Eudco gym - its success due to failure of general gyms

Transform

I have noticed a few threads on Educo gym and heard an ad for them on the radio this morning (not to mention the ton of flyers they have coming in the doors and in magazines/papers).

In their ads they focus on - YOU WILL GET RESULTS, quicker, with support, etc

Any of the comercial gyms when they do marketing its always focused on - mice gym, lots of equipment, cheap, glam, spas, pool and all the other things people never end up even using.

Now Educo gyms may not be the best system in the world, may not offer the best value for money and all the other issues people throw at it BUT god they focus really well on all the things people should be looking at when deciding on a gym - RESULTS.

The overall success of educo gym imo is totally dependant on the failure of trainers, personal trainers, gyms etc to focus on 1) getting results with members/clients 2) stop pushing features rather than benefits 3) being totally complacent in taking care of the members/clients with regards to staff training/education that would help members etc.

I applaud educo gyms NOT for the systems they use (there are better, cheaper and more sustainable) but for their ability to attract clients because they offer what we all want - results

AARRRGH

I agree.

BossArky

Transform wrote: »

Any of the comercial gyms when they do marketing its always focused on - mice gym, lots of equipment, etc....

Lol, I thought that was some kind of pun on "gym rat" when I read it first :pac:

My gym attempts to attract people based on predicted future "results". (I pass the signs every time I go there). The problem is that people want a magic bullet, not hard work.

I agree Transform, exactly what I said to a friend recently when he asked me about it.

AARRRGH

All you have to do is look at the lipotrim thread to see people want people want... results without hard work.

dave80

but are the results real, 'youve lost 20lbs of fat and gained 20lbs of mucle in the last 3 weeks' (maybe a slight exaggeration) there still the same body weight with a little bit of muscle tone but they havent change at all, ill give it to them there very good at marketing but the price you pay for these places is unbelievable :rolleyes:

AARRRGH

You know, I can help people lose 10ibs in one day. How? Sit in a sauna for 8 hours.

People need to look at how they get their results, rather than just the results on their own...

AlphaMale 3OO

The only thing Educo Gym are good at is manipultaing peoples perceptions of how much progress they actually made in a 12 day period (usually none). That is ALL they are good at. I'm speaking from direct experience here when I say, their "trainers" are crap, their methods are crap and their value for money is crap. No I'm not a former client but I have seen their system in motion and the instructors are as clueless as the man on the street about fitness and how the body works. Their nutritional information is off the mark, they take no records of clients progress they do not correct poor form, they do no formal assessment on clients who may not be able to undertake the work capacity (physically or cardiovascularly) and overall I believe that their system stinks. I know of one (albeit) overweight man who walked out of a session after being pushed too hard by hamfisted trainers who have no business training themselves, never mind the general public. Their "Time Machine" is nothing of the sort, it's a glorified multigym with bells and whistles designed to mesmerise unwitting clients into actually believing they are "spiking their growth hormone". Whats more, people are paying extortionate prices to an organisation that is exploiting the dearth of general fitness knowledge among the general public while being lied to about how much fat they are burning etc. etc. I could go on and on about this all day but I'll stop here. Find a real personal trainer and get real results.

EDIT: Also to transform, kudos to you for praising them. They are you're direct competition but you acknowledge their presence when you could turn around and be bitter and talk poorly of them as I have done. That shows good charachter.

Transform

AlphaMale 3OO wrote: »

The only thing Educo Gym are good at is manipultaing peoples perceptions of how much progress they actually made in a 12 day period (usually none). That is ALL they are good at. I'm speaking from direct experience here when I say, their "trainers" are crap, their methods are crap and their value for money is crap. No I'm not a former client but I have seen their system in motion and the instructors are as clueless as the man on the street about fitness and how the body works. Their nutritional information is off the mark, they take no records of clients progress they do not correct poor form, they do no formal assessment on clients who may not be able to undertake the work capacity (physically or cardiovascularly) and overall I believe that their system stinks. I know of one (albeit) overweight man who walked out of a session after being pushed too hard by hamfisted trainers who have no business training themselves, never mind the general public. Their "Time Machine" is nothing of the sort, it's a glorified multigym with bells and whistles designed to mesmerise unwitting clients into actually believing they are "spiking their growth hormone". Whats more, people are paying extortionate prices to an organisation that is exploiting the dearth of general fitness knowledge among the general public while being lied to about how much fat they are burning etc. etc. I could go on and on about this all day but I'll stop here. Find a real personal trainer and get real results.

