When I was first interested in hiring a personal trainer, cost was the biggest factor that kept me from making the commitment. (That part of my own history is a big part of why I always keep my personal training rates – and online personal training rates – affordable!) Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking!
See, I was pretty knowledgeable about fitness. (My first “real” job was at a gym! I worked out regularly!) I was interested in hiring a trainer to help me reach my goals as quickly as possible, but I kept talking myself out of hiring one – even for a short-term commitment – because I believed I would “eventually” get it together on my own.
So, for about 9 years, I paid for various gym memberships. My 24 Hour Fitness membership was about $35/month for 7 years thanks to a corporate discount, and later I did semi-private training classes at a studio for 2 years and ended up paying, on average, about $280 a month to work out 3-4 times a week. I didn’t get myself very many results at the first gym because I wasn’t consistent enough and I didn’t choose exercises that were helping me reach my goals, and it wasn’t until I started training at least twice a week at the private studio that I really started seeing the changes I had been trying to make for so long.
That’s $9660 already gone…no lie…and I only started seeing results after almost $7500 of that was spent.
But, along the way, there was other stuff! Clothes that I bought to try to feel better about the way my body wasn’t changing the way I wanted it to ($1000 a year once I was in an office environment, conservatively), vacations I took to try and unwind from the negative feelings I had about myself (haha! the feelings traveled with me!), random pieces of home workout equipment that were lame and boring, expensive health foods and supplements….
No lie, no hyperbole, but all of that together is easily at least $15,000 that I spent while I dithered for years about buying a single $400 personal training package.
Think of all the other services we use professionals for to keep ourselves looking and feeling our best (ladies, looking at all of us here…), like:
- nails (about $40/month)
- waxing (about $95/month) or laser ($$$!)
- hair cuts and color (varies of course, but at least $50/month on average)
- makeup (Sephora, take my money!)
- eyelash extensions ($100 at least, if you’re into them)
- blowouts ($45 and so temporary)
…so, why is it that we feel great spending $300-$400 a month on “maintenance” but we won’t let ourselves spend half that amount to make lasting changes to our bodies…and our health?!
Plus, unlike that trendy eyeliner, fitness will definitely look good on you.
There is a type of fitness training for every budget, so don’t take personal training off the table for yourself because of magazine stories about $500/hr celebrity trainers – the real life deal for us average folks is way more affordable, and personal training is the fastest path to your specific health and fitness goals. You are more than worth investing in yourself for a month or two to learn what will really work for you and your body.
