HeartAtak

RainyDayFace,

I do not believe personal trainers lie to get clients. At least not the good ones anyhow.

Personal trainers in big corporate gyms typically work on 100% commission and have to sell X amount of sessions per month to make sales goals etc. Sometimes these trainer will "TTWTWTH - Tell Them What They Want To Hear" to sell a few extra sessions.

Example: "Without a trainer you might hurt yourself. It could take you 6 months to reach your 30 pound weight loss goal. BUT! If you work with a trainer you will not get hurt and might reach your goal in 3 months!

Again, trainers are VERY GOOD but sometimes the corporate structure causes them to be very pushy, much like "the stereotypical car salesman". (no offense to car salesmen)

yin2lazy,

AWEOSOME question! I wish I knew the exact answer. That will be different per club.

I can tell you from my experience at a large gym we had a small regular AM crowd and decent sized regular PM crowd. I would guess anywhere between 5-25% varies per club. Big range but some clubs are huge and informal, others small, intimate, very caring.

Honestly, I think what happens is 2 part; 1. confusion - people think they will join a gym and be shown exactly what to do.... yeah right, that rarely happens. 2. optimism bias - behavior change does not happen overnight. Think about babies; how many times do they fall before they can finally walk on their own. Parents and family ENCOURAGE them to succeed and they learn to do it! Same goes for gyms... you need to surround yourself with people who support you to be successful.

From my communications studies; people need 2 things to adhere to a new behavior or message: 1. motivation - people lose this over time (New Years resolutions crowd) 2. ability - We all have the ability to exercise but see #1. We lose motivation for many reasons.

All this said, they are many reasons why people join a gym then either never go back or avoid the gym....

lol... IF you join a gym for free pizza you FAILED! I have been a Planet Fitness Member for 5 months and have yet to eat the free pizza or free bagels

Join a gym for free health care.... your workouts are free health care..

Sorry I do not have statistics but I do know the human behavior patterns are very predictable. We are a lazy creature :-O

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85961891@N08/8662933741/ (not the best quality pic, but look at the behavior pattern) This is why I named my website fitnesspatterns!

Sorry I rambled! I hope that gives you some answers/things to think about?

bootstrap13,

I do not use bodybuilding.com for any reasons. I am not against that website either.

Personally, I believe getting information from the cdc.gov website can be more beneficial than "trendy" diets etc. I know this is a generic answer, but if you need SPECIFIC nutritional guidance, I see the value of hiring a dietician for 1 or 2 hours. They can set you up with a PERSONAL diet plan based 100% on your want/needs/goals. Money well spent.

Supplements: I do not use them. I do not suggest them to others. I feel there is no substitute for hard work and consistency!

I have used protein drinks in the past POST workout only because my workplace made awesome peanut butter banana smoothies with a huge discount! But you do not NEED them.

Most of the supplements sell you on the results. Aka placebo effect. Take "product X" then workout in 30 minutes. You could take a spoonful of sugar and workout.

The working out part 3 times a week is what helps, not the product. I see BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION as the only supplement you need!

Again, Not bashing supplements, I just do not use them and never suggested any clients buy them. (they are pretty expensive for what you get and do not get.)

Excellent point.

A previous gym set the same "atmosphere". Maybe how people feel when they walk onto a car lot. I keep using this analogy bc I feel people can relate.

You do not want to be SOLD. I understand you on this one. This is why I LEFT the corporate fitness industry to do my own thing! The sales ruin the environment for good regular members such as yourself :)

Just remember you can be friendly but let them know you are HAPPY with your body and routine! :)

and no you do not want to break your knees doing squats on a stability ball lol

lol.... I am a member there too. They have TOOTSIE ROLLS in small dishes around the front desk.

WTF sabotage! right? I have yet to eat a free piece of pizza, free bagel, or free tootsie roll !