Which fitness program should you choose

Going to the gym can be a life-changing event in a positive or negative way, it all depends on how your initial few months go. Some people fall in love with fitness while others could care less. If you're reading this, you have some sort of interest in fitness and nutrition so I want to help you choose the program that is the best for you.

*Reminder: what you or I like may be different than someone else. I tried to be as unbiased as possible*

Where to start?

When it comes to starting, this is always the hardest part. The vast majority of people will sign up for their local LA fitness and walk in not knowing what to do. Other people blindly walk into a group fitness class (CrossFit, orange theory, f45, Barrys) and have to learn in a fast-paced environment. If you are unsure where to start, take note of what you like doing!

• What are your goals?

• Do you like group fitness or do you like working out alone?

• Do you have limited time and need to be quick?

What are your goals?

This is the most important aspect of what program you choose. If your goal is to be competitive or you like to be competitive then group fitness classes are more for you. If you just want to work out and live a healthier life then both options are good, it'll depend on your personality!

Group fitness Vs Working out alone

If you are someone who needs to be pushed or enjoys being social and being around people, then group fitness is for you. Most of these gyms have a great environment and the members usually come around the same time every day. You slowly become friends with these people and fitness with friends is always better ( in my opinion).

If you don't like people or know you need to be in and out of the gym, then working out alone is for you! You can set your schedule, you set the pace, and you set what you are doing.

Both of these styles have their benefits and their downsides. I have done both for many years but I tend to prefer group fitness.

What gym should you choose?

Now that we know what style of working out you plan to do, what gym should you go to??

Group fitness:

I highly recommend trying out multiple gyms if you decide to do group fitness. This lets you get a feel for an environment, the coaching, and the programming. Some gyms are great at programming but the environment sucks, others have great environments but the programming sucks. Go try out different ones, see where you get the most coaching, who cares about you, and what style you like more.

• More on the style, CrossFit classes tend to use barbells more, and classes like f45 tend to be more dumbbells. It all comes down to preference

Lastly which price works best for you? I want you to find something you love and can do for a long time.

Chain gyms:

Chain gyms are much cheaper than group fitness gyms. This is mainly due to the fact that only 30-40% of the members actually show up to a chain gym. They keep them cheap so people keep paying the memberships. There is a big attraction to having a cheap gym membership but the biggest downside is you are usually locked into a 6-12 month deal with this gym and trying to cancel is very challenging. It once took me 3 hours and 10 phone calls to cancel an LA fitness membership.

While a chain gym is cheap, it is usually crowded at the times you want to go and equipment might not be available. On the flip side of that, you get to dictate what you are doing and for how long. If you want just to do legs today no one is there to tell you no!

Do you need to hire a trainer or coach?

Like i said in last weeks email, I hired a trainer before i could develop any bad habits and they changed my trajectory in fitness. I highly recommend hiring one even if its just for 2 months. The trainer will be able to give you incredible knowledge that would take you months to years to learn. It might be a higher upfront cost, but you save so much time in learning and even more time in learning proper movement patterns to help avoid injury.

I could go on for hours about the benefits of hiring a trainer but regardless of which program/gym that you choose, I think its worth every penny of it. If you need help with finding a trainer in your area shoot me a message id love to help.

Give yourself time

The gym has so many different areas where you want to improve. You want to lose fat, you want to build muscle, you want to lift this weight… etc. You cant do it all at once! You need to understand you're going to suck at lifting or running when you start. Everyone started from zero, no one was born with the ability to lift weights properly, and some people just started earlier than others. Again, we all started at zero. 99% of people aren't going to judge you for just starting, just be open to learning from others.

If you don't give yourself a MINIMUM 3-6 months of consistent effort then how are you going to know if you are making progress? Progress doesn't happen overnight it takes weeks and even months to start seeing it. I can show you plenty of client data behind this if you don't believe me.

Hopefully, this helps you decide on your next fitness program! If you still have questions or want to dig deeper, send me a DM or email. Id love to talk more about this

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