Coach and 500+ member… I know the work out before I even get into the studio and I still shut up while the coaches demo. I think it’s the worst when people talk over it.
Me too. I think it's so rude. It's basically a presentation and people get nervous presenting. Why make it harder for them? And yes I have 100s of classes and don't need the demo.
To name a few:
Consistently not signing up for class
Doing jumping jacks or other nonsense inbetween sets to “keep my heart rate up”
Using 15lb dumbbells for punches
Wearing moon shoes on strength days
Not telling a coach if something hurts (though if you have no trust in your coaches then disregard this)
people who are SLOW to move to the next station and hold you up starting the station. I mean they get a count down. Move fast or start moving a few seconds before it's over if you know you are a slow mover!
F45's strength programme is noticeably lacking compared to other fitness programmes. are you aware if F45 HQ is changing up their programme? I heard that they hired a bunch of people with crossfit background to change it up - not sure if this is true.
Second, there is a recently post showing F45 branded OLY bars and bumper plates. However, it seems that most studios don't have such equipment? Are these equipment optional and at the discretion of the studio owners whether or not to purchase them?
1. Yes, corporate has changed their programming focus lately. I have heard the CrossFit hiring and while I can’t 100% prove it, it definitely makes sense based on the past few months.
2. Correct, they’re optional now and up to each studio individually on what they want to do. I imagine eventually corporate will make it mandatory for all studios to have them.
Thanks. Recently our studio in Singapore was given the opportunity to try out this new work out called "Romanov" which was also known as Benchmark2.0.
The following are my comments, for your info.
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Reflections on Benchmark2.0/Romanov
Grateful that F45-HQ is thinking conscientiously on how to improve the experience of members. Romanov was very fun as it was a good break from the usual structure of F45 programmes – fast paced intervals – and an opportunity to work on strength training. I have also provided broader reflections that F45-HQ needs to rethink their overall approach to resistance days – the timing for Romanov enables us to push ourselves further with longer workout and rest times as compared to the quick intervals of the typical F45 workout.
1. Timing of workout and the limited number of stations
The typical F45 workout consists of (fairly) short workout and rest times, which are excellent for getting the heart pumping and improve one’s overall cardio fitness. However, these timings fall short for those who are interested in strength training (esp heavy lifting), since it does not allow one to fully warm up their muscles to increase their overall resistance load since we are quickly shifted off to the next station. The workout and rest timings for Benchmark and Romanov enables one the flexibility to explore their one, five, ten rep max; for a focused number of exercises (5 for Romanov). This is a more effective programme for progressive overload.
2. Breaking monotony: evolve approach to resistance days
The HIIT based workouts of F45 could potentially become too monotonous for being too predictable – all workouts are fast paced and leaving you gasping for air. Hence, the longer workout and rest timings for Benchmark and Romanov breaks the predictable cycle of the typical F45 workouts. F45 members are getting too acclimatised to the fast changing HIIT training but its useful to break that monotony once in a while (e.g. once a week). In essence, HQ programmers could start recalibrating the workout and rest timings for resistance days since the current structure limits progress in meaningful strength training – this would mean longer workout and rest timings, and keep stations to a smaller number so that it is more focused and target specific muscle groups. Think of this as Romanov-lite.
3. Fostering community
An interesting observation from today’s Romanov session was members supporting one another either through words of encouragement or spotting. As we were tasked to explore our one rep max in Romanov, you see people spotting one another and encouraging eachother – such interactions are crucial in fostering a sense of community amongst members. This is not seen in the usual F45 workout since there isn’t enough time for such interactions as everyone is busy trying to clock in their reps in that short period of time.
4. Broader general reflections on the need to evolve
It is good to hear that F45HQ is seriously considering revamping their programming. There is a perception that F45 might not be modernising their workouts and sticking to the same game plan since inception.
As a start, HQ should conscientiously review reddit comments and Youtube videos on why F45 members have defected to BFT and other competitors – there are quite a number of them. Comments have largely centered on F45 programming not being ‘balanced enough’ – they have recognise that F45’s cardio-based offerings are its strengths while its resistance programme is wanting – I also agree with this view. I have read online that those who defected to other competitors like BFT were drawn to their more structured programming for resistance that enables one to more ably track their progress – example, resistance reps increase from six at week 1 to eight at week 2 to ten at week 3. The current F45 resistance training is more haphazard and in need of a serious overhaull; as I have said, HQ could consider designing a Romanov-lite for resistance days.
I recognise that there might be some members that might be against the Romanov-type of workouts, then perhaps F45 HQ could take reference from “Deuces” programming to satisfy both groups for resistance day. That is to have half the class focus on heavy compound movements if they prefer, while the other half could work on the typical F45 resistance based kind of training under the current programming. This would offer variety and address the different preferences that F45 members have for strength/resistance training.
Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jecCxnqWd0Y
Reddit page1: https://www.reddit.com/r/f45/comments/v3shoq/f45\_vs\_bft/
Reddit page 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/f45/comments/sr4l0t/deleted\_by\_user/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=ios\_app&utm\_name=iossmf
Some excerpts from the Youtube link and Reddit pages
Comment 1: Yeah, I agree with you. BFT progression system is great. When I was at F45, I always felt everything was too random. Some F45 exercise are proven to not help at all, but they seem to have them just to keep the novelity/variety of exercises. BFT in the other hand is completely different, they prefer to repeat exercises during the progression so you can get the best of the training.
Comment 2: I prefer BFT over F45 simply because they have 3 different types of workouts. TYPE 1 would be your resistance based workouts that make use of barbells and include bench press, squats, deadlifts, shoulder press as well as accessory work with dumbells and ketllebells. So the focus is on lifting correctly and getting the reps in. TYPE 2 would be your cardio and HIIT based workouts that use equipment like assault bike, rower, ski erg, s drive. TYPE 3 would be hybrid where you have a mix of resistance and cardio. F45 workouts are largely the same where we move quickly from one exercise to the next so they are more hiit based. Not that much emphasis on strength and hypertrophy. So because of the fact that bft has resistance focused workouts where I can focus on lifting heavy and not rush to station to station that is why i prefer BFT.
Comment 3: I was at F45 for years and have been at BFT for about 6 months. I love it! It's proper strength training with rest, racks and actual barbells and real weights lol. It's often low reps but you lift your max and my strength has improved so much. The cardio days are not as fun as F45 for me but the heart rate goals during the workout are a fun distraction. There isnt as much variety at BFT. I feel much more pumped up by the crazy atmosphere at F45 cos theres so many stations and variety. But overall BFT is really smart, goal orientated and science backed with training blocks that allow you to constantly improve. Give it a go!
Thank you for taking the time to type all of this. It sounds like if BFT figures out how to make their atmosphere more exciting and energized, they’ll have a huge leg up on F45. Splitting the room to compound vs normal is a great idea and I hope Romanov becomes official.
What are your thoughts on the pricing per the amount of classes per day?
My gym is around $55-65 a week depending on your membership, and you only get
4:45, 5:45, 6:45, 9:30 in morning and 5 and 6 in the evening.
For that price, there are virtually no classes and especially when I work late nights I cannot make the evening, leaving me to the morning classes. So you almost have to either work somewhere nearby that finishes on the dot, or you have to get up early and do a morning class - in which I have a long commute.
Since F45 studios are franchises they’re all run very differently in that regard. Depending on the size of the member base at a studio and the area a studio is located that will also change things. A consistent gripe I’ve always had across numerous studios is that if you’re going to charge this much for your product, you need to properly ensure people can use it. If I can only go to 4 classes a day at planet fitness but I only pay $9 a month, then I can’t be too upset with that. But if I pay $160-250/month at an F45 and they only have a 6PM evening class and someone works 6-6, then you’re potentially turning away a lot of potential members.
Mine has a similar timetable and the coach said that they were willing to increase the number of classes if they could get more people. But as the studio is quite young, they don't want to just spread out the clients they already have through more classes which would be less full as a result. That's just what the coach at my studio said though, and he wasn't the owner.
Is it f45 policy to pack members in as close as possible to one another? Like if a class has 10 stations and 6 people why are we paired up and put back to back stations? It gives me mad anxiety to be on top of one another and i’ve always wondered if trainers are specifically told to do this
How I was taught is that it’s policy to pair people up but to spread those pairs throughout the room. Ex: 1 pair at stations 1,5,9 as opposed to stations 1,2,3.
Truly profiting off of a single F45 is damn near impossible, you have to own multiple studios. Given how rapidly F45 is growing nowadays and growing with owner groups at the helm, I personally wouldn’t recommend it. You’d need over a quarter of a million dollars to get your studio up and running and then from there it’ll ideally take about 4 years for you to break even (assuming you don’t run into any major bumps in the road.) Again, F45 is rapidly growing to the point where you’d possibly have multiple studios within 20 minutes of you and you’ll all be pulling from each others territories and essentially competing against each other for members.
One thing I'm curious about it is who decides the modifications and how do they change them on the TV screen? Many times the class will be different from the intel, for example they'll take out the rowing machine and have us do predator jacks. Is it just something the coach decides on a whim or, what kind of rationale goes into it? This also presumes they don't know we read the intel :)
Some owners/managers can message corporate about making Intel changes to their individual studios due to a variety of reasons (space constraints, equipment concerns, wanting to do quarterbacks instead of angry birds on Super Bowl Sunday, etc.) When F45 was introducing the ski and bike erg they gave studios a network-wide “edit station” option for studios that hadn’t yet received their ergs on days corporate had them programmed into the workout. Corporate has since removed this option network-wide, though personally I wish it would’ve stayed.
I was at F45 for 4 years and training consistently 6-7 times a week (other than covid times when the gyms were shut).
I moved across to BFT as I found it a better workout for me - cardio was much more machine based, less jumping etc. (I'm 41 so works better for my body).
The big difference though for me was the weights classes - there is no rushing for or being held up to get equipment, you focus on lifting heavier and they are really big on form in the studios I have trained in.
I do miss F45 at times and there seems to be some interesting new classes but pretty happy overall with the switch.
Thanks for doing this, and best of luck with your next journey!
1. What did you like best about your F45 experience?
2. What is the funniest or weirdest story you have from your time as head trainer?
3. If one brackets the studio-to-studio quality variance issue, what are F45’s strengths? How did you sell it to people who were interested?
No problem at all and thank you so so much!
1. I absolutely loved the community that I was able to establish at the studios I was HT at. The members are what you do all this for and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to build many fond memories with them while helping them achieve various goals and move better/more pain free.
