Step into Life

An open letter to SIL Management – Firstly a couple of facts. I have been a member for over 6 years, I surpassed the 10,000 point level and was (I say was not am) well underway to get to double that. So I believe I can talk from experience. My trainer, is one of the most decent, hard working trainers I have ever met, I have also met other trainers in the area, also hardworking… Read more

and decent. The whole SIL community resonated with me as it is family friendly (alot of times I have taken my kids and other bring their kids) I have made some wonderful friends. I actually do not ever think I have even heard my trainer swear, I have met and know his family, in short this feels like a wonderful family business.

I understand people have a right to privacy and I also understand there is so much misinformation on the internet, it is a place where anonymous trolls can can make outlandish statements and individuals and companies find it difficult to defend. Such statements are often made without the basis of fact.

However this is about people at a Corporate level, it seems the previous owner did zero due diligence on the incoming owner. As I say everyone has a right to privacy, to a point, and everyone has a right to forget their past, to a point. I personally know people who have served their time "at her Majesty's' Pleasure" for crimes that people see as "White Collar". To a point I can compartmentalise these sort of crimes, whilst not victimless, I can rationalise it to say that it was, albeit criminal, not violent. Not sure what that says about me, but this is not about me it is about the new owner. Some crimes I find so heinous that I can not condone on any level.

Please please please SIL, tell me that this court case. https://app.justis.com/case/cargnello-v-dpp-cth/overview/c5CJm0mdm3Wca Does NOT relate to the new owner of SIL. Please deny this was the person who owns SIL or please explain.

We are all part of a wonderful community, we are all supportive of each other, we are all cogniscent that our trainers bought into the great Aussie dream of having their own business. Part of that dream is that they do what they do best and you at the Corporate level support them in as best a way you can, part of this support is not to do anything that we as a community would deem to fall into the definition of Moral Turpitude.

I know my kids would be totally safe with my trainer I have no issues with him, as I say an incredibly dedicated and decent person. What you at a Corporate level has done is basically destroy any potential goodwill that ANY trainer may have.

If the legal case(s) relate to you then please fix this in a way that the community may best deem appropriate. As i said everyone has the right to privacy but crimes like this are so heinous that someone has to call it out. The Appeal cases defend the indefensible, using legal technicalities. Recently a knighted NZ Corporate leader was caught with hundreds of thousands of "tainted" images and videos. This is not a hobby this was not an accident. Something inside of everyone knows what is acceptable and what is not.

I would sincerely appreciate your comments to all the thousands of members. I am deeply saddened, SIL has been a huge part of me for the last several years, but this one does not sit well with me. I used to be proud to turn up with my shirt.

Please deny this and I will apologise most sincelerly if i am wrong.

Thanks you for taking the time to read this.

I Love Everything About SIL – I've been training at SIL Mitcham for 12 months and I have experienced real improvements in my health and fitness. And during this time my motivation has never wavered and this has never happened for me as I normally get to a point when I start making excuses to not train. SIL is different to anything I've experienced, you are surrounded by a… Read more

community of people who are diverse, supportive and all there for the same reason. We have amazing trainers who make sure you are looked after, supported and challenged. The training sessions are always different and can be modified to work around injuries etc. Our leader, trainer and coach Mel is unlike any PT I've ever had. She takes the time to really get to know you and supports and challenges me on both a physical and emotional level. I now have new goals to achieve over the next 12 months - to lose the rest of my weight and improve my core strength. I will finally achieve these goals knowing that SIL and my new lifelong friends have my back, what a great feeling!

10,000 Points Milestone - My Review – Hi Justin, Thought I would write a few words on today. (please feel free to circulate should you feel it something worthwhile and helpful to SiL Glenbrook). 10,000 training points. A great milestone and one that I am very proud to reach. To be the first at SiL Glenbrook makes it even more special. Thank you for your kind words at training… Read more

today and those also today on the Training Club Points Award email.