EDIT: Also to transform, kudos to you for praising them. They are you're direct competition but you acknowledge their presence when you could turn around and be bitter and talk poorly of them as I have done. That shows good charachter.

I totally agree with all of what you have written.

If people/your friends/family WANT better results then you should be printing out the stickies HERE, asking questions and be bloody willing to fork out some money for a program from a qualified pro that has a track record of getting results with clients that are willing to work.

I posted this thread primarily targeted at trainers and gyms as for the most part they are totally complacent in knowing and getting results with clients.

For example, in any of the gyms how often do the trainers have a group meeting to discuss whats working with clients, what records are they keeping and showing resutls, what new research have they read, what exercises have they forgotten about that they should be writing into programs, how to deal with older or injured clients.

Most gyms do NONE of the above and i hope and pray Educo does take clients from them because the time for not giving a s41t about clients is bloody over and if your a member of any gym this is what you should be pushing for, NOT 10 more €8,000 a pop threadmills, cross trainers and trainers that chat to each other (or the cut girl/bodybuilder wanna be) all day instead of helping you!

More power to you Mr Quinn

AlphaMale 3OO

Transform wrote: »

More power to you Mr Quinn

I agree with you too. Except for that bit! /\

kevpants

Dunno if I agree really. I could use basically the same argument you are making in praise of Educo's methods as an inditement of them if you replaced "results" with "promises".

It's very easy to make outlandish promises.

I think Educo's succesful marketing shows people at their worst, grasping at the hope of quick results. They are the gym equivalent of the late night TV ads for the Abdominizer 4000-R.

I agree that commercial gyms deserve to lose clients but in reality people are always going to flock to trainers & instructors in the hope of getting results, the thing is how many trainers do you know who really know what they're talking about? Very few. There aren't enough good trainers to go around IMO.

Fatloss08

if ur goal is to get fit


why go to them to do 15 mins a day ( what can u do in 15 mins ) and although u may look good after it

no point if u cant run 100m without gasing

Fatloss08

Fatloss08 wrote: »

if ur goal is to get fit


why go to them to do 15 mins a day ( what can u do in 15 mins ) and although u may look good after it

no point if u cant run 100m without gasing

?????

Fatloss08

u dont do any cardio at all and they say u do it 15 mins a day thats it

u could look like jean claude van damme but not have any gas in ur tank

cant run 100m lol

Transform

Fatloss08 wrote: »

u dont do any cardio at all and they say u do it 15 mins a day thats it

u could look like jean claude van damme but not have any gas in ur tank

cant run 100m lol

Stop using text speek please - you not u.

If you have trained with weights with any degree of intensity i.e. moving from one exercise to another with a bit if speed and resistance or high rep training like 20rep squats you quickly discover there is a cardio/fitness benefit when your heart rate jumps through the roof.

The discussion has nothing to do with their methods and is all about what we do/do not choose to accept as a service from our trainers/gym/personal trainers.

Off the top of my head i can think of at least 10 excellent trainers in dublin alone so its not through lack of choice just people thinking the grass is greener on the other side and their marketing is targeted really well.

