
The trend of personal training is taking a turn.
1 on 1 training will not be the norm as the economy progresses and people get tired of their 1 on 1 personal trainers.
I cant tell you how many converts that I have made from the 1 on 1 world to the group training world.
And on the other side of the coin, I cant tell you how many people walked away from such the great and life changing experiences we have here at YNV.
I have been bombarded with positive energy and support by everyone who comes and contributes teaching, motivation, accountability to one another.

Now I want to list the top 5 reasons why 1 on 1 training sucks and group training rocks.
Not that there is anything wrong with 1 on 1 training.
I have been on both worlds.
As a personal trainer, there is no room for error and no time to slack with group training, because there are too many people counting on you to step up to the plate.
And our group will call my a*s out if I'm slipping.
So lets get to it:
The top 5 reasons why 1 on 1 personal training sucks and group training rocks.

1. Its too much money.
This is the number one reason why 1 on 1 personal training sucks.
The ROI or return on investment does not match what you are paying for.
Especially if you can pay less for a workout and get 10 x the results and motivation by training in a group.
The going rate for an average one on one personal trainer at a large chain gym is $80 an hour.
The going rate for group training (2 to 4 people) is $30 to $45.
If that is steep to you, consider doing a boot camp class.
The class is larger so it is more challenging for your coach to see you but there is usually 2 or 3 people in the class that are advanced that you can watch and mirror.
A going rate for a good boot camp is between $10 and $20 a session.
It allows you to pay less, work harder, and be around passionate and positive people that want to improve their lives.
2. The trainer feels a need to talk to you so your workout turns into a psychology appointment.
You end up helping your personal trainer with their personal problems or they end up helping you with yours; but both of you are not qualified be a psychologist.
If you are a psychologist, you shouldn’t be working during your training session. You should be sweating your butt off!
The conversations usually start off like, “Are you alright? Or “You look tired. Did you get much sleep?”
Before you know it, you just paid you trainer to help him fix his problems.
This gets old real quick.

3. Your workout is trashed because your 1 on 1 personal trainer is tired and so are you.
They are looking at their watch wondering when the session is going to be over so they can go sleep.
Most one on one personal trainers work 40 hours a week.
The full time amount of hours in the personal training industry is 30 hours so they are exhausted by the end of the week!
When you train in a group the spark plug of the workout may be an out of shape person giving it their all.
The energy of a tired personal trainer and their tired client is nothing compared to 4 or 8 motivated people.

4. You get micromanaged and it gets annoying.
You have a trainer that stands over you and micromanages you with his or her arms crossed because this is the stance they learned from someone else.
Most of the time, they are actually bored and staring at their watch but don’t tell you.
Most successful adults just want to be shown the door, they don’t want to be walked through it.
Most of the people that get personal training are already leaders outside of the gym and they hate being micromanaged.
They just want you to tell them what to do so they can execute it.
Not stand over them and do it for them.

5. You can’t tell if you are working hard or not.
You are going at your own pace and your perceived exertion level is distorted because there is no one around you doing the same routine.
Your trainer will tell you good job but deep inside you know your dogging it so you don’t believe him.
There is nothing better than someone coming in the gym who is your age or older shredding through a workout and pulling you forward with them.
At that point you know if you are working hard or not and the personal trainer’s opinion doesn’t matter as much. You just want to keep up and work as hard as the person in front of you.

