How much is a Personal Trainer really worth?

Every month, I get multiple inquiries from people I either know or or don't know who'd like to have personal training sessions to get in shape. The first question I always ask is: why do you think are you not where you want to be? This question automatically starts an entire thinking process and helps me understand the real struggles, needs and wants of that person seeking support. Is that person very busy with work and needs someone to think for them and hold them accountable, are they simply lazy and need a drill instructor or are they suffering from back pain and need a tailored training routine to live a pain-free life?

Last month, I received 2 inquiries from some amazingly lovable humans that I would have loved to work with. But after understanding what they needed and wanted I declined politely. Both inquiries were very different, yet in both cases I wasn't the right fit for them and they weren't the right fit for me which would have resulted in a lose-lose situation. Let me tell you about both cases:

The first inquiry came from an acquaintance of mine from back in the days, a friend of a friend. She's a doctor, a very fun and outgoing person and a mother with the need to get back in shape after birth. The NEED here is clear: after birth it can be very hard for the mother to get back in shape after 9 difficult months and a natural birth or C-section. She feels uncomfortable in her own body, the pelvic floor and other muscles need to be strengthened, and the extra fat needs to be burned off. In the case of my acquaintance she WANTED a personal trainer who'd come to her home. Ideally, that trainer would also have post-natal training experience. And the maximum she was willing to pay was USD $120.- per session. Now, depending on where you live, how much you earn and what phase of life you're in you might think it's a no-brainer to do this job. After all, working at McD's or Starbucks only pays you anywhere from $10.- to maybe $35.-. But in this case she wanted a qualified person, someone who invested time and money into their education and experience, to drive to her home, train her with the utmost attention to detail while motivating her at the same time, and then drive back, potentially getting stuck in traffic.

The second inquiry came from a wonderful, fun couple who put on a few extra kilos during the past 2 years of Corona and wanted someone to train with twice per week because they were simply too lazy to commit to anything physical apart from hiking. Their NEED was to take care of their health. Deep down inside they knew that if they didn't do something good for their health regularly they'd pay for it. And they even went as far as searching for and reaching out to someone who could help them meet their need. Bravo. Most people don't even get that far. They rather live in their comfort zone because even the slightest thought of strenuous activity creates pain in them. What they WANTED was someone who'd tell them what to do and kick them in the butt (that's what they said, literally).

Now, why did I decline in both cases, even though spending time with some great people while doing an easy job and get paid for it sounds great? It all comes down to wants and value. Why not needs? Because most of us have the same NEED: to be healthy, look great, be free from pain and diseases and to live a long and happy life. Yet, only few of us WANT to do what it takes: get enough sleep, eat only when we're hungry, choose spinach over fries, sit still for a few minutes per day with your eyes closed and without thinking of anything (especially not your grocery list), exercise regularly, stretch those tight hamstrings, refrain from tobacco and alcohol and skip the dessert. And if it's too hard to do all this ourselves we WANT a personal meal service that delivers meals tailored to our genetics and taste, a personal trainer who is responsible for how we look and feel, and maybe even a personal Zen monk who awaits us every morning on the terrace for the daily morning meditation. Now that we know what we want we need to think about value. As Warren Buffet once said: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” The doctor, although earning a high-salary herself, wanted something that normally costs around $160-220.- where she lives (in other countries, prices can start anywhere from $25 upwards). In this case she was under-valueing the qualification, time and effort of that ideal trainer she had mind for herself.

In the second case with the fun but lazy couple, there was no match because my qualifications combined with my experience and skillset allow me to ask for a price that would have exceeded the value for them by far. All they wanted was someone for accountability and instructions on what to do that would get some sweat dropping from their forehead. Even though the value they'd get out of this would be very high for them it is such a simple task for which there are many people in the world who can do this. You could simply hire a student who likes fitness or even train a monkey to slap you in the face every time you stop doing pushups (no offence here; monkeys are far smarter than most humans think). To meet their needs they could have also just hired someone in Pakistan for $4.- per hour to do weekly Zoom-calls with them and simply choose the next exercise by looking up exercises on Youtube. The couple would save a lot of money, get in shape and create a job for someone who really needs it.

So what is a personal trainer really worth? The answer is simple: it comes down to your wants, the value you get from what helps you satisfy your wants and the price you're willing to pay. If you want a brown liquid that gets you going in the morning then its value to you is quite high but the price you're willing to pay is rather low because there are many ways to get cheap coffee. What if you want a coffee that's made from ethically sourced beans that are roasted through a special process which creates a special blend of flavours that make your brain tingle with each sip? Then this coffee has a very high value to you and you're naturally willing to pay a higher price. You'll get a coffee that fits your needs, wants and also values. The same goes for hiring a personal trainer: if you want someone to tell you how many pushups and squats you have to do and who'll shout at you if you're too slow then the value of having that is extremely high, however, you don't even have to pay a high price due to high substitutability. Yet, if you want someone who is highly skilled and qualified, connecting, capable of getting you in shape through knowledge and motivation and at the same time has a deep understanding of anatomy, physiology and pathologies (which most instagram-trainers simply do not have) to find the right squat position for you or address your joint pains in a one-to-one session, then the value of having someone like that is extremely high, the chances of finding that person are extremely low, hence why you should be willing to pay a higher price.

Eventually, if you think one can compare apples to apples you most likely don't know that there are over 7'500 different kinds of apples in the world. That's why comparing prices of Personal Trainers will rarely give you the best outcome. Personal Training is what the name says: it's personal. You engage in a mid- to long-term relationship with a person that helps you meet your needs for a healthier body, satisfies your want for support to achieve that (or to get closer) and whose personality, skills, education, knowledge, talent and motivation fits to you. Understand that investing in your health is priceless.

In case we haven't met: nice to meet you! I'm Tommy and my mission is to help people live a healthier life through movement coaching, accountability, and health optimisation hacks. I'm also a creator and marketer: I had launched a $200K crowdfunding product, launched several food products into retail among other things. You can contact me here.