The evidence is purely anecdotal, but a great many women seem to very much prefer male trainers. So much so that it's said some even insist on a male trainer, and are actually lost as prospective customers on that simple account!

This phenomenon may be mainly confined to small upscale women-only studios, however (and however ironically). The only such hearsay I know of have always come from such places. I've had two General Managers and one Fitness Manager say that to me -- all women themselves, simply sharing a fact. By way of comparison, I've also had a male Fitness Manager of a "public" gym chain tell me the same thing. All of them ran different facilities and didn't know one another. And it wasn't as if I'd asked them a question first, either; they casually, very matter-of-factly volunteered the factoid during the course of interviews I'd been on. But I suspect that if I were to ask, even more fitness industry workers would be able to corroborate.

Why would there be such a bias? Well, in the manner of imitating another's facial expression in order to discern what's on his or her mind, I try to think about what kind of trainer I myself would prefer...and it'd be a woman for sure. And the honest truth would be that there's a vaguely "sexual" energy that would be in the air, off of which I could fuel my efforts. It would be inspiring to train with a female weight-lifter, for example (I really dig weight-lifting -- though I also love running very much). As a man, I would be much more motivated, simply due to my trainer being a woman. It's for this reason that the Israel Defense Forces use female drill sergeants to instruct its young men during basic training.

Thus, maybe it's not so strange that many women would rather have a male personal trainer or male group instructor, even if they'd signed up at a women-only gym! Exercise is obviously a very physical activity, but there is an added charge when workout partners are of opposite sexes. Human nature is such that we derive a certain impetus from companionship, and when the opposite sex is involved, motivation is often further increased (assuming heterosexual orientations).

Of course, the personal trainer or group fitness instructor is more than just a workout buddy, but I believe the same general principles of "attraction" apply. The curious interplay of "power" in such a situation also adds a certain "creative tension" to the mix: the trainer is the nominal authority figure, but as the paying customer the client has the ultimate authority. Such "power issues" can be part of the fun of it all, depending on the individual psychologies (that is to say, level of personal maturity) involved. After all, what is physical strength and fitness but power over our mortality? Any sense of achievement involves power and control, which qualities are very attractive in themselves, and lend attractiveness to someone exhibiting them. And what is attraction but force or power? And it is not without a certain vanity that people take up exercise in the first place. In the literal heat of a good workout, with sweat and over time, certain bonds are established which approach the intimate in nature. A good trainer -- and a knowledgeable client -- rides the wave of such self-renewing energies to meet their own individual goals.

But pyscho-babble on psycho-dynamics aside, let me return to the observation that male trainers are very much in demand even among women attending women-only gyms and studios. Nowhere is this more so the case than with Pilates instruction. Though invented by a man to treat wounded veterans of The Great War, Pilates has come to be thought of as an exercise for women due to all the women who first mainstreamed it over a decade ago. But the ladies are tired of meeting only other ladies in class, it appears, and there seems to be a natural, uncoordinated effort among Pilates advocates to encourage much more male participation. Smart trainers, both male and female, should take advantage of this fact and get in on the "ground floor" of an upcoming trend!