Personal Trainer Vancouver

Learn about losing weight and toning up from Vancouver’s most qualified personal trainers and kinesiologists working at our private studio.

Everything You Need To Know About Personal Training in Vancouver

A personal trainer will help you gain upper body strength, become stronger, improve cardio and get a better understanding of how to perform various technical movements – even if you’re starting from zero or working through a minor injury.

Personal trainers and professional kinesiologists help to build confidence by showing proper form and how to exercise and stretch the right way.

Symmetrix clients expect more than a generic big box experience. We provide a friendly private setting to help our clients work towards a healthier life. We have almost 30 years of experience in personal training in Vancouver and are keen to share our experience on what to expect and where to start with your personal trainer.

Activity
Timeline
Consent
Before Assessment
Intake (contact details, health history)
Before Assessment
Generative discussion
Assessment (first session)
Objective measures
Assessment (first session)
Goal setting
Assessment
Create program and start training session
During or after assessment session
Regular training sessions
2nd session and after
Evaluate progress towards goals and adjust program if necessary
Within 3 to 6 months

What To Expect From Working With A Personal Trainer

Our personal trainers start with your permission and consent before getting to work with you to come up with a plan. Your professionally certified personal trainer will keep your data safe throughout the process. No mean no, yes means yes… we take your consent seriously.

Your first session with a personal trainer

Some of our clients want a general fitness plan, so broader goals and longer time-lines are appropriate. In other cases however, a client may have a deadline in mind like an upcoming run or a vacation.

With goals set and a baseline to work from, it becomes easier to check progress and either stay on track or adjust the program as needed.

Here are the steps our personal trainers take with their clients.

Prior to this assessment our clients will also fill an intake form which is a medical survey and a consent form. This survey will be in preparation for an initial assessment that includes contact details, some general health and medical questions that look at stress levels, sleep quality, and current fitness – as well as past medical conditions.

Medical practitioners such as kinesiologists also require clients to fill a PAR-Q+ form to identify clients who might require a doctor’s recommendation to start exercise. Finally, consent is required (consent means reading and agreeing to our policies). Once this is done our personal trainer has the information and the permissions they need to start working with you.

The very first step of their assessment is to take stock of your past fitness experiences: your personal trainer will ask how those experiences went, what worked and what didn’t. They’ll also ask about past injuries. Our personal trainers listen intently at this stage, asking generative questions before starting to build a full understanding of what their client wants and needs.

The next stage of the assessment is about objective measures: range of motion, flexibility, strength, girth measurements, weight and functional movement screen. Some specialized personal training programs rely on more in depth measures like body composition, chemical measures such as V02max or computer imaging. Be sure to ask your personal trainer if these tests are relevant to the type of training you’re looking for. Basic manual measurements are enough for most clients. The accuracy and type of information our personal trainers collects allows them to create a program that challenges you as our client appropriately.

With this baseline recorded, it’s time for your personal trainer to set goals. These goals and timelines should be realistic, so we take into consideration your budget and schedule. Goals vary from client to client – some clients want a particular aesthetic others are looking to lose weight. Strength and agility are also common goals.

Even if you are seeking general fitness, it is important to set specific goals. For example: “lose two inches on my waist by August”, or “do 10 pull-ups by my wedding date”. That way our personal trainers can help you stay on track during your program.

Finally it’s time for the personal trainer to create an exercise program for you. This is the step that most people think about when imagining personal training. The program might start during the assessment session if there is time, or during the 2nd session. The actual form of the program is a plan that often lives in the personal trainer’s head and is explained verbally to the client, but be sure to ask your trainer if you’d like them to create a printout to use at home or in a community centre. From this step onwards the personal trainer will continue to reassess each client periodically and check in on their goals.

Data Security and Personal Information

Today, data security is at top of mind for everyone – especially if that data contains private contact and health details. In fact, even paper files may be at risk because this information might be valuable in the wrong hands. At the same time, it would be unproductive to block health data from the practitioners who need it to help their clients. Therefore, it’s more important than ever for personal trainers to strike the right balance of gathering the information that is needed while ensuring data security.

