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ONE OF THE biggest issues facing the health and fitness industry today is that it has been cheapened by its own.
The growth of the internet has revolutionised information sharing. In health and fitness, the internet undoubtedly offers a number of benefits to both consumers and coaches, but online training ventures are loaded with pitfalls.
It’s big business and, for obvious reasons, can seem particularly alluring; as a trainer, you can achieve a much wider reach and the potential for substantial revenue generation in a small amount of time is huge.
I personally think there are certain situations where online training is appropriate (more on that later), but generally speaking, it’s difficult to provide the same level of service online as you would in person.
It’s a business that should be reserved for experienced coaches with high skill, patience and dedication. You need years of real life training experience; dealing with people day in, day out and developing the skills needed to overcome roadblocks and problems, or better yet, prevent them from happening in the first place.
Any recently qualified trainer with a decent physique, good social media skills and some inspirational quotes can provide you with a training programme, but buyer beware; theoretically, they could know all there is to know about coaching, but unless they have the practice and experience of coaching in real life, you will most likely be wasting your time and money.
Looking good does not make you an expert, all it means is that you were good at getting yourself in shape. Unfortunately, the prospect of a few hours on the laptop per week for a big pay out is pretty appealing to many young trainers and they fail to understand that in reality, if you had integrity about it, the opposite would be true.
Ideally, online coaches ask for video footage of their clients performing exercises prescribed, so that they can then provide feedback on both the quality of movement and how to adjust for the next session. If you have hundreds of online clients, you’re looking at a lot of time consumed watching, critiquing and replying with corrections and recommendations. Even for the most efficient and organised of trainers, some aspect of your coaching will suffer with a high volume of clients.
Generic, cookie-cutter programmes make good coaches die a little inside. Unfortunately, I’ve seen it many times; people of drastically differing demographics given the same programme that is totally inappropriate for their goals, abilities and experience.
I’m a big believer in systemising your business, there’s nothing wrong with having training principles or templates that you work from, but they must be adapted to suit individual requirements.
Many trainers that work with clients in person are guilty of this too, but the immediate and unfiltered interaction you get when personally interacting with a client allows you to act on what you see and adapt immediately, rather than retrospectively.
As a newly qualified trainer, there is no substitute for getting hands on to really develop as a coach.
I would deem a baseline assessment, observation, feedback and rapport to be some of the essentials of good coaching, all of which are compromised in cyberspace.
Sure, you can acquire information via email regarding a client’s exercise history, medical status, age, gender, injuries etc but without personal contact, it can be difficult to ascertain when they’re being honest and thorough.
Conducting a physical assessment or movement analysis is a must with all new clients, but again, without personal contact, the information gathered from this is diminished.
Even the most carefully written programmes can be misunderstood, and with online training, miscommunications cannot be instantly remedied. Correcting a client’s form, observing biomechanical imbalances or adjusting load and volume becomes retrospective.
The instant feedback that in person training allows for is crucial, particularly to beginners. You need to be able to make small adjustments; technique, load or tempo, or large adjustments; exercise selection, training methods or eliciting the appropriate amount of effort from the client.
The coach can use multiple ways of cueing to elicit the best response; auditory, visual, kinaesthetic; again, severely diminished, if not impossible via online training.
Finally, the positive impact that accountability and rapport can have on a beginner’s perception of training cannot be underestimated. I’m a firm believer that training should add to your life, not detract from it and a little camaraderie can go a long way towards being more consistent with your regime.
Having a good coach with whom you share a mutual respect and good rapport with allows for far more relaxed and open channels of communication and in my experience, far better results.
Being part of training facility that fosters community spirit, that has like-minded people who encourage and motivate you to push yourself physically and mentally can make training a fun and enjoyable experience, rather than a miserable, guilt-laden endeavour.
Ok so all of the above may make it appear that I am staunchly against online training: I am not. In fact, I think there’s certain circumstances where online training is a great option:
For people that have been training at a good level consistently for a number of years. They don’t require the same constant supervision, just direction, accountability and some quality coaching cues here and there.
