For many people, especially those new to exercise, the hardest step to take is the first. Club Julian 24-Hour Fitness takes a unique approach in helping new members get started by offering personal training at no additional cost above and beyond their membership. This allows new members to become comfortable with working out, learn how to use Club Julian’s array of cardio and strength training equipment, and establish good technique and habits from the outset.
Club Julian personal trainer Alex K. discusses the new member experience on Channel J:
CJ: When you meet with a new member at Club Julian for training, what’s the first thing you ask them to do?
When I meet with someone for the first time, I usually try to touch on three concepts through questions and conversation. The three things I try to learn from them are “Past, Present, and Future.” First, I need to know if there are any health restrictions that would affect their training program. Then I need to know what things they have done in the past. Maybe things that didn’t work for them, or things they liked doing, and if they have any athletic background or have belonged to a gym previously. For the present it helps me understand where we need to start from. For example, if they are coming from a sedentary lifestyle compared to an active lifestyle there could be vastly different beginning programs for members. As for the future, that’s easy, what goals are they trying to achieve.
CJ: What are the advantages of using personal training as a way to introduce someone to fitness for the first time?
There are countless advantages, but a few I would like to highlight would be establishing proper techniques, learning to workout efficiently, and increased confidence. Confidence is important for new gym-goers. Equipment can seem quite foreign and intimidating to those who haven’t been working out all their lives. Learning what things do and then being reassured of proper form can really help jumpstart a member’s fitness journey. Efficient workouts can be the difference for someone sticking with it and achieving their goals as opposed to giving up. Nobody wants to spend their whole day at the gym. Trainers can design a program that maximizes their time and effort to help them achieve success.
CJ: What are some of the typical mistakes that most first time exercisers make when attempting to go it alone? What frustrates beginners the most?
Bad technique can be one of the hardest habits to break, so learning proper form from the start is critical to a member’s health and success. Most first-timers don’t know how their body responds to exercise and train themselves too hard, too fast, and burnout, or they spend too much time doing exercises that only help them in “gym myths.” A combination of these and other things lead beginners to get frustrated by not seeing results fast enough.
CJ: From a trainer’s perspective, what is the most rewarding part of helping someone who is new to exercise achieve goals and make progress?
Members motivate trainers sometimes just as much as we motivate them. When we see people changing their lives, it makes us not only feel good for them, but it also makes us want to work harder to achieve our own goals and maintain ourselves as positive role models to them. Club Julian has members who have some incredible stories.
Making a change in your life can be as easy as making an appointment with Trainer Alex or one of Club Julian’s other certified personal trainers. And you can do so simply by registering to receive your FREE 7-Day Pass below! During your trial membership, you can have an initial meeting with a personal trainer at no cost!