Personal trainers in Vancouver are bound by BC and Canadian personal data privacy laws PIPA BC and PIPEDA respectively. These are different from FIPPA and other regulations restricting information collected by doctors and hospitals, PIPA is a broader privacy act and applies not only to private practice like physiotherapists but to all businesses. There’s a lot to know about these laws, but a key takeaway is that it is the personal trainer’s responsibility to collect no more than the information they will use; keep your information up to date and accurate; and to keep data safe. Consent is implied when a client voluntarily gives any personal information, so it is always a good practice for a client to ask about data security at an early stage.

Kinesiologists make excellent personal trainers

Kinesiology is its own recognized field of scientific study – the study of human movement. Kinesiologists have to obtain a university degree to become a practitioner. To become a kinesiologist in British Columbia, you must go through a 4 to 5-year post-secondary degree program at an accredited university.

Several large BC universities, like the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, offer kinesiology majors with courses in biology, chemistry, anatomy and biomechanics. Most offer hands-on labs and students are exposed to real-world health and fitness through student jobs like helping to train university sports teams.

After their degree is complete, kinesiologists must then join the British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists (BCAK) in order to become accredited. With good standing with the BCAK, professional kinesiologists are ready to train clients on their own or join health teams working alongside doctors, physiotherapists or counsellors.

The expertise of a kinesiologist is broad and applies to many fitness, health and academic settings. In a gym, a kinesiologists work can be the same as a personal trainer when providing exercise advice and support with the added benefit that a kinesiologist comes with the backing of years of education. Sports teams, health clinics and community centres commonly hire kinesiologists for this very reason.

Other Personal Trainer Certifications and Accreditation

Other than Kinesiology Association of BC membership, the leading personal trainer certification is the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA). ACE, NCSA and ACSM certificates are also common. There are numerous options so be sure to ask your personal trainer which certification they hold.

Because the main personal trainer certifications are varied and relatively quick to obtain – as little as 12 weeks compared to 4 years for a professional kinesiologist – a personal trainer’s approach, style and quality can vary hugely. Our recommendation for anyone working with a personal trainer outside of Symmetrix is to screen your personal trainer for experience and reputation, on top of certifications.

The Role of a Personal Trainer

Personal trainers provide motivation, accountability, creativity and technical guidance in order to keep their clients on track and always moving towards their goals.

A Personal Trainer is Motivating

When taking part in any activity, motivation is a deciding factor in your success. This is especially true in physical training because it requires so much from all of us. A personal trainer has the knowledge and experience to let their client know when they can safely push their exercises a little harder, and go a little further.

The fact that a personal trainer helps us push harder is supported by science. One scientific study that really highlights this focused on strength performance under the direct supervision of a personal trainer1. In this experiment, 20 moderately active men each went through an intense 12-week training program focused on squat and bench press strength, squat jump power, bench press muscular endurance and other indices. The subjects were either:

  • Assigned a personal trainer
  • Left unsupervised

The aim was to see which group saw the most significant increases in health and performance. In the end, it was clear who won. In terms of body mass and fat-free mass, the trained group saw impressive growth over the untrained group, even though they each went through the same program. The difference was also reflected in squats and bench presses, where the trained group dominated in power and strength.

The motivational benefits of having a trainer are apparent to most people who exercise and that’s the reason why having a gym buddy is so popular. When a personal trainer is a kinesiologist, however, clients can expect to be motivated as well as precisely challenged. A kinesiologist knows what your body can do and will offer encouragement to test your limits in the safest, most productive way possible.

A Personal Trainer Holds Us Accountable

Our busy lives are constantly pulling us in a million directions so a sustained exercise session might easily get overlooked. A personal trainer provides a solution to this reality because they will help hold their clients accountable.

A personal trainer will be expecting their client at their next appointment. They provide a schedule, and update their client on progress, and they’ll help chart and plan out a path to success.

