This past weekend I attended a Birthday Party for a long term client of ours. This was the first big party I had attended since COVID-19 shut down the world two short years ago. I could tell people were incredibly happy to be out and socializing again. I too was happy to be interacting with people OUTSIDE of the gym even though the subject of what I do for a living came up a few times in conversation. And as much as I prefer not discussing work and business during my “down time”, I understand that as a Business Owner there is really no such thing as “down time” when potential business opportunities arise.

I’m happy to report that the party was a success. No one was overly intoxicated. No arrests were made. No indecent exposures arose. And I even made a few solid business connections that I plan on following up with this week.

I did however meet someone at this party who was quite surprised that so many people hire Personal Trainers to help them become more healthy and fit. In fact this person was shocked to learn that people invest so much of their time, effort and money into their health and physiques. When asked why I believe the Fitness Industry has become increasingly more popular and why highly reputable/experienced Trainers/Coaches are so high in demand, I simply responded – Because people are becoming more intelligent with their investments and know where to spend their money.

Personal Training is No Longer Considered a Luxury

When I first broke into the Fitness Industry 2+ decades ago, most people viewed Personal Trainers as a luxury for only the uber-wealthy and a necessity for celebrities and athletes. As someone who grew up with very little funds and lived on a very tight budget for his entire life, I had become accustomed to being excluded from certain events, parties and vacations that I simply could not afford to attend. However it has always been of my opinion that EVERYONE has a right to be fit and healthy regardless of their income bracket. Therefore my goal as a Trainer/Coach/Business Owner has always been to help make exercising and working out with a fitness professional as cost effective as I possibly can.

Offering services such as Small Group Fitness Classes, Online Training/Nutritional Programming, and hosting Monthly Workshops/Seminars at our Training Facility, have been able to make working with us as a Personal Training Company more affordable to most people. And in my opinion, this is something that every Personal Training Company should make available as well so that no one feels excluded from learning how to exercise and workout properly.

Is Training On Your Own Really That Much Cheaper Than Working With a Trainer/Coach?

Sure, it’s much cheaper to join a commercial gym and train on your own. However statistically speaking, the amount of people that sign up for yearly memberships at gyms and actually go and workout on a regular basis is actually quite low. Trust me when I tell that gyms know this, which is why they always push potential members to sign up for long term contracts up front. Once you’re locked into that contract, that money comes out of your account on a monthly basis, regardless if you use the gym or not.

Working with a Personal Trainer/Coach on the other hand helps keep people more accountable for their workouts. It’s far less likely that someone is going to cancel a session with their Trainer last minute, knowing that they have already scheduled this appointment and that their Trainer is waiting for them. When you treat your workouts like every other important meeting and appointment that you have scheduled in your day, the chances of missing that workout become quite low.

As for results? Sure, lots of people get great results in the gym without working with a Personal Trainer. However I bet that even more people get quicker and longer lasting results when they work with a professional. An experienced and educated Personal Trainer knows how to create a customized program catered for the individual that he or she is working with. A reputable Trainer can also troubleshoot when working with a client who suffers from certain injuries or has physical limitations. Having a trusted and knowledgeable Personal Trainer by your side to help guide you through your workouts, is almost like bringing a cheat sheet to an exam – You can’t fail.

Thinking Long Term

At the end of the day, where you decide to spend your money is your business. Most clients that we work with have a combination of both short term and long term financial/health related goals. When it comes to their physical fitness, these clients understand that all the money in the world will do them little to no good if they develop health issues in the future caused by living a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle. They also can’t afford to injure themselves in the gym by performing an exercise incorrectly or following a program that has not been tailored towards their specific training goals, health history, physical limitations, etc. Not only is an injury a setback, it’s a potential loss in revenue, productivity and growth towards achieving a specific goal. And for these clients and other like-minded people that work with Personal Trainers/Professional Coaches, these risks are just not worth taking.