I began training with Bruce in August of 2012. My first year with him was a great experience. I had fantastic results, I really enjoyed Bruce as a person and a friend. He was encouraging, conscientious with his training and a great resource. However, at some point after that first year things started shifting. In addition to one on one training, I'd also participated in small group training sessions and a boot camp he ran. Bruce would occasionally be late to the group sessions, or cancel at the last minute. He'd sometimes contact me and try to change my session time, and I began to feel like he was taking advantage of my proximity to his gym and my flexibility schedule-wise. 2014 marked a drastic change in my feelings about Banner Lifestyle. The scheduling inconsistencies persisted, and I could never get the same schedule every week. I'd often wait until late Sunday or even Monday to get the weekly schedule, so I could never make any solid plans in advance because I had no idea when Bruce would finally get the schedule out. It was incredibly frustrating, but I tolerated it because he is actually a good trainer. In March I had to take a week off for personal reasons, so I contacted Bruce to let him know. It was mid-week and I'd still not gotten a schedule yet, anyway. That weekend I let him know I was able to resume training that week, but I again did not receive a schedule. The same thing happened the following week, and ultimately I became very frustrated. At this point I have 16 remaining sessions that are paid for. I contacted Bruce to ask about selling the sessions since he couldn't be bothered to get me on the schedule anymore. He responded and apologized and said it wasn't fair to me, but that he had too many clients and didn't have time. He suggested a sale price for the sessions which was drastically lower than what he actually charges for sessions. I went with my own pricing based on what he'd previously sold others' sessions for, but he told me no one was interested. I eventually dropped my asking price down to his recommended price, just wanting to be done with Banner Lifestyle. I just wanted to recoup at least a portion of my money for the 16 sessions I'd bought, but had never been able to schedule. I liked Bruce as a person for a long time, and he is a good personal trainer. He is not, however, good at running a business. He is too unreliable with scheduling, he does not follow up with clients who have any concerns or criticisms, and when confronted about these things, he goes radio silent. I am hugely disappointed in how this business relationship has turned out, as Bruce definitely has the talent to train well. Unfortunately, it seems that he just doesn't have the professionalism needed to sustain a business with clients that extends beyond his own select, personal group of friends that are willing to participate in every event and package he offers. I believe I got swept to the side because I was just a regular client not buying into all the extras anymore, and therefore I was not a priority. I'm leaving Banner Lifestyle with 16 unused personal training sessions and a trail of unanswered texts and emails, with an email from Bruce acknowledging his failings with me personally holding no weight in getting this resolved to any degree. I would caution anyone considering engaging his professional services to read my review carefully and be aware of what you're getting yourself into. Being a good trainer isn't just about the personal training, it's about establishing a professional, reliable relationship with your clients. Unfortunately, Bruce no longer seems to be interested in this aspect of his business, and I am subsequently no longer interested in being his client. read more

Don't need to say much because everything Jaime, Latisha, and Min K. are exactly how I feel and what I've experienced. From the scheduling, his "deals", and my missing refund, I would never recommend Bruce. Sad because he has potential to be a great trainer, he just has poor business acumen. If you are maybe one of his elite clients or someone who he can use for advertising, you may be better off but if not, be prepared to fall by the wayside and ignored in favor of those he can show off on his Instagram. In my opinion, Banner Lifestyle this business is more of way for him to show off, not to sincerely help those in need. Looking forward to filing this complaint with Better Business Bureau. read more

Bruce is a poor communicator and habitually cancelled sessions (often without notice) or would text me (always without notice) to ask me to arrive an hour earlier or an hour later. As a result, we rarely met two weeks in a row, and many times I arrived at the gym to find he had cancelled at the last minute. I bought a package of 20 sessions that he specifies must be used within five months, but he did not make himself available consistently enough for that to happen. He has a no-refund policy. I gather that's to protect him from flaky customers. But based on my experience, customers need some protection against a flaky trainer. Grossly unprofessional. read more

My experience with Bruce, unfortunately, parallels the experience of the other reviews of his business ethic. I have been training with Bruce for years and have followed him since he was training at Bally Fitness. Everything was going well until the spring of this year when I had to take a break from personal training under doctors orders for issues with my back. At the time I had around 20 sessions. I went for several months of physical therapy and once I was cleared to start training again I contacted Bruce immediately. In the past I had issues with Bruce responding to phone calls and text messages to schedule sessions but since I had been wit him so long I gave him the benefit of the doubt. He advertised on his website a small fee to be able to scheduled your sessions online before anyone else for $55 which I purchased on May 30th. I know that my schedule was tight so I felt this was the easiest way to get back on the schedule. Once I submitted the date and time I would like, I received a call from Bruce asking if it was the only time I would be able to train. Mind you, when I went to calendar, it was virtually empty. No dates or time were blacked out or marked at unavailable. When he was unable to find a time for me that would work in my scheduled he stated exactly what he stated to Jaime N. That it would was unfair to me and that he had too many client and would issue me a refund. On July 2, 2014 I received an email stating that refund checks would be mailed out on or about the 15th. I requested an amount of the refund as well as a ledger of refunded services. For two months, my phone calls,emails and text messages when unanswered and I did not receive the refund I was promised. It wasn't until I commented on Instagram page that he finally responded. Below is his response sent August 24, 2014: Status...... In relation to your refund I sent out an email requesting your form of payment and if you didn't have the same credit card then I would need your current email address. I do not have the same contact number and for some reason your email went to spam. So please only contact me via email about your refund. If you could get that info over to me that would great so that I can get you your $100 back to you. His response does not make since as I always paid him with a credit card and he would have access to his records of payments received through his website. He also state that if I did not have the same card he would need my current email address. This also doesn't make much since as he is responding using the email he has had on record for YEARS. He states that he does not have the same contact number,however, the number he has listed on his website is the same number I have been contacting him on for YEARS as well. $100 isn't any where near the amount of money I spent on the sessions and the $55 is spent to get priority through the calendar option. My response to this email was that none of my contact information has changed or card information. This was the last email response I received from Bruce and still have not even received the $100 I was promised. I would not recommend Bruce as his business practices are lacking and does not seem to be concerned with good customer service. Many of the complaint listed are consistent with my experience with him. By far the most frustrating and disappointing is that he is not a man of his word and has pretty much cheated me out of money. I would be cautious before considering engaging in any business with Bruce Willingham. read more

