Can You Get The Benefits of a Personal Trainer Without Paying For One?
First, let me say that I have been fortunate enough to work out with many different personal trainers over the past ten or fifteen years. If I had infinite time and money, I would always work out with a personal trainer. However, reality set in and I make a finite salary with only twenty four hours in a day.
iTrain is a web site that offers downloadable audio and video training programs. I was pretty excited when I heard about this web site — thought it could give me some of the benefits of having a personal trainer without paying full price for one. So, I was excited to check this out.
When I went to the web site (www.iTrain.com) I saw that they offer programs for cardio, sculpt & strength, and stretch – yoga & pilates among many others. There are over 200 work outs available which can be purchased individually or in sport specific album format. There are even a few free downloads that you can try.
I downloaded the iSCULPT and iSTRENGTH free trials. I thought they were videos; but then realized they were mp3 format. When I started listening, I was impressed with the professional audio — both commentary telling you how to do the exercises and background music. However, I also started to get a bit worried.
In just an audio program, there is no way to see exercises demonstrated with correct form. That is one of the biggest things I’ve learned from working out with a trainer. It is easu for form to slip. So, if you don’t have a lot of experience with a certain exercise, don’t understand the way it is explained, or just get a bit tired / lazy, form could slip. I looked for an exercise demo or “glossary” area of the web site, but I couldn’t find one.
Upon exploring the web site further, I found some video demos. They were just as professional as the mp3 format. And, they offered a bit of the visual instruction that I was worried about with the MP3s.
Overall, it looks to me like iTrain has some professional audios and videos put together. This could be really good for someone who travels and can’t meet regularly with a trainer or go to the same gym. I would just say — be careful. Make sure that you are getting the form right for each exercise so that you don’t get hurt. I believe that you get what you pay for. This is a less expensive and more flexible option than appointments with a trainer in person. However, you don’t have a trainer there to adjust the exercises for your strengths or fatigue on a given day. Please use this tool wisely.
If you want to check out iTrain, you can click on the link below to find out more about their programs through the following link:
