If you are anything like me, I did not think that personal training was up my alley. And don't get me wrong, not everyone needs a personal trainer. People who are naturally athletic and who enjoy exercising are typically self-motivated and can develop and maintain a good fitness program on their own. But plenty of people are new to exercise or have had bad experiences in the past that they need to overcome. For me, I just felt as if I could motivate myself enough, I could do it on my own. I have tried many different workout plans and casually visit the gym, but knew that if I wanted to get back into a good postpartum routine again for the new year, I needed help. However, my schedule is flexible, which truly means inconsistent and sometimes chaotic. I knew that a traditional personal trainer was not something that I could invest in while traveling and working crazy amount of hours. Enter Coach Kelsey.
Coach Kelsey is a personal friend of mine and she approached me to experiment with her new business adventure, I was game. It was exactly what I needed to dive into my health and fitness full force. Coach Kelsey is passionate about seeing past the “get fit quick” schemes or “copy paste” workout formats that saturate the internet, and instead, she focuses on providing real, highly personalized training programs that work for YOU. And boy, did it make the difference.
After spending just 4 weeks with her, my diet was more on track, my arms and legs have toned up, I am back to my pre-baby weight, and my stomach is tighter! More so than anything, I feel better and stronger.
So what is it about online personal training? Well, I learned 4 things that drastically changed my outlook on the whole idea, and I definitely wanted to share them with you. If you're considering working with a personal trainer, especially for people who are new to exercise or who have jam-packed schedules, an in-home personal trainer is the way to go. Here are the top four things I learned while working with a personal trainer, like Coach Kelsey, who brings the workout to you.
Thank you, Coach Kelsey Fitness, for sponsoring this post, How Does an Online Personal Trainer Work? I was selected for this opportunity by Coach Kelsey and completed a 4-week personal training experience with her services; the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. I'm also not a nutritionist nor a fitness expert. These are just my experiences.
4 Things I Learned From Working with an Online Personal Trainer
1. Save time
When you work with a virtual personal trainer, you make the most of your time. There's no packing a bag of clothing and gear, no traveling to the gym, no searching for a parking spot. You’ll meet online with Kelsey anytime during your workout day. The time that you workout is 100% up to you! Some days it was easy for me to hop on my app to check out my workout plan over my lunch break. Other times it was better for me to do it after the kids went to bed. When time is tight, virtual personal training lets you spend more time getting fit and less time in transit or planning what you are going to do.
I loved that I was able to review my workouts each day, ask questions if I needed, and then get at it. Kelsey would either pop in during my workout or shortly afterwards to encourage me, ask me how the workout was feeling, ensuring that I was pushing myself to grow, and so much more! It was like having somebody there in-person, but instead, I was in the comfort of my own home!
2. Privacy and comfort
Admit it. If your body is less than perfect or you are not naturally athletic, it can be intimidating to work out in a public gym. It can feel like all eyes are on you--especially the parts that jiggle when you move. I know that even though I have been to the gym a lot, I am always feeling like somebody in judging my every move. Did I stay on the treadmill long enough? Am I hogging this machine? How the heck is that girl (or guy) over there lifting that much? ... So many things go through my head. A virtual personal training program lets you work out in the privacy and comfort of your own home... or at the gym if you'd like as well!
I did most of my workouts at home due to the freezing temperatures, wintry weather, and my hectic work schedule. However, it was super easy to take the program to the gym and complete it there as well. One night, my husband, Dusty, and I even hit up a workout together allowing our gym daycare to watch the kids. Most importantly though, you control the temperature, the music, the cleanliness, and you get to exercise without an audience if you'd like!
3. Minimum equipment needed
Virtual personal training typically focuses on exercise techniques that require little or no gear. If you already own fitness equipment like I did a bit, Coach Kelsey can include it in your workouts. And if you don't have any gear, don't worry; Kelsey can still give you a great workout. You'll learn to be fit anywhere: at home, at your in-laws' house, in a hotel room, in your office.
For me, we did a ton of strengthening and stability exercises that did not take a ton of equipment at all. I used my own body weight for the most part and leveraged my 5-10 lbs. dumb bells that I snagged from Amazon a few years ago, and that was it! There was no need to go out and spend tons of money on extra equipment and since I was at home, I didn't even feel the need to grab myself some new workouts clothes to get me motivated.
4. Accountability
This is where virtual personal training helped me out a ton! It's pretty easy to talk yourself out of a trip to the gym. But when the trainer, is waiting on you to complete your daily exercises, all your excuses are out the window. Your scheduled workout days will keep you on track toward your fitness goal, and Kelsey will help keep you motivated to exercise.
Every day that I wanted to dip out of a workout because of some excuse: the kids, the laundry, work... I would have to message Kelsey and ask her to cancel or move my workout day. Did I sometimes? Absolutely! Last minute work trips throw a wrench in the system sometimes; however, most of the time, I didn't. I loved having the accountability of the other person cheering me on from the other side of the application that we used. It sounds so simple but it worked!
A Bit More about Coach Kelsey
Coach Kelsey is the owner of Coach Kelsey fitness out of Plano, TX. As an athlete with more than 20 years of experience including a collegiate career competing in the heptathlon, she has diverse skillsets that cover just about any type of performance training. She is also a NASM Certified Personal Trainer with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interpersonal Communication giving her a depth of knowledge in fitness, anatomy and training as well as the skill to communicate effectively and support you through every step of your fitness journey. She does online and in-person personal training along with nutritional support to help you with your fitness and health goals.
Kelsey lives with her husband, Rafael, and is thankful to have such a supportive, encouraging, and loving man of the Lord. Together, they have two beautiful children, Nora and Lincoln. Beyond personal training, Kelsey is a full-time stay-at-home momma who loves spending the majority of her days hearing their giggles and watching them grow and learn. She has such a passion and gift to motivate and encourage people and it is obviously that God bless her love of fitness with those attributes.
To connect with Kelsey or inquire her personal training program, you can find her posting daily about her life and passion over on Instagram or check out her website!
