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: