As a kid, I LOVED when my parents were working with a personal trainer. It meant one to two hours of pure playtime two to three days a week!
Growing up I felt as if everyone’s parents had a personal trainer that was THE thing.
Now I’m grown up and working as a personal trainer, and it is definitely not THE thing anymore.
What happened?
Life? Sure
Longer Commutes? For anyone working in the city, definitely!
Countless after-school activities? I’m sure you have to go so you can get your kid from Math League, off to practice, and then to a choir concert, so I’ll keep this short.
All of those things happened, but the biggest contributor as to why personal trainers are not THE thing any longer?
The Internet.
The growth of the Internet led to blogs, websites, and social media sites FILLED with fitness and training information.
It was quickly discovered that instead of paying for time with a personal trainer in the middle of your day, you could spend a few minutes searching the Internet for some exercises and call it a workout.
Sure, it worked for a while, but people soon realized a Google search left them with the two most important questions – Why? And How?
Some personal trainers saw this as an opportunity maintain a few clients.
The great personal trainers saw it as something bigger – an opportunity to reach more people, impact more lives, and change the industry.
Those personal trainers gave life to online coaching, which is quickly growing as THE thing for the healthy industry.
So if it’s becoming THE thing, then what is online coaching?
The quick and easy definition would suggest online coaching is just a different style of personal training. And it is, but it’s different because it offers MORE than your weekly session at your local gym.
As the coach, online coaching offers me the ability to reach, educate, and coach more people. It gives me the ability to connect with clients on a more regular basis, and eliminates many of the limitations associated with in-person training.
That’s great, but what does online coaching do for YOU?
Online coaching does more than take away the questions and confusions of Google searching “Workouts to Lose Weight” or “Exercise to Tone Up My Butt.”
In order to help you get a better understanding of online coaching, here are 7 things online coaching can do for you.
Program Designed for YOU
One of the biggest reasons the program from a Google search stops yielding results for you is because it wasn’t made for you!
Think about it. Nobody asked you your height, weight, current workout routine, current nutritional status, training history and experience, dietary preferences and limitations.
It’s a pre-made program, likely made for someone else that was copied and put out there for others to use.
You are unique, and online coaching helps to build a program that fits your unique characteristics.
And not just one day of it, you get a program built out to the point where you meet your goals. One that’s modified on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes even daily.
Squats bother your knees? No problem, shoot an email off to your coach, and get an alternative exercise.
Dairy intolerance? Ask your coach to help you find dairy alternatives that fit your goals.
Travel a lot for work? Great! Let’s create some workouts and nutrition strategies that allow you to stay on track at home and while you’re away.
You are unique, and so is your lifestyle; therefore, an online coach is there to design a program fit for you.
Works for YOUR Schedule
One of the most unique characteristics about an individual is his or her lifestyle.
If you’re shuffling kids around to school and activities outside of your time at the office, syncing your schedule with your personal trainer’s is TOUGH.
The beauty of online coaching is that it allows you to workout, meal prep, or fill out progress logs when it works for your schedule.
Sure, there is the argument for the value of seeing and working with someone face-to-face, and that argument is valid.
However, my clients are set up with videos, written descriptions, and thorough explanations or their training or nutrition program. AND if we do run into questions or issues, each client knows he or she has 24/7 access to me to let me know.
The goal of online coaching is to teach you that time does not have to be the limiting factor because a program CAN be designed for whatever amount of time you have available in your schedule.
Communication
How can you REALLY know how someone is doing by spending 45 minutes with him or her once a week?
You can’t!
Online coaching allows coaches to stay in touch with you throughout the weeks.
My clients have 24/7 access to me, and I STRONGLY encourage them to use it.
Phone, email, text, direct message, smoke signals, WHATEVE it is – my goal is to be in communication with clients throughout the week.
Why?
Because as a coach I’m a problem solver, so if something isn’t working, I want to help you find a solution that will work!
And the reality is that unless you tell me something isn’t working, I don’t know that.
Think of it this way, the longer you wait to tell me, the further you’re moving from your goal, thus leading to frustration from the both of us.
Consistent Accountability
One of the most popular questions I’m asked is “Can you come live with me and keep me accountable at home?”
People don’t just like accountability, they NEED accountability.
Too often people finish their once per week personal training session and never do any of the supplemental workouts or exercises.
Why?
Because no one was there to tell them to do it!
Constant communication throughout the week is great for asking questions and modifying programs, but it works wonders for accountability.
Imagine a mid-day test asking if you got your remaining workouts in or what your plan for dinner is.
As an online coach, that is my way of moving in with you because you do not want to be paying that bill to have me as your roommate 😉
Education
Do you know what the key to sticking to your program is?
Education!
Education drives adherence.
When you know what to do, you’ll stick to it for while, but then you get bored or find something new to do and you stop.
When you understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’ll be able to pull out just enough motivation to push you through on those days where you really don’t feel like it.
Google gives you the ‘What.’
My goal as a coach is ultimately to educate you not just on how to create a healthy lifestyle, but also on how to maintain it.
Call me crazy, but my goal is to educate you enough to the point where someday you don’t need me.
Google gives you the ‘What.’
As your coach, I’m going to give you the explanation behind a training style or specific exercise.
I want to help you understand why this calorie or macronutrient recommendation is going to help you lose fat and improve hormone health.
I educate you on why and how we’re modifying and making changes so that you continue to build YOUR healthy lifestyle.
Cost-Effective
Finance is never a fun thing to discuss – for you or me!
Ask an individual to put a value on his or her life, there usually isn’t a price tag. However, as soon as you talk pricing for coaching, which keeps you healthy and functioning, there seems to be a non-negotiable price tag.
There are individuals who pay anywhere from $60 to $100 for an hour with their personal trainer. Those sessions are typically bought in packages of anywhere 5 to 20 sessions.
That means people are spending, at the lower end, $300 a month for 5 sessions.
Imagine if you trained more than one per week!
Online coaching is truly a more cost-effective way to train.
Pricing for online coaching varies with every coach, but typically falls in the range of $100 to $500 per month.
Yes, the upfront price tag may be larger, but you’re not just receiving a program for your one-hour session, you’re receiving a program for everyday of that month.
Money doesn’t need to be the uncomfortable aspect of coaching, lay it out, evaluate price per session, and compare the value to and you’ll find which is more cost-effective.
Lifelong Results
A program fit for your lifestyle, a coach for accountability, and education all at a reasonable price are great, but that’s probably not what really drove you to an online coach.
So what did?
The desire to find a program that FINALLY gets the scale to move.
The hope of not losing weight and gaining it all back.
Both of those things are summed up by one word: RESULTS!
The things that make online coaching great are important, but you sought this out because you were seeking results.
There’s never a guarantee for results, but the individualization, education, and communication help to find the path that leads to results, both short- and long-term results.
Personal training may not be THE thing like it was growing up, but the desire to be healthy is definitely THE thing and online coaching appears as THE thing to connect more people, impact more lives, and help more people know what it means to live a healthy lifestyle.
