FED UP spending training time waiting for machines in the gym?

You’ve spent 15 minutes on the bike and ten minutes on the cross-trainer, next up is the treadmill, but you hesitate.

No, you’re not exhausted – you’re stuck in a queue. But what if you had access to your own gym 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

One that was kitted out with everything you’d need to achieve a full-body workout?

It may sound expensive; however, one company is offering the service in Southampton from £5 an hour with no contract, membership or joining fees.

Aspirations Gym was the brainchild of long-term friends, personal trainer, Dave Jones, and IT specialist, John Burgess.

They came up with the idea after listening to people’s reasons for not wanting to workout, which included overcrowding and queuing for the next machine.

“I’ve trained so many people that have been put off going to the bigger gyms,”

explains Dave, 45. “Although they can be popular, not everyone enjoys the experience, and because many can only go at peak times people find them far too busy.

“Others don’t like working out around people that appear to be very fit – they find it intimidating. Body image has a lot to answer for.

“The longer I thought about it, the better the idea seemed to be. So John and I put our heads together and went for it.”

Aspirations opened in October and has, so far, received a welcome reception. Its aim is to offer people the ability to train and exercise in a more comfortable, enjoyable environment by removing those dislikes.

The individual who hires the gym will be in total control of who is in there with them. They may choose to invite, friends, work colleagues or family, or just enjoy a training session in private.

It charges £20 per hour for up to four people, and the pair hope that working out with a small group of friends will encourage and motivate people to reach their fitness goals.

“There are some places that allow you to hire out a gym alone,” says Dave.

“But it is usually with a personal trainer, so can be pretty expensive. We know there are cheaper ways to train out there, but we are hoping we have priced it so that people will give it a go, and maybe find they enjoy it more than they thought.

“We are never going to be rich from this scheme, but knowing we are helping people to re-engage with exercise after they have been put off by busy gyms is part of our aim.

“After all, there’s nothing worse than having your workout interrupted – not only is it de-motivating, but you lose intensity of training as your heart rate drops while you stand around.”

John adds: “We are hoping to appeal to those who are not currently being accommodated by the gyms that are already out there. And to date people seem to like the idea."