Online Personal Training, What Is It and Is It For You?
Most clients at 2Bfit Certified Personal Training Studio have transitioned without a hitch to Online Virtual Training and count on it as part of their ‘new normal’ during this lockdown while others attempt, without success, to motivate themselves on their own. Some may worry that they can’t get an effective workout without going to a gym, and others just aren’t sure how it works.
While for many, online virtual personal training is completely new, I have been implementing online distance training for more than a year with a few clients, one who does not live locally and a few others who travel frequently. This experience allowed me to hit the ground running when Covid 19 reared its ugly head and caused the countrywide shutdowns.
Unlike watching a Youtube video or a follow along workout DVD, virtual online training is the same effective training programs as in-studio, that you can access from anywhere with an internet connection and a smartphone, tablet or computer.
With live coaching and feedback in real-time, you aren’t left trying to figure it out on your own or wondering if you are doing the movements right or if you’re going to get hurt.
Wondering if Online Virtual Training is for you? Read on to learn more, hear what current clients have to say about it, and determine if it is right for you.
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Back in March when the stay at home order went into effect it was easy to think, okay I can stay home for 2 weeks…looking at it as an enforced vacation from routine and assuming life as we knew it would resume shortly. But those 2 weeks stretched into a month and now we are 8 weeks in with no end in sight.
Are you just in limbo just waiting for things to “return to normal” to pick up your workout routine again?
Perhaps you’re reluctant to try it thinking you won’t get an effective workout if you’re not at the studio.
For the clients who were new to Virtual Personal Training, they had some questions about how it works and if it was right for them. Here’s what you need to know.
- Online vs. on-site sessions: How online sessions work, and how they compare to your workouts in the studio.
- Value: How effective can a workout done at home really be? Can you really improve your balance strength and mobility even while homebound?
- Space and exercise equipment needed: How much space should you have and how much equipment is needed?
- Length of sessions: How long are the sessions and how many per week?
- Exercising on your own: What is the difference between following a ‘made for the masses’ DVD or YouTube workout vs, having the live coaching and support of your trainer with a program custom made for you.
- Preexisting Conditions and Injuries: How Live Virtual Training will allow you to train safely despite the “issues in your tissues” Meaning I can address any injuries or limitations because we are live rather than prerecorded.
Here are some common questions about training online with 2BFit:
- What can you expect during an Online Personal Training Session?
Your Virtual Personal Training sessions follow the same training framework as your in-studio workouts. How are they the same?
- We focus on strength, balance mobility and stability ( YOUR goals)
- Each exercise is chosen with the intention to help you perform better in life
- I demonstrate each exercise and tell you what to focus on for proper form & technique
- You get real-time feedback and coaching from a Certified Personal Trainer
- The workout is designed for your goals with your abilities and limitations in mind
- Workouts are typically 45 minutes long but can be modified to fit your needs
So What’s different?
- The venue. Since you can’t come to me, we meet remotely in whatever space you have available. (even if that’s a vacation home far away from this pandemic)
- The equipment. A few resistance bands your body weight and even some things lying around the house can all be utilized to give you a great workout.
Will I get the same effective workout as when I am in the studio?
The short answer? Yes
Let’s look at why you began training in the first place.
You had a goal. You wanted to improve your blood sugar or blood pressure, get stronger, lose body fat, reverse osteoporosis, improve your balance, get out of pain, etc. Keeping these goals in mind will help you get the most out of your Virtual Training sessions.
Remember, the whole point of working out is to challenge your muscles so they get stronger and more able to function in every way that is important to you! Because “if it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you”. And while it is nice to have the variety of all the kettlebells, medicine balls suspension trainers and other ‘toys’ like in the studio, you can absolutely build strength, lose fat, build bone, improve health markers or most any other goal with resistance bands or a few well-chosen bodyweight exercises.
With the right program, you’ll be amazed at the success you can achieve without ever leaving home. Just because the lights are out and the door is locked in the studio, doesn’t mean you can’t still get healthier, improve strength, build bone mass, or lessen your risk of falls. Don’t let a little thing like a stay at home order get in the way of the health and fitness goals you set for yourself!
