Battle Fitness — Attraction in Alexandria

I was a client with Battle Fitness for one year and am sorely dissapointed with the experience. Part of this is definitely my fault for not complying with the strict nutrition plan. However, part of the failure is also due to bad business practices. One of the main concerns, outlined below, is the false advertizing it purports.

For example, I came to Battle Fitness via a groupon deal where it said that the owner, Je' "enhances clients' success by giving them 24-hour access to a personal representative". This is not true. Shortly after joining I found that they have strict office hours and many of my calls just went to voicemail. Additionally, over e-mail I found that messages sent on weekends were not returned and an explanation I was given was that the representative uses weekends to spend time with her family. This is fine but if thats the case don't advertise "24-hour access to a personal representative".

Additionally, there are significant added costs when signing up for Battle Fitness. Although the website says: "Battle Fitness makes it simple by providing attire to be worn at every fitness session". This is also not true, you have to pay for your own Battle Fitness shirts. You also have to purchase additional equipment such as weight lifting gloves and compression sleeves (which was not explained at the onset). Also, if you do not own any black shorts or pants, you will need to purchase those as well in order to comply with the dress code.

Next, the plan stated that there would be regular progress reports sent out that include weekly weigh-ins, body fat monitoring and pictures. The progress reports were not sent out regularly and stopped after a few months into the program. Additionally, unless your workout falls on a "weigh-in wednesday", it will be up to you to constantly remind the staff that you need to weigh in during different sessions. I asked several times to have the body fat monitoring done with the small hand-held machine they have but was told there was not enough time for that.

Also, the contract says that if you need to reschedule a session and notify them in advance (which was 24 hours but is now 48 hours), they will make every effort to reschedule your sessions. This is not true, their first priority is new clients and having new clients scheduled. If your request to schedule a missed session happens to conveniently fit in, it might happen, but many of my requests for rescheduling went unanswered/unaccomodated.

Finally, the initial fine print noted that the "semi-private personal training sessions" could include up to 6 people at a time. Oftentimes there were 7 or 8 people in the sessions. This is not semi-private personal training and creates the potential for injury due to unmonitored bad form. Not to mention the room is tiny and extremely hot enough as it is.

Aside from the unreasonable nutritional restrictions (having to go from whatever you are doing to immediately consuming more than 100g of protein a day), I am also dissapointed with the customer service. If you are faced with an injury, you are almost immediately written off and given up on. If you fall behind, there is no support and encouragement to get you back on track, just shame and disdain which is not conducive to a positive atmosphere or experience.

To end on a positive note, the clients at battle fitness are awesome people. I definitely did enjoy working out with such cool individuals and I wish them the best of luck with this program. Like I said, this does work for some people, it just didn't for me and as such I'm not recommending it.

If you are considering joining, make SURE you read the fine print in the contract. Unless you move and feel like paying $500, there is no way you are getting out of the contract. I took a new job during the year and there was no option for me to leave the program or even to adjust my regular session times to account for my new job location or...

I had been thin most of my life and as a result, I never felt the need to learn how to eat right and I hadn’t exercised regularly in years. Over time, my bad eating habits and lack of exercise had finally caught up to me and I had gained weight. I wasn’t comfortable at my new bigger size so I joined a gym. I went a few times, but there were no results. NONE. So I gave up. I knew I needed to eat differently, but when I tried to research dieting, there were so many different resources telling me completely different things that I gave up.

I will never forget my breaking point. It was 11:00pm the night before Easter and I was at Walmart buying Easter candy for my kids. I was uncomfortable – had been for several weeks. My clothes didn’t fit, I was heavier than I had been during my pregnancies and I had very little energy. At the Walmart, I saw no less than three (3!) neighbors also shopping for Easter stuff, but instead of greeting them and laughing about our last minute quest for candy, I hid, literally HID from them because I felt and looked uncomfortable with my newly gained weight. The next day, I found Battle Fitness. Thank goodness!

I was looking to lose a little weight. What I got was a body and mind transformation. I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true. I’m currently in my 40’s, and after 6 months of working with Je, I have a better body than I had in my 20’s! I have gained more muscle than I ever had, my body fat percentage has decreased by 10%, I went from a size 14 to now a size 6, and I hardly ever lay on the couch exhausted anymore (that used to be a daily occurrence). My body is totally resilient and that makes me more confident and energetic.

In addition to the nutrition education and monitoring, I do 3 workouts a week with Je and a few other Battle Fitness clients. The workouts are actually fun and I look forward to them. It took about a month for me to start looking forward to them. The first few weeks I felt like my old body just did not want to work, but with Je telling me, “You are strong. You are getting results. Only 10 more seconds,” along with other people in the room working hard to get their results, I made it through.

I view the cost of the program as an investment in myself. I have Addison’s disease and in the past, I spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital. I know that my health has improved considerably and I fully expect my healthcare costs (or sick-care, as Je calls it) to decrease. Yes, I’m paying to learn how to have a healthy lifestyle, but being healthy is going to save me tons of money over my lifetime. It’s a smart investment. I’m so happy that the search for the right workout and the right diet are over because Je has done all the research for me. I know that I am eating and exercising in the most efficient way possible and I’m seeing the results more and...

As a former athlete, I have had trainers before but working with Jé was a dream, her kind heart and commitment to her clients is unmatched. Throughout my journey at Battle Fitness I lost 40lbs which was about 5% of my body fat, and I gained muscle in places I never had before! As someone who has struggled with trying to lose weight my entire life, I have never achieved results so dramatic and long-lasting until now. This journey has helped me to feel both comfortable and confident in my own skin.

Before joining Battle Fitness I had always been overweight. My mom had be trying diet after diet throughout my childhood.

After reading reviews of what people claimed Battle Fitness had done for them I thought a body transformation journey may be a good fit me and I was right! During my consultation, it was evident the Jé was motivated, very educated and extremely invested in her clients so I signed up that day. As previously mentioned, I had done the trainer thing numerous times. The thing with trainers is, they are exactly that…trainers. They help train you, however, Battle Fitness helped to provide me all the tools I needed in order to be successful for the rest of my life. I learned skincare to help my skin stay tight while losing weight. I learned the types of workouts to do based on my goals. Most importantly, I learned how and what to eat based on the kind of foods I enjoy which not only helped me achieve my goals but also allows me to use those skills for the rest of my life.

Over my transformation I noticed muscles in my back for the first time! I dropped 3-4 dress sizes and everywhere I went people noticed the results, which felt incredible. But the most important thing was the difference in how I feel. I feel happy, full of energy, and confident! It is awesome and I could not have done this without Battle Fitness.

Though she is serious about achieving goals, working with Jé was fun! I loved celebrating my on and off scale victories with her. I would send her pictures of clothes that I finally fit into or ones that became too big. Without fail Jé would be ecstatic and celebrate with me. The relationships that Jé builds with her clients is incredible, you will not find someone so committed to not only their clients' health and fitness but their life as a whole. She really goes above and beyond and creates a small family in the studio. Working out as a group at Battle Fitness we struggle, persevere and celebrate together. There is nothing like sweating, laughing and dancing it out with the incredible people at Battle Fitness. I can truly say if you sign up for a body consult you will not be...