I workout at the gym at least five times during the week. On some occasions I will workout twice in a day….so I’m in the gym a lot. I’ve been on this workout schedule for approximately five years now. I workout at two different gyms, 24 Hour Fitness & the Stirling Club. Over the past year I’ve developed a strong dislike for personal trainers because of the behavior I’ve witnessed at both gyms. I don’t have a personal trainer and have only trained with one once, back in 1991.
So, you might be asking yourself, why do I dislike them? Here’s why:
- When they are working with their clients, they tend to use more than 1 piece of equipment at a time. When they do this and it’s crowded, it prevents others from using the equipment because they’re doing a “circuit” with their client.
- Oftentimes they leave weights and dumbbells on the floor and don’t put them back on the rack. This really irritates me.
- I often watch as a trainer pushes a newbie to the gym way too hard, to the point where it’s harmful for them. This happened to me back in 1991. The personal trainer pushed me so hard that I went to the doctor the next day because my muscles were strained. I’ve seen them do the same thing to others. The sad part is that I never see those people back in the gym again….probably because they got discouraged by the ridiculous workout they endured.
- Many of these trainers are cocky, arrogant, and rude. I’ve watched as they have their clients do a bear crawl through the gym, getting in the way of others who are minding their own business without a simple “excuse me”.
When you see this stuff day in and day out, it starts to get to you. I have cleaned up and put away weights so many times after these men & women that it’s beginning to get to me. I know that there are probably some good ones out there, but they seem to be far and few between in Las Vegas. That’s unfortunate. What about you? What is your experience with personal trainers?
Peter's Perspective 
This has indeed become a social problem. It is almost to the point where there should be two types of gyms: Ones for personal training only, and others where there is no personal training allowed. Until then, personal trainers must be tolerated in gyms like pigeons invading a restaurant. Creating a home gym would be another solution.
@Mastermindancer – I somewhat agree with you. I don’t feel they should be tolerated though…I think the gym management should make sure that their personal trainers are properly trained on gym etiquette.