Don’t Believe Everything You Read About Fitness Trainers - Part 2

Continuing on down the list from the article “10 Things Your Personal Trainer Won’t Tell You” written by Reneé DeFranco on smartmoney.com, here’s part of the article that picks up right where we left off at numbers 4 through 7. Once again, my comments and opinions follow each bullet point.

10 Things Your Personal Trainer Won’t Tell You (Cont’d)

4. “Bring a few pals and I’ll charge you half price.”

Fees for personal trainers can be pretty steep. Sign up for a session with personal-training superstar Jackie Warner of SkySport&Spa in Beverly Hills, Calif., for example, and it could run you about $400 an hour. But with most trainers there’s a way to save in the neighborhood of 30% to 50% if you know what to ask for: More than 70% of personal trainers offer group sessions at a discount, according to a recent survey by IDEA. Even Warner has been known to offer reduced prices now and again — about 30% — when training two to five clients at once.

Though health clubs don’t typically dangle the group option in front of you, most personal trainers will work something out if you ask. After all, it’s a win-win situation. For a group of three, for example, the average fee of $60 per hour is reduced by half for each client, while the trainer brings in about 50% more than he typically makes in an hour. And it could mean a better workout: “There’s a lot to benefit from group camaraderie, as long as you don’t need a trainer counting every rep you do,” says Richard Cotton, national director of certification for the American College of Sports Medicine.

Brides Made Fit says: “If you want to be serious about your weight-loss goals, I only encourage group training if, and only if, everyone in the group is just as committed as you are and are on a similar fitness level. Some training groups fail because one member lacks enthusiasm, and some groups work well because the energy is contagious. As for price, you get what you pay for and finding the right trainer for you should be based on their expertise and how well you all get along. You probably wouldn’t have the highest respect for a trainer if they had a reputation of being the cheapest around, right?. This is your health and you’re worth every penny.

5. “If I let you use the equipment, you’ll realize you don’t need me.”

Does your trainer steer you away from the abs machine, making you do crunches with a medicine ball instead? Trainers are sometimes told not to spend too much time teaching clients how to use the big equipment for fear that once they get comfortable, they’ll want to go it alone. That’s why trainers might emphasize coordination exercises and rely on smaller props like stability balls, resistance tubing or bands, and balance tools, the three types of gear most frequently used by trainers. This type of “functional training” helps prep clients for popular recreational activities like tennis and skiing, as well as basic movements like bending down during household chores. But larger equipment also has its benefits; it can bring speedy results in strength-building and help keep weight off.

“The best trainers serve clients by helping them become independent exercisers,” Cotton says. He suggests asking prospective trainers how they’ll help you get there. A spokesperson for the National Exercise Trainers Association says it encourages trainers to prove to clients there’s more to working out than using big machines, in part because of the benefits of functional training.

BMF says: “It’s actually very frustrating for personal trainers when the client constantly doesn’t know what they’re doing! The majority of people walking through the doors of the gym know their goals, but just don’t know exactly how to get there. Fitness programs have different stages based on how your body adapts to it, that’s why trainers design them specifically for your needs. Whether you’re doing functional training or using machines, variety is important and you won’t see results if you don’t put in the time to learn it and take the right steps to get there. So, chill out and let the pro’s guide you before you run off like a kid in a candy store.”

6. “I love to gossip — about you!”

Word around the gym is, some trainers are sharing personal info about their clients. “It can be as innocent as a trainer talking to another trainer under the guise of asking for advice,” says Gregory Florez, CEO of consulting firm FitAdvisor in Salt Lake City. Not so egregious, perhaps. But with more health clubs requesting medical information, which they often then make available to trainers, some clubs have had to crack down on disclosure: “We have no tolerance at all for gossip,” says a spokesperson for New York Health & Racquet Club, explaining that after a written warning, an employee’s job is at stake.

Other health clubs are less stringent. Bally Total Fitness doesn’t have a company-wide code of ethics by which trainers must abide, but says it’s confident its trainers were adequately informed about general ethics during their individual certification programs. “Unfortunately, our industry does not have the same federal regulation as, say, a psychiatrist that risks losing a license if he shares personal information,” Florez explains. Before divulging private health information to your health club, ensure that it has a strict privacy policy. And think twice before pouring your heart out to your trainer.

BMF says: “The most gossip I’ve heard at a gym was not about clients, but about other trainers, so don’t worry about that! However, most clients love to talk. They like that they have someone devoted to them for an hour and all eyes are on them. However, too much information can be a double-edged sword if the client isn’t careful and the trainer isn’t professional. I suggest if ‘too much information’ shared does lead to a conflict with the training staff, the client should file a complaint to terminate that trainer and join another gym where people don’t know your business. Lesson learned.

7. “I’m just as qualified to train you as, um, that guy lifting over there.”

The personal-training industry is practically swimming in credentials, with more than 70 certifying organizations to date. “There’s so much controversy over certification because there are just so many of them,” Kathie Davis says. But whereas some programs demand a broad-based understanding of human physiology, others require much less from their candidates, according to a spokesperson for IHRSA. There’s no standardized testing in the industry; applicants often can get away with taking either a weekend course or even just an online exam before calling themselves personal trainers.

How to know what you’re getting? Find a list of programs with third-party accreditation from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies at www.noca.org, an umbrella group that weeds out lesser training programs. Industry experts point to the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association as two of the most reputable organizations.

BMF says: “I would say this only holds true if you’re training in a questionable hole-in-the-wall gym with trainers who look like The Hulk. Yes, there are many certifications (credible or not) out there. But whatever you do, please, please, please, please, don’t solely base your selection of a trainer just on how they look. If you’re skeptical, try out some sessions with the trainer and get referrals. I once knew someone who had chicks swooning all over him to train them just because he had a great body. What they didn’t know is that he took steroids to look that way!”

Check back to the Brides Made Fit blog in the coming days for the rest of the article!