Online courses: The virtual fitness studio for at home
Online fitness classes are inexpensive or even free. They allow you to exercise anywhere, anytime, as long as you have a PC, tablet or smartphone at hand. In most cases, the exercises are guided by trainers. You can also often find additional information on the topics of sport and fitness. In addition, you can choose the courses that best suit your interests and fitness level. Too good to be true? Here you can find out what online courses can offer and what you should look out for when choosing.
Background: What online sports courses are all about
Online sports courses offer you an alternative to going to the gym if you don't want to do sports at home completely on your own. Since the Corona pandemic at the latest, we know: It's not always possible to do sports at the gym. Of course, if you feel confident, you can do sports at home without any guidance. However, if you are a beginner, like to exercise with guidance or want to measure your fitness progress, online fitness offers are a good alternative.
The term online fitness course or online sports course is an umbrella term for all sports programmes offered via the internet. They are part of the online courses that are available today for all possible areas of life. The online fitness courses that can be found on the internet vary greatly in quality and price.
Basically, online fitness courses can be divided into the following categories:
Offers from online fitness studios
These are internet platforms that allow you to bring a kind of virtual fitness studio into your home. Just like in a (good) real gym, there is a fitness check before you start training. You can also choose from a variety of different courses. In addition to additional information about fitness and health, you will also ideally find trial courses that you can use free of charge. When you sign up, you pay monthly fees, just like in a real gym.
Online sports courses offered by health insurance companies
More and more health insurance companies are offering online sports courses. These are usually very professionally designed and offer sufficient variety. They are aimed in particular at the prevention of typical civilisation diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and back pain. For members, the online offers are usually not only free of charge, but bonus points can also be collected.
Sports channels on Youtube
On Youtube you can find numerous sports videos for different target groups and in very different quality. These offers are of course free of charge and you don't even have to register, so your data remains anonymous (except via Google evaluation). In return, you have to put up with the fact that the sports videos are repeatedly interrupted by advertising.
Important: There are online courses that run purely via an internet platform, others are app-linked and still others offer both variants.
Target group: For whom online courses in the sports sector are suitable
Online courses in the area of fitness are aimed at all those who want or need to exercise independently of time and from home. The reasons can be manifold. Basically, online sports offers are suitable for:
- People who prefer to exercise alone rather than in large groups.
- People who have little time
- People who find it difficult to motivate themselves to travel a (long) distance to attend a sports course.
- For all, when there is a lockdown
There are hardly any restrictions in terms of age and ability level: There is a wide variety of online fitness courses on the market. In addition to general online fitness courses, there are also offers aimed specifically at young people, pregnant women, senior citizens or people with certain illnesses or handicaps.
Overview: For which sports are online sports courses available?
There are now online sports courses for all the sports you can do at home. The modules on offer therefore come in particular from the areas of:
- Strength
- Endurance
- Relaxation
- Mobility
In addition, some providers offer special online courses to help with prevention before, during or after treatment of common diseases. These include for example:
- Back training: strengthening the relevant muscle groups, training in correct posture
- Pelvic floor training: courses for women after pregnancy, but also for other people with pelvic floor weaknesses.
- Pilates, yoga and co.: special courses are also offered in some cases.
If you prefer classic fitness training on equipment and lifting heavy weights, you will rarely find a suitable offer among the usual providers of online fitness courses. This is because the target group is too small. In other words, there are too few people who have fitness equipment at home and are looking for online courses.
Selection criteria: What matters in online sports courses
As with on-site sports courses, there are also a number of criteria for online fitness courses that you should consider. Some of the points relate to objective criteria such as quality, others to subjective ones, i.e. what you expect from an online sports programme.
Barriers to entry
How complicated is it to join an online sports course with the specific provider? This is particularly about how extensive the registration process is. It is also a question of how user-friendly the offer is. And finally, you should check whether the online sports offer runs smoothly on your PC, tablet or smartphone (system requirements, etc.).
Quality
It is important that the sports courses have been developed by sports scientists. Otherwise, the risk is too great that the exercises could lead to overload or injury. For additional safety, you should complete a fitness check before starting the course. This way, your level of fitness can be taken into account.
Course offer
Different providers structure their courses according to different criteria. Therefore, get an overview of which courses are offered and whether you can put together an individual course offer. It is ideal if you can take advantage of taster courses.
Additional offers
Check whether the provider also offers additional service modules. These include, in particular, nutritional support or elements that motivate you to train.
Costs
The costs vary greatly from provider to provider: Youtube channels with online fitness courses are free of charge, but are associated with advertising; with other providers, you must check the prices and contract conditions carefully.
Data protection
Depending on the data you enter in addition to the registration data, the issue of data protection is of great importance. Even if you choose an offer from your health insurance company, you should be aware of what information your health insurance company will receive from your participation in a course.
Comparison: What are the advantages and disadvantages of online sports courses?
Online sports courses are an alternative to sports courses in on-site fitness centres and to fitness training on your own. Below you will find the most important advantages and disadvantages of online sports courses:
Advantages of online fitness courses:
- Flexibility in terms of time and location
- Free offers also available
- No travel necessary
- Can also be continued during holidays
- Can also be done during a lockdown
Disadvantages of online fitness:
- No social aspect (meeting people)
- No trainer who can control/correct you
- Exercise must be done at home
Online sports courses via YouTube are of course always free of charge. Some health insurance companies also offer free online fitness courses for their members. And finally, there are free trial courses with many providers.
The quality level of online fitness courses varies greatly. However, a good online fitness course is a good alternative to an on-site gym.
A checklist can be used to distinguish good online fitness providers from black sheep in the industry. The most important criteria are: Quality, variety of courses, user-friendliness, additional offers, data protection.
The cost of online fitness courses varies and ranges from free to an average of ten to 20 euros per month. However, it is even more important to check the small print for cancellation periods and automatic contract extensions.
Online fitness offers are also suitable for beginners. Care should be taken to ensure that a suitable course offer is selected. It is even better if the provider creates an individual course offer on the basis of a fitness check.
