Jeff's Thoughts

• Are You Getting Your Moneys Worth?

  31 March, 2015

  

  After running a program design course in the weekend I realised a few truths about personal training. We had personal trainers from all over NZ come along to learn the methodologies we run here at Studio41. I realised how bad the industry was, not with the trainers who turned up, but the stories I was told on the behaviours of the other trainers. But lets get to that later.  Firstly – if you are paying for personal training, shouldn’t you be working out in an environment where that trainer can choose the equipment that you need? However gyms are so busy these days that a trainers often is lucky to get the piece of equipment he or she needs, and when they get it they have to guard it with their lives (literally). Most other services will give you a discount for not being able to give you good or full service – not personal training. When the club is busy you will still be paying top dollar, but you will be doing a program that is not optimal but doable in a busy crowded environment. Shouldn’t personal training be about choosing exercises that will help you – not choosing exercises based on how busy the gym is and what you and the personal trainer have access too? At Studio41 we work on a 2 to 1 basis. i.e 2 personal trainers per squat rack. That allows us to always be able to give our clients the most efficient workouts.

  The average life expectancy of a personal trainer in the NZ fitness market is currently 5 months. Yes that is right – not a mis print – 5 months. We have young kids being educated on quick turn around courses with no experience being thrown in to the deep end – and they drown. They don’t know nor practice the basics. Does your trainer use a stop watch for example? This is one of the most basic tools for a trainer. To understand what rest periods to use and when is the most basis knowledge your trainer should have, however I learnt in the weekend that most personal trainers don’t even time sets or rest periods. This basically means that your trainers is not using this most basic tool because they don’t know how.

  And god forbid turning up to a personal training session and the personal trainer asking you as a client “what shall we do today”. Nothing like a professional knowing how to take control and helping that client (who I presume one reason for getting a trainers was because they didn’t know what to do) achieve their health and fitness success.

  Stop paying for young kids to train you. Make sure your personal trainer records your sessions, has a plan and uses a stop watch. If none of that is occurring then run away as fast as you can (not on a treadmill though as you won’t go anywhere). If you are paying for a service – expect (or demand) top service for your money. At Studio41 we will strive to helps our clients to achieve their health and fitness goals with all the tools we have (one of which is a stop watch). Because that is what we do – and we are bloody good at it!!

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

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