Is Personal Training Worth the Cost for Busy Parents?

€149 a month is a lot of money for many people.

There. I said it.

As someone who owns a gym that charges €149 per month for Group Personal Training, I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise.

But here's the important bit

€149 a month is a lot of money if you don't go.

It's also a lot of money if you go regularly but don't enjoy it, don't get the support you need and don't get the results you wanted.

​That's why I think there's a much better question to ask than:

"How much does the gym cost?"

The question I'd ask is:

"What am I actually getting for my money?"

Because there's a huge difference between paying for access to a gym and paying for a coaching service designed to actually help you get results.

Why a €40 gym can be more expensive than a €149 gym

I've been working in fitness for almost two decades, and I've seen the same story countless times.

Someone joins a commercial gym.

They have great intentions.

They go a few times.

Then life gets busy.

Or they walk into a busy gym full of equipment and don't really know what to do.

It's noisy. It's intimidating. There are people filming themselves, influencers, selfies and people who look like they've been training their entire lives.

Meanwhile, you're standing there wondering whether the machine you're about to use is even set up correctly.

Eventually you stop going.

I've spoken to so many people who have paid for gym memberships for months, sometimes years, that they barely used.

Technically, that membership was cheap.

In reality?

They paid money and got nothing from it.

That's not particularly good value.

What are you actually paying for with Personal Training?

At Evolutis, you're not paying €149 to walk through the door and use our equipment.

You're paying for a coaching service.

Every member follows a structured 12-week training programme designed to progressively develop their strength and fitness.

They're not random workouts thrown together each day just to make you tired.

There's a plan behind what you're doing and progression built into it.

When you arrive for a session, you don't need to decide what exercises you're doing.

You don't need to figure out how many sets or repetitions to perform.

You don't need to wonder whether you're doing something correctly.

And you don't need to redesign your own training because your knee, shoulder or back isn't feeling great that day.

Our coaches explain what you're doing, show you how to do it and watch you while you do it.

And because we coach in small groups of up to 10 people per coach, we can personalise the session to you.

That might mean changing an exercise, adjusting the weight, working around an injury or simply pushing you a little harder because we know you're capable of more.

You also have a coaching team supporting you outside the individual sessions.

We use Styku body scanning to help measure changes in things like body measurements and body fat percentage.

We have one-to-one goal-setting check-ins.

We run assessment days so you can see how your physical capabilities are progressing.

Then there's the community side of Evolutis, including things like family days and games days throughout the year.

None of those things individually are the reason you should join a gym.

But together they create something very different from simply paying for access to a room full of equipment.

The aim is to give you an environment where it's easier to show up, know exactly what you're doing and keep making progress.

And somebody actually notices whether you turn up

This is probably one of the biggest differences.

We care whether you come.

Our coaches know your name.

They use your name.

They get to know you.

And if you suddenly disappear, we'll usually check in and give you a little nudge.

Not because you're in trouble.

Because we actually want you to succeed.

Accountability gets thrown around as a fitness marketing term, but ultimately it means somebody notices.

If you haven't been to a commercial gym for three weeks, there's a reasonable chance nobody knows.
When you're part of a coaching environment, people notice.

For busy parents, I think that matters enormously.

"But I'm too busy for Personal Training"

I've heard this hundreds of times.

And I understand it.

Work.
Kids.
School runs.
Relationships.
Appointments.
Housework.
Life.

When your routine is already packed, adding something else can feel overwhelming.
We're also creatures of habit.

Even when we genuinely want to get fitter, healthier or feel better in our clothes, changing the routine we're comfortable with can be difficult.

So we tell ourselves:

"I'll start in September."
"I'll get Christmas out of the way."
"I'll start properly in January."
"I'll wait until work settles down."

The problem is that there's probably never going to be a perfect time.

You're probably always going to be busy.

And your body isn't waiting for your diary to clear.

You probably need less time than you think

The good news is that getting stronger and fitter doesn't require spending your life in a gym.

For most of the busy parents we work with, two or three well-structured 45-minute sessions each week can be enough to make significant progress.

That's 90 to 135 minutes out of an entire week.

Whenever someone tells me there is absolutely no way they can find that time, I'm sometimes tempted to ask them to open the screen-time report on their phone.

Or show me their Netflix history.

