‘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.
• Plus a PT, Crossfit, yoga and Pilates.

Thousands of hours of training. Ten times that on gym fees. Sadly, little to show for it physically, twelve 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 Kickstart program to find out for myself.

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 forty-five 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 twelve 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-on-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 the 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.

After six weeks training at Club Crux:

• Lost 2 kg of fat.
• Increased weight in every exercise, week after week.
• Better speed and stamina on the bike, my most hated activity.
• Gained some muscle and bettered my nutrition habits.
• 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.

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 twelve years, I don’t think you can put a price on.