The pandemic made all personal trainers online trainers whether we wanted to be or not.
As for me, I loved the change. I still do in-person training, but making online options available for people allowed personal trainers to help a wider number of clients who otherwise would never have hired us. People got stronger, people lost weight, and people made their lives better.
But there are a ton of misconceptions about online training and how it works. Some people imagine that an online trainer is going to solve all of your problems. That somehow they’ll have every answer ready, and that you’ll never make a mistake again.
The first consideration you should make is how much personal experience you’ve got in a gym. It’s hard for you to prop up your phone and show your online trainer exactly what your form looks like. That means you could be doing the movements wrong and risking injury. If you have limited experience in the gym, an online trainer is not a good idea. Start with an in-person guide first and then move to online once you’ve got the fundamentals.
Listen, an online trainer is great in a lot of ways. I’ll explain those in a minute. But first we need to talk about the bad online trainers who will take your money and give you nothing.
Some online trainers have zero pedigree, just a lot of broscience they’ve learned online. A real trainer has their own trainer and can show you exactly where their methods come from. There should be a flow from teacher to student, and it should all make sense in a unified package. If your online trainer can’t explain why they’re having you do something, they’re not a real trainer. They’re just a dude with a PayPal account.
As for courses and books, save your money. The future is an app, not a PDF for $47 on Gumroad. Those guys have no understanding of nutrition or injuries. An ebook doesn’t cut it anymore. Just because they’re fit doesn’t mean they can help you get fit without hurting yourself. And just because someone can deadlift 500 pounds does not make them a qualified personal trainer.
Contrast that with an actual qualified personal trainer like myself. I offer custom-tailored programs developed around sound fitness principles taught to me by my own trainers over the years. These are based on scientific research and informed by studies about rehabilitation. I not only know how to stop you from getting hurt, but if you’re already hurt, I can help you work around that and strengthen your injured area so you increase functionality.
Can your dudebros do that? No. They can teach you to lift heavy things, but that’s not training. And it doesn’t protect and strengthen your entire body.
As for online training, I offer low-cost programs via my app. If you don’t want to meet in person, we can do everything digitally. The app includes 4k videos for every exercise to show you the exact form you should use to stay safe and maximize your benefits.
I work with a lot of clients who’ve already tried the online broscience coaches. Especially younger guys in their twenties and thirties who don’t know any better. You know what I usually hear after the very first session?
- “That movement feels so much better.”
- “Why didn’t that hurt my injured shoulder?”
- “You’re the first person to tell me about this.”
It’s hard to explain the difference between a good and bad trainer in just one article. But when you experience it, you feel the difference. A quality trainer changes everything about the workout and how your body feels both during and afterward.
Let’s talk about how to look at an online trainer’s website and social media to vet them. Great client pictures is not it. Neither are success stories from supposed clients. Images that show a guy going from sixty pounds overweight to ripped — you can purchase those.
Did you know that? Here’s a place to order fake transformation photos: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/before-and-after-weight-loss
You want real social proof from real people with real accounts. That means testimonials on social media that link back to the client’s account. That’s the bare minimum of proof.
Your trainer also needs a current bio about themselves. That should include an About section that explains why they’re qualified to teach health and fitness. “I played football in high school,” is disqualifying. So is any picture captioned, “Dude look at my results.”
You also want to stay away from people who take harsh political stances. The fake broscience trainers are often spewing negativity about masks, vaccines, etc. Whether or not you agree with those things is irrelevant because your customer base might follow them, and as a professional every trainer needs to be ready to accommodate their customer’s needs and concerns.
The same is true of negativity toward other choices. Hating on specific nutrition strategies and telling you only theirs works is a red flag (goes for carnivore and vegan alike). Trainers always have preferences, sure, but treating other people like crap for not agreeing shows they’re an amateur, not a professional.
Check out their social media. Pictures showing themselves partying and making decisions that go against good health is another red flag. That includes chugging beer, getting wild with strange girls, and gulping down nachos. If they believe in fitness then they should be living it. Don’t hire someone who believes what they teach is pointless.
Good trainers are usually willing to offer you collateral — like a short six-week program or access to ask past clients questions. Their programs prove themselves, they don’t need to sucker you into a yearlong contract or hide their real clients from you.
There needs to be absolute honesty. For example, I tell people I’m on TRT, I tell them they need a 1:1 in-person trainer before working with me online, and I tell people that I will work with guys to get their steroids right while they train. I keep no secrets because I walk the walk. Is my exact approach going to be the same as yours? No. But you’ll know where I’m coming from and why I make the choices I do.
If you’ve made the decision to hire an online trainer, let’s talk about how that works.
If you’re just starting out, you need an in-person trainer for at least one month first, with a minimum two sessions per week. Eight sessions to build a basic understanding. That makes sure you have a healthy foundation and can stay safe during workouts.
The closest I offer remote clients is having you record yourself as you workout doing each set, then we meet on Zoom and review the footage together, I tell you what to adjust, and you reshoot yourself doing the rep until you get it right. It’s not as effective as an in-person session, but it gets the job done.
I work with bodybuilders and beginners alike. If you’re looking to break into fitness and start your lifelong journey, I’d be happy to meet you wherever you are. Contact me and let’s get you what you need.
