A new study puts hard numbers behind a question fitness operators have long debated and the findings make a compelling case for the value of personal training.
In Episode 10 of The Research Debrief, hosts Rachel Chonko and Luke Carlso break down a recently published randomized controlled trial comparing the outcomes of exercising alone, with a training partner and a personal trainer — and what those results mean for clubs looking to grow their personal training programs.
Listen:
What This Episode Covers
This episode examines a study from Heliyon, a high-impact peer-reviewed journal, that put three training conditions head-to-head over 12 weeks with 76 male participants performing identical workout programs.
Key discussion points include:
- Why exercising alone produces strength gains, but not muscle growth or fat loss.
- How training with a partner improves results beyond solo exercise, including measurable increases in lean muscle mass.
- Why the personal training group achieved statistically significant improvements across all three categories: strength, lean muscle mass and body fat reduction.
- What global fitness trend data reveals about the United States’ comparatively low uptake of personal training.
- Why the supervision effect alone doesn’t explain the personal trainer’s advantage and what it means for how clubs communicate the value of PT.
Why This Matter For Operators
The research shows members who follow the same workout program produce meaningfully different results depending on who is with them. A training partner helps. A personal trainer helps more across every metric the study measured.
Implications for operators:
- The same workout done with a trainer produces greater strength gains, more lean muscle and greater fat loss than doing it with a friend or alone.
- Evaluating whether low personal training adoption rates represent an untapped revenue and retention opportunity.
- Examining how the club’s personal training brand is positioned, given that U.S. consumers rank personal training lower in value than consumers in Europe, Australia and Brazil.
- Considering whether hiring and certification standards contribute to how members perceive the credibility of personal training staff.
The science now offers a concrete answer to a question operators and trainers face: what exactly does a personal trainer provide that a workout buddy cannot? The answer — more strength, more muscle, less fat — is measurable, transferable and marketable. Clubs that help their training staff lead with that message are better positioned to convert curious members into consistent personal training clients.
Listen or Watch
Audio: Available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Video: Watch the full episode on YouTube.
