In October 2016 : I’m running up three flights of stairs late for a meeting. By the time I arrive at the meeting room I was completely out of breath and could not speak for several minutes. It was plainly apparent that my fitness levels were at an all time low. I was overweight (the scientific term is obese), stressed, eating rubbish and this was starting to impact all areas of my life. I was a member of an expensive gym but in the last 12 months I only went once and my efforts were only half hearted.
A few years ago I had a personal trainer and achieved great results. Unfortunately, it was very expensive and I am quite (very) lazy so ideally I wanted guidance during every session. I needed to do something so I investigated local gyms and came across life:lab, which was only 10 mins drive from my home. I did not need the sauna or the Jacuzzi, I wanted to spend the limited time I had focused on getting results.
life:lab offered “small group training” for a very reasonable price, which sounded ideal. I made some enquires in November.. then did nothing (I wanted to think about it whilst eating a few more chocolate bars). It was not until Boxing Day when I decided to weigh myself that I took action! I was 91 Kg and this was the heaviest I had been for years (no wonder my trousers were no longer fitting me). On 29 December 2016 I had my first session, signed up to life:lab 16 (which gives you access to 4 sessions a week, on average) and never looked back!
I train on average 3.5 hours a week and I don’t have to think about training plans, waiting to use gym equipment, reading up on how to perform an exercise properly – all I do is turn up. The trainers are amazing! All of them really care about helping each of us meet our fitness goals and they really do know their stuff. I am not sure how the trainers do it, but every session I am pushed and every session I learn something new. The other participants are some of friendliest people you can train with and I have actually started to look forward to my sessions.
life:lab use some of the latest equipment to monitor performance. Every session I wear a ‘my zone’ heart rate monitor that allows me to see how I am performing throughout the
workout. The great thing is that even though I may not be as fit as others it shows that I am working very hard according to my current fitness levels. The results are then sent
automatically to my phone. On average I burn around 850 to 1000 calories in an hour (not bad for a couch potato)!
I have now completed around 25 sessions at life:lab and a lot has changed.
- I have become slimmer (people are even commenting )
- I can touch my toes (my flexibility was very poor)
- I can do press ups – in fact I can now do over 50 in a session.
- I am less stressed.
- I am happier (I am told it’s something to do with endorphins being released during
exercise) - Finally, I can run up stairs without looking like I am about to drop dead!
One of the other members said he can’t imagine any other way to train. I have to say that I completely agree with him.
Rohan Maung, life:lab Small Group Training member
27th February 2017