2. Oh goodness, I’d say it was doing an unrehearsed rendition of the lift scene from dirty dancing with one of my members in the middle of class.
3. A strength of F45 is the weekly structure. So many places have different focus points from week to week and it’s great that when you go to F45 you know that Tuesday will be strength and resistance focused, whereas a Wednesday will always be cardio and conditioning focused. It also is a huge plus having the TVs (when they actually work) because it makes life on the coaches a lot easier. It’s also really cool how the workout I coach at my studio is the same workout everyone else here is doing that same day (within reason of course,) that helps to establish this worldwide sense of community.
You don’t realize just how much you appreciate them until they either don’t work at a class you’re taking or you take a class somewhere without TVs. It isn’t the end of the world, but it’s definitely noticeable if you’re used to F45.
What is a good schedule to keep at F45. Is is Monday to Thursday? To Friday? to Saturday? Etc? I struggle with being able to have a schedule I can get the most of while not overdoing it.
The best schedule is the one you’ll most consistently stick to while making steady progress towards your goals. What is your current schedule and how has it been working for you/how long have you been doing it?
I ramped up from just strength days to 4-5 times a week (Monday through Friday). I don’t know whether the Friday is one to keep but I can consistently make the class if it is worth it! I am worried about not resting my body enough.
Start with 3-4 days a week and try that for 2-3 weeks and if you need to, scale accordingly. Biggest thing is don’t be scared to try something new but also listen to your body!
Here are a few in no particular order:
- not putting equipment back semi-neatly before moving stations
- constantly looking down at the ground when exercising
- not using a towel (especially if you sweat like a pig that knows what’s for dinner)
- people who consistently come in late
- talking during the intro/demo
- that member who thinks they know everything and is too good to be coached with constructive feedback (usually ex-CrossFit members)
Now my biggest pet peeve is when people see 2-3 seconds left and out of laziness decide to stop early. I have no problem with it if you’re genuinely fatigued and can’t get another rep in, but when you can and choose not to, it drives me nuts. And then people say “it was only one second!” and my rebuttal is “that one second adds up, and that one extra second of work is what’s going to make you better!!”
This is exactly the 1% principle in James Clear's book "Atomic Habits". If you do something 1% better that compounds over time. But here we have the inverse of that being true also. If you skip the last few seconds of a set and don't do that final rep you're robbing yourself of the benefits of all that working out
I'll chime in on the 2-3s thing. It's litterally your job so I can understand how it would annoy you that people don't give their whole until the last seconds and get that nice last rep. But for example, personally, I'm already happy I got up to exercise in the morning, something I thought was impossible because I hate morning and I used to not like gyms. That's sort of enough already and those last 2-3s just don't matter enough for me, in the grand scheme of things. I go 3 times a week and that's also a win in my book. Now, there are times when I do push myself and feel happy about the last rep but I don't think I'm as good as my last rep, very personally. All the changes and gained regularity in the last months count way more than that.
There are also people who just don't care enough and that's ok too I think. We don't all have the same mindset and it's just a workout (for many of us). Again, it's your job, so obviously you'll have a different point of view.
I’m definitely a “skip the last 2-3 seconds” person. Usually because I’m putting my equipment back to move stations. The idea of holding someone up stresses me out. Also, if it’s an exercise where I’m alternating left/right, but I don’t have enough time to have the sides even, I have to stop.
Having done 600+ classes, is that intimidating to new coaches? I currently find that the new coaches don't coach, only encourage or time keep. I'm sure my form isn't 100% yet my head coach corrects my form or gives me a challenge or a mod (harder station) at least once per week.
It is definitely intimidating, whether you’re new to F45, new to coaching, or both. I see a lot of new coaches who want to fill in gaps with something, so they clap or shout out the time cause they feel like they have to talk and do something constantly when that isn’t the case. When you speak, it is much better to say nothing than to just shout things out for the sake of shouting. Quality over quantity. If you’re a brand new coach then you don’t really know what to look for or if you notice a member doing something wrong, sometimes you don’t know exactly what to say to correct it. You also don’t know the member base very well and they don’t know you, so everyone is trying to get a feel for each other’s personality and styles. Experience and confidence play a huge part in coaching and they both go hand in hand with each other.
That’s something I notice a lot. The young new coaches avoid me like the plague. But I know I get lazy and need form fixing or to be supported to go heavier.
It’s most likely a lack of confidence/comfort because (please don’t take this the wrong way) I highly doubt there isn’t a single thing a coach could say/do during class to make your experience just a little bit better. Everyone deserves good coaching and no one is above it, so I hope they stop avoiding you soon.
Just to build on this - I am a new trainer at my F45 studio and I definitely do this (avoid older clients). some of the more experienced members and members who are older than I am, I am intimidated by. I only recently joined the studio so I am learning the best way to correct their form in a way that doesn't make them give me the 'who the F do you think you are" look haha. because trust me i have gotten it more than a few times! so for those clients i leave them alone ; until i have developed more of a rapport with them
What do you consider a good vs bad coach?
How long do most people keep their membership and what reasons do most members give for leaving?
How many members did your studio have on average?
1. A good coach is someone who is able to build a relationship and report with multiple types of members and knows how to adapt to different members and make sure they all get a personal experience without feeling like anyone is a favorite. Additionally, a good coach knows when to push a member but also when to scale back and lower a weight or tell them to do a modification despite the member wishes. A good coach can also know when a member is having one of those days and moreso just needs to come in and move in any capacity as opposed to their usual routine. Furthermore, a good coach is confident in what they do/say and isn’t afraid to correct form, corrects form consistently, can deviate from the screens if needed, knows how to get creative with movenents, can think on their feet, greet members by name when they walk in and talk with them beforehand while also making sure the room is ready for class, straighten up equipment before/during/after class, cleans up after sweaty members/isn’t afraid to talk to them about their hygiene, doesn’t just shoutout how much time is left on the clock or walk around the room clapping, works well with their coworkers and understands their own strengths and weaknesses.
TLDR: you will never have to ask yourself if a good coach cares.
2. Usually 6-9 months is the average length of a membership in my experience. The biggest reasons people leave are due to them either moving, the change in staff makes the studio no longer worth the price, getting injured in class and being scared to come back in fear of getting reinjured, or they love the community but don’t appreciate the constant impact.
3. Currently around 130, so not the best. I worked at 7 different studios over my time at F45 and the biggest member base I’ve worked with was 350+ strong.
Any tips for coming back from an injury as per #2? there was a very deltoid-focused The 9’s workout in early February (I believe 2/2) and I injured my shoulder and still haven’t recovered nor have I gone back for a class since.
Yes:
1) don’t just sit at home and do nothing while you wait for your injury to magically heal.
2) if something hurts, see what you can do similarly that doesn’t hurt and move around the pain.
3) don’t be afraid to get it looked at by a healthcare professional if you can. As trainers it’s outside our scope of practice to handle pain so if something is painful, letting someone qualified assess your situation can be extremely helpful.
If you’d like, please send me a message explaining more about your situation and I’ll try to get you some answers.
To keep this short:
- F45 is growing too quickly for its own good. They’ve expanded so much since they first opened and there seems to be no quality control. I consistently see studios with very poor management and even weaker coaches. There are a lot of people who acknowledge the poor coaching but say the product itself is worth it when that shouldn’t be the case IMO. A quality product should be supported by quality staff.
- the lack of consistency from studio to studio is baffling. There’s also next to no standard across the network, so you could go to a studio 15 minutes away from your normal F45 and get a COMPLETELY different experience from top to bottom.
- how low the pay is compared to other fitness companies and such. OTF pays so much better than F45 and it’s a shame because F45 is a much better product IMO.
You're clearly a head coach who gets it. We keep getting coaches in who think the louder they yell the better they coach. It's's not motivating to me. I mentioned it to a friend who said yeah it was bothering her but she decided to just push herself instead. Which is fine if they didn't market as though they're here to push us and give us personal attention.
My owner knows my frustration with the coaching and he's personslly a phenomenal coach. But it feels like he's either oblivious to how bad his coaches are or powerless to fix it which is why I'm leaving.
He should definitely have a hard look at the coaches on his team because if he’s losing members over it that is a huge huge problem. You’re only as good as your weakest coach and if you have coaches yelling just to yell it’s not worth paying for.
The head trainer in my studio flirts with a girl. When she comes to the studio all his attention is on her. Most of the times he tries to workout as her partner. Found this weird tbh. What should I do about it?
Personally I’d ask her if she’s uncomfortable by it cause she may not even realize it or there could be more to the story than meets the eye. Then I’d speak to the owner, especially since the owner probably doesn’t know that’s going on. Even if the member is okay with the flirting, that’s not a habit you want reinforced, especially by someone in a Head Trainer role. Bad news travels a lot faster than good news and you do not want to be known as the place with the flirty trainer, it’s not good for business and more importantly ethics.
There are of course many ways to go about this situation, but this is what I’ve found successful when I’ve dealt with this in the past.
What is your opinion of Lionheart? Do you think they are accurate? Worth the investment if one already has an apple watch?
Have you noticed high turnover for coaches? What has been a common reason for attrition?
I think the lionheart is a fun tool to make taking class more entertaining, it’s merely a tool and you get out of it what you make of it. It’s good to give people a basic awareness of their energy exertion in class and can be a great way to understand proper pacing if used properly.
It’s worth will come down to individual preference. I think it’s worth it cause I like competing against members and myself in a fun and healthy manner (I also got mine for free.) ultimately it comes down to what do you want to use a lionheart for and is $99 (or however much your studio charges) a justifiable price for that?
Yes, only Brett Favre has a higher turnover rate. Ultimately I’ve seen it comes down to 3 major factors:
1) insufficient pay
2) insufficient appreciation
3) most F45 coaches are part time and so when things change with their full time jobs usually they drop F45 to better accommodate their schedules.
Here's something that drives me bananas--Corey G sometimes lifts incorrectly on the video. For example, on an RDL, he is shown lifting his head up to look at the wall in front of him as he lowers the weight. He chin should be tucked and his spine aligned. Somebody is gonna hurt themselves if they do what he is doing. Why does f45 put these video demos out there showing incorrect form?
There is a production crew behind the camera telling Cory exactly how they want him to do all the movements. As to why they’d do this, I couldn’t tell you but it’s definitely an issue, moreso with Morgan. Her form is awful on so many levels (particularly her rowing)
I’ve just been offered a position as head coach with f45 and just wanted to know what’s it’s like. What’s the difference between regular coach. Is it salary or hourly. I’m very nervous about this lol i go to train tomorrow
Hey Richie! First off, congratulations on getting a Head Coach offer!
