Gym in a Rucksack

Primrose Hill commuter walks to work - perhaps carrying a portable gym in her rucksack.

Getting out of the Gym – my story

In December 2007, I was training clients at a Central London gym. As the staff gathered for a bit of Christmas cheer, munching on our turkey-flavoured rice cakes, we were informed that the building had been sold and the gym would be closing down.  I realised that as my clients would scatter and disperse to a variety of other gyms, I was going to lose a lot of business.

Catalyst to change

Over Christmas, I had some hard thinking to do. The answer came in a present from my girlfriend: the Gymboss, a clever split-interval timer that only a personal trainer could get excited about. This cheap device, used creatively, rapidly became my most favourite piece of gym equipment – and I didn’t need an actual bricks-and-mortar gym to use it.  I had been moving away from using treadmills and resistance machines in my clients’ fitness sessions and my own personal workout for some time.  Instead, I was focussing on bodyweight exercises, some basic weight training routines and a low-tech/high-effect approach to programming exercise. With this style of fitness training, I could carry my gym around in a rucksack.

Outdoor Gym

So I took to the outdoors, making my gym stretch across London: its green spaces, local trim trails, hills and client’s homes. In the two years that have passed since that decision, I’ve added only a few pieces of equipment to my arsenal: a TRX system, a couple of light weights, some pads and sparring mitts. Although I haven’t set foot in a mainstream gym in all that time, I’m probably the fittest I’ve ever been.

Outdoor Alternative

Before you enter into a contract with a gym, consider the freedom of our pay-as-you-go monthly training plans, to see how you can integrate exercise into your life.