Is the online fitness BOOM here to stay?
The online fitness industry has seen a major boom since the COVID-19 outbreak, but is it here to stay?
From many gyms, and personal trainers the damage has been devastating.
Within days of gym closures being announced amid national shutdowns fitness enthusiasts were quickly forced to adjust their workout habits. Exercising from home became the only way to stay on top of your GAINZ!
Fitness equipment retailers immediately saw tremendous growth (300% increase in sales).
Fast forward to today, even as cities and states go back-and-forth on the openings of gyms, many clients are evaluating the convenience and benefits of continuing to workout from home.
The multi-billion dollar global fitness industry has quickly shifted, and many personal trainers had to adapt their careers and go online. Those who haven’t implemented a digital strategy may not make it out alive and if they do it won't be a return to “business as usual.”
10 reasons why consumer behaviours have clearly changed.
Home gyms - the sales of home gym equipment went through the roof when the world went into lockdown. A lot of people have invested in building a home gym and won't be renewing their gym memberships anytime soon.
Working from home - more and more businesses are allowing their employees to work from home. Working from home is saving time and money for both employees and employers. The footfall of big cities is going to decrease and many inner city business are going to feel the pressure.
Access to a global network of online personal trainers - online clients are not limited to the list of personal trainers at their local gym. They can now search for a specialist online personal trainer who has a solution to their specific health and fitness problems.
Successful online personal trainers are targeting niche clients with powerful solutions. Why would you hire a general fitness personal trainer when you can hire a specialist with proven results?
Stronger relationships - working online with a niche trainer often creates a much deeper client-coach connection.
Online personal trainers stay connected via email, app's, instant messages, and regular video calls. Clients often have a higher level of interaction with an online coach thanks to the technology being used.
Face-to-face personal trainers are often running from one client to the next and have very little time to talk between sessions. The duration of a personal training session can vary from 30-60minutes and the primary focus is often the physical workout. A busy gym environment isn’t the easiest place to have a conversion about your health and fitness worries.
Online personal trainers review clients training videos and offer ongoing feedback. The time spent on video calls is dedicated to lifestyle factors, overcoming problems, creating behaviour change, and answering client questions. A private Zoom call creates a confidential environment that allows clients to voice their health and fitness concerns.
Client Empowerment - face-to-face personal training clients often depend heavily on their trainer, and this isn't a good thing because clients fail to take ownership of their goals.
Online personal training clients are empowered to take more ownership. They must learn to read a training program, understand sets, reps, tempos and rest periods. They must also take responsibility for doing the work, understanding the intensity, what weights to use, and getting through the sessions.
Online clients are far more independent once they know what needs to be done.
This forces clients to take charge of their own behaviours and habit. When clients take ownership they start to see better results.
Time - online training allows clients to train when it suits them. Clients don't need to plan their training times around their trainer's schedule or the gym class schedule.
The client can continue to exercise when they go on holiday as they have a program to follow and their coach can adapt the program to the equipment available. On the flip side, when the personal trainer goes on holiday client's still have a program to follow.
Client's that have a home gym also save time commuting to and from the gym.
When in the gym, they're not waiting around for access to the gym equipment, especially in peak times.
Value - The cost of a gym membership has been increasing year by year. A lot of gyms require members to sign-up for 6-12months. Many people can not afford to pay for a gym membership and hire a personal trainer. Those who can, may not be able to train with their trainer more than 1-2 times per week.
Online training is far more cost-effective as clients have access to a periodised training program with multiple sessions per week.
As an example, an online personal trainer might have a $250per month online subscription. For this price client might receive a 4-day per week training program (avg of 17.3 sessions per month).
Working face-to-face with a personal trainer at your local gym might cost $80per session (17.3 x $80 = $1384per month).
It's a no brainer, especially when clients consider the results.
Results - Self-motivated clients who have invested in online training get better results. They're following a specific program tailored to their goals and levels of fitness. They're training more often because they have more time and they're following a specific program.
Niche personal trainers have more experience and knowledge than "general fitness" personal trainers. Niche personal trainers specialise in certain areas of fitness and they have created a Signature Training Method that helps their niche clients overcome the common problems that stop clients from getting the results they want.
Why hire a general fitness personal trainer when you can hire a specialist?
Technology - A whole new market of online training apps have started to appear. Existing platforms have seen HUGE increases in users. Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo have been flooded with exercise videos and follow along with classes.
Big gyms are not known for utilising technology to support members with their goals. Gyms are a long way behind and it's a real shame.
Technology companies are racing to build and enhance their online app's to offer more than just exercise. Coaches and clients can not pay more attention to nutrition, rest, recovery, sleep, and stress factors.
TrueCoach, a mobile fitness app that allows trainers to train clients online, experienced a 200% year-over-year increase in user growth in Q2, versus the expected 100% growth forecasted before the pandemic took hold.
New wearable devices like the Oura ring and the Whoop band allow us to monitor statistics and take a much more holistic approach to train.
Online Community - many people go to the gym for the community aspect, but is it enough to bring them back? Online communities of like-minded people with the same health and fitness goals are becoming a reality.
Having the support and motivation from an online tribe of people on the same journey is powerful.
A lot of gyms have been forced to close down and they won't be reopening. People are becoming more health-conscious and they're looking for a sustainable solution. Online training is becoming more and more accessible and it offers a host of client benefits.
The online fitness industry is here to stay and it's going to change the fitness industry whether you like it or not.