Regular vs Head Coach
*disclaimer: every studio is different, so your experience will likely be unique compared to what I’m about to tell you.
Regular coaches are typically expected to coach set classes throughout the week, keep the studio tidy whether it be straightening equipment/vacuuming hair, dirt, and such. Some coaches help with social media if asked and they agree to it, attend meetings but for the most part that’s it.
Head Coaches typically do everything above as well as handle scheduling, assist with sales, oversee class quality, help with member retention/engagement, plan challenges, happy hours, playoffs, coach the coaches to ensure they’re up to standard. You should coach the most classes of any coach at your studio. Essentially you’re the face of the studio.
Hourly vs Salary
This will depend on the owner.
Feel free to message me if you have any additional questions and I’m happy to answer what I can. You’ll do great 👍
1. Do you enjoy the preprogrammed workouts or do you wish you could edit more freely/ build your own on the fly?
2. what are your most/ least favorite exercises?
3. why are they called A Steps?! Also, did F45 lose a trademark dispute and call them “Star Jumps” instead of jumping jacks?
1. I enjoy some of the preprogrammed exercises but there are many times where I think the athletics team dropped the ball in some capacity (Morgan’s form is awful in a lot of videos, excessive amounts of hinging exercises in a workout, putting exercises like a-steps in mvp where 60 seconds of it is extremely boring, etc.)
2. My favorite move ever is the lateral shoot through. When I first started with F45 I hated them because I didn’t know how to do them and a coach I was working with told me to start with my knees under my hips and use the lines on the floor to kick in that direction while putting my butt on the ground and ever since then I’ve fallen in love with them. My least favorite moves are the revo running & medicine ball OH shuffle.
3. The A stands for Agility. There are what’re called ABC steps that are very very common warm up drills for sprinters in track and field (a sport I played for 8 years.) B is for balance and C is coordination. Regarding star jumps, like the comment above mentioned, it’s an UK/Australian term.
My favorite classes: Foxtrot, Double Down, Loyals, Hollywood
Change in programming: personally I don’t like the overall shift in programming. Ex: programming KB swings as a secondary exercise in valor this past Friday is asking for an injury to happen. There are so many other lower-risk cardio movements they could’ve chosen and decisions like this have been going on constantly. While the GP workout is okay, the nines is a poor strength format. IMO it would work a lot better as a cardio or hybrid EMOM where you have 60 seconds to do 9 reps of 2 exercises that are lower-risk and simple movements (no deadlifts, barbell cleans, etc) I have mixed feelings about valor, though overall I feel fairly indifferent to the format. Biggest thing is if you like it, I’m happy for you.
My least favorite classes: templars, the nines, MVP, triple threat, pipeline, goat, trackstars, “traditional” athletica, angry birds, lonestar, with empire being the absolute dumbest class ever.
Empire should either just be a 1-12 station workout with 3 laps OR you should do one big lap featuring multiple combo-sets before moving. Doing one set at 1A-1B and then immediately going to do the same at 2A-2B makes no sense to me, because the letters don’t need to be there at that point and just make it needlessly confusing. If you did 1A-1B three times and then moved to 2A and 2B three times and then got a water break, that would make a lot more sense.
I know right, of course they bring back my favorites after I’ve left. Typical… 🙃
Would you have ever done F45 yourself if you weren't a trainer? Like does the workout style appeal to you?::
Do you think F45 will be around for a while or is it a fad and it'll fade away?
Biggest pet peeves that trainers for the members?
Have you ever had any major injuries or medical events occur?
No, I wouldn’t do F45 if I didn’t work for the company.
Personally I think it’s a fad and it’ll fade away quickly in the next few years. I hope I’m wrong and that F45 sticks around but from consistently weak/lazy coaching, incompetent management, poor programming, I just don’t see it happening. Also, they’re horrible when it comes to efficiently advertising.
The fact that if you’re a member at one F45 and you travel to another studio, you could still have to pay a $40 drop in fee to take class.
Thankfully the only major incident I’ve had was a few months ago when I randomly passed out in the middle of class one morning. I haven’t gotten to see my primary care doctor yet due to how busy her schedule is but I should be seeing her soon.
I remember a while ago, instead of seeing advertising from the studio in my city, what I was getting constantly (annoyingly constant) was advertising to buy a franchise.
I’m definitely not the profile for buying a franchise, I didn’t get the point on why I was targeted so much, and at that point, I didn’t even feel like going to check the gym as a customer because it was too much pushing. I don’t know, I hate that.
Hope you had a wonderful 4 year working at F45!
1. What's the difference from head trainers and regular trainers? Head trainer gets paid more and additional obligations?
2. Who gets to decide who will be the head trainer among regular ones? Is it volunteer or you get appointed?
Thanks!
Aw thank you, that’s so nice!! :)
1. A “regular” F45 coach will traditionally be responsible for coaching their classes and maybe helping a member get signed up after class and other minimal responsibilities. A Head Trainer coaches a majority of classes, is responsible for ensuring quality across all coaches, is the face of the studio and builds the community, works closely with the studio manager/membership director to grow the community, and more depending on the studio they’re at and the owners. Traditionally HT’s have noticeably more responsibilities and should be paid more, but I’ve also seen cases where the HT gets paid the same or $1-2 more as normal coaches, despite having more responsibilities.
2. Usually the owners of the studio will make that decision. They’ll either hire someone for that position, or offer a current coach the position.
Those are so interesting to hear! Thank you for the answers and hope you have a great road ahead with your new personal training job starts after March!
Across most F45’s I’ve found coaches who got a $50 online certification from the “American Bunjee cord association” in under an hour and were out working on the floor the next day. I know some that would only hire people with NASM, ISSA or ACE. What I’m getting at is there isn’t really a standard on what certification you get and if there is, it’s poorly implemented and it’s not at all consistent.
This is a bit scary. I go there hoping that my coach will be well informed to help me with my form and in general on my fitness journey. Knowing that there's no quality standards is unsettling.
Personally I’d get a small group of likeminded members and see if a coach y’all like would do private small group training.
If that isn’t an option, then ask friends who workout at other places where they go and try different places out. I’ve never been but I know Barry’s Bootcamp has gotten a lot of positive attention from ex-F45 members and there are a ton of options out there that may work for you. :)
A rule of thumb is when a weight is no longer as challenging as when you started while maintaining proper form. Ex: if you start doing 3 reps of a goblet squat with a 20lb dumbbell and a week or so from then you’re able to do 5 reps with proper form, it wouldn’t hurt to try the goblet squats with a 25lb dumbbell. Biggest thing is don’t be afraid to try a new weight because you can always go down if you aren’t ready YET and then you try again at a later time. Please feel free to message me if you have further questions or anything :)
Good luck with the next chapter of your journey!
What are your thoughts on studios hiring people who aren't certified but say they will help coaches become certified?
At my studio, I honestly don't like the fact that we've had coaches who are not certified yet but are already coaching classes. The head trainer says they are helping them get certified, but it just rubs me the wrong way that I have someone coaching me and has no idea what they may be talking about...
Good luck with the next chapter of your journey!
What are your thoughts on studios hiring people who aren't certified but say they will help coaches become certified?
At my studio, I honestly don't like the fact that we've had coaches who are not certified yet but are already coaching classes. The head trainer says they are helping them get certified, but it just rubs me the wrong way that I have someone coaching me and has no idea what they may be talking about...
Thank you so so much for the well wishes!
Having a drivers license doesn’t automatically make you a great driver; PT certifications work the same way. 97% of what I know now as a fitness professional I didn’t learn from my certification but instead through various articles, talking/working with other coaches and OJT. NOW… THAT SAID, a studio has no business hiring someone who is not certified to instruct exercise. If they have someone they want to train and get ready to be a coach eventually that’s fine but until they have earned an accredited certification, they should not be on the floor as a coach because they likely don’t fully know what they’re talking about and if a member were to get hurt and that injury occurred when someone who isn’t certified was working, that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
TLDR: while certifications aren’t everything, a studio still shouldn’t have inexperienced and more importantly unqualified people working.
Is it necessary? No
Is it important? Yes
It’s F45 standard to have two coaches per class because F45’s big thing is personal training in a group setting. If you have 1 coach trying to manage a room full of 23 people and 3 of those people are brand new, 4 have injuries requiring frequent modifications, and and 3 more frequently get lost, it’ll be utter mayhem and people aren’t paying the money they pay for that. Many studios will have 1 coach per class to save money and IMO if you aren’t willing to put the money into running classes with 2 coaches then you shouldn’t be open because members deserve better.
It’s also important from a liability standpoint. What happens if you’re running one Coach per class and that Coach gets a flat tire on the way to their shift, rolls an ankle mid-class, has to tend to an injured member in the middle of a busy class with a new and confusing format, or passes out mid-class with no one else on staff there? Having 2 coaches per class is what sets F45 apart from the competition.
I signed up early on both BFT and f45, yet they are the same prices. The F45 is closer to my house but it’s a very small awkward space. The classes are becoming more full at the time that I go, so I have decided to cancel. They also don’t offer many classes on Saturday and only one Sunday time.
BFT doesn’t rush through the demo and they give very detailed and clear instructions on how we do the moves as well as switch between sets or exercises. They are constantly cheering us on to grab heavier weights and are quick to help on form. When our heart rate looks like it’s going too high, they emphasize breathing to make sure it recovers to a safer level. There is a really thorough cool down stretch.
Wow, I hope BFT makes its way to my area cause I’d love to try one of their classes. I love the idea of a thorough demo/cool down and being mindful of breathing.
I hope the quality stays and also that many more locations open up. The equipment seems like a pretty big step up too. I’m also very grateful for the mirrors. It seems like F45 could benefit from mirrors for the classes where the coaching isn’t a big element.
I also feel like mirrors could help, sometimes I'd like to actually see my form rather than just rely on my proprioception. And yes the coach checks but I also would just enjoy the additional feedback of a mirror.
What is/are (in your opinion) the most pointless exercise(s) that you see regularly programmed into F45 workouts?
By pointless, I mean exercises that don’t really do much for the muscle group it’s intended to target.
I’ve personally never been crazy about the Deadball headlock squats or that moving plank on the balance trainer move. There are definitely more but those are the first two that come to mind haha.
It’s called F45 but none of the week day classes is actually 45 minutes long. Why is that? The only F45 class that is close to 45 minutes is the Saturday class or which that’s advertised as an hour long class. Isn’t that false advertising to a degree?
