The Fitness Industry?!

As much as I believe in the fitness industry, I can see how there is so much frustration with personal trainers and franchise clubs that provide the training.

I have gotten to experience this first hand for the past three months working as a training manager in one of the biggest franchise gyms at the moment. I am learning a lot as far as managerial tasks go but as far as training and gaining knowledge from the training perspective of things..........let's sayI could have regressed had I not been continually educating myself and working with a number of clients outside of that setting.

Even though I have been moving up the ranks I definitely know I do not want a future in a franchise because their service seems to be so far from a priority and it seems nothing else matters but the invoice. I understand that the people that are purchasing personal training are taking a step in the right direction and that we are helping them but something isn't right because a lot of people that sign up (and I mean A LOT) are not getting results, many times not even showing up for their training sessions.

The causes for this are many. One is the motivation of the trainers, everything seems to be rushed and there is no extra information or support being given. As soon as the session is over it is over to the next client and a lot of the time the same exercises, intensity, etc. (not really ever looking at the individual). The other factor is the experience and education of the trainers! I talk to most of the trainers that work for the company and I can't believe how little sense, knowledge and experience they have..........many of them not caring about continuing education, just enough to upkeep their certification.
At first I would talk to the trainers about anything and everything related to training, basically just talk shop, and I realized none of them really payed attention and tried changing the subject. I later realized that the reason was that they knew very little or nothing about what I was talking about so they didn't want to talk about it!

Now when I say this I am talking about the majority.......there are still good, passionate trainers in the big franchises, but it seems they are a dying breed (my experience).

Let me not even get to corporate because there it gets really bad. When you have a V.P. telling you how to sell a lady that has a herniated disk and to just give her to any of the trainers is just crazy! I don't have a problem with selling training because I believe that the people will have many benefits that will lead their life in a healthier and better direction, but the problem arises when you do not believe in the product you are selling, which in my case is the level of the training (in many instances).

The truth is that big franchises are going to keep selling a lot of personal training because of the client base of the big gyms but I would much rather see all those clients scatter and find smaller gyms where the trainers really have an interest in their health and have the knowledge and passion to provide great service......

I think thats enough of a rant for now. I will keep trying to give the people I assess and consult the best service and direct them to the trainers I trust and probably making my bosses pissed off............its the least I can do!