Poncherello

AlphaMale 3OO wrote: »

The only thing Educo Gym are good at is manipultaing peoples perceptions of how much progress they actually made in a 12 day period (usually none). That is ALL they are good at. I'm speaking from direct experience here when I say, their "trainers" are crap, their methods are crap and their value for money is crap. No I'm not a former client but I have seen their system in motion and the instructors are as clueless as the man on the street about fitness and how the body works. Their nutritional information is off the mark, they take no records of clients progress they do not correct poor form, they do no formal assessment on clients who may not be able to undertake the work capacity (physically or cardiovascularly) and overall I believe that their system stinks. I know of one (albeit) overweight man who walked out of a session after being pushed too hard by hamfisted trainers who have no business training themselves, never mind the general public. Their "Time Machine" is nothing of the sort, it's a glorified multigym with bells and whistles designed to mesmerise unwitting clients into actually believing they are "spiking their growth hormone". Whats more, people are paying extortionate prices to an organisation that is exploiting the dearth of general fitness knowledge among the general public while being lied to about how much fat they are burning etc. etc. I could go on and on about this all day but I'll stop here. Find a real personal trainer and get real results.

EDIT: Also to transform, kudos to you for praising them. They are you're direct competition but you acknowledge their presence when you could turn around and be bitter and talk poorly of them as I have done. That shows good charachter.

You are talking absolute bull**** mate.
How could you be speaking from personal experience if you were not a client.

I am a former client and I did get excellent results. The trainers are superb. As for not recording clients progress or correcting poor form you could not be further from the truth. YES its expensive which is why I have since left, but now train like they thought me. The OP is absolutely correct in what he says, I would never have learnt what I did in any other Gym.

I applaud the OP in his post which makes a welcome change from the usual Tony Quinn bashing that goes on here. For what its worth the only time Tony Quinns name was ever mentioned while I trained there was when I brought it up.

AlphaMale 3OO

Poncherello wrote: »

You are talking absolute bull**** mate.
How could you be speaking from personal experience if you were not a client.

Believe me, I have observed TQ's training in the flesh. Several times to boot and even in two different locations, so I know its not an isolated thing. Not many of TQ's critics can claim to have seen the system in action, but I can. If I gave away any more than that people would know who I was and I like internet anonimyty! As for me speaking bullsh1t, 99.9% of people on this board would probably agree with what I said, including the OP of this thread, so well done for gaining with TQ, you obviously had the know how to draw out results while being guided by an under-qualified trainer (no way are they "superb"). Or maybe you just bought the lie that you lost 20% body fat and put on a 21lbs of muscle or some other unbelieveable number in 3 months?

Fatloss08

why does educogym even get a thread ??? why we even talking about it

its like the mormons

brainwashing

Transform

Poncherello wrote: »

You are talking absolute bull**** mate.
How could you be speaking from personal experience if you were not a client.

I am a former client and I did get excellent results. The trainers are superb. As for not recording clients progress or correcting poor form you could not be further from the truth. YES its expensive which is why I have since left, but now train like they thought me. The OP is absolutely correct in what he says, I would never have learnt what I did in any other Gym.

I applaud the OP in his post which makes a welcome change from the usual Tony Quinn bashing that goes on here. For what its worth the only time Tony Quinns name was ever mentioned while I trained there was when I brought it up.

I agree with both of you guys - even the worst program done really really well can get results.

Again i reiterate my original post - who gives a crap about the system educo uses to get results, people jump in and DO get results. Salsacise dance classes help people to drop weight and use a totally different approach as does motivation weight loss, curves, etc

If what your currently doing is not working then read the stickies here, ask questions and demand more of the trainers you work with or get in touch with ones that can take you to the next level.

Roper

I have to say I really, really agree with Transform. First off I think things like Educo etc. are a bit of a reef and seem to offer stopgap solutions for a lot of money.

However!

Large gyms are dreadful as they offer nothing except a roof and some kit. You could go a year without talking to a trainer in a big gym, outside of your initial 12 reps of bicep curls programme you got on day one. I can see why Educo seems appealing if you are on overweight person looking to lose some pounds. They're up close and personal, almost one to one and you'll be made feel welcome. Walking into Northwood is like walking into a Cash and Carry with slightly nicer paintwork.