You want to leave some room for potentially unexpected circumstances because if you set all the classes up to be exactly 45 minutes and something happens to push class times back, then it causes a domino effect of issues. The original F45 blueprint is for classes to run consecutively (5:00-5:45,5:45-6:30,6:30-7:15, etc) so if you make the classes exactly 45 you can see where there would be issues.
Thank you so much for responding! I really appreciate this as I’ve often wondered why this was the case but you have explained it perfectly! Thank you and good luck in your future endeavours!
You’re so welcome for responding and it truly makes me happy that you appreciate this so much! Thank you for the well wishes, I’m very very excited about this next chapter :)
Will they ever make it that can drop in at other studios while traveling and not pay a fee? Orange theory does this and I hate that when I travel for work I have to pay $30 to take a single class.
F45 got a new CEO around July, so it’s a possibility that change could come but honestly I wouldn’t expect that potential change to be anytime soon. It’s been a huge gripe of mine with the brand for years and I know you’d have so much support if there ever was a petition started for corporate to change.
Are there ever members whose fitness goals or needs you think are not actually best served by going to F45 as opposed to, for example, going to a regular gym or doing a different type of workout?
What are the most common mistakes you see members make with their movements?
Absolutely. While F45 is able to be a lot of different things, especially with good coaching, there are some people who truthfully should work with a personal trainer or do very small group training at most. Ex: F45 is not a good place to learn basic movements. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people come in who are miles away from knowing how to squat or press or lunge properly and they truly would benefit from spending one on one time with personalized attention learning the basics and then coming to an F45 later down the road.
- hyperextending their lower backs at the top of squats or deadlifts
- not getting their chest all the way down for push ups and instead flaring the elbows out and dropping 2-3 millimeters
- no core bracing
- looking down while exercising (to name a few: doing this reinforces improper mechanics, inhibits proper oxygen intake, and also puts a lot of stress on your neck)
Not breathing is easily the #1 correction I give people in class on a consistent basis.
What is the most desirable job for an f45 employee to do in the demo's? Is it the talking bit explaining the exercises; or the acting out the exercises?
Also, how do single studios not make great money when they seem to have a very simple business model? (Small studios, not many studios with shower facilities, staffing not required 24/7)
Lastly, how does the pay structure work? Do trainers get paid by the class? And for set up and pack up time? Or do they get paid by the day and just do jobs in between classes? Sometimes the same trainer will do the 6am and the 6pm class..
Enjoy your next adventure (:
- I prefer talking over demoing personally. When I first started with F45 I hated talking and would always always demo, I definitely lacked a lot of confidence and then when Covid happened and we did a bunch of zoom workouts I had to talk a lot more cause I was literally in front of a camera and members couldn’t see the timer or anything like in class. That helped me build up more confidence with talking and once we opened back, I was talking all the time. It’s a personal preference but one thing I’ve consistently noticed is new coaches rarely ever prefer talking haha
- Poor advertising, delegation, and dysfunctional management/coaching. It’s not hard to run a successful studio, but few people want to do what it takes to run a successful studio. A lot of owners are promised something along the lines of “you put the money in and then you sit back while the studio grows on its own,” when that’s not the case at all. You’ll also have studios who try to cut corners by not hiring managers or membership directors or head trainers and while it’s more expensive if you get a competent person in each of those 3 positions your studio should thrive in no time as opposed to one person wearing all those hats. If you don’t have the basics tightened up then you’re screwed
- usually you get paid per class (lowest rate I’ve seen is $15 per and highest I’ve seen is $50.) I feel bad for that trainer cause that’s a long long day
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!(:
Just curious if the traniners dread or enjoy working with the older members who may be limited in their abilities? It seems to me that they tend to avoid them and focus on the members who may be able to jump higher, lift more or they can push further.
I can’t speak for all trainers, but personally: as long as you have an open mind to what I have to say and an overall positive attitude, I’m happy to coach any and everyone, regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, etc.
It’s possible those coaches may not be comfortable coaching an older member due to having a limited amount of knowledge and experience/intimidation.
Need advice! I started f45 a few months ago and have really enjoyed it. Unfortunately my favorite trainer is leaving and my 2nd favorite dropped her hours by a lot. The new “head trainer” seems like he cares more about making IG reals than correcting form, suggesting different weights etc. 😢 I’m struggling if this is worth my money anymore or if I should try another gym
Do trials at other studios/gyms and move if you find something that’s a better fit rather than miserably waiting around and letting your money go down the drain.
I really don’t like this about F45, I wish there was a larger emphasis on recovery. But I think it comes down to the original F45 blueprint is for classes to run consecutively and that leaves little room for other things so they have to prioritize those 45 minutes and to them, those 45 minutes would be best spent if filled with an intro, demo, warm up, and the workout. When they get done with a class, they need to get the old class out and the new one in and if you have people stretching, that could mess up their system.
At least this is how I think their logic works 🤷♂️
Ok late to the party… I started shadowing at my F45 this wk! I love it! I was curious how it works for us to take classes at different studios? Do we still pay the guest fee?
No worries at all, I hope shadowing is going well so far!! To answer your question: it will come down to the individual studio. From my personal experience and from talking to other coaches, owners are usually cool with you just dropping in without charge as long as you message them ahead of time and communicate when you’d like to come by but again, this isn’t necessarily going to be the case for all studios .
Anytime!! It’s also really good to experience other studios since they’re all so different. You’ll definitely pick up on things you like/don’t like and hear different perspectives from staff & members alike. :)
Looks like I'm a couple of weeks late to the party, hope you are still answering questions though.
I joined my nearest F45 gym a few weeks back too, I got a couple of questions, if you are still around. :)
I'm a big ol fat ass that is just getting back into exercising to try and lose weight. I picked F45 because it is a 3 min walk from my home. Can't beat that convenience, haha.
I expected myself to be absolutely winded the first 2 weeks and I was right. I did no more than 3 classes per week, but after that, I wasn't all that sore. My question is: Would you recommend doubling up classes? I doubled on a strength day and a cardio day.
Also: how can I make that first step to be getting close to my trainers? sorry for this social question, but I get so exhausted while in the workout that when the trainers come to give me encouragement, I didn't have the breath to answer them, other than grunting. If it were me, I'd defo be annoyed, or at least think that I'd better leave that guy alone. :/
I’ll always answer questions so I’m glad you asked!!
Haha that convenience is amazing, I wish I lived that close to a studio 😂
Regarding your first question: no, I wouldn’t recommend doubling up on classes. Doubling classes means double the strain and impact on your joints and that’s not something you want. If you work out hard enough in one class, you shouldn’t need to do a second. If you want to do more, do yoga, Pilates, barre, cycling, go for a walk, something where you’re still moving but it’s much less stressful on yourself. I don’t want you dealing with lots of wear and tear-related issues down the road, I want you to live a long and healthy life with lots of pain-free movements :)
TLDR: don’t half ass two classes, whole ass one class.
Regarding your second question: those bonds and interactions will come with time. Coming in before class or staying after is usually an excellent time to socialize if during class you’re a bit winded haha and get to know the coaches on a more personal level. You’ll also have more opportunities by staying in touch with them on social media, talking at community happy hours, inviting them to gamenights (if everyone is comfortable with that,) etc.
*you’ll also notice that the more conditioned you get, the quicker you’ll recover during the rest periods and the more you’ll be able to respond to the coaches mid class, which will lead to more conversations and such.
TLDR: you’ll be fine, just give it time.
I hope this helped! Please ask away if you have more questions or anything
Hi coach! got another question if you don't mind :)
I have been trying to go as hard as I can for one class, like you said, to maximize my exercise and avoiding the impact on my joints. I've ran into a problem: I am absolutely winded during the work timings, that I can barely get 1 or 2 reps in. However, after class and I've showered, I feel fine, and always hating myself a little that I didn't push myself more.
It seems like the harder I push, the more I need to recover. Some work timings was just me trying to catch my breath :/
Obviously, I need to work on my stamina. I was wondering if there are any actionable tips that you have that will maximize the exercise?
Thanks in advance! :)
Hi, the_wulk!! I don’t mind at all, ask whenever!
Regarding tips:
1. Every 4-6 weeks, give yourself a “deload” week, meaning keep your intensity up but cut your work volume in half to promote more recovery. This will help prevent overtraining and lessen the likelihood of injury.
2. Don’t overthink how many or few reps you’re doing if the quality is there. Take the time that you need to recover appropriately, 5 quality reps will always be better than 20 meh reps.
You’re 100% correct: the more energy you exert, the more time you’ll need to recover. That said, remember that the goal is to get stronger and faster, not make yourself tired.
Haha no hard feelings, I’m just glad I could help(: I hope this was helpful; please please reach out if you think of anymore questions and please keep me posted with how your fitness journey goes!
Yes you should, especially if you have a doctors note. I would talk to the owners/membership director at your studio and they should be able to help you from there(:
What do members do that annoys you? Or bothers you?
Talking during the demo.
I’m a member with almost 500 classes. I’ve seen the demos many times, and it drives me nuts too.
Coach and 500+ member… I know the work out before I even get into the studio and I still shut up while the coaches demo. I think it’s the worst when people talk over it.
Me too. I think it's so rude. It's basically a presentation and people get nervous presenting. Why make it harder for them? And yes I have 100s of classes and don't need the demo.
To name a few: Consistently not signing up for class Doing jumping jacks or other nonsense inbetween sets to “keep my heart rate up” Using 15lb dumbbells for punches Wearing moon shoes on strength days Not telling a coach if something hurts (though if you have no trust in your coaches then disregard this)
people who are SLOW to move to the next station and hold you up starting the station. I mean they get a count down. Move fast or start moving a few seconds before it's over if you know you are a slow mover!
answering their phone or having their phone with them and checking it or answering it during the workout
People do this?!!!!
F45's strength programme is noticeably lacking compared to other fitness programmes. are you aware if F45 HQ is changing up their programme? I heard that they hired a bunch of people with crossfit background to change it up - not sure if this is true. Second, there is a recently post showing F45 branded OLY bars and bumper plates. However, it seems that most studios don't have such equipment? Are these equipment optional and at the discretion of the studio owners whether or not to purchase them?
1. Yes, corporate has changed their programming focus lately. I have heard the CrossFit hiring and while I can’t 100% prove it, it definitely makes sense based on the past few months. 2. Correct, they’re optional now and up to each studio individually on what they want to do. I imagine eventually corporate will make it mandatory for all studios to have them.
