A. 17 Ways to save on Personal TrainingB. 7 Ways to save at a Local Gym.
C. 5 Way to get FREE Personal Training!!
- Workout with a friend or two. Most trainers will charge a slightly higher fee, lets say $90 for two people ($45 each) instead of $75 for 1 person. You will not get one-on-one attention but it will save you quite a bit of money. (Semi-private sessions could be up to 3 clients. Remember, anytime I mention numbers it would be good to keep in mind that each trainer may have different definitions for semi-private and group training, so be sure to ask)
- Train in a group. Can be 4 or more people or up to 50 people in one boot camp. You will have to ask the rates because the vary so much, but generally speaking it will cost about $10-20 a session for group training. The Idea of these first two ways to save money is that the more people in the session then the cheaper it is. [ make another post/link for Pro's and Con's of Group Training verses Personal Training.]
- Drive to them. If you drive to them at their studio or gym then you usually save at least $10 right there. It takes the trainer time to get to your place. So lets say that you want them to come to you at 5:30pm and you live in LA. Because of the time of day there will be lots of traffic so maybe the trainer would have to leave his place at 5pm just to get to you by 5:30pm. That may be 30 minutes to you and 20 minutes back. The trainer will put whatever value he thinks on this 50 minutes and charge you for it and include it in the price when they quote you. So if you go to them then it will save you whatever drive time they were going to charge you.
- Find a trainer close to you. When having a trainer come to you then it's usually best to find one closest to you so that they don't charge you so much for drive time. This is why they will almost always ask you where you live. They need to figure out how long it would take to get to you. So it may be best to find a trainer closest to you. If one traveling far charges $90 but someone close to you may go as low as $60. And if you are going 3x a week then you will save $360 a month!!
- Ask if you could get a better rate if you worked out at a different time. Some trainers offer discounts for times of the day when they are not busy or if you come to them right after or before they have a client because it would make the trainer's day flow better. The may be looking for a morning or afternoon client at a specific time that would work just perfect for them. So see if you could get a deal if you worked with their schedule.
- Purchase more sessions up front. It usually doesn't save a lot but if you buy more sessions at once then you may get a deal. Like paying for 20 sessions up front verses 10 sessions. So ask the trainer if they will give you a deal if you buy more sessions. You could even buy 40 or more sessions if you both agree.
- Get rid of all the extra stuff. If you don't need diet help or measurements, extensive evaluations, text reminders to eat right and workout then don't pay for it. So ask if you could get a better rate if alls they do is train you. Usually the extra's are very beneficial but if you just don't have the money then you may not have a choice. So get rid of anything extra that they may be charging you for that you don't need or can't afford right now.
- Craigslist. Many personal trainers that charge more have stopped using Craigslist because so many people on there want a deal. Which means you could go there to get one!!
- Hire a newly certified trainer. Newly certified trainers usually need the work so they will sometimes charge less because they are inexperienced and usually looking for work.
- Hire a non-certified trainer. Trainers who are not certified will usually charge less. Why? Because they are not certified and don't have insurance. This may not be a bad thing. You can actually find on Craigslist good non certified trainers for cheap that can help you. They can advertise as a personal trainer but not as a CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER. Non certified trainers usually have experience and some of them lots of experience training people. (Buyer Beware!! Remember, that you run a higher risk of injury and not getting the results you want if you hire anyone with little experience and/or no certification. Now generally speaking, if someone isn't certified and is charging normal rates then they probably are a good trainer. But I would be very cautious hiring someone for cheap that is not certified).
- Hire an independent trainer. Ask if the trainer is "Independent" if so then the trainer can be flexible on the prices and the trainer will get nearly all of what you pay them. If they are working for someone else then the company will get a cut of what you pay the personal trainer. And the sad part is that you may not get the quality of training that you want because the trainer would have to give the gym up to 60% of what you paid. It's easy for a trainer to get "Lazy" when they aren't get paid as much. It easily becomes a chat session and not a personal training session. Each franchise and gym is different so you will have to ask if they are independent.
- Buy sessions from Groupon. I hate to say this one but it is good. Groupon has the lowest introductory rates on the planet. $20 a session for up to 4-8 sessions. So you pay $80 for 4 sessions. Then after you try that trainer out then you could try another trainer from Groupon. Just tell the first trainer that you enjoyed the sessions and will get back to them later, but make sure you already have a different trainer lined up first. This will give you a chance to try out a few trainers and then hire the one you like best. If you go this route then please be nice to the trainers and write some reviews on line for them. Training at $20 a session is dirt cheap especially if they are going to your home.
