7 out of 10 of our clients cite weight loss as the reason they come to us. The other three either fit folks who already do some kind of endurance training, like marathon running, MMA, etc. Or our hugely popular category of not-so-senior citizens, folks that want to see what lifting weights is all about but do not want to run the risk of injury.
Since the earliest days of the pandemic, when we pivoted to online training in April 2020, The Quad's virtual community has been growing in leaps and bounds. When the world closed down, it was something of a comfort to know something of their old lives - ie, their regular training sessions - continued week after week. Even when the world opened, many of them chose to stick to the ease of at-home workouts.
After all, the benefits are many:
- You can literally roll off the bed and roll into class! No more waking up at 4 am to get to class at 5 am.
- No need to hurry back to get self/kids ready for school/work.
- Whether you are traveling for work or on holiday, you can still continue to keep up with your class.
- Change of routine such as lack of childcare, visiting guests, nothing needs to faze you. You can grab your hour of self-care and pump some iron.
Whilst these are just the high points, the actual benefits go a lot deeper.
Benefits of home workouts
Reduce friction points
Though we might laugh at "rolling out of bed and rolling into class" it actually is such a game-changer for many. Not everyone is privileged enough to be able to devote time daily to their workout routine. Commitments to work and family leave many with no physical and mental space to contemplate much, leave alone something as "self-indulgent" as a gym membership or a regular exercise routine.
There are just way too many points of friction between the daily workload and the gym hour.
In such instances, the availability of a good workout from the comfort of your own home is unparalleled. What the pandemic taught us was that we don't need a fully kitted-out home gym to get a full-body workout. Sometimes you get as good or even better results with just resistance bands or even body weight exercises!
More economical
One thing the global pandemic taught us was that borders and distances can be bridged easily, especially with the advantages technology and digital media affords us.
Many fitness professionals took to social media to keep in touch with people who were no longer coming into their gyms. This meant that, sitting in Chennai, I could now sign up for a workout plan formulated by coaches in Boston; people in London and Melbourne could sign up for virtual training sessions in Chennai!
If you had hesitated to sign up with a personal trainer because of the expense, good news - now you could search for a more wallet-friendly trainer from elsewhere in the world. No longer are clients restricted by geography; the fitness coaches of the world were now at their fingertips!
More flexible
Yet another reason why at-home workouts are the best option for some is the unparalleled flexibility they offer. From the comfort of your home, you could now choose between a fat-burning workout session, a high-intensity interval training session, a yoga class, or a cardio session; if you slept through your alarm, you could choose the next one available (at The Quad, for example, we run virtual classes throughout the day!) and not miss your daily routine.
When Anju started an intense period at work involving frequent travel between the Gulf, SE Asia, and Chennai, she quickly shifted from in-person to virtual training. Armed with workout plans from her coach, she made use of the gym facilities at the hotels or sometimes just rolled out a mat in her room, to get her daily dose of restorative physical activity.
Then there are those of us in places without access to a well-equipped gym or trainer.
Flexi-working and hybrid working have changed the face of workplaces across the world. There are some lucky souls that are clocking into work, sitting in far-flung places. Or the very nature of our job means that we are in remote places. In such instances, virtual training sessions are a great way to reach our fitness goals. And provide you with access to a community of like-minded individuals, the importance of which can never be overstated.
At-home workouts and fat loss
At-home workout sessions are a great idea for keeping up with our regular fitness levels. But what if a toned body is our primary goal? Can a virtual workout session be an effective workout for fat loss? Can a virtual session provide you with a fat burner, equal to that of the weight machines in commercial gyms?
Now, we have all heard the saying: fat loss is made in the kitchen. We have spoken plenty about calorie deficit and healthy eating and the roles they play in fat loss.
That said, we totally believe that at-home workouts can be just as effective in training your major muscle groups, just like gym workouts. You can gain muscle, build muscle tone, and work on core strength, all with proper form. How do you ask? Well, that's easy. Supervised group sessions, be it with free weights or bodyweight exercises can provide you with just as intense and rigorous a session as any. With a mix of resistance training, aerobic exercises, and HIIT workouts, our virtual workout plans will provide you with the best ways to burn body fat and build muscle mass.
What is the value-add of a virtual workout?
To answer this, I turned to Soundarya of The Quad, or Coach Chow, as she’s fondly known. From the regular weekly training sessions to organising a virtual Sports day, Coach Chow and the Virtual Coaching Squad of The Quad do it all. When it comes to the value-add, she has this to say:
“We put a lot of thought into it [the programming]. We take extra measures to get the people know each other and band together as a community; we invite people to share their virtual training spaces; we organise meme contests! We align everything within the parameters of the virtual space we work with, with the community which is spread across time zones!”
To sum it up, with the ease of at-home workouts, we have removed a few layers of friction between you and your healthy lifestyle. If you would like to give it a go, call us to arrange for a free trial class today! We have one for different fitness levels, no need to worry!
If you are intrigued by working out from the comfort of your living room but are unsure where to start, how about a taster? We have a sample 2-week at-home workout plan that will train your entire body. It is a bodyweight workout, so no gym equipment is necessary. Just use the form below, to access it.
