Is this a good price - personal trainer?

myhusbandletsme

Hi - I go to LA Fitness and have decided to try out personal training sessions, as I have been working out for about 6 months with no real big results...

Is $105 a month a good price- it includes 4 half hour work outs and once a month evaluation - I was thinking it was a good price when I thought the sessions were an hour long each - I have to sign for 12 months and a little unsure if I should do it.

Thanks for your input - Michelle

AdamBellfpt

I'm not sure what rates for a personal trainer are where you are, I'm guessing the USA! But here PTs cost anything from £15-£200 per hour. The offer you mention may be a good deal, but it really depends on the level of knowledge the trainer had and what you are hoping to achieve. Half an hour is not very long for a session. My sessions last anything from 50-90 mins depending on the clients needs.

My gut would be shop around before signing up specially as its sounds like you'll be tied in for 12 months.

I'm currently training to be a trainer and so someone like me would be cheaper than a trainer who has been qualified for a while.

Hope that helps a little.

chusheto1

Last time I payed for a personal trainer at 24hr fitness it cost me $600 for 10 sessions. This was 5-6 years ago. I think they must be struggling because now they offer half-hour sessions.

I would seriously re-consider. My experience with personal trainers has been... well... I did not learn anything that I could not have learned on the internet. A lot of them really really know only the stuff that they are interested in. If they are into bulking up, they will give you good advise on bulking up. If they are into endurance sports, they will give you good advise on building up your endurance.

But if you want an expensive babysitter, go for it. I would try group exercise classes first, if extra motivation is all you need.

Are you doing good on your calories? Maybe we can help you with this and save you the $100 a month. BTW, the average crossfit membership seem to run around $120 and you get to go to a gym, get instructions, and get other people to motivate you. With a full membership you can go every day... Maybe that would work better for you than a dedicated personal trainer.

P.S. I am not associated with CrossFit, never done CrossFit, and think that $120 for a gym membership is absolutely outrageous... just my disclaimer I will also admit to working closely with only two personal trainers, both of them skinny white kids, so it goes without saying, your experience might vary.

djmyersmo

Hello Michelle,

I know at my gym they charge $50 per hour for one hour sessions and you must choose 24 or 48 sessions, otherwise it is $60/hour. For group training (you''d be sharing the trainer with about 3 others) it would be $30 per hour). I did shop around and a small fitness center offered 3 hour sessions for $99, for personal training, but their prices were then $60 per hour and you had to purchase a lot more sessions than the gym I decided to use.

Given my findings, I would conclude that if it is for individual training, that would be a good deal for you, but not if you are sharing the training sessions with others. Also, you need to make sure you are happy with half-hour sessions. I know for me, personally, I felt that I needed the hour sessions, and I also needed individual training. My trainer had explained to me that group training would be more ideal for those that have had individual training sessions first. Of course, any training is better than none.

I also wanted to add that while my sessions don't start until next week, I did have the trainer show me how to personalize my workout on a treadmill yesterday, and I had a more productive workout in 20 minutes than I had doing it myself for 45 minutes, so training is really worth the price.

I hope this gives you some more insight and good luck in your decision.

Daphne

lisao62

I pay 600 dollars for twelve sessions of personal training. I go for one hour at a time.

LynC33

Hi Michelle

Thats actually a good deal. Here they charge around $45 for half hour. Rip off if you ask me. Cant get much done in half an hour. Im studying Personal Training and my sessions will go for a hour(45 min work out, 15 min cooldown and stretch) and they will be around the same price as a half hour sesh.

Topsking2010

It depends on whether the trainer is qualified. If the trainer has received fitness certifications then I think the price is reasonable. Also personality is very important when choosing a trainer.

taunto

i used to pay my trainer $20 per hour and she was well worth it. I donno the rates in your area but it sounds like your trainer is charging you 105$ for 2 hours of workout per month...thats like 50$+ per hour. But it all depends on the area and stuff. if money is of concern, try finding independant trainers rather than via gyms

rumpusparable

That's a great deal. Here they charge about $60 an hour.

kathleennf

Um OK- well I have a different suggestion for you or anyone else who might be interested and on a budget. I live in Nicaragua, go to a great gym, have a fantastic semi-personal trainer (the gym has the best equipped weight room I have seen - admittedly my experience is limited- and it is equipped with one trainer in the morning M-S and two in the afternoon M-F, for whoever is there but I always get PLENTY of attention). And sit down first what I pay is $30 per MONTH for everything. So why don't you look for a place to take a two week vacation and work with the trainers there LOL - then you'd have your routine set... Just a thought.

builtforlife

105 dollars for two hours? What is this world coming to?