12 comments:
True on all five counts. I love YNV!
one on one will soon be extinct. group training is what's up. Thanks!
Absolutely ridiculous. A good personal trainer is what he/she makes of him/herself. This guy speaks from personal experience, obviously. As a trainer with over a decade of experience I have known awesome trainers and pathetic trainers.
Top five reasons the guy who wrote this is an idiot:
1) he sais...
"Now I want to list the top 5 reasons why 1 on 1 training sucks and group training rocks.
Not that there is anything wrong with 1 on 1 training."
Does this make sense to any intelligent individual?
2) he sais...
"You end up helping your personal trainer with their personal problems or they end up helping you with yours; but both of you are not qualified be a psychologist."
Is this fact? This is quite the generalization. Perhaps this is how his 1 on 1 sessions were, but not mine.
3) he sais...
"our workout is trashed because your 1 on 1 personal trainer is tired and so are you.
They are looking at their watch wondering when the session is going to be over so they can go sleep."
Again, fact???
4) he sais...
"You have a trainer that stands over you and micromanages you with his or her arms crossed because this is the stance they learned from someone else.
Most of the time, they are actually bored and staring at their watch but don’t tell you."
Right, because nobody has ever thought of crossing their arms on their own. I remember the first trainer I saw doing it, and it looked cool! Honestly, does this guy think before he writes?
5) he sais...
"You can’t tell if you are working hard or not.
You are going at your own pace and your perceived exertion level is distorted because there is no one around you doing the same routine."
Interpretation: Don't pay attention to how much you're sweating, or how hard your heart is beating. How are you supposed to know how hard you're working. There's certainly not enough indicators in your body to tell you that?!
Ok, so this guy thinks there's a "movement" from 1 on 1 training to boot camps, when in reality I've had a lot of clients come from boot camps to do individual because they don't get a tailored workout.
Men can't train like women, and women can't train like men, plain and simple. The women I train in group sessions do much less work than in individual workouts because they talk with one-another. When in 1 on 1 with me I push them to their limit.
Men, on the other hand, do well in group workouts because they are competitive, while in individual sessions they'd rather talk instead of workout. Either way, the key to a good trainer is to push their client and listen simultaneously. There is no reason you can't do both, unless you're completely one-dimensional...and apparently this guy is!
Honestly, who could take seriously the opinion of a guy who writes "1 on 1 training sucks!" It sounds like Beavis and Butthead wrote this blog.
Surprise surprise to NOT see the post I added yesterday that completely destroys this guy's credibility
Here are the original emails he sent to me before I pissed him off enough to comment on this blog!
From: Pissed off trainer
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:23 PM
To: jaiya@yournextvictory.com
Subject: RE: 1 on 1 training sucks.
Hi,
I'm a trainer and wanted to let you know how your ad comes across. You tell a story of when you worked as a trainer and how you weren't very good at it. You talked wit your clients and got nothing done. As you put it you were a "rep counter". People who have trainers know when they have a good trainer, like me. Granted, there are clients that are very difficult to motivate, but the majority of my clients (and I do multiple group sessions as well) do much better in an individual setting because of me. The other people in the group bring them down because they're the ones talking and fooling around.
You are supposed to be a fitness professional, and yet you base your advertising on bashing others in the same industry??? I'm sorry, but professional you are not! Competition feeds business. Do you not understand that concept? The more people talk about good experiences with trainers, the more likely they will consider a boot camp, and vice versa. When looking for a trainer people want a motivating and positive individual. I don't take that from your ad, or your website.
From: jaiya@yournextvictory.com
To: Pissed off trainer
Subject: 1 on 1 training sucks.
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:38:38 -0800
Danny,
I know how my ad comes across.
Its actually exploded my bootcamp and personal training business.
I’m sorry that you feel bashed, but I am entitled to my opinion as an American:
1 on 1 training sucks.
And all of my clients believe this to be true as well.
You say my advertising does not work but you clicked on the ad and also went to my website.
So obviously it worked on you.
My clients aren’t only looking for motivating and positive.
They are looking for an environment that is full of Lions that breed champions, not sensitive birds.
see you at the finish line!
Jaiya Figueras
Movement Specialist
yournextvictory.com
From: Pissed off trainer
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:23 PM
To: jaiya@yournextvictory.com
Subject: RE: 1 on 1 training sucks.
Jaiya,
I go to every trainer's or "boot camp's" website for research, so don't take honor in that. It is part of my job as an independent trainer. I also like to throw out praise to other trainers for good marketing, great ideas, they're look or what their clients say about them instead of using negative reinforcement to drive home my own personal views.
Clearly you take advantage of people who have had bad experiences with trainers, and in an industry that supports many (trainers) there are going to be a few bad seeds. It's one thing to do that, but to express yourself against people in YOUR OWN industry in such a way (and also exclaiming that other Long Beach boot camps suck) is very unprofessional, not to mention harsh and inarticulate.
BTW, when I visited your site I did expect to see trainers with bodies that I would want, and there are none. Maybe you should browse through the trainer's ads, get your team in that kind of shape (maybe hire a trainer??), and then proclaim that your program works better...'cause I ain't believin' it!
All the best!
________________________________________
From: jaiya@yournextvictory.com
To: Pissed off trainer
Subject: P.S.
Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:47:16 -0800
Danny,
If you really want to make a comment for the public to see click here: http://truathlete.blogspot.com/2008/10/top-5-reasons-why-1-on-1-personal.html.
Get a website and then talk.
see you at the finish line!
Jaiya Figueras
Movement Specialist
yournextvictory.com
From: Pissed off trainer
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:23 PM
To: jaiya@yournextvictory.com
Subject: RE: 1 on 1 training sucks.
I do have a website, thanks...and no, I won't forward it because you'll probably post some nasty words on CL or something (an opinion based on your business tactics)
I don't need people to read a blog about my opinion because there's more than enough business in personal training. I just wanted to make a point in letting you know that your opinions are one-dimensional, inarticulate (1 on 1 training sucks!... straight out of Beavis and Butthead), and unprofessional. That's all.
________________________________________
From: jaiya@yournextvictory.com
To: Pissed off trainer
Subject: RE: P.S.
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:43:03 -0800
Pissed off trainer,
Your gay…
Really really gay…
see you at the finish line!
Jaiya Figueras
Movement Specialist
yournextvictory.com
How mature,
and it's "you're gay", not "your"...you idiot"
Posted by The Trainer on The Corner at 11:48 AM 0 comments
Awesome, thanks for backing my response Jaiya. I'm glad you posted those emails that make you look like a complete moron.
Not: Jaiya didn't and can't back his "strong" views of 1 on 1 training when confronted. Instead he proclaims that I am gay...really, really gay. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing there are some gay people who could take offense to this??
There are several different meanings for gay.
Here is the gay that you are: leading a dissolute life.
I dont know how to type that fast and Im tired from group training so I choose to be an idiot.
p.s. one on one training sucks...
Right, and that's exactly how you meant it. Anybody that reads what you wrote is going to know exactly what you meant. You are not deceiving anyone.
Anyways, I'm tired of trying to make valid points to a childish imbecile, and it seems that nobody else is interested in the blog, so it's not a whole-lotta fun.
Who is this LAtrainer? I want to try one a 1 on 1 session!
Who is this LAtrainer? I want to try a 1 on 1 session!
Jaiya,
As much as I disagree with your views of 1 on 1 training, you do have the right to voice your opinion, so I'm sorry. I lowered myself to meaningless banter and it got the best of me.
Please accept my apology
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