Sally's story: How to fall back in love with exercise

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So, the weather’s taken a turn and you’re suddenly feeling a lot less motivated to move. The mornings are darker (and so are the evenings) and then there’s always the roulette of whether it’s going to rain while you’re out.

If you’re finding you need extra motivation to get your workouts on the go now that the summer has gone, you’re not alone. The good news? There are plenty of ways to fall back in love with exercise this autumn, including remembering your why and planning in advance. 

But, we’ve also got plenty of experts on hand to help you.

Sally (who is now one of our Front of House members at Virgin Active Mayfair) joined as a member over 20 years ago. She wanted a way to exercise that would integrate seamlessly with her lifestyle and help her keep active in a fun way. 

“I have been a member of Virgin Active for almost 22 years. Originally signing at the Kensington club,” she told us. “After a couple of years, I transferred over to the Mayfair club. I signed up as I was looking to improve my way of life. My aim was to gain confidence through improving my fitness and my physical strength.” 

“I was a big fan of group exercise and frequented classes such as Pilates and Yoga. I would often attend with friends so benefited from the social aspect.”

But despite Sally’s love for exercise and the friends that she had, she found herself needing that extra push to get motivated.

Enter: Mark. 

Motivation through a challenging time

“I arrived at a point in my life where I was going through a really challenging time. I was finding it difficult to keep motivated with my fitness routine. I was approached by a Personal Trainer named Mark and he offered me a complementary session. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I decided to proceed with weekly sessions. These sessions not only helped me a great deal physically, but also mentally. Through the sessions I gained confidence and began to believe it was possible for me to achieve anything. I have now been doing PT sessions with Mark for almost 3 years.”

Because Sally began to believe in herself again, not only did you rediscover her love for movement but she also decided to take on a position at Virgin Active welcoming members through our doors.

We’re so glad to have Sally on our team and we’re grateful to all of our Personal Trainers, like Mark, who help people like Sally find value and purpose beyond the gym. 

At Virgin Active, we’re keen to help as many people as we can to grab their fitness goals and make positive changes in their life by living happily ever active. That’s why we have plenty of fitness experts on hand to help you. And, it’s not just your gym floor workouts they can help you with. Our Personal Trainers can help you develop your fitness and adapt your body for success in your group exercise classes too.

Try a free one-off Activate session to get started. In this personalised PT session, you’ll work with your trainer to find out what you want to work on and what that might look like.

Want to keep going? Maybe you’re not quite sure if this is for you. Pay once and train twice with our ‘Get into Personal Training’ package. We’ve got 2 x 45 minute no-strings-attached Personal Training sessions with a trainer of your choice. You’ll only pay for your first session and then you’re next will be on us. Result!

It’s like there’s someone to help you get your fitness where you want it to be. Because there is. 

Speak to a member of the team in club about Get into Personal Training sessions (or add them to the checkout when you become a member).

We can’t wait to see you fall back in love with exercise.