When I started at SiL just under 5 years ago I was very unfit, quite overweight and somewhat anti fitness as I was concentrating on my work 24/7. However following a letterbox drop of an SiL brochure and my wife's birthday present to me of “I’ll pay the first 3 months”, I turned up to a Glenbrook training session the day after my 60th birthday. At the end of my first session, I think it was a Cardio on the oval, I was stuffed. I found out that I could not run a lap of the oval having to walk the last ¼. During my first week I also realised that I could not do most of the exercises - burpees ha, full push-ups haha, sit-ups with indigestion due to my stomach getting in the way hahaha ……. but I found it all fun, especially from a very receptive group who warmly invited me into their fold and a trainer (that’s you) who cared as to what I could and couldn’t do and helped me whenever I needed it. And it has progressed from there to today. Along the way I have learnt to run again, lost weight through both SiL and my new 5:2 eating plan which I followed religiously for about 3 years whilst the excess weight just went away and now mostly follow it maybe 85% as my heavy training does allow me some leeway, for example to continually eat my chocolates and ice-cream. You know what they say, “I’d give up chocolates and ice-cream but I’m no quitter”.

After 1 month short of 5 years, I can now run around the oval and do it many many times, I enjoy all the training sessions but have favourites with specific exercises and sessions. I have taken up trail running with last year attempting the UTA Australia 50km, however having to stop at 28.4km due to food and hydration issues. This year I have again registered for the 50km and will complete it. Our UTA training starts in earnest in January therefore the reason I am now in a heavy SiL training stint in preparation for this. I have over my SiL time ran a couple of ½ marathons, completed all 13 training sessions during a week at various times to boost my fitness level when it lags or I’m about to tackle extra long runs. I have just completed this week 6 weeks of training doing all 13 training sessions per week stint and I think I’m about ready for the road and trail running season. I love Boxing sessions, especially the speed ones where there is little rest and am starting to like Toning sessions as I now understand the benefits of these for overall fitness improvement. I am almost getting new PB’s in various exercises now with each Fitness Evaluation due a lot from toning sessions. I just did a 3 minute plank, first time ever. I am also lucky that with my retirement some 3½ years ago it allows me now to do whatever training sessions I would like to do. What I find quite inspirational are the parents of the families who come along, those with 2-3-4 kids to look after and get off to school or do afternoon or weekend activities with and then those who work in the city and rush after training to get their train or hope there are no hold-ups on the way home so they can come to training. These members inspire me as come along and achieve so much in their lives. I’m lucky as I have free days every day. Sleep. eat and train, I am in a very fortunate stage of my life.

What’s the best things about SiL training - firstly the group of people doing it. I am not the quickest nor the strongest but I am continually encouraged and praised by fellow members on my achievements which I find very satisfying - we all occasionally like a pat on the back. I like to assist others who are new to SiL because of how I was assisted when I started. It’s scary to run around the oval or a road run when others are miles ahead but hey, they always come back to you and assist you to the finish, and say “good run”, keep going”, great result” and they mean it. Secondly I find you and Andrew as trainers quite superb. Never had any better. You have always taken an interest in my goals and results. You help all the time, you get stuck into me when needed to do things the right way, you push me to new levels knowing that I can do it when I don’t think I can and all these with a smile and kind word to everyone in the group. I have often wondered what you take each morning to put you in such a good mood. I wish I could have just a little of it each day. And you are also interested in what I even do outside of the training arena with questions and comments about things I mention. Some of our lengthy talks after training are legendary, although I'm sure the family somethings wonder why you are late again. You put a hell of a lot into the group’s training schedules and each person in the sessions. I hope that you get as much from them as we who do it do. I cannot recall anyone ever saying that you stuffed-up an exercise or forgot to say hello or didn’t help when help was needed.

Where to from here, more of the same thanks. Keep pushing even when I whinge back at you. I look forward to 2017 and beyond and beyond 10,000 points and hope that there are another few who achieve this result soon. If you look up the stats they say that 1-2 years at a gym or outdoor training is about the time people stay before drifting off. I know that your retention rates are much longer which is a credit to you and how you conduct the sessions and engage with those training. SiL works, your members confirm this.

