If you’re looking for fitness guidance, you’re probably trying to decide between online group classes and personal coaching sessions.
Both seem great, so which one should you choose?
As you’ll see in a moment, both types of coaching offer their unique benefits, but one is better. Let’s see…
The Workouts
Since workouts are the foundation of your fitness results, we decided it would be fitting to start with this.
Group classes can be a fun environment, but the primary issue is that you’re following a one-shoe-fits-all workout plan. These workouts are designed to work on average but never account for individual differences, specific goals, and preferences.
For instance, your trainer might have you do burpees, jump squats, and jumping jacks. While these are beneficial in their unique way, you might not want to do them because you don’t like them or have other goals. With group classes, you have no choice but to follow along.
Sessions with a personal coach are much different because the attention is on you. Your coach will ask you questions to learn about your goals, preferences, injury history (if any), available equipment, and more. They will then produce a training program for you, which you will continually tweak together until you arrive at something you love doing.
As a result, you’ll be a lot more motivated and invested because you will enjoy your training, and you will know that you’re working toward the right outcome. In contrast, a group class can be a fun way to exercise, sure. But are you addressing your goals? Are you working toward something specific? In most cases, the answer would be no.
Motivation And Accountability
Group workouts can be fun. Defined by upbeat music and enthusiastic cheering, many people find themselves feeling eager to work hard. Accountability isn’t that strong, however. The issue is that the coach leading the group class has to pay attention to many people, so they can’t always notice if someone is missing.
The problem is, accountability plays an essential role in keeping ourselves motivated. If you don’t feel accountable, it would be easier to take it easy when you don’t feel like working out.
Sessions with a personal trainer have a strong motivation and accountability factor. First, your coach will encourage you to work hard but be smart about it. This will help you feel motivated to keep showing up every time. Plus, getting to see improvements regularly is fantastic for morale.
Second, the accountability factor is strong. Your coach doesn’t have five, ten, or twenty people to train at once – you are their priority. You can’t skip a workout and hope nobody notices. Your coach will always know. This is a great way to keep yourself on track even when you don’t feel like doing the work.
Safety And Supervision
Look:
We are not here to hate group classes. We believe they can be beneficial, but we want to lay out the facts as we see them. An inherent flaw in coaching many people at once is the trainer can’t give everyone enough attention and make sure they are doing the exercises in the best possible way.
A trainer’s job isn’t only to deliver engaging workouts. They have to make sure their clients are doing each activity correctly, training the right muscle groups, and keeping themselves safe. When one person has to account for a dozen people, details fly by unnoticed. Sure, a good coach can still pick up mistakes here and there. But they won’t be able to thoroughly examine each person’s training style and coach them to do better.
In contrast, working with a personal trainer is all about safety and supervision. Your coach examines how you’re doing things, where you could improve, and what you’re already doing exceptionally well. As a result, you gain a lot more from the coaching experience, you stay safe and achieve superior results.