with Banner Lifestyle, elite personal training service, I was finally able to reach my weight loss goal-- and maintain my success! -- not only am I held accountable for my own victory trials and progress... for once I have someone who understands the ups and downs on this healthy lifestyle change. with Banner.. you will forever be challenged; as he provides an environment that is adapted to your personal goals and needs... from indoor/outdoor workouts, to cardio and strengthening /toning.... I'm on the road to kissing my inner fat kid goodbye! not to mention affordable -- compared to other personal trainers in the area.. -- Banner is modestly priced... and even offers in home training sessions and weekend boot camps... -- there are always special price packages to take advantage of as well! read more

Bruce is awesome...I have been working out with him for two years and he is Everything you would want in a trainer. Bruce is smart, funny, and knows when to push you. He never yells or asks you to do more than he knows you can...this makes you feel successful and wanting to come back for more. He is more than worth every penny and should charge more! read more

I've been working with Bruce for about 3 weeks now. With a combination of personal training sessions and his Saturday morning bootcamp class, I'm already seeing awesome results. I feel better, look better, and Bruce has been instrumental in all of that. Our sessions are challenging, but always fun, and I leave knowing I've had a great workout. Bruce is very personable and has a good sense of humor, and having that rapport in the trainer/trainee dynamic is definitely helpful. Your body WANTS to hate him during the session (and especially at first, two days after!), but you can't help but acknowledge how good he is at what he does. His scheduling is flexible and he makes a priority of trying to accommodate what will work best for you. I feel like I'm getting a steal with him in terms of his pricing and the high level of training he's providing. I'd looked into personal training in the past, but could never rationalize the expense, but now I have no excuse! I came into my first session cautious and intimidated, ready to feel embarrassed about what poor shape I was in. However, Bruce immediately put me at ease and was encouraging. When we talked about my goals and how to achieve them, I felt like they were attainable and something I truly wanted to work towards. I look forward to continuing my training with Bruce and I'm excited to see how my efforts will pay off as we go. Accountability with Bruce is a huge motivator for me, and I love coming into my sessions and spilling about the small victories I'm achieving each day. Highly recommended! read more

I found Bruce on Instagram. I came to the DC area for my Spring Break and was able to work with him. My workout at home consist of martial arts; however, working with Bruce definitely made me have some second thoughts!! I only had two sessions with him, but I could feel the difference in my metabolism compared to what I usually do. Anyway, he's definitely a great instructor, and I wish I could fly him to the Midwest three times a week!! Thanks, Bruce! I will see you when I come back! read more

I trained with Bruce from early 2013 until May 2014. Bruce is extremely unprofessional. He frequently cancelled the sessions at the last minute (like 30 mins before the session) and he was often late for the sessions (20-30 minutes) without giving any advance notice. Aside from the fact that I was not able to have a regular schedule, there was time when I could not even schedule a single session with him for 2-3 weeks. He often failed to make himself available because he either had health issues, had car problems or was on vacation. He recently decided not to offer any indoor training. He acknowledged that this was a major change and offered a refund which I accepted. He said that it would take 14 days to process a refund. After not hearing from him for two weeks, I sent him several text messages and emails and called him but he did not respond to any of my emails, texts or phone calls. He even shut down his website. After sending him a message through facebook and instagram, he finally got back to me and claimed that I am not entitled to any refunds because my sessions had expired. When I made the purchase on his website, there was no statement about the expiration. Not even on the email receipt. Then, he claimed that outdoor training is still exercising. My last purchase was a package of 20 sessions and I still have 17 sessions left. I would not have bought this package if I had known that he would no longer offer indoor training. He charges less than other trainers in the area but there is a good reason for that. At the end, you are actually paying way more for training with Bruce than with other trainers because training with Bruce is extremely ineffective due to the inconsistency of scheduling and you are losing the majority of sessions that you paid for. Like other reviewers, I warn those who are interested in training with Bruce. It is not worth your time or money. read more

I won!! Thank God for my persistance. It took me no time to get a court date, have him served and get my money!! I hope everyone else refuses to take this laying down and fights back. Dont fall victim to his plan! Good luck. read more

My review unfortunately mirrors the other recent reviewers. He was good at first but definitely not professional. I used him from early 2013 until early 2014. He told me that he would no longer offer indoor training which would not work for my schedule and the weather at the time. So our last conversation was him saying he was looking for another venue but would keep me updated. Its been months and i have not heard from him and now i just want my refund. I've tried contacting him for weeks now but he has not returned my email, phone call and even FB message. I regret my decision to use him and I def would have gone with someone else. read more

Bruce is whipping me into shape .... Haven't worked out in 3+ years and his knowledge of cardio, weights, and nutrition Is excellent. I can't wait to get back into shape and enjoy the summer . I recommend Bruce to anyone wanting to get excellent service because of Bruce's fun and non- judgmental attitude and results. read more

Training with Bruce is great!!! He pushes you when you really don't feel like pushing yourself. Me and my new body sincerely thanks him for his guidance. read more