How do Personal Trainers feel about their positions at big box gyms?

[sfirouz]

I'm very curious to gauge how personal trainers feel about their jobs at big box gyms. What do you like? What don't you like?
A little about me: I was a CPT at a big box gym for about 6 months before becoming jaded at how sales focused the job is and how little it seemed the management cared about my clients. What do y'all think?

[KyleAaron]

I learned a lot simply from having the chance to speak with and train so many people, hundreds each year. I would not have got this chance in a smaller place.

But what I learned meant that after some years it was time to move on and work in place where effective training was supported, rather than barely tolerated. I had to create that place, perhaps your area is better.

[RamsdenF]

I'm very curious to gauge how personal trainers feel about their jobs at big box gyms. What do you like? What don't you like?
A little about me: I was a CPT at a big box gym for about 6 months before becoming jaded at how sales focused the job is and how little it seemed the management cared about my clients. What do y'all think?

If you get a job at a big chain gym in the US.....its not a training job, its a sales job.

Your given monthly quotas. You get in trouble if you don't push HARD for every single sale. Your manager looks over your back in every consultation.

Been there, done that. Quitting and launching my own business was one of the best decisions of my life. Now, I focus on personal training and actually helping people, not selling and guilting people into a yearly contract. Obviously becoming an entrepreneur is extremely tough and not for everyone. But I encourage other fitness professionals to seek out companies like mine, that actually pay trainers to train.

Good personal trainers shouldn't have to worry about sales or building clientele.

[jwarrenfit]

i started as a trainer in golds gym, went into management and back to training a few times. Its a soul stealer. Most i ever made was like 85k working 60 hours a week. Now i make 100k working 30 hours a week. Good experience though it brought me to where i am now.

its very individual. When i was the fitness manager i trained my trainers on biomechanics, periodization, mobility training etc. I figured better trainers would equal higher retention rate and more perceived value My fitness managers just tried to teach sales.

[Derek2010]

If you get a job at a big chain gym in the US.....its not a training job, its a sales job.

Your given monthly quotas. You get in trouble if you don't push HARD for every single sale. Your manager looks over your back in every consultation.

Been there, done that. Quitting and launching my own business was one of the best decisions of my life. Now, I focus on personal training and actually helping people, not selling and guilting people into a yearly contract. Obviously becoming an entrepreneur is extremely tough and not for everyone. But I encourage other fitness professionals to seek out companies like mine, that actually pay trainers to train.

Good personal trainers shouldn't have to worry about sales or building clientele.

Quit spewing out false information. The Y does not have quotas and we don't push individuals to get PT sessions. As far as your last sentence, I've had people acquire about me even before I went for my certification. Says a lot.

[Oatmeal12]

Quit spewing out false information. The Y does not have quotas and we don't push individuals to get PT sessions. As far as your last sentence, I've had people acquire about me even before I went for my certification. Says a lot.

pulling a floyd mayweather there bud. (defensive level 9000)

[Derek2010]

pulling a floyd mayweather there bud. (defensive level 9000)

I'm sorry I am defending my stance. 5'8" 158 - go on lol.

[RamsdenF]

Quit spewing out false information. The Y does not have quotas and we don't push individuals to get PT sessions. As far as your last sentence, I've had people acquire about me even before I went for my certification. Says a lot.

How much are you paid when you are NOT training? What's the rate for "working the floor".

[RamsdenF]

pulling a floyd mayweather there bud. (defensive level 9000)

He has a crush on me....

Little does he know, he serves as my biggest foil and example to other fitness professionals. Shhhh

[Derek2010]

How much are you paid when you are NOT training? What's the rate for "working the floor".

It's not all that much, but I know we don't have to sell the sessions. Having your own business is good, I will never argue that. I plan to do that in the future, but would I would like to continue to learn at the Y through experience as well as studying educational materials.

[Derek2010]

He has a crush on me....

Little does he know, he serves as my biggest foil and example to other fitness professionals. Shhhh

LOL, I wouldn't say that. I just believe I can achieve the same goals through personal training going a different route.

[RamsdenF]

It's not all that much, but I know we don't have to sell the sessions. Having your own business is good, I will never argue that. I plan to do that in the future, but would I would like to continue to learn at the Y through experience as well as studying educational materials.

LOL, I wouldn't say that. I just believe I can achieve the same goals through personal training going a different route.

