<p>If so what is the going rate. Has the economy impacted that business?</p>
<p>It varies a lot from city to city and even from club to club. The economy has impacted almost everything! Check on the Diet and Exercise thread and ask your question.</p>
<p>My sister is a personal trainer here in So Cal. She makes $75/hr and is fully booked.She does all her training at her fully equipped home gym. Most of her clients are fairly well off.</p>
<p>I was a personal trainer in NYC and charged, on a sliding scale, from $50-100/hr and that was over 20 years ago. I went to their apartments if they had aerobic equipment (treadmill, bicycle, etc.), if they didn’t we walked around Washington Square Park or the reservoir in Central Park or I arranged an aerobic dance for them. This was followed by strength training using their body weight or mine, no equipment needed. I also have my Masters in Exercise Physiology. So, as MomofWildChild said, it varies from city to city and trainer to trainer.</p>
<p>My H has a personal trainer and a personal Pilates instructor at his club. Their level of qualifications influences what the rate is as well. Generally speaking, he pays about $75/hr., which obviously isn’t what they earn.</p>
<p>I’ve been using one for about a year and a half now. When I saw him at the gym I belonged to, I got a discounted rate for more sessions I bought at one time. If I bought 20 sessions, my rate worked out to $40/hour, which was an incredibly good deal.</p>
<p>I now see him at a trainer’s gym, and he has to pay the owner $10/hour whenever he’s in there training a client. So now I pay $50, which I realize is still a steal! This is in the Chicago 'burbs.</p>
<p>The latest trend at many of the top gyms is semi-private training. 3 to 9 people in a training group. It’s more cost effective for the customer and more revenue for the trainer/gym. The two top-rated gyms in America (according to Mens Health Magazine), [Mike</a> Boyle’s Strength and Conditioning in Massachusetts](<a href=“http://www.bodybyboyle.com/]Mike”>http://www.bodybyboyle.com/) and [Results</a> Fitness in So. Calif](<a href=“http://results-fitness.com/]Results”>http://results-fitness.com/) have gone almost exclusively to this model. </p>
<p>Boyle, who specializes in high school, college, and pro athletes, charges $575 for 10 week adult general fitness programs, two 1-hour workouts per week at a fixed time, which works out to under $30 per session.</p>
<p>Results Fitness, specializing in adult general fitness/fat loss with a 60% to 70% female clientele, charges $267 a month with a 12 month commitment for one semi-private session per week plus unlimited access to the gym and to the large group classes.</p>
<p>Both have transitioned complete away from private training.</p>
<p>[Strength</a> Coach TV- Episode 5- Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning - YouTube](<a href=“Strength Coach TV- Episode 5- Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning - YouTube”>Strength Coach TV- Episode 5- Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning - YouTube)
[Strength</a> Coach TV- Episode 7- Results Fitness, Santa Clarita, CA - YouTube](<a href=“Strength Coach TV- Episode 7- Results Fitness, Santa Clarita, CA - YouTube”>Strength Coach TV- Episode 7- Results Fitness, Santa Clarita, CA - YouTube)</p>
<p>I use a “personal trainer” in my iPod. Workout programs with written guides and photos and then video and mp3 ‘coaching’ for workouts I do at home. Very cost effective (if you don’t mind getting some basic fitness equipment). I’ve bought a couple programs: $99 and $149 for 12 week programs, three workouts per week. I stretched the first program out over 24 weeks. I’ve also done an 18 week program (from the owner of Results Fitness) from a $15 book. I just started doing that one for the second time around. Specific workouts that can be done in a commercial gym or a home gym. These home gym workouts have have worked out very well for me.</p>
<p>I only asked because my wife is a personal trainer. She also has a masters in exercise physiology like amtc and she just got back into personal training. Years ago she was also getting about $75 dollars an hour but she had a limited number of clients. Really it would have only been considered something she was doing for spending money. Now she finds the going rate is not as high but she books solid 5-6 sessions everyday. She can schedule many more- so based on supply and demand maybe she should charge more but her lower price and qualifications really have a great client base. Very steady income every week- no one cuts back due to cost etc. I would say she is averaging about $45 per session which is what the local gyms charge but of course she does not share her income with anyone, Trainers at the gyms are splitting the fees anywhere from 40-60% with the gym owners. She also will not work anyone out without doing an evaluation which she gets more money for.
