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Online coaching explainedIs Online Personal Training Worth It?
Sometimes. It depends on what you are stuck on. I coach women online and in person, and I turn people away from online coaching when it is the wrong fit. Here is how to work out whether it is worth it for you, without the sales pitch.
01What you are actually paying for
Not the plan. Plans are free. You can download a decent four-week programme from this site right now and it will work if you follow it.
What you pay a coach for is the part a PDF cannot do: someone looking at your week, every week, and changing the plan when your life or your results change. The accountability of knowing your check-in is due on Sunday. The answer at 9pm on a Wednesday when you are not sure whether to eat the thing. The adjustment in week six when the scale has stopped moving and you would otherwise assume you are broken and quit.
If you have never managed to stick to a plan on your own past the two-week wall, that is the thing you are buying, and it is worth it.
02When online coaching is worth it
- You can get to a gym and are comfortable being there, but you do not know what to do once you are in
- You have tried a few plans and drifted because nobody was checking
- Your week is unpredictable: shifts, travel, kids, a commute. You need a plan that flexes rather than one that assumes Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 6pm
- You want the food sorted alongside the training, not in a separate app with a separate person
- You want to learn how it works, so that in a year you can do it yourself
03When it is not worth it
- You are new to lifting and nervous about the gym floor. A coach next to you for the first month will get you further than a video ever will. Start in person and go online later
- You want someone to make you turn up. I can make sure you know I am looking. I cannot walk into your house at 6am
- You are not going to log your sessions or send the check-in. Coaching only works on information. If you will not give me any, save your money
- You want a quick fix before a holiday in three weeks. Do a sensible calorie deficit, drink water, sleep, and keep your money for the coaching you do afterwards
04The maths
A PT in Durham or Newcastle typically charges per hour, and most people who get real results train with them two or three times a week. I have written up honest local prices here. Online coaching is one monthly fee for all of it: the programme, the nutrition, the weekly review and the messages. For most people it comes in well below what two PT sessions a week would cost.
The trade-off is real, though. In person, I see every rep. Online, I see the reps you film. If your technique is the thing holding you back, the cheaper option is not the better one.
05How to tell if a coach is worth their fee
Ask how often they check in and what a check-in involves. Weekly, with the coach actually reading your logs, is what you want. Monthly, or a bot-generated "great work, keep going", is not coaching.
Ask what happens when it stops working. A good coach has a plain answer: we look at the data, we change the food or the training, we go again. A bad one blames you.
Ask how many clients they have. A coach with two hundred online clients cannot have read your check-in. I cap mine for exactly that reason. The full list of questions is in how to choose an online personal trainer.
My honest position
Online coaching is the best value in fitness for the right person, and a waste of money for the wrong one. The right person is already turning up and wants to stop guessing. If that is you, here is how it works with me. If it is not, start with the free guides on this site and come back when it is.
Questions people ask
Is online coaching cheaper than a personal trainer?
Usually, per month. A PT charges per session, so three sessions a week adds up fast. Online coaching is a monthly fee for the programme, the nutrition and the check-ins. What you lose is the coach physically watching you lift.
Can a beginner do online personal training?
Yes, if you are comfortable being in a gym on your own. If the gym floor itself is the problem, start in person or read my guide to gym anxiety first.
What results can I expect?
Consistent, steady progress: strength up within weeks, body composition changing over two to three months. Not a transformation in fourteen days.
Want it built for you?
Training and nutrition written around your life, with me checking in every week. Online anywhere in the UK, or one to one at UltraFlex Durham and Hii Club Gosforth.
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Written by Ashton Alderson
Ashton Alderson is a qualified personal trainer and online fitness coach, a WABBA Bikini Pro, and a former Specialist Occupational Therapist in mental health. She coaches women one to one at UltraFlex Durham and Hii Club Gosforth in Newcastle, and online across the UK. More about Ashton.