How to Motivate Clients for Online Personal Training: Tips and Strategies for Success!

When clients opt for online personal training, they often expect the same level of motivation and accountability as meeting with a personal trainer in person. However, as a personal trainer, it can be challenging to provide motivation and accountability when working with clients remotely. Here are some tips and strategies that you can use to motivate your clients for online personal training:

1. Establish clear goals for your clients

One of the most effective ways to motivate clients is to help them set clear and achievable goals. Set realistic fitness goals for your clients that align with their unique needs and abilities. This will help them stay focused and motivated throughout their fitness journey.

When conducting in person sessions, you can all but guarantee a really hard session with your client and in a lot of cases, that will justify your cost to them. This is a bit muddier online so you need to be extra militant with helping them hit very specific goals. 

2. Communicate regularly with your clients

Communication is essential in any personal training program, but it’s even more critical when working online. Schedule check-ins with your clients regularly and communicate with them through phone calls, video chats, and messaging apps.

I do 1:1 business coaching with people and I follow an identical approach to when I did 1:1 fitness coaching online. Two monthly calls to go deep and then a weekly check in outside of that. There is a fine line between giving too much and giving too little of your time so you may need to experiment with it. 

Note: I found that the earlier someone is in their journey, the more contact time they need. If you are working with more advanced individuals, they generally need more guidance and accountability rather than constant check ins and figurative hand holding. 

3. Provide positive feedback

Positive feedback goes a long way in boosting the confidence and motivation of clients. Provide positive feedback regularly when clients achieve their goals and milestones, and support them through any setbacks or challenges.

4. Use virtual tools for tracking progress

The use of virtual tools such as fitness applications, online tracking systems, and wearable technology is an effective way to monitor and assess the progress of clients. This helps you provide customized feedback based on the progress of clients, which helps them stay accountable and motivated.

5. Incorporate variety in workouts

Repetitive workouts can be boring and demotivating for clients. To keep clients engaged and motivated, incorporate various workouts that are challenging yet attainable. This will not only keep the sessions fun and challenging, but it will also keep clients engaged.

I also do this in scaled and leveraged programs by adding in ‘fitness challenges’ at week 3 and week 6 of my BKF Online Program. This can speed up progress, but it’s mostly so my clients don’t get bored at key points. 

6. Encourage a healthy lifestyle

Encourage clients to consider more than just their workout routine by focusing on overall lifestyle changes. Provide nutrition tips and advice, and incorporate additional wellness practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and stretching into workouts.

One of the biggest mistakes I see 1:1 personal trainers makes is to only focus on their clients training, neglecting or minimising the role of nutrition and other core pillars. The online equivalent is predominantly focusing on the diet and training side. To get the best results for your clients, learn about their lifestyle, their family, their job. The more you know about them, the better the service you can provide. 

In conclusion, online personal training comes with its unique challenges, but these tips and strategies can help ensure that your clients stay motivated and accountable throughout their fitness journey. By providing each client with customized feedback, positive reinforcement, and virtual tools, you can deliver an effective online personal training experience that supports client success.

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