What is Online Coaching?

Online coaching vs personal training isn’t about replacing the latter, rather, it’s an innovative solution offering comprehensive support and accountability. Unlike traditional personal training, which provides face-to-face guidance for an hour or two weekly, online coaching supports your fitness journey 24/7.

This approach helps you structure your life much like running a business, focusing on building sustainable habits and systems. It’s designed to ensure lasting transformations by providing continuous guidance, accountability, and education.

Limitations of Traditional Personal Training

When examining online coaching vs personal training, it’s clear that traditional personal training often results in dependency on the trainer. Many gym-goers work with the same PT for years without noticeable changes, largely due to a lack of support outside the gym. While personal trainers can deliver immediate feedback on exercise form and motivation during workouts, they rarely offer guidance beyond gym doors.

Online Coaching Pros

When comparing online coaching vs personal training, online coaching stands out for several reasons:

• Accessibility and Flexibility: Online coaching provides workout plans suitable for home, gym, or travel.
• Continuous Support: You receive ongoing support outside gym hours, ensuring consistent progress.
• Comprehensive Approach: Habit tracking (such as water intake, steps, sleep, stress management) is incorporated, providing a holistic structure for success.
• Educational Resources: Access video tutorials, guides, and resources that teach proper form and technique.
• Mindset Development: Focuses on building strong, sustainable habits that go beyond just exercise routines.
• Cost-Effective: Generally more affordable with comprehensive benefits compared to traditional personal training.

Personal Training Pros

Despite its limitations, personal training has advantages worth considering:

• Immediate Feedback: Real-time corrections on exercise form reduce injury risk.
• Continuous Support: You receive ongoing support outside gym hours, ensuring consistent progress.

Online Coaching Cons

• Client Responsibility: Requires a high level of personal accountability and adherence to the provided plans.

Personal Training Cons

• Lack of External Support: Limited guidance outside the gym, hindering overall progress.
• High Cost: Prices can range from £50-£250 per week (£200-£1000/month), making it inaccessible for many.
• Geographical Constraints: Requires proximity to a gym or training location.
• Dependency: Risk of becoming overly reliant on the trainer without developing personal fitness knowledge and habits.
• Limited Educational Focus: Often less emphasis on long-term education, reducing the ability to sustain progress independently.

Is Online Coaching For You?

Online coaching vs personal training, which is best for you? If you are still unsure which is best for you. We created this quick quiz so you can find out which would suit you better.

Online coaching vs personal training summary

When comparing online coaching vs personal training, it ultimately depends on your personal needs and lifestyle. Personal training offers immediate feedback and motivation but comes with limitations such as higher cost and dependency. In contrast, online coaching provides comprehensive, flexible, and continuous support designed to create lasting habits and sustainable results. For individuals seeking affordability, accessibility, and holistic accountability, online coaching clearly emerges as the superior option.

Introducing AXIVM Online Coaching?

Online Coaching bridges the gap between traditional training methods and your fitness goals. With AXIVM online coaching, you benefit from round-the-clock personalised guidance and accountability designed to ensure you remain on track to achieving your goals.

Our tailored approach means you’re supported not just inside the gym, but every step of the way. Whether you’re traveling, training at home, or simply looking for a comprehensive, affordable, and effective solution, AXIVM Coaching caters to your lifestyle.

Face-to-face training certainly has its merits, but if you seek a transformative, sustainable fitness journey, AXIVM Online Coaching is the perfect solution for you.

What Is Progressive Overload?

Simply put, progressive overload means gradually increasing the stress placed on your muscles during training. This consistent increase forces your body to adapt by growing stronger and building more muscle tissue.

4 Key Ways to Achieve Progressive Overload

There are multiple strategies for progressively overloading your muscles, each with distinct advantages and challenges:

Increasing Weight

• This is the simplest and most direct method. Gradually add weight as you grow stronger.

Increasing Repetitions

• If adding weight isn’t immediately possible, performing additional reps with the same weight can also stimulate muscle growth.

Increasing Sets

• Adding more sets can help, but there’s a limit. Excessive sets lead to fatigue and diminished returns.

Increasing Frequency or Intensity

• Training more frequently or with higher intensity (e.g., dropsets, shorter rest times, forced reps, slower tempos) can help break through plateaus. However, these methods are harder to track consistently.

Best Way to Track Progressive Overload

For most gym-goers, increasing weight and repetitions is the simplest, most measurable method of progressive overload. Here’s how you can practically apply it:

• Week 1: Bench press 60kg for 3 sets of 5 reps.
• Following Weeks: Gradually aim for 6 reps, then 7, then 8.
• Next Step: Once reaching 8 reps for all sets, increase weight slightly (e.g., 65kg), and repeat.

