Got Kicked Out Of the Gym Today & Im Pissed Off!

panshrmu

Bottom line OP and friend were plateauing so they started doing the same training as another friend. They started losing weight. Other members seemed interested in the routine. Personal Trainers in the gym look bad.

that is what I have read! trainers are taught to always be checking form or do something so that the client feels they NEED you. If others were seeing results that THEY weren't getting with their trainers, then it makes the trainers look bad. Somewhere I read that gyms want people to stay in a position where they need to come back, so if they can do things on their own, they might not come back.......

all this to say, I haven't read the last few pages of this topic, so not sure yet how it has worked out.....but I would be quite miffed!

Cold_Steel

I have seen some pretty terrible trainers...

They show up...

They come over to them have them stretch for like 5 minutes then the trainer wanders off and talks to the receptionist girl then he comes back puts them on the treadmill for like 10 minutes and wanders off again flirting with the receptionist girl then he comes back takes the "client" to like 3 lifting stations and makes them do like one leg lift set and one military press and something else then they are done... Thats not training that is a really crappy tour of the gym....

See it all the time at LAF

lorenzoinlr

It doesn't matter what they like or why or what most clubs do, all that's completely irrelevant. The contract governs, they breached it and it's up to you as far as whether you want them to bear consequences. If a club doesn't want you to bring in a free trainer they have to put that in the contract explicitly or they are liable. Here they made it even easier for you by being specific as to compensated trainers meaning your uncompensated trainer's ok.

I'm sure 24 hour fitness has a general counsel who realizes their vulnerabilty. I'd find and write him if the manager doesn't solve your problem. Large companies don't want things like this rattling around with the potential for bad press, class actions, etc. They're already being classed once you might be surprised how workable they'll be at senior levels.

MariaChele85

wow, i'm sorry that happened to you. they should have asked you to stop and not kicked you out if there was a question about what was going on. don't give up your gym membership if you feel like it's valuable to you. the gym is a great place and don't let one rotten apple spoil it. hopefully you can come to an amicable solution.

one question, sorry if i missed it, was your friend also doing the exercises too or just telling y'all what to do an observing? the reason i ask is because if he was observing and not doing it's a lot harder to prove you aren't "paying and outside trainer". now if he's doing everything and leading the two of you as well then it's a lot easier to just say three friends working out.

Both. He does the exercises along with us. He is in much better shape than the two of us, so of course he will do more than us. For example I'll do a set of 10 push ups, other friend will do 15 and he'll do 20. Each one of us has a different fitness goal. I want to lose weight, other friend is already small doesnt need to lose weight she only wants to build lean muscle, he is a guy and wants to have those big manly power muscles. He does alot of heavy lifting. Yes he does watch us making sure we are doing proper form, position etc... But we time him as well. We watch make sure he's not arching his back while doing a squat with the heavy barbell. We will set up a circuit training with 3-5 exercises for 30 sec each. Repeat 3 times. This is what is working for me. I like working out with my friends, because they are the only people that also enjoy working out as I do. They are my support system. If I tried to this alone or at home, I would probably not push myself as hard.

MariaChele85

I have seen some pretty terrible trainers...

They show up...

They come over to them have them stretch for like 5 minutes then the trainer wanders off and talks to the receptionist girl then he comes back puts them on the treadmill for like 10 minutes and wanders off again flirting with the receptionist girl then he comes back takes the "client" to like 3 lifting stations and makes them do like one leg lift set and one military press and something else then they are done... Thats not training that is a really crappy tour of the gym....

See it all the time at LAF

Agree^ When I did have a 24hr trainer we would spend 5-15 min stretching. I can stretch on my own, lets get to the real workout. He would take me to the machines, but I told him I prefer to do free weights or use my own body weight. I didnt want to question his intelligence so I did what he suggested.

janeite1990

And this is why I work out at home. I'm boiling on your behalf, though. This was not about liability. Sounds like no one cared until other patrons started asking their trainers for your type of workout.

KeriA

I am sorry you were treated this way and agree you need to talk to management and if necessary protect yourself and terminate your contract with them. I am a member at LA Fitness and had an interesting experience. I joined and later realized they don't give you much help. I had been a member at other gyms where they would show you how to use a machine if you needed. It seems that makes sense since they shouldn't want you to get injured on their equipment. Or you could pay for a session to get a routine or some help as needed, but LA fitness wants you to pay them weekly for a PT. I hardly can pay for a membership. Frankly I would love to use birthday money etc to get some help but can't pay them every week. I like the facilities and classes. So my son also a member at that time was showing me how to use some machines. He wasn't training me. A trainer came over and offered to help me after my not being able to get the time of day when I just wanted to know about how to use their elliptical. So we went over to talk to him. He got really aggressive with my son. He challenged him to a work out duel. Told him he could out lift him or something like that. We had no idea what was up with the guy. I told him since the club wouldn't help me I just was asking my son how to use a few machines. I told him that the pay options they had didn't work well for my situation to use the PTs there. I told him that the free one hour help session they promised turned out to be a sales job to get me to sign up for PTs and that their system didn't allow me to just pay for what I needed but only for what they offered weekly or for for much higher rates monthy plans. He let us go after using up most of the time I had with my son to get some help.and not helping one bit. He later came up to my son and apologized and explained he thought he was an outside trainer. Since then I spent hours online and bought some books and developed a good beginning program for weight training months later. I went with cheat sheets the first time and it took me awhile to get up the nerve to go regularly. I am willing to pay for help but can't afford weekly sessions with a trainer. Later a friend on MFP described the routine she was given at a public community fitness center. It turned out it was similar to the one I use. I warned my sister about this and she refused to join another LA Fitness without their throwing in some help for the machines she needed to use. She had been going to a club where the help was part of the gym fee which was less than LA. I would love to have a personal trainer and feel they are worth the money. They would get more of my money if they helped more and if I could pay as I need and can afford.

amccrazgrl

That really sucks what happened to you and your friend.

I go to Gold's and all the time see women asking a few certain men that workout there to help them with routines and nothing is ever said. I took my aunt to workout once with me and had to "train" her on the moves we were doing.

BOLO4Hagtha

I hope you resolve this and that trainer apologizes to you and your friends. Bottom line is, all three of you pay for a membership, your friend is not a registered trainer and you haven't paid him a dime to help you get over your plateau.

GL.