LA FITNESS TRAINER SCAM ??

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shreyaj
shreyaj Posts: 196
in Fitness and Exercise
OK so I'm of course not by all means against a personal trainer if you have the money to do it more power to you. This is how my afternoon went I was feeling not so well this morning so decided to take the rest of the day off from work, later in the afternoon I thought I'll go to the gym (have to keep up it with or I lose focus). When I walk in to have my key scanned this buff guy behind the counter goes "so what are you doing today?" I replied some strength training & cardio he said "mind if I show you some of the machines" I'm not an idiot I knew he was trying to get me to sign up for personal training sessions but I thought what the hell? I'll give it a shot maybe he can come up with a reasonable price for sessions that I can afford. So we go through a 30 minute work out I must admit it was great to learn a bunch of new things, then of course we sit down at the desk and talk price I used to work in Sales so I'm used to the aggresive sales pitches, this guy was unbelievable though the start up cost what they were going to charge to my credit card was $400.00 and he didn't even tell me after he swiped my card! He had said it was a 149.00 start up fee I didn't think I was going to get billed for the sessions because I hadn't even scheduled them yet, what bothered me was he charged my card without going over the total with me. so after I saw it I freaked and said absolutely not... my fiance is going to KILL me (we're saving up for our wedding) before I had signed up I had told him I really wanted to sit down with my fiance and talk this over first because it's a whole lot of money and he went into this whole speech about how this is not alot of money when you consider the health benefits yadda yadda yadda, at one point I got SO upset I blatantly yelled I am VERY uncomfortable with this, I felt WAY over my head this point, so then he said okay... we'll just take $200.00 as a downpayment and I was like alright fine (honestly I just wanted to get the hell out of there), immediatly after I left I called LA Fitness Headquarters and demaned a refund and complained about their pushy and deceptive ways, they apologized and are going to give me my money back (hopefully!), anyways by not doing it this man made me feel that I'm not going to lose weight by not having a trainer. I work out 4X a week some strength and cardio and VERY careful with my diet I eat no more than 1200 calories and less than 100 grams of carbs a day, and I have started to see some weight loss, am I a fool for getting duped into this? Will I make it without a trainer? Please share your thoughts with me or if anyone has had any situations similar to this, I love all you MFP guys, joining this site was one of best things I've done!
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Replies

  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    Ive lost 50 pounds without a trainer,he was totally un professional and out of line
  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
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    try complaining to your credit card co.
  • velix
    velix Posts: 437 Member
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    Absolutely you will lose without a trainer! You are working out, and watching your nutrition - that's what counts.

    I have had a trainer for the last year and a half - - lots in the beginning but now only 1x a month for 'check ins' - if my gym or my trainer had ever done this, I would have lost my crap - I am happy to hear you called the headquarters and if I were you, I would also complain to the manager next time you are at the gym - that is very unprofessional behavior on the trainer's part!

    Good luck in all your health endeavors
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
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    All gyms seem to have a real hard sales pitch going....I never step into any of them. The ones that don't are like the locally owned ones. Even the Y had an awful pushy sales schtick going :\

    I've lost 25 lbs without a personal trainer - I'm using a VIRTUAL personal trainer with EA Sports Active 2 on the xbox 360 Kinect and it's really awesome...if you want to go that route.
  • reallivefitness
    reallivefitness Posts: 99
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    Yeah, he sounds like a major jerk. Just remember that he's there to sell you a product (his time), and he will do and say whatever it takes to make you wanna buy it. You'll be fine without a trainer, don't worry.
  • Deberlin88
    Deberlin88 Posts: 70 Member
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    I lost 50 lbs w/out a trainer, as well. Just keep working out and eating healthy. :)
  • Brittney24
    Brittney24 Posts: 105
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    That is ridiculous. I believe you can totally do it without a trainer. I view them as helpful since they know many things and good work out techniques but if you really want, there are so many sites out there that have tips and moves to do that are great. (bodyrock.tv for instance)

