Sales Quotas: Trainers in gym settings are heavily governed by sales quotas. There are goals for number of sessions serviced, supplement sales, new training packages sold, and new "business units" generated (i.e., new clients). If the club is large enough, the trainers are split into teams and the teams have another quota as a group, plus the several sales contests running within divisions or regional clubs always have quotas attached. With all this pressure to sell to anyone they encounter each day, what do you think is the primary motivation for the average gym trainer to partner with you?

High Turn-Around: Most gyms, being sales-focused, will take a chance on anyone that applies to be a trainer. A great many times, they receive applications from new trainers with no certifications or experience. The gyms will hire these trainer-hopefuls and send them to an internal certification class. These can range from two days to five days on the high end. Once they take a test at the end of this class, they’re tossed onto the training floor with their one-week education, the seven or eight sales quotas mentioned above and told to generate new business units. Their pay rate is dependant on how well they perform in this fashion and many quit within a few disappointing months because they're in over their heads.

Trainers for the Wrong Reasons: Too many trainers are in the profession for reasons aside from wanting to improve your life as a paying client. They like the "scene" of the gym, the blaring techno-music, the mirrors on every wall, being seen by all the men or checking out all the women. Their attention is not on you and you alone. Even worse are the current or former athletes who want to train everyone they way THEY train themselves. If you’re a 39-year old mother of four, would the workout regimen of a 23-year old defensive tackle for the local college provide the kind of results you desire?

Quantity vs. Quality: As stated above, Fitness Managers value the number of sessions their trainers can complete over the quality of the training experience delivered. Trainers that crank out sessions in the triple figures every month see their names highlighted on bulletin boards for the rest of the staff to see. There is no such system in place for how many times a client tells their trainer that they had a great workout or could once more fit into an old pair of jeans. Quality is only assumed as a spin-off of hitting your quotas.

Constant Pressure and Advertisements: Most gyms have contracts and sales arrangements with supplement companies, drink manufacturers, shoe and clothing merchants and of course, themselves. Flyers prompt you to bring in your friends for free memberships, posters beckon to try out a new energy drink while the front desk clerk peddles the new duffel bags or sun-tanning services. It can be distracting to fend off that constant barrage for your consumer dollars.

The Inconvenient Extras: In addition to the cost of the actual training sessions at the gym, there are almost always membership costs, wear and tear on your vehicle, time spent in traffic before and after the workout, the initiative to leave your home in the middle of a busy day, etc. 

The Training Hour: Gyms consider the training session to be fifty minutes, not the full hour. They allow the extra ten minutes to be "admin time" for the trainer to complete notes, enter the session into the computer, run to the bathroom or grab a snack. Thus, you’re not getting the full hour when you purchase hour-long training sessions, only 83% of it.

The Inherent Focus of Gyms: By their very nature, gyms address what I would view as only a third to a half of the total equation of health and fitness. Gyms are very good at putting forth the theory that resistance training and cardio-respiratory exercise is all it takes to get into the best shape of your life. They offer the tools to address your muscular strength, your flexibility, your heart rate and everything dealing with the physical aspects of fitness. In that environment, the personal training sessions are almost exclusively focused around using the equipment you see all around you. With no supporting environment for effectively addressing dietary behaviors or the psychology of weight loss, gym trainers fall short on the full equation of healthy living.

Lack of Trainer Specialty Matching: There’s a wonderful array of specialties in the field of Personal Training. As described elsewhere, mine is weight management and behavioral modification. Other popular specialties include sports performance and corrective exercise. Most gyms have a diversified training staff that covers a wide range of the spectrum on their resumes. The problem is, the system in place for purchasing personal training and getting assigned a trainer is dependant on almost everything but the specialties in education. Fitness Managers will assign new clients according to their needs, not yours.

Does any of this sound like the ideal environment to lose weight? Allow me to come to you. Read on for further details.