Cotswolds personal trainer launches virtual gym for over 55s on National Fitness Day

Cotswolds personal trainer James Hilton has launched virtual gym, Jim’s Gym, on National Fitness Day today – September 20.

James, a personal trainer from the Cotswolds, who is a specialist in biomechanics and injury recovery, will be opening the virtual doors to Jim’s Gym, an online ‘space’ supporting people over 55 to lead a more active life.

Jim’s Gym will offer subscribers the opportunity to train with James, following his short fitness videos uploaded weekly/monthly, to either become more active or to help maintain an active lifestyle.

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This year’s theme for National Fitness Day is “Your Health is for Life”, which aims to encourage people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to engage in the physical and mental benefits of being active.

“We are tirelessly told the mental and physical benefits of exercise but the challenge is in how we keep people engaged in being active. If an older adult is told by a health professional to be ‘more active’ they are often given little help and support in how to do that. My view is that if you do a little bit more than you were before, that’s a great start!" said James.

“I have trained extensively with a brilliant company called Faster Function where I have honed my skills in programming and exercise design and now focus on working with people to get the most out of everyday life.

“My journey has led me to almost exclusively work with older adults which I love. I find this age group wonderful to work with, especially people getting started with a new fitness regime as this is when they will see the most difference. Seeing people do things they never thought possible is just wonderful. I also pride myself on making exercise accessible and enjoyable.”

James’ path to finding his career as a qualified personal trainer was not a simple one. Throughout his education, he never considered his passion for sport and exercise could be his profession.

He had a career in sales and marketing based in London and travelled the world. However, he then experienced a long period of unhappiness which led him to abandon all exercise in order to meet the demands of his job. The impact of that period eroded his confidence and took a toll on his mental health as well as impacting his partner and first child. Eventually he left his role and went travelling with his family to New Zealand and Bali.

James calls this his ‘Eat Pray Love’ moment.

“While away, I started to go running and get back to exercising for fun, and I remembered how much my fitness had meant to me and I’d lost sight of that. As my family and I began to heal from this bitter time, I asked myself if I could help others through fitness?”

Supported by his family, James moved back to the South Cotswolds where he grew up and qualified as a personal trainer and started rapidly building his own business.

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That was four years ago and his next adventure is the opening of Jim’s Gym – an online fitness subscription service with a focus on inspiring older adults to be more active to remain healthy and independent for longer.

James will help his new community easily achieve the fitness levels to be able to continue doing the things in life which are important to them such as mobility for day to day tasks, renewed energy, fitness for gardening or playing with grandchildren!

“Most importantly I’m keeping the workouts easy, effective, and enjoyable so that my clients won’t even realise they are exercising,” James said.