Should I Do Online Personal Training?

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, the fitness industry seemingly came to a screeching halt.  Gyms that opened Monday morning were told that afternoon that they would not be opening tomorrow.  Anyone with a gym membership was stopped cold from going.  Suddenly, all workouts were frozen.  Many people stopped completely, while others simply exercised at home or outdoors.  Personal trainers were put out of business overnight, except for those that quickly transitioned to online personal training via FaceTime, Zoom and Skype type services. 

As the pandemic continued, these services became increasingly popular for one-on-one training, as well as group training, online classes.  Now, as we move past the Delta variant and Omicron variant seems to be evident, is it a good idea to hire an online personal trainer?  It seemed as though most gym goers were getting tired of interacting via screen for their fitness motivation.  However, online personal training may be your best bet for the foreseeable future.  It’s safer from contracting an illness, cleaner, more private and more affordable.

Safety from getting sick

Online personal training has grown exponentially over the past two years for the obvious reason.  People are scared of getting COVID-19.  Even though 60% of the country is vaccinated, the fear still exists beyond the unvaccinated.  Working out at home helps you stay out of facilities where people sweat, breathe heavily in close proximity to one another and fail to keep themselves home when feeling ill.

Cleaner

If you have your own equipment at home, you are responsible for how clean it is kept.  More importantly, you don’t have to worry about who or how many people touched this before you.  And you must go with the assumption that the last person to use the dumbbells did not wipe the handle.  Also, gym members are also notorious for not replacing the weight to the space they found them in.  Nor will they tell someone if something is broken.  At home, you know the condition of your equipment at all times and you know where it belongs when not in use.

Privacy

When you train online, it’s just you and your personal trainer.  They are watching you at your home and you are focused on them on your screen.  There is no one else there watching you.  For those that are self conscious about their bodies, this is the most important aspect of personal training online.  When conditions improve you may decide to do in-person training at a gym.

Affordability

Generally, personal training with a trainer online is less expensive.  Several factors go into this.  The personal trainer does not have any travel time.  They can jump from client to client within a minute.  Second, they also don’t have to pay for any gym rental space.  Third, if you live, for example in New York City, you do not need to hire a NYC personal trainer.  You can work with a trainer in other parts of the country where the cost of living is cheaper.  Thus, as the consumer you have some additional leverage on price and now you have more trainers to choose from.

Stay strong!

@neighborhoodtrainers