What is Virtual Training
and is it For You?
Many of our clients have seamlessly incorporated our new Online Virtual Training Workouts with their Trainers into their new normal of “quarantine life,” while others still struggle to find a routine outside of the studio. Some may think that it's not possible to get a quality workout at home, and others simply just might not understand how it works.
We’ve created an innovative way to provide you with the same effective slow-motion workout, with live coaching from a Certified Personal Trainer, you can access from anywhere. In this article, we will provide you with all you need to know about Virtual Personal Training and help you determine if it is right for you.
Have you gotten stuck in the pattern of waiting for things to “get back to normal” to pick up your workout routine again?
Perhaps you’re slightly skeptical about whether or not you can get a great workout if you’re not in the studio.
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about what Virtual Personal Training is and if it’s right for our clients. We’ll dive deep into everything you need to know about Virtual Personal Training including:
- Virtual vs. In-studio sessions: What you get in a Virtual Session and how it compares to your workouts in the studio with us.
- Effectiveness: The intensity level and effectiveness of slow-motion strength workouts done at home.
- Equipment & Space: What type of equipment and workout space is needed to complete Virtual Workouts.
- Time Commitment: How often you should complete Virtual sessions and how long they take.
- Training on your Own: The difference between working out on your own at home, or with a guide instead of getting coached by your Trainer.
- Injuries and Conditions: How you can still benefit from Live Online Virtual Training, despite injuries or conditions.
Below are 13 Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about our Live Online Virtual Training Sessions:
1. What is a Virtual Personal Training Session?
Our Virtual Personal Training sessions are an extension of your in-studio workouts. What’s the same?
- We use the same slow-motion method as always
- The purpose of each exercise is to achieve muscle success
- We walk you through every exercise and demonstrate proper form & technique
- You get personalize coaching from a Certified Personal Trainer
- The workout is tailored to your abilities and goals
- As always, it takes 20 minutes, twice a week.
What’s different?
The location. Since we cannot be in the studio currently, we utilize the space you have at home.
The equipment. We work with whatever equipment you currently have, even if that’s just your own body.
2. Will I Get the Same Great Workout as I do on the Nautilus Machines?
The short answer, yes.
First things first, let’s remember why you came in for your first workout with us. It was to achieve a goal. Get stronger, lose fat, reverse Osteoporosis, improve your golf swing, etc. It’s important to keep these goals in mind when you are looking forward to your Virtual Sessions.
Second, the purpose of every workout you do (ever), is to achieve temporary muscle failure, or “muscle success.” Although our Nautilus machines are ideal in helping us achieve the purpose of exercise, it can absolutely be achieved with other mediums such as free weights, resistance bands, kettlebells and bodyweight. You’d be amazed at how heavy we can make a 3-pound dumbbell feel, all while getting you to safely reach muscle success.
By the way, we love our machines as much as you do. We miss the clank of the weighstack when changing weights in between clients, the glide of the frictionless movement as we turn around, and how that stack of weights never seems to fail us, even when our muscles begin to fail. But we don’t stop working out because those machines aren’t in our living room.
You know what we love most, and we think you will too?– is getting results. Just because we are on a hiatus from our studios, doesn’t mean we still can’t get stronger, leaner, healthier.
And if you think about the future and all the travel you’ll be able to do to counteract sheltering at home, you’re going to want to continue with your workouts. This will set you up for success now so you can seamlessly keep training with your Trainer no matter where you are in the world.
You came for the method and the 1-on-1 coaching from your Personal Trainer. That is what you continue to get whether that’s during a workout in our studio, or online in the comfort of your own home.
Equipment is just a small part of the equation. Working with your coach to properly execute the super-slow strength training method, and ensure you keep up with performing 1-2 sessions per week, is what matters most.
3. Do Virtual Personal Training Sessions Cost the Same as In-Studio Sessions?
Yes, and we’ll tell you why. Working out at home isn’t any less valuable than working out in our studio.
The value of our 1-on-1 training sessions is the value you get from working with a Certified Personal Trainer, the specialized method that can be extremely difficult to perform on your own, and the customization and coaching you cannot get from any other online source of exercise.
We believe in the value of coaching as the key to your success. Whether in person or via live video sessions, working with a coach is the key to your success.
