By Alex Bakirdan and Jacob Alvear
Inside an unassuming blue steel and gray brick building in Holbrook, metal weight sets clang together as they’re assembled, floors of concrete are being poured and a new set of stairs is being installed as Nicholas Page remodels the gym where he will run his new personal training business.
Page’s company, The Trainer Page, is a part of the increasing interest in fitness in New York state as the fitness trainer industry’s job industry grows at a rate seven percent faster than the state’s average job’s growth rate?, according to the New York State Department of Labor.
“[The demand] is definitely rising,” Page said. “Especially, if you look at in America the obesity rates are increasing.”
Nassau and Suffolk counties in particular have above-average opportunities in the field according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the area having a higher employment concentration and overall share of employment than the state average.
“People seek out personal training because they’re used to not seeing results,” Robert Woods, the owner of CrossFit 631 Red Woods and the Long Island Barbell Club said. “They’re used to going to a regular gym and its March, April, May, June and they look the same.”
After losing motivation to go the gym because he wasn’t seeing the results he wanted, Vincent Fittipaldi started going to a personal trainer. In Nassau County, 56.8 percent of adults are overweight or obese. In Suffolk County, the number is 63.8 percent. Fittipaldi started training with Page hoping to lose weight and get in better shape.
“I lost 53 pounds after 5 months and went down six waist sizes,” Fittipaldi said.
At his CrossFit gym class sizes are deliberately limited to give more individual focus on clients Woods said. He also does some one-on-one personal training sessions.
The Trainer Page is getting a Styku 3D Body Scanner in the hopes of helping people visually see their results. Page said, his organization will be the only personal trainer company on Long Island to have the machine.
Just because some people are using personal trainers doesn’t mean that everyone is ditching their regular gym however. Michael Bellofatto, an experienced lifter who goes to LA Fitness in Centereach, prefers to train on his own.
“The reason I prefer to go to an actual gym over a personal fitness trainer is because I have been working out for over four years now and know hundreds of exercises so I like to get creative and workout my own way.” Bellofatto said.
Personal trainers can “get a little pricey” Bellofatto also added. While cheaper trainers on Long Island run $35-$45 an hour, prices can get incredibly steep with some trainers charging upwards of $200 an hour.
The price of fitness is a concern that Page acknowledged as well, one that he thinks causes people to sometimes elect not to choose a personal trainer.
“Money is involved, it does get expensive and these people who think they’re absolute experts want all this money for training so [people] go to these giant boot camps where they don’t feel comfortable.” Page said.
Despite prices, the amount of fitness trainers in New York is projected to increase by 19% from 2016 to 2026. “Personal training was definitely worth the cost,” Fittipaldi said. “I paid for all five months out of pocket.”
Alex Bakirdan Media 