If you’re just beginning to explore what it might take to get in shape, then remote fitness coaching or personal training may not be the first thing option that comes to mind.

remote fitness coaching is perhaps the least well-known.

While online personal training may be a good match for many people looking to start losing weight or build muscle, it’s not the only solution.

We encourage you to consider other options, so you can make the most informed decision about how to approach training. Outside of online training, options include:

• group fitness classes
• training apps
• PDF-based training plans
• home fitness videos
• traditional personal training

The above can all be effective options depending on your goals and experience. Let’s look at how these options compare to one another and why you might consider online personal training instead.

Group Fitness Classes

Many people really flourish in a group fitness class led by an instructor. Group fitness class at gyms or specialized boutique training studios can provide a sense of community and a structure that helps people feel like they belong. Having a trainer can make it easier to learn unfamiliar movements and can help motivate you to push through exhaustion. Group classes might be geared towards weight loss, cardio conditioning, strength training, or a mixture of goals. Even the class roughly matches up with your goals, it won’t be uniquely tailored to your needs, but instead will be structured to appeal to a substantial number of class participants through a kind of “lowest common denominator” training program. Additionally, depending on where you live, though, there may not be very many group fitness classes that are interesting to you. Likewise, if you travel frequently, or don’t want to work out during the limited times during which these classes are offered, it will be hard to really get your money’s worth doing group training.

Training Apps

There exists a plethora of free and paid app which can help you reach your fitness goals. Most are specialized, like Couch to 5K, which takes users from being untrained and sedentary to being able to run a 5K, or StrongLifts, which takes users through a structured, old school 5×5 strength training workout. They may provide videos demonstrating how to do specific movements, or allow you to connect to a community of like-minded people to talk to about your training. Training apps can be very convenient because you can follow their program at any time of day that’s convenient for you, and you can find an app that helps you with your general goals. The programs provided by these apps are very general purpose, even if they are specialized, and they can’t easily help you figure out what your goals are. A lot of them are littered with distracting ads or upsells, which probably isn’t what you want to see in the middle of your workout. Still, with their low or free cost, it can be worth it try a few apps to see what works for you.

PDF Based Training Plans

Trainers and fitness companies offer simple PDF-based training plans or e-books. These short programs are great for people who with an advanced level of fitness, and who have done enough research to know what their goals are and how to achieve them. If you already know exactly what you’re doing in the gym and what you want to achieve, these programs can be very useful. Our experience is that very few people are able to benefit from these guides, because they don’t give enough of a sense of what movements are supposed to be done.

Home Fitness Videos

Home fitness videos usually promise a lot and deliver a little. They usually advertise themselves as quick fixes, getting you in shape in as few as eight or twelve weeks, following along with this video content will almost certainly not get you the advertised results. The benefit of home fitness videos is that you can work out on your own time and in your own environment, but few people find success engaging these kinds of training tools.

Traditional Personal Training

Traditional, in-person personal training can be extremely helpful for people who aren’t quite sure where to begin their fitness journeys. A few sessions with a personal trainer can help you get more comfortable with certain movements or pieces of equipment at a gym. They can also keep you motivated to show up for specific training sessions, because unless you cancel your session well in advance, you’re most likely on the hook to pay for the training that day. Trainers often have limited scheduling options available. Finally, people who find themselves traveling a good deal, work strange hours, or have a more spontaneous approach to exercise will have a lot of trouble getting results with a personal trainer. Traditional trainers usually provide very good motivation and tips while you’re with them, but training in person with someone talented four or five times a week is very expensive, and most trainers don’t provide programs for you to follow outside of your training sessions. Since finding the right trainer is a very personal question, it can also be hard to find the right person near you.

Online Personal Training

Online personal training unlocks a world of fitness and training expertise that transcends physical location, training time, and other barriers to traditional training. It also provides a unique solution to receiving feedback and motivation, as well as customization of the workouts themselves. Online training is flexible in that you can train whenever is convenient for you, while still having the attention of a trainer who can help you achieve your goals, whatever they are. Unlike stand-alone apps, group fitness classes, PDFs, or at-home fitness videos, your coach will help you determine exactly what you need to do to reach your goals and guide you every step of the way along that path. And unlike a traditional personal trainer, you’ll know what to do each and every time you begin a workout because you’ll have your own, custom program right in front of you.

Training with someone online has a lot of upsides. It’s customizable, fits your schedule, and provides the accountability of a trainer without the stress of scheduling, and at a greatly reduced cost. If you’re interested trying online personal training, consider signing up for our program!