4. Will This be a Waste of my Sessions?
Absolutely not! Working with a Trainer, whether it be at home is moving you toward the same purpose of achieving your goals as in-studio sessions would be.
Let’s say your goal is to lose 15lbs. Chances are, you’re also focused on your nutrition and are actively choosing what to eat and what not to eat. You wouldn’t stock up on a bunch of healthy foods to meal prep for weekly lunches, only to set them aside to go uneaten because you don’t have a workplace to take them to anymore. Of course not!
Why? Because your health is not on hold.
It's the same thing for working out. You're doing exactly what you signed up for. 1-on-1 training, a method that works, getting you closer to achieving your goals.
It’s possible you may view at-home workouts as a waste of time and that’s because the at-home workouts you’ve seen or done before didn’t work for you in the past. Our Virtual Sessions are not just at-home workouts, they are proper Personal Training Sessions focused on you and you only.
So what’s wasted? Getting 1-on-1 time with a Trainer to coach you to muscle success, safely & efficiently, and keep you accountable is not a waste of time or money. It’s time and money well spent.
5. Will the Workout be Just as Intense?
The exciting thing about our Virtual Sessions is that they are extremely customizable. In-studio workouts are customizable too but our Virtual Sessions require a high level of creativity to provide you with a specific program that is based on your goals, limitations and the equipment you have available.
Your Trainer works very hard behind the scenes to make your workouts as perfect as possible for you, and that may mean even more intense than expected.
Need more proof? Watch this video below of our client Sherry Chriss’ experience:
6. What Happens if I Just Wait Until the Studios Open Back Up?
We look forward to reopening all of our studio locations just as much as you do. The problem with waiting to workout until we reopen our doors is you risk losing so much of the strength and progress you’ve gained so far. Not to mention, gaining back some of the things you don’t want– body fat, osteopenia, low energy and lack of motivation.
If your shower broke, you wouldn't wait weeks for it to be fixed before you decided to take a shower again would you? No way! Because it's a necessity- and so is staying healthy and strong.
Our Virtual Sessions will help you continue to get an intense slow-motion strength workout as well maintain results at minimum so when we reopen, you pick back up right where you left off, or stronger!
We don’t know exactly when we will get to reopen so until then, this is the ideal option!
7. What if I Don’t Have Any Equipment?
No machines? No problem! If you’re slightly skeptical about whether or not a bodyweight workout can be effective or challenging, try this:
Try doing a pushup right now using our slow-motion method.
Just like our machine workouts, push for 10 seconds on the way up, and lower yourself slowly for 10 seconds down
Make sure to not lockout arms, or rest in between repetitions
Oh, and be sure to keep perfect form, remember to breathe and focus on the muscles being used.
Pretty challenging isn’t it?
Any strength exercise, including bodyweight exercises has the potential to be extremely effective.
Knowing how to do them correctly and performing them safely until muscle success is vital, but not easily achieved. That’s the importance of having a Trainer, to ensure you are doing these exercises safely and not giving up before the most critical point in the exercise– muscle success.
We’ve trained clients with dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, just their bodies and even their pets! We will get as creative as you are willing to try.
8. Can I Just Workout With Videos at Home? There’s Tons of Workouts on YouTube.
You’re right, there are tons of workouts out there to choose from.
But watching free videos or following cookie-cutter routines will never get you the same results (and ensure your safety!) like working with a coach.
If those videos workouts were as effective and you didn’t somehow need the accountability of an appointment and a Trainer, you’d probably be doing them already.
Videos, manuals and guides can be great resources in a pinch. What you don’t get is the customized approach. You don't have someone completely focused on you to see if you’re doing an exercise correctly, doing it safely. A video doesn’t know your goals, your injuries, limitations or how you tend to hold your breath a little before you hit muscle success. Your Trainer does.
There’s just no way watching a video will ever be as effective as working with a coach in a live personal training session. Think about how hard you can be pushed when you are working with your Trainer– it's always more than you thought you could do! Know that a video will not render that same kind of effort and certainly not the same results.
9. What if I Don’t Have Enough Space to Workout?
Most, if not all of the exercises we do require little to no space. Because we don’t incorporate movements like jump squats, sprints, or tire flips, space is not really needed.
