Going in for a free personal trainer session at LA FITNESS

chriistie
chriistie Posts: 8 Member
edited November 22 in Fitness and Exercise
I just paid for a membership at LA fitness, and they offer a free personal training session.

What should I be telling them?

What should I be asking?

How do I know this person isn't just some jock who hangs out too much at the gym... can't anyone be a personal trainer?

I've been on here for over a month so I thought I would tell them what I eat on average everyday cause I log it all. Other than that I got squat.

One more! How should I prepare for this workout? I worked out hard the other day to help prepare and I'm still recovering from it but I should be ready and not sore anymore tomorrow.

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    My experience with the free session at LA Fitness - it is to get you to sign up with future sessions. They'll do an assessments of your current fitness - not really a workout - and then work to get you to sign up for ongoing sessions. My free session wasn't even with one of the trainers - it was with the salesperson that sells the sessions.

    As far as the actual trainers at LA Fitness - in my experience - some are better than others. The nice thing is they usually have at least a few to choose from so if you workout with one and don't like them you can try another. They all have different experience and qualifications. And even some that might be highly qualified might not click with you.
  • kmash32
    kmash32 Posts: 275 Member
    I signed up with a personal trainer at my gym. They should be asking you what your goals are, what you are hoping to get out of the session (general tips, how to use specific equipment that type of thing). When I first signed up for just the six sessions they did a fitness test to tell me where I was, and we also had a lot of general discussion on basic nutrition and exercise. They also showed me some basics to work into my workout routine.
    Oh and no not just anyone can be a trainer or they do have to pass the coarse (forget the name) and if they are going to make it in the business they have to know what they are talking about and be able to relate to their client.
    They won't have you do a huge hard routine in your first session, it will be a lot of talk and probably as mentioned a fitness test. They will push you to sign up for more sessions.
    I have now been seeing mine once a week for two years and I love it. We concentrate on strength and resistance training as there is no real need to see a trainer if you are just going to do cardio and he keeps me accountable which I need. Hope this helps.
  • chriistie
    chriistie Posts: 8 Member
    "there is no real need to see a trainer if you are just going to do cardio" <--- that's most of what I wanna do.

    Super helpful.

    I didn't actively plan on paying for one, they just wanna give it to you. I feel like I got this on my own already. I paid for the membership, I go to the place, I work out for an hour and I bail. Maybe this trainer could tell me what exercises I need to do to get the results I want and I can do the rest. I want to make the most out of this one session I get, but if it's a bunch of talking about what I want and not actually going through some routine that I should acclimate to then I'll stop trying to prepare. lol
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    edited October 2017
    chriistie wrote: »
    I just paid for a membership at LA fitness, and they offer a free personal training session.

    What should I be telling them?

    What should I be asking?

    How do I know this person isn't just some jock who hangs out too much at the gym... can't anyone be a personal trainer?

    I've been on here for over a month so I thought I would tell them what I eat on average everyday cause I log it all. Other than that I got squat.

    One more! How should I prepare for this workout? I worked out hard the other day to help prepare and I'm still recovering from it but I should be ready and not sore anymore tomorrow.

    Chances are they are gonna be giving you an interactive sales pitch to get you to buy a training package. If you aren't sure what to ask or how to prepare, just show up and let them go through their schpiel. Unless you have something specific you want to ask like "check out my squat form" i wouldn't worry about getting too much out of the a single free training session. You could always ask for a workout template, sometimes they give you that and show you each exercise (usually on machines) for a generic 3 or 4 day workout program. And a lot of times these free sessions are just a walk through the gym and introduction to the equipment.
  • YosemiteSlamAK
    YosemiteSlamAK Posts: 1,230 Member
    The "free session" is there way of trying to sell you a six month or yearly personal training package. If you buy it, you have to pay up front every month & cannot cancel early unless you pay half the remaining balance. This is how they get paid. Most salespeople make "server wages" ($2-3/hr. + commission), so your commission is part of their paycheck for 6-12 months.
    All the sales people for personal training (at least at LA) are required to be certified as trainers, typically they were trainers who got "promoted". The salespeople are required to book "X" number of appointments for each day or pull people off the floor. Their goal is to convince you to sign up for personal training when you sit down.
    If you don't want a personal trainer, tell the person who contacts you, you aren't interested in a personal trainer. Once they sit you down they don't want you to walk away, they'll call their manager to try and give you a deal or make a call to the VP. If it isn't something you want to do, decline the appointment. If they come to you on the floor, politely say some form of "Thanks for checking in. I'm going to go back to my workout now." If they continue, say it not so politely. I saw one lady ask for the guy's card, then use it to call corporate to file a harassment complaint.
    Be aware the staff is encouraged (sometimes required) to workout in their time off, some are even allowed to workout on the clock out of uniform. So the nice guy or gal you are talking to could just be gathering information to sell you training, pass along to the salespeople, try to become your trainer or convince you to do the "free assessment".
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