My only complaint would be not having heated mats for winter. Just thinking, we could run leads from each mat back to a power pack hub then onto your car battery then ……… If you could arrange these thanks I think we all would be extremely grateful as training on cold icy, wet and frosted ground is not fun. But hey, we all still come along because we know what we put in in winter will come back to us in spades in summer. And you ensure that winter sessions are all that more fun.

Thanks for everything you and Andrew and all your fantastic members, all of them over the years, who have helped me to achieve my 10,000 points today. I am extremely proud to have achieved this milestone.

All the very best,

Leigh

- And I’ll see you at 5.20am this Sunday to start my run in the 7-week challenge fun run. Go Emperors.

>>>> PS - Sunday's ½ marathon run was great 2h39m53s, 2m44s better than in 2015. A PB, woohoo !!!

Step into Life St Kilda is awesome! – Step into Life in St Kilda is awesome and Charlie is without doubt the best trainer I have had. He is very encouraging and motivational, makes everyone feel welcome and is good fun! A great group of people and excellent classes... do not hesitate to join, you will love it just like me! Show details

Fun way to get fit ! – Step into Life St Kilda is fantastic. Charlie is an enthusiastic and motivational trainer. All fitness levels are welcome and the group training keeps you motivated. Highly recommend! Give it a try ! Show details

Step into Life provides the motivation and variety I was craving – I have joined a gym twice before but rarely went either because training was such a boring routine, no timetable to adhere to, artificially indoors with drying air-conditioning and fluorescent lights, and not social. Step into Life, St Kilda, is the total opposite. No lesson is ever the same, and you get to choose between different types of… Read more

sessions on different days, cardio, boxkick, stretching. Gives my body a varied work-out. The constant motivation from Charlie and Stella and the group and training buddy keeps the pace up, the fun up and the motivation up to keep coming back. . A backup dry location for training when it's raining is a nice touch. For the first time i'm enjoying almost daily exercise in the great outdoors with soft grass and clean air. An excellent investment for your current health and future you.

Read the T&C’s regardless of what the trainer is saying – When I signed up, it was a choice between a contract at the gym or a month to month payment at Step in to life, or so I thought... After 5 weeks, I had surgery but also found that I no longer enjoyed the sessions and I was exercising with people double my age. (While I have no problem with that and think it’s great they’re looking after… Read more

themselves, I also just felt out of place and wasn’t enjoying it anymore).

I had surgery and was on a “freeze” until I could return. I brought my concerns up to my trainer and told her I wanted to end my membership, to which she told me “your in a 3 month contract so you have to pay” even though when I signed up I asked “Is there a contract?” - I was told there was no contract, but they do “RECOMMEND” you complete three months as that’s how long it takes to see results. I also was unable to exercise due to the surgery I had and they showed no compassion.

I found it disgusting that even though they made the initial mistake at the sign up of lying to me, they still made me pay the pending $260 of my membership! So I’m now out of pocket. I was told multiple times that they can’t “let me out” of the contract as that would be a really bad business move. They do not care about people just money money money. They say they want to help you have a better life but are happy to screw you over in a minute.

I know that I should have read the T&Cs but when someone is so confidently answering your questions you believe what they say.

Be careful and don’t get sucked in!!!

Beware T&Cs when you want to leave – Please keep your paper sign up form, its the only place you'll find those pesky T&Cs when you want to stop your membership. You won't see them on the web site, nor mentioned the FAQs. Miss one, and you'll pay another month.