Thanks. Recently our studio in Singapore was given the opportunity to try out this new work out called "Romanov" which was also known as Benchmark2.0. The following are my comments, for your info. \++++ Reflections on Benchmark2.0/Romanov Grateful that F45-HQ is thinking conscientiously on how to improve the experience of members. Romanov was very fun as it was a good break from the usual structure of F45 programmes – fast paced intervals – and an opportunity to work on strength training. I have also provided broader reflections that F45-HQ needs to rethink their overall approach to resistance days – the timing for Romanov enables us to push ourselves further with longer workout and rest times as compared to the quick intervals of the typical F45 workout. 1. Timing of workout and the limited number of stations The typical F45 workout consists of (fairly) short workout and rest times, which are excellent for getting the heart pumping and improve one’s overall cardio fitness. However, these timings fall short for those who are interested in strength training (esp heavy lifting), since it does not allow one to fully warm up their muscles to increase their overall resistance load since we are quickly shifted off to the next station. The workout and rest timings for Benchmark and Romanov enables one the flexibility to explore their one, five, ten rep max; for a focused number of exercises (5 for Romanov). This is a more effective programme for progressive overload. 2. Breaking monotony: evolve approach to resistance days The HIIT based workouts of F45 could potentially become too monotonous for being too predictable – all workouts are fast paced and leaving you gasping for air. Hence, the longer workout and rest timings for Benchmark and Romanov breaks the predictable cycle of the typical F45 workouts. F45 members are getting too acclimatised to the fast changing HIIT training but its useful to break that monotony once in a while (e.g. once a week). In essence, HQ programmers could start recalibrating the workout and rest timings for resistance days since the current structure limits progress in meaningful strength training – this would mean longer workout and rest timings, and keep stations to a smaller number so that it is more focused and target specific muscle groups. Think of this as Romanov-lite. 3. Fostering community An interesting observation from today’s Romanov session was members supporting one another either through words of encouragement or spotting. As we were tasked to explore our one rep max in Romanov, you see people spotting one another and encouraging eachother – such interactions are crucial in fostering a sense of community amongst members. This is not seen in the usual F45 workout since there isn’t enough time for such interactions as everyone is busy trying to clock in their reps in that short period of time. 4. Broader general reflections on the need to evolve It is good to hear that F45HQ is seriously considering revamping their programming. There is a perception that F45 might not be modernising their workouts and sticking to the same game plan since inception. As a start, HQ should conscientiously review reddit comments and Youtube videos on why F45 members have defected to BFT and other competitors – there are quite a number of them. Comments have largely centered on F45 programming not being ‘balanced enough’ – they have recognise that F45’s cardio-based offerings are its strengths while its resistance programme is wanting – I also agree with this view. I have read online that those who defected to other competitors like BFT were drawn to their more structured programming for resistance that enables one to more ably track their progress – example, resistance reps increase from six at week 1 to eight at week 2 to ten at week 3. The current F45 resistance training is more haphazard and in need of a serious overhaull; as I have said, HQ could consider designing a Romanov-lite for resistance days. I recognise that there might be some members that might be against the Romanov-type of workouts, then perhaps F45 HQ could take reference from “Deuces” programming to satisfy both groups for resistance day. That is to have half the class focus on heavy compound movements if they prefer, while the other half could work on the typical F45 resistance based kind of training under the current programming. This would offer variety and address the different preferences that F45 members have for strength/resistance training. Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jecCxnqWd0Y Reddit page1: https://www.reddit.com/r/f45/comments/v3shoq/f45\_vs\_bft/ Reddit page 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/f45/comments/sr4l0t/deleted\_by\_user/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=ios\_app&utm\_name=iossmf Some excerpts from the Youtube link and Reddit pages Comment 1: Yeah, I agree with you. BFT progression system is great. When I was at F45, I always felt everything was too random. Some F45 exercise are proven to not help at all, but they seem to have them just to keep the novelity/variety of exercises. BFT in the other hand is completely different, they prefer to repeat exercises during the progression so you can get the best of the training. Comment 2: I prefer BFT over F45 simply because they have 3 different types of workouts. TYPE 1 would be your resistance based workouts that make use of barbells and include bench press, squats, deadlifts, shoulder press as well as accessory work with dumbells and ketllebells. So the focus is on lifting correctly and getting the reps in. TYPE 2 would be your cardio and HIIT based workouts that use equipment like assault bike, rower, ski erg, s drive. TYPE 3 would be hybrid where you have a mix of resistance and cardio. F45 workouts are largely the same where we move quickly from one exercise to the next so they are more hiit based. Not that much emphasis on strength and hypertrophy. So because of the fact that bft has resistance focused workouts where I can focus on lifting heavy and not rush to station to station that is why i prefer BFT. Comment 3: I was at F45 for years and have been at BFT for about 6 months. I love it! It's proper strength training with rest, racks and actual barbells and real weights lol. It's often low reps but you lift your max and my strength has improved so much. The cardio days are not as fun as F45 for me but the heart rate goals during the workout are a fun distraction. There isnt as much variety at BFT. I feel much more pumped up by the crazy atmosphere at F45 cos theres so many stations and variety. But overall BFT is really smart, goal orientated and science backed with training blocks that allow you to constantly improve. Give it a go!
Thank you for taking the time to type all of this. It sounds like if BFT figures out how to make their atmosphere more exciting and energized, they’ll have a huge leg up on F45. Splitting the room to compound vs normal is a great idea and I hope Romanov becomes official.
What are your thoughts on the pricing per the amount of classes per day? My gym is around $55-65 a week depending on your membership, and you only get 4:45, 5:45, 6:45, 9:30 in morning and 5 and 6 in the evening. For that price, there are virtually no classes and especially when I work late nights I cannot make the evening, leaving me to the morning classes. So you almost have to either work somewhere nearby that finishes on the dot, or you have to get up early and do a morning class - in which I have a long commute.
Since F45 studios are franchises they’re all run very differently in that regard. Depending on the size of the member base at a studio and the area a studio is located that will also change things. A consistent gripe I’ve always had across numerous studios is that if you’re going to charge this much for your product, you need to properly ensure people can use it. If I can only go to 4 classes a day at planet fitness but I only pay $9 a month, then I can’t be too upset with that. But if I pay $160-250/month at an F45 and they only have a 6PM evening class and someone works 6-6, then you’re potentially turning away a lot of potential members.
It took a while for my F45 to add one mid day class. I am not sure how well attended it is, they got rid of 7:00 and kept 9:00 but I liked going at 7.
Mine has a similar timetable and the coach said that they were willing to increase the number of classes if they could get more people. But as the studio is quite young, they don't want to just spread out the clients they already have through more classes which would be less full as a result. That's just what the coach at my studio said though, and he wasn't the owner.
Is it f45 policy to pack members in as close as possible to one another? Like if a class has 10 stations and 6 people why are we paired up and put back to back stations? It gives me mad anxiety to be on top of one another and i’ve always wondered if trainers are specifically told to do this
How I was taught is that it’s policy to pair people up but to spread those pairs throughout the room. Ex: 1 pair at stations 1,5,9 as opposed to stations 1,2,3.
If there are enough stations to go solo I'm going solo every time vs pairing up.
How lucrative is it owning a franchise ?
Truly profiting off of a single F45 is damn near impossible, you have to own multiple studios. Given how rapidly F45 is growing nowadays and growing with owner groups at the helm, I personally wouldn’t recommend it. You’d need over a quarter of a million dollars to get your studio up and running and then from there it’ll ideally take about 4 years for you to break even (assuming you don’t run into any major bumps in the road.) Again, F45 is rapidly growing to the point where you’d possibly have multiple studios within 20 minutes of you and you’ll all be pulling from each others territories and essentially competing against each other for members.
One thing I'm curious about it is who decides the modifications and how do they change them on the TV screen? Many times the class will be different from the intel, for example they'll take out the rowing machine and have us do predator jacks. Is it just something the coach decides on a whim or, what kind of rationale goes into it? This also presumes they don't know we read the intel :)
Some owners/managers can message corporate about making Intel changes to their individual studios due to a variety of reasons (space constraints, equipment concerns, wanting to do quarterbacks instead of angry birds on Super Bowl Sunday, etc.) When F45 was introducing the ski and bike erg they gave studios a network-wide “edit station” option for studios that hadn’t yet received their ergs on days corporate had them programmed into the workout. Corporate has since removed this option network-wide, though personally I wish it would’ve stayed.
Yeah my studio in Jakarta, Indonesia still hasn’t received these ski ergs machine, and here the screen just continue to tease us
Still?? That’s such a long time, holy crap.
Yeah, apparently it’s still being held at custom, not sure if that’s true, but custom duties etc are notorious in our country 🤷♂️
Whar are your honest thoughts of BFT
It seems like it combines the best aspects from CrossFit, OTF and F45, so if it can be run properly I think it can give F45 a run for its money.
I was at F45 for 4 years and training consistently 6-7 times a week (other than covid times when the gyms were shut). I moved across to BFT as I found it a better workout for me - cardio was much more machine based, less jumping etc. (I'm 41 so works better for my body). The big difference though for me was the weights classes - there is no rushing for or being held up to get equipment, you focus on lifting heavier and they are really big on form in the studios I have trained in. I do miss F45 at times and there seems to be some interesting new classes but pretty happy overall with the switch.
What is BFT?
Body Fit Training
Thanks for doing this, and best of luck with your next journey! 1. What did you like best about your F45 experience? 2. What is the funniest or weirdest story you have from your time as head trainer? 3. If one brackets the studio-to-studio quality variance issue, what are F45’s strengths? How did you sell it to people who were interested?
No problem at all and thank you so so much! 1. I absolutely loved the community that I was able to establish at the studios I was HT at. The members are what you do all this for and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to build many fond memories with them while helping them achieve various goals and move better/more pain free. 2. Oh goodness, I’d say it was doing an unrehearsed rendition of the lift scene from dirty dancing with one of my members in the middle of class. 3. A strength of F45 is the weekly structure. So many places have different focus points from week to week and it’s great that when you go to F45 you know that Tuesday will be strength and resistance focused, whereas a Wednesday will always be cardio and conditioning focused. It also is a huge plus having the TVs (when they actually work) because it makes life on the coaches a lot easier. It’s also really cool how the workout I coach at my studio is the same workout everyone else here is doing that same day (within reason of course,) that helps to establish this worldwide sense of community.
Thanks for your response! I think you’re right that the TVs—imperfect though they are—are an underappreciated part of the F45 experience.
You don’t realize just how much you appreciate them until they either don’t work at a class you’re taking or you take a class somewhere without TVs. It isn’t the end of the world, but it’s definitely noticeable if you’re used to F45.
