personal trainer

fitness manager

front desk agent

fitness consultant

assistant manager

Genesis Health Clubs

This is a corporate, money grabbing company. There is no other way to put that. 

I'm exposing the lie that you can make $50,000 or more here starting out within the sales department.

As a Fitness Advisor, you start out with a base pay of $500 every TWO weeks. That is abhorrent. You're expected to make, at the very least, minimum wage to justify the low base pay, and often times it is hard to make much more than that. My average wages to date have equated to roughly $12.17/hour, assuming a 45 hour work week. (You work 9 hour days 5 days a week, and one 6 hour day. Both days include an hour unpaid lunch).

I have consistently been a top 20 salesman. I still only make the $500 base pay, which means, even when I sell 40+ memberships within a period (15 days), I still will not see more than $1200 on a single check. Unacceptable for someone who is consistently meeting or exceeding company set goals, which, by the way, are typically unobtainable. If you do good one month, they raise your personal goals which are the only way to get additional income. Eventually, if you're doing well too consistently, you will find that you're unable to reach your personal goals and therefore will have to purposefully do poorly to eventually have them lowered.

It can take months, sometimes years, to get a pay raise within this position. Most of the time, there is so much turnover, it doesn't get to this point, but if you manage to stay, you can be sure that you will have issues when it comes to getting a well deserved raise in your base pay. The chain of command is ridiculous, ALL raises have to be requested by the Club Manager, which then have to go up the pipeline to the Regional Management, whom sometimes you may never see/meet, and to the Vice President, who you almost certainly will not meet unless your club is deemed important (i.e. a top performing club.)

This company has a lot of turnover within the sales department and I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I currently work for the company at a top performing location consistently meeting and exceeding my personal goals, and I live paycheck to paycheck. I have been promised a raise for months, when I bring it up, it is brushed off. Although I love those at my location, the power structure within this company is arguably the worst I have ever seen.

One billionaire out of touch person should not have the final say regarding everything going on within a company. Too much power and money is concentrated at the top. There is constant expansion and acquisition of new clubs, but we cannot manage the ones we have in our possession currently. Renovations take forever and are often stalled due to not paying the construction crews on time. There is  so much I could say that would probably discourage anyone from ever applying to this company, but I'll leave it at what has already been mentioned.

Avoid.

As a former employee who was once considered a top salesperson at the gym, I feel compelled to share my honest and professional review of the workplace environment, management practices, and overall culture of the organization. Despite my success in driving sales and achieving targets, my experience at the gym was marred by several significant concerns that affected my job satisfaction and overall well-being.

First and foremost, the work culture at the gym was toxic and detrimental to employee morale. There was a pervasive atmosphere of negativity, gossip, and lack of support among staff members. The toxic work environment created unnecessary stress and tension, making it challenging to focus on my duties and maintain a positive attitude.

Furthermore, the management at the gym was abysmal and failed to provide effective leadership or support to employees. There was a clear lack of communication, direction, and transparency from upper management, which led to confusion, frustration, and a sense of disconnection among the team. Decisions were made arbitrarily, without considering the impact on employees or seeking input from the staff.

In addition, the gym's management demonstrated a blatant disregard for work-life balance and employee well-being. The demanding work schedule, long hours, and unrealistic expectations placed a significant strain on personal time and health. The lack of flexibility and accommodation for personal commitments or emergencies further exacerbated the work-life imbalance, leading to burnout and exhaustion among employees.

Despite my contributions as a top salesperson, the gym's management failed to appreciate or recognize the efforts and achievements of its employees. There was a lack of acknowledgment, support, and incentives for high-performing staff members, which contributed to a sense of undervaluation and demotivation among the team.

In conclusion, my experience at the gym, despite my success as a top salesperson, was marred by a toxic work culture, poor management practices, lack of work-life balance, and a failure to appreciate and support employees. I hope that this review serves as feedback for the gym's management to reflect on and address the issues that are impacting the well-being and satisfaction of their staff.