Idad she is also booking up to 3 clients per session and she charges each of them less than if it is one on one but makes more overall for the hour.<br>
musica- my wife and I discussed updating our home gym equipment so that she can bring clients in but her client base may not want or need that service. Right now she goes to their homes or for the senior citizens the community gym.</p>
<p>I think my trainer charges $100/hour when he travels to where his clients are. But $50 for training at the gym.</p>
<p>I’m paying $85/hour to work with the owner of the studio. I think it’s $75/hour for his employees.</p>
<p>Why would anyone want a personal trainer, other than occasionally to make sure you are doing things right? I would find it annoying to have someone right there at every exercise session.</p>
<p>I would find a personal trainer supportive…and knowledgeable about what exercises I should be doing (much less doing them correctly). Not in the financial cards now–for now, I’m on CC.</p>
<p>It depends who you hire. Someone with the background my wife has will keep her clients from possible injury. That is why she will not train someone who is unwilling to pay for a thorough evaluation. She also requires many to get checked by a doctor before she starts. Now I see many trainers with certifications. In fact I passed the ACE certification years ago. They also happened to be in great shape and get a large number of clients but they are not the same. I can tell you they are not providing the same service. It is one of the problems in the field certification is easy, anyone can easily get certified but that is not the same as having a Masters in Exercise Physiology.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The good ones would provide three key benefits:</p>
<p>a) An assessment (such as the Functional Movement screen) to determine where you are physically and what you can do without injury.</p>
<p>b) Design a comprehensive workout plan with appropriate progressions and regressions based on that assessment and your progress.</p>
<p>c) Ongoing motivation.</p>
<p>Having said that, I think I would hate working with a personal trainer and find that home workouts have been successful for me. I do, however, appreciate the benefits of a properly designed workout program. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I spend time learning about how to put together workouts, how to do the exercises, what are reasonable progressions and alternatives for each exercise, etc. And, I use the CC Diet/Health/Wellness thread as ongoing motivation in the same way as a regular group session at a gym.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Do you do your own taxes? Provide your own dental services? Your own healthcare?</p>
<p>Idad- I also would hate to work with a trainer. The assessment is key. I have been weight lifting and working out since I was 14 and like most of my friends have issues with a shoulder and elbow. I have learned to work around the problems with my wife’s assistance. Now if she can only solve the calf problem I have she would be a miracle worker.</p>
<p>Injury managament/prevention, especially for us ol’ geezers, is probably the single most important thing. Workouts should make you feel better, not cause pain. Getting hurt brings any exercise program to a screeching halt.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, not all trainers are uniformly focused on that.</p>
<p>When I started back at a gym 2 years ago, I bought a 50 pack PT session and typically saw my trainer 1-2x/week. My motivation was multi-fold: get me in routine of being at gym at 5:45am, show me how to use all the equipment, vary my workout, push me to higher weights/reps and most importantly, prevent injury by watching my form. </p>
<p>I now regularly attend a 6am boot camp class at the gym that’s taught by one of the trainers. He kicks our butt by alternating sprints (we’re in the parking, weather permitting), calisthenics and stuff w 25# weight. I found this class has increased my endurance far more than using a trainer, although I may buy a 10 session this fall to work on sculpting and targeting problem areas.</p>
<p>A personal trainer keeps me accountable, since I don’t intrinsically find exercise fun.</p>
<p>Having a personal trainer really helped me when I started working out. I didn’t have a clue what to do. Over time, I’ve learned and could probably do without a trainer. I continue to work with my trainer because she pushes me harder than I’d push myself. She’s got a really positive attitude and works seems like a partner who is helping me get where I want to be. I have had 4 trainers–IMO you need to find someone who recognizes your needs as well as your limitations. I found that the 20-something trainers I had didn’t have a clue how to motivate middle-age clients and they (trainers) then tended to do the same routines all the time and didn’t even attempt to get you to go the extra mile.</p>