How gym trainers scam you into paying more

This story may rub off some fitness professionals the wrong way. But love it or hate it, this may have happened to you in the gym. More so during the month of January when our New Year resolutions are fresh and we are eager to get back in our desired shape.

Personal training

On joining a gym you are often exposed to fitness trainers who, believe it or not, are always trying to sell you something or the other without you even knowing about it. For example, if you are working out on your own, they may come up to you and try to make a personal training proposition, which as per them will get you the body you've always wanted. What you must know is that personal training can be more expensive than an annual gym membership.

Fitness trainers as salesmen

These trainers work just like any other sales guy you would come across in a corporate environment, the only difference is the dress code and the service they offer. I am not against the concept of personal training because this is the very backbone of the fitness industry, especially fitness centres contributing considerable amount of revenue annually. But my issue is with the actual delivery and the forceful upselling of various products that "come along" with personal training.

Trainers selling you weight loss products

Let's assume that the fitness trainer convinced you to take a session from him, for which they are obviously heavily incentivised by the gym management. Once you start the training, in your desperate quest to get fit, he will try to sell you food supplements like whey proteins, fat burners and what not. You probably have no clue about these products and because he is good at convincing you, you would even agree into buying them. Not just buy, but buy only from him, for which he will get a cut of approximately 10-30 per cent from the retailer.

And as your personal training progresses, he will add different products to your supplement routine, in every two to three weeks. This is what I like to call the "trainer trap". A trap, which is strategically set up for you to fall into! I am fine with this approach but most of the trainers despite offering personal training and supplement stacks, don't deliver on their initial promise to get you back in shape; only leaving us with a big hole in our pocket.

Since this is a cause of worry and being a victim of such trap myself, I decided to turn into a fitness professional leaving my corporate career of 12 years, to help people with their fitness goals and spreading awareness about such trainer traps.

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