscriminately to every single human being. It is what is in the food supply.

Don’t for one minute believe that Tesco doesn’t sell heroin because they have morals. They don’t sell it because they aren’t allowed to. If they could they would.

People are not fat because they are greedy and lazy. People are greedy and lazy because they are getting fatter. Read that sentence again so it sinks in.

What the government allow to be so easily consumed for such a cheap price is killing us and that is why as a global population we are getting fatter and more importantly, sicker. It is my wish for graphic government health warnings like they have on cigarette packets to be put on chocolate bars and fizzy drinks. I want the price of those products to be tripled and the revenue go to helping overweight people get active and happy.

I love everybody who has the desire to change and I will help them to the best of my ability every step of the way.

Some of your opinions on social media bother me and we might clash.

We don’t talk about such matters during sessions. We’re too busy achieving what you want to achieve.

It’s difficult being an individual and owning a small business because often people see the two as one. I’ve been advised so often to keep my mouth shut and it’s caused many arguments with those that I love who are close to me but if I feel strongly about something I have to say. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t.

Perhaps what you could find comforting from that is that I’m not scared to go out and stand up for what I believe in and if I believe I can get results for you I’ll do whatever it takes to get you there, no matter how much attention good or bad it causes me.

I say all of that with much peace and love.

The training you doin Team looks different to how I normally workout. Why do you do these things?

I wrote a blog on this which best answers the question.

https://www.pchf.co.uk/2021/07/08/what-do-i-do-for-exercise-and-why-do-i-do-it/