With many online personal training software today, it can be challenging to know where to begin when trying to find the software that best suits your fitness business needs.
However, your choice will significantly affect your efficiency and the level of service you provide your clients, so it is imperative to select with care.
With that being said, in this guide, we reveal everything you need to know to choose the right online personal training software for your business.
Before we take a look at the different features that are important when choosing your online fitness coaching app, let's first take a look at how you can use such a tool in your business:
Effective online training software provides a one-stop shop for managing your clients and the online packages you provide.
No matter where you are, you will be able to check in with clients and provide them with training programs and nutrition advice.
Personal trainer software makes it much easier to provide online fitness coaching. Repeated tasks such as sending out forms, sharing recipes, and scheduling assessments can be automated, so you don't waste time manually performing monotonous, repetitive tasks.
You can also integrate other 3rd party apps with your software so that everything works together seamlessly.
Software should save you so much time that growing your business becomes much easier.
You can use real-time data to easily monitor how all of your clients are performing at a glance, and your business should still work while you sleep with advanced scheduling and automation tools.
This will enable you to help many more clients and make intelligent decisions that drive your company forward.
When looking for personal training software for your business, there are several essential qualities to keep an eye out for:
Consider all of the tools you need to deliver an excellent service to your clients. Generally, this would include training programs, nutrition coaching, habit tracking, messaging, assessments, forms (i.e. PARQ), exercise demo videos, and client exercise technique reviews.
If the software doesn't include these things, it will end up holding back the level of service you offer or costing you time trying to find it elsewhere.
When we talk about ease of use, we're not just talking about how easy you find the platform to use but also about your clients.
Whether you send workout programs to your clients' mobile phones or ask them to complete a weekly check-in, you want to ensure that your clients find the process a breeze.
Otherwise, they will end up being frustrated, and it reflects poorly on your service. If a software has quality client on-boarding pre set up that should be a huge help and will mean your clients use the app with ease.
Take the time to assess what the personal training software offers in the form of client management. How easy is it to view your client's activity and results? How will you communicate with clients?
Can you send messages to many clients at the same time? What scheduling features are available? Can you add PDFs, and videos for your coaching content?
These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself. Think about your relationships with your clients, the services you offer, and how you like to communicate with them so you can find a tool that enables you to do all of this when working with them online.
Requirements for personal training software differ from trainer to trainer, based the number of clients they have. This is why flexible pricing is important, ensuring you only pay for what you need.
How easy is it to get in touch with a support agent if you need help? Is live chat an option? Is there a Helpdesk, and what are the waiting times for technical answers.
Is there an online support community where you can ask questions from other trainers who may have found a clever way to achieve something in the software you also need?
Take the time to read reviews from people who have used the personal trainer software. Ensure these reviews have been left on independent feedback platforms like Capterra, Trustpilot or Get App.
This way, you can be sure that the comments are genuine. You will learn all about the pros and cons of the tool you're considering to determine whether the product lives up to the company's promises.
When choosing an online personal training tool, you need something that provides you with a one-stop shop for all of your online coaching needs.
You should be able to manage everything relating to delivering your online training services within the software.
Considering that, let's look at some of the essential features you may want to find in an online personal training solution.
There is only one place to begin, and this is with a program builder! You need to be able to add exercises, sets, and reps, create circuits, name your programs, and build numerous workouts in a program.
You might want to be able to copy and paste workout sections, such as your warm-ups and cool-downs. This makes it easy for you to create custom training plans for all your clients, ensuring variety and customization so that your clients can reach their specific goals.
Some personal training solutions, such as the one we provide here at PT Distinction, allow you to take from a large library of pre-made exercises or to add your own exercise videos if there's anything extra you wish to include.
Not all solutions provide these options, so consider this when choosing.
How does the software enable you to coach your clients on nutrition? Can you send them coaching videos? Can they track habits?
Are there nutrition coaching documents? Can they track their calories, or include a photo food diary?
Other integrations can also be a great addition if your clients already use other food-logging software, like My Fitness Pal.
The best online personal training tools allow you to track habits and habit changes, such as drinking the required amount of water per day, getting enough sleep, or increasing daily activity.
You can view your client's habit adherence and statistics over time, making changes accordingly.
We highly recommend online group coaching, especially considering the harsh economic times ahead.
However, you will need a tool that makes it super easy to manage when you want to offer this service.
Features like managing multiple clients within a dedicated group, sending automated bulk messages, or being able to amend the group plan for the individuals within the group can be beneficial.
Results tracking is vital. Not only do you need a tool that makes this possible, but you need to consider how results are presented.
Clients love visuals so they can see how much they're improving, and you need to be able to see all of your client's results quickly and efficiently.
Communication is critical for any personal trainer. How can you communicate with your clients using the tool in question? Is live chat an option?
Can you send multiple messages to multiple clients at once? What about video or email? Think about the channel you most use for staying in touch with clients and ensure the software you choose will offer that feature.
Look for a tool that provides several automation features, such as automated scheduling, automated onboarding, group messages and emails, reminders, and more if you need it.
This will save time, as you won't need to perform these tasks manually. You can take on more clients and enhance your profit by running your business efficiently.
Many personal training solutions allow you to customize the app as part of your business branding. You can ensure that your client views a solution that looks like it is part of your business rather than a third-party tool.
While this feature might not seem essential for newbie online trainers, if you aim to scale your business and help many more people, having an app linked to your brand will make that growth more seamless.
Last but not least, offering your clients different payment options is essential. After all, you don't want to miss out on new clients because they have been unable to complete the payment process.
From PayPal to credit card payment, make sure your clients can pay in their desired manner with the payment process being straightforward.
As you can see, a lot needs to be considered when looking for the best online personal training software for your business.
The good news is that PT Distinction offers a 1-Month free trial, so you can get a good feel as to whether or not the software is right for you before you hand over your hard-earned cash.
We recommend trying out your preferred solutions so you can get a better understanding of which is going to be best.
At PT Distinction, our online training software ticks all the boxes mentioned, providing you with everything you need to manage your online personal training business.
We're also the highest-rated personal trainer software across Capterra, Get App, Trustpilot, and more.
You can reach more clients, deliver effective workout programs, and manage your clients anywhere. We are happy to provide you with a free trial, so you can try our solution and make sure it is the right one for you.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2022 and has been updated to give you up-to-date information.
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