Online training can be a great way of maintaining a relationship with a client who, for example, moves abroad. Working with a client over a long stretch of time allows you to get to know their movements and capabilities.
The familiarity with their strengths and weaknesses, preferences and issues makes it easier to assess and adjust their programming and foresee any potential roadblocks.
On a final note, if you are planning on going down the route of online training, I would suggest you consider the following when choosing who to buy from:
Only those that have succeeded at coaching in real life are properly equipped to provide good quality online coaching. Experience is invaluable and frankly necessary.
There are so many free training programmes available on the web, so if your online coach doesn’t tick the boxes above, it may be time to ask yourself what you’re really paying for.
Sarah Cremen is a personal trainer and physiotherapist based in David Lloyd Riverview in Dublin. For more health and fitness advice and tips, you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram, and you can find her website here.
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Written by Sarah Cremen and posted on the42.ie
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Stop international travel.close the border.lets look after ourselves
Ignore all government advice and restrictions. Listen to the scientists and follow their advice. STAY AWAY FROM PUBS, RESTAURANTS AND ALL NEEDLESS ACTIVITY.
Please
Stop all flights….NOW
@Cosmos20202020: Exactly- why wait until Tuesday?? A lot of infections could be introduced between now and then
Here here! Really don’t understand we we haven’t been doing this all along like other countries. Test on the way in, strict quarantine with visits from the Garda or other contact trace officials. Then test again five days later. Free to move once those test results back negative. The travellers pay for their own tests as part of their agreement to be allowed to enter the country. This will stop the spread and save lives. It’s a no brainer.
@Carmel O’Dwyer: people should be placed in quarantine. If that is not done, then everything else is futile.
@Carmel O’Dwyer: What you’re proposing is illegal. EU (Irish) citizens can’t be charged to enter the country. If the government want to stop cases from travel (which is the small minority of cases), then they should provide free testing to those coming in on international flights.
Actually er should do what they did in New Zealand. Just stop letting people in unless they are in supervised quarantine for 14 days. Jeez, it’s just Christmas which could be missed for once, could it not? To save somebody’s life?
@Joe Griffin: here we go….New Zealand.
They are nowhere near anywhere and don’t have a land-border with a coloured history to contend with.
@Fozz: the virus doesn’t care about our colored history. And we still have borders, which allows us, surely, to protect ourselves?
@Fozz: You can’t deny they have the proof in their handling. If thats too much then try out a few other southeast asian nations that did the same methods and have similarly low numbers.
@Joe Griffin:
New Zealand isn’t comparable. New Zealand isn’t in the EU and has more sovereignty than we have on these sorts of issues. New Zealand doesn’t have a land border. New Zealand is much further away from a lot of other countries. We are in the middle of the US and the EU, both accounting for almost 50% of global GDP. Especially with all the MNC’s, that’s going to count for a lot of travel. Unless you close absolutely everything, we’re going to be in the same position as before. By the way who the hell makes up what’s essential and non-essential? It’s so subjective.
It’s (more than) a bit late to be suggesting this now duh..
Does sht always have to hit the fan before decisions are made /action is taken?
@Jazz Buckler: Well, before anyone demands any action is taken. It’s usually a considerable time after that than any actually is, if at all.
@Jazz Buckler: I absolutely agree that it’s late, but as Tesco says: every little helps.
@Jazz Buckler: well, yes… Considering we have a housing crisis, healthcare crisis, homeless crisis, public transport crisis, etc etc.
Kent….worst hit spot….do you know whats in Kent…..quite a lot of Irish people who will be coming home on the boat….ban flights and ferries now….it has to be done…
Need banned uk flight/ferries due there new virus dangerous more than covid and need army setup border closed
I flew back on Friday…there is a form but nothing stringent. I also took 2 covid tests…once before flying and one after…should anyone ask….
