Goodlife Fitness - Toronto

My overall rating

I had a very lousy experience with GoodLife Fitness personal training in Toronto. I believe it’s important to share my experience here in the hope this will help somebody in a very costly decision. It was a decision that cost me roughly $ 4 000...   +

I had a very lousy experience with GoodLife Fitness personal training in Toronto. I believe it’s important to share my experience here in the hope this will help somebody in a very costly decision. It was a decision that cost me roughly $ 4 000, and left me with chronic back pain. I cancelled my contract of 6 months after 4 long months and reluctantly paid the cancellation fee.

First of all, it wasn't cheap. I was paying $393.24 bi-weekly for 3x week/ 1 hour session. And, to tell you the truth, it wasn't worth it. Not even close.

During my time, what I've witnessed and experienced would make you question how individuals are possibly certified and qualified under GoodLife’s very own “CanFit Pro” certification program.

Here is what the GoodLife trainer didn't do:

• Did not appropriately assess my strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. The initial assessment was no more than 5 minutes in length and only included a weight and body fat percentage reading from an automated scale.
• Did not plan, take notes, or track workouts. I didn’t see him write anything down after the sales pitch, aka “consultation”
• Did not take initiative to demonstrate new exercises or appropriately break down lifts
• Did not provide appropriate routine for my lifestyle, fitness level and goals. I was put through a routine of high repetitions and low rest periods, with very little to no guidance.
• Did not coach on form and technique
• Did not provide adequate warm up, nor was present during warm up
• Did not provide the full hour of training. Instead I was only getting 45 minutes. I would have to wait for my trainer to come out of the office
• Did not include all muscle groups leading to imbalances
• Did not provide feedback, nor asked for feedback
• Did not learn the fundamentals of a squat. But, was still forced to squat through many repetitions on machines that force “a one size fits all” way to squat (Smith machine, vertical hack-squat machine)
• Did not modify or adjust the routine, and when doing so it was also done improperly leading to an injury (Performed what the trainer called a “Chest up lying leg curl” on a lying leg curl machine? Why?! Making up exercises as he went and promoting bad form. As a result of this I suffered an injury- hyper extension of the lumbar spine. This prompted me to eventually cancel)

So, you're probably wondering, what did the trainer do? Besides counting repetitions, the trainer was of no real use. Here is what I was paying close to $800 a month for:

• Pointing out the club’s female members. Including, but not limited to, which one was the “hot teacher”, and which one had the “fake boobs”. None of which I asked for, or was interested in hearing. Surely, this is not what personal trainers are trained to do.
• Go on his phone while I'm in a middle of a set
• Talk to other staff and members while I'm in a middle of a set

When I had made my decision to finally cancel the trainer suddenly became busy and unavailable making it harder for me to cancel. Injured and in pain, I was made to feel helpless stuck in a contract. I took it to the club’s personal training manager to cancel and voiced my disappointment and disgust with this trainer, which, sadly, fell on deaf ears. The biggest disappointment in all this isn't just the low back pain that I deal with on a daily basis as a result of negligence on the trainer’s part, but the fact the manager did absolutely nothing to hold the trainer accountable. Days later when I walked in to pay my cancellation fee, I saw the trainer in full uniform and on his phone, casually sitting in the massage chairs near the front inside the gym. This is the standard that is set by GoodLife Fitness. A very low standard far from the one advertised.

This type of practice, that I have experienced and witnessed firsthand, puts the service-user at great risk. If such poorly trained, poorly educated, and unprofessional individuals are allowed to stay indefinitely, it worries me that many more are out there. I caution you to be very skeptical around GoodLife trainers, for the better of your health and wallet.    -