From a top down standing it seems like nobody has any idea what they are doing in corporate. There is a good 2 week sales period then prices are gouged by 15-20 dollars and sales go down. Corporate tries to play it off and calls price raises an "excuse" when we are not provided with adequate equipment, pay, or any reason at all to push for more sales. The people I  worked with locally are great, and do the best with what they have been given, but the higher ups continually neglect certain clubs while expecting just as much out of them and offering no support in return. I, along with several other coworkers, was given nearly no training by management, had unclear and insanely lofty expectations set, and was given no clear direction or guidance on how to hit said expectations. The prices of gym memberships are frankly ridiculous, and as someone who worked there for 6 months I can tell you there is no justification for them. I was encouraged to sell one of the "benefits" of the gym as being that you'll spend less on hospital visits because you'll be more healthy, which was incredibly insulting as someone with close family members that suffer long term chronic health issues. The gym membership contracts are shady at best, and exploitative at worst. As one customer told me: "You guys are basically shady used car salesmen." I couldn't have agreed more. From the ridiculous pricing that kept inflating, to the inane cancellation policy and lack of any cohesion among the different corporate departments, many members who attempted to cancel were charged several more months with no promise of a refund in sight.  In the six agonizing months I worked here, the gym went through 3 regional managers and 2 club managers, allowing for no workplace consistency and a constant change in expectations with little communication. In short, I would recommend that nobody ever takes a sales job with this company, unless you are a masochist, want corporate management breathing down your neck, or love calling and harassing the same few dozen people over phone, text, and email for months on end. The "work" I did here genuinely made me feel sick at times. Don't even consider it.

Genesis is a great place to work. If you’re a new trainer like I was starting out in the fitness industry it can be scary.  Genesis taught me the way and it was very enjoyable. The Club I worked at the East Central location in Wichita was the smallest club out of the 5 they have in town but it is the headquarters. So I was in contact with the CEO/ owner all the time. He is a very nice person and treats all his employees fair. If you are a good worker you are compensated very very well. I was bringing home 5-7 thousand dollars every two weeks   Best paying job for a trainer out of any club I have ever heard about.  I only left due to family member getting sick in another state.  I would suggest any personal trainer that is passionate about fitness and wants to make money go there.  There are 64 or something like that clubs now.  I really really loved my job and I can go back if I want. But my family needs me and no amount of money could take me away from that but I do miss that company.  5 starts   And don’t believe the bull you hear about the owner or the club doing shady business. That’s just people that sign a contract and don’t go to the gym like most people do when they get a membership complaining because they still have to pay there dues.  If you buy a car you can’t just stop paying on it and expect not to go to court about it. The CEO does so much for the community as well and for his employees.  Great company great people loved the members and the atmosphere.  Recommend if you love fitness.  Wanna move up in position and great pay. You got to work but when you live it it’s not work.  

The owners are billionaires who care absolutely nothing about the money you earn, you, your family, your lifestyle or your future. You will work a lot, make low wages and have expensive benefits.
The saddest part is that with the financial ability of these three brothers who own this company, they could create an incredible and successful culture, but they have absolutely chose not to invest in the people who work for them.  This is a cash cow for the Steven Brothers  and a couple of executives. What a waste. They gave you an employee handbook that promises paid vacation days that never come- they don't have you sign time sheets,  as you are forced to work numerous overtime hours.  They make you go out in the street like a pan handler to get phone numbers from people you don't know.  They force you to phone the same people over and over again, violating the 'do not call list.'  And when you go out in the field, you have to use your own gas in your own car.  Check with local government agencies regarding their non payment of overtime.  It's amazed they haven't  gotten sued over this.  So, my advice is to run. Ok, you get a free gym membership, but when you work for them, you don't have a chance to use it. Also, with all this, the worse part is that you are cheating the people by overcharging them. Some people pay zero down, some pay $50 down, some $200 down, they charge different rates for the same service- which seems to not even be legal.  They just get whatever they can out of you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Cleaning is the easy part. Dealing with uncaring management, unruly members, and irresponsible fellow employees in other work areas is the hard part. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Dealing with entitled members and uncaring upper management.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment can be a bit stressful at times dealing with rude & obnoxious members or front of house staff & management. I really enjoyed doing my job there but, had some rough moments. It's very easy to get sickness there from people coughing & sneezing from bringing in the cold & flu virus while working out. Also toward later in the afternoon when alot of teens & kids come in it can get a bit more unruly with them wandering around in an adult environment. The constant repeating hip-hop club music didn't fit the environment. It's a a fitness club not a night dance club. Also it seems they have very lax security of the building at times so, there may be people who aren't even members coming in and not respecting the rules and dirtying up things. Alot of nice older people that know respect workout there so that makes it all worth while. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was a janitor so I cleaned machines, vacuumed carpets, mopped hard floors & restrooms, cleaned locker room, steam room, and workout studio's.