    It reminds me of when I went in for me "free evaluation" at the Athletic Club last year. She ran a bunch of tests, basically told me I had a body age of 30 or something but with 250 dollars worth of personal training they could get me to my goal. She made me feel worthless since I said I needed to talk to my parents about that, and I ended up going to the gym very little after it because I resented the place so much.
  • waverly9876
    waverly9876 Posts: 605 Member
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    I can not believe he did that. I hate over pushy salespeople. I have a free personal trainer who works at our apt complex but I dont use her as much as I should. She does a group of people so its not the same as a personal training session. The other day I checked out LifeTime Fitness. I knew I couldnt afford it but I wanted the 7 day pass. When I got there, she seemed very pushy and when I told her I would have to talk to my bf about the price, since i am on disability and couldnt afford it. She kept pressuing me to buy it now and get my money back later. I didnt. I know that after working at a bank, gyms are THE WORST about giving money back. Thats good that you called the Headquarters but def check the bank until you get your money back. I am so sorry~~~
  • wan2b21
    wan2b21 Posts: 147 Member
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    I work at L.A. Fitness and agree completely. You can go in and speak to the training GM and he will refund you your money. I was in sales at my gym and I transfered out of that department because I saw the bad business practices they were doing.. I'm sorry to hear about your incident.. The gyms are awesome though and I love working there now. Get your money back!! You can!
  • SassyStef
    SassyStef Posts: 413
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    that totally sucks, but why did you give him you card at all?? Once you hand them the money they dont give a crap any more.....
    BTW a trainer is not the be all end all lol sounds like you are doing great and I too have no trainer and have lost 25lbs :happy:
  • ceebs9
    ceebs9 Posts: 511 Member
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    LA Fitness...don't get me started. I'm not sure I've ever been as angry as the day they tried to sell me personal training. Long story, but yeah, they were very aggressive. So I proceeded to show them how it was done without a trainer. Now I go to Crossfit and LOVE my trainers/coaches, but it's a whole different thing.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Well done for asking for your money back, it's a good reminder for all of us about seeing a full price in writing before handing over a credit card.
    You did exactly the right thing to follow it up, and yes, of course you can do this without a trainer. Having said that, don't let one bad egg put you off the whole profession.
  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
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    Absolutely, you don't need a trainer to lose weight!
    Guys like that give the good trainers a bad name. Keep eating healthy, watch your calories, and work out regularly, and you'll do just fine with your weight loss.
  • MGleason2010
    MGleason2010 Posts: 105 Member
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    I would have lost it also!!!! I think you did the right thing by calling the company
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
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    How many sessions were you going to get for $400? Don't feel stupid for getting pressured into it or falling for his trick. It happens everyday to everyone. My wife and I were members at this one gym before we moved. We paid for sessions with a personal trainer she was great. I can't quite remember how much we paid but it was $600 for 12 sessions, 2 a week, and we worked out together with her. She also developed a nutritional plan for us. To me it was worth the money, but it all depends on how you mesh with the trainer and obviously if you're starting out like that, walk away from him. At our gym we didn't meet with any trainers until we discussed our goals with the head trainer and he assigned one that would best fit our needs, which is why I feel that it worked out for us. We used it to get in better shape for our wedding, I lost about 30 lbs in 2 months and the wife lost about 20.
  • CraftyJenguin
    CraftyJenguin Posts: 28 Member
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    That is insane! I'm sorry you had to go through that. I have heard some shady stuff about LA Fitness, but nothing that bad. I'm glad that you're getting a refund.

    Yes, you can make it without a trainer. I had one when I first started going to the gym, but I just wanted someone to show me how to use the equipment properly, and I only met with her once a week. Now I workout on my own and do just fine. I liked having a trainer because she gave me ideas that I never would have thought of, but I really don't think it's necessary. You can do a Google search to look for different kinds of workouts using the equipment your gym has.

    Anyway, keep your head up. You will do more than fine on your own with the right amount of discipline. Good luck!
  • Nomomush
    Nomomush Posts: 582 Member
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    You can definitely lose without a trainer. Sounds like a bad sales experience. Now instead of used car salesmen, we can be leery of piranha trainers. :laugh:

    But seriously, I LOVE my trainer(s). Although I was doing the exercise and watching what I eat, they were able to tweak it for me to be more efficient and produce better/quicker results for the same effort/time I was previously putting in.

    It's sad you had a bad experience but please don't let it keep you from getting one in the future. They really are worth every penny.

    Good luck.
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
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    How many sessions were you going to get for $400? Don't feel stupid for getting pressured into it or falling for his trick. It happens everyday to everyone. My wife and I were members at this one gym before we moved. We paid for sessions with a personal trainer she was great. I can't quite remember how much we paid but it was $600 for 12 sessions, 2 a week, and we worked out together with her. She also developed a nutritional plan for us. To me it was worth the money, but it all depends on how you mesh with the trainer and obviously if you're starting out like that, walk away from him. At our gym we didn't meet with any trainers until we discussed our goals with the head trainer and he assigned one that would best fit our needs, which is why I feel that it worked out for us. We used it to get in better shape for our wedding, I lost about 30 lbs in 2 months and the wife lost about 20.

    I forgot to mention to you, but you can do it on your own without a trainer. Most people will get them if they aren't comfortable on the machines, but in the end the only one that can truly hold yourself accountable is yourself, and that's the hard part. You can pick up books or read magazines to learn new exercise to feel more comfortable. My buddy bought me a book for my birthday, Mens Health's Big Book of Exercises. It has a lot of good information in it. It must have over 600 different variations on all your muscle groups. I have lost about 60 lbs in three months, holding myself accountable.
  • bubbaduts
    bubbaduts Posts: 196 Member
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    I've lost 57 pounds without a trainer but i hit a plateau for the last month and i decided to try using a trainer so we will see how that goes my sessions are $30 through my gym
  • shreyaj
    shreyaj Posts: 196
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    Thank you MFP friends for responding to this post, I feel SO much better that guy really left a sour taste in my mouth. I like LA Fitness as a gym but like everyone hate getting pressured into things, thanks for all your responses, we can all make it TOGETHER! :)

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