‘I trained at a $10k a year gym and it turned me from cynic to supporter’

I’ve been a member of more than a dozen gyms over the last decade, a fact I don’t tell proudly.

Snap, Anytime Fitness, Goodlife, Jets, World Gym, Fernwood, F45, Fitstop, BFT, EMF.

I’ve hired a PT, even tried my hand at Crossfit, yoga and pilates.

I’ve spent thousands of hours working out, ten times that on gym costs, but sadly, little to show for it physically 12 years on.

So naturally, when I heard about a $10,000 a year gym opening in Brisbane, the cynical journalist in me questioned what could possibly justify such a price.

But, coming off a six-month exercise hiatus and packing a few extra kilos, I decided it was time to get back on the bike, so I signed up for a six-week kickstarter program to find out for myself.

Doing it wrong all along.

Within the first five minutes of my initial meeting with one of the co-owners I could tell this was going to be different.

We spent 45 minutes going through everything relating to my health, fitness and nutrition history, my knowledge level, my goals and weaknesses, and what had held me back in the past.

The next session we didn’t jump straight into a class, one of the owners Tony ran me through an hour long ‘movement session’, observing the way I performed different manoeuvres, taking notes of any I struggled with, and form that had room for improvement.

He was the first trainer in 12 years to tell me I wasn’t performing a squat correctly, and how doing this for so long was likely linked to post-gym back pain I’d been experiencing on and off for years.

Session three; training begins. I was offered either one-one-one personal training or squad training alongside two to three other members.

I chose squad training because I enjoy the social element, as well as not loving a trainer’s undivided attention while I die of exhaustion during a workout.

I assumed squad training would be like other group fitness classes I’d been to, where we all perform the same workouts.

Instead, despite exercising together, we each had our own tailored programs, specific to our individual goals, and weaknesses I mentioned earlier.

My program, at first take, I thought I would fly through, with a lot of the weights half of what I’d trained with in recent years.

But all of a sudden, with their trainers’ guidance and constant corrections to my form, I realised I hadn’t been performing many of them right this whole time.

Small tweaks here, a slight twist of an elbow or arch in my back there, had me working completely different muscles.

Suddenly I felt like a beginner again, but in a good way, I was finally working out the areas I’d been intending to all these years.

Results speak for themselves

After six weeks training at Club Crux, I lost two kilograms of fat, I increased weight in all exercise’s week after week, even improved my speed and stamina on the bike – my most hated activity.

I gained some muscle and bettered my nutrition habits, but most importantly my mental health improved through the roof.

Thanks to a later-in-life anxiety and ADHD diagnosis, I know exercise plays a huge role in the way I feel and behave throughout the day.

So to get back into a routine and focus on my health again, as well as see consistent physical and mental results for the first time was beyond what I could have expected when I first walked through the door.

What I realised along the way from other members, was the cost wasn’t that much when you weigh up what you get, the benefits, or compare it to things others spend the same amount on each week.

I spent more on eating out and alcohol, taxi trips there and back, Uber Eats the next day, and often without a second of thought.

But to feel and be the best version of myself in 12 years, I don’t think you can put a price on.

Tara Cassidy, State News Editor for Southern Cross Austereo