LynC33

It's also very important you feel you are getting what you need from your trainer. If you feel like you're not, speak up, you are paying so you have every right to get what you're paying for.

dad106

I just bought 30 personal training sessions at X-Sport Fitness and heres what mine cost:
49.00 dollars a session
I put 441.00 dollars as a downpayment
I have 6 payments of 171.50
That makes a grand total of 1470 and allows me to see my trainer 3 times a month for an hour each time.. and I now have enough sessions to last me for the next 10 months.

So yes, I say that you are a getting a good deal.. and if you get a good trainer, then it's even better!

MsNewBooty83

I paid $2400(including taxes) for 36 1hr sessions at my gym. so thats $66/session(incl tax). holy crap, i paid that much?! lol. BUT if your gym offers group classes and youve never tried them before, id say give that a whilr b4 u shell out the dough for a trainer!

Discoveri

Keep an eye out for Living Social or Group on deals. You can usually get personal training for cheap without having to sign a contract.

BobbyDaniel

I'm working on personal trainer certification right now, so this is a pretty interesting thread for me.

misskerouac

I paid 119$ for 3 1-hour sessions. I try to buy them when they have a special, or I buy multiple sessions at a time since at my gym the more sessions you buy at one time the cheaper it is. Then you just schedule them for when you like. I see mine about every 3 weeks.

tameko2

the price itself seems ok but price is not the main consideration with a trainer, most of the trainers at the big box gyms like 24 hour fitness and la fitness are just random kids off the street that went through some "course" that the gym manages rather than true personal fitness training. I just lookd and LA fitness doesn't list ANY certification being required for their trainers, and I know 24 hour fitness just has them go through some sort of session which 24 hour fitness calls a certification but it just means they're certified by 24 hour fitness.

I have seen the trainers at my 24 hour fitness and its really a crap shoot - there's one "master" trainer that ACTUALLY has a real certification like an ACE or something, and the rest are random people - I've seen a couple who obviously had some knowledge on their own (its not like you can't learn yourself) and others who walk their client over to the elliptical and then have them workout with some little handweights and then do some crunches. You don't need a trainer to do that - total waste of money.

So I'd say -find out the experience and qualifications of the person you'd be working with. Talk to them and ask what they'd do with you in that session and if they'd give you a program to follow outside of their sessions. If it sounds good, then go for it, the price is in line with what gyms seem to charge.

A good personal trainer is absolutely an asset to your fitness goals. A worthless one is ....well. Not worth 50/hour.

myjourney2

Sounds good to me. I pay a lot more for 4 1/2 hour workouts per month. I originally signed up for 3 months and just recently added another 6 months to my contract because it is doing me a lot of good to have someone I am accountable to. Plus I love the strength training I do with my trainer. I workout once a week with my trainer, once in a class and once on my own. Also have my walk/running group twice a week.

Forgot to add, my trainer is certified.

vendygirl

The price is alright but it varies from place to place.

I agree with Tameko. Personality and training go a long way. I had personal trainer a few years back that I worked with for a few weeks but ended up severing our relationship because 1) she NEVER gave me a consistant schedule. I said I wanted Saturday Morning every week and I never got that. once she had a session with me at 8pm. WAY to late in my opinion to be working out and 2) she started nagging instead of pushing me. I think our personalities just started rubbing me the wrong way.

I am currently taking a bootcamp class with 2 trainers (one is a new one I found and love) and it actually works out to be cheaper in the long run for me to take the class instead. I pay $250 for a 6weeks 3xs a week for 45 minutes each. That works out to like $14 dollars a session.

SO try to see if you can't get into some smaller fitness classes.

Good luck.

jgarf4me

Im not sure about the price. A good personal trainer are usually between 70 and 100 for 55 minutes. I would try to get a full hour training not 30 minutes and see if your body responds to thw training and if they seem to know what they are doing. You could take a private before u sign up and get an idea. also talk to some of the more advanced athletes in the gym and find out who they use. if they tell you they dont train there, theyre probaly not good trainers working there.
Also, ask the trainers how long they have trained people and what certification they have.

good luck