Motivating Factors to Workout
While almost everyone strives to look their absolute best as they continue to work out at the gym, every fitness enthusiast has different motivations that keep them going.
Some people are self-conscious and like workout environments where they’re not noticed and left alone, while some individuals love working in a competitive, team environments to help push them harder than they could themselves.
Some individuals learn biomechanics, breathing, and speed control while lifting weights on their own easier, while others learn much quicker when they observe another lifter’s technique from a distance.
The fitness industry understands that there is no one particular style of working out and that their consumers love variety from time to time, thus more and more big box gyms are converting or adding boutique studios to their business model.
Boutique studios suit a special niche in fitness, with specific classes being offered in group training sessions or higher priced customized programs that assist clientele with the latest technology (see How 3-D Body Imaging is Slowing Changing the Fitness Industry).
Fitness clientele have more options than they ever did before with the expansion of these studios, which might confuse some people that are newer to the gym experience. Training programs now can involve one-on-one personal training sessions, group personal training sessions, or old school group exercise classes with dozens of students.
Which style of training will motivate you and deliver the best results that your money can buy?
Which Training is Better: Group Personal Training or Individual Personal Sessions?
Group personal training is becoming more popular common in fitness studios everywhere, with the popularity of large scale programs such as CrossFit (see Why is CrossFit Becoming So Popular). Fitness programs such as these get confused with other popular studios like Soul Cycle, Orange Theory, Zumba, and several others.
The latter example of studios would be more closely classified with group training classes, the main identifier being the number of student in each class. Group personal training is a more focused program that usually involves 8 people or less in a group session.
Group personal training differs from larger classes because of the focus on each individual taking part in the group exercise. Smaller class sizes allow the trainer to closely observe the exercise technique of the clients and make the proper corrections in a team setting.
Group personal training classes also differ from group classes as the exercises in the session are less choreographed and clients are forced to work out at their own fitness level.
Individual personal training programs are one-on-one with a chosen personal trainer and are customized specifically for the clients involved. This is the most familiar type of instruction; clients would pay top dollar for the most competent, effective private trainers they could find.
Group training and personal training both have their advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your budget, self-motivation level, weight training experience, you may prefer to choose one over the other.
The biggest advantage of group training is the cost-effectiveness, as group sessions cost about 1/10th of the price of a personal training program, whether the program is in a big box gym or private boutique studio.
While group personal training is more focused than group exercise classes, it can fall short in pushing you past fitness plateaus if your strength continues to progress. Fitness plateaus generally occur when you don’t properly isolate areas that you’re weak in and you don’t know adapt your exercise routine for continuous growth (see Why is My Strength Stagnating).
Individual personal programs help with these issues, as personal trainers know how to monitor a client’s progress over several months and can make adjustments to their nutrition or weight training program.
The other advantage is customization to the program that can improve specific issues, like body fat percentages or lagging body parts.
One-on-one training does come with higher price ranges because of the time that given to each client and the overhead for trainers to operate their boutique gyms. Trainer packages do have a wide range, depending on expertise and location, so you should look for the most effective trainer money can buy.
The Wrap Up
The different methods to exercise in the 21st century can confuse some individuals looking to take advantage of an effective health and fitness program. The expansion of boutique studios in private and big chain gyms has given clients more options to choose from, with various methods of motivation and training involved. Whether choosing an individual or group personal training program, either one can bring you deliver results if you’re focused and consistent.
