Without question one of the hottest trends in the fitness industry right now is small group personal training and rightly so. Many people are realizing the benefits of having professional instruction, structure, and accountability in their fitness programs.
While gyms and health clubs provide plenty of amenities, classes, and equipment they’re designed for people who don’t need much help in staying consistent with an exercise program.
I’ve long said that health clubs are really in the business of leasing you space and the ability to use their equipment.
This is a good value if you know what to do and don’t require structure and accountability. The problem is that reflects a small percentage of the population.
Most people join a health club because they want to lose weight, get in shape, improve their health, etc. They have a specific desired outcome or results they’d like to see from their exercise program.
Unfortunately, most people need the critical components of personalized instruction, structure, and accountability…
It’s no surprise that most people only go to their health club on average three times a month after just sixty days of joining!
A common mistake is deciding to join a health club over other alternatives predominately out of the cost factor. While cost is an important factor to consider, your return on investment is a better way to select the best program for you.
If you don’t see the results you desire by going it alone, rarely use the facility, and find yourself stuck in a long term contract, there’s really not much value in your health club membership purchase.
Up until just recently your options were limited on receiving the professional instruction, structure, and accountability needed to see results…
One-on-one and partner personal training programs are very effective and can produce a good return on your investment, but in all fairness the cost factor can be limiting factor for many individuals.
At Shaping Concepts we’ve provided personal training programs for over 1000 Charleston area residents since 2004.
While my programs are significantly less expensive than traditional hour long personal training sessions in a health club (approximately $30 session compared to $60 and up), I’ve had numerous clients inform me over the years that they’d only be able to use my services for a couple of months due to the cost.
While I’ve always completely understood the limitations of how long some people could receive personal fitness instruction due to the cost, what has bothered me for a long time is not having an affordable alternative to provide them.
Turning clients loose to go it alone in a health club or with a home workout routine has issues of its own. Some people are ready to go it alone and do just fine, while others still need the accountability and structure.
Without it, they struggle and often fall back into old habits while results slip away.
Small group personal training now available in Charleston…
Well I’m happy to report I now have an affordable alternative to offer you. Shaping Concepts has recently partnered with Charleston Group Fitness, a new studio located just a few doors down from us in the Queensborough Shopping Center.
This new facility focuses on group exercise and is the first of its kind in the Charleston area. We are now providing small group personal training, prenatal exercise programs, senior fitness programs, and an expanded boot camp offering to accompany our one-on-one and partner personal training programs.
In this post I’m going to specifically cover the pros and cons of small group training to help you make an informed decision on which program will be the best fit for you now.
The beauty is both small group personal training and one-on-one/partner personal training are extremely effective for seeing results and getting value from your investment.
Many people will find it beneficial to use both options at various times and alternate between the two as specific wants, needs, and primary objectives change.
Pros of small group personal training
Cost: if one-one-one or partner personal training packages are just a little much for your budget right now, small group personal training provides an attractive alternative.
At approximately $15 a session, they’re about half the cost of a one-on-one personal training session.
Accountability and Adherence: just like with one-on-one and partner personal training you have the added benefit of accountability from your trainer. It’s easy to make excuses to yourself and not stay consistent with an exercise program on your own.
The added benefit of small group personal training is you also have accountability to others in your group. This is not to be taken lightly as it’s very effective in helping you stick with a fitness program.
Motivation and Camaraderie: there’s just something to be said about working out with a group of people just like you. When everyone is working hard doing their best and having fun, there’s an abundance of positive energy.
Bottom line is you’ll be more inspired and find yourself looking forward to the workouts instead of dreaded them.
Support: you get built in support when you’re part of a small group personal training program. Once again the benefit of this should not be taken lightly. Support is an integral component for success in seeing results with a fitness or weight loss program.
It’s great if you have support from your family and friends but with a small group personal training program you have support built in from the other participants.
Take a look at shows like The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Fit Club. Even when the competitors are in direct contention, they still band together and cheer each other on.
Cons of small group personal training
Personalized attention: with small group personal training you still receive hands-on instruction with your form and technique but there’s just no way you’re able to receive the same personalized attention like in a one-on-one session.
Everyone likes to be pushed and motivated a little different. When you’re with your own personal trainer, he/she can solely focus on you and how to push you for optimal results.
Individualized exercises: while small group personal training matches people according to fitness levels, the exercises can’t be personalized to your specific needs. This is something to take into consideration.
Personalization with exercise prescription becomes very important with people who have muscle imbalances and specific needs.
Flexibility with appointments: because small group personal training sessions are scheduled at set times during the week you’ll have limited flexibility with attending workouts.
If you travel frequently or have a job that requires flexibility with appointment scheduling, you’ll be much better suited with a one-on-one training package.
Speed in seeing results: since you’re working out in a group your trainer is not able to personalize your rate of progression. While resistance training is provided in a small group program it’s not the same as if you were working one-on-one with a trainer.
There’s no question you can see faster results when your trainer has the ability to assign the appropriate intensity at each workout. It’s difficult using heavier workloads in a small group because of the lack of a spotter.
Bottom line is when you want to see the best results in the shortest amount of time (wedding coming up, etc) you’ll want to work with your own trainer.
Don’t get me wrong, you can get in shape with a small group personal training program but the speed in which you can transform your body won’t be the same in comparison to something like my Trim In 12 program for example.
So there you have it, the breakdown on the pros and cons of working out in a small group personal training program.
For many individuals this will be a great option to one-on-one or partner training programs, especially when cost is a significant factor. To learn more about Charleston Group Fitness click on this link to see additional information on services and rates.
Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios.
Tags: small group personal training
Posted:
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
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The added benefit of small group personal training is you also have accountability to others in your group. This is not to be taken lightly as it’s very effective in helping you stick with a fitness program.
Thank you so much for this great article it really helps me a lot and gives me a lot of info thank you so much keep up the good work and more power.
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