Gym membership/ Group class/ Personal training 簽健身房/團體課/私人教練

What is the most frequent asked question when it comes to picking a training session? It is clear that People are confused with the choices; too many choices and not much clarity. My professional opinion is that it is mostly based on your level of health and background and then your budget and time. To break it down here are some Pros and Cons of each kind of training which will hopefully help you decide what's best for you!

Gym membership

There are a lot of chain gyms in Munich like Fitness first, Element, Fitstar, Mcfit…You will pay a relatively cheap monthly price (from €16 - €100 depends on the gym) and do your own workout whenever you like.

Pros:

Highly flexible. You can decide when and how you exercise without booking or being limited by the class time. It is also the cheapest option if you are on a fairly tight budget.

Cons:

Lack of motivation is a big one here!

You will have no coach there to push you. You will also workout mostly alone as people will rarely work out with you. Perhaps The most important point is that, you can easily hurt yourself if you don’t have a sports study or training background. I will go into details in another article but you can see a lot of failed attempts on youtube. A Cheap price can also be a disadvantage as the cost doesn't hurt your wallet so you can be inclined to skip 1 or even 10 gym days. From there 10 days can easily become 2 months or more!

So who is this suitable for:

Individuals with a Sports background that are highly self-motivated and injury-free.

Group Class

Group class included Lesmills, Zumba, kickboxing, yoga, dance… Most of the gyms or studios will have a wide variety of classes for members. They usually cost €0 - €35 per lesson (depend on your contract).

Pros:

You are extremely focused during the class because of the vibrant instructor, motivational music and pressure from the other 20 or so people surrounding you. You will never get bored as the content, routines, and music will be changed regularly; typically on a weekly basis.

Cons:

it’s not tailor-made for you, it’s designed to fit a typical majority of gym users. It may not cover all individual differences and weaknesses; this included that doggy knee or back that hurts now and then. Some may feel that the exercise is too easy and some may not be able to perform the same exercise correctly or safely. Especially for people who have injuries like knee and lower back; it can easily compound injury and makes things worse.

So who is this suitable for:

Ideal for people with high energy or what I call "Party lovers", and people who have basic exercise knowledge and are injury-free.

Personal Training

It is normally one hour per session. The trainer will do some assessments or tests to identify your issue. For example, body fat percentage, Muscle mass, BMI, etc. The more professional gym will provide FMS (Functional Movement Screening) test to observe your basic movement pattern. After that, you will get a tailor-made program and nutrition advice. A complete session includes a dynamic warm-up, mobilisation, posture correction, strengthening training, conditioning and lastly cool down (more or less in that order).

Pros:

Flexible time arrangement. Usually, the earliest booking can be 6AM and the latest one is 8PM. You will have an all-rounded care as the trainer will only focus on you. Critically your injury risk can be greatly reduced by a proper coach. This training service is the most effective and efficient among three of them.

Cons:

It has a relatively higher price as you can’t share the hour rate with others. Equally, you can't enjoy the group class atmosphere in the individual training.

So who is this suitable for:

Busy lifestyle people, gym beginner, that have a mild or serious injury or health history.

在選擇運動場所時最常見的問題是什麼？明顯地，很多人會覺得混淆，太多選擇和不太清楚。我的專業意見是，它主要是基於你的健康水平和背景，然後你的預算和時間。每一種訓練都有優點和缺點，以下文章有助於您決定最適合您的運動場所！

健身房會員

慕尼黑有很多連鎖健身房，如Fitness First，Element，Fitstar，Mcfit ...月費相對便宜（從€16 - €100取決於健身房風格）支付，通常都可以自由進出做自己的鍛煉。

優點： 高度靈活。你可以決定何時以及如何運動，無需預約或被上課時間限制。如果您的預算有限，這也是最便宜的選擇。

缺點： 缺乏動力是一個很大缺點！ 沒有教練來推動你。通常都是自己一個孤獨訓練，因為其他會員很少和你一起鍛煉。最重要的一點是，如果沒有運動學習或訓練背景，你可以很容易地受傷。我將在另一篇文章中詳細介紹，但您可以在網路上看到很多健身房意外。廉價的價格也可能是一個缺點，因為便宜的會員費有時會令人容易忽略，不去健身房1天甚至10天也覺得沒關係。從這10天又很容易變成2個月懶散不運動！

那麼這是誰適合的：

具有高度自我激勵和無傷患的運動背景人士。

小組班

團體課程包括Lesmills，Zumba，拳擊，瑜伽，舞蹈...大多數的健身房為會員提供各種各樣的課程。他們通常每課€0 - €35（取決於您的合約）。

優點： 在課堂上，由於充滿活力的教練，激勵的音樂和來自其他20個同學們的推動，您在課堂上會非常專注。隨著內容，流程和音樂的定期變化，你永遠不會覺得無聊，通常每週一次。

缺點： 它不是為您量身定制的，它的設計適合於大多數健身房用戶。它可能不涵蓋所有個人差異和弱點。有些人會覺得這個練習太簡單了，有些人可能無法正確或安全地進行相同的練習。特別是對膝蓋和背部有舊患的人，容易重複受傷，使情況變得更糟。

那麼這是誰適合的：

適合愛動的活力人士，或“派對愛好者”，以及具有基本運動知識和無傷患的人。

一對一私人訓練

通常每節課一小時。教練會先做一些評估或測試來確定您的狀況。例如，身體脂肪百分比，肌肉質量，BMI等。更專業的健身房將提供FMS（功能性動作檢測），以觀察您的基本運動模式。之後，您將獲得量身定制的計劃和營養諮詢。一個完整的課程包括動態熱身，關節鬆動術，姿勢矯正，強度訓練，心肺訓練和最後伸展。

優點： 靈活的時間安排。通常最早可以上午6點，最遲晚上8點。您將有一個全面的照顧，因為教練只會專注於你。受傷風險可以由專業的教練大大減少。這是三訓練方法中最有效率的。

缺點： 它的價格相對較高，因為您不能與其他人平分費用。同樣，妳在個人訓練中不能享受團體的氣氛。

那麼這是誰適合的：

繁忙的上班群，健身初學者，有輕微或嚴重的身體傷患或病歷。