After spending 4 months with this company I have decided that it is not the right company for me and I will be pursuing other potential job opportunities. However, I very much enjoyed working with my staff, I had (give or take) 7 employees working under me and that experience was very enjoyable. I have maintained good relationships with all of them. This job challenged me in many ways, most of them were challenges I eventually grew from and can use in future jobs. I gained knowledge of how to handle both employees and customers/members from a management standpoint. I was responsible for daily deposits, ordering supplies for the gym and keeping track of those orders, weekly inventories, hiring and training of new staff, answering and directing phone calls, and event planning. As a part of the management team I also took part in weekly meetings with other department heads to determine solutions to current issues and to keep healthy, open communication between departments. The most enjoyable part of this job was working with people. I developed quite a few close relationships with both staff and gym members that I will continue to keep even though I am no longer with the company.

I think if you have absolutely no experience in training, it can be a great place to get your feet wet (that’s if you have a good fitness manager.) Eventually, as you progress, they stop handing you leads and expect you to do 100% of your prospecting though. This, on its face, isn’t out of the norm in this industry. Self-Promotion is something you SHOULD be doing as a trainer regardless. The issue lies in the fact that they’re still taking 50% on package sales. Once you’ve established a solid clientele base and are on your own for leads, that type of percentage is no longer justifiable and you’re then essentially just overpaying for a place to train out of. You can complain but management will just tell you what you want to hear and nothing will change. There’s also just no incentive for continued learning and advancement in your craft. Your mastery and understanding of exercise doesn’t mean a thing to them. You’ll eventually just become the toy at the bottom of the toy chest irregardless to your contribution to their monthly business goals. Sales are an important aspect of personal training. They shouldn’t be as much of a priority that Genesis makes them though.

While I loved the people I worked with and the members, this company is another example of a corporation truly not caring about their employees.

1. The calendar program used to assign and close sessions is an absolute nightmare. Instances where clients had sessions to close and credits to close them but they just wouldn’t go through, and only getting paid for 1 out of 4 club provided training sessions when that’s not supposed to be the case is frustrating at best.

2. Employee pay is frequently incorrect and never in the direction that helps you cover your bills.

3. If you do have an issue with your pay (and you will) getting ahold of anyone at a corporate level is next to impossible. After shorting my pay by 20% for almost 2 months I had to deal with this and was treated like a burden for asking for money that I had rightfully made.

4. Told the VP of the company about our continued payroll issues and managements response can only be described as retaliation.

If you absolutely have to work here, make sure you keep track of everything relating to your pay and sessions/sales because if you don’t they’re going to steal from you. 



Working at Genesis Health Clubs was a frustrating and disappointing experience. A typical day consisted of unpaid floor hours, cleaning, chasing leads, and trying to sell overpriced training packages — all with little to no support from management. The culture was sales-driven and cutthroat, not team-oriented or member-focused like you’d expect from a fitness company. Management was disorganized, unhelpful, and seemed more interested in hitting numbers than supporting staff or building a strong community.

The most fulfilling part of the job was working directly with clients and helping them see results — but everything else made it hard to stay motivated. The hardest part was the instability: no consistent pay, high turnover, and constant pressure to sell. To make matters worse, they make you sign a non-compete agreement early on, effectively trapping you if you want to continue training locally. It felt less like a career opportunity and more like being taken advantage of — stuck in a system designed to benefit the company, not the trainers. Unless you're desperate for experience and have no other options, I would avoid working here.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Personal trainer 22 salaries reported	$33.88 per hour
Fitness manager 45 salaries reported	$89,722 per year
Front desk agent 21 salaries reported	$11.17 per hour
Fitness consultant 15 salaries reported	$45,092 per year
Assistant manager 15 salaries reported	$74,620 per year

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