Step into life – was pretty good, but the way they treat their trainers is atrocious Victorian franchise went under and SIL Australia has since taken over, its all down hill for them now, same old same old after all these years, nothing new to add to the industry or sessions. would not recommend

Fun & enjoyable group settings – An awesome workout with great people amongst the awesome setting of St Kilda's Catani Gardens. Charlie is an excellent friendly coach and even trains us through my partner's pregnancy!! He's more than happy to modify workouts and is super encouraging. Show details

Step into Life St Kilda - Have had an amazing experience! – I only recently joined Step into Life (SIL) St Kilda but i'm already feeling the benefits to my health and fitness. Charlie is a great trainer, he knows how to motivate people without being pushy and gives the right guidance to keep you on track. I'm enjoying the variety of the classes and the strong support shown by everyone who attends. I would… Read more

definitely recommend checking out SIL St Kilda if you're looking for a group fitness class. You won't find a more supportive trainer and fellow participants.

SIL St Kilda - highly recommend! – Recently signed up at SIL St Kilda, the classes are always a little different which is great for anyone like me who gets easily bored by exercise. Charlie is a fantastic trainer, very supportive and encouraging. I’m already starting to notice changes in my strength and fitness. Highly recommend.

Step into Life Kensington Park – SIL Kensington Park fitness program is so versatile. My trainers are fantastic and it offers goal attainment, friendly team, and interaction. I am never alone and enjoy the company of my team mates who are high achievers which makes me want to be one of them.

Step Into Life Lilydale – Dave does a fantastic job of creating an inclusive environment for everyone. He encourages you to dig deep and find your belief in yourself and be your best.

Step Into Life Aspendale – Corey from Step Into Life Aspendale, is an exceptional trainer with his knowledge and experience in fitness his always very helpful, fellow members and Corey are always positive and encouraging allowing everyone to reach their fitness potential in whichever goal they have. Corey also allows us to have fun in the group which makes the group very… Read more

enjoyable and not boring.

I enjoy coming to Step Into Life, because I enjoy having a professional trainer guiding and showing us safely what to do as well as meeting like minded and friendly members who are always encouraging myself to reach my fitness goals.

I highly recommend those in bayside Melbourne to come and join Step Into Life Aspendale, you'll will not regret it and you will have the best fun while exercising

I loce exercise for the first time.... EVER! – Charlie at Step into Life St Kilda has given me the motivation and enjoyment I told him I needed to get my fitness levels up. I am loving my classes; it’s a convenient location, good price, flexible, varied, personalised and most importantly, FUN!

Love that it's outside. Love the group. Charlie is fantastic. Highly recommend! – I started the group sessions just over a month ago and I must say, it's absolutely fantastic! It feels so good being outside in the elements each morning. Charlie is an amazing trainer, you can tell he is really passionate about helping people and has a very caring nature. The St Kilda group is really amazing. Everyone is so friendly and there's… Read more

no judgement even though everyone is at different levels of fitness. It's so important to maintain a healthy body and mind and Step into Life also makes it fun. I don't do anything unless it's fun. If you want to exercise outside, with lovely people and an amazing trainer, then Step into Life St Kilda is the place to go. Thanks for all your support Charlie! And the added bonus is that everyone brings their dogs, so I get my cuddle fix at the end of the session. Wins all round!

Excellent – I joined S.I.L St . Kikda 4 weeks ago and have enjoyed every class. I already feel a huge difference in my fitness. Charlie is great with the variety of exercises we do. He is always happy to give advice and encouragement. Highly recommend.

Brilliant trainer and classes – I joined SIL Meadowbank before last Christmas. I’ve always been active but wanted to join something outdoors in a group setting. I’m now achieving fitness goals I didn’t think were possible. Ing is a great coach and provides tailored exercises according to everyone’s ability. I love the variety of the classes. I now attend 4-5 sessions per week… Read more

and to this date, I’ve never had the same exercise program in class more than once! I highly recommend joining.

step into life lets me live my life – I joined SIL Cheltenham about 10 years ago. I was overweight, stressed, drank to much and in a dark head space. SIL has been terrific and instrumental in changing my life in a most positive manner. I can now run marathons, walk 100 km for oxfam and live a much fuller and meaningful life. Thanks to Donna Douglas my SIL trainer

Charlie is amazing!! – I've been attending SIL St Kilda for 2 months now and the results are amazing!! Charlie is so positive and passionate, its infectious! He always pushes you that little bit harder and encourages you to give all you've got and then some! I've never been able to commit to a training program but SIL has me eager to go every day and missing it when I cant attend. 110% recommend!

