How Much Is A Personal Trainer REALLY? Know The Hidden Costs Of A PT

“Superior personal trainer”, reads the bio of one of the buff guys that trained at a fitness center that I’ve managed.

This guy, let’s call him Ben, looks massive. I mean Ben is nearly 6’2”, weighs over 225lbs and is heavily tattooed.

There’s just one thing that is quite drastically off: Ben is NOT a personal trainer, BUT a drug dealer (and a part-time supermarket cashier).

I like to bring this story up again, because it signifies an important learning lessons. Not all personal trainer are created equal.

To the contrary, some are even making their money selling weed.

The Obvious Costs Of A Personal Trainer

“If I’d charge less for that session [of a lactate test], I mean I could also just quit my job [as a personal trainer] and go clean floors. How about that?”

This is what one of my teachers explained to our class. He was arguably one of the most professional trainers that I’ve met, but as you could imagine he was also very direct and demanding.

He also charged what he was worth. 250 CHF (approx. $254) an hour. Yes you read that right, $254 an hour.

Clients that train with this teacher of mine usually train once per week at a gym. This costs them an average of $1’000 a month.

Another personal training buddy is training clients in the heart of Zurich (Switzerland). He’s paying an average of $3’000 for a monthly rent of his gym training place alone (where he trains clients).

He has a couple of high-profile clients which are working with him on a yearly basis. He charges them a $20’000 yearly rate (yep, that is a reoccuring yearly payment).

But the good thing about these two trainers, I can almost guarantee you that there’s NO hidden costs involved. Here’s what I mean:

The Hidden Costs Of A Personal Trainer

“Well Florian, you’re right. You CAN find it cheaper, if cheap is what you want.” – this is a phrase that a business mentor bluntly told me after I hesitated due to the higher price point of his service.

But he was right.

Cheap was not what I wanted. Because cheap turns out to be expensive sometimes.

If we ask ourselves ‘How much is a personal trainer?’ we don’t just have to consider the obvious cost, but the hidden costs involved.

I remember spending over $10’000 for a ‘cheaper’ marketing agency when I started an online course called ‘Vegan Shape System’ with some friends just two years ago.

The marketing agency sounded cheap in the beginning, but essentially in the end we’ve tripled our original costs because the agency essentially didn’t know what it was doing (I’m not naming names here though).

I mean we haven’t sold a single product in the 3 months we worked together. Can you believe this? Not a single product.

What I want to get across is that cheap is usually not a good thing. An extreme (but yet not too uncommon) example is this recent story that I’ve heard

“It just makes you perform better and keeps your weight down. Trust me, there are literally no side effects.”

This is what a girl that I’ve met told me, after she’s injected steroids (in bodybuilding dosages) for more than one month. Her trainer recommended it to her.

“You have to understand Florian, I.. I.. didn’t research it..”, she told me with a desperate look in her eyes, “I mean.. it’s just what my personal trainer recommended me.”

She suffered from severe acne and dealt with anger issues. I knew her before, so I suddenly realized her drastic change in personality.

Instead of taking her of the drugs and acknowledging his mistake the coach insisted on her continuing the steroid abuse: “If you stop it right now you will make it worse!”

What a f*cking idiot.

This happened two months ago and she has since come clean. Her doctor told her, that there could be a chance of infertility though. So far it all seems to be going well though!

Conclusion – How Much Is A Personal Trainer REALLY? Know The Hidden Costs Of A PT

What I want to get across is that when it comes to your health you need to treat hiring a personal trainer like an investment.

Because it is.

The rates of personal trainers can vary heavily – and more often than not you get what you pay for.

A good personal trainer is there to make your life easier – a bad personal trainer will almost certainly make your life worse.

Acknowledge that fact and hire a professional, regardless of the costs associated with it.

If you’re looking for that extra accountability for the fraction of the prize of a regular PT, consider starting our services.