PERSONAL TRAINING

Working with an experienced personal trainer has a wide variety of benefits. Our personal trainers have made exercise their area of expertise, so the knowledge, guidance, and accountability they provide cannot be understated. Whether it be building an exercise program that addresses all the needs and goals of their clients, educating and demonstrating proper exercise technique, helping people work around an injury, or assisting with lifestyle adjustments outside of training, working with a certified personal trainer will accelerate the process of achieving your goals. 

The first step in the process would be receiving a FREE consultation with a personal trainer. During this consultation, relevant information related to training will be discussed and a game plan would be developed. Once a member has received this consultation and would wish to move forward with personal training, sessions can be purchased at the front desk of the YMCA. Sessions MUST be purchased before participating in your first session.  

The consultation usually lasts 30-45 minutes in duration. During this consultation, members would sit down with a personal trainer to discussed topics relevant to health, wellness, and personal training. Some examples of these topics include health history, health and wellness goals, current training program, past experience with exercise, diet, stress management, etc. The main goal of the consultation is for the personal trainer and member to collaborate and agree on a plan of action that will best address the members’ individual goals and focus. Once the plan is solidified, the member would then schedule their first personal training appointment at the conclusion of the consultation. 

How often a member should meet with their personal trainer is highly variable. Individual goals, member/trainer availability, and current activity level factor in to how often members would meet with their trainer. This would be discussed in greater detail during the consultation.  

Unless a personal trainer has received additional education/certification in nutrition/dietetics from an accredited certifying body/institution, providing meal plans is beyond the scope of practice for a personal trainer. With that being said, personal trainers are able to educate and discuss basic principles such as energy balance, metabolism, the different energy systems used in regard to physical activity, as well as macronutrients and their role in the body. Personal trainers would also be able to assist members with things like calorie/meal frequency tracking, as well as accountability. 

Personal training can be an absolute game changer if a member is working through an injury. Whether that would be preparing for a surgery, recovering from a surgery, or working through aches and pains, our personal trainers are equipped to help members stay active, and keep quality of life high while the injury is being addressed. 

NO! While working one-on-one with a personal trainer has its advantages, we also offer two-on-one, three- on-one, and small group (4-6 people) personal training. Grab a friend (or three!) and start personal training today.

Session structure will largely be influenced by factors discussed during the consultation, making each session highly variable. A “traditional” session for someone with a goal of maintaining general health would consist of an appropriate warm up/general preparedness sequence based on individual goals. Following the warmup, the member would then spend the bulk of the session engaging in strength training exercises relative to individual goals. The last 10-20 minutes of the session would then include either some type of metabolic conditioning, steady state cardio, core training, flexibility training, or a combination of the lot. This will vary greatly depending on the individual member participating in personal training. 

Yes. Our personal trainers require 24 hours' notice when cancelling a session. 

Cost for personal training fluctuates greatly across the United States, with 30–60-minute sessions ranging anywhere from $30-$175/per session. The SPYMCA is on the lower end of this spectrum, as we want to make personal training as affordable for our community members as possible. Prices can be obtained during the personal training consultation, or can be viewed online via the SPYMCA program guide.