Online Workouts - Pros And Cons

Online Workouts

Every time you go Online, and visit your favorite health site, fitness magazine page, or training and diet forum, you’re bombarded with adverts for Online training plans. Even social networking sites are getting in on the act, and you’ll often see adverts for the latest fat burning, muscle building or cardio workouts pop up in your inbox. The trouble is, you have no way of knowing if these workouts are any good or not.


Obviously, the manufacturers, companies and trainers who promote these programs rave about them, as they have a vested interested in the success of the product, and if you believe their claims, you’ll be in the best shape of your life in next to no time. As always though, it’s a case of “buyer beware”. There are certainly many advantages to following an Online workout, but they do come with their risks too.

Pros

The main advantage that Online workouts have is that you don’t have to think about your own workout. For many people, deciding what to do in the gym can be pretty scary. Machines can look daunting, you may not be sure of how to correctly perform certain exercises, what machine works which body part, and have any number of concerns. Even if you’re slightly more experienced, and can plan something for yourself, what do you do when the equipment you want to use is in use, or if you get injured and have to change the plan?


Online workouts lay everything out for you, which means you don’t have to think at all. For many people this is a massive advantage, especially if you have a stressful job, busy family life, and don’t want to spend hours planning a training session.

Secondly, it could be the case that the workout you’re following has been designed by a top trainer or coach. If you want a six pack, or bulging biceps, or want to be able to run a 10k in 40 minutes, then a workout designed by someone who’s been there and done it already has surely got to work. If it’s worked for them, it should work for you too.

Another huge advantage is the cost. Personal training is getting increasingly popular, but it’s still not particularly cheap, and while Online programs vary in price, you’re guaranteed to be able to find something cheaper than a few one on one sessions with a trainer.

Finally, there is a sense of accountability and value. While you may not be working with someone directly one on one or face to face, you do feel a sense of responsibility to the creator of the program to follow it through. Likewise, you’ve invested your hard earned cash in buying the program, and don’t want it to go to waste, so you’re more likely to follow it, as you don’t want it to be a waste of money.

There are just as many, if not more cons than pros to online workouts. Obviously, any program that you follow is far better from a health perspective than sitting at home doing nothing, but Online workouts do carry a fair few negative aspects.


First up is the fact that you simply don’t know who’s designed your workout. They’ll be someone who markets it, and chances are it’s them who created it, but you still can’t be sure. It could just be the company using the body and face of a fitness model to market a workout dreamt up by someone with zero real world experience, and a lack of any real training knowledge. Even if the plan comes with an impressive author bio, how do you know they’re telling the truth?

There are plenty of awesome online coaches out there, but there are lots of dodgy ones too, who may never even have trained someone. Exercise extreme caution when choosing which program to buy, and do as much research on the trainer as you can. If possible buy from someone who has published books, is affiliated with a magazine, and gives away a little good, solid information for free on their website.


The second big issue is specificity. Online workouts will very rarely be anything more than cookie cutter programs, designed for the masses. They can certainly work for Mr or Mrs Average gym-goer, but will they work for you? You may have certain conditions, limitations, or previous injuries that prevent you from doing certain exercises, or following the plan in the way it’s laid out. Following the plan to the letter could be dangerous, and even if it doesn’t pose a risk to your health, it will probably still be ineffective.

Try to get a program as specific to you as possible. For example, if you’re looking to get stronger following an injury, choose a program written for that specific purpose, nit just a general bodybuilding or weight training program. The same goes for losing weight – there are plenty of different plans for losing weight after pregnancy, after surgery, or for different age populations. Pick one that suits you.

What about if you have any questions or queries? If you’re working one on one with a trainer, or even using an online personal trainer, and have any issues, you can bring these up with them in your sessions. If an exercise is hurting, if you’re not getting results, or you’ve just got a general question, someone is there to answer it. With online workouts this is seldom the case. There may be a support forum, or a contact email given, but you might have to wait several days for a reply, and usually won’t get it direct from the program author.

A final, smaller but still important issue is that of progress. What happens if the workout is either too tough, or too easy? If you can’t do something, do you just persevere, or do you lower the weights, sets of reps. Likewise if the weights and exercises listed are feeling easy, and you’re feeling like you’re not pushing yourself is it better to increase it, despite the workout saying otherwise, or do you stick one hundred percent to the plan? This can be quite a tricky dilemma, and one that varies on a case to case basis.

Sum Up

Online workouts can definitely be beneficial – they can give your workout purpose, keep you on track, push you more than you would on your own, and save you money in the long run. However, it’s a minefield of information out there, so do your research before you purchase an Online workout, and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before starting.