In a study of two groups of high-level rugby players, researchers assigned one group a trainer and left the other group to train themselves. They found that the group assigned a personal trainer showed a stronger commitment to the exercise program2 by attending more sessions than the group given the same program to perform independently. Adherence to the set routine translated to improved strength gains.

This effect doesn't only apply to rugby players, but across all ages and professions. In a different study, 129 volunteers ranging in age from 20 to 65 years old were surveyed on their stage of desire to participate in a fitness program3 on a scale of one to five. After 12 weeks of one-on-one time with a personal trainer, all but one of the participants showed a substantial jump in their willingness to exercise. The study demonstrates that accountability is about wanting to show up.

Accountability will keep you on track. By continually challenging yourself, and a personal trainer keeping watching your movement to help you maintain good form, you will more easily reach your fitness goals.

Personal Trainers Understand Proper Form

Not all squats are created equal… the same is true for stomach crunches, planks, or any exercise. Performing the exercise incorrectly causes extra stress on joints and muscles and may lead to severe injuries over time, or even immediate pain during the routine itself. It’s not a matter of avoiding the obvious flaws in form. Slight movements, foot positioning and centre of gravity are subtleties that can be taken for granted, but also may be compromising when repeated during exercise.

Kinesiologists have a complete understanding of how the human body moves. They understand what movements will enhance your health and what movement may cause serious damage to your body. As your personal trainer, a kinesiologist will quickly spot poor form and correct it. If you’re doing an exercise under the supervision of a kinesiologist, you can be confident that you’re doing it right.

A Personal Trainer Keeps your Workout Fresh

No one enjoys repeating the same exercises over and over again, but that can become all too common, as gym routines become stagnant. With only a basic understanding of exercise principles, it can be hard to move beyond a familiar gym regime. Repetition leads to boredom which can eat away at our motivation.

Variety is one key to eliminating the boredom that will sabotage your training and a personal trainer is well suited to keep things fresh, especially those trained in kinesiology. As personal trainers, kinesiologists have more than a repertoire of exercises, they use their fundamental knowledge of movement to design and modify exercises that are perfectly suited to their clients level and objectives. They will make sure that you are challenging yourself in original and innovative ways. A personal trainer who is a kinesiologist will ensure that you’ll never be bored by your workout again.

Ready to Hire Personal Trainer in Vancouver?

There are so many options in Vancouver to begin training that many of us don’t know where to start. And then once we do, how do we know it is exactly what we need? Here’s some great news for people asking these questions: there are plenty of options for you. Now is an ideal time for people who want better fitness to check in on your goals.

Where to begin

Start with a quick brainstorm while thinking about your past experiences: how they went, what worked and what didn’t. Then ask what’s your budget for fitness? Decide on an amount per month. Next consider your timeline, how soon would they like to see results? And finally think about a schedule that works best for you. What’s the best day of the week and time of day to dedicate to fitness?

Past experience of training and exercise in general will set the bar for what is to come. If you’ve never done personal training, what type of exercise do you like? If you’ve liked a past trainer, what was the reason? If you didn’t have a good experience or didn’t reach your health goals, why not? With this baseline, the next step is thinking about logistics.

What does a personal trainer in Vancouver cost?

We've been in this business for almost 3 decades in Vancouver, and have longstanding relationships with independent and corporate personal trainers alike. A one hour, one on one session with a personal trainer in Vancouver is $75 to $140. Any less than $75 per session, and you can expect a personal trainer with less experience. More than $140 and you are in the elite-training category. As a rule of thumb, one-on-one sessions 3 times per week with a personal trainer in Vancouver will cost $1100 per month.

A tip for the budget conscious is to buy personal training packages, and find a partner to do sessions with each week to split costs. We know that to see progress, personal training is the perfect solution for someone with a monthly budget. Personal trainer session packages will decrease you cost per session. At Symmetrix, we reduce our per-session rate by 18% for clients who buy 24 sessions up front. Partner training sessions provide even deeper discounts for the budge conscious. Don't expect half price, but a reduction of 40% for the per session rate is common.