This method ensures steady and safe progression, aligning well with your body’s natural adaptation abilities.

Why You Shouldn’t Rush Progression

Rushing the process by rapidly increasing weight or intensity can significantly increase your injury risk. Your muscles may handle the extra load, but your joints and tendons take longer to adapt. A slower, steadier progression helps keep injuries at bay and ensures sustainable long-term growth.

Understanding Plateau and Progression Speed

It’s important to recognise that your rate of progression will vary across exercises.

• Compound lifts (like squats, deadlifts, and bench press) typically progress faster due to their multi-muscle engagement.
• Isolation exercises (like bicep curls or lateral raises) progress slower. Even incremental improvements here are excellent signs of progress.

If you’re improving on just a few key lifts per session, that’s perfectly normal and a positive indicator of ongoing progress.

Progressive Overload Beyond Weightlifting

This principle isn’t exclusive to resistance training. It applies equally well to activities like running or walking by increasing distance, pace, incline, or total steps.

Practical Tips for Applying Progressive Overload

• Track Your Workouts: Keep a workout journal or use fitness apps.
• Be Patient: Steady progress beats rapid gains every time.
• Listen to Your Body: Avoid training through pain or significant discomfort.

Take Your Training to the Next Level

Applying progressive overload effectively can transform your physique and performance. If you’re looking to tailor this principle specifically to your fitness journey, consider our personalised 1-1 online fitness coaching. At AXIVM Coaching we specialise in creating customised programs designed to help you break through plateaus and reach your ultimate potential.

Why sleep matters for your fitness goals

Quality sleep directly impacts your recovery, muscle growth, and strength gains. When you sleep, your body enters recovery mode, repairing muscle fibres and replenishing energy stores. Studies show that poor sleep negatively impacts muscle recovery and strength gains, making quality rest vital for your fitness journey.

Building Your Perfect Night-time Routine

Creating a night-time routine is crucial, it signals to your brain it’s time to wind down.

Importance of Routine

A consistent night-time routine conditions your mind to relax, reducing stress and anxiety, which are significant barriers to good sleep.

Constructing Your Routine

• Set a bedtime: Consistency regulates your internal clock.
• Relaxation activities: Take a warm bath, read a book, or sip calming sleep teas (like chamomile).
• Create a relaxing environment: Dim lights, use lavender scents, and reduce noise to optimise sleep.

Quick Tips for Your Routine

• Eat cherries: Natural serotonin helps promote sleep.
• Avoid screens: Blue light from devices suppresses melatonin.

Understanding Your Sleep Cycles

Sleep consists of several cycles, each with stages vital for recovery:

Sleep Stages and Their Importance

• Light sleep (Stages 1-2): Initial sleep stage; prepares your body for deeper sleep.
• Deep sleep (Stage 3): Crucial for physical recovery, muscle growth, and immune function.
• REM sleep: Essential for cognitive recovery and memory consolidation.

How to Boost Deep and REM Sleep

• Keep your room cool (around 18°C).
• Use a weighted blanket to increase serotonin and reduce stress.
• Eye masks can promote uninterrupted sleep by blocking light.

Sleep Tracking: Turn Sleep into a Game

Tracking your sleep using devices like Apple Watch, Whoop, or the Oura Ring makes sleep optimisation a game. Aim for higher deep and REM sleep scores each night, adjusting your routine based on feedback.

Essential Tips to Optimise Sleep

Follow these scientifically supported tips to supercharge your sleep quality and optimise sleep

Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule

• Going to bed and waking up at the same time daily supports your internal circadian rhythm.

Nutrition Matters

• Avoid heavy meals close to bedtime to prevent discomfort and digestion issues.
• Limit caffeine intake 8 hours before sleep.
• Magnesium glycinate can enhance relaxation and support restful sleep.

Physical Activity

• Regular exercise improves sleep quality, helping you fall asleep faster. Avoid intense workouts right before bedtime.

Reduce Stress

• Supplements like Ashwagandha KSM-66® are clinically proven to reduce cortisol levels, optimise sleep and overall recovery. Check out our premium KSM-66® Ashwagandha supplements here or at the end of the article.

Create a Sleep-friendly Environment

• Cooler rooms, weighted blankets, eye masks, and lavender scents encourage deeper sleep.
• Sleep teas like chamomile or valerian root can naturally aid relaxation.

Avoid Alcohol

• Alcohol can disrupt sleep cycles, significantly impacting sleep quality.

Final Thoughts

One of the most powerful yet underrated ways to enhance your progress in the gym is to optimise sleep. By crafting a night-time routine, understanding sleep cycles, tracking your sleep, and following practical tips, you’ll unlock greater results, recover faster, and feel more energised each day.