So a few weeks ago....

[nutterbutter2010]

She's supposed to evaluate someone's body without looking at it???
How do we do that? Tea leaves?

There is a professional way to do things, and there is a rude way to do things. The way she said it was rude. Do you need tea leaves to figure out which one you are?

 

[SamRoc]

I would have said "At least i can always lose weight, but ugly is skin deep!!" only kidding! I'm sorry she was so rude, she needs some manners. Her manager should be aware of her tacky behavior.

 

[ckay87]

She's supposed to evaluate someone's body without looking at it???
How do we do that? Tea leaves?

Yes, actually, she is. I'll repeat the experience I had with the gentleman who did my body fat analysis. I, of course, was weighed. Then he took measurements, followed by this not-so-pleasant pinch test where they pinch the fat with this measuring device. Even if you think you have no fat, they find it this way. This is, incidentally, more accurate and much more dignified than just "looking."

We then sat down and looked at the numbers together. We discussed the numbers. I knew where the numbers came from. We then discussed what I had to do to change my numbers. Again, it was all very civilized.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sounds like what's her face from Biggest Loser, Barbieri or whatever her name is. If I were on that show, I would quit in a day if she were my trainer. I do NOT respond well to people being like that, especially about something as sensitive as weight.

I would have told her right then and there what I felt about it. Actually I probably would have said something like "actually it sounds like you have a balloon mortgage payment coming up"...I've asked a dentist if he had a boat payment or kid with a college payment when I felt his suggestions were perhaps out of line with reality...

But I would have cancelled it. That junk works with some people, those who end up wanting to prove something to the rude person, but it doesn't work for all. We encountered that same rude attitude while trying to buy a car...the dealership tried to do this "I don't think you CAN buy this car" stuff with us, before he had run any sort of check on us...hubby used to sell cars, and told me it's a tactic some dealers use, to make you buy the car so you can prove your worth to the salesman. Seems to work on the weaker people... Same sort of nonsense, IMO.

 

[Magix]

I've worked out with my trainer for nearly 2 years now. He recently quit working at the gym and is at a small training facility. I've followed him there. He is able to offer MUCH better rates now and actually makes more money, plus I'm able to train with him twice a week instead of once a week because the cost is so much more reasonable. Most of that $1800 you were quoted goes to the corporate owners of the gym and the trainer gets very little.

At the gym, my trainer was the only one I'd ever have considered working out with. I saw far too many unprofessional trainers like the one the OP encountered. A lot of them just don't seem to be in it for the long haul and don't give much thought to their clients (or potential clients).

I've seen great results with my trainer that I wouldn't have been able to accomplish on my own. I don't miss the gym at all, but I'd certainly miss my trainer if I couldn't work out with him anymore.

 

[OK!]

I just don't agree. The way the OP described it didn't sound snotty or rude to me, in the context of a personal trainer giving advice. Again, what is she supposed to say? She's PAID to do an honest assessment of your body and tell you what you need to do and how she can help you do it. Looking you up and down and pointing out that you have a lot of body fat to lose is what personal trainers DO.

Again, under other circumstances I would agree that looking someone up and down and telling them they are fat is rude, but not a personal trainer at a gym. It's probably the ONLY time I would think it WOULDN'T be snotty and rude.

There are so many more tactful ways she could have said that, though. She did NOT need to try to make the OP feel badly about herself in order to sell her training sessions. She could easily have said something like, "You're in pretty good shape right now, and I think if you decided to come back and work with me regularly we could really work on toning so you could see fantastic results," etc.

If it were me, I would never give that woman a dime of my money. You can say what you need to say to get a message across without being rude about it.

 

[nutterbutter2010]

UPDATE -

So I went to the gym tonight. It was my first time back since my meeting with the trainer (I wasn't gone so long because of her, but because I've been sick). I saw her several times while I was there, though I don't know if she even noticed me. Even if she did, who knows if she would remember me anyway. I have to admit, I was a little worried, but I'm sure most people they meet with say "No thanks" so there was really no reason for me to worry. I'll be back there again 5.30am tomorrow morning. Can't wait!!!!

 

[redlight]

There is a professional way to do things, and there is a rude way to do things. The way she said it was rude. Do you need tea leaves to figure out which one you are?

That's exactly it.

 

[bigmerle1966]

Again, what is she supposed to say? She's PAID to do an honest assessment of your body and tell you what you need to do and how she can help you do it. Looking you up and down and pointing out that you have a lot of body fat to lose is what personal trainers DO.

Not at the company I work at. If one of our trainers did what the OP described they would be looking for a new job. It's called customer service.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

She did NOT overreact. I had a session with a trainer one time and he was very good at sticking to the facts. This number represents your percentage of body fat / this number represents what is normal for your weight. As long as I had a functioning brain cell, I understood what he was saying.

What that trainer lacked was tact and manners. I'd feel like a dope working out with her.

You can work out on your own. If you feel like you need more intervention than what you can do completely on your own, you could take classes. Some classes (at my gym) are very intense (bootcamp-like). I get FAR better results taking classes than exercising on my own.

I totally agree with this . I take the most awesome classes at my gym. They have all kinds of strength training, Body Pump, strength and tone, bootcamps, sports conditioning , pilates, yoga... You definitely don't need a personal trainer once you get the hang of everything. Being in a class pushes you harder. I've never worked out so hard in my life thanks to the classes. You don't need a p.t. to assess your fat % either. Most employees at the gym can do this for you whenever you want.