Do online personal trainers achieve better client results?
In the last few years, the popularity of online coaching has exploded and a lot of personal trainers have shifted their careers online to meet the demand. But, some personal trainers are still sitting on the fence and have doubts about clients results.
Online coaching has had a bad wrap, how can you teach clients to move well if you're not working face-to-face?
I understand. I was very sceptical of online training when working in the gym. Then, I hired an online coach myself.
Over the last 10+ years, I've hired many different online coaches, and I've experienced great results.
"But you're a coach, and you already know how to read a training program and move well."
Yes, that's true. But why shouldn't I trust my clients to be able to do the same?
I started offering online coaching, and I was surprised to see that my online clients were getting better results than my face-to-face clients. Not just the basics, I was teaching clients to Olympic lift, perform handstands, muscle-ups and other advanced skills.
In my experience and chatting with several successful online coaches, it's common to see clients get better results with online coaching.
But why?
The benefits for you (the coach) are apparent, but what about the clients? Are your clients going to get the results they desire by working with you online instead of working with a personal trainer in the gym?
In reality, most clients need two things: they need accountability and consistency.
A good coach can deliver this online.
Here are three reasons why:
1. Better value for money - Personal training is not cheap. Depending on your location, you can be charging anywhere from $50-$150 per session.
1 session per week = $216-$650 per month
2 session per week = $432-$1300 per month
3 Session per week = $648-$1950 per month
4 Session per week = $864-$2600 per month
5 Session per week = $1080-$3250 per month
Most people can't afford to train with a personal trainer more than 2-3 times per week.
Online coaching creates an amazing opportunity for clients to work with you at a fraction of the price and train more often. Most online personal trainers create a monthly subscription model that might look like:
2 sessions per week = $200 per month
3 sessions per week = $290 per month
4 sessions per week = $380 per month
5 sessions per week = $470 per month
When you move your career online, you charge your clients for:
The time it takes you to write their monthly program
The time it takes you to review and give feedback
The time it takes you to answer their questions
The time it takes for any additional services you offer in the month (maybe a 30min video call)
Example: Your monthly time commitment for a client who trains with you 2 x per week might be: 1hr to write the monthly program, 1 hour to review and give feedback for the monthly training sessions, 30min call = 2.5hr.
The total time you work with each client is a lot less than face-to-face personal training (time to deliver the sessions + time to design the sessions + admin time for emails and booking clients in + travel time to and from the gym). However, your clients can afford to train with an online coach more often, and they have more access to you.
Clients who follow a structured training program multiple times a week will progress much faster than clients who are working with a personal trainer 1-2 times a week and then doing their own thing outside the session.
Good online coaches constantly review clients training videos and give constructive feedback. Clients also learn how to read a training program and coach themselves by checking their own videos and reading the coaches feedback.
2. Empowering clients to take responsibility for their health & fitness is possibly the primary reason online personal trainers get better client results.
During a training session, there is often limited time to talk about holistic health factors such as sleep, nutrition, stress management, and social connection. Clients want to maximise their training time by doing the work. Personal trainers often deliver 35+ sessions per week and have very little time between sessions to talk to their clients.
As we know, training is only one part of a much larger holistic health picture.
Most clients hire a personal trainer to help them stay accountable. But, if a client is working with a personal trainer 2-3 times per week, there are 4-5 days on their own.
Who's holding them accountable?
A significant benefit of working with an online coach is the increased demand for self-accountability. People who hire an online coach are going to be self-motivated. The online coaching environment empowers clients to take responsibility for their health and fitness, and they are less dependant on their coach (which is a good thing).
The coach provides the resources (training, nutrition, feedback, etc.) and allows the client to be in the driver's seat.
When clients successfully create one healthy habit (training consistently), they're motivated to develop other healthy habits. Trusting your clients to take responsibility for their health and fitness is the best thing a coach can do, and it empowers clients to know that they are in control of their results.
Online clients don't depend on their personal trainer to hold their hand.
Online coaches also help their clients stay on track with daily, weekly and/or monthly check-ins. They provide feedback, answer questions and work closely with their clients to build sustainable habits. This is often done via training apps, messages, emails, or Facebook groups.
3. Time is a valuable resource - busy schedules frequently disrupt face-to-face personal training sessions. We've all had clients cancel sessions or fail to turn up due to last-minute issues, right?
Client's who fail to turn up to sessions will not achieve results. They might try to reschedule, but a busy personal trainer often won't have availability, which reflects poorly on you even though it's not your fault.
Online clients are less likely to miss a session because they can schedule training around their busy schedule without worrying about their coaches availability.
Clients can continue their training without you when you decide to take a holiday. And you still get paid.
When clients go on holidays or work trips, they can also train.
Online coaching creates a far more flexible environment that helps the coach and the client stay on track.
"In the end, your clients get better results and sing your praises as a super coach. Happy clients equal more referrals and help you grow your online career."
Conclusion
Online personal training is here to stay, and I'd argue that it's the future of the health and fitness industry.
Online coaching is growing in popularity with coaches and clients. It allows clients to find a coach who can help them with their specific goals, enabling coaches to become their own boss.
Technology improvements in the health and fitness space make it very easy for coaches to offer an incredible client experience that empowers clients to take ownership of their health and fitness journey. This creates better client results.
Online coaches can scale their business and work with more clients. It gives coaches a lot more freedom in their career as they can choose who they work with, where they work from, and how busy they want to be.
Online coaching is rewarding for both you and your clients, so if you're not on board, you should be.
If you're having trouble building or growing your online personal training career, I'm here to help you. A lot of personal trainers are stuck trading time for money, and they’re feeling crippled by imposter syndrome. It's overwhelming and exhausting.
But I believe personal trainers deserve to have a sustainable career that aligns with their interests, strengths, and values.
I’ve been working in the fitness industry since 2010, and after moving my personal training career online in 2018, I know exactly what you’re going through.
So, I created the Protect the Asset coaching framework, which teaches the eight fundamentals of building a sustainable online career. This helps trainers feel cool, calm and collected as they build a Signature Training Method and have more freedom in their life.
Now is the time to take a leap of faith and build an online career that delivers client results.
