Coaching V Personal Trainer for Fitness

At my local gym, there are two main areas: the main gym, where memberships are a reasonable £40 per month, and a high-end group personal training facility charging £150 per month, which includes four structured PT sessions per week.

At first glance, the difference between the two groups might seem to lie in the price of the cars they arrived in. But what really caught my attention was that the regular gym-goers—those in the cheaper area—were, on the whole, in noticeably better shape than those in the premium PT section.

After some thought, the reason seemed clear. The people who turn up consistently, week after week, often for years, are usually self-motivated and committed to long-term change. Meanwhile, those throwing money at a personal trainer in a last-minute bid to shed a beer belly before their Bahamas holiday might lack the consistency real results require.

Discipline beats luxury. When it comes to long-term fitness, self-motivation is the real premium. (And yes, I proudly count myself among the non-PT crowd!)

While personal trainers are great for getting you through a workout, a health coach goes deeper—supporting lasting change from the inside out.

As a qualified health coach with a degree in Sport and Exercise Science and Education, I bring both the scientific understanding of the body and the psychological tools needed to change behaviour. Unlike traditional personal training, which often relies on extrinsic motivation—pushing you to show up for sessions or achieve short-term goals—health coaching taps into intrinsic motivation. That means we work together to uncover what truly drives you, helping to build habits that last a lifetime, not just until the next weigh-in.

My role is to help you shift your mindset, build confidence, and embed healthier routines into everyday life. This means more than just getting fit—it’s about creating sustainable change in all aspects of your wellbeing. Over time, this can reduce your reliance on unsustainable diets or one-to-one PT sessions, saving you money whilst improving your long-term health outcomes.

 Please note: I do not hold a practical fitness qualification and therefore do not prescribe specific exercise programmes. Any physical activity undertaken is at the client’s own risk. As part of my service, clients are required to sign a service level agreement acknowledging this and confirming personal responsibility for any exercise undertaken. 

I believe in goal-based fitness—where the focus is on measurable progress rather than chasing aesthetics alone. I use challenges like beating personal bests, increasing distances, or hitting new strength milestones to drive motivation and results.

For example, instead of training to look better, we might train to deadlift 1.5x bodyweight, shave 30 seconds off a 5K time, or complete a set number of push-ups in one go. These tangible targets give purpose to every session and keep clients engaged. And the irony? When you focus on improving your numbers, the physical transformation tends to take care of itself.

In short: train for performance, and the physique will follow.

The real difference? You’ll typically work with me for around six weeks to create habits that last a lifetime. In contrast, you could end up paying a personal trainer £50 a week for years, often without ever developing true independence or long-term change.

Train with purpose. Build habits. Own your fitness for life.