[stef]

Hi All - I am repeating this thread on the "Exercise" bit too!

I have finally taken that last step. I am setting up my own business. I am going to be working with people for whom gyms and similar facilities are just not suitable. Either because they hate the thought of lycra and treadmills or because they have a medical condition that means such exercise is not appropriate.

I will be interviewing clients, helping them re-assess their daily activities and building exercise into their daily lives. I will also be providing personal activity programmes, where appropriate.

What I need to know is what sort of things would put you off or motivate you to use such a service?

What words, pictures, behaviours really please you and which truly annoy you and turn you off?

What sort of help do you really want/need? Written info, demonstrations? Weekly, monthly, daily contact? Face-to-face, on the phone, e-mail or written contact? WHAT?????

Have you got any experience with a similar service? How did it go?

Lastly - what do I call myself? At the moment I'm a "Lifestyle Activity Consultant", but I personally prefer "Fatness Instructor" (husband's suggestion!).

Any anecdotes, suggestions etc would be greatly appreciated. Stef

[BritinNJ]

Hi Stef,
What a great idea, well done to you for taking the plunge, I hope all goes well for you in this new business venture.
My first thing about working personally with someone who would help me exercise is the cost. I understand that you have to amke a living, but being the Mother of two kids cost is very important to me, I always think that people who have personal trainer's have to be rich too.
Second thing for me would be, what do you look like and are you going to be sensitive to the fact that I have wobbly bits that wobble rather a lot once I jump about....and I say this thinking at the same time, that if I jump about often enough, nothing would wobble after a while, right?
I actually signed up with a sort of personal trainer a few years ago. It was a disaster from the first minute we met. He was a man for starters, and I really believe that he didn't like his job, especially the fact that he had to work with fat people who were trying to do something to better themselves. He had an awful disposition towards anything fat, and I doubt whether he'd ever had an ounce of fat anywhere on his body before. After about six weeks of humiliating myself in front of him, I decided it was better to be fat and happy than thinner and miserable....until now of course.
Now, what else, I went on a bit of a tangent there, sorry....oops.
Ummmm, I think a big thing for me would be the hours/times you could provide for me. Like evening hours after I'd finished work and eaten dinner and sorted my general life out, so then I had my time for exercise.
I can't think of anything else for now, but I hope this might help you out.
Once again, good luck for this new business, you sound like a great person so I'm sure you'll do well
chris.

[Sarah Ann]

What a brilliant idea! Good luck and I hope you are VERY successful...

Right.... I get really put off going to gyms because my perception of it is that the people that go there are already fit and perfect size 12s or under with muscles where they should be and no droopy bits, but it is also something I would like to do. So I would have loved it if I could find an affordable fitness/ lifestyle adviser to help me get started on some good food and exercise habits - and who would stick with me until I felt I was in good enough shape to go to a gym and perhaps go with me for the first few of times until I felt comfortable.

I would need to know that the person I am dealing with isn't going to be hyper critical about the way I have run my life up until now. (Similar to going in to a hairdressers and them picking up bits of it and asking distastefully 'WHO cut your hair last time..... were they TRAINED??') I think I would also be looking for someone who is offering to HELP me rather than TELL me. I have always known what I should be doing - its the actual getting down to it that has been the problem.

Things that would put me off...... If you were a size 10! If you shouted at me! If I didn't get REALLY clear instructions about what I should be doing when I'm exercising. Awful music. Any kind of track suits (especially navy blue ones like my school PE teacher wore) skin tight lycra ... (baggy t-shirts and ordinary cycle shorts or leggings are more friendly).

Will you be covering diet as well? If you do then it should be easy stuff which either fits in with normal family meals or is very basic. It would be excellent if you could provide nutritional advice because, of course, it is a combination of diet and exercise which gives the best results.

If the service you are going to provide had been available to me I think that after an initial thorough consultation and assessment I would be hoping for maybe two x 1 hour long sessions a week with maybe a phone call/email every other day at first, slowly reducing to one hour long session a week with a couple of phone calls/emails each week after I was comfortably settled on a suitable programme.

What sort of help would be useful.... Definitely written info (things go in one ear and out the other when you are stressed and your clients WILL be stressed the first time they meet you). Perhaps a typed up summary of the things you will cover in each session. Demos would be good as well - perhaps a video of you doing the basic exercises on, slowly progressing to harder ones - depending on level of fitness, which they can follow when you aren't there. Not too many pre-printed leaflets though - they get thrown away.

I'm not too sure about the word 'Instructor'.... (shades of army/prison...) How about something a bit less formal... I don't really know..... 'Fatness' is good though!

[stef]

WOW!

So much to digest! Thanks!

Me? I am overweight myself (BMI 34) and I will not be pushing "skinny good fat bad" at all. My main message is fit and healthy at any size/age/ability! I will be offering very basic nutrition advice, there are nutrition experts out there and I don't claim to be one of them!

No gyms! The whole point of me is for those people who don't want a gym. Activity should be a built-in part of our lives, not a public statement of social status (oops, sorry)!

Sarah Ann, you seem to have put a lot of thought into this! You describe almost exactly the service I am hoping to provide. Thanks! I feel more certain about it now!

Stef

[veggie]

Sarah puts a lot of thought into everything me thinks!

[Sarah Ann]

Thank you, Veggie, I'll take that as a compliment - shall I??

[veggie]

Of course is compliment Sarah!!

[tupperware queen]

All the very best to you in your new venture Stef, sounds great!!