Anybody Can Afford Personal Training: Here's How

Despite the hoards of people who jam major health clubs, who wince at their reflections and examine their thighs with disgust, a relatively small number actually sign up for the free training sessions that many clubs offer.

One free session won't knock off 50 pounds, but that one hour is enough to set a focused individual on the right path - or at least - in the direction of that path.

Only a tiny percentage of a large health club's membership will purchase even a small personal training package. Personal training isn't just for the obese or moderately overweight. It's also for the man who's fed up with his scrawny chest and arms; and for the 125-pound woman who wants to tone her soft legs or learn about strength-training techniques.

But the vast majority claims they can't afford personal training - not even the smallest package. Check the parking lots of a major health club. Plenty of nice cars. Watch who exits those vehicles: nicely dressed people, many coming from professional jobs. Yet club trainers will tell you how difficult it is to convince people - even those who are at wit's end with their bodies-to buy personal training.

So why don't these men and women -- many who spend money on vacations, fancy furniture, expensive clothes, monthly facials and biweekly manicures, computer software, fishing equipment, etc., -- spring for a few training sessions?

Perhaps somewhere along the way, people have come to believe that personal training should cost $5 per hour. They freak upon learning the actual prices.

Just four training sessions can dramatically benefit any person who's unhappy with her body or stuck at a plateau! Knowledge is power! Some people say, "I feel confident I can do this on my own," after a complimentary session, explaining they can't afford any training package, even though they'll think nothing of dropping $300 on their next weekend shopping spree. Gee, the cost of attending a ballgame, the junk food there and a few new CDs alone can cover enough training sessions to catapult a floundering person on his way to a great body.

Some gym membership deals include training sessions. It's a known fact that often, these new members will pull a no-show on the trainer! Try to figure that one out.

Some trainers report that gym members are rude to them when they kindly offer assistance. Some trainers even get cursed at. A health club, like a jewelry or clothing store, is a service-oriented environment. You wouldn't dream of being obnoxious toward the clerk at the computer store who asks, "May I help you?" So why do people become disgruntled and irate when a trainer approaches them? Not all trainers are looking for a sale. Sometimes, they just want to help because fitness is their passion.

Only about 10 percent of overweight people permanently lose all their excess weight. 90 percent fail. What are you doing differently from the 90-percent group, that's going to place you in the 10-percent group?

This also applies to people who have goals other than weight loss. What are you doing differently? How about bypassing the $700 dating service membership, for personal training instruction, and then once you get a dynamite body, you won't need a dating service!