Personal Training in Vancouver at Symmetrix

At Symmetrix Exercise & Rehab, we make it easy to get fit either virtually from your home or at our studio in Vancouver. Our goal is to make exercise an easy habit so you can enjoy your active life and get the most out of a healthier lifestyle.

Our kinesiologists are personal trainers who will create an achievable training plan that will help you meet your fitness goals. Whether you want to be able to go hiking with friends, look great for your park hangout or simply build a more active lifestyle, our personal trainers are here to help.

Symmetrix Exercise & Rehab in Vancouver is a private studio specializing in personal training. That means our clients are not doing their sessions in front of a gym full of people working out, but rather working one-on-one with a personal trainer who is also a kinesiologist.

We’ve helped hundreds of clients meet their fitness goals in fun and creative ways to help make sure that you get the most out of each session with individually tailored fitness plans. At Symmetrix all of our personal trainers are kinesiologists with a science degree, a professional designation and years of personal training experience in Vancouver.

One Session

$

131

  • 55 minute session.
  • 1-on-1 training.
  • Private training studio.
  • Work with a kinesiologist.

12 Sessions

$

116

  • 12 x 55 minute sessions.
  • Private 1-on-1 with a kinesiologist.
  • Invitation to webinars and events.
  • Regular goal re-assessment.

24 Sessions

$

104

  • 24 x 55 minute session.
  • Private 1-on-1 with a kinesiologist.
  • Goal reassessment and coaching.

One Video Session

$

131

  • 60 minute session.
  • 1-on-1 training.
  • Over Private Connection.
  • Work with a kinesiologist.

12 Video Sessions

$

116

  • 12 x 55 minute sessions.
  • Private 1-on-1 with a kinesiologist.
  • Invitation to webinars and events.
  • Regular goal re-assessment.

24 Video Sessions

$

107

  • 24 x 60 minute session.
  • Private 1-on-1 with a kinesiologist.
  • Goal reassessment and coaching.

1 Partner Session

$

92

  • One hour session.
  • 1-on-2 training.
  • Partner training in private studio or online.
  • Work with a kinesiologist.

12 Partner Sessions

$

82

  • 12 x one hour session.
  • Private 1-on-2 with a kinesiologist.
  • +1 invitation to webinars and events.
  • Regular goal re-assessment.

24 Partner Session

$

78

  • 24 x 60 minute session.
  • Private 1-on-2 with a kinesiologist.
  • Goal reassessment and coaching.

Your Rehab Team

Pam Cochrane

Pam Cochrane

Kinesiology Manager

I was drawn to the kinesiology program as a lifelong recreational athlete, enjoying running, volleyball, basketball, softball, and soccer...

Samira Etrati

Samira Etrati

Kinesiologist

Samira's artistic & math talents led to Architectural Engineering but her passion for fitness shifted her career to health and kinesiology.

Dasha Maslennikova

Dasha Maslennikova

Kinesiologist, Co-Owner

Dasha is the clinical director at Symmetrix and won Kinesiologist of the Year for 2021. Her passion is helping people improve their function

we’ve changed lives

Excellent rehabilitation facility. Chris has experience with rehabilitation that I have not seen with other practitioners.

Raj Dhiman

on

we’ve changed lives

I have an injury from right leg knee cap to my back on my right side that I have been struggling with since 2017. I am now able to do some running and have definitely gotten a lot stronger and more resilient. Symmetrix has been amazing.

Christine Ru

on

we’ve changed lives

I have loved training with Dash and the team at Symmetrix. My knee has not felt this strong with squatting and hiking in a long time.

Kaitlin Newman

on

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Symmetrix Studio Hours

Yaletown Studio

Monday-Friday 6am to 8pm
Saturday 9 am to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 2pm

1059 Cambie St
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5L7

Burnaby Heights Studio

Monday-Friday noon to 8pm
Saturday-Sunday CLOSED

204-4580 Hastings St
Burnaby, B.C. V5C 2K4