Eloise Lonsdale (someone who ‘tolerates’ exercise)
I’ve been putting off getting a personal trainer for a while now, mainly because I’ve got my routine at the gym down. While I might hate every second of it, I do the same thing session in, session out and I know how to do it. However, when the opportunity arose to visit Jasmine at ReddHott Fitness for a personalised session, it dawned on me that it’s for exactly this reason that I need a personal trainer: variation, so that with any luck I won’t feel bored senseless after every workout.
Ahead of my visit, Jasmine got in touch to find out a little more about my experience, personal goals, likes, dislikes, and capability, and after only a quick chat with her, I already felt more at ease about our session. When asked what set me back at the gym, I answered that I don’t often push myself – when I’m in pain or bored, I’m off home. “Not many people like being in pain, and you certainly won’t feel any pain or discomfort in our session”, I was assured. Exercise isn’t supposed to be a form of torture, and my 25 minutes with Jasmine showed me just how important, and how achievable it is to enjoy your workout.
Based in rural Didcot and tucked away at the end of a quiet lane, ReddHott Fitness is a comfortable and friendly environment to learn new and personalised ways to keep fit and improve your relationship with exercise at the same time. The bright and airy studio struck the perfect balance of being easy to get to (even using the dreaded public transport) while being hidden away so at no point did you feel exposed or on show.
Upon my arrival (after saying a quick hello to the cats) we talked through what we were going to be doing, and I was introduced to some of the equipment we would be using. Our activities were created around me and what I enjoyed. For example, I mentioned I liked the Stairmaster at the gym and so I was taught a move which would target similar areas, and feel the same, enabling me to expand on what I already knew and enjoyed.
Jasmine’s mindset that exercise needn’t be boring, is evident in her anti-sit-up mantra, which can be found on her Instagram (@reddhottfitness) in the quote “I hereby excuse the bearer of this note from doing sit-ups because they are trash” – an opinion I was more than happy to adopt. “I’ll do them with a client if they really like them, but there are much more fun ways to target those areas without being in discomfort” explained Jasmine.
A 25-minute workout has never gone so quickly because it felt more like a game than a form of exercise – my brain was busy the whole time thanks to the level of variation in our activities. At the end of our first set, I had done 45 squats without feeling like I was going to die (which for reference is about 20 more than I would do at the gym before pretending to take a phone call and swiftly leaving). Jasmine explained that her job is to distract you so you don’t get bored, which she did without me even noticing – the Derren Brown of personal training, if you will.
“Everything I do is based on my client's goals and things that bring them joy”, explains Jasmine. “I help them understand their goals that go beyond feeling fitter and managing weight. From there, I look at their challenges, then I hit the research and use the MAYA principle (most advanced yet acceptable) to design their unique plan. This plan may evolve as I get to know the client and as new research is developed.”
I didn’t feel like I was working hard at all, and the post-workout wobbly legs are all that proved otherwise. What I found really useful was that with each exercise, I was taught what it was doing, instead of just mindlessly hopping from one machine to the next hoping for the best. Ordinarily, I don’t really like working out with other people and can be a little self-conscious, but I was made to feel really comfortable and confident in what we were doing, despite it all being new.
If you want to learn, expand your routine and improve your relationship with exercise, I would wholly recommend a visit to Jasmine at ReddHott Fitness for a personal training session – a workout shouldn’t be something you have to do, but something you want to do.
