Why Online Fitness?

The virtual world is growing, online businesses are booming. In 2013 according to the Telegraph 8 million Britons owned an online business. 1 in 6 people owned an online business. Now, in 2019 this number has increased furthermore.


Ashburnham Insurance state that “not only do most UK businesses have a website or online presence now (through social media or other online platforms), but many emerging startups are now online-only. Dealing with customers online exclusively, offering products and/or services, can have lower overhead costs than traditional businesses operating out of a brick-and-mortar property”. (Interesting article on this here www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk .


According to the Office for National Statistics (in a statistical bulletin dated August 2017), online sales account for 16.4% of total retail sales in the UK, showing a growth of 15.6% year-on-year. The average weekly spend online of a UK consumer was £1.1 billion.


Showing the strength of self employment; “In 2018, there were 2.2 million more businesses than in 2000, an increase of 63% over the whole period.


The proportion of businesses with employees has fallen since 2000 from around a third, to around a quarter. This decline in the number of employers as a proportion of all businesses is due to the growth in self- employment”. (https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06152/SN06152.pdf)


It’s growing and growing.


I personally started my online business 5 years ago when I started online Challenges. When I moved to the other side of the world away from where I built my “in person” business I put most efforts solely into my online business, starting up an online fitness group and now more recently using my website to promote and blog further.


This blog post is going to focus purely on online fitness which is absolutely booming at the moment. Whilst I’m not up there with the big guns I’m down here working on it and making sure I give the best possible service to the people that support and subscribe to what I do.


My passion has always been fitness, my degree is fitness related, my hobby is fitness, my main job is fitness, I met my husband in a gym...the idea of date night for us would be to do a gym session or go for a run... one of our first dates was a run out on the training area at Catterick Garrison..! I’m passionate about my group, about helping others. I don’t make millions but I’m a hard worker and always will be. I’m lucky in the fact that I love my job. Frustrating sometimes, the good times outweigh the bad completely!


Wait wait wait:


Before I go into things I’ll be talking generally about online fitness platforms but please remember to consider mine at the end of this. It’s mine, my own personality, the way I am when teaching classes. The group is personal, I respond to questions and requests. There are hundreds of workouts available, full and coached throughout- not just snippets. Sample some workouts here on my website at the end. If its for you let’s get going and get you signed up. If it’s not...maybe it will be soon! I’ve big plans for it but the numbers need to build first....slash I need to win the lottery 😁


So why choose online fitness?


Working days are longer. Over time we have found ways to be more productive. The internet has made communication possible within milliseconds with businesses, clients and to promote anything into the big wide world. However, we have never reduced working hours. Instead, we have increased them throughout time. Businesses now open every single day. I remember as a child there were hardly any shops open on a Sunday, we were lucky to have the cinema showing one movie on a Sunday morning and the local shop opening for a few hours so we could buy some sweets to go and watch it! Saturday’s were hit and miss too with some businesses, most that were open would also close at midday. This doesn’t happen now. We now live in a 24 hour society. Shops open every day, there’s no such thing as a Sunday rest day these days. Sunday is as busy as a Saturday, people are working more days, businesses are having to open more days to accommodate demand and to ensure they’re on an even level in terms of competing with others.


Considering the above, that people are working more, spare time is precious. Life can get crazy! Going to the gym is great if you have the time... sometimes that’s not available. You may have an hour. That hour can be used productively if you could just connect your phone to the TV, select HIIT and Abs 5 and go! 30 mins later you’re a sweaty mess, heart pumping, feeling great and you’ve achieved exactly what you would have done in the gym but within 30 mins not 90 minutes. You’ve saved time not driving there and back. You’ve saved money (my personal group is just £5 per month), most gyms cost around £25 per month...


Some fitness professionals are completely torn as to whether they should seek business in the online world. Some people are torn.


Can you really make progress doing workouts at home?


The quick answer is YES. You can!


Progress in fitness is stress overload. (Stress overload of the cardiovascular, muscular and respiratory systems AKA muscles - heart, lungs and any additional skeletal muscles you bring into play throughout your workout).


Ask yourself this:

1. Do you get DOMS from workouts at home?
2. And are you pushing your limits with workouts at home?
3. Are you ensuring that you are putting MAX efforts into your workouts at home?

If you the answer is YES to each of these then then the answer to the first question is YES! You CAN progress at home!


Setting foot into a massive and amazingly equipped gym doesn’t magically ensure that you gain progress.


A bad workout in an amazing gym... is STILL a bad workout!


No effort in an amazing gym.... is STILL no effort.


There are millions of workouts you can do at home that will enable you to lose fat (calorie deficit!), gain strength, gain power, build a booty....


