PETE Hughes doesn't class himself as any kind of elite athlete.

He is, by his own admission, a stone or two overweight despite his best efforts, and sometimes struggles when it comes to going to the gym.

But he has now decided to tackle it in a different way.

He has taken on a personal trainer.

He started five weeks ago and is already seeing results — dropping 6lbs.

"He pushes me when it matters,'' says bank worker Pete, of Hendrefoilan in Swansea's Killay area.

"I am fitter and faster than I was and see the money I spend on it as a good investment."

Great! It works.

But the news I was to have a personal trainer still came as a bit of a shock.

Over the years I had trawled around the gym circuit like a surfer searching for the perfect wave without really finding the equivalent — my fault, not theirs.

But a one-to-one with a specialist? That always seemed out of bounds, somehow.

Not anymore.

Kit bag in hand, I walked through the doors of a place whose title leaves you in no doubt as to what it is about.

Emily Cole has been running the Personal Training Studio in Swansea's Francis Street since last November after previously taking individual sessions as a freelance at the Esporta Glamorgan Health and Racquet Club in Llandarcy.

She has now moved into the city centre and greeted her latest client with a smile he hoped would not be misleading.

There was the standard Q&A to start with — any recent injuries, any medical conditions, what is your fitness level?

Good one, the last one, I thought.

The answer? A phased fitness, if that makes any sense. A core level which fluctuates slightly either way, depending on the sporting and social programme.

Enough of the theory. It was time to hop aboard the running machine to get things moving.

It was a short-haul experience, with the emphasis (after a walking warm-up) on interval training — sprints in common parlance.

Onto the weights, with Emily stressing that it was a better way of shedding fat than aerobic exercise, due to its effect on the muscles. Barbell chest presses were first up.

From there it was onto the floor. It is good to relax, I thought. Emily had other ideas. So it was press-ups, some lunges and then a couple of sets of double sit-ups. More weights followed, this time dumbell one-arm rows.

A couple of items of equipment had caught my attention, and I was about to make acquaintance with them.

Cue squat jumps across something called the bosu — a half-ball with an unstable surface to work certain muscles — and squat jumps onto a box, plyometrics in the trade.

Forming a plank on the floor was next to strengthen the core, before a seated shoulder press, another core exercise and a final burst or two on the treadmill.

To cool down I went through a stretching routine, and then it was my turn to ask the questions. Ones like: What was her view of the traditional image of personal trainers being only for the rich crowd?

"A lot of people really don't have the money, but they ditch gym membership which saves them £60 a month and go for personal sessions because it means so much to them," she said.

"Half the people have got money and half haven't. I do one-to-two sessions as well, so they are saving half the money. It is not just for the rich and famous, it's for everybody.

"It is a personal training programme. It is taking exercise but also having a diet plan. It is about achieving your own goal. For some it is about weight loss. They want to lose baby weight or lose weight for a wedding."

Some people, though, want to go the other way. "It is not only about weight loss," said Emily. "Sometimes it is about weight gain. Some men may want to bulk up."

They have all got different aims and that is reflected in the wide variety of people on her books, currently including a surfer, a triathlete and a motocross driver.

Emily likes to keep in touch with her clients, even though she may see them twice a week, and often emails them about diet plans to encourage them to keep going."

Age is no barrier to what is a matter of health and wellbeing, with programmes specially formulated to suit individual needs.

"I have people in their 70s," said Emily.

Banker Pete Hughes says his one-to-one experiences have been positive, adding: "Having a personal trainer used to be seen as something only the rich do. Not any more.

"Ordinary people like me are seeing the benefits and that has to be a good thing."