The Pros and Cons of Virtual Personal Training
Jeremy • June 28, 2020
With Covid- 19 and social distancing, there has naturally been a huge increase in virtual personal training. The fact that people are getting a virtual personal trainer for the first time is a good thing! There are not very many options right now.
However, as things start to return to normal, there are pros and cons to virtual personal training to be considered.
Pros:
- Accountability- With all personal training, accountability is a big reason people see such great success. It is no different with virtual training; you are still paying for a session and scheduling your time with a personal trainer and that keeps you accountable to your workouts.
- Ease of scheduling- When you do not have to go anywhere, it’s pretty easy to make that appointment at the right time and stick to it.
- Learning new ways to get active- Whether it is a pandemic, a snowstorm, or lack of babysitting, there are times when we cannot leave our home. Virtual personal training has taught many people many different ways they can get a great workout from their home; even if they don’t have any exercise equipment.
Cons:
- Increased risk of injury- Although a personal trainer is still there to guide your form, it is not the same as spotting and correcting form for a client in person. Especially if you have limited experience in exercise, proper form through virtual training can be challenging and risky.
- Limited exercises- Although there are hundreds of bodyweight exercises that are terrific ways to increase your strength and stamina, there are still limitations when you do not have a lot of exercise equipment. For optimal health, we should do dynamic workouts that include several different pieces of equipment to adequately hit every muscle and every mode of exercise.
- Not a great way to track progress- Most people are concerned about the scale and their pant size, which can certainly be tracked from home. But at Axio Fitness, we care about so much more than your pant size. For optimal results, it is ideal to have a professional to track things like strength, endurance, heart rate, flexibility and body composition. Although many things can be tracked from home, it is better to track progress in several different ways to adjust an exercise program accordingly.
At Axio Fitness, we offer the best of both worlds! Virtual personal training is an option, but we also have private, fully equipped training rooms. No audience, no spreading germs and no distractions. Many clients call us their “home away from home.” If you are interested in personal training but unsure about virtual training or going back to a crowded gym, give Axio Fitness a call today!
Share Post
Our Recent Blogs
Exercise boosts self-esteem through several key psychological, physiological, and social mechanisms. Here's a breakdown of why and how it has such a strong positive impact on how you view yourself: 1. Sense of Accomplishment Why it matters: Completing a workout, reaching a fitness goal, or simply showing up when you didn’t feel like it reinforces a sense of achievement. Effect: Builds confidence in your abilities and fosters a “can-do” attitude. 2. Physical Changes You Can See or Feel Why it matters: Regular exercise often leads to improved posture, muscle tone, weight management, and energy levels. Effect: Feeling stronger, fitter, or more energetic can make you feel better about your appearance and physical capabilities. 3. Improved Body Image Why it matters: Exercise helps people feel more connected to their bodies and appreciate what they can do—not just how they look. Effect: Greater body acceptance, which boosts self-respect and self-worth. 4. Mastery and Progress Why it matters: Learning new skills (e.g., lifting weights, yoga poses, running longer distances) builds a sense of personal mastery. Effect: Feeling competent and skilled translates to confidence in other areas of life. 5. Positive Feedback Loop Why it matters: Feeling better emotionally after exercising reinforces the behavior and improves self-trust. Effect: You begin to believe in your ability to make positive choices for yourself. If you need the accountability and support to get started on an exercise routine, Axio Fitness is here to help!
Golf season in Ohio has finally arrived! Here are four effective exercises for golfers that target mobility, stability, and power — all crucial for an efficient and injury-free golf swing: 1. Rotational Medicine Ball Throws Purpose : Builds rotational power for stronger swings. How to Do It : Stand sideways a few feet from a wall. Hold a medicine ball at waist height. Rotate your torso and hips away from the wall, then explosively rotate toward it, throwing the ball against the wall. Catch and repeat. 2. Lunge with Rotation Purpose : Improves leg and core strength and hip mobility for better turn in your backswing and follow-through. How to Do It : Start in the lunge position with one foot forward, and one behind while both knees are bent about 90 degrees. Keep your back tall and rotate your body towards the side of your front leg. Push off your front leg and return to a standing position to switch legs. 3. Deadbugs Purpose : Strengthens the core while promoting spinal stability — essential for maintaining posture during the swing. How to Do It : Lie on your back with arms and legs up. Lower opposite arm and leg slowly while keeping your back flat on the floor. Return to start and alternate sides. 4. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts Purpose : Enhances balance and glute/hamstring strength for better control and lower body stability. How to Do It : Stand on one leg with a slight knee bend. Hinge at the hip and lower your torso while extending the other leg back. Keep your back flat and return to standing. If you need help with proper exercises, or you need accountability to stay consistent with golf exercises, Axio Fitness is here to help!
Have you ever heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking”? Well, I tend to agree with that. In our modern culture, we all sit way too much. Most of us have desk jobs and hardly move more than our fingers and thumbs for hours at a time. And beyond our sedentary jobs, there is a tremendous lack of activity in our free time and social lives. Before we could stream an endless number of shows, movies and documentaries, our free time consisted of dancing, roller skating, racquetball leagues, push-mowing our yards, or cleaning our own windows and gutters. For many of us these days, we not only sit way too much at our jobs, but we sit way too much when we aren’t at work. Sitting too long can negatively affect your health in several ways. Here are three key reasons: 1. Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases: Prolonged sitting is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. It can lead to poor blood circulation and insulin resistance, even in people who exercise regularly. 2. Muscle Weakness and Poor Posture: Sitting for extended periods, especially with poor posture, can weaken core muscles, hip flexors, and glutes. Over time, this can lead to back and neck pain as well as decreased mobility. 3. Mental Health Effects: Extended sedentary behavior is associated with increased feelings of anxiety and depression. Physical movement supports the release of mood-regulating chemicals like endorphins, which are reduced during long sedentary periods. To mitigate these risks, you should exercise daily but also get up and walk or move around every 30-60 minutes. Be mindful of how much you’re sitting throughout the day and be intentional about more movement. If you need help and accountability to get moving, Axio Fitness is here for you!
“I know what to eat, I just don’t do it.” If I had a dime for every time a client has told us that, I’d be retired on a yacht somewhere! Our Axio Nutrition program is a way to help our clients get better results. Whenever we present it to our clients, this is the pushback we get. But what clients are telling us is that they need to be held accountable to better food choices. As I always say, Axio Nutrition is about 90% accountability and the rest is education, recipe ideas, or food choice suggestions. But we are in the accountability business and we do our best to not let our clients down in this way. One of the most effective ways we hold clients accountable is by having them journal or record their food intake. Journaling what you eat can be surprisingly powerful—here are the top three benefits: Increased Awareness – You become more conscious of what, when, and why you eat, which can highlight habits you didn’t realize you had (like snacking out of boredom). Better Nutritional Choices – When you see everything laid out, it’s easier to spot imbalances (like too little protein or too much sugar), helping you make healthier decisions. Tracking Progress Toward Goals – Whether you're trying to lose weight, build muscle, or manage a condition like diabetes, food journaling gives you real data to track trends and progress. Our clients are also afraid that we’ll tell them to never eat pizza or drink wine again. Which is not the case either. It’s all about balance but also making better choices more often to achieve better health. If you need professional accountability to get on track with your nutrition, Axio Fitness is here to help!
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published.
Required fields are marked *