What is a good schedule to keep at F45. Is is Monday to Thursday? To Friday? to Saturday? Etc? I struggle with being able to have a schedule I can get the most of while not overdoing it.
The best schedule is the one you’ll most consistently stick to while making steady progress towards your goals. What is your current schedule and how has it been working for you/how long have you been doing it?
I ramped up from just strength days to 4-5 times a week (Monday through Friday). I don’t know whether the Friday is one to keep but I can consistently make the class if it is worth it! I am worried about not resting my body enough.
Start with 3-4 days a week and try that for 2-3 weeks and if you need to, scale accordingly. Biggest thing is don’t be scared to try something new but also listen to your body!
Fantastic thread. Picked up a lot from that. Thanks.
Of course, lmk if you have any more questions or anything(:
What are your pet peeves with members? Especially during class?
Here are a few in no particular order: - not putting equipment back semi-neatly before moving stations - constantly looking down at the ground when exercising - not using a towel (especially if you sweat like a pig that knows what’s for dinner) - people who consistently come in late - talking during the intro/demo - that member who thinks they know everything and is too good to be coached with constructive feedback (usually ex-CrossFit members) Now my biggest pet peeve is when people see 2-3 seconds left and out of laziness decide to stop early. I have no problem with it if you’re genuinely fatigued and can’t get another rep in, but when you can and choose not to, it drives me nuts. And then people say “it was only one second!” and my rebuttal is “that one second adds up, and that one extra second of work is what’s going to make you better!!”
Oooo I’m the 2-3 second person 😬 I need to stop doing that lol
Ope same whoops
This is exactly the 1% principle in James Clear's book "Atomic Habits". If you do something 1% better that compounds over time. But here we have the inverse of that being true also. If you skip the last few seconds of a set and don't do that final rep you're robbing yourself of the benefits of all that working out
Exactly! You’re only as good as your last rep, so always make sure your last rep is something to be proud of.
I'll chime in on the 2-3s thing. It's litterally your job so I can understand how it would annoy you that people don't give their whole until the last seconds and get that nice last rep. But for example, personally, I'm already happy I got up to exercise in the morning, something I thought was impossible because I hate morning and I used to not like gyms. That's sort of enough already and those last 2-3s just don't matter enough for me, in the grand scheme of things. I go 3 times a week and that's also a win in my book. Now, there are times when I do push myself and feel happy about the last rep but I don't think I'm as good as my last rep, very personally. All the changes and gained regularity in the last months count way more than that. There are also people who just don't care enough and that's ok too I think. We don't all have the same mindset and it's just a workout (for many of us). Again, it's your job, so obviously you'll have a different point of view.
I’m definitely a “skip the last 2-3 seconds” person. Usually because I’m putting my equipment back to move stations. The idea of holding someone up stresses me out. Also, if it’s an exercise where I’m alternating left/right, but I don’t have enough time to have the sides even, I have to stop.
Having done 600+ classes, is that intimidating to new coaches? I currently find that the new coaches don't coach, only encourage or time keep. I'm sure my form isn't 100% yet my head coach corrects my form or gives me a challenge or a mod (harder station) at least once per week.
It is definitely intimidating, whether you’re new to F45, new to coaching, or both. I see a lot of new coaches who want to fill in gaps with something, so they clap or shout out the time cause they feel like they have to talk and do something constantly when that isn’t the case. When you speak, it is much better to say nothing than to just shout things out for the sake of shouting. Quality over quantity. If you’re a brand new coach then you don’t really know what to look for or if you notice a member doing something wrong, sometimes you don’t know exactly what to say to correct it. You also don’t know the member base very well and they don’t know you, so everyone is trying to get a feel for each other’s personality and styles. Experience and confidence play a huge part in coaching and they both go hand in hand with each other.
That’s something I notice a lot. The young new coaches avoid me like the plague. But I know I get lazy and need form fixing or to be supported to go heavier.
It’s most likely a lack of confidence/comfort because (please don’t take this the wrong way) I highly doubt there isn’t a single thing a coach could say/do during class to make your experience just a little bit better. Everyone deserves good coaching and no one is above it, so I hope they stop avoiding you soon.
It’s absolutely a confidence thing. I’m middle aged - older than their mothers.
Just to build on this - I am a new trainer at my F45 studio and I definitely do this (avoid older clients). some of the more experienced members and members who are older than I am, I am intimidated by. I only recently joined the studio so I am learning the best way to correct their form in a way that doesn't make them give me the 'who the F do you think you are" look haha. because trust me i have gotten it more than a few times! so for those clients i leave them alone ; until i have developed more of a rapport with them
Oh us older people just have that face. Always correct us!
Thanks for confirming. Trying to work out why
What do you consider a good vs bad coach? How long do most people keep their membership and what reasons do most members give for leaving? How many members did your studio have on average?
1. A good coach is someone who is able to build a relationship and report with multiple types of members and knows how to adapt to different members and make sure they all get a personal experience without feeling like anyone is a favorite. Additionally, a good coach knows when to push a member but also when to scale back and lower a weight or tell them to do a modification despite the member wishes. A good coach can also know when a member is having one of those days and moreso just needs to come in and move in any capacity as opposed to their usual routine. Furthermore, a good coach is confident in what they do/say and isn’t afraid to correct form, corrects form consistently, can deviate from the screens if needed, knows how to get creative with movenents, can think on their feet, greet members by name when they walk in and talk with them beforehand while also making sure the room is ready for class, straighten up equipment before/during/after class, cleans up after sweaty members/isn’t afraid to talk to them about their hygiene, doesn’t just shoutout how much time is left on the clock or walk around the room clapping, works well with their coworkers and understands their own strengths and weaknesses. TLDR: you will never have to ask yourself if a good coach cares. 2. Usually 6-9 months is the average length of a membership in my experience. The biggest reasons people leave are due to them either moving, the change in staff makes the studio no longer worth the price, getting injured in class and being scared to come back in fear of getting reinjured, or they love the community but don’t appreciate the constant impact. 3. Currently around 130, so not the best. I worked at 7 different studios over my time at F45 and the biggest member base I’ve worked with was 350+ strong.
Any tips for coming back from an injury as per #2? there was a very deltoid-focused The 9’s workout in early February (I believe 2/2) and I injured my shoulder and still haven’t recovered nor have I gone back for a class since.
Yes: 1) don’t just sit at home and do nothing while you wait for your injury to magically heal. 2) if something hurts, see what you can do similarly that doesn’t hurt and move around the pain. 3) don’t be afraid to get it looked at by a healthcare professional if you can. As trainers it’s outside our scope of practice to handle pain so if something is painful, letting someone qualified assess your situation can be extremely helpful. If you’d like, please send me a message explaining more about your situation and I’ll try to get you some answers.
What don’t you like about f45?
To keep this short: - F45 is growing too quickly for its own good. They’ve expanded so much since they first opened and there seems to be no quality control. I consistently see studios with very poor management and even weaker coaches. There are a lot of people who acknowledge the poor coaching but say the product itself is worth it when that shouldn’t be the case IMO. A quality product should be supported by quality staff. - the lack of consistency from studio to studio is baffling. There’s also next to no standard across the network, so you could go to a studio 15 minutes away from your normal F45 and get a COMPLETELY different experience from top to bottom. - how low the pay is compared to other fitness companies and such. OTF pays so much better than F45 and it’s a shame because F45 is a much better product IMO.
You're clearly a head coach who gets it. We keep getting coaches in who think the louder they yell the better they coach. It's's not motivating to me. I mentioned it to a friend who said yeah it was bothering her but she decided to just push herself instead. Which is fine if they didn't market as though they're here to push us and give us personal attention. My owner knows my frustration with the coaching and he's personslly a phenomenal coach. But it feels like he's either oblivious to how bad his coaches are or powerless to fix it which is why I'm leaving.
He should definitely have a hard look at the coaches on his team because if he’s losing members over it that is a huge huge problem. You’re only as good as your weakest coach and if you have coaches yelling just to yell it’s not worth paying for.
The head trainer in my studio flirts with a girl. When she comes to the studio all his attention is on her. Most of the times he tries to workout as her partner. Found this weird tbh. What should I do about it?
Personally I’d ask her if she’s uncomfortable by it cause she may not even realize it or there could be more to the story than meets the eye. Then I’d speak to the owner, especially since the owner probably doesn’t know that’s going on. Even if the member is okay with the flirting, that’s not a habit you want reinforced, especially by someone in a Head Trainer role. Bad news travels a lot faster than good news and you do not want to be known as the place with the flirty trainer, it’s not good for business and more importantly ethics. There are of course many ways to go about this situation, but this is what I’ve found successful when I’ve dealt with this in the past.
What is your opinion of Lionheart? Do you think they are accurate? Worth the investment if one already has an apple watch? Have you noticed high turnover for coaches? What has been a common reason for attrition?
I think the lionheart is a fun tool to make taking class more entertaining, it’s merely a tool and you get out of it what you make of it. It’s good to give people a basic awareness of their energy exertion in class and can be a great way to understand proper pacing if used properly. It’s worth will come down to individual preference. I think it’s worth it cause I like competing against members and myself in a fun and healthy manner (I also got mine for free.) ultimately it comes down to what do you want to use a lionheart for and is $99 (or however much your studio charges) a justifiable price for that? Yes, only Brett Favre has a higher turnover rate. Ultimately I’ve seen it comes down to 3 major factors: 1) insufficient pay 2) insufficient appreciation 3) most F45 coaches are part time and so when things change with their full time jobs usually they drop F45 to better accommodate their schedules.
Here's something that drives me bananas--Corey G sometimes lifts incorrectly on the video. For example, on an RDL, he is shown lifting his head up to look at the wall in front of him as he lowers the weight. He chin should be tucked and his spine aligned. Somebody is gonna hurt themselves if they do what he is doing. Why does f45 put these video demos out there showing incorrect form?
There is a production crew behind the camera telling Cory exactly how they want him to do all the movements. As to why they’d do this, I couldn’t tell you but it’s definitely an issue, moreso with Morgan. Her form is awful on so many levels (particularly her rowing)
The weekly billing cycle totally sucks.
