Many people do not understand the difference between personal training and digital coaching, or know which is right for their personal fitness goals.

Additionally, many people are exploring new ways of keeping healthy, with minimal resources.

I wanted to run through what digital coaching means, how it works, and explain everything you need to know to decide on the best training options to meet your fitness aspirations!

Online Personal Coaching – What it Means

More and more, I hear from clients who are committed to improving their health, getting fitter and stronger, and are keen to embark on a new lifestyle journey – but think that without a gym membership or a load of gear stacked up in the garage, it’s impossible!

This is where online coaching is coming into its own. Because it’s all possible if you know where to start!

With 2022 being the challenge that it is, we’ve all seen how easy it is to become dependent on particular routines or facilities, so working with a professional coach online is a great way to take back the power, and have control over your own journey.

    • You don’t need a gym.
    • You don’t need to be already ‘fit’.
    • You don’t need any particular clothes, equipment, or space.

What you do need is a commitment to working on your self-development, and an Internet connection to be able to get in touch, check out your new nutrition plans, shoot over questions or problems, and access your workout calendar.

Digital coaching is a world away from downloading an app and logging in every few days to pick and choose a workout that takes your fancy.

It’s the equivalent to having a tiny PT living in your phone, who is an actual real-life person (me!) who will check in with you weekly, guide you through detailed workouts, listen to any changes you need to make, and liaise with you to make sure you’re getting the best coaching possible.

How Does Online Training Work?

If you want to look after your fitness, maybe get a bit stronger, perhaps lose a couple of pounds, recover from an injury – whatever it is, it’s you that will make that happen, not me or any other Personal Trainer – no matter how awesome we might be!

Online training works as hard as you do.

Everything can be done digitally or virtually, to your schedule and on your terms.

First, we get in touch for a chat. I want to know what you’re working towards here, what goals set your motivation on fire, how much time you’ve got to commit, and what you need from me.

    • That might be a carefully designed training programme to help you deal with a health problem.
    • It could be a fast and efficient HIIT workout that you can fit in around the school run or managing your own business.
    • Perhaps you want a 12-week blitz to get into the best shape of your life ahead of a special event (or a milestone birthday!).

Digital coaching means having your own Personal Trainer on speed dial, and you won’t find any generic workouts or anything that I don’t know you can achieve.

Nutrition is just as vital as exercise, so with a combination of meal plans and workout schedules, rest days and personal advice, online training is 100% adaptable to what you need, and how you want it to work for you.

The Power of Digital: The Rise of Remote Training

We’ve all seen those Zoom classes, YouTube workouts, social media influencers, sharing exercise tips, follow-at-home training and crazy fancy Chia bowls (how do they do that?).

And it’s incredible. Truly.

Our health and wellbeing are probably THE most fundamental thing to our lives, and it’s awesome that the pandemic has made so many people look up and realise they’re not living their best life, and want to do something about it.

But, there is a big difference between professional fitness coaching, and joining in with a class – and the best option for you is totally dependent on what you want to achieve!

Here are those all-important added extras that an online coach can offer, that you can’t get from any group exercise setting:

    • 1-on-1 support. I’m there for my clients 24/7 – we have a dedicated app, What’s App chats and a good old fashioned phone, so if you’re stuck, bored, demotivated, struggling, my job is to craft your workouts and food into a plan that drives your passion and gives you the returns you want.
    • Personal plans. I can’t stress this enough; we are ALL different! You might be working out at home with no equipment, and love running, walking, or hiking with the dogs. Maybe you prefer the gym, heavy lifting, Crossfit, Zumba – it’s all good stuff! Online coaching takes that information and uses it to make a plan that focuses on where you’d like to improve, based around the time, equipment and resources you have.
    • Nutrition! Here’s where it so often goes wrong (I’ve been there, we all do it!). A poor diet can sabotage the best-laid training plans, so my digital coaching incorporates a nutritional program alongside your workouts, to complement and support effective recovery, stable and tangible progress, and fit in with your lifestyle.

If you love the group mentality, support bubble and enthusiasm that you get from a fitness class, that’s a great way to drive your motivation and keep progressing!

You can also use that energy to fuel your training, combining the best of both worlds.

As your online coach, I appreciate that working hard on your goals in isolation can be seriously tough, so always ensure my clients get the best of our fitness community, where you can share your challenges and experiences, and learn from others too.

Digital has changed the face of fitness forever, and it’s created a platform where a passionate Personal Trainer such as myself can offer their services and support to clients anywhere in the world, any time, any place.

With video calls, remote training, digital programmes and virtual support, you have everything you need to make it to your desired destination, all at your own pace.

Check out my online coaching packages here, or get in touch for a chat about how I can help you get to where you want to be!