“How much does a personal trainer cost at the gym?”
That’s the question on everyone’s mind when they’ve finally made the conscious decision that they want to improve their health, fitness, body image or strength and they want some help to get there.
The gym can be a confusing and intimidating place for a lot of people, so hiring a personal trainer could be something that massively escalates your confidence and competence in what can seem like a foreign environment.
So with that in mind, I feel like it’s my duty not only to answer the question “how much does a personal trainer cost in the gym”, but also to actually break down what to expect from a good personal trainer (as well as a bad personal trainer), how to find the right trainer for you and many lessons I’ve learned from the hundreds of trainers (and clients) I’ve come into contact with over the last 5 years in this industry.
The Profile Of A Typical Personal Trainer
First thing’s first – before we ask “how much does a personal trainer cost at the gym”, we must ask “what kind of trainer do I want to work with?” If you’re working with the wrong person – ANY amount is too much and a complete waste of both your time and hard earned money. So, what kind of trainers are there:
The Spice Boy Trainer
The most common kind of trainer you’ll come across in my experience, is the type of person I affectionately refer to as the ‘Spice Boy Trainer’.
The spice boy trainer is normally in his late teens/early twenties (but not always, I’ve seen spice boy trainers in their mid forties), and they are firm believers that the world and it’s entire public opinion revolves around whatever dumbbell or protein shake they happen to be holding at any given point in time (or on any given heavily filtered Instagram post).
This type of trainer may not show up on time to your session, but you can bet your £2.99 spray tan that he’ll have his hair perfectly styled and stringer vest ready for his mid afternoon ‘pump’ later that day (I should point out, this type of trainer could be male or female, regardless of the ‘spice boy’ name).
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not slating these trainers for the sake of it. I mean, if you want to pay a dude £20 so he can check himself in the mirror for an hour while you struggle to lift a weight in the background that’s fantastic. But if you’re serious about actually making progress and being educated on your fitness goals, this guy/girl probably isn’t someone you want to be working with.
Price: Around £20/Hour
Service: Poor
Recommendation: Don’t Bother
The Warm And Cuddly Trainer
The warm and cuddly trainer is actually a big step up from the spice boy. This type of trainer actually gives a shit about you which is massively important. However, in my experience they usually do this to a fault.
This is the trainer that’s more concerned about having a good old chat and being your best mate than actually giving you the service you’ve paid for. You’ll work out, sure, but you won’t really be doing enough to cause any actual adaptation.
By the time you’ll leave you’ll know all about their personal life but won’t feel like you’ve expended any real energy.
Price: Around £25/Hour
Service: Average
Recommendation: Not if you want a good workout
The Drill Sergeant
Ah yes, the drill sergeant. This is the over glamourized, “go hard or go home” type mentality that a TON of trainers 
have. It’s the ‘old school’ – “back in my day” kind of approach.
Now, the one thing I will say about this approach, is that it usually WORKS. Out of the trainers we’ve discussed so far, this one is the guy that will get you results.
This type of trainer will beast you to within an inch of your life and leave you in absolutely no doubt that you’ve had a hard workout. Intensity won’t be a problem with the drill sergeant.
However, the one drawback with most drill sergeant’s is that there’s no thought that goes in to the training aside from the typical “train hard” mentality. Most training programs often look the same across the board regardless of the clients’ goals, and it doesn’t take long for the training to lose it’s effectiveness.
Price: Around £25/Hour
Service: Average
Recommendation: Not if you have long term goals
The Coach
If you’re serious about your fitness goals, the coach is the guy you want to seek out. These people are the masters of their craft, and they have the perfect mix of actually caring about the results their clients get, remaining professional yet approachable, and understanding that true coaching is about more than just giving someone a beasting for an hour on the gym floor.
If you find a truly great coach, they won’t simply exchange time for money. They’ll offer you an education on how to go through the process of reaching your goal – be that building a physique, running a marathon, getting a massive deadlift or simply getting rid of a few extra unwanted lbs you put on over Christmas.
The coach puts in the leg work not just in the hour you’re with him in the gym, but also in the time in between your training sessions – writing personalised training, nutrition, mobility and recovery programs, having systems for weekly check-ins & making sure you have regular contact away from the gym.
This fella/lady will normally have been through a similar process to you in the past and helped countless others in your position work through the same process. They are specialists in their field and understand exactly what it takes not only from a technical perspective but also from a psychological one, too.
The coach isn’t as cheap as the others, but they’re your best bet if you actually want value for money.
Price: £50-£100 Per Month
Service: Outstanding
Recommendation: If you have the money, use it on this person.
You Get What You Pay For
So there you have it. Every personal trainer is different and I don’t normally like to generalise, but hopefully I’ve given you an answer to the question “how much does a personal trainer cost at the gym”.
The reality is, personal trainers are no different to any other field. You can get poor teachers, poor doctors, poor nurses. You can also get some absolutely outstanding teachers, doctors and nurses (especially in the UK with our NHS being world class). However, the barrier to entry point for personal trainers is extremely low. Anyone with a credit card can do a weekend crash course from Groupon and technically they’re qualified as a PT. If this article seems harsh, that’s because I’m fed up with people paying their hard earned money to be injured by someone who’s doing PT as a hobby or trying to earn a quick buck on the side.
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. And if you’re willing to make an investment in yourself (because that’s what it is, an investment in your health and education) then there’s a premium that specialists charge for that.
Specialist coaches are normally more experienced, more skilled, more educated and more humble than their counterparts. But they also work a hell of a lot harder to provide a service that lives up to the price tag.
My advice? Be clear on what you want to achieve and research the best coach in your area to be able to deliver on that. Talk to their clients, look at their results, read their reviews.
Check them out online to see if they actually know what they’re talking about, if they practice what they preach, if they are as good as they claim to be.
Then, and only then, make an informed choice to invest in an educational program that will leave you happy with the money spent and time invested. Make the smart choice, not the cheap one.
I hope this article was useful, and answered the question of how much does a personal trainer cost at the gym.
If you have any questions I’d love to hear from you, feel free to drop me a message on one of the following platforms:
Facebook: Andy Clements Fitness
Instagram: @andyclements01
YouTube: Andy Clements
And don’t forget to check out My Services page if you’re ready to take action on your fitness goals.
See you next time
Andy Clements