Tuesday 13 April 2010

Spy Ninja

Yep...Gym Ninja may appear to be 'dragging out' the Fitpro updates, but is it really Gym Ninja's fault when she has other stuff to blog about? Do not fret Ninjarettes...GN will complete the whole FitPro updates so you can all research to your hearts content.

Now...today? Today Gym Ninja had her freebie trial booked at a local gym. Part of a big chain and about £10 less a month than Gym Ninja's current haunt. As we know, it wasn't so much a change of gyms that Gym Ninja wanted, but more a chance to see what the Personal Trainers at this gym were like and whether working out of that location my be a viable option...? Plus, let's be honest, a change of gyms can sometimes rev the old workout right up.

On route to the gym (the Gym Manager had booked GN's free trial to start at 5.30pm so GN could attend the spin class at 6.30pm), Gym Ninja stoped off at the Print Shop with 3 more tops to get printed up with the logo of her new Personal Training business. But this time it wasn't just about the logo. It was the logo, plus the words 'PERSONAL TRAINER' plus the website added to the back. "Stop me and hire me' maybe would have been more applicable!!!!! But if GN wears the tops whilst training clients outdoors then this may result in more clients? Yep? Good.

So after much bashing on the door (the Print Place had again locked the main door whilst working in the back area) Gym Ninja got let in and again chatted to the owners, a nice couple who seem to happily share their experience of being a small business themselves... Turns out they can logo stuff up in glittery shades of red too. AHHHR! Gym Ninja needs to refrain from glitter. However......a glittery logo on the roof of her Mini Cooper....? Hmmmm, tempting!

As everyone was chatting, the chat turned to a local fire that had happened the night before.

Print man: "We'd just filled up at the petrol station about 10 minutes before as I stopped for cigarettes" He said....before clasping his hand across his mouth.

"Er, I feel really guilty about  telling you about the cigarettes!" He confessed, looking awkward.

Gym Ninja smiled. "That's OK, I'll let you off. It's not like you stopped for cigarettes AND a burger now is it? THEN I'd tell you off!"

*Cue peals of laughter from his fiance!* 


"He stopped for a burger BEFORE The cigarettes" She squealed.
Looks like Gym Ninja's inbuilt guilt inducer is working just fine!

So after a half hour gab about 'business' and the guy getting an attack of guilt (and yes, GN so knows that the fiance will end up hiring her before her wedding!), Gym Ninja set out for her Gym Spying session.

In the changing rooms, which incidentally were rather nice, Gym Ninja started to unpack her stuff. Yep. The old 'stranger in town' stares from the other girls in the changing rooms already. Nice! But what is this? A BAN on mobile phones in the changing rooms? really? No need to bother as annoyingly Gym Ninja could not get a bloody signal in the changing rooms. Best go onto the iddy diddy gym floor then...

AHHHR! NO signal whatsoever! What IS this place? An underground Nuclear bunker? Gym Ninja could NEVER train at a gym that cuts off her mobile phone signal. Gym Ninja needs to Tweet/Facebook her workouts!!!!!

On the rower for a warm up, Gym Ninja found herself next to 2 girls. They lowered the resistance to 1 and then started out...row.....glide.......row.........glide....row............glide. If that were a REAL rowing boat they'd have sunk by now. One girl wasn't even pulling the handles. She was grasping them in that limp handshake kind of a way and they were more 'coming along for the ride' than actively being pulled. After 30 seconds they slowed to a stop due to a crucial part of their gossip session....Girls eh?

Moving on to some of the resistance machines, and they gave quite a decent workout. Much more aligned bio-mechanically than the machines at Gym Ninja's usual haunt.  But this was NOT why GN was here. Quick...let's take a look around...

Thee were about 5 Personal Trainers in the gym at that moment in time. 3 were clustered together in an inapproachable gaggle of manliness. One of the wandering ones happened to be a guy Gym Ninja worked with a few years back at a University Gym...he'd been called Toddler as he acted like a big kid touching buttons that set of alarms just to see what they did, playing with a ball at the reception desk....Gym Ninja wondered if 1, he'd recognise her and 2, if he'd grown up a bit?? None looked particularly inspiring yet thankfully they all seemed to be in OK to good shape.

By now GN had got bored of the faffy resistance machines so wandered into the 'Big Boys' weights area.

*Cue men visibly recoiling in horror that a girl had walked onto the rubberised flooring of the free weights section.*

GN picked up some 15kg dumbbells and began bent over rows. GODDAMIT! The size of these particular dumbbells meant that Gym Ninja did a bit of boob-bashing by accident. Not good, nor recommended. Time for a change of hand position. Then she stopped as a fellow PT who'd been on the course with GN stopped by to chat. This is his local gym (hello to you as Gym Ninja has forced you to be her Facebook friend which now means you'll be reading this!) so he filled Gym Ninja in on the 'law of the land' as far as how many PTs work out of the location (about 9), whether they were any good (not really), plus how much they pay in rental to work there (Dick Turpin!). All the while the other guys were staring...how DARE That guy talk to the GIRL in OUR weights area....

By now it was 5 minutes before the spin class began so Gym Ninja went over to the spin area. Annoyingly it is merely a space at the side of the gym floor. Why do some gyms do this? Gym Ninja likes a nice separate darkened room for spin. It's not a side show! The bikes were different yet in a good way as they suited Gym Ninjas frame much better. Then the instructor showed up & off everyone went for an hour.

Was it good? Yeh it was. Was it as good as Gym Ninja's usual instructor. No not quite but that's not to say it wasn't a decent workout. Gym Ninja sweated like a pig, and after an hour and drenched in sweat, finished the class & went to try & sponge herself down somewhat before finishing the trial workout with some arm exercises.

After 1 set of biceps curls, Gym Ninja became aware of a woman next to her talking at her. Gym Ninja popped her headphones out of her ears...

"I just have NO clue what I'm doing" Said the woman next to Gym Ninja.
"I mean, I usually just do the classes but I hurt my ankle you see so now I can't do them. I don't know what to do and I'm due a scan on my ankle you know..."

Gym Ninja nodded.

"Have you thought about approaching one of the Personal Trainers here?" Asked Gym Ninja.

The woman pulled a face and muttered something about paying extra before again bemoaning her lack of knowledge of what to do. So Gym Ninja took pity on her & gave her a version of Peripheral Heat Action circuit to work her whole body with a 3 minute high intensity hand bike session thrown in, to be repeated 3-4 times. The woman seemed impressed.

'I'm actually a Personal Trainer" Admitted Gym Ninja to the woman.

"Really?" She asked. "You work here?"


Gym Ninja then explained that she is freelance, so thanking her for the advice the woman pootled off, stopping briefly to talk to the Gym Manager who'd arranged Gym Ninja's free session. meanwhile Gym Ninja had an idea and slipped back to the changing rooms to get her business card. Once the Gym Manager had disappeared (after briefly stopping to ask Gym Ninja if she'd enjoyed her workout), Gym Ninja then returned to the woman, gave her the business card and told her that she can train her IN her own home and to call once she gets the results of her scan. Then followed a pep talk of how this may be the BEST thing that could of happened as now she will see major improvements in body composition now she's stopped just doing aerobics classes.

Is that wrong? Is it wrong that Gym Ninja can maybe steal a client from the noses of 5 Personal Trainers in the very room? Let's wait and see if the woman rings GN....

So there you have it. A productive spying session. Gym Ninja then changed and left. Nobody stopped to try and close the deal, so how long will it take before the phone rings and the Gym Manager wants to know whether GN will join them.? Hmmmmmmmm, what to say...... ;-)

Toodle pip
Gym Ninja x