The benefits of online training- Is it right for you?
Category: Motivation / Training Tips / Workouts
While I am writing this, we are well into a global health pandemic. COVID-19 has changed many things about our lives, and fitness is one of them.
Many fitness facilities have been closed for months. Now some are operating at very low capacity, which can make it very difficult to get in your workout.
Because of this, many people have had to find other, safer options to stay fit.
One of those options is online fitness.
As I am sure you are aware, there are many ways one can turn to the internet to get fit. The most common way is watching posted home videos or routines from fitness trainers that you can follow from the safety of your home.
Other ways you may be familiar with are by using live streaming services like Facebook LIVE which allows many people to tune in to one person’s video or class.
In terms of personal fitness coaching, many coaches such as myself use platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams which require a meeting code and an invite.
There are even apps and subscription based fitness options in which you can subscribe monthly for access to content and sometimes even a coach; much like our Ocean Insider Club which you can learn more about here.
You can probably imagine that I have had to pivot the majority of my in-person clientele to online platforms since COVID-19. And although my fitness studio has now reopened back up here in Vancouver B.C, most of my clients are choosing to stay online instead.
Why are they choosing to stay online?
Let’s get into the objective benefits of online training. Then I will share with you what our clients have personally said about it.
- Affordability
Not only will it save you time, but you are now saving money because there is no gym membership to pay for. If you choose something like a subscription-based training model, typically the monthly fees are much cheaper than in person training.
- Accessible from anywhere
Out of town one day but still want to log into your online training program? You can still train if you have access to your phone or a computer. If you have internet, you can have access to your workouts from anywhere at any time.
- Convenient and flexible
Convenience is tied in with accessibility as mentioned above. But convenience can also be tied in with flexibility in the sense that you can plan easier around your sessions or workout time. Many of our clients that typically take transit or something like handy dart can now save even hours by skipping the travel and working out from home.
In the past couple of weeks, I did some research. I wanted to hear it directly from them, so I asked each client why they were choosing to stay online, even though they originally started with in person fitness coaching.
Here is what they said:
“I’m working out more than I was before”
“I am getting more support from my family”
“I feel more motivated with all of the variety”
“I feel stronger”
I never thought about these answers before, but once I heard them, I could understand why each was true for everyone.
My client Alice (*name changed for privacy) mentioned more support from her family. This got me curious and so I wanted to know in what way.
She told me that her kids made a ‘workout date’ with her every Friday afternoon. They did it as a team. This helped keep her on track by having that extra support.
Another other client we will call Jessica mentioned feeling motivated with more variety. Turns out she is partaking in many different fitness options online that she normally would not be able to take part in!
She was streaming LIVE adaptive workouts on Thursdays, attending online yoga on Mondays and Fridays, and was also an Insider on Ocean Insider Club.
Now I’m not saying that online fitness is the be all end all. There are some people that would not necessarily benefit from only having online fitness or online fitness coaching.
However, the benefits for many individuals are so high that it seems to be a better option to help reach a lot of our client’s goals.
Why would I not support them if this brings them success and a healthier lifestyle?
If you think you might benefit from online training, I encourage you to look and see what is out there. You never know, you might surprise yourself!
Your Coach,
Megan Williamson