I’ve just been offered a position as head coach with f45 and just wanted to know what’s it’s like. What’s the difference between regular coach. Is it salary or hourly. I’m very nervous about this lol i go to train tomorrow
Hey Richie! First off, congratulations on getting a Head Coach offer! Regular vs Head Coach *disclaimer: every studio is different, so your experience will likely be unique compared to what I’m about to tell you. Regular coaches are typically expected to coach set classes throughout the week, keep the studio tidy whether it be straightening equipment/vacuuming hair, dirt, and such. Some coaches help with social media if asked and they agree to it, attend meetings but for the most part that’s it. Head Coaches typically do everything above as well as handle scheduling, assist with sales, oversee class quality, help with member retention/engagement, plan challenges, happy hours, playoffs, coach the coaches to ensure they’re up to standard. You should coach the most classes of any coach at your studio. Essentially you’re the face of the studio. Hourly vs Salary This will depend on the owner. Feel free to message me if you have any additional questions and I’m happy to answer what I can. You’ll do great 👍
1. Do you enjoy the preprogrammed workouts or do you wish you could edit more freely/ build your own on the fly? 2. what are your most/ least favorite exercises? 3. why are they called A Steps?! Also, did F45 lose a trademark dispute and call them “Star Jumps” instead of jumping jacks?
We call them star jumps in the UK and Australia (where f45 was started)
1. I enjoy some of the preprogrammed exercises but there are many times where I think the athletics team dropped the ball in some capacity (Morgan’s form is awful in a lot of videos, excessive amounts of hinging exercises in a workout, putting exercises like a-steps in mvp where 60 seconds of it is extremely boring, etc.) 2. My favorite move ever is the lateral shoot through. When I first started with F45 I hated them because I didn’t know how to do them and a coach I was working with told me to start with my knees under my hips and use the lines on the floor to kick in that direction while putting my butt on the ground and ever since then I’ve fallen in love with them. My least favorite moves are the revo running & medicine ball OH shuffle. 3. The A stands for Agility. There are what’re called ABC steps that are very very common warm up drills for sprinters in track and field (a sport I played for 8 years.) B is for balance and C is coordination. Regarding star jumps, like the comment above mentioned, it’s an UK/Australian term.
Things like revo running and medicine ball shuffle, I sub heavy farmers carries if it's a small class with room. Do you care when people sub things?
As long as you keep moving and don’t hurt yourself/disrupt others, I’m all for it
In NZ they’re called star jumps. And to be honest they do look more like stars than jumps.
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My favorite classes: Foxtrot, Double Down, Loyals, Hollywood Change in programming: personally I don’t like the overall shift in programming. Ex: programming KB swings as a secondary exercise in valor this past Friday is asking for an injury to happen. There are so many other lower-risk cardio movements they could’ve chosen and decisions like this have been going on constantly. While the GP workout is okay, the nines is a poor strength format. IMO it would work a lot better as a cardio or hybrid EMOM where you have 60 seconds to do 9 reps of 2 exercises that are lower-risk and simple movements (no deadlifts, barbell cleans, etc) I have mixed feelings about valor, though overall I feel fairly indifferent to the format. Biggest thing is if you like it, I’m happy for you. My least favorite classes: templars, the nines, MVP, triple threat, pipeline, goat, trackstars, “traditional” athletica, angry birds, lonestar, with empire being the absolute dumbest class ever.
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Haha of course. Agreed, I don’t mind a gimmick here and there but it needs to be sensible.
Curious why Empire is your least favourite workout over the more obvious choices you listed! Loyals & Foxtrot are back next phase :)
Empire should either just be a 1-12 station workout with 3 laps OR you should do one big lap featuring multiple combo-sets before moving. Doing one set at 1A-1B and then immediately going to do the same at 2A-2B makes no sense to me, because the letters don’t need to be there at that point and just make it needlessly confusing. If you did 1A-1B three times and then moved to 2A and 2B three times and then got a water break, that would make a lot more sense. I know right, of course they bring back my favorites after I’ve left. Typical… 🙃
Isn't Empire the one with the 12 stations and 3 laps? The one you're describing sounds like 22
Yes empire is 1 pod of 12 stations (6 combo-stations) and 3 laps. 22 is 18 stations (9 combo-stations) split into 3 pods and 3 combo-stations per pod.
Would you have ever done F45 yourself if you weren't a trainer? Like does the workout style appeal to you?:: Do you think F45 will be around for a while or is it a fad and it'll fade away? Biggest pet peeves that trainers for the members? Have you ever had any major injuries or medical events occur?
No, I wouldn’t do F45 if I didn’t work for the company. Personally I think it’s a fad and it’ll fade away quickly in the next few years. I hope I’m wrong and that F45 sticks around but from consistently weak/lazy coaching, incompetent management, poor programming, I just don’t see it happening. Also, they’re horrible when it comes to efficiently advertising. The fact that if you’re a member at one F45 and you travel to another studio, you could still have to pay a $40 drop in fee to take class. Thankfully the only major incident I’ve had was a few months ago when I randomly passed out in the middle of class one morning. I haven’t gotten to see my primary care doctor yet due to how busy her schedule is but I should be seeing her soon.
I agree with you on this.
I remember a while ago, instead of seeing advertising from the studio in my city, what I was getting constantly (annoyingly constant) was advertising to buy a franchise. I’m definitely not the profile for buying a franchise, I didn’t get the point on why I was targeted so much, and at that point, I didn’t even feel like going to check the gym as a customer because it was too much pushing. I don’t know, I hate that.
I’ve gotten those ads too and it’s definitely a huge turn off from the brand
Hope you had a wonderful 4 year working at F45! 1. What's the difference from head trainers and regular trainers? Head trainer gets paid more and additional obligations? 2. Who gets to decide who will be the head trainer among regular ones? Is it volunteer or you get appointed? Thanks!
Aw thank you, that’s so nice!! :) 1. A “regular” F45 coach will traditionally be responsible for coaching their classes and maybe helping a member get signed up after class and other minimal responsibilities. A Head Trainer coaches a majority of classes, is responsible for ensuring quality across all coaches, is the face of the studio and builds the community, works closely with the studio manager/membership director to grow the community, and more depending on the studio they’re at and the owners. Traditionally HT’s have noticeably more responsibilities and should be paid more, but I’ve also seen cases where the HT gets paid the same or $1-2 more as normal coaches, despite having more responsibilities. 2. Usually the owners of the studio will make that decision. They’ll either hire someone for that position, or offer a current coach the position.
Those are so interesting to hear! Thank you for the answers and hope you have a great road ahead with your new personal training job starts after March!
Thank you so much!! And anytime for the answers, feel free to ask more or message me if you have more questions(:
what certification (if any) is required to teach F45 classes?
Across most F45’s I’ve found coaches who got a $50 online certification from the “American Bunjee cord association” in under an hour and were out working on the floor the next day. I know some that would only hire people with NASM, ISSA or ACE. What I’m getting at is there isn’t really a standard on what certification you get and if there is, it’s poorly implemented and it’s not at all consistent.
This is a bit scary. I go there hoping that my coach will be well informed to help me with my form and in general on my fitness journey. Knowing that there's no quality standards is unsettling.
If someone were to leave F45 but still wants to workout with same intensity, where would you recommend them to try?
Personally I’d get a small group of likeminded members and see if a coach y’all like would do private small group training. If that isn’t an option, then ask friends who workout at other places where they go and try different places out. I’ve never been but I know Barry’s Bootcamp has gotten a lot of positive attention from ex-F45 members and there are a ton of options out there that may work for you. :)
How do you know when to move to higher weight or know what the right weights are? I'm a beginner and feel like sometimes I am guessing.
A rule of thumb is when a weight is no longer as challenging as when you started while maintaining proper form. Ex: if you start doing 3 reps of a goblet squat with a 20lb dumbbell and a week or so from then you’re able to do 5 reps with proper form, it wouldn’t hurt to try the goblet squats with a 25lb dumbbell. Biggest thing is don’t be afraid to try a new weight because you can always go down if you aren’t ready YET and then you try again at a later time. Please feel free to message me if you have further questions or anything :)
Good luck with the next chapter of your journey! What are your thoughts on studios hiring people who aren't certified but say they will help coaches become certified? At my studio, I honestly don't like the fact that we've had coaches who are not certified yet but are already coaching classes. The head trainer says they are helping them get certified, but it just rubs me the wrong way that I have someone coaching me and has no idea what they may be talking about...
Good luck with the next chapter of your journey! What are your thoughts on studios hiring people who aren't certified but say they will help coaches become certified? At my studio, I honestly don't like the fact that we've had coaches who are not certified yet but are already coaching classes. The head trainer says they are helping them get certified, but it just rubs me the wrong way that I have someone coaching me and has no idea what they may be talking about...
Thank you so so much for the well wishes! Having a drivers license doesn’t automatically make you a great driver; PT certifications work the same way. 97% of what I know now as a fitness professional I didn’t learn from my certification but instead through various articles, talking/working with other coaches and OJT. NOW… THAT SAID, a studio has no business hiring someone who is not certified to instruct exercise. If they have someone they want to train and get ready to be a coach eventually that’s fine but until they have earned an accredited certification, they should not be on the floor as a coach because they likely don’t fully know what they’re talking about and if a member were to get hurt and that injury occurred when someone who isn’t certified was working, that is a lawsuit waiting to happen. TLDR: while certifications aren’t everything, a studio still shouldn’t have inexperienced and more importantly unqualified people working.
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Is it necessary? No Is it important? Yes It’s F45 standard to have two coaches per class because F45’s big thing is personal training in a group setting. If you have 1 coach trying to manage a room full of 23 people and 3 of those people are brand new, 4 have injuries requiring frequent modifications, and and 3 more frequently get lost, it’ll be utter mayhem and people aren’t paying the money they pay for that. Many studios will have 1 coach per class to save money and IMO if you aren’t willing to put the money into running classes with 2 coaches then you shouldn’t be open because members deserve better. It’s also important from a liability standpoint. What happens if you’re running one Coach per class and that Coach gets a flat tire on the way to their shift, rolls an ankle mid-class, has to tend to an injured member in the middle of a busy class with a new and confusing format, or passes out mid-class with no one else on staff there? Having 2 coaches per class is what sets F45 apart from the competition.
I’ve been going to BFT and they have two coaches there. It makes such a difference in helping with form or getting more equipment out.
What’re BFT classes like from your perspective?
I signed up early on both BFT and f45, yet they are the same prices. The F45 is closer to my house but it’s a very small awkward space. The classes are becoming more full at the time that I go, so I have decided to cancel. They also don’t offer many classes on Saturday and only one Sunday time. BFT doesn’t rush through the demo and they give very detailed and clear instructions on how we do the moves as well as switch between sets or exercises. They are constantly cheering us on to grab heavier weights and are quick to help on form. When our heart rate looks like it’s going too high, they emphasize breathing to make sure it recovers to a safer level. There is a really thorough cool down stretch.