Usually we can find a few hours somewhere.

We've worked with shift workers.
Night workers.
Frontline staff.
Single parents.
Parents with four or five children.
Husbands and wives juggling work and family life.

They make it work.

Part of our job is making that easier, which is why we run more than 80 sessions per week, including early mornings, daytime, evenings and Saturdays.

You don't need your life to revolve around the gym.

The gym needs to fit into your life.

So what does €149 actually buy you?

There's another useful way to look at the price.

One-to-one Personal Training in Dublin can easily cost €60 or more for a session.

Train three times per week at €60 per session and you're looking at around €180 per week, or roughly €780 per month on average.

With more expensive trainers, it can be considerably more.

There's a reason one-to-one Personal Training costs more.

You're paying for someone's expertise, attention, programming, support and personalisation.

What we've tried to do at Evolutis is deliver many of those same benefits without requiring you to pay hundreds of euro every month for one-to-one training.

Our model is Group Personal Training.

There are up to 10 people working with each coach, but you're not simply one of 10 people doing exactly the same thing regardless of your ability.

You're still coached as an individual.

Your exercises can be adapted.

Your weights are appropriate to you.

Your coach knows your ability, limitations and progress.

You get the personalisation and coaching you'd expect from Personal Training, combined with the energy, friendships and support that come from training alongside other people like you.
In many ways, it's the best of both worlds.

And because the cost of the coach isn't being carried by one person, we can provide that service for €149 per month rather than the €700, €800 or more that regular one-to-one Personal Training could cost.

If you train three times per week with us, that €149 works out at roughly €12–€13 per coached session.

For that, you're getting:

• Personalised coaching at every session
• A progressive 12-week training programme
• More than 80 sessions per week to choose from
• Accountability and support from a team of coaches who actually know you
• One-to-one goal-setting check-ins
• Styku body composition and measurement tracking
• Assessment days to measure your progress
• A community of predominantly 40-plus men and women training for many of the same reasons you are

That's why I don't think the useful comparison is simply:

€40 gym versus €149 gym.

They're fundamentally different services.

A better question is:

"What level of support do I actually need to consistently train and get the results I want?"

If you can pay €40, train independently three times every week, programme your own training, progress it properly and get the results you want, that's fantastic.

You probably don't need us.

But if you've already tried that approach and it hasn't worked, paying less for the same approach again might not actually save you any money.

Personal Training doesn't remove your responsibility

This is something I feel quite strongly about.

After almost 20 years coaching people, I've noticed some very clear characteristics in the people who get the best results.

They take responsibility for their own decisions.
They don't expect the programme or coach to magically transform them.
They accept that what they do outside the gym matters too.
They ask for help when they're struggling.
They trust the process.

And most importantly, they're consistent.
Not perfect.
Consistent.

I often talk about the three Ps:

Patience. Persistence. Perseverance.

The people who understand those principles tend to do extremely well.

Because strength, fitness and health aren't six-week transformations.

They're part of a lifestyle.

What do the results actually look like?

We've had some incredible physical transformations at Evolutis.

People have lost significant amounts of weight and dropped substantial amounts from their waist measurements.

But some of the transformations I'm proudest of wouldn't make particularly dramatic before-and-after photographs.

We've had people arrive struggling to walk upstairs without becoming breathless.

People with joint pain.
People struggling to comfortably sit down and stand back up.
People who couldn't easily get onto the floor and back up again.
People who simply felt old.

Then you see them months later.

They're stronger.
They're moving better.
Their clothes fit differently.
They have more energy.
They're more confident.
They're happier with the person looking back at them in the mirror.

We've had people concerned about blood pressure, blood glucose and other health risk factors because they've watched parents or relatives become seriously ill.

We've seen people make substantial improvements to those markers alongside the appropriate medical care and lifestyle changes.

We've seen people return to sports they thought they'd left behind.

And we've watched friendships form between people who didn't know each other before joining the gym.

For some members, their closest group of friends now includes people they met here.

That's difficult to put a price on.

There is also a cost to doing nothing

Doing nothing is a choice.

And sometimes it's the easiest choice because doing something new is scary.

You might be worried about walking into an unfamiliar environment.
You might think you're too unfit.
Too overweight.
Too old.
You might be embarrassed because you used to be fit and you're nowhere near where you once were.
So you wait.