Just think about all the places you’ll want to go to and the things you’ll want to do when this quarantine is over! (Freedom!) Be ready for it!
Picture all the exciting things out there to experience and the renewed appreciation you’ll have for being able to ‘go and do’. Functional Fitness is being able to do everything you want without physical limitations or your body holding you back. Being consistent with your workouts now will allow you to enjoy all life has to offer when you can get out and about again.
You knew that a custom program and 1-on-1 coaching was key to making progress while staying injury-free. And whether you come to the personal training studio or we get together via live feed video, You can have the same great experience.
Consistency is the key to making progress and maintaining your hard-won gains.
- Does Online Personal Training cost the same as sessions conducted at the studio
Yes, and here’s why. You are being coached on form and technique, you are challenged to reach your personal best each and every session. This is the value of personal training. Your sessions are customized to you and the feedback in real-time is no less than you would get in the studio. This is something you cannot get from any other online source of exercise. Whether in the studio or live video session in the comfort of our own home, the coaching and instruction you get is the key to your success.
- Won’t I be wasting my sessions?
Definitely not! You will be working with the direction and support of your trainer who knows you and knows your goals, your limitations, and your strengths and can adjust each and every workout according to what you need that day. Whether that is here in the studio or in your own living room.
Why? Because your health is a priority now more than ever.
Staying healthy and strong is the best chance you have of avoiding and/or surviving Covid 19 now and enjoying life in the future!
5. Why not just wait until the quarantine is lifted?
I’m as anxious for my studio to open back up as you are. The problem with putting your fitness on hold until “things get back to normal” sets you up for the creep of body fat, and lack of motivation that leads to even less fitness and ever-worsening health. Don’t risk backsliding and losing any progress you’ve already made.
Newton’s Law: “ A body in motion tends to stay in motion while a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless an outside force acts upon it.”—– I’m here to be that “outside force’ 😊
Your Online Training Sessions will enable you to work strategically toward your goals and maintain the results you have already achieved so when the quarantine is lifted you’re not scrambling to make up for lost ground!
There’s no word yet when gyms and personal training studios will get the all-clear to open back up so until then, and for those who due to their own health or that of a loved one may need to practice an abundance of caution even longer, Online Personal Training is the perfect solution.
6. What if I don’t have any equipment?
No problem! I can set you up with a resistance band or two and or a few weighted objects you have around the house and you’ll have more than enough to keep you progressing. Trust me, a bodyweight workout can be super challenging just by manipulating position and or tempo. Don’t believe me? Try this:
Stand with your back to a chair and sit down then stand back up. Pretty easy huh? Now try that with just one foot on the floor. Don’t just plop down, control it the whole way down AND the whole way up. Feeling a bit more challenged? Still want more? Stand with feet parallel and lower SLOWLY down to the chair take 10 seconds to lower down, and 10 seconds to come back up. You won’t need many of those to be convinced!
Changing certain variables can intensify any exercise whether you are using equipment or bodyweight. Having your trainer coaching you through the movements is the key is to perform them with the correct form. Without it, at best you are just wasting time, or more worrisome, you’re courting injury.
7. Will I work out just as hard?
Virtual Training is fully customizable just as in-studio sessions are. Some days you’ll have the energy to push harder and other days we may need to scale it back a bit due to injuries or other concerns. I work with you during your session to ensure you get exactly what you need each and every workout.
8. Can I just follow along with a workout DVD or YouTube video?
Exercise videos are a dime a dozen, There is no shortage of free videos all over YouTube. But following along with a cookie-cutter workout just won’t give you the results you crave OR keep you from getting hurt. For that, you need a customized approach with a coach who is there to hold you accountable and guide you through a custom program made for you.
You know when you feel ready to quit and I say ‘come on you got this, just 3 more reps’ you find it in yourself to go the extra mile. I know it and you know it, it’s that little push, that little extra effort when results are made. And without a coach cheering you on your results will suffer
9. I don’t have a lot of space to workout.
You won’t need much space, Literally, if you have a space that is 5-6 foot square you’ll have more than enough room. Most of the time, even in the studio, unless you are moving from one piece of equipment to another you are staying in the same small area during your workout.
