Equinox reviews

-cheap on compensation for trainers considering all the extra education you go through -South beach location is extremely small however I am aware other locations are much larger. -I personally do not feel the gym equipment is high end enough for what they're charging. ($140/month) Yes they do carry SOME technogym equipment, but the other lifetime fitness equipment looks out of date, especially when their geographic competition is David Barton who has personal TV's on every single piece of cardio equipment and top of the line brand new machines and free weights. Not to mention David Barton and all other competitors in the general vicinity is probably double if not larger in size. Again this is a review for the South Beach, FL location. -Group classes could use some improvements; none I have personally seen are overly exciting or interesting. Management even mentioned how their group classes aren’t really “big” there. How they do not really have regulars who attend the classes. I feel personally they should make it “big” there considering how much the clients pay for a membership. Stick all of your personal trainers in as group instructors and help them get more clients! -the cotton t-shirts for the uniforms are not flattering at all I think they need to remember the fitness industry is very physical appearance driven. -95% of the trainers in South Beach are in relatively good shape, however, ALL Equinox employees from EVERY location are a representation of their company and brand. You meet many of the other trainers from different locations when attending your EFTI or continuing education courses. I did not see one single female trainer in shape, and worse they were all overweight. Many of the male and female trainers looked unkempt and not put together. Again we work in an industry where physical appearance is important. Not everyone can be Brad Pitt or Heidi Klum however I still feel having a clean, neat look and more importantly being in relatively decent shape is a necessity! I am appalled these trainers were hired, no matter how knowledgeable they are. Had I been working for the Coral Gables or Aventura location I wouldn’t have been proud of the company I worked for or of my coworkers. - Several employees informed me the first 6 months you would only be making anywhere from $200-$500 per month. Unless you have a significant other supporting you or you have your mommy and daddy sending you money it is impossible to make a living to support yourself. You HAVE to get a second job. Management discourages everyone from obtaining a second job because of the time commitment and studying that is necessary to work at Equinox. This is a ridiculous expectation; management has to be delusional if they truly believe people are going to be able to survive on Equinox alone until they’re established. I was genuinely saddened by other employees who had been there for more than 6 months and still had only a few clients, especially when I see them working hard and hustling every single day. The trainer to clientele ratio, in my opinion, is just too high and management is setting them up for failure. (more on this in next section) I feel like the trainers there are settling and chasing a dream that may take years, if ever to accomplish. There are other personal training jobs out there, I promise! Do not settle! -I could continue but my review is long enough as it is. In summary Equinox has potential to be a wonderful place, but they’re just too structured and rigid with the way they do things the chances of the company ever changing are slim to none.

Some of the same issues as are present anywhere, to varying degrees of severity: 1) To be successful/viewed as 'good' you will need to be busy, and willing to accept additional responsibilities (without compensation) because 'there are just some things you have to do if you want to go further' (aka. you'll do this for free if you want to progress). While this is true almost anywhere, when it's put in blunt terms it fuels the following problem... 2) Expendability - following from the last point, if you won't shoulder the extra someone else will and you'll fast find any and all leads, opportunities and little perks disappearing from your orbit (this is something I mainly observed, but once I needed some time (after 3 years of 60+ hour weeks and working through my holidays) to deal with personal things it was made very clear that I wasn't a 'team player' and it was disappointing to them. This level of push does lead to considerable burnout rates, but with a revolving door of new hires in/unsuccessful trainers out it becomes uninspiring and morale crushing. 3) If you're good at balancing your finances great! If you're less than that, I strongly advise sitting down with another coach to set up a system that allows you to create a buffer - summer & other holidays can be lean times and mean the need to front and back load your clients to ensure stability in your financial life. 4) If you have your own idea about how to train, how to evaluate (e.g. that you don't like doing a functional movement screen/programming so you don't do it you'll have a deeply unpleasant time. They have their systems so 1000's of trainers can seamlessly change places and clients can train anywhere and everyone understands everyone else - that simply doesn't work if you're an island unto yourself and they will remind you of that. All the above said, the experience, opportunities, pros and cons are obvious, they're very transparent about what is expected of you to progress and for those who can commit their every waking hour to it you'll excel; if you expect however to coast or have a freelance client base on the side you'll struggle to keep pace and progress as you desire.