Now I still think they're overpriced and I don't like the stories I hear, but you have to respect the way they sell it. They know that people are pissed off going to queue for a treadmill and watch the staff flirt with the gym bunnies.

Poncherello

AlphaMale 3OO wrote: »

Believe me, I have observed TQ's training in the flesh. Several times to boot and even in two different locations, so I know its not an isolated thing. Not many of TQ's critics can claim to have seen the system in action, but I can. If I gave away any more than that people would know who I was and I like internet anonimyty! As for me speaking bullsh1t, 99.9% of people on this board would probably agree with what I said, including the OP of this thread, so well done for gaining with TQ, you obviously had the know how to draw out results while being guided by an under-qualified trainer (no way are they "superb"). Or maybe you just bought the lie that you lost 20% body fat and put on a 21lbs of muscle or some other unbelieveable number in 3 months?

Whatever

You do raise an interesting point though. I agree that 99.9% of people on here agree with you, which probably means that 99.9% of people who go to Educo do not frequent this or maybe other Internet fitness forums in general.(Assumptions I know)
Why would you say that is ??

nellyelly

Well, I am a user of the educo gym in Galway, ONLY because I have remaining sessions to use but believe me it's an absolute chore to step inside the door at this stage! In fairness, this is really only because I can no longer tolerate the moronic, contradictory, condescending, un-educated, hard sell, nauseating drivel of the owners/wannabe trainers of the branch I use! :mad:

I certainly haven't achieved the results I was promised, I have lost some weight and my shape is much better but nothing I couldn't have achieved myself by intensive weight training 3/4 times a week in ANY gym. (I was always partial to weight training and swear by it's results!) The diet is basically ketogenic, Atkins with a small twist (and I mean virtually the same), so if ketosis suits you (it doesn't suit me and I don't achieve any better results than just being on a calorie restricted diet) then go get yourself the Atkins book and weight train 3 times a week for a reasonable price in a gym with a nice enjoyable atmosphere. (where you don't get treated or made to feel like a bold child!) LEAVE OUT THE SUPPLEMENTS TOO, they made no difference whatsoever to my results, they are a complete rip-off as far as I'm concerned!

The Educogym is grossly overpriced, the supposed 'time machine' is just a condensed weight training gym all rolled into one and as for the personal training, well, my head mistress/es, ooops sorry, I mean 'trainers' in the EG in Galway are now just simply unbearable and incapable of listening/teaching effectively to any degree!

How quickly they forget (once they have your money) that the key aspect of this 'unique' training is the fact that it's personalised and supervised (I chose this purely because I needed someone to push me and shout at me if needs be, I could have done it myself otherwise). However, now I get wrapped on the knuckles lest I forget my programme god forbid they might actually have to provide the personalised weight training that they had initially guaranteed!

Maybe this particular Educogym 'experience' is unique to the Galway branch, but I wouldn't recommend this to any self respecting individual and wouldn't be a bit surprised to see the closure of it's doors in the next year or 2! Having said that, if the 2 girls that own the franchise left the running of this gym to the rest of the staff/trainers it would be a much better experience all round and might just be the key to a successful branch long term!

AlphaMale 3OO

Poncherello wrote: »

Whatever

You do raise an interesting point though. I agree that 99.9% of people on here agree with you, which probably means that 99.9% of people who go to Educo do not frequent this or maybe other Internet fitness forums in general.(Assumptions I know)
Why would you say that is ??

Because people around here use factual knowledge to back up their advice not anonymous "University Studies" to validate pie in the sky theories. What university was that by the way? You know the one that did the experiment where they got a plate of human fat and a plate of animal flesh and derived that you can gain 14lbs of muscle in two weeks by eliminating a whole macronutrient from you're diet and training for 60 minutes a week. Funny how they never referenced that one by name.

nellyelly

Nicely put AlphaMale in a nutshell, basically!!

partyguinness

How much do their classes cost roughly?

Poncherello

AlphaMale read the question before going off on your rant

I suspect that one of the moderators will realise that they dont like this discussion anymore and close down this thread ...

