Online workouts are a great way to keep your fitness up on a busy schedule! If you’re one of the busy Mums who cite no time and/or childcare to exercise as your reasons for not getting in the workouts you know you should be doing, then online training is probably right for you.
Even if you are able to get to the gym, it might not be as good an option for you as training online at home.
Gyms and even forking out for a Personal Trainer come with downsides. Most people aren’t aware of the best way to spend their time when they are at the gym – what exercises will get them closer to their goals, meaning they go week after week but don’t see results.
Personal Trainers overcome this by giving you a personalised plan (or at least they should be, not all PTs are created equal unfortunately), but are only with you for around 1-3 hours per week. What about the other 167 hours in a week? What then?
Online training has grown enormously in the past few years. In fact when The Fit Mum Formula first launched in 2013 we were one of the first, at least in the UK; a fact I’m rather proud of.
Internet, email, Facebook groups and forums, blogs, membership portals and dedicated workout plan software means that wherever you (or your coach) are, you can access the help and information anytime you need it.
This means that you have the resources and support you need, to keep you on track 24/7, and as a result are much more likely to reach your goals, and in less time.
Here are 10 benefits of online workouts from your own home:
Time saving
Travelling to the gym takes time. Parking the car, changing clothes, finding a locker….you can skip the lot if your workouts are done at home. I don’t even bother ‘getting changed’ properly – if you follow me on social media you’ll know my favourite online workout outfit is my pyjama bottoms and a sports bra!
Good value
With no special equipment or workout clothing you’re already saving a few quid, but the real saving comes from the (rising) costs of gym memberships and Personal Training services, especially if you’re tied into a contract you don’t end up using. Having the support of an online coach is often much more cost effective, since there are few overheads for the coach to pay (PT’s pay rent to gyms), and the flexibility means more clients can be taken on than with in person training. There are some very high priced ‘transformation’ coaches around, but I’ve yet to see one who can justify the thousands (literally) they command each month. Personally I see this as an opportunity to pass those benefits on to you by being able to charge a much more reasonable monthly price while still helping you to reach your goals.
No one else to judge
A strange concept people have is that they have to ‘get fit’ before they can go to the gym. Isn’t this what exercising is supposed to do, not the other way round? But it really stems from insecurities, a fear of being judged by others further along the health/weight/fitness goal path than you. Never should you be made to feel insecure stepping into any fitness facility, it’s unacceptable. However sometimes these insecurities come from within our own head, and while this needs to be challenged, training at home gets round this while still enabling you to make progress.
No one to hog the equipment
Applicable more to those who workout with big heavy weights or machines (and why else would you use a gym?), imagine having a plan, workout template, your preferred workout to do, all prepped and ready, only to find that the local college are teaching their trainee PT’s that day, there’s a special offer on to use the gym, and half the machines are ‘out of order’. Your home is your private gym, and equipment based workouts can easily be switched for effective and select body weight exercises in most cases, especially if your goal is simply to lose weight and tone up.
Flexible
No one plan suits everyone. No timescale is right for every person. You go on holiday, change jobs, have sick children, move house. Having a strict meal and workout plan won’t work in these circumstances. Paid for three times a week training but need to take the dog to the vet that morning? You won’t likely get a refund. But with online training that’s fine – just fit it in when it’s a better time for you; when you get home from the appointment, in your hotel room, before the school run, heck even at 2am if you want to (night shift workers?!).
Accountability
You can’t see an in person trainer at all hours, every day. They have other clients to train, inflexible schedules to stick to, places to be. While this is still partly true for online coaches – I still have work to do – the flexibility means I can stay in touch with clients whenever they need me, and technology makes keeping in touch with many people in less time possible. For you this means you don’t get forgotten, and likewise the regular contact keeps you on track and accountable, so you’re less likely to deviate from what you need to be doing.
Upskilling
Let’s get this straight – with any trainer, on or offline, you’re not paying for information. We have information overload in the form of the internet. What you get with a good coach is relevant, informed, personalised information that is applicable to you. Understanding why your coach is telling you certain things makes you more likely to agree and follow through with instructions, which in turn will, you guessed it, get you closer to your goals, in less time. Never is delivery of information easier than online, where articles and links to specific information are just a click away and can be sent to you in seconds.
Monitoring progress
Like benefits of flexibility and accountability in points 5 and 6, adjusting and tweaking your plan is important to make sure it a) is working and b) works within your life and circumstances. This is much easier if you have resources and contact with your trainer to help you tweak as and when necessary, rather than having to wait until you next see them.
Understanding
While a concern might be that a coach you’ve never met won’t fully understand you, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only do platforms like Facebook mean that people put much of their life online anyway, but the regular contact and community created between myself and all my clients means we get to know each other far better than if we only saw each other a couple of times a week. I’ve formed fantastic bonds with many of my clients, and this understanding means I can better determine exactly what they need from me at any given time.
Super effective
If you thought exercising at home wasn’t as effective as going to the gym or a class, then you’ve clearly not yet seen or experienced the results that my clients, with the right type of training, are getting. In fact home workouts are the only thing I’ve ever done since having children (my eldest daughter Aurora is now 8!). Following along to a DVD is an option, but it’s a stab in the dark since it might not be right for you, and you obviously don’t get the support, accountability and help with other things like diet and meal planning that you do with a coach.
For the busy Mum who wants to lose weight and tone up but either can’t get to the gym, or isn’t getting the results you hoped for, online workouts is an option that’s flexible enough to fit into your crazy Mum-life while still getting you the body and body confidence you want.
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Pollyanna Hale
Pollyanna Hale helps Mums lose weight, get fitter and have more energy without having to spend hours in the gym or eating separate meals from the family. A Mum of two herself, Pollyanna uses techniques to get sugar cravings under control and improve your relationship with food without missing out on all the tasty things you love.
