Personal Training - The Energy Coach

How Much Exercise Should I do?

How Much Exercise Should I do?

My short answer is as much as you can do within reason. I know what I’ve just said is pretty vague and, for some, not much help at all. But bear with me, by the end of this blog, I promise you will have a definitive answer.

99% of the people I personally train lead busy lives and have many other commitments that have taken priority above their health and fitness which is one of the reasons they come to me; to be their health and fitness enforcer. A personal training session or two with me per week is a great start having not partaken in any regular exercise for a while. It’s not optimal for health and fitness, but it’s a damn sight better than zilch. 

When trying to set and form new habits it’s more effective and more likely to work if you start by making it extremely easy to achieve, so I give my clients the jurisdiction to set their own weekly target. I ask “how many exercise sessions can you absolutely guarantee you can do this week?” The answer varies depending on each individual, but most say between 2 and 3 sessions. This way I ensure that my clients succeed along every step of their journey by letting them set very realistic and achievable goals.

Ideally, to see the best results, they would need to be exercising for 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day (for optimal health and longevity that is, and not necessarily peak cardiovascular fitness). But that would be totally unrealistic and unachievable, leading to de-motivation and a feeling of failure (yet again) at trying to be healthier and fitter.

My answer for you is to strive for 30 minutes of daily activity such as walking, swimming, jogging, cycling, sports and to start off by committing to a weekly goal that is so easy it’s a no-brainer, for example, a couple of 15-minute exercise sessions a week and build up the duration and frequency from there. This way, not only will you be forming a habit, building success upon success and consequently feeling motivated, but it also will give your body (muscles, bones and connective tissue) the time to adapt to more activity. A marathon runner does not start out running 70 miles in the first week of their training plan for good reason, they build slowly and progressively!

Matt Jordan – the Energy Coach

What To Expect From a Personal Training Session

What To Expect From a Personal Training Session

For me, a good personal training session should be as unique as the client. Going back 15 years when the health and wellbeing industry was beginning to really pick up, a cookie-cutter approach to personal training would be classed as the norm. Today the fitness industry is massive and only growing and it seems that everyone wants to be a coach or personal trainer, so the standards have risen quite dramatically. Although having said that you will still find lazy, uninspiring trainers all over the UK, often they won’t last in the job more than a few months and only the best have a fulfilling career from it.

For me, a personal training session is more than just exercise and that’s why I like to call them coaching sessions. I have one, sometimes two hours, each week with someone to help them as much as possible and making them sweat hard for that hour when in-between personal training sessions they’re eating and lifestyle habits suck is not a good way to spend the time. And so in my coaching sessions we might exercise, we might stretch, I might do some sports massage, we might set goals, we might reflect on success and failures and plan for the week ahead, we might even just talk rubbish for an hour!  

Coaching sessions with me last anywhere between 30-60 minutes as sometimes you don’t need 60 minutes to have a great session that accomplished everything you set out to achieve. Would you be happier if you got the same great haircut but in less time? Exactly. Providing my client has left their session feeling it was the best, most productive time spent on their goals and needs, it was a success.

I gauge what the most productive things to do with our time together by asking a question. After greeting a client, the first thing I ask is “what would you like to get out of today’s session with me?” And we do just that. Sometimes I will ask to offer my opinion and make some suggestions that I feel would best suit their needs and so the session might be made up of both the wants but also the needs of the client.

I think it is vital to start a session with a blank canvas, no preconceived perceptions, or judgements whatsoever. Approaching the session like I’ve never met the person before and know nothing about them. Because what I’ve learned in the last 15 years is that people’s wants change from day-to-day.

We end the session with a couple of powerful questions; “what was your biggest lesson or take home from today’s session?” which is a great question to help my client leave with the key point of the session firmly in the forefront of their mind and secondly “if we were to do it again what would we do differently?” Only by asking this question will I know how to make their session even better next time.

Matt Jordan – the Energy Coach

How Much is a Personal Trainer?

How Much is a Personal Trainer?

My 5-word answer is; anywhere from £10 to £3000. I assume that’s not a helpful answer.

As a general rule of thumb, you get what you pay for, so a personal trainer that costs £20 an hour might not bring you as much help, support, advice, expertise (and consequently lasting results) as a personal trainer who costs over £100 an hour. I am sure, however, that there are many personal trainers out there who charge £20 an hour and are really great and also personal trainers that charge over £100 and are useless.

Cost is only one thing to consider when choosing a personal trainer so don’t forget to look at reviews, recommendations, online presence, qualifications, insurance and whether their personality best suits yours.

Typically, my personal training (or coaching sessions as I prefer to call them) cost between £50-£60. But I don’t sell them individually because I’ll be honest, it’s not good for my business because I’ve discovered that when people make a longer term commitment, buying ten sessions or perhaps enrol for a 3-6 month period they benefit much more and see greater lasting results which in turn is great for me and my business.

Why am I £60 a session? I’ve fifteen years industry experience working with a vast range of people, I’m highly qualified and believe that learning should never end. And I help people change their lives permanently.

I get enormous personal satisfaction in helping people, it’s one of my core values in life and so my clients get my ALL, I give everything to help them, personal training is not just a job for me because serving people is what I fundamentally believe in and so £60 to me feels like a great value for money investment in personal health, growth as a person and ultimately, happiness.

Matt Jordan – the Energy Coach