I was talking with a sibling yesterday who was complaining about his options for exercise during this pandemic. He usually works out at one of the large franchise gyms around the United States, but was complaining that he was going to lose his fitness gains because they closed down until May 1st. This particular franchise sends out a workout everyone around the world can perform each morning. I asked him why he was no longer doing these workouts anymore – his reply spurred this thought:

Amid the COVID crisis, you have good-better-and best options in regards to your health and exercise.

The “good” option would be to sign up for an email list or subscribe to a YouTube channel. This option allows you to be notified of a workout generalized to the public. The benefits are that you don’t have to come up with your own routines for exercise. This option is what my sibling’s gym was offering.

A “better” option would be to join in on an online streaming platform – i.e. a Zoom call with friends or joining in on a virtual platform like Peloton. This option is great because of the workout experience. The benefit is that you have a trainer who sees you when you login to class and then can offer motivation. The role of the trainer is that of a cheerleader – someone to push you a little harder when the workout gets tough.

Your “best” option would be to hire an online coach. This option is best because of the results. Instead of an email that recommends general advice, you will get a personal text from a coach to help you with your goals. Instead of a trainer who motivates you after you log on, you have a coach who inspires you to to get up, log in to perform the work, and then report your day in the evening. The delivery and communication is 1:1 – no one is getting the same messages as you. The benefit here is that you have a coach who cares about delivering you results.

Unfortunately, COVID isn’t showing any signs of slowing down (yet). Our quanartined lives will probably last longer than we’re all hoping they will. So you need to come up with a plan.

I was recently inspired by Karen Bethers, one of our athletes here at RxFIT. She is four months post-partum and has a goal of running a half marathon in June. However, the race was just cancelled. When I heard the news, I shot her a message and told her that the hard work she was putting in didn’t go in vain. Her reply:

Oh, don’t worry Tyler. I’m still planning on running it. I’m just going to do it by myself.

I was so impressed – Karen wasn’t going to let COVID be the reason for her not achieving her goal of running a half-marathon. So we didn’t adjust her training plan – she’s still putting in the appropriate miles on the pavement so she will be ready go come race day in June.

What excuses are preventing you from reaching your 2020 goals?

It might come by a surprise to some, but during COVID RxFIT has a higher compliance rate among our athletes than our normal group classes. Athletes working with our Online Coaches are working out twice as much as they use to (i.e. someone who used to workout 2x week is now working out 4x. Someone who used to workout 3x week is now working out 6x week).

In a time when memes of people gaining weight and losing muscle dominate social media, the athletes underneath our umbrella are doing the opposite: losing fat and toning up. As proof, Ashtyn Blanchard reported last week that she’s down 23 pounds and Ashlee Brandt just got her first pull-up.                                               

We might not be a global franchise with a brand name, but we get individuals results – regardless of what is happening to the world around us. 

Similarly, you don’t need a gym with fancy equipment to lose the weight and get stronger. You just need a coach who cares about and works for your success.

Choose the best option and hire a coach.

Tyler