Take charge of your well-being with a reliable online wellness program
[Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 56 seconds.]
One of the biggest surprises I hear from prospective clients is around the plethora of online wellness programs out there. Many know about mindfulness apps such as Headspace. Or they know about the Peloton app.
But they don’t know about the variety of programs available via app that cover all sorts of training, including resistance training. When this is mentioned to clients, they express concern about ensuring they don’t injure themselves. A legitimate concern.
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Is this you?
You know how important resistance training is to your longevity and overall health.
Your only experience with going to a gym to do resistance training was with a personal trainer who did NOT:
Listen to you
Pay attention to your form so you suffered an injury
Explain the ‘why’ around what they programmed for you and why it mattered
Or probably a combination of all of the above.
Today you have a crazy schedule and taking time to go to the gym is a non-starter. You might have 30 minutes early in the morning. 45, if you’re lucky. So taking 15 minutes to drive each way is pretty much a waste of time.
Or you have the same amount of time in the middle of the day. Again, same problem. Driving to the gym is a non-starter.
You want a variety in your programming options but don’t have time to think about it. Perhaps you tried this and you got bored. Or injured again.
If you got injured again, you’re now thinking I want something to do on your own but no one is going to be able to check your form so you don’t hurt your back.
Photo credit: Luis Alvarez - Getty Images
You want community and support. Or you want to be left alone except for feedback on your form.
Now you might be thinking you do not have much room for buying equipment or….
You could be thinking you have so much unused equipment you feel guilty not using.
You want nutrition and stress management components. Or you don’t. Or maybe one of those. You don’t know yet.
Hmmmmm….. So many permutations.
Here’s the good news
Lots of online programs exist that work backwards from your needs, not someone else’s.
And Go Long knows where to find them.
As a matter of fact, the hubs and I have worked with the same coach for 18+ months and we have never met her in person. No, she’s not a bot. Or at least we don’t think so. I’m kidding SG, KIDDING!
Seriously though. Below are the attributes from the program we use today:
Communication with coach
Live meeting once per month
Feedback on all of my workout data submitted within 24-48 hours of completion, including review of my videos (more on this below)
Nutrition feedback weekly
If I am traveling, she modifies the workouts based on what equipment is available on the road
Programming
All programming accessed through an app or website
Submit feedback on workout, which includes my exertion level so she can advise if I should push it the following week or dial it back
App is able to accept videos from my phone - I film every workout because like many of you, I don’t want to be sidelined with an injury
Customized programming for me; the hubs has completely different programming
Works within the equipment I have in my home
You may have completely different requirements. Guess what - a program is out there for you!
How do you find the right online wellness program for you?
What about in-person coaching at home?
We loved our previous coach, who worked with us in person for 3.5 years. If she didn’t move cross-country, we’d likely still be working together.
When we decided to leave CrossFit and get equipment for our garage, the hubs and I had a strong sense of what we wanted from a coach. At this point, we had been doing some form of Olympic weightlifting for 8+ years (not including when the hubs swam in high school and at UCSB).
Like you, we had life constraints to work around. Because of our experience with CrossFit, I found 3 decent options for us. The person we chose ended up being someone who was excellent on paper, but also in practice.
When you look at online coaching, the technology has come a long way thanks to COVID. AI is now entering the realm for form checking.
One of the main positives with online coaching is when your schedule changes at the last minute, you don’t have to incur a cancellation fee. But you may want the in-person accountability that goes with having a live scheduled training session.
Photo credit: AJ Watt - Getty Images
One of the main positives with in-person coaching is you get real-time feedback on your form (assuming your coach is looking at you and not their phone).
With online coaching, that feedback is delayed. But the tech has progressed where my coach can find the most minute thing for me to fix.
I’m at a point in my fitness journey where if something doesn’t feel right as I am doing a workout in my garage, I’ll film where I’m getting stuck. Then I’ll upload it to the portal for my coach to see. Unless it’s her day off, she gets back to me within 24 hours.
To add in another permutation, some people work with my online coach but workout in a local gym.
Everyone has their own requirements to make things work for them. Just like you.
Feeling overwhelmed with options? Don’t worry….
When you sign up with Go Long, you receive a survey that allows us to understand what your individual constraints are. This is in addition to your goals. We bring the right programs to you based on your feedback.
Whatever unique circumstances you have, Go Long can find a program to meet you where you are. What was listed at the top of this post just scratches the surface of permutations of online programs catering to you.
You shouldn’t have to cater your life to someone else’s program.
Let’s find a program that works for you.
Let’s Go Long together.