Ryerson students pay the most out of the three largest enrolled Toronto universities to see a personal trainer. Although hourly rates aren’t substantially greater, our personal trainers still have the most expensive time of the three gyms surveyed by The Ryersonian.
Personal training sessions at Ryerson cost $59 for four 55-minute sessions and an initial consultation. The sessions cost $44 each if you buy a package of 48 classes.
“There’s not much profit,” said Nino Robles, Ryerson fitness centre specialist. “We’re not trying to gouge people,” he added, explaining that it’s a struggle to balance the books with university funds being used to cover operating costs only.
He said that the smaller student population means less money is transferred to the athletics department overall. Sessions at Ryerson and at three other gyms are taught by certified personal trainers.
Membership fees are where Ryerson University can offer students a great deal. We pay $66.32 annually in athletic fees, which cover a gym membership to both the MAC and the RAC — as well as intramural and recreational programming.
At the University of Toronto, students can access certified personal trainers for $6 less, at $53 per hour, or as little as $45.83 per hour for 24 sessions.
The Fitness Centre at York University offers one-on-one personal training from $40 per hour for three sessions. That works out to $19 less than Ryerson’s standard price.
In contrast to the high cost of ongoing personal fitness training, free 30-minute training sessions are now available at the RAC or MAC. These sessions have been offered since September and give students the opportunity to meet with a certified personal trainer to go over how to use equipment and receive an initial consultation.
There are currently two full-time and 13 part-time personal trainers on staff, that’s an increase from three full-time and four part-time trainers three years ago, said Robles.
Personal training sales have quadrupled since the pre-MAC days. Robles says the personal trainers are able to offer nutrition counselling, but as none of them are registered nutritionists, they’re unable to create meal plans for students. Each of the trainers has a different specialty.
The fall semester has also seen a rise in advertising for personal training services offered at Ryerson’s facilities. “I think people are more conscious about their health,” says Robles, citing from 150 personal-training transactions in the past year. This number includes purchases by both students and community members as well as renewals or repeat customers.
This article was published in The Ryersonian on Nov. 4, 2015.