The Skinny Foodie's Blog

If I Were Managing FTX…

If I Were Managing FTX…

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by

541096pwpadmin

I would:

1. Endorse each client to a trainer. It would make such a difference if the receptionist would take a few seconds out of her busy texting schedule to pop her head into the gym and call out to one of the guys, “X, please take care of Ms. Y. Ms. Y, X will be your trainer today.”

2. Instruct the trainers that if they see any client on their own, to approach them, ask if they’ve already been attended to and offer their services. A much better approach than, say, just lounging around and ignoring the clients.

3. And, to wean the clients off their dependence on the trainers, some printed, laminated cards would help. I suggest 10 cards per workout, with the warm-up and cool-down printed on the other side. Each workout card should contain the following information:

  • The name of the circuit,
  • Recommended number of sets,
  • The exercises and number of reps per exercise.

For example:

Gladiator’s Zone

Recommended no. of sets: 2 to 3

4. Have some cubby holes built for the laminated cards so that clients can easily pick out what they need.

It really doesn’t take much to be more efficient.

My experience at FTX is always the same.

At the counter, I’ll ask the receptionist if there’s a trainer that can attend to me. She’ll say yes and give me a locker key. So I’ll go and stuff my things into the locker, come back out, and wait around for a trainer. When no one approaches, I’ll try to catch the eye of one of the trainers in the gym. They’ll give me blank stares but won’t even acknowledge my presence.

In the meantime, there are guys sitting and standing around who also seem to work there but are maybe off-duty or are supposed to do anything but help a client. One of them might be the owner or manager, I’m not sure, but he stands behind the counter sometimes and I’ve seen him assisting a client in the gym. The others are maybe boxing coaches or personal trainers, but I’ve also seen them assisting clients around the gym. None of them have ever offered to help.

Anyway, so I’ll go into the gym and warm-up a little, still hopeful that someone will soon approach. Of course nobody does, so I’ll go up to one of the trainers who is busy with a client (at least I’m sure he’s supposed to be working) and ask him if he could tell me what I’m supposed to do.

That’s what I hate the most. Not knowing what I’m supposed to do. And, of course, taking the trainer away from a client he’s already working with is rude and they shouldn’t be putting me in that position. It’s pretty infuriating.

And this is why I cannot recommend FTX. Especially to those who are new at working out. Because their service sucks. I don’t know if gym owners and managers are aware of this but people joining a gym for the first time are, normally, intimidated by the whole experience. Just showing up for them is already a big deal. So it’s up to the gym staff to make them feel at ease. And the staff at FTX are really nice. But getting their attention’s a bitch.

I’ve also learned my lesson when it comes to ordering their whey protein shakes. You have to let them know in advance. Otherwise, they may not have the ingredients that they need and you’ll have to wait while they send someone over to the nearest Mini-Stop for some bananas or something.

Good grief.

Yesterday, when I told one of the trainers that they should have the warm-up written down somewhere so that I wouldn’t have to bother him with it, he told me that they did have it written down. “It’s in the folder,” he said.

“Um, what folder?”

He pointed towards the DJ’s booth. Yes, they have a DJ whom I would say plays pretty good music except that he played Justin Bieber yesterday so, no, he sucks.

Sure enough, there it was. A folder containing all the necessary information about the warm-up and the different workouts. I’m not sure who this folder is for. The trainers, perhaps? Because, if it’s for the clients, then why didn’t anyone they tell me about it before?

Anyway, I bogarted the folder, chose one of the workouts and followed it on my own, only approaching one of the trainers if I was unfamiliar with an exercise or needed help with the equipment.

Because of this, I finally had a good session at FTX on my own.

I did “Gladiator’s Zone” which I thoroughly enjoyed. I got to work out with the rope which I had never done before. It was a tough one.

[YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrd0o6EZM_4]

It was also the first time I worked out with a bungee cord. That was fun.

The sandbags are still new to me too. I only used them once before during another session at FTX. What a killer. I’m not sure what weight the trainer gave me but, for the second set, I chose a lighter sandbag. Still, doing that and the tucks immediately after totally wiped me out. I stopped at two sets.

I felt really good afterwards though.

I later told one of the trainers about my idea of the laminated cards and he liked it. He said he’d be training some guys for three months and they still couldn’t manage on their own.

If FTX could just get its act together, it could really be a fun gym. It’s a cool little space and they have all this new, fun stuff to play with. Their trainers are so-so (I saw one girl doing a sad-looking Turkish get-up but no one bothered to correct her form) but, if you aren’t new to working out, it could be the perfect, little neigborhood gym.