I'm off to the Gym

nellyelly

whatever....

rubadub

Transform wrote: »

In their ads they focus on - YOU WILL GET RESULTS, quicker, with support, etc

Alleged results. Look at their site. http://www.educogym.com/Results.aspx

Girl number 1

I gained 15 lbs of muscle in a few months and, rather than getting bulky, I found myself getting more toned and sculpted. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so replacing fat with muscle took inches off my waistline. Muscle also burns fat, making it easier to stay lean. If each pound of muscle burns fifty calories a day, I’m now burning 750 more calories a day!

Not she says 1lb is 50kcal more per day, also on the site they claim

Each pound of muscle burns 50 to 100 calories a day,

Now guy number 3.

Michal Rupenski, Dublin
My fitness and strength are even better than when I was a teenager. The educogym® system is phenomenal. I lost 20lbs of fat, gained 30lbs of muscle, and my body fat dropped by 10% in 6 months!

So this guy was gaining over 1lb of muscle per week, while losing a lot of fat at the same time. Now even going on their lower estimate of 50kcal he should now have a metabolism raised by 1500kcal. So if his resting metabolism was teh often quoted 2500kcal per day, he is now at 4000kcal per day. Or going by the higher 100kcal figure he is up to 5500kcal.

THis is the before and after.

The poor fella can't even keep his hands by his sides with all those big muscles!
Now a lot of people here would be a lot bigger than that, can anybody who really put on 30lb of muscle more than they would have in sedentary life comment if their resting metabolic rate really did go up by 1500-3000kcal per day?

I have said it in other threads, I would love to see what magical forumla they are using to show these obviously false BF% readings. I would like to see somebody tested properly by proper doctors, then do the course and get the real results.

I do like the fact that they educate people that building muscle to lose fat is an good method, and not to focus on weight, it their outlandish claims and crazy prices that I have a problem with.

Transform

Totally agree with all of the above - amazing claims but no more outlandish than slimfast, special K, lipotrim etc and as stated at least they are getting more people to train with weights.

Ben Dunne its time to stop doing your own bloody ads and call in the pros - someone must have MR Quinn's phone number for him to call with regards to getting marketing tips!

AlphaMale 3OO

rubadub wrote: »

Alleged results. Look at their site. http://www.educogym.com/Results.aspx

Girl number 1


Not she says 1lb is 50kcal more per day, also on the site they claim


Now guy number 3.


So this guy was gaining over 1lb of muscle per week, while losing a lot of fat at the same time. Now even going on their lower estimate of 50kcal he should now have a metabolism raised by 1500kcal. So if his resting metabolism was teh often quoted 2500kcal per day, he is now at 4000kcal per day. Or going by the higher 100kcal figure he is up to 5500kcal.

THis is the before and after.

The poor fella can't even keep his hands by his sides with all those big muscles!
Now a lot of people here would be a lot bigger than that, can anybody who really put on 30lb of muscle more than they would have in sedentary life comment if their resting metabolic rate really did go up by 1500-3000kcal per day?

I have said it in other threads, I would love to see what magical forumla they are using to show these obviously false BF% readings. I would like to see somebody tested properly by proper doctors, then do the course and get the real results.

I do like the fact that they educate people that building muscle to lose fat is an good method, and not to focus on weight, it their outlandish claims and crazy prices that I have a problem with.

Great post. You are correct with your numbers. My resting metabolic rate is 3000 cals a day at 95kg and 10.8% bf. So that skinny guy there is allegedly 4000 cals. Gimme a break. As I stated earlier isn't it ironic that they never quoted the name of the university in which their studys took place? Methinks it was the University of Educo on Paradise Island. Because I unfortunately have links to two Educo gyms in Dublin, I would be (slightly) tempted to take you up on you're experiment and log it here, pics and all but that would be a long way down the road if ever. Unlike Educo's indiscreet and selective photography I would take these photos in the same room and light every week without sticking my belly out in the first one and without getting all slicked up in the second one.