What is Online Fitness Training? • Julie Lohre

When I first came up with the idea of online fitness training over 15 years ago, it was truly a novel idea. Sure you could workout at a gym with a personal trainer or fitness coach, but virtually… online… the idea seemed a bit crazy. Let me tell you how it all began.

Really, starting as an online personal trainer for women was an idea born out of necessity. After the birth of my son, I decided to leave my desk job as a research engineer for consumer goods giant, Procter & Gamble and take a year at home with my newborn. Several months into being at home, I decided that the corporate 9-5 was not going to work for me. Instead, my passion for helping women and my love for fitness led me to the gym where each day I spent about an hour working out. It became my ‘me’ time in a day that had been filled with being mom. Of course, I loved being a mom and my son, but having that one hour a day that was just mine… well it felt amazing and gave me the energy I need to refocus and get back to him at my best.

Soon after, I decided to become a certified personal trainer and nutritionist then began working with women exclusively as that was where my passion and expertise lay. Before I knew it, I had an overflowing roster of training clients filling my days and leaving me working significantly more hours than I wanted. One day as I was leaving the gym and chatting with one of my clients, Faye. She shared with me that it was difficult to find a time where our schedules matched for a training appointment. I agreed… I really did not have many spots available.

What Is Online Fitness Training | The Spark

At that moment, an idea sparked in my head. Faye was a competent trainee. She had been working out for some time and could do so safely. I trained her twice a week for 30 min sessions which was good, but hardly enough to make real, significant changes to her body. I was always giving her suggestions about what to do in the time we were not together to make sure she had a well rounded program and saw results. I never worried about Faye actually showing up for a work out session because she was pretty driven. She was clearly beyond needing me there counted her reps but she did not have the time to research strength training that would be right specifically for her goals. As a medical professional and mom to 2 teenagers, Faye was super busy.

What she really needed was a clear cut, step by step plan for her training that would take away all the guess work. More than that though, the missing piece for her over the years had been nutrition. She struggled with knowing what to eat, how portion sizes effected her body and her training and when she should be eating each day. Faye had a general grasp of nutrition but did not know how to put it all together for her specific goals and for her body. We talked at length and fleshed out a program where I would create workouts for her each week that she could complete on her own at the gym along with a nutrition plan and guidelines. We would check in periodically with measurements and photos and to assess how she was doing. Online fitness coaching or online personal training was born.

The results… well, it was amazing. With our online fitness training arrangement, Faye made considerably more progress than she had when we were training in person twice a week. She lost twice as much bodyfat and pounds on the scale over an 8 week period as she had in that 2 months before. What was most remarkable though was the changes she made in her strength, flexibility and speed. She ran 1 mile almost 90 seconds faster at the end of that first 8 weeks! She increased the number of pushups she could do by 30%. It was such an incredible success that I was flabbergasted. She was delighted and loved the flexibility that working online gave her. Clearly, we were on to something.

Online Fitness Training Develops

That was in 2005. Just as the internet was really taking off. Faye had such amazing success that she talked with everyone about the idea, including many of the other women I had personal trained. And they started asking questions. Before I knew it, the majority of the women I worked with had made the switch and transitioned from in person train to online fitness training and made me their online fitness coach.

To date, I have successfully training thousands of women and helped them change their bodies and their lives in a healthy and natural way. Most of whom started with that questions… what is online fitness training? Over time they come to see how incredibly effective and valuable this methodology can be. Today, I am one of the most successful online fitness coaches in the world… in fact, I do work with women around the world every day. Let me share with you more about what is involved…

How does Online Fitness Training Work?

I have done everything possible to make Online Fitness Coaching straight forward.

First things first, I want you to see what is possible. I highly encourage anyone considering Online Fitness Coaching to review the FITBODY Success Stories and get an idea of what real women have to say about online coaching.

Initial Contact: We begin with a quick email where you tell me a bit about yourself and your goals. Then I send you a message back with the paperwork I will need for us to get started. Once you send back your initial consultation paperwork and beginning photos, we can set a time to talk over the phone and get started.

Free Phone Call: Once I have your starting information for online fitness training we will find a time that is convenient to your schedule to talk. Then, I will give you a call and we can chat! I love talking over the phone before we start because I want to be sure that online fitness coaching is right for you! Over the phone, we can both ask and answer questions. With this kind of training, we are going to be a team and it is critical that we get to know each other.

NEVER start an online training program with someone that will not start off the program with a phone call!

Program Creation: Once we have decided that online fitness coaching is a good match, you will then make the training payment through my store page and I get started on your first programs. Most of the time, I have your programs ready within 24-48 hours. Complete workout plans, cardiovascular exercise directions, comprehensive nutrition plans with macronutrient breakdowns, calorie range and sample meal plans, suggested supplementation, online training handbook, progress tracking…. everything you need to start strong. I like to have your programs off to you for review before the weekend and for us to begin our training together on Mondays

Accountability: We start the motivation and accountability with our check ins. I require all of my clients to send me photos and measurements at each 2 week mark to be sure that you are on track with your long term fitness goals. But, I want to know that you are making healthy, lasting progress so we go beyond the scale and tape measure. Every 4 weeks we will also complete the FITBODY Fit Test to see how your strength, flexibility and cardio endurance are changing too.

Continued support: One of the best parts of online fitness coaching is that I am always here for you. You will be working directly with me… not an assistant or handler. Throughout your program, I am here to support you and answer questions. There is no limit on the number of times you can reach out to me and more often than not, I will be contacting you for updates with tips and tricks.

Who is Online Fitness Training Right For?

Now that you know what is online fitness training, I want to be sure that it is a good match for you. The truth is, online fitness coaching is not right for everyone. There are something to keep in mind to determine if this program might be a good choice for you. Check out the following questions to see if it might be a good match…

Do you hit the gym occasionally, but seem to wander from exercise to exercise without real purpose?
Is your nutrition off?
Do you seem to lose and gain the same 10-30 lbs over and over?
Are you confused about all the nutrition fads… Keto, Paleo, Fat Free, Adkins, etc…
Do you have some experience with working out, but you feel stuck in a rut and have stopped making progress?
Are you a busy woman that needs flexibility?
Have a specific goal and need a highly specialized coach to help you reach that goal?
Do you are an over thinker that could spend hours at a time researching training or nutrition techniques just to walk away overwhelmed and confused?
Do you prefer to workout from home?
Do you tend to do the same exercises over and over without seeing real results?
Do you lack ACCOUNTABILITY & MOTIVATION?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, then online fitness coaching might be a good match for you.

Who should NOT consider Online Fitness Training…

There are several very good reasons that you might want to opt for highly trained, regular personal trainers. Answer each of the questions below…

Do you need someone to be sure that you show up for workouts? If you need someone making sure that you actually workout then you really need an in person trainer waiting for you at a gym.
Are you brand new to working out or have next to no experience with exercise? Making sure that you are safe is my top priority. If you have never exercised before or you are very timid with strength training, then personal trainers that are on site will be able to watch your form very closely.
Do you have specific or severe limitations from your doctor? You might require a specialized physical therapist that can follow your doctors orders.
Do you need someone to be sure that you show up for workouts?

If you answered “YES” to any one of these questions, then an online fitness coach is probably not right for you at this time. I suggest reaching out to a highly trained in person personal trainer or physical therapist instead.