MOST of us can't afford to pay a personal trainer to monitor our every move at the gym.

But you do exercise better when you're being cheered on, or berated.

Now, at one Huddersfield health club, the days of labouring away unnoticed are at an end.

Attention for exercisers comes in the form of a futuristic, Big Brother style computer system.

Just before New Year, the gym was kitted out with new equipment.

But the £250,000 refurbishment wasn't just a case of replacing worn-out treadmills and exercise bikes.

It involved pioneering system, costing £70,000, that's set to revolutionise the way we exercise.

The gym is the first in the town to have installed such a set-up. It's also in place for anyone who uses Huddersfield Sports Centre's gym.

Users now have their own yellow plastic key. All your personal workout details are stored on it, so that when you plug your key into a machine, it knows who you are and what setting you need to be working at.

My key, for example, stores three alternative workouts I can choose from.

It tells me what machine to start on, where to go next after each exercise. You also get little messages like: "Good job!" when you've finished.

You can see how many calories you've used over the days and weeks, and if you'd been using that energy to run up a mountain, how far you'd have got - with a stick man and a steep incline to illustrate it.

Gym manager Marc Hampshire explains: "All our machines come from TechnoGym and when we decided to refit, we brought in the Wellness system.

"It was a massive job, giving hundreds of members a key and making sure they all knew how to use it.

"The vast majority have really bought into the idea.

"I've definitely seen an upturn in the numbers attending the gym.

"The new machines also have TV screens and you can choose to watch, from Sky News to pop videos, on your headphones."

Instructors can look you up to see whether you've been or not.

People referred to the club to get fit through their GP can be checked up on and users can log down all the exercise they do elsewhere, like cycling, swimming or walking the dog.

"It's very motivational," says Mark.

"We can change people's programmes as they progress without them having to come to see us every time.

"It reflects how IT is coming into every aspect of our lives.

"As exercise goes hand in hand with diet, I imagine in 10 years time we'll be logging down everything we eat, too, whether it's Bounty bars or healthy salads.

"This is just the start."