You might be thinking surely he’s going to be bias and he’s only going to tell me what I want to hear so he gets my business. Well you would be partly right and partly wrong, first let me tell you why I don’t want business from absolutely everyone….
Do you even lift?
Sometimes a personal trainer is simply out of their depth, and that’s ok, as long as they know it. I have no business teaching ballet, dance or gymnastics. Personal trainers have their specialties and they may be experienced in a few different fields but they will never be experienced in all of them, the human body is just too amazing and we will never know everything about it, nor will we know everything about the skills it can perform. If I decided to work with a client promising I could make them an amazing dancer I would be lying and I wouldn’t get you the best results, that’s why I wouldn’t take you on if that was your goal.
Yeah they definitely saw you coming
If you wanted to run 5km in 20 minutes I’d be keen to get you into a consultation. Even then we might chat and you may decide I’m just a little too expensive for you, as PTs we have to know our worth and our costs. If I rent a gym out for £500 a month but a competitor does sessions in the park with makeshift equipment they are going to be slightly cheaper because they can afford to work for slightly less if you’re only interested in running the park option is a no brainer as you won’t need a lot of equipment. Personal trainers at high end gyms will be paying high end rent and so they will have to charge you high end prices. I recommend looking for the right gym environment for you and then deciding if the price is fair. The bottom line is usually around £30 and for trainers that have to travel to you or rent an expensive gym they may charge up to £80 per session.
Lucky for some he’s on £30 an hour
As a client investing in a trainer you shouldn’t be looking for the cheapest PT as it may work out more expensive later on when you don’t achieve the result you wanted and so have to hire another PT and go through the whole process again. I’m not saying all PTs who charge £15 a session are bad, they could be great option for somebody who just needs to move a little more and they might be financially stable enough to work cheap for experience. However lets break down the cost of PT from my perspective. Personally I don’t use templates so I will be preparing a session bespoke to you which takes time, I may meet you for a free consultation which takes time and if you train with me for a little while I’ll log your personal bests, weight, waist measurement or whatever you may be working on. This all costs the trainer time, they may be in the gym with you for an hour but there’s a lot of work going on at home to make sure you’re progressing safely and effectively. Cheaper personal trainers might “freestyle” a session, meaning they haven’t planned anything and make it up as they go. Fine, perfect even if you have a one off session to practice skipping rope or doing a deadlift for the first time. However long term you can’t improve yourself if you don’t know what level you’re at right now and what level you were at a month ago, a good PT will track your progress for you and they will charge you for it as part of your session.
so…
Why would I tell you all this when I could weave some BS to get you to sign up with me? Well the truth is I believe the little I know through study, training, and experience is more than the PTs I’m competing with for a fair price.
MHJ Fitness: Personal Trainer In Cheltenham & Gloucester 