MANILA, Philippines?Chris Bond was a trainer at Clark Hatch-Greenhills for about two years before it was taken over by Gold's Gym last February. A physical therapy graduate, he ventured into personal training for the sheer passion of it.

It was a good paying job that offered a 70-percent commission. At a P700-per-session rate, he was taking home roughly P5,000 (after tax deductions) per client, assuming an average thrice-a-week workout. With only six clients, he was already earning P30,000 a month on top of his full-time work in a school down south.

All that changed when Clark Hatch succumbed to the competition and was gobbled up by the US-based Gold's Gym.

From Mandarin Hotel where it had been based since 1976, Clark Hatch moved to The Peninsula in the mid-'80s. A fire in The Pen resulted in a hiatus that was broken in 1986 when Clark Hatch reopened at the Olympia Towers basement. There it operated until 1993, when it moved to the Hotel Intercontinental.

The first to introduce personal training in the country and the first manager of Clark Hatch at Intercon, Richard Smith says they were the original Asia-Pacific chain. Unlike more commercialized gyms that are less service-oriented and are pushing to meet quotas for personal training, the sales people of Clark Hatch were relatively more laid back.

He likens Clark Hatch, then a "family-oriented gym," to a Ferrari that needed no push to sell. "Clark Hatch was the place to be at and there was no need to push." That Ferrari here in the Philippines, however, went to the dumps.

As Ariel Reynoso, a trainer of 12 years, puts it, the large players are eating up the smaller gyms like Clark Hatch which had been in the country for over three decades. Slimmer's World, the next oldest after Clark Hatch, is somehow managing to survive.

The average life span of smaller gyms is five years, says Reynoso, the first three years spent peaking until they hit a saturation point, before they slide downwards in their last two years.

The Math

Bond opted to continue working with Gold's after the takeover even if the commission policies have changed. It's a "ladderized" system that's in place, meaning, he and the other trainers get a 40-percent commission if they hit P40,000 from personal training, 50 percent from P50,000, and 60 percent from P60,000.

P60,000 translates to about four to five clients a day and a commission of about P36,000 a month. This represents a rough 50-percent cut in pay compared to Clark Hatch.

By giving the trainers of Clark Hatch the lion's share, Smith explains, they performed with more quality. "But if you're training 15-20 clients how do you guarantee quality? It can be taxing because a trainer takes on (his client's) body, he doesn't try to apply one program to every person." Trainers count, pick up plates, spot, catch weights and dumbbells of varying sizes for their clients. This can be very tiring if done repeatedly for hours.

Smith adds, "Personal trainers take pride in improving the quality of life of people. If a trainer is genuinely dedicated to his profession he can make a difference in ways that doctors cannot. Proof of that are moves to make personal trainers a part of the health professional field."

Over at Fitness First, senior fitness manager Roger Villarimo says they are developing internationally-certified "gold trainers." These trainers, who pass examinations and practical assessments, are supposed to be more knowledgeable about the human body, its active and inactive muscles, and are able to address more "in-depth needs" of clients.

Their clubs have two to four such trainers with the experience and theoretical knowledge expected of veteran trainers. They get to charge an additional 10 percent above the usual rates.

Compared to Gold's Gym, the Fitness trainers get a 30-percent commission on top of their basic pay, while those who do one-on-one get only 45 percent from their sales.

"The game has really changed," says Mylene Dayrit, chief executive officer of Gold's Gym. Systems are more sophisticated, given the capital requirements-Golds-Glorietta took P120 million to build, while gyms less than 1,000-sq m need about P20 million. Turnstiles alone cost about P1 million, while one treadmill can cost from P750,000 to a million.

A P120-million investment can expect a payback in about five to 10 years, according to Dayrit. These days, only capitalists or mega-gyms with deep pockets can afford this.

The challenge for mega-gyms actually is retaining clients. Fitness First country manager Mark Ellis says that compared to Australia's two- to three-year memberships, in the Philippines, members stay for an average of 14 months.

This is why Gold's Gym has introduced innovations, getting into corporate, academic, and medical tie-ups. Years ago, it was difficult to sell fitness packages to the human resource departments of corporations, but today they recognize that fitness contributes to less stress, less absenteeism, and more productivity.

Acknowledging that they probably belonged to the old school where trainers were trained to go around, assist members, correct form to prevent injury, and design programs for free, Smith says that the competition has shifted to a price war and what other trainers term as "pahabaan ng pisi."

But Smith warns, "If you aren't good, no matter how well you can sell, you're gonna lose out anyway."