How to choose my online personal trainer?

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In recent years, online personal training has become a popular fitness option around the world, allowing people who have never hired a trainer before to get started. With such a vast space of instructors it can be overwhelming to find the right person for you, but there are plenty of tips regarding how to choose your online personal trainer. There are also numerous ways to find them, past just looking on Google.

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How Online Training Is Helpful

Choosing to go with an online personal trainer can be helpful to you and your fitness journey for a number of reasons. Not only will you get the opportunity to work one-on-one with a trainer more often, but there are several benefits that you won’t find through in-person options. 

This type of training has become popular in recent years as technology has advanced, and more people have been looking for from-home fitness options. It is often cheaper, while allowing you the opportunity to have even more sessions than traditional training

There are so many ways to find trainers and you can even use WeStrive's Personal Trainer Marketplace.

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Why It Is Better Than Gyms + Offline Options

As technology grows, so is the world of online training, and many people have begun to see it as a better option than going to the gym, or attending in-person sessions. All levels of athletes can utilize online training, and there are options for every area of fitness and health speciality. There are multiple benefits found through online personal training, and with how popular of a niche it has become there are plenty of places to look. 

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The Benefits 

Online training can be beneficial for beginner, intermediate, and advanced athletes. There are online trainers equipped in recovery training, strength building, pre and postpartum workouts, and much more. Choosing to go with an online trainer over offline gives you the benefit of having an extremely accessible and flexible training option. In addition, you have someone there to hold you accountable week after week. 

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Accessible

An online personal trainer is one of the most accessible fitness options around today. It makes it easy for nearly anyone to get started on their journey from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection. Since online training is often cheaper as well, it makes it easier for even more people to afford. 

There might not be many offline trainers in your area, and a gym membership might be too expensive, but plenty of online trainers could fit right into your budget. You might also have specific goals you want to work on, and you are likely to be able to find several online trainers with the knowledge and experience to help you. 

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Flexible

Most traditional gyms will have set business hours, and usually offline trainers like to work during normal business hours, but online options offer a lot more flexibility. You can find trainers in time zones different than your own, able to fit into even the most odd schedule. In addition, you can often have online sessions that last for less time than offline, allowing more flexibility for fitting training into your daily routine. 

Communication channels are also more flexible with online training, as you are not usually restricted to talking during your instructor just during a session. They are also open to offer advice, or at least receive messages, any time of the week. 

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Accountability 

Being held accountable is a benefit of personal training, whether you do online sessions or find an offline instructor. Having someone to check in with frequently throughout your journey will keep you on track, and make sure you don’t fall behind on achieving your goals. If you want to stay motivated, one of the best ways to do so is by finding someone that can continually hold you accountable.

With online coaching through WeStrive, your coach can track goals with you, assign habits, send out surveys, and so much more.

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How To Choose Your Trainer

Once you understand the benefits and helpful aspects of online training, you can start looking into how to find your online trainer. Even when you narrow down your options, you need to know how to choose your online trainer in order to see the results you want to. There are a few tips you can follow to choose the right person for you. 

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Be Specific

The best way to choose the best online trainer for you is by being as specific as possible. You want to find someone that is equipped to help you reach your goals. If you want to work on building up strength then you likely won’t want to work with an instructor more experienced in training runners. The good news is that no matter how specific your needs are, you can find an online trainer to hire. 

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Do Research

You should do research before making any kind of fitness commitment, whether you are thinking of joining a gym or hiring some kind of instructor. Even online trainers should be researched beforehand so you can see what past clients are saying. Make sure to also do research regarding the best kind of fitness experts to address your specific goals. 

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What To Consider

When choosing an online personal trainer there are a few things you need to consider before hiring anyone. This includes your personal goals, as well as the credentials and qualifications of any instructors you are thinking of working with. 

Your Own Goals

Your own health and fitness goals are the first thing you need to consider before hiring any trainer, or even joining a gym. Your goals will directly impact the kind of niche you should be searching and the kind of workout routines you should be looking to do. In addition, you will need to be able to articulate these goals with any trainer you start working with. If they don’t know what your goals are they will not be able to help you effectively achieve them. 

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The results you hope to see will also impact how long your sessions are and how often you need to meet with a trainer. Examples of fitness goals could include preparing for a sporting event, building up endurance, losing weight, or recovering from an injury. 

Their Credentials 

When considering potential online personal trainers you need to make sure to look at their credentials. This includes all of their basic qualifications, additional fitness speciality certifications, and client testimonials. In addition to researching this on your own, you should also talk to potential trainers about the types of clients they typically work with. This can say a lot about how much they will be able to help you with your own goals.

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How Much Should It Cost

While each online personal trainer will have different rates, you should expect to be paying less than you would for an offline trainer. After all, one of the major benefits of this training approach is how budget friendly it is. Lower rates could be $50 a month, while the higher end of the spectrum can be around $400 a month. 

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How Long To See Results

When you turn to online personal training, you will see results around the same time you would when pursuing offline training. However, since this model allows for more flexibility and more frequent sessions, you can even see results faster. It will depend on the results you want, and what you put into online training. 

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Effectiveness

Online training can be just as effective as offline training, and for those seeking more accessibility or more flexibility training schedules it can be even more effective. It can help them reach their goals quicker than doing it alone. 

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Where To Find Online Trainers

The internet contains a vast world of online personal trainers, but there are a few specific places you can turn to if you want to narrow down your search. As this type of training has gained in popularity, multiple websites and apps have popped up to help clients find trainers to fit their needs. These apps typically don't have an organized list of trainers that you can filter through, which is why we created the WeStrive Personal Trainer Marketplace so you can find the perfect coach for you.

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In Conclusion 

Online personal training is rapidly growing in popularity, and has become a highly beneficial and effective way for people everywhere to work on their fitness goals. This kind of training is one of the most accessible options around today, and there are plenty of websites and apps that will help you find the right trainer to fit your needs. 

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Want to up your Health & Fitness? Check out these articles:

• How long should my workout be? Find out here
• How to hire a personal trainer to reach your goals
• Just starting your fitness journey? Here's 4 things to keep in mind

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About the Author:

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Cory McKane

Cory is a huge fan of fitness - and an even bigger fan of helping you with your fitness. He's started on his journey with WeStrive back in 2015 and has been building it ever since.