If you’ve ever wondered about an insider’s look on online personal coaching, read this fitness enthusiast Lisa Alexis Franz and her personal experience with it!
The struggle is real!
The idea started a few months before I’ve discovered online personal coaching. At that time, I’ve joined a “globo” gym after getting kicked out of my CrossFit box (they do that? Yeah I know, I thought it was sport based on community!!).
At first, I hated going to the “normal” gym. Everyone was wearing headphones minding their own business. No one cared whether I was there or not. Every time I dropped a weight the trainers would give me evil looks, because I might damage their equipment and a proper pull-up bar was nowhere in sight.
The first thing that hit me was how many people trained with bad form. And that is in no way their own fault, they had probably never been shown any better. Having studied Sport and Exercise Science at University and having coached CrossFit, Yoga and Pilates for some time, it was very difficult for me not to intervene in people’s training and correct their form. First, I thought it was useless gym instructor’s job. Secondly, not everybody appreciates other people’s input (even if they only mean well and are slightly more knowledgeable).
The second thing that I noticed was that many people walked into the gym without even a slightest idea what to do. They would sit down on one machine and play around for five minutes. Walk over to the next and if they didn’t know how to use it, they would just finish off with 5 minute walk on the treadmill. Other people actually seemed to have a plan but appeared to be doing the same three exercises using the same weight every single day.
This whole time I was thinking, why don’t any of the personal trainers approach them? Obviously, they are not allowed to give out free advices; on the other hand, hardly anyone can afford a personal trainer at NZ $80/US $50 per hour!
If only there was a way to give these people who are keen to get fitter, but just don’t seem to know how, a training program at a price they can afford! Combine this with a way they can track their progress. Have a trainer to ask questions, who also holds them accountable and oversees the whole progress.
Solution found: online personal coaching
I went home, did some research and found a number of training apps that were designed for exactly this purpose. The one which appealed most to me was called “Trainerize” so I’ve started building my profile as an online personal coach the same day.
At this stage I have the privilege to train five people – two of which live locally, one about 2000 km away and two on the other side of the globe! This is the whole beauty of online personal coaching – location does not matter! In addition to that, I can design their training program in a way that completely fits their personal needs and goals – weight loss, stronger arms, more endurance, you name it. Some of them like to train in a gym, others at home or a combination of both.
You might ask how I can ensure their movement quality is good. Well, I can either upload my personal movement demonstration to the app or utilize one of the videos they provide for the trainers. Apart from that, I still have to trust that the client is following my instructions. But at the end, it is about education and not about control.
When I walk into my gym now I look at it with different eyes. I look at things as inspirations on how to improve my business and the service I provide to my clients. I even get a “hello” from some of the trainers in there as I seem to have “proven” myself worthy of their acknowledgement.
If you ever struggle to come up with ideas of what to do for your workout, if you find yourself doing the same three exercises every single time or you are just starting your fitness journey, give online personal coaching a go.
You won’t regret it!
