The Pros and Cons of Online Fitness
With our lives already full to bursting with work, family duties, chores (and the list goes on!) it can seem almost impossible to fit in regular exercise. Finding the time to visit a gym can be tough, and opting for online alternatives can be tempting for the time-poor among us.
The use of home fitness apps and videos has surged during the last three years, an unsurprising product of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns when fitness venues across the country were forced to close. According to a study by the World Economic Forum, during the first half of 2020 downloads of health and fitness apps grew by 46% worldwide.*
Online videos and apps can be convenient, cost-effective ways to get active on a regular basis. But the big question is, are they the best option for us to keep fit and healthy in the long term? Belle About Town spoke to James Staring, the founder and lead fitness coach at Fit to Last Personal Trainers.
Generally online training comes in three forms:
- Pre-recorded videos where you exercise when it suits you with no commitment to a specific time. You follow the trainer as they exercise with you. These are really a modern version of the old style ‘fitness DVD’ originally made famous by the likes of Jane Fonda.
- Live one-to-one (or one-to-group) virtual training sessions. You log in at a pre-agreed time and join your live trainer via video link (Zoom etc.) who will work with you on a specific programme. They will be able to see what you are doing in real time and communicate directly with you throughout the workout.
- Apps – some deliver pre-recorded training, some live, some create programmes for you to follow, and allow you to log your training. There is a wide variety on offer, so we’ll cover these under the two headings above as this is basically the two categories the apps fall into.
Here, James takes belle About Town readers through the pros and cons of each when it comes to following an effective fitness strategy to progress or maintain your level of fitness.
ONLINE TRAINING PROS
Save time, money and effort by cutting out the commute
If we need to travel out of our way to get to a fitness facility, then online training can be an excellent choice.
The key to achieving fitness results is to find a convenient option that can be repeated week in week out. If travelling to a location is inconvenient or takes up too much, then you’re unlikely to stick with it. And this is where online can really help.
Online fitness videos can help you fit regular exercise into your schedule
Another excellent benefit of online training is it can fit your current schedule. If you travel regularly, work long hours or shift work, establishing a regular routine can be challenging. Online fitness videos and workout sessions offer flexibility to work out when time and energy is available. Pre-recorded videos offer the most flexibility, but even live virtual training can be more flexible than meeting your trainer at the gym.
No thinking necessary
Pre-recorded videos will usually give plenty of instruction, making one of the greatest advantages of this type of training is that someone has already done the thinking for you. If you ever go to a gym and struggle with knowing what to do or what not to do (and how to do it), an online fitness video can provide structure from a professional resource. This will make the process of exercise easier because all you need to do is show up.
Meanwhile, a trainer working with you live online can create a plan specifically for you, allowing for any injuries you may have, and taking into account your personal goals (and challenges).
Top tip: It’s worthwhile looking at reviews (and the website) to confirm the legitimacy of the fitness provider – just so you can be assured you’re taking your advice from a reputable professional.
Control the workout pace guilt free
Ever been doing a workout and thought, if I do anymore I might die, or been in a class and thought, I need to stop for a moment, but I don’t want to hold everyone up or look like a wuss? A massive benefit with online fitness videos is you can manage the time and intensity with the touch of a button. If the workout is too challenging for your energy level, just hit ‘pause’, take a breath and continue when ready. If you are unclear about how to do a particular exercise, then stop, rewind and repeat the explanation.
Even if half-way through you decide to stop, you can always return to the same session when energy levels and motivation improve. The guilt factor decreases dramatically because you haven’t actually ‘missed’ anything – only delayed it until you have more time/energy/motivation.
If you are using a personal trainer for live virtual training then they can help pace the workouts to suit you, while also keeping you motivated so you always push yourself that little bit more, without overdoing it!
ONLINE TRAINING CONS
How are your goals set, agreed and measured?
A fitness programme is only as valuable as its ability to help you find your point ‘A’ and then get you to point ‘B’ (your goal).
This means you need a goal specific to you personally. To do this effectively and to be held accountable, meeting with a professional on a regular basis, is the gold standard.
Think of it as expecting to rely solely on your phone notifications to encourage you to keep up a habit. Without the accountability coming from a real live professional, notifications alone can easily get ignored and the odds of success plummet.
Too many choices become confusing
If you Google search ‘online fitness videos’, you’ll find over 1,800,000,000 results. This is quite a large pool to whittle down to what you’re looking for. And unless you are a fitness expert yourself, you may not even know exactly what you need.
Choosing to work with a personal trainer on a one-to-one basis via video link (i.e., virtual personal training) does at least alleviate the problem of getting the right workout for your goals.
Working with a vetted professional ensures you are getting the expertise, and attention, you need to succeed.
Both parties need accountability (the online fitness provider and the user)
When you choose an online fitness option, you’re relying on the advice of the person on the other side of the camera to help you achieve your goals. But what if their advice doesn’t work? How will you even know if there’s no one there to track your activities and measure your results? What if you follow everything to the letter and the needle doesn’t move?
Sometimes if things aren’t going to plan despite your best efforts, there needs to be a plan ’B’. Consistent guidance from a trained professional who measures your progress can be the difference between continued frustration and making real progress.
By keeping both sides accountable for your success, you’ll know if the plan is working and if it’s not, you’ll have someone to talk to who can help you fix it.
This is where pre-recorded videos fall down, but where virtual personal training, still works well.
Lack of correction when doing an exercise incorrectly
A pre-recorded fitness video cannot correct you when you’re doing an exercise incorrectly. At best this can lead to an untargeted workout. At worst, it can result in an injury.
Additionally, if you struggle with instructions and then figure it out later on in the workout, you’ll have no reassurance that this is actually a breakthrough. You may even repeat the incorrect exercise many times over, exacerbating the problem.
So, if you are a complete beginner a pre-recorded video may not be the best option. Better to start with a live professional. If you’ve been exercising for a long time and you are confident your technique is correct, then an online video can provide a routine without you needing to think too much about it.
Too easy to skip workouts (no one waiting for us, no physical appointment)
Perhaps the biggest drawback to recorded workout videos is that you don’t have the accountability of an appointment. Scheduling the workout in your calendar is one thing, but knowing someone is expecting to see you is another matter entirely. It’s the accountability of the physical appointment that makes live exercise so much more powerful, and this is where online fitness videos can let you down.
Lack of equipment can be limiting
When training at home online, if you lack suitable fitness equipment for your needs and goals, it can be limiting. For example, if you don’t have weights heavy enough to challenge you for resistance training, you won’t progress.
Lack of space can be a challenge
A balanced fitness programme will require you to move in different directions: forward and backward and side to side. If you don’t have enough space to move in these directions freely, your movement is limited. Therefore, your results will be limited.
So, what do we think? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to exercise for exercise’s sake. You’ll feel better, have more energy, and the rush of endorphins post-workout alone is worth the physical challenge. But if you are aiming to achieve a goal, then professional, personalised guidance that sets targets – and monitors progress based on your needs – is the way forward.
