GETTING IN SHAPE WITH THE INTERNET

We use technology more than ever to make our lives easier for a lot of things. We keep in touch online, shop online, download music online, find out anything we need to know online..the opportunities that the Internet gives us are amazing! The future IS now.

Now you can use the Internet to help you get in shape and stay fit too. Surprising as it may seem – you can use your surfing time for something that will improve your general health as well as your mouse clicking and browsing skills!

Online Personal Training? Are you serious?

As well as being offered by myself...online fitness training is offered by a lot of experienced fitness trainers. This is a great way of becoming fit if you are short on time, find it hard to get to the gym regularly or if you simply want to dedicate some down time to extending your regular fitness program.

I also use it with my clients that come to my private gym here in New York City on a regular basis, to keep them on track while they're traveling. So, naturally the next question is, how does this kind of program work?

A personal online fitness program should be set up for you by a certified personal trainer. Make sure your personal trainer REALLY TRAINS PEOPLE. And, incidentally, I mean OFFLINE. Ideally, you'll interact on some level either by email or by telephone with your personal trainer. I personally answer emails and do all aspects of my client management here at TW Online Personal Training, but many trainers employ assistants to help them out.

What Do I Look For?

Make sure your trainer has at LEAST 10 years experience in the real world, and offers industry certification such as ACE, ISSA, or ACSM. Ask to email current or past clients, there's alot of room for shady dealings here, so try to get references from friends as well. Make sure you find the situation that works best for you.

You should be able to manage the whole process online from the initial fitness assessment through to working out fitness routines, devising healthy eating plans and monitoring your progress. You can do some elements offline at the gym with your trainer, use the online aspect as a refresher or when you are out of town, or on vacation for example.

Most online personal trainers offer various services for this kind of program. A good online fitness program will, however, include the following typical services:

- Regular scheduled phone calls and/or emails.
- Online fitness assessments.
- Personalized workout plans.
- Online exercise demos.
- Detailed exercise instructions.
- Fitness information, data and charts.
- Dietary and nutrition advice.
- Monitoring tools to chart your progress.

I happen to offer one more option, the Solo online fitness plan – so, if you already know what you're doing and want to go it alone with minimal guidance you can access relevant information and work out your own program with its help. This option is very popular both at online-personaltraining-nyc.com and my other free fitness resource site, www.exerciseradio.com . People love this option because of the workout generator, you just plug in the information and poof - workout!

The Advantages

The biggest advantage to an online workout program or online personal training is the cost and convenience. An online program will work out to be cheaper than a standard 'go to the gym and meet with a trainer' type but, you’ll still get access to expert advice. This kind of solution is very convenient. Some of my online personal training clients are DJs who are just waking up at 10pm! You should be able to access your online fitness program and your exercise training information 24/7. Even if your breakfast is at 10pm and you come home at 7am....You should be able to fit your workouts into YOUR life, and lifestyle.

I'll be honest, not even a big shot 'celebrity' personal trainer like myself will be happy to take a call at 3am when a client has the munchies and wants advice on a healthy snack or wants to discuss the state of their biceps! Another thing to remember, don't let the problem of equipment come into play. A professional, certifed online personal trainer should be able to help you devise a program to suit your own facilities and equipment or.... lack of it!

It all comes down to this, there's just NO REASON not to keep yourself in shape. Start your online personal training program now!