There are lots of different reasons why online personal training has been an increasingly popular trend over the past couple of years. Online fitness classes are an easy way to exercise from the comfort of your own home, without having to travel to the gym. But even though online personal training can make it easier to access fitness content, it is not the right fit for everyone.
Here are some benefits and challenges of online personal training to consider before choosing what is best for you and your needs:
- Benefits: You don’t have to drive to or from a gym. It is often more cost-effective due to the low overhead. You can login from just about anywhere and according to your own personal scheduling convenience. You can pick and choose types of classes and instructors that suit you best.
- Challenges: It can be hard for beginners or those recovering from an injury to get what they need from an online setting. There might not be anyone to check your form. You are missing that social encouragement that comes from your classmates, so you must rely more on your self-motivation, which can be hard. It is also harder to develop rapport with the instructor and for them to check on your progress and make necessary adjustments to improve your results*.
Online personal training is on way to get the best of both worlds. If you have a one-on-one personal trainer who happens to meet with your virtually, you are still able to build a relationship with them and they can see your form and make suggestions for its improvement.
*Individual results will vary.