These are pretty humble responses from yourself....and I respect them. If you can partake in conversation like this, we can be more productive and have good dialogue.

[rdferguson]

My experience in a big gym had its pros and cons. The pros would have been greater and the cons lesser if the gym/company did more to invest in new trainers. Leaves me wondering if they put so little effort into hiring and professional development because so many trainers crash and burn early on, or if so many trainers crash and burn because the industry leaders put so little effort into professional development.

Commercial gyms are very sales-oriented, which I'm okay with, but then PT's are expected to sell when the point of sale was a week-and-a-half ago. As I've always said, that's like waiting until the customer's already out the door having finished their meal before asking if they'd like fries with that. Except instead of a cheap bonus it's expensive, time-consuming commitment. So I've always felt that if the gym actually wants to make personal training the highest level of service and privilege that it's supposed to be, they need to act like it and make PT sales a serious goal in the original membership sales process. Ideally, there should be an onus on the membership consultants and the PT's to be well-acquainted with each other and have good professional relationships, so that the MC's can identify which trainer(s) would be suitable for almost anyone who walks through the door. And ideally the MC's should be aiming to promote and sell PT, not just memberships (without at all being pushy about PT). The MC's shouldn't be expecting to sell lots of PT, unless the gym is marketing itself as a PT gym, but if the gym is serious about selling PT, then the system needs to have new customers actually thinking about the benefits of PT at the same time that they are thinking about the benefits of membership.

One of the big problems I had with the commercial gym I worked at is that they did terrible sales training. It took months before I was able to get any serious attempt at professional development out of them, and when they finally did start pulling their weight, they taught me how to close a sale, which would have been great if at any point they taught me how to open a sale. Can't close what's not already open. In fact, they actually told me not to mention PT at all until closing, which, in hindsight, ensures that the sale is not open. If I were to do it all again, I would establish a system of transparency, where I tell the members up front that the ideal outcome of their induction is that they get paired up with a PT -- not necessarily myself* -- who can help them get the results they're looking for.

*I feel like that would be an important point to emphasise in a consultation in a large gym, because it communicates that I'm not trying to get their money, I'm trying to get them the best help available.

[KyleAaron]

An excellent post, Ryan.

Leaves me wondering if they put so little effort into hiring and professional development because so many trainers crash and burn early on, or if so many trainers crash and burn because the industry leaders put so little effort into professional development.

Both, of course.

Management are generally clueless. At the Y, their planned career development for a PT is that as they do more PT sessions, they do less gym shifts. So all your newbie gym members only meet the newest and least inexperienced trainers - how does this help retention?

As I left, they were considering a plan where instead of gym shifts plus a chunk of PT session fees charged by the centre, they would go to no gym shifts, plus the PT charges whatever they like and collects it directly. They suggested that this happen with trainers doing 20+hr a week of PT sessions (for those who don't know, in the Y this puts you in the top 1/4 of trainers).

Some numbers:
PT session charge = $80ph on average (depended on casual vs direct debit, and whether the person had general gym membership too)
PT wages = $45ph at most ($35 for new trainers, up tiers to $45)
Gym profit = $35ph

So a trainer doing 20h pw of PT would give the centre $700pw profit. They proposed a $300pw rental fee in exchange for the trainer being able to set their own prices and collect the money directly. Thus, the centre was sacrificing $400pw, or $20,000 annually. It'd be more for the more successful trainers, of course.

I asked why they would be willing to sacrifice $20,000 annually. They said, trainers that successful tend to leave and set up their own place. They were in effect paying them $20,000pa to stay.

"Okay, why not just pay the trainers more?"
"Oh we can't afford that."
"So you can afford to give them $20,000 but you can't afford to give them $20,000?"
"Well this is what the commercial gyms do, charge rent."
"Or you could offer training. Our registration requires, in effect, a weekend seminar each two years, costs $500-$1,000. Pay for that. Hell, pay for 4 of them - a year! Tell them they have $4,000 a year for seminars, including travel and accommodation. If they want they can blow it all on one trip to a seminar in europe, or something. This would be $16,000 cheaper than what you're suggesting. And don't you think people would want to stay with a company that gives them overseas trips for learning?"
"But the commercial gyms charge rent."
"Yes, to all trainers, not just the successful ones. And the successful ones leave - if they have to pay rent and find their own clients anyway, they say, why not just start my own place?"

They didn't get it.