Kevin Baker of Fitness Together® Talks About Virtual Training

My name is Kevin Baker, and I’m the owner of two Fitness Together® personal training locations in the Milwaukee area. I have owned my locations since March, 2018, after a career in corporate information technology.

You’ve probably heard of it, maybe even thought about it, and maybe you are even someone who has tried it… that’s right, I am referring to Virtual Training.

So, what’s the big deal? Many people I’ve talked with about this have responses along the lines of, “If I’m doing it alone, why not just do it by myself?”, “I don’t feel safe”, “I don’t have the right equipment”, or “this has been available for years”. I can assure you; these are all valid assumptions… unless the environment and execution of Virtual Personal Training is handled appropriately.

To be honest, our corporate franchise was not real keen on starting virtual training as a service offering. We have been operating successfully in our private, 1:1 suites in the studios since the beginning, and moving to allow for outside training definitely posed some risks. COVID shut us down completely and, thankfully, our group FT owners worked with the corporation to build out a plan to ensure we could deliver our best-in-class fitness experience while minimizing the risk to our clients or our business. Like many other businesses in this pandemic, we had to make a major pivot to continue to survive.

So, just what does Virtual Training look like at Fitness Together®? To begin, it is still a 1:1 personal training session led by a certified personal trainer, giving you their undivided attention and challenging you through a full workout. Your fitness coach conducts our FIT evaluation to determine your fitness level, goals, and desired outcomes, and then adds on an assessment portion to discover what you have in your personal workout space; including the area, any equipment you have, other useable household items, any restrictions, limitations, obstacles you might have, and, finally, any specific concerns about working out remotely. They will then build out your customized virtual training program.

After the program is initialized, our training team will get you scheduled using our studio calendar, reserving a timeslot on a recurring basis (this comes in handy if you ever decide to start in-studio training), and then forwarding a Zoom link for the ongoing workout schedule. Your personal trainer then hosts the meetings within the specified time frames, leading each workout with the same keen eye as they do during the in-person sessions, and managing exertion and form with regular feedback to help you get your best workout without adding risk.

You may find this hard to believe, but we get a lot of excuses in our business. Working out is hard for a number of reasons and any time we can take away an excuse, we are happier because that means we are removing barriers to healthy lifestyles. Like I mentioned in my fad article, there are a lot of these types of services and equipment getting marketed right now. The technology is simply phenomenal but, unfortunately, they still lack the components needed to find lasting fitness success… accountability, motivation, personalized tracking, and feedback, etc.

As in any fitness solution, not all are created equal. There are many service offerings to choose from in our industry. From bikes to mirrors, even to others offering the same type of virtual service, you can definitely find at-home workouts. What you will be challenged to identify is a skilled, experienced, and 1:1 personal trainer, who is backed by a full-coverage insurance policy, and who can offer a team of individuals that work together to get your optimal fitness outcome.

My wife and I both became virtual clients while we were in gym lockdowns. We got great workouts, found that we were consistently sore (in a good way), and able to maintain our fitness levels. After the studios re-opened, my wife went back to full in-studio training and I started a blended approach, 2 days in-studio and 1 day virtual. In each of the scenarios, we found that we were comfortable in the setting and happy to have this as a fitness option.

I encourage you to get in touch with one of our studios. We can get you set up with a virtual FIT evaluation and see if our virtual training, in-studio training, or a blend of both, might be the best option for your next steps. As always, I appreciate you taking a few moments to walk with me on our fitness journey.

Fitness Together has two locations in the Milwaukee area: 18000 W Bluemound Road, Brookfield, Wis. and 2525 N Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, Wis. For more information, contact Kevin Baker, owner, Fitness Together, at 262-444-3657, email at kevinbaker@fitnesstogether.com. www.fitnesstogether.com.