Online workouts: Exercise at home with your personal trainer

The internet has made it easier than ever to get instruction in whatever type of exercise takes your fancy – or whoever catches your eye. Celebrity trainers such as Jillian Michaels of the TV show The Biggest Loser and Yoga Girl author Rachel Brathen offer classes online so you can do them at home.

And you don't always have to pay. A quick YouTube search will turn up what seems like an endless list of workout routines for free. There are even a few Irish offerings such as Build Your Own Booty from Kelly Donegan, a personal trainer, presenter and author who came to fame on Tallafornia. She uses YouTube to demonstrate a simple three-minute floor routine that can help get your bum into shape.

So why sign up for an online course? The difference is in the support offered. With an online programme, you usually get a weekly email and a closed Facebook group where you can talk to other members privately. Some also have meals plans, progress tracking tools or podcasts for members only.

Galway-based personal trainer Pat Divilly has trained thousands since he began offering online programmes five years ago. He runs eight-week health and weight-loss programmes from €75. "The group is on the same journey with like-minded people, so there is empathy," he says. "That creates energy and the community helps people to change."

Brid McGill, who runs online courses from her base in Co Laois, says many fitness professionals criticise such training as being too generic. "I understand their view because pre-children I felt the same," she says. "However, I now realise that if it wasn't for courses like mine a lot of people – women in my case – would never get to do anything."

Through Fitwithbrid.ie, she runs six-week courses catering to all fitness levels for €115. “I decided to set up online courses after noticing that regular class attendees were struggling to make it to classes after having children,” says McGill, who also runs a closed Facebook group for them. “This was at the same time that I became a mother myself and really began to understand how much there is to juggle.”

The Facebook group helps, but you do need to be motivated, she says, as there won’t be someone at home there to push. “However, sharing within a support group is a great way to combat this as members encourage each other.”

Steve Doody of Fit Studio in Fairview, Dublin offers online consultation and monitoring on some programmes. “We use Skype, for example, to stay in touch with some members who train in gyms down the country.”

The key to getting the most out of online training, Doody says, is to make sure it is at the right level for you and that you can do the movements correctly. “Get an instructor to check out your form before you sign up. This way you are less likely to get injured trying to do it at home alone. Move well first, then move often.”

Divilly agrees, saying it is worth having one or two sessions with a personal trainer to make sure you are moving correctly. If weights are used, start with the lowest ones. And always wear the appropriate shoes.

PANEL: Five online options

1 Old school – If you have a decent level of fitness but want to mix it up, parts 1 and 2 of Jillian Michaels's 30-day Shred, which she created 10 years ago, are available on YouTube. Each class can be completed in about 25 minutes and includes a warm-up, high- intensity training and cool- down. If those are too easy, you can progress to her Bodyshred. The moves aren't complicated but they are hardcore.

As Michael says herself, “There’s nothing new here.” For a more focused approach, sign up with Michaels for $9.99 per month.

2 Yoga – YouTube offers a selection of lithe females posing on golden sands by azure seas as they reveal the secret of the perfect downward dog. If nothing appeals there, Rachel Brathen's offering starts at $25 for five segments of 20 minutes each, for example. Watch a trailer online first. American actor Adriene Mishler's Reboot costs $27 from Yogawithadriene.com and comes with all the trimmings.

3 Pilates – From its studio in California, Pilatesology offers 700 classes online based on your level of expertise, your body's needs and what equipment you may have. CBS News has called it the "gold standard for online courses". It costs $19.95 a month or $149 a year for unlimited classes.

4 Dance – Trainer to the stars Tracy Anderson uses her dance background to create dance cardio workouts that ensure you use not just the large muscles such as quads but the little accessory muscles that other trainers tend to ignore. Two 30-minute classes incorporating Latin and hip-hop cost $12.99. Or pay $90 to join her class through live-streaming, if your broadband and wallet can take it.

5 Ballet barre – Not content with selling trendy women's fitness gear, British retailer Sweaty Betty offers free workouts online for all levels. Classes range from 10 minutes for high-intensity training to 40 minutes for a demanding ballet barre session.

Web links

Kelly Donegan Build Your Own Booty

youtube.com/watch?v=bjfFTc9micI

Pat Divilly

Patdivilly.com

Fit Studio

fitstudios.ie

Jillian Michaels

jillianmichaels.com

Rachel Brathen

practice.rachelbrathen.com

Sweaty Betty

sweatybetty.com/ie/free-online-workout-videos/

Tracy Anderson dance workouts

tracyanderson.com/product-category/digital-dashboard/