WHAT?
How is that EVEN possible?
I thought you had to be WITH me to be able to train me effectively.
Now, I get it. When you think of personal trainers, you think of the people in the gym, with you, pushing you through workouts. You probably do not think of the guy behind his computer monitoring you from afar. It just seems a little off in the beginning. But, here’s the thing, an online personal trainer can sometimes off much MORE than an in-person trainer can for a number of reasons. I have laid out some advantages to both training styles below for you to consider.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most beneficial aspects of in-person training. The trainer is there watching your every move, critiquing your form, and showing you different strategies to improve your results. You cannot get this with Online Training. Sure, there will be feedback, and in fact, I encourage my clients to send videos of their workouts over to me whenever they have a question about their form but it is never instant feedback, or even feedback while you are in the gym going about your workout. Exercise can be dangerous. Improper form can lead to injuries. By having that trainer there, with you, you can prevent these cases and improve your form on the spot.
2) Motivation
There’s nothing to debate here. Simply workout out in the presence of another individual helps get you motivated and ready to attack your workout. Hopefully, your trainer has a great attitude and has ways to fire you up as well.
3) Accountability
While this can be a benefit of both in-person and online training, I believe it’s a little stronger for in-person training. The reason for this is simple, you have scheduled a time to meet someone who you trust, someone you have built a relationship with, and therefore, you feel obligated to not blow them off. Also, a good trainer will make sure that you are coming in as well. Taking the time to check up on clients via email, text, or phone call, can go a long way in changing your thoughts from “eh, do I really want to train today?” to “I will be there!”
Seriously, have you taken a look at what it is going to cost to hire a trainer for a one-hour session? Anywhere from $50-100 seems to be the average. What if you want to go 3-4 times a week, 12-16 times a month? You can do the math. It adds up to A LOT of money over time. With online training, I can offer you the same (and in my humble opinion, a better) service, for a fraction of the cost. Sure, I will not be at the gym with you screaming in your ear telling you to get 2 more reps out of your bench press, but I will be there to help you with training, your diet, your supplementation, and much, much more.
2) Having a Diet
The biggest difference maker in determining how you look is your diet. It does not matter how hard you train if you do not have a sound diet to match what you are trying to accomplish, forget it. You will never out-train a horrible diet. This is where in-person trainers fall short. Due to the fact that they are working long hours in the gym with clients, they simply do not have the time to focus on an individualized diet for each client. Also, the charge of a session generally does not cover any nutrition advice. With online training, that is completely the opposite. Since we can maximize our time by not being in the gym hours on end, we can focus on setting up each individual client with their own specific diet to hit their goals and we can make adjustments along the way, monitoring you as you go along. This is a HUGE benefit to the client.
3) Attention to Detail and Providing You With More
Think about it, Online Personal Trainers (unless they are working with a company) are working for THEMSELVES. I see this as a BIG benefit for online trainers. They NEED to succeed, they NEED to get the client results, if they want their business to last. Therefore, they will be more likely to go the extra mile for you to ensure that you are pleased with the service and to make sure that you are getting the results that you hoped for.
One last thing I wanted to mention before I take my hands off of the keyboard is this:
I am not saying that in-person training is not the way to go and that online personal training is always to going to be better. As with anything, there are great trainers in both settings but there are also BAD trainers in both settings as well and you need to be cautious and do your research before you hire ANYONE.
Also, just because one type of training may be better for someone else, does not mean that it will be better for you. If you are someone who NEEDS the in-person trainer to push you through workouts, obviously, online training is probably not for you.