I was given my entry form a couple of days ago to submit for the 12 week transformation challenge as run by Club Physical Gyms in New Zealand, as I have reached the end of the challenge!  And having read the entry form, there is no way I will be submitting my entry.  They have a clause which reads:

“I agree to give my full and unrestricted permission for Club Physical to utilise my photos and details of my entry for advertising and PR purposes and newsletters should it wish.  There will be no time limit on this.  I understand that by completing this entry and I am in agreement.  This is a condition of entry…”

What????  They can use my image, and details of my entry (including name, etc) for as long as they want, with no restrictions?  LIKE HELL!!!  Imagine, walking down the street and there on a giant billboard is my former flabby self, with my current hot look as well.  And my name plastered all over it.  NO WAY!

Besides, what do I gain by entering?  Check out the prizes (my comments in brackets).  Please note, you only win one of these prizes, not all of them!

• One week with a new car (eh?  I already have a new car, and would have to pay extra parking for a 2nd…)
• Two nights in a lodge in Whitianga.
• Hubbard Food packs (oh, I can barely contain myself, free cereal?  Oh please!)
• Pro-active nutrition packs (sounds awful)
• 12 month subscription to Fitness Life Magazine (I don’t read or like fitness magazines)
• $50 voucher for lunch at Cornwall Park Restaurant
• Nutrition Packs from MAXX Essentials (Who, what? ew!!!)
• Nutrition Packs from PVL (again, sounds like something the army would issue…)
• Four x Irene’s Beauty Treatments (oh great, I can get a wax, every guys dream…)
• River Rat rafting adventure (that one is kinda cool)
• 6 x Private Training sessions  (nice prize, but I prefer cardio, not into weights so much, injured myself pretty badly doing private training)
• Those who reduce waist by 10kg or more get free makeover photo shoot (yes, so they have nicer images of you to plaster all over their advertising etc)
• 3 x 12 week transformation challenges for friends (I won’t recommend the challenge per se, see my further rant below)
• 2 nights in Absolute Lakeview (motel?) Taupo (not really my thing, travelling there will cost as much as the prize value)
• And of course MEDALS (Bronze, silver or gold…woop woop)

I have to say, none of those prizes would justify me giving total and unrestricted use of my image to a company to promote themselves.  10 years from now I could see my former bulging self in a newspaper advert.  Jerry might sell his soul to Subway, but there is no way I am selling mine to a gym company.  As such, I am not submitting my entry.

Oh and get this – the prize ceremony (at one of the gyms on North Shore) requires you to pay a $5 entry fee as well!!  Marketing gone mad…

So, what do I think about the 12 week transformation challenge?

Positives

• I have lost over 16kg (35 pounds) in 12 weeks
• I now have a healthy lifestyle

BUT, I must point out, that had I joined the gym, and purchased private training sessions, this result would have been identical.

Negatives

• To enter, you must sell your soul to the gym
• COST = $895.  Had I joined the gym and paid for the 12 x 30 minute sessions, would have cost $360 (training) and $250 or so (membership) = Total $610.  What was the other almost $300 for?  A book!  Apparently there were group sessions with other contestants available, just not at the particular gym I went to…riiight.  So yes, a great marketing ploy to get more $$ for gym.
• My assigned Trainer did not even understand the program or how it worked:
• - Entry form requires before and after “Lifecycle Fitness Scores”  I have never had this so my entry wouldn’t work anyway
• - Did not know to take my photo holding newspaper, which had I entered would have voided my entry (while still giving the gym unrestricted access to my soul)

My trainer was a top guy (Steve) and I am grateful for his investment in me, without his input, I would not have got off to the start I did.  As he pointed out, he gets nothing from the gym for my 21 week challenge, but I got 12 x 30 minute sessions of his…however, I did pay through the nose for that, so I fully understand why some of the trainers may not be so up to speed with the challenge guidelines, given how little there is in it for them.  He is young, and I did end up getting pretty badly injured from working out, but hey, I was in terrible shape before hand, so I guess that was inevitable.  I would still happily recommend Steve to anyone, he has a great sense of humour and does get results.  It is not his fault the expectation from the slick marketing of the 12 week transformation challenge far outweighed the actual implementation of it.  Slick marketing, poor execution.  And they can’t blame the gym, they have been awesome.  It is just the challenge is a marketing ploy, nothing more, and having to sell your image to enter it is plain over the top.

Conclusion

The 12 week transformation challenge is nothing but a huge marketing ploy to get people to one of the many Club Physical Gyms that dot the landscape.  The execution of the program is nowhere near as strong as the marketing of the program, and I fail to see how they justify the extra cost than had I simply joined the gym and paid for training.   And the conditions on the entry form are totally unreasonable, with prizes that cannot justify selling my soul to them.  So all in all, the 12 week transformation challenge gets a huge thumbs down from me.

On the flip side, the gym branch I went to (Lower Albert St Club Physical) is a good gym.  The club manager (Linda) is one of the nicest, welcoming people you could ever meet, and is one of the unsung heroes of the gym.  In fact, all the staff are great.

So, my final verdict.  Join a gym – my one is great, and I recommend it.  But forget the 12 week transformation challenge, as it is purely an expensive marketing gimmick – you can get the results you want without the challenge itself.   Getting involved at the gym, using the classes available, and getting to know the trainers (all very encouraging) and gym staff (such nice people) will give you all the motivation you need to get into shape, and will cost you far less than the 12 week challenge.

Tags: rant

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 4:32 pm and is filed under The Challenge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.