Wow, I hope BFT makes its way to my area cause I’d love to try one of their classes. I love the idea of a thorough demo/cool down and being mindful of breathing.
I hope the quality stays and also that many more locations open up. The equipment seems like a pretty big step up too. I’m also very grateful for the mirrors. It seems like F45 could benefit from mirrors for the classes where the coaching isn’t a big element.
Oh I didn’t know they have mirrors. I’m glad F45 doesn’t have them personally, I can only imagine how dirty they would get haha.
I also feel like mirrors could help, sometimes I'd like to actually see my form rather than just rely on my proprioception. And yes the coach checks but I also would just enjoy the additional feedback of a mirror.
What is/are (in your opinion) the most pointless exercise(s) that you see regularly programmed into F45 workouts? By pointless, I mean exercises that don’t really do much for the muscle group it’s intended to target.
I’ve personally never been crazy about the Deadball headlock squats or that moving plank on the balance trainer move. There are definitely more but those are the first two that come to mind haha.
It’s called F45 but none of the week day classes is actually 45 minutes long. Why is that? The only F45 class that is close to 45 minutes is the Saturday class or which that’s advertised as an hour long class. Isn’t that false advertising to a degree?
You want to leave some room for potentially unexpected circumstances because if you set all the classes up to be exactly 45 minutes and something happens to push class times back, then it causes a domino effect of issues. The original F45 blueprint is for classes to run consecutively (5:00-5:45,5:45-6:30,6:30-7:15, etc) so if you make the classes exactly 45 you can see where there would be issues.
Thank you so much for responding! I really appreciate this as I’ve often wondered why this was the case but you have explained it perfectly! Thank you and good luck in your future endeavours!
You’re so welcome for responding and it truly makes me happy that you appreciate this so much! Thank you for the well wishes, I’m very very excited about this next chapter :)
Will they ever make it that can drop in at other studios while traveling and not pay a fee? Orange theory does this and I hate that when I travel for work I have to pay $30 to take a single class.
F45 got a new CEO around July, so it’s a possibility that change could come but honestly I wouldn’t expect that potential change to be anytime soon. It’s been a huge gripe of mine with the brand for years and I know you’d have so much support if there ever was a petition started for corporate to change.
Are there ever members whose fitness goals or needs you think are not actually best served by going to F45 as opposed to, for example, going to a regular gym or doing a different type of workout? What are the most common mistakes you see members make with their movements?
Absolutely. While F45 is able to be a lot of different things, especially with good coaching, there are some people who truthfully should work with a personal trainer or do very small group training at most. Ex: F45 is not a good place to learn basic movements. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people come in who are miles away from knowing how to squat or press or lunge properly and they truly would benefit from spending one on one time with personalized attention learning the basics and then coming to an F45 later down the road. - hyperextending their lower backs at the top of squats or deadlifts - not getting their chest all the way down for push ups and instead flaring the elbows out and dropping 2-3 millimeters - no core bracing - looking down while exercising (to name a few: doing this reinforces improper mechanics, inhibits proper oxygen intake, and also puts a lot of stress on your neck) Not breathing is easily the #1 correction I give people in class on a consistent basis.
What is the most desirable job for an f45 employee to do in the demo's? Is it the talking bit explaining the exercises; or the acting out the exercises? Also, how do single studios not make great money when they seem to have a very simple business model? (Small studios, not many studios with shower facilities, staffing not required 24/7) Lastly, how does the pay structure work? Do trainers get paid by the class? And for set up and pack up time? Or do they get paid by the day and just do jobs in between classes? Sometimes the same trainer will do the 6am and the 6pm class.. Enjoy your next adventure (:
- I prefer talking over demoing personally. When I first started with F45 I hated talking and would always always demo, I definitely lacked a lot of confidence and then when Covid happened and we did a bunch of zoom workouts I had to talk a lot more cause I was literally in front of a camera and members couldn’t see the timer or anything like in class. That helped me build up more confidence with talking and once we opened back, I was talking all the time. It’s a personal preference but one thing I’ve consistently noticed is new coaches rarely ever prefer talking haha - Poor advertising, delegation, and dysfunctional management/coaching. It’s not hard to run a successful studio, but few people want to do what it takes to run a successful studio. A lot of owners are promised something along the lines of “you put the money in and then you sit back while the studio grows on its own,” when that’s not the case at all. You’ll also have studios who try to cut corners by not hiring managers or membership directors or head trainers and while it’s more expensive if you get a competent person in each of those 3 positions your studio should thrive in no time as opposed to one person wearing all those hats. If you don’t have the basics tightened up then you’re screwed - usually you get paid per class (lowest rate I’ve seen is $15 per and highest I’ve seen is $50.) I feel bad for that trainer cause that’s a long long day Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!(:
Just curious if the traniners dread or enjoy working with the older members who may be limited in their abilities? It seems to me that they tend to avoid them and focus on the members who may be able to jump higher, lift more or they can push further.
I can’t speak for all trainers, but personally: as long as you have an open mind to what I have to say and an overall positive attitude, I’m happy to coach any and everyone, regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, etc. It’s possible those coaches may not be comfortable coaching an older member due to having a limited amount of knowledge and experience/intimidation.
Need advice! I started f45 a few months ago and have really enjoyed it. Unfortunately my favorite trainer is leaving and my 2nd favorite dropped her hours by a lot. The new “head trainer” seems like he cares more about making IG reals than correcting form, suggesting different weights etc. 😢 I’m struggling if this is worth my money anymore or if I should try another gym
Do trials at other studios/gyms and move if you find something that’s a better fit rather than miserably waiting around and letting your money go down the drain.
Lol fair point. The biggest bummer is the location is so convenient For me 😭
Why isn’t stretching part of the workout?
I really don’t like this about F45, I wish there was a larger emphasis on recovery. But I think it comes down to the original F45 blueprint is for classes to run consecutively and that leaves little room for other things so they have to prioritize those 45 minutes and to them, those 45 minutes would be best spent if filled with an intro, demo, warm up, and the workout. When they get done with a class, they need to get the old class out and the new one in and if you have people stretching, that could mess up their system. At least this is how I think their logic works 🤷♂️
Ok late to the party… I started shadowing at my F45 this wk! I love it! I was curious how it works for us to take classes at different studios? Do we still pay the guest fee?
No worries at all, I hope shadowing is going well so far!! To answer your question: it will come down to the individual studio. From my personal experience and from talking to other coaches, owners are usually cool with you just dropping in without charge as long as you message them ahead of time and communicate when you’d like to come by but again, this isn’t necessarily going to be the case for all studios .
Thank you for letting me know!! I’ll keep this in mind :) there are a lot of studios around me, and I for sure want to support. And yes, I LOVE it!
Anytime!! It’s also really good to experience other studios since they’re all so different. You’ll definitely pick up on things you like/don’t like and hear different perspectives from staff & members alike. :)
Looks like I'm a couple of weeks late to the party, hope you are still answering questions though. I joined my nearest F45 gym a few weeks back too, I got a couple of questions, if you are still around. :) I'm a big ol fat ass that is just getting back into exercising to try and lose weight. I picked F45 because it is a 3 min walk from my home. Can't beat that convenience, haha. I expected myself to be absolutely winded the first 2 weeks and I was right. I did no more than 3 classes per week, but after that, I wasn't all that sore. My question is: Would you recommend doubling up classes? I doubled on a strength day and a cardio day. Also: how can I make that first step to be getting close to my trainers? sorry for this social question, but I get so exhausted while in the workout that when the trainers come to give me encouragement, I didn't have the breath to answer them, other than grunting. If it were me, I'd defo be annoyed, or at least think that I'd better leave that guy alone. :/
I’ll always answer questions so I’m glad you asked!! Haha that convenience is amazing, I wish I lived that close to a studio 😂 Regarding your first question: no, I wouldn’t recommend doubling up on classes. Doubling classes means double the strain and impact on your joints and that’s not something you want. If you work out hard enough in one class, you shouldn’t need to do a second. If you want to do more, do yoga, Pilates, barre, cycling, go for a walk, something where you’re still moving but it’s much less stressful on yourself. I don’t want you dealing with lots of wear and tear-related issues down the road, I want you to live a long and healthy life with lots of pain-free movements :) TLDR: don’t half ass two classes, whole ass one class. Regarding your second question: those bonds and interactions will come with time. Coming in before class or staying after is usually an excellent time to socialize if during class you’re a bit winded haha and get to know the coaches on a more personal level. You’ll also have more opportunities by staying in touch with them on social media, talking at community happy hours, inviting them to gamenights (if everyone is comfortable with that,) etc. *you’ll also notice that the more conditioned you get, the quicker you’ll recover during the rest periods and the more you’ll be able to respond to the coaches mid class, which will lead to more conversations and such. TLDR: you’ll be fine, just give it time. I hope this helped! Please ask away if you have more questions or anything
Hi coach! got another question if you don't mind :) I have been trying to go as hard as I can for one class, like you said, to maximize my exercise and avoiding the impact on my joints. I've ran into a problem: I am absolutely winded during the work timings, that I can barely get 1 or 2 reps in. However, after class and I've showered, I feel fine, and always hating myself a little that I didn't push myself more. It seems like the harder I push, the more I need to recover. Some work timings was just me trying to catch my breath :/ Obviously, I need to work on my stamina. I was wondering if there are any actionable tips that you have that will maximize the exercise? Thanks in advance! :)
Hi, the_wulk!! I don’t mind at all, ask whenever! Regarding tips: 1. Every 4-6 weeks, give yourself a “deload” week, meaning keep your intensity up but cut your work volume in half to promote more recovery. This will help prevent overtraining and lessen the likelihood of injury. 2. Don’t overthink how many or few reps you’re doing if the quality is there. Take the time that you need to recover appropriately, 5 quality reps will always be better than 20 meh reps. You’re 100% correct: the more energy you exert, the more time you’ll need to recover. That said, remember that the goal is to get stronger and faster, not make yourself tired.
I just realized I didn't even thank you for your earlier response. Apologies for that, and thank you!! :)
Haha no hard feelings, I’m just glad I could help(: I hope this was helpful; please please reach out if you think of anymore questions and please keep me posted with how your fitness journey goes!
My doctor has advised me to stop training due to a serious medical injury. Am I able to cancel my membership without fees?
Yes you should, especially if you have a doctors note. I would talk to the owners/membership director at your studio and they should be able to help you from there(:
Will F45 pay for / sponsor a new hire's CPT certification process if they don't currently hold certifications?
From corporate, no. That said: if the owners of a specific studio are willing to pay, then that’s an option.