edamame3's Journal
Bally's Total FitnessDec 02 2008 23:37
Ugh...
So, I had the second of three scheduled interviews today at Bally's Total Fitness. The first guy I interviewed with is all over me for some reason; I didn't think I was THAT impressive...maybe they're desperate for trainers?
Whatever it is, I went to the club to workout for the first time (I'm a Lifetime Fitness member, so I've never been to Bally's), and ugh...
talk about meat market!
This place was DRIPPING with testosterone! Men grunting and working out, staring at me VERY obviously as they complete their reps...watching me jog around the track...going so far as to wink and wave...SO MANY FREAKING MEN! And, to top it off, I'd be like the only female trainer there...and all the male trainers are so...beefy...
One of the trainers kept making eye contact and giving me sleazy looks, then came over and was like 'You're going to train here, you think?' Which is perfectly fine small talk, mind you, but while he said it, he kept glancing up and down my body. Jesus! The judgement!
Beyond that, all the equipment there was kinda...shitty...I was stretching on a yoga mat and noticed some dried crusty peice of body part...skin? I don't know...whatever it was, I ditched the mat and just stretched on the carpet. They had ONE stability ball next to a depleted mini dumbell rack; the rest of the strength training was devised of rusty machines.
In the bathrooms, the showers were all rusty and soap ringy and the toilet room itself had a streak of rust running down the wall.
I wasn't too fond of any of the equipment...if I were to train someone, I would much prefer the lifetime setup: lots of stability balls of all different sizes, lots of dumbells available in all different weights, free motion machines, lots of fun proprioceptive enriching devices available like BOSU, Dino Discs, and foam rolls for self myofascial releasing. Part of this is because Lifetime is kind of custom tailored to the NASM certification, which I have. It feels as if Bally's is tailored to ACE. NASM places a big focus on the Stabilization phase, which comes before the strength training stage, that helps the body prepare for regular exercise and prevents injury. It is the ideal phase for the beginning or deconditioned client. And let's face it, the majority of our clients, and the majority of the population, for that matter, are beginners or deconditioned.
So, I called Lifetime and said 'let's talk.'
But I feel really bad because that guy at Bally's really seems to be into me, and impressed with my background and stuff. I'm bad at saying no.
Looks like at 12 tommorow, I'll have to. *sigh*
Hi Edamame3, I just wanted to let you know that all Bally's aren't so bad. Maybe the one you interviewed at is just a dud. I've been using a trainer at my local Bally's for almost a year now and he is awesome. The center is a bit older and the equipment isn't the newest, but it is sufficient. I don't get a sense of it being a meat market at all either. The training area is a bit small, but it does have the equipment you mentioned above, like Bosu and foam rollers. My trainer is really big on the foam rollers right now and keeps torturing me with them, lol! He also does a lot of stabilization work in addition to my weight lifting, etc. Did you really get to look at all the equipment that the trainers have? I was under the impression that all Ballys had pretty much the same stuff for their trainers. They keep it all locked up in the training office when not in use. Is it possible they just didn't let you see everything? Also, my center has about 7 male trainers and 3 female trainers. They all seem to get along great and I don't see any judgmental behavior going on amongst them. Anyway, just my thoughts. Maybe there is another Bally's in your area you could visit for a comparison? |
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