The training at most of these big box gyms is one-on-one training where you will meet with a member of the sales staff and they will sell you a package of personal training and drop the hourly rate if you buy more sessions in one sitting. A majority of the time this person you meet with initially is not qualified to even talk to you about training. This is just a sales guy trying to make a commission by using hard sales tactics and selling you into a training package that you are not even sure you want in the first place. You will then meet with a trainer that is not actually required by the facility to even have a certification of any kind, and if they are, it is a certification that is the bare minimum in terms of education. These staff members are, in most cases, paid minimum wage or a little bit above that and the turnover rate ends up being really high. I have witnessed (because my first job was at one of these gyms) and heard horror stories from countless numbers of clients that have experienced training at these gyms about trainers yelling at clients, texting during sessions, not paying any attention to their clients, showing up late or not even showing up at all. There are some big boxes that actually hire qualified staff. These gyms normally call themselves “athletic clubs”. I have known most athletic clubs to hire college-educated trainers and pay them well. So, if you are looking for one-on-one personal training then an athletic club is one good option.