Already Feeling Great – SIL St. Kilda with Charlie is challenging and fun. The location is brilliant and the group and atmosphere Charlie has created is warm and welcoming. I am already feeling much better and seeing results.

A Run In The Park...With A Twist!!!! – My little dose of exercise at Step Into Life The Ponds conducted by trainer extraordinaire Raelene has now reached the two year anniversary since my first session. What started as a way of toning up and shedding a little weight for my Wedding Day has now become a ritual which is essential to my wellbeing and fitness. Raelene caters for all fitness… Read more

levels from beginners to seasoned athletes. The minute the sessions commence our group is encouraged to unleash our full potential with ”You can do it” affirmation. There is great camaraderie and sense of team spirit that makes us want to keep coming for more! And best of all, being outdoors in the fresh air is exhilarating. I believe that attending my little hour of exercise three times a week is the best and most rewarding decision I ever made.

St Kilda SIL is the Best! – Joined back after a long time away with an injury and are loving it. Charlie runs every class with the enthusiasm and attention of someone running their first class. He provides a challenging class yet he is very mindful of where you are at as an individual. What works for me is the accountability, that someone notices and cares if you are not… Read more

there, very different to how Gyms work where they sign you up and aren't interested if you ever turn up. So happy to be back!

November 5th 2018 Update: Best Support for Fitness

Back at SIL St Kilda and honestly I feel soooooo much better. Great group of people, supportive and friendly and everyone works at whatever level they are at. Charlie the the coach/trainer is motivating and cares if you don't turn up!!! Highly recommended if you want to develop a regular fitness routine.

One one one attention in a supportive group, plus a great location – Charlie at SIL St Kilda is an outstanding trainer who, while he's motivating the group, somehow manages to give everyone individual attention and guidance. Just the right amount of motivation, but no pressure, and a real focus on achieving what you can regardless of fitness level. A really good vibe, plus a fantastic location to get the blood pumping... beats a sweaty gym any day. Highly recommended.

Love the outdoor training at SIL St Kilda – SIL St Kilda has been a breath of fresh air since joining 4 weeks ago. The outdoor training groups are very friendly, welcoming & supportive. Charlie keeps you motivated and challenged at all classes. I would highly recommend SIL St Kilda for any fitness level from beginner to advanced and there are a variety of different classes to attend. You… Read more

can work at your own pace but everyone keeps you on your toes to stay focused and motivated. I am really enjoying it.

SIL Gatton - Setting goals – I can't express how much I enjoy Step into Life. More importantly my instructor Kerri and all the members there. I am more than satisfied with the equipment, amenities and classes offered. I joined for the social aspect and to get fit before starting work as a Teacher Aide. I have moved to Gatton recently and felt horrible about myself. I have… Read more

just started as a Teacher Aide again and feel mentally and physically more than capable to keep up with the students I work with. Thank you.

SIL ST KILDA KEEPING ME ON MY TOES – Joined SIL ST Kilda about 4 weeks ago after ignoring my gym membership for the past few years. Tried a few classes out in the 'free' week and enjoyed the group work and being outside. Being mighty unfit I am challenged at every class, but like the way alternate exercises are offered for every level, which gives you something to strive for. The… Read more

trainers are all great - push you but understand everyone's differing levels of fitness. The hour classes are hard work, but go very quickly, and the people I've met are really nice. If you need a kick up the bum to get moving, this is a great way to do it - Charlie checks in on you regularly and makes sure you make up any class you miss. Am looking forward to some positive body results!

I love fitness and the community – I am more than satisfied with classes, equipment and value. I love the community feel and the way we work as a team. I feel much stronger and happier for being involved in Step into Life.