Get ready for the latest physical fitness craze: Online Personal Training.
Yes, some Web sites on the Internet are now offering the opportunity to get in shape online through e-mails, questionnaires and over the telephone.
The question is: Can it work?
Advocates of online training suggest that you no longer need to visit a gym or own fancy workout equipment to become physically fit. Behzad Amiri, director of business development at New York City's Plus One Fitness (which runs an online personal training site, www.myfitnessexpert.com) says that online training is "a nonintimidating, safe and highly effective service."
Basically, the service works like this: You sign up for a training program. You are assigned a trainer. You communicate with your trainer via e-mail who helps you customize a workout -- and you start working out.
These Web trainers can also be consulted almost every day and the cost, ($29.95 for a month, $19.95 per month if you sign up for a year at www.myfitnessexpert.com) is generally cheaper than hiring a local trainer, who may charge anywhere from $45 to $85-plus per hour.
However, local personal trainers (that's the real, hands-on personal trainers) are skeptical about online training results.
"With online personal training there are more chances of people slacking off," says Bill Curcio, a personal trainer at the Greenwich's YMCA on East Putnam Avenue. "You benefit more when you're really in contact with someone."
Nickos Kalasatis, a personal trainer at SportsPlex gym on Brownhouse Road in Stamford feels the same way, saying online personal training is OK, but doesn't offer that human push and one-on-one motivation.
"Otherwise, it's just like reading something from a magazine," Kalasatis says. "Plus, without the right equipment, you're limited to what you can do."
Amiri actually agrees with Curcio and Kalasatis -- to some extent. "You can't beat having someone in front of you," he says. But, he adds that online sites offer a nice alternative.
Apparently, more and more people are exploring that alternative because there are dozens of sites that feature online personal training on the Web, reachable through a simple online search. Representatives of some the sites say they have been gaining popularity but were reluctant to say just how many members they have. My Fitness Expert, though, says they have 12 members from Connecticut, three of whom are Greenwich residents.
Another site, www.fitness4me.com, shows just how far the Internet is capable of reaching. Although it is based in Australia, company CEO Don White says most of his company's clients are in the United States.
"Distance hasn't been a problem so far," White says, adding his site offers "one-on-one personal training advice, with fitness programs developed to meet each individual's need. Clients can use both e-mail and their personal training diary on the site to communicate with their personal trainer."
Costs at these sites generally range from $29-$47 a month. All claim to offer personalized service and create exercise routines according to clients needs and goals. (The site www.leanbodies.com not only offers daily workout routines, but nutrition plans, and the option of a phone consultation for additional fees.)
But, Ellen Mullen, the Fitness Director at YMCA of Greenwich, points out that when you use an online program, "you have to be much more self motivated." (Personal trainers at the Y cost $45 an hour.)
Curcio says another advantage of having an actual trainer in front of you is that they can show you how to do the exercises correctly. And they'll have the equipment you need.
"The Internet is good for basic questions and knowledge," says Curcio, "but you have to be at a certain stage to push yourself like that."
*
ONE WRITER'S EXPERIENCE
By Tara Renee Settembre
Special Correspondent
Recently I completed a special 30-day trial of the online training site, My Fitness Expert (www.myfinessexpert.com). Here is what I found:
--
GENERAL INFORMATION
My Fitness Expert works in association with Plus One Fitness, which has numerous personal training studios and physical therapy clinics in the New York City area. The Internet division services clients not only nationwide, but worldwide, with a staff of more than 100 personal trainers.
--
COST
$29.95 per month; or $25.95 per month for three months; or $19.95 per month for one year.
--
WHAT YOU GET
When you sign up, you are paired with a certified personal trainer. This trainer is a real person who will communicate with you via e-mail and will customize your workouts according to your fitness level, how much time you have to exercise and the equipment that you have available, if any.
After initial contact, a plan is formed and your trainer will post your workouts on your personal online exercise calendar. Workouts come with safe instructions that fit your designated time allotment, plus one-click access to a visual exercise technique library that demonstrates the proper way to perform different exercises. Workouts vary by person and by their specific goals.
The service does not offer any meal plans, just a generalized direction.
If necessary you can send feedback to your trainer and your workout can be further modified according to your comments.
You are given unlimited e-mail access to your trainer. Members also receive reminders when a new workout has been posted or when a workout is due for the day, plus a wellness newsletter. The site also offers tools to track your progress.
--
THE SKINNY
The site is easy to navigate and has lots of tutorials and tools.
A recently added feature lets you read the different experts' bios with the option of letting you pick your own trainer.
Signing up was easy, but it took 72 hours to be assigned a trainer, who then created my workouts. I listed that I had only an AB-roller and a pair of 5-pound dumbbells to work with. My trainer incorporated these pieces of equipment, but mainly taught me new exercises that didn't use them. One of these was the "reverse crunch," where you lie on your back with both legs bent at the knees and then lift your knees up toward you using your lower abdominal muscles. Don't worry if you can't visualize it, the technique library displays helpful animation that demonstrates the steps.
I had to refer to it a few times myself.
Doing the workouts I gained lots of energy, which was one of my listed goals. Overall, I felt healthier knowing I was doing useful exercises and following a designated plan instead of just making things up. I also was amazed at the personable service. Contacting your trainer is easy; you can use the site or their personal e-mail address, which they check regularly. Don't be surprised if you form a friendly relationship with your trainer -- they become a great resource.
Once or twice I had to e-mail my trainer a question about the workout, and she always replied promptly and helpfully. My mailbox also was flooded with e-mails notifying me when a new workout was posted and congratulating me when I completed one.
One day I was away, so I missed my scheduled workout. The site noted this and placed a symbol of a couch on my workout calendar. I felt so guilty that I made up the workout on another day. I thought about lying and saying that I had in fact completed it, but I thought twice, since you have to fill out a detailed evaluation about each workout. In these evaluations you get to list the level of difficulty you experienced for each exercise, general comments, and overall comfort. However, I think I could have done with even a little more pushing on their part.
I recommend this site for those who are motivated to loose weight, but hate actually going out and doing it. If you're looking for something more serious, or require your trainer to be a drill sergeant of sorts, then you might want to try having a personal trainer who is actually in front of you, egging you on.
There are other online training services out there, with different options and prices. I decided to try this one, because it kept coming up on my searches and because it seemed to be the most professional.