@Alan McDonald: that’s great and all, but I think if you flew in on Friday, you have to restrict movement and quarantine for 5 days here. Then you go and get your test AFTER the 5 day quarantine. If it comes back negative you can then do what you like and not restrict your movement anymore. That’s my understanding and I am open to correction in it. I haven’t looked into it in great detail as it doesn’t affect me personally so I may be wrong :)
@Stop the Lights: I am isolating and will take another test in 3 days. Just saying two so far have been negative :-)
@Alan McDonald: ah ok, no bother. Fair play to you! The amount of people I’ve heard of that seem to think they can test on arrival into Ireland, get a negative result and go about their day, is frightening. I think there’s a lot of misinformation and people are coming home for Christmas and swanning about the place, unintentionally spreading the virus. However, you sir, are doing the right thing. So thank you!
THE DOG ON THE STREETS KNOWS THAT.
Or just close the Ports and Airports
If they are not prepared to act on travel restrictions the very least they could do is make an address asking our citizens abroad to protect those at home by trying to prevent the new strain getting to Ireland. So please don’t travel from britain unless you absolutely have to. Their current inaction and silence is sheer negligence in their duty to protect citizens.
We are an island. Shut all inward travel down to non residents. Those coming in have to isolate in a hotel somewhere. Close the border with north as they seem incapable of staying at home. Let’s look after our country
It’s like we’re back in March again :(
@Colleen: until we know about this new strain, we kinda are.
Everyone take a breath and get a grip of yourselves.
Mass hysteria doesn’t work. Thought all the clowns panic buying big roll in March would have realised that by now.
Sounds like SF want a police state.
@Michael Flynn: keep taking the drugs, only a half wit would come out with that.
@Michael Flynn: cop yourself on. Ffa
Check how many flights from outside UK.
K l m have up to 4 a day.
Why
@Shay Flynn: fair point, but the UK is suffering from a particularly bad strain, it’s travel from the UK that we need to stop – or at least monitor more carefully
You could put your life savings on the fact the new strain of virus is already here. Just look at the original strain. It’s been detected in sewage samples from EU cities as far back as Sept 19, well before China alerted. We do need to put a block on introducing more of it. That would seem the logical thing to do.
Did you intentionally spell her names wrong at every opportunity.?
close the airports before it is too late unless it is a mandatory quarantine when someone enters like Australia then we should not trust people to fly in and stay inside for 14 days it won’t happen
We do need to step up the game with any or all of the following…
1. PCR test 72 hours before arrival
2. Rapid test before boarding
3. require the contact tracing app be installed and operational
also have some location information so their location can be verified remotely
(note that is for visitors who wish to visit, not for Irish residents and
would only apply during isolation periods).
4. Every person or group be spoken to upon arrival and
5. Establish the nature of the visit and if non essential holiday travel return on the next flight being the ultimate sanction
6. Get details of where staying and who staying there, so that everyone on the house is contacted and instructed to restrict movements.
7. Daily check up that isolation is taking place by home visits etc.
8. Jail people who come into the country and break isolation pending their being returned home,
In many countries were we visit there are rules we must follow, visa registration, hotel registration with passport, etc. why not make it such that visitors here have the ultimate sanction of “deportation” of a kind should they fail to abide with the health requirements here.
We turn people back at the Dublin Kildare border sometimes so why not just send UK (and other) nationals packing if they break the rules here,
We could employ people on the Pandemic Payment to carry out some of this work and it would have the benefit of helping in control and also of providing useful employment for people out of work and, as they are needed less and businesses open up, they can return to their normal jobs and know they have contributed to the opening of society. (I add I am suggesting that the posts be temporary and paid at a proper rate and not just getting people working at the PUP rate). Much of the legislation covers health officials so these people can be granted the powers needed under the health acts… and they could also be used to cover other checks on regulations .. just a thought..
the bottom like however is that we do need more control over the movements of people into the country and where they go.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: I agree with your comments though maybe instead of using people on PUP we could use people who have been collecting the dole for 10 or even 20 years. I’m sure they would be keen to answer their country’s call.
Will the vaccine work on the new strain and will the new strain fuse with covid 19 and become another strain .Or could the newer infectious strain run out of steam quickly.Travel from abroad should be banned from every country for now have we not learnt anything about how covid19 came here in the first place. The big qestion is will the vaccine work on this new strain .
Michael Martin needs to close the borders with UK.
The problem we have is that when all is said and done there is usually more said than done
have your say