Think about the size of our studios. The only reason they need to be as big as they are (which is not all that big) is to fit the machines in them. However, when you are on each of those machines, you are in a static position- meaning you are fixed in one place, not needing much space for movement. That goes for the same as any slow-motion or static exercise your Trainer gives you. All you need is a space that can fit the length of your body.
And if you’re willing to try, we can always make more space! Objects like coffee tables and chairs are moveable and if you’ve been training with us, you’ve got muscles to move them!
10. I'm Walking for Now, is that Good Enough?
That’s great that you are moving your body; however, it just simply isn’t enough!
Aerobic activity doesn’t do much to help build strength. So by not actively building muscle through strength training, and only doing low-intensity aerobic activity, you run the risk of losing muscle at a higher rate than what is normal for an adult who does not strength train.
This doesn't mean stop walking, but it certainly doesn’t mean stop strengthening either.
11. Can I Just Workout on my Own if I’m Using the Fast Fitness at Home Manual You Gave Me?
The Fast Fitness at Home Manual is a great start and better than nothing. We created that guide as a tool for when you travel, or can’t get a workout with your Trainer. What’s missing is the value of the Trainer to push you harder, catch your mistakes and keep you safe.
It’s the same thing as working out with YouTube or doing pre-recorded workouts like Beachbody. It's better than nothing but you don’t get the intensity, the accountability, or the coaching.
12. I Have a lot of Family at Home with me Right Now, Will That be a Problem?
Not one bit. This is kind of the new norm for us all right now and we are fully prepared to train you despite any distractions or interruptions.
One way to work around this minor obstacle is to have a designated space in the house for health & wellness for the entire family! If you want to exercise, stretch, do yoga, meditate, or whatever– having a go-to spot in the house can help everyone prioritize these needs and also respect the space when it's being used.
Not only does this ensure you can get a focused workout, but helps to set boundaries for what is important during a time where boundaries and personal priorities may have been blurred.
We can’t help but emphasize how important it is to maintain normal routines right now, and your workouts are no exception. This is a vital component of stress management and helps to keep anxiety low.
We highly recommend using wireless headphones during your sessions to minimize distractions or background noise, which we’ve noticed solves the concern of other people in the house for most clients who may have it.
13. Can I do Virtual Sessions with an Injury, Condition, or Even Joint Replacement?
Yes. We specialize in slow-motion strength training and under the umbrella of that method is exercising safely. If you are still doing slow-motion strength training, the workout is safe. In addition to that, you have a Certified Personal Trainer observing you, coaching you and correcting you every step of the way to ensure your safety.
We’ve never shied away from working around an injury and it is our philosophy that anyone can do this workout. Most of our clients have come to us with an existing injury, condition, pre or post surgery and we’ve been able to help them exercise just as effectively. Our Trainers are thrilled to get creative for you as well- just ask them!
Most importantly, if you have an injury or condition that prevents you from being as mobile as normal, are challenged with deterioration, or injury gets worse with sedentarism, even more reason to keep exercising!
Here’s the short version of what you need to know!
- Virtual Sessions are still 1-on-1, appointment only, LIVE with a Personal Trainer and always using our slow-motion method.
- The cost of Virtual Sessions is the same, as the value of the session is the same.
- The workout can be as intense as in-studio sessions, depending on the customized program your Trainer puts together for you.
- Waiting for the studios to open up is not a recommended plan of action. We can still help you reach your goals working remotely.
- You don't need much space, or any equipment; however, we can and will work with what you do have.
Working out with videos, guides and manuals are better than nothing, but they cannot match the coaching you receive from a Trainer. Your 1-on-1 sessions will always provide more value for you than a video or guide ever could. - Walking is great for the body but it won’t help you maintain or gain strength. The best way to do that is to actively be strength training.
- We can work around distractions, interruptions and family members at home. We are all in the same boat!
If you have an injury, condition or joint replacement we can customize the workout for you and highly encourage you to continue with your sessions.
We can all agree that NOT working out is not an option, especially during a time where maintaining peak health is crucial. Although Virtual Sessions are a slightly different experience from In-studio sessions, we’re confident it will be a positive experience.
No matter what, keep working out. And the best way to continue working out is with your Trainer and using a method that is scientifically proven to get results and help you get them safely. That’s why you joined The Perfect Workout in the first place!
Have concerns? Most of our client’s concerns and questions are resolved in their first Virtual Session. Try it, Risk Free!
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