Do you want to work out but don’t want to leave your house? Here’s a solution for you- online gyms.  Online training has been a growing trend in the fitness industry. Fitness Industry specialists believe that online gyms allow people more flexibility to complete workouts. Also, for those who do not feel comfortable exercising in front of others, people are able to exercise in the comfort of their own homes.

Online Gyms offer workout classes all day long. Basically, online gyms are similar to Skype. When you are ready to work out, you log on to the gym and an instructor will be ready to teach you a class. You will be able to see the instructor and the instructor will able to see you too. This ensures that you are performing the exercises correctly. Throughout the day, classes are offered at your convenience. Whenever you have a spare half hour, you can pop in for an online class. Online classes range from yoga to CrossFit to Zumba.

While online gyms are great, what would a gym be without a trainer? The emergence of online gyms has opened the market for virtual trainers. This bridges the gap between traditional gyms and online training. Dane Garnon, an online personal trainer, trains clients from all of the world. After moving back to Sydney, Australia from New Jersey, where he previously trained several students at Verona High School at Platinum Fitness, Dane is still able to train his clients in the United States. Dane’s online training, Gript Fitness Culture, provides custom training programs, custom macronutrient intake, the ability to track food and workouts, custom grocery lists, healthy snack ideas, and weekly e-mail check ins. In addition to weekly e-mail check ins, clients can have access to videos and a 24 hour “on call” trainer if they have questions when they are performing their workout.  These services combine workouts as well as nutrition suggestions for a full health and wellness program. Gript Fitness Culture is not the only online personal training. Other online training programs can provide workouts at home or in a local gym. Many feel that virtual trainers plan their workouts for the whole week so clients feel that they constantly have a new workout every time to go to the gym. Also, having a virtual trainer does not require clients to make a time that is both convenient for themselves and the trainer. Virtual trainers give you the ability to access personalized workouts and nutrition whenever you want.

Not only have online gyms been booming in the fitness industry, they have also become a prominent part of physical education programs in secondary schools. In Minneapolis at South High School, the physical education department offers online physical education. Students choose a physical activity and are responsible for doing it for thirty minutes three times a week. The student keeps an online journal that the teacher or coach regularly check. To ensure that the student actually completes the physical activity, a fitness test is administered at the beginning and end of each semester to measure growth. Experts say that online physical education classes allow students to pick a physical activity that they are passionate about. This helps foster a lifetime of physical activity because it is taking the emphasis off team sports and putting emphasis on personal health and wellness.

With the emergence of online gyms and classes, who knows what will come next? Will gym class be eliminated in schools to shorten the academic day? Will gym classes be eliminated so students can take another academic class? Regardless of what happens in the future, online gyms are here and they are here to stay. So next time you want to work out, but don’t want to leave your house remember that online gyms are always an option.