Health & Well-Being-A 'cyber-coach' as a personal trainer?
Once thought to be the exclusive domain of the rich and famous, personal trainers have become increasingly popular among the general public. Today, they are riding the dot-com wave, making their services more accessible and affordable than ever.
Despite the obvious benefits of on-line training, however,
the San Diego-based American Council on Exercise (ACE) asserts that cyber training is most effective as a supplement to working one-on-one with a qualified trainer. Due to the complexity of many strength-training and conditioning programs, novice exercisers should begin with a hands-on trainer.
"The critical eye of a personal trainer is missing on-line," says Ken Germano, ACE's executive director, "It's a great innovation, but a cyber coach isn't the best choice for everyone — and certainly no substitute for a hands-on trainer."
On-line training is most effective for intermediate and advanced exercisers, or for those with very specific goals such as training for a marathon or triathlon.
On average, hands-on personal trainers charge between $35 and $100 per hour depending on the market. Their cyber counterparts are available at a fraction of the cost, with some charging as little as $10 per month. On-line training is also accessible to anyone with a computer and modem, making it possible for busy travelers or people in remote areas to have access to a personal trainer.
For those taking the cyber plunge, ACE offers these tips for picking a safe, effective on-line personal trainer:
• First and foremost, check the qualifications of the staff who will be training you.
• Find out about the trainers' particular experience with your age group, or with your particular needs or health challenges.
• Make sure the site is easy to navigate.
• Look for a sample workout plan.
• When signing up as a client, make sure the site requires you to fill out a detailed health history questionnaire.
• Find out if the workouts will be truly customized for you.
• The Web site should provide an easy means of contacting your trainer for questions or concerns.
• Is your program regularly updated? Does the site have on-line exercise logs? Do you receive e-mail responses or postings in response to the progress in your on-line logs?
• Look for a Web site that provides bulletin board-type forums and on-line group support that you can use to communicate with other exercisers who have similar goals.
• Be wary of Web sites that rely on celebrity trainers or pro athletes to sell their services. Find out who will actually be designing your workouts.
•Avoid training sites that prescribe nutritional supplement programs.
For more information, call ACE at (800) 825-3636, or log onto its Web site, www.acefitness.org.
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