The Skinny on Semi-Private Sessions
As an in-home fitness trainer, a good chunk of my appointments are with 2 people simultaneously. They may be a married couple, father/son, aunt/neice, neighbors, partners in crime...I've just about seen it all. Regardless, it'd be a different experience for the participants if they had separate individual sessions with me, or any other fitness coach. Here's why.
Less attention to go around.
One trainer. Two people. You'll get less correction on your form, as well as less motivation to finish a set with intensity. That means not quite a good of a personalized workout as you could get with private training, but still much better than a group fitness class. Generally I like to see each person individually for the first few sessions before lumping the two together.
Reduced cost per person.
Generally each person ends up paying 60-75% of what they would have paid for a private training session. It's not usually the same price because of the increased demand on the trainer to plan and consider each persons needs simultaneously. It's just harder work!
Fun potential.
Depending on the aptitude of the small group personal trainer, partner training sessions can be way more fun than alone. I include many exercises that require team work to perform. Also spurring on a bit of competition never hurt anyone either.
Commitment boost.
Pretty self explanatory. Both participants in partner personal training are giving accountability to each other. They observe more detrimental behavior than I could, and they reinforce the good!
Increased Learning. Twice as many questions. Twice as many form-faults to correct. Twice as many questions about how to eliminate aches or pains. Twice as many nutrition concerns. Twice as many excuses debunked.
Different Needs.
I've handled partner personal training clients that have been on completely different athletic levels. Some with an age difference of 50 years. While the personal trainer can plan all they want, it is likely that someone is will feel 'behind' and the other held back to a degree. It may be the case that each person is doing a 100% different workout with different exercises than the other.