And in a pinch, we can always move a chair or coffee table out of the way to open things up a bit. And if you’ve been a client of mine you’ll be strong enough to move them – See? That’s what you call Functional Fitness!
10. I go for walks a couple of times a week isn’t that sufficient for now?
While any exercise is good. Walking simply isn’t enough, even if you do it daily.
Walking improves your aerobic health but it just doesn’t help you build strength. And for adults, if you aren’t actively building strength you are systematically losing muscle mass. This slows down your metabolism and causes a host of other cascading health issues, including increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, decreased bone density, increased risk of falls and frailty, etc.
That’s not to say you should stop walking, but definitely include strength training in your weekly fitness plan
11. Can I just workout on my own if I remember some of the exercises we do?
Like walking any movement is better than nothing, but your Trainer knows how to tweak your form to get the most out of every movement while keeping your joints healthy. You just don’t get that by picking a couple of random exercises or watching a generic YouTube video made for the mass market
12. One issue I see is that my whole family is also at home and underfoot, what if we get interrupted?
No worries! That’s life as we know it right now and it seems like it’s going to be that way for a while so why put your life on hold because of it. Life is messy, I get it! We can work around the commotion.
It can be helpful to have a space set aside for fitness but if you don’t have a spare room, basement, or garage to escape to then we embrace the chaos and work around any disruptions.
One thing to keep in mind. Having our world completely upended is causing a lot of anxiety and restlessness. Maintaining structure and some semblance of normalcy–including your workouts, in the face of all this uncertainty is critically important for managing stress.
13. Is it safe to take part in Online Personal Training if I have an injury or joint replacement? Absolutely! You will be working under the watchful eye of a Certified Functional Aging Specialist. I’ll be there to instruct and correct you through every exercise. I specialize in older adult fitness and safety is paramount. Most of my clients come to me in the first place with arthritis, shoulder, knee, hip, or low back pain to name a few. I’ve worked with knee and hip replacement clients and those with pre-existing conditions.
Becoming more and more sedentary will only exacerbate these problems. In fact, the best thing you can do for yourself is to stay mobile with a regular schedule of structured exercise that addressed your limitations. My clients regularly leave their sessions feeling less stiff and sore than when they came.
In a nutshell here are the highlights.
- Online Personal Training Sessions are by regularly scheduled appointments. I will see you in real-time and I will monitor you every step of the way.
- The cost is the same as in-studio sessions because you are still getting the same value and personal attention.
- Each session is custom-designed for you according to your needs and goals,
- Pressing pause on your health and fitness is a strategy you will likely regret. Losing strength, mobility, gaining fat, and or getting stiff and sore while you wait for the studio to get back up and running is detrimental to your health. Working online until this quarantine is lifted is the way to go.
- You can keep moving forward even with limited space and equipment. I’ve gotten creative using clients’ available resources to keep providing them a safe and effective program.
- Walking daily is always a good thing but it is not everything, you still need regular structured strength training to maintain and build muscle.
- Personal training session whether remotely or in-studio provide you with coaching and constant feedback and are SAFE and effective. You just won’t get that with a video or workout from a magazine.
- Injury’s and joint issues are by no means a reason to forgo fitness. In fact, we can work around them and in many cases get you feeling and moving better, with less pain and limitations.
- Pets and family members underfoot are par for the course right now, I get it! But I can work around them to help you continue to push toward your goals.
- Right now robust health and a peak immune system are more important than ever. The best way to improve both is to focus on the things you CAN control. Eating good nutritious meals, keeping your body in tip-top shape, managing stress getting restful sleep…These all play a part in maintaining health and wellbeing. Working out has a cascade of positive effects, better sleep, less stress, improved body composition, and overall health; it can even help us eat better because you’ll want to fuel your body with good nutritious food.
- Online training may be a new concept to you but more and more people are embracing the ease and convenience of Virtual Personal (and small group) Training in the comfort of their own home. I’m confident you will enjoy it too.
No matter what, don’t stop working out. The best way to ensure consistency, efficacy, and safety is to schedule with your trainer.
Still hesitant to try it? Most of our client’s worries and questions were resolved with their first Online Session. Try it, Risk-Free!