- You can also do online, youtube or skype personal training as well. The big problem here is that if you give it a few years something usually starts hurting and you get injured. If you choose this route then I would recommend that you hire a trainer for ONE session to evaluate the workout you are doing and they could watch you personally to see if you are doing everything correctly. I would do this with every new routine you do. Which you should change your routine every 6-8 weeks or your progress will slow down.
- If you choose group classes then generally outdoor bootcamps cost more than indoor gym group classes. If you are in a bootcamp or any type of group training class that charges per session or monthly then you can usually find a gym in the area that will have a similar class for only the price of a membership. You can usually talk to the instructor after class, but please be aware that this is free advice and on their time. Most instructors love to help anyway though especially if it is the last class scheduled and they don't have to do anything afterwards.
16. Fire the personal trainer that is not helping you and hire one that will. The more experienced trainers will tell you that they have succeeded where other inexperienced trainers have failed. So you might save some money by hiring the right trainer right off the bat. If you have an affordable personal trainer and aren't getting the results you want then mention it to the personal trainer. Then do what they say completely and consistently in regards to both food and exercise. And if you still aren't getting results then it would be nice to give the trainer a 2 week minimum notice that you will not be needing there services anymore. If they ask "Why?" Just say I don't think it is working for me, I'm going to take a break for a while or my schedule is to busy etc. Then go about looking for a different trainer that can help you. I know you may not want to do it but firing the wrong trainer and finding the right one will save you time and money. Although I believe it is the personal trainers job to recognize that things aren't working and change them and if they still aren't working then they should figure what they are doing wrong and change or refer you to someone who can help. So either firing the wrong trainer or hiring the right one straight off the bat will save you time and money.
17. Have the trainer teach you the routine. Many trainers will train you but not teach you. Aslk the trainer to teach you a routine that you could do on your own. If they hem and haw then get a different trainer. Unless you have a very bad memory, the average trainer should be able to teach you a routine in 2-4 sessions. Yes, if you wanted a more advanced routine then it will take longer but if they can't teach you an easy basic lesson in 4 sessions or less then find someone who will.
B. 7 Ways to save
at a local Gym!
B. 7 Ways to save at a local Gym!
- Be shocked at the first price, if you are not then they will try to suck even more out of you. If you are sincerely shocked then you may see them drop the price right off the bat. The sales guy is going to have a hard time convincing you to pay the higher rate if you are still shocked at the price.
- Always ask if there are other more affordable plans (If you really want to watch them fidgit then ask "What price plan are you not showing me?")
- It's sad to say but generally if you haven't talked to the manager yet then you haven't been shown the best possible deal yet.
- At the end of the month is usually the best time buy because the managers may be wanting to hit a quota so they will do whatever they can to get you to buy personal training.
- After the manager gives you a price then ask for some free sessions on top of the 10 or so you were buying. If they say they could give you 1 then ask for 2. If they say 2 then ask for 4. Or maybe if you buy 20 then they give you 4 free.
- If you know someone who got a great deal that is a member of the gym then ask if they could match that price.
C. 5 Ways to get Free Personal Training
- Write reviews on line for them. Many trainers are listed on all sorts of different websites that you could write a review for them on. Maybe you could get a session or two for free if you were so kind as to write some reviews.
- Participate in a before and after program. If you are fully dedicated and I mean fully dedicated, no excuses and listen to everything the trainer tells you to do in regards to eating and working out then you could get a deal because it would be great publicity for them.
- Refer them business. Most in home personal trainers and independent trainers in gyms will give you a session or two for free when you refer a friend that purchases training. Unfortunately not all franchise gyms that have personal training will do this, so you have to ask.
- Barter and trade out services. They train you and you do something for them like web design, video, advertising, flyers, electronics, hair cuts, wedding planning, acupuncture, chiropractic, food etc. Basically any service or item can be traded, use your imagination and skills. And if you can't do something for them then maybe you could do something for their family or friends in exchange for them training you.
- Offer to tell your story on Facebook and other social media networks. You will be posting weekly or whatever. Tell you story weekly, lets say, and each time you mention something then also post a link to their website or their fb page. You will have to work it out with the trainer.
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