Personal training in Colorado Springs means one-on-one coaching. A trainer builds your sessions around your body, your history and your schedule, and watches every rep. At Pick It Up Fitness, 11641 Ridgeline Drive, Suite 150, personal training is one of the two things we do, next to small-group strength and conditioning classes. The best trainer for you is not the loudest or the cheapest. It is the one who asks what happened the last time you tried, coaches your form up close, and still has you showing up in month four.
Below: who personal training suits, six questions to ask any trainer before you book, the gym words you will hear, and how to choose between one-on-one and a class. If you would rather skip the reading and look around, you can start with a free week.
Who actually signs up for personal training
If you have tried a gym before and drifted away, welcome. You are in good company here.
Our typical new member is 35 or older and has tried a similar gym in the past and drifted away. The reason is not laziness. They are not a competitive athlete who wants to do competitions. Plenty of gyms are set up around people chasing numbers on a leaderboard. If that was never you, it is easy to feel like you are in the wrong room.
The other member we see a lot has kids or grandkids. They know they should start working out again so they can be there for those kids. That is a good reason. It does not need to be fancier than that.
Personal training tends to suit you if:
- You are restarting after a long break and want someone to set the pace.
- You have a body with a history, such as old injuries, and you want a coach watching.
- You want to learn the basic lifts (squat, deadlift, press) without an audience.
- You have quit a program before and want someone who notices when you start to slip.
If that sounds like you, you are not behind. You are the person we meet most often.
Six questions to ask any trainer before you book
These work for any trainer in Colorado Springs, including us. A good trainer will not mind a single one.
1. What are your certifications, and who issued them? A certification is a floor, not a ceiling, but a trainer should be able to name theirs. For example, our coach Samantha Horn holds an NASM personal training certification, Pain Free Performance level 1 and an NASM sports nutrition credential.
2. Do you ask about my history before you write my program? The first conversation should cover old injuries, past gyms and what made you stop last time. If a trainer hands you a program in the first five minutes, they wrote it for someone else.
3. Will you coach my form while I am lifting? This is the main thing you are paying for. One-on-one means someone is watching your set and speaking up. Technique matters more than the weight on the bar, and we wrote about why technique beats load if you want the long version.
4. How do you measure how hard I am working? Good answers include a number you can say out loud, such as RPE (explained in the next section), not just "push harder."
5. What is the plan when life gets in the way? You will miss weeks. A trainer who has a plan for that is worth more than one with a perfect program. Our post on getting out of a workout slump covers the mindset.
6. What do current clients say, specifically? Read reviews for detail, not star counts. As of early October 2026, Pick It Up Fitness has 4.9 stars from 198 Google reviews. Members describe a "small family feel" and call it "more than just a gym."
Why personal training is half of what we do
Pick It Up Fitness did not start with a member's idea. It started with a personal trainer at a big box gym who moved into management there. The more we learned, the more we wanted to start our own place.
That is the thread running through everything we do. Personal training is not a side menu here. It is one of two things we do, and the other, small-group strength and conditioning classes, came from the same place.
Our coaches have their own reasons for doing this. Sam Horn realized in her 40s how much muscle she was losing, hired a trainer herself, and eventually became a trainer and coach. She also has a long injury history, including three torn menisci and a complete ACL tear. She says it made her a better coach.
Our line is "Joining a gym shouldn't be intimidating." Our culture comes down to three pairs: encouragement over ego, hard work over hype, progress over perfection.
When you get in touch about personal training, ask which coach you would train with. It is a fair question, and you should know the answer before your first session.
The words you will hear, in plain English
We say "stimulus" and "RPE" a good amount. EMOM and AMRAP come up too. If you have not heard them, they are less mysterious than they sound.
- Stimulus is the effect a workout is meant to have. If today's goal is to move fast and light, your coach may lower the weight so you can move quickly. If the goal is slow and heavy, the plan changes. Same exercise, different stimulus.
- RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion. It is a 1 to 10 scale of how hard something feels. A 10 means nothing left. An 8 means you finished the set with a couple of reps still in the tank. It gives you a way to tell your coach what is happening without a speech.
- EMOM means "every minute on the minute." You start a task at the top of each minute and rest for whatever time is left in it.
- AMRAP means "as many rounds as possible." You get a set amount of time and do as many rounds or reps as you can with good form.
One more thing about RPE. Colorado Springs sits at roughly 6,000 feet above sea level. If you moved here recently, the same workout can feel harder than it did at sea level. RPE gives you a simple way to say "this feels harder than it looks," and a good coach will listen.
What progress looks like when you are not chasing a podium
We say it plainly: "We celebrate first push-ups just as much as personal records."
That is the right yardstick for most adults restarting. Some examples of progress worth counting:
- Getting down on the floor to play with a grandchild, and getting back up without grabbing the couch.
- Carrying the groceries in one trip.
- Doing your first push-up, or your first pull-up.
- Finishing a set at an RPE of 7 that used to feel like a 10.
- Showing up three weeks in a row, which is harder than any lift.
We do not promise numbers, because bodies and lives differ. What we can say is that strength is worth building as you age, and we explain why in why strength matters as you get older. The short version: the stronger you are, the easier everyday life gets.
Personal training or a small-group class?
Both are things we do, so we have no reason to push you either way.
One-on-one coaching is the better fit when you are learning lifts from scratch, coming back from a long layoff, working around a past injury, or simply not ready to be new in front of a group. You get a coach's full attention and a plan that moves at your speed.
Small-group classes are coach-led sessions of about 60 minutes. They open with a warm-up, move into strength or skill work, and finish with a workout of the day. They scale from a total beginner to an elite competitor. Classes run on weekday mornings and Saturdays, and you can see the current week on the class schedule. Read more on our small-group classes page.
You do not have to choose forever. Tell a coach where you are today, and they can help you work out which fits now.
Finding us in Northgate
Pick It Up Fitness is at 11641 Ridgeline Drive, Suite 150, Colorado Springs, CO 80921, in the Northgate area. We are two doors down from Mission Coffee. There is ample parking in front of the building.
Most weeks, these days, the way in is a free week. What that week looks like depends on your experience, so tell us you are interested in personal training and we will take it from there.
Personal training questions, answered
How much does personal training cost in Colorado Springs?
Pick It Up Fitness does not publish personal training prices in this article, because we would rather you hear the current rate from us than read an old number on a blog. Contact us and ask about personal training. With any trainer in town, ask for the full price up front, including what happens when you miss a session.
Do I need to be in shape before I start personal training?
No. Most new members at Pick It Up Fitness are 35 or older and restarting after drifting away from another gym. Your trainer builds your sessions around where you are today, not where you used to be.
Is personal training better than a group class?
Neither is better; they do different jobs. Personal training gives you a coach's full attention, which helps when you are learning lifts or coming back after a long break. A small group class gives you a coach-led session with other people in the room. Pick It Up Fitness offers both.
Can I do personal training if I have an old injury?
Usually the answer is to tell your trainer about it on day one, and to check with your doctor first if you are unsure. Coach Samantha Horn of Pick It Up Fitness has her own long injury history, including a complete ACL tear, and says it made her a better coach.
How do I start personal training at Pick It Up Fitness?
Get in touch through the Pick It Up Fitness contact page and say you are interested in personal training. These days we most often lead with a free week, and what that looks like depends on your experience.
If you have read this far, you already know more about choosing a trainer than most people do. Come see the floor on Ridgeline Drive, and bring your questions.
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