Five years can pass surprisingly quickly.
Sometimes ten.

And I've met people who have done exactly that.

By the time they finally decide to do something, basic physical tasks have become genuinely difficult.

Getting off the floor.
Getting out of a chair.
Walking upstairs.
Carrying things.
Moving comfortably.

These are fundamental parts of being a functioning human being.

As we age, we naturally become more vulnerable to losses in muscle mass, strength and physical capacity if we don't do anything to preserve them.

If you don't use physical qualities, you lose them.

I sometimes think of it like a tiny hole appearing in a dam.

Initially, the water coming through is manageable.

Leave it long enough and that little trickle becomes something much harder to stop.

The earlier you start looking after your strength and physical capacity, the better.

For me, strength can become something of a superpower as you get older.

Not because everyone needs to become incredibly strong.

Because strength gives you options.

It helps you remain capable.
Independent.
Mobile.

And able to participate in your own life.

"I can't justify spending that much money on myself"

This one interests me.

Because when somebody says this to me, I'm often tempted to ask:

"Is it really the money?"

Most of us couldn't accurately tell you how much we've spent over the last year on coffees, alcohol, takeaways, subscriptions, sweets, meals out and random things we've forgotten buying.

I'm not saying you shouldn't spend money on those things.

I do too.

But sometimes "I can't justify spending money on myself" actually means something else.

Maybe you're nervous.
Maybe you're afraid you'll fail again.
Maybe you've spent years putting everybody else first.

And that's particularly common with parents.

But taking care of yourself isn't taking something away from your children.

I'd argue that one of the best things your children can see is their parent taking responsibility for their own health.

They need you to show up for them.
Your partner needs you to show up in your relationship.
Your work probably benefits when you're energetic, healthy and confident.

And, importantly, you need to show up for yourself too.

So, is Personal Training worth the money?

For everybody?
No.

If you already know exactly how to train, enjoy training independently, consistently go to the gym and are getting the results you want, a €30 or €40 commercial gym membership might be absolutely perfect for you.

Save your money.

But if you've repeatedly joined gyms and stopped going...

If you don't know what to do when you get there...
If you're nervous about starting again...
If you have injuries or limitations that need consideration...
If accountability helps you stay consistent...
If you're incredibly busy and want someone else to take care of the thinking...

Or if you simply want to train somewhere where people actually know who you are...

Then good Personal Training can be an extremely worthwhile investment.

Ultimately, don't judge a gym membership by the number written beside the direct debit.

Judge it by what happens after the money leaves your account.

Do you go?
Do you enjoy going?
Are you supported?
Are you becoming stronger, fitter and healthier?
Is your life getting better because of it?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then you're probably getting a pretty good return on your investment.

Want to see if it's right for you?

If you're over 40 and living in Coolock, Artane, Raheny or the surrounding area, our 6-Week Kickstart is designed to give you a proper introduction to Group Personal Training at Evolutis.

You'll train with our coaching team, follow our structured programme and experience what it's like to have your training personalised and supported rather than trying to figure everything out yourself.

The goal isn't to transform your life in six weeks.

It's to help you start building the consistency that can transform what the next few years look like.

Find out more about our 6-Week Kickstart here: CLICK HERE

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Personal Training worth it if I'm over 40?

It can be, particularly if you need help knowing what to do, training safely, staying consistent or working around injuries and limitations.

If you're already training consistently and getting the results you want independently, you may not need Personal Training.

How often do I need to train to see results?

For most of the adults we work with, two to three well-structured 45-minute strength and fitness sessions per week can make a meaningful difference when performed consistently.

Is Group Personal Training the same as a fitness class?

Not the way we deliver it.

Our sessions have up to 10 people per coach, but your training can be personalised to your ability, experience and limitations.

You're following a structured training programme while being coached as an individual within the group.

What if I'm very unfit or haven't exercised in years?

That's extremely common among people who start with us.
You don't need to get fit before joining.
We build things up gradually and adapt your training to where you are now.

Is Evolutis only for people over 40?

We predominantly work with adults over 40 from Coolock, Artane, Raheny and surrounding areas.

That means you'll generally be training alongside people at a similar stage of life, rather than feeling like you've walked into a gym aimed at 20-year-old fitness enthusiasts.