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Personal training: is it worth it, who is it for and how does it work (in pairs too)

CrossFit Wilanów

Personal training tends to bring two things to mind: a big expense and celebrities. The question we hear most is “does it actually do anything, or am I paying for company?” Below is what the research says, who it makes sense for, when it does not, and how it works at our box. Including why you will not find a price list here.

What a coach beside you changes

Two studies are worth knowing, because they compare the same thing: training with a coach beside you and without one.

Mazzetti and colleagues (2000) split 20 moderately trained men into two groups. Both followed an identical written strength programme for 12 weeks. One trained under a coach’s direct supervision, the other alone. The supervised group increased their squat and bench press loads faster and after 12 weeks had significantly greater maximal strength in both. Same plan, different result, because someone stood beside them and said “add a plate”.

Dias and colleagues (2017) checked something simpler: what weight trained people choose when they pick it themselves, and what they choose with a trainer beside them. With the trainer, the weight was 12 to 27% higher depending on the exercise, and still safe relative to their maximum. Most people without supervision train lighter than they can, and do not know it.

Both studies looked at people who already trained. With beginners a coach does something more: teaches the movement before the weight arrives. CrossFit’s Level 1 Training Guide calls this the order of mechanics, consistency, intensity, and that order is easier to keep when someone is watching every rep.

Who it is for

Starting from zero, at your own pace. Walking into a club for the first time and going straight into a group class can be intimidating. A few first sessions with one coach mean learning the basics without watching the clock or the people around you. When it feels right, you join the group.

Coming back after a break or an injury. The coach sets the pace and the versions of each exercise around what you are allowed to do and what not yet. With injuries and medical conditions, see a doctor or physiotherapist first, then talk to the coach. We cover getting back after a break separately.

A specific sporting goal. Your first pull-up, snatch technique, preparing for a competition. In group classes the workout of the day is shared; in personal training all the time goes to your one goal.

Movement and mobility. Range of movement, stretching, yoga: our specialists cover these, at a calmer pace than a WOD.

As a pair. Training 1:2 means one coach and two people: a partner, a friend, a colleague. The coach runs a shared plan and watches each of you separately. For many people it is the best of both: the coach’s attention and someone who is waiting for you at 7:00.

When you do not need a personal trainer

Honestly, because everyone looking at the cost asks this.

  • If you are comfortable in a group and making progress. Our classes have at most 12 people and a coach for the whole hour. That is already supervision, and for most people it is enough.
  • If your only goal is “to be fit”. Group classes do that well, and with OPEN the first 12 weeks start with a coach who looks after you, a goal and three consultations anyway.
  • If you are looking for motivation. A personal trainer helps, but a regular group at a regular time often does the same for the price of a membership.

Personal training is not a condition for joining the club, nor a better version of classes. It is a tool for specific situations: starting, coming back, a goal, working on movement.

How it works at our box

  1. A free phone consultation. A short conversation about your goal, experience, injuries and the times that suit you. It is a conversation, not a session, and it commits you to nothing.
  2. First session: goal and movement assessment. We set the goal and look at how you move. The coach knows where to start and what to watch.
  3. Plan and package. We put together a plan and choose single sessions or a package to fit your schedule.
  4. Regular sessions and reviews. Every so often we check what has changed and what comes next.

There are two formats: 1:1 and 1:2. Personal training combines with group classes: you build technique and a plan with the coach, and train with others in the WODs that come with OPEN. It is run by all our coaches except Agata Zyra, plus our mobility and yoga specialists. We match the coach to your goal in conversation, rather than you choosing from a photo on the website.

Why there is no price list here

Because we do not know yet what you need. One person needs three sessions to join the group safely. Another wants six months of work on the snatch. Someone else wants to train as a pair twice a week. Each of those is a different package and a different amount, and putting a figure on the website without a conversation would give you a number that would not match anyway. So we start with a conversation, and that is free.

Start with a free phone consultation. If you would rather start in a group, book your first class.

Sources

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One class to find out whether we suit each other. No commitment. If you decide on OPEN on the day of your first class, we deduct the cost of that class.

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