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Summary
On episode 640 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan breaks down the real differences between hiring a personal trainer and hiring an online coach, drawing on his own history of training with an in-person strength coach and now coaching people online himself.
He explains what each role is actually built to deliver: a personal trainer sells you an hour of in-person, hands-on coaching, while an online coach works across your whole picture, nutrition, sleep, stress, and training, with far more flexibility in when and where you work out.
Allan walks through cost, access, accountability, and scheduling differences to help listeners figure out which one actually fits their goals and lifestyle.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- A personal trainer sells you a block of in-person hours. They meet you at a set time, help count reps, load and unload weights, and generally push you harder in the moment, but their scope is largely limited to the session itself.
- An online coach focuses on your whole health picture, not just the workout. Allan says a coach typically looks across nutrition, sleep, and stress management in addition to training, rather than just delivering a workout session.
- Online coaches offer far more access between sessions. Clients can message questions any time rather than being limited to a scheduled hour, which Allan says he does daily with his own premium clients through text and Facebook Messenger.
- Training on your own time and location is a major advantage of online coaching. A personal trainer requires you to show up at their gym on their schedule; an online coach lets you train at home, while traveling, or on a cruise ship, whenever it’s convenient.
- A personal trainer’s problems become your problems. If a trainer has car trouble or gets sick, you lose that session; an online coach doesn’t need to physically show up, so their scheduling issues don’t cost you a workout.
- Online coaches typically use dedicated software for tracking, not a paper clipboard. Habit tracking, food logging, and exercise demonstrations are usually built into the coaching platform, giving clients ongoing access to their own records.
- Online coaching tends to cost less over time than buying blocks of in-person sessions. With trainers typically charging $75 to $100 per session, two or three sessions a week adds up quickly compared to most online coaching programs.
- Choose based on your specific goal: narrow and hands-on favors a personal trainer, broad and flexible favors a coach. Allan says he still hires personal trainers himself for specific goals like strength or building muscle, while using online coaching for broader, ongoing accountability.
- The most important factor is finding the right person, not just the right format. Allan stresses that personality fit and trust matter as much as credentials, since what worked for someone else may not work for you.
“They sell you that hour, and that’s all they have to sell you.”
Coach Allan
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 653 – Strategies for losing those last 10-15 pounds
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 640
Published: 2024-04-30
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): —, our co-host, Coach Rachel
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)