Studio Review: Boutique Fitness at Fit180

Hiring a personal trainer is one of the best ways to help you reach your fitness goals, but not all personal trainers are created equal. I’ve met my fair share of good trainers and bad trainers. Personal training ain’t cheap either with prices ranging from $40 to over $100 an hour. So it’s more important than ever to find a good one right?

So when Fit180 Personal Training reached out to me,  I was immediately interested. It’s a private studio created just for one-on-one personal training sessions. The studio isn’t open to the public and to be there you have to have an appointment with a trainer. Of all the studios and gyms I’ve been to, this was the first I ever heard of a hybrid personal training/studio concept. Come to find out, the company has been around since 2004 with three locations across Dallas.

How It Works: You can’t simply walk up to any of the locations to check out the studio. You have to set an appointment for a free consultation first by visiting the website. Once you’ve scheduled your consultation, you’ll meet with a trainer to learn about the offerings, the concept, discuss your goals, health and fitness history, and tour the studio. After your consultation, most communication is done via email, including scheduling your upcoming sessions and logging your food diary. Every Thursday,…you’ll get a reminder to send in your available times throughout the week along with you choices for which of the three studios you’d prefer. Once you’re sessions have been booked, you’ll be assigned a code to buzz into each studio (yep, that’s how exclusive it is), and begin your session. At Fit180, you aren’t assigned to just one trainer. In order to offer the flexibility with your schedule, you have the opportunity to train with a variety of different trainers.

Fit180 also offers nutritional coaching because that’s where so many struggle with fitness (myself included). You’ll log a daily food diary to discuss with your trainer and find small ways to make the changes you seek.

My experience: During my consultation, I stressed how much I craved creative workouts, self-learning, and nutritional guidance with meal planning or smarter alternatives. It was an eye opening experience just to talk about my daily eating habits and realize I had some bad habits I didn’t even know I had. Apparently, I consume a lot of sugar in the morning, I don’t drink enough water, and I battle with carb heavy dinners at home. The Fit180 approach isn’t to eradicate a bad habit, but to work with it and slowly break them. Instead of telling me to stop eating carbs or to replace it with a bland diet, I was given reasonable alternatives and ideas on how to deal with it. Even though I was self conscious, the goal is to accept you have some work to do and get to working on them.

The Space: Fit180 recently opened their newest space on Greenville Ave and it’s the largest of the three locations. They have one on Preston and Forest and another on Lovers Ln and Inwood. Being the newest studio and the largest of the three, it’s a good size. There is a variety of machines and equipment throughout the space, opening up the possibilities for creative exercises. Each location is a little different from the next. The Greenville location, for example, has astro turf, great for mobility drills.

Greenville location

The Sessions: Before each session, it was recommended that I come in 15-20 ahead of time to do my own warm up and stretches. I loved this because why would I want to use the trainer’s time to warm me up when I can do it myself right? The entire 60 minutes is utilized to push me during the workout and to complete all the circuits. I specifically asked for creative and challenging workouts. I also asked for a focus on strength training and that’s exactly what I got. After each workout, the trainers also stretch you out, which is always a nice perk.

A few of the exercises I really enjoyed at Fit180 Greenville.

The Instructors: I had a different trainer for each of my sessions and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that at first. I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure if the next trainer would be able to gauge my fitness level and push me when I need to be pushed. I was also apprehensive because on some of those days, I wasn’t in the mood to meet a new person and make small talk and go through the casual introductions. It was actually a breathe of fresh air and it helped maintain the level of professionalism I looked for. I was able to try different styles of training. I also appreciated that they were all focused on me the whole time. They weren’t distracted on their phones or chatting with other trainers. The trainers made each minute count and kept me on schedule, even when I wanted to chat away.

Greenville location

Favorite: I love the efficiency and the system they have with scheduling appointments. You can schedule appointments any time of the day and even the weekends, so there are no excuses in regards to “not having enough time.” I also had a love/hate with the daily food log. It made me more accountable and conscious of what I was eating, since I would have to fess up. Even when I did record something unhealthy, the response was never negative or reprimanding. Instead, the trainers offered friendly suggestions for next time and encouragement. I really appreciated the non-judgement. Considering, I’m also a food blogger, it was definitely challenging.

Lovers Location

Lovers Location

Feedback: After my consultation (which can range from 60-90 minutes), I scheduled and attended my first training session thinking I’d jump right into a hard workout. Instead, it was a short workout session to assess my mobility, flexibility, movements, and talk about my nutritional plan and to take measurements. I wish I would’ve known that beforehand.

For food logs, it would be helpful to provide me with a format. It took a few times to learn what they needed to see such as times I ate, specifics foods, and quantity. Did they also need me to include nutritional information or did they just want to see what I did overall? Did they need calories? Those tips would be helpful.

While I didn’t get a chance to visit the Preston/Forest location, I did check out the Inwood/Lovers one. I wasn’t a fan of the lighting. It looked dingy. The entrance for the Inwood location is also strange, requiring you to go to the back of the studio. With the “back” of the studio facing the main street, there are windows that are completely covered. I’d recommend letting in some natural light instead of covering them up, or at least partially cover up the front windows. I think the natural light might make a big difference in the overall energy.

Greenville location

Difficulty Level: Personal training is for all levels. The trainers are there to challenge you and keep you safe from injury.

Who was there: The majority of clientele are in there 30’s, 40’s and beyond.

FYI/Costs/Parking: When scheduling sessions, make sure to give multiple options for times and locations. It’ll ensure you’ll get the time slot you want. You can request a certain trainer, but it’s not guaranteed. Sessions start at $85 and hour and includes a nutrition program. There’s a fair amount of parking at all locations and there isn’t more than 2 or 3 other people in the studio at the same time. Each studio is fully equipped with bathrooms, showers, lockers, and toiletries.

The Takeaway: If you want results, this is the place to do it. You have to be serious about your workouts AND committed to changing your diet. Fit180 will help you stay accountable and motivated and I really enjoyed my sessions. The trainers are high quality and their philosophy is encouraging.

In order to review Fit180, Deep Fried Fit received three complimentary training sessions. however all opinions are her own.