Group Personal Training

For many people, training in a group can be very motivating and fun! That is why large group exercise classes have done so well. It's a good opportunity for socializing with others that have similar fitness goals. In addition to large group exercise classes, a new trend in fitness is with smaller, more personalized group training. These types of groups range from 3-5 people in size and their work outs are guided by a personal trainer. The benefits to training this way include: cost savings, camaraderie and it can be more motivating!

Cost Savings of Group Training:
When you train in a group, the cost of personal training is shared between all the group members. So, even if the total cost of training is higher, because there are a larger number of people to divide up the price, each person pays less than what they would have if it were one-on-one. Typically, if there are 4 people in a group, the cost would be half the price compared to a one-on-one session.

Camaraderie and Motivation:
When everyone goes through the same hardship, friendships are often made! This can be easily compared to people who have gone through  boot camp in the military or playing on a sports team. When a team is challenged together, everyone on the team begins to lean on each other for support. That's when the team collectively strengthens!

In addition, the strong players of the team are often a great example to the rest of the team members. Many of the weaker members will often try harder when they see their stronger teammate counterparts pushing themselves. Also, when one teammate begins to get results from their work, that's when the other members tend to start working harder as well. It's an inspiring cycle of team motivation!

Group training has many benefits. However, it isn't for everyone. Some of the cons of group training are: less attention than one-on-one training and the group tends to decide meeting times and days. Since it is group training, the group as a whole tends to make most of the decisions instead of individual decisions. So, if one person out of the group can't make it one evening because of a conflict, that person will typically just miss the session. Whereas one-one-one training can be based on individual schedules. In addition to this, the obvious point about group training is that it is a "group" so there will be less individual attention to every single person as compared to one-on-one training.

It is important to weigh the types of training options available: one-one-one vs. small group training. If you like a small group atmosphere and are excited about being challenged, then group training may be the ticket for you! However, if you think you need a little more individual attention than one-on-one training will probably work best for you.

"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said "Five--and two fish." Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. Mark 6:38-39 (NIV)