Put the effort in at home, workout for a minuscule amount compared to a gym and you can STILL achieve progress.


But, aren’t these online programmes and plans a “one size fits all?”


Yes, the “PDF” versions of plans can be. The groups not so much, the online PT sessions you can access are definitely not. Forget the PDF plans, focus on the groups like mine. Each workout is coached; therefore alternatives to push further or take the foot off the pedal are given throughout. We KNOW our bodies. We aren’t silly. We know what hurts, what doesn’t, we know our limits and we know when we can push ourselves that little bit further. You lose the 1-1 factor of a class, you lose the ability to watch and correct your clients. What you gain though is VERY accurate coaching points...MUCH MORE talking (teaching points we would call them when teaching PE in school), guidance on posture, form and examples of incorrect form. You may not get as much in a real class (I know for a fact I talk less in a real class- a real class contains many more visuals to be aware of rather than just a camera in front, the senses are overloaded and I may forget some cues/teaching points but will correct as and when I can of course!).


What about real life gym/classes? Do we just abandon those?


The very first thing I stated when I did my first advertising post for my online group was “I am not competing with gyms or face to face classes”.


I teach classes face to face still out here in Brunei. I will continue to do this until I simply can’t! I would really feel down if the number of clients reduced in those classes because everyone was at home sweating in front of the TV.


Online fitness doesn’t have to be your sole access to fitness. It can be an addition to your routine “in case” you can’t make it to the gym/class you want to get to!


Reasons you may want to add it in can vary. If we take this time of year into consideration (end of January....) New Years resolutions involving fitness / weight loss (see the blog before this for more on that) tend to start to dry up around this time for various reasons. One reason can be the inability to attend the gym/class because of a poorly child, because you’re poorly, time, weather (it’s FREEZING at the moment in the uk...!), childcare and lack of transport. All reasons we may need to skip a workout at the gym/class. This is where I (or another online fitness platform) could come in and save the day...! Connect the group up and off you go, done! You’re not out of the routine, you’ve sweated, you’ve worked, you feel great! Alternatively you could have skipped it, felt sorry for yourself, skipped another day and before you know it you’ve fallen back into your previous routine of not exercising and not feeling particularly great.


You can even access online fitness on holiday. Most (if not all these days) places have wig access. Although I would recommend Rest and a break from time to time, if you don’t want to and you want to keep exercising (maybe you take a few holidays a year/travel with business etc) then there is absolutely no need or excuse to get out of your routine.


Intimidation and anxiety


I’ve a few clients within my online group who felt intimidation when walking into a gym. It happens... I’ve been there...in all honesty I still feel it at times. Whilst I would firstly recommend seeking help within the gym from an instructor there to help build up you knowledge and confidence in that environment, an online fitness platform can take away any of the intimidation. An online fitness platform can give you the knowledge you need to help towards increasing your confidence eventually using the gym. You’ll learn how to perform exercises, you’ll learn workout routines, what works for you, what you enjoy and in turn you will get an idea how to plan your future workouts. I’ve some clients in my group who started solely using the group, they now happily use the gym and even take their phone and watch/listen to a workout whilst they’re there. Also some are confidently doing and sharing workouts they’ve created on social media. It’s amazing to see. Knowledge is power, and knowledge is confidence 🤗💪


What about the buzz of classes


Again, I never want to take away the “group” fitness element that a class/gym environment can give. The social positives of attending these are awesome. Friendships can be forged, social interaction can have a positive effect on mental health, working out in a group with friends/general people can be fun. Again, online fitness can be an addition to this when you can’t attend. What I can personally offer is virtual social interactions with others in the form of comments, the option of posting questions, debates, their journey, photos etc it’s still a group environment, just switched to the virtual world which if I take you back to the beginning of this post is where a lot of businesses are going.


Injuries and special circumstances.


If these arise, an “in person” fitness instructor should always be told. I always also ask that people let me know if they have anything that may affect their working out at home through my group. I react the same in both circumstances... seek professional advise from a physio/doctor. Whilst I am “ok” (and most other trainers are) with most injuries and can advise, I would not want to be the final word on something that others have trained years in gaining knowledge about and hold a professional title for. Physiotherapists are awesome, doctors are awesome! Use them👍


Final word.


“Anything that gets anyone to exercise, who might not otherwise consider doing it, is a really great idea” Peter Francis, Meditation Personal Trainers.


Have I persuaded you yet..,, check out my example workouts on here. If it’s not for you, ok. If it is, join now! £5 per month you’ll be spending wisely and I’ll also do a little happy dance 💃