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Monday, January 18th
Train Online can show you how to work out, from exercises designed to build those biceps to burpees that strengthen your whole body. The platform also provides a lot of information on overall fitness, how to train effectively, and gives you tools for tracking your progress.
Train Online is less than transparent when it comes to their fees. There's nothing on their main site that talks about pricing, almost making you think the service is free. (And that's not so crazy: several of the Online Fitness programs in our review offer free accounts, or at least a complimentary trial for a week or 30 days.) It's only when you go to create an account that you find out you'll pay either $19.95 per month or $49.99 for lifetime access. We exited out of that screen without entering a credit card for payment, and the system still let us create a dashboard to track our progress, make journal entries, and so on.
It was also weird to see this on their Join page: "0 Years Online, 0 Workouts, 0 Exercises, 0 Members". That didn't exactly inspire much confidence, even though it was probably just a programming glitch.
We were able to view lots of exercise and workout program videos with our unpaid account. Watching those videos, it's easy to see that Train Online expects you to have a lot of equipment handy, either at home or through a gym membership. For example, their Booty Blaster workout requires a fitness ball, an aerobic step (preferably with risers), a high box, and a bench.
One thing we noticed with the videos is that they don't run the length of the workout. In other words, the video seems to last just long enough to demonstrate each exercise, but assumes that the person doing the workout will stop and start the video for each set of reps. That could either be a plus, giving you time to catch your breath, or a minus because you have to constantly hit pause and play.
As we went through the site on our "Starter Account" (as it was designated on our dashboard), we never found a place where it asked us to pay. We were left completely confused as to what the monthly/lifetime fees for "full access" would give us, since we seemed to be able to access everything for free.
But, that means there's no risk to see how Train Online works for you - just don't enter any credit card information when creating your account, and feel free to browse through the site options. At the end of the day, this isn't a bad resource for Online Fitness; it's just not as polished and intuitive as our higher-ranked programs.
That depends! First, you should consider where you prefer to work out. Do you already have a gym with cardio equipment and lots of weights (such as dumbbells and kettlebells), either at home or a place in the community? In that case, you probably need a fitness program with an app, so that no matter where you are, you've got your ideal workout at your fingertips.
Second, think about your current experience and ability level with fitness. Do you need step-by-step guidance to show you how to do crunches, shoulder presses, and sumo squats with good form? If so, your ideal online fitness program will give you specific instructions for all of the workouts it provides - preferably with video instructions delivered by certified professionals like personal trainers.
Finally, are you looking for guidance with just exercise, or would you also like expert advice when it comes to your food choices? Some online fitness programs just target workouts, with others are more whole-body and include full meal plans with recipes, shopping lists, and suggestions for making changes related to allergies or food preferences (vegan, paleo, and so on).
Once you've figured out a basic idea of what you're looking for and started to browse today's top online fitness platforms, here are several factors to keep in mind when making your choice:
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best Online Fitness programs available today. We hope this information will help you find the right platform to help you reach your health and fitness goals in a way that is fun, convenient, and affordable!
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