Call me bias! But the main reason I recommend DUAL is the support that has always been here. I know now that this is what I thrive off. Dual was the first place I started training however, back then I had to be dragged through the door. Once I was in I’d spend most of my time on a treadmill or tucked away in the corner with some kettlebells trying hard to pretend I didn’t care what everyone else was doing and that I knew what I was doing. I realise now that no one was worrying about me because they were too busy worrying about themselves.

The DUAL team soon got me making eye-contact and saying hello to them when I walked in at either 6am or 6pm. They had to try hard, but they soon got me and within a few months I stopped being scared of the gym. Instead it became my respite. So much so I changed my job and set-up DMRfitness.

It’s no news that everyone is different. However, it took me a little bit longer to apply this to me and my needs. I’m not ashamed to admit that I got myself into a bit of a hole last year and couldn’t seem to dig myself out alone. You might think that by becoming a personal trainer you’ll be self-motivated and disciplined forever more I think I naively did, but we’re just humans and whilst some of us can just go get it done. I realized that whilst I was busy helping my clients structure their food and training mine had gone out the window.

That’s where our good friend and P.T Daniel David Bachelor came in – by this point I felt so far back from where I had once got myself to on my own, that I felt really embarrassed to ask for help. But it’s one of the best things I did. There were no secrets, just a great amount of support, which then encouraged that patience and consistency that everyone’s heard about but I was very much lacking. Although all personal trainers will say support is key it is not until you do it yourself that you realise just how important it is to get that support right.

Dan had a lot to contend with. He not only had to push me physically, but he had to work out how I worked mentally and then convince me each week that I could go a little further, lift a little heavier and airbike a little faster. I’m not ashamed to say there were sessions where I had to stop myself from balling my eyes out because in the end any discomfort I had then has made me comfortable in my own skin and brought the momentum and confidence back that I had lost.

I knew I needed 1-1 support to build back my confidence. I realise now that’s just how I work best. You might be different but I guess the biggest message here is you don’t have to do it alone if that’s not working for you anymore. Dual and it’s personal trainers can help you in a variety of ways. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been training for years or weeks.

Some of us thrive off competition or working with others which is why our challenges have worked so well. Members have put themselves out of their comfort zone weighing in weekly, attending 3 high intensity classes a week and sticking to a very disciplined meal plan. Other members come in with custom made programmes designed by our P.T’s to meet their needs. They then go smash their training without worrying what they need to do because the thinking has been done for them. Others walk through the door ready for a P.T session that they have pre-booked because they know if something is in their diary, they will get themselves to the gym without any excuses, Whilst others just get on it and post their work out on Instagram later. Ultimately, these are all different forms of accountability often the additional worry of knowing what to do in the gym or what to eat on top of the day to day grind is too much to worry about and so the gym becomes the last thing on our list of worries. Especially as the excitement for the new year wears away.

This year make sure you find out what it is you need from the gym. Are you sticking to the same routine out of fear or out of habit? Has your fitness got lost somewhere and you want to find it fast? Do you just need a little reminder of how to use equipment? Or maybe you’ve had some sort of injury that you’ve tried to push through? Whatever it is we’re definitely not a scary bunch at DUAL someone will always point you in the right direction. If they can’t help you they will endeavor to find someone that can 😊.