Today sees the launch of FitOrbit, a service that aims to remove the disadvantages associated with working with real life personal trainers for one-on-one fitness and meal plans. FitOrbit, which comes with both a web and iPhone application, boasts the support of a number of big names in both the financing and health industry.
The newly formed startup behind FitOrbit, dubbed Global Fitness Media, is backed by people like angel investor Ron Conway, John Brown (President of Time Inc’s Health franchise), Dr. Jeffrey Weisz (Medical Director of Southern California Permanente Medical Group), Kathy Kaehler (’trainer to the stars’) and Jake Steinfeld (Founder, Body by Jake, Exercise TV and Chairman of the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports). Private investment company Polar Capital Group is also participating.
When you register for a FitOrbit account, the first thing you want to do is take a short quiz to determine which real life personal trainer you would want to connect with based on your profile and current lifestyle. You can also opt to pick your own trainer, but it makes more sense to indicate what type of fitness plan you’re most interested in and why, what your gender is, whether you’re living alone or with a big family, and so on.
I signed up and picked Rachel C as my personal trainer, and she said: “I will create a customized, personalized, fitness and meal plan for you. I’ll be on hand to give you feedback, edit your plan, and give you timely motivation and encouragement.” That’s exactly what you’d expect from a real life personal trainer, so I was interested to learn how she aimed to do that over the Internet.
But this comes with a price tag that you’re only going to be able to live with if you’re really serious about your plans to achieve better fitness: prices range from $9.99 per week for a 6-month package to $29.99 per week for just one week. In return, you get an instant channel to your personal trainer (who also gets the majority of the fees that you pay), who besides providing you with adequate training and nutrition plans also helps you stay motivated. Here are some funny but helpful actions that can be part of the feedback loop (see this video for more clarity on that one):
What is a Cheat?
A cheat is an opportunity for you to tell your trainer when you stray from your fitness plan. Examples of cheats would be going to town on a bag of greasy potato chips, or, staying in bed all day with a tub of ice cream.What is a Panic?
A panic is an opportunity for you to tell your trainer, and support group when need motivation to do something, you are frustrated, and you don’t know what else to do. Your trainer and support group will get your panic and send you messages of encouragement to get up and get with the plan.What is a Nudge?
A nudge is a friendly hello, and a reminder that you’ve got supporters.What are Alerts?
Alerts are status updates for you, your trainer, and your supporters
If you’re a trainer looking to sign up for FitOrbit, be prepared to do some homework yourself: apart from submitting identification and other documents, signing an NDA and a contract, trainers who want to be accepted must quality for the program by attending a special webinar and pass a ‘Trainer Test Week’, among other things. And even then, anyone who chose you as their personal trainer has the right to disagree with you on meal or workout plans and even file a concern that he or she doesn’t ‘like you’.
All in all, I think the FitOrbit model makes sense in a modern world where people are increasingly growing accustomed to getting what they would usually have to leave the house for and pay a premium for real life interaction over the wire. For those interested in contracting a real life personal trainer, it’s definitely worth comparing the costs and effectiveness of FitOrbit to the real deal.
If you do, let us know how it went and how both stacked up.
Ohh! This service appears like an Virtual GYM trainer..Anyways, I just hope these people don’t start online Workout instead of normal ones..
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Robin, have you actually been to a gym? Have you ever actually worked with a trainer?
The most important thing a trainer does – beside make up meal plans and give you motivation – is correct your form and technique while exercising. If you’ve ever done any weights in the gym, you’ll know that there’s a very specific technique to carry out each exercise, otherwise you’ll end up with slow or no results at all.
How on earth is a trainer supposed to do that on the internet?
To me, this will be a gigantic fail. Not everything can be done online.
Unless, of course, you want to look like an idiot and exercise with a dumbbell in front of the web cam.
That’s one way to look at it, but the other side of that medal is that – unless you’re really rich – your personal trainer doesn’t follow you around when you go on business or vacation trips.
They should brand the trainers more as health coaches if they are truly incorporating meals and accounting for calorie intake. Once you got to a trainer in person a few times, you don’t necessarily need any more input when out of town, unless you somehow lack the ability to remember your workout. However, having someone coach you on how to eat on the road or how to account for a ‘cheat’ does have benefits.
I’m with you on this one. Around the corner her, $30 gets me 1/2 hour with a real live personal trainer. I only need that once per week to stay on track.
$10 per week wouldn’t get you the attention you deserve. Think about it: Personal trainer makes $60 per hour (from the rates at the gym). Assuming a reasonably full order book of 5 hours per day, that’s $300 per day. $1500 per week (PT is great if you can get clients). So to service the online crowd they need… 150 clients?!?!
Now… math the other way: 150 clients, 40 hours per week. The trainer can spend 16 minutes per client.
How much “training” can you actually get for your 16 minutes…
Great Idea!
Check also http://www.VideoCoachMe.com for basketball coaching
I remember interviewing for a startup back in 2001 that did exactly this. Their offices were in San Mateo near the old Inktomi building, I think.
The name escapes me, but they aren’t around anymore. I’m not sure if it was a solution in search of a problem, or had separate business problems, but I agree with Puranjay that actual trainers do a lot more than give you a workout plan. The biggest mistake people usually make when starting a routine is using improper form, which can make the workout less effective or actually lead to injury (like rotator cuff problems).
“heavy backers”? i want to be Ron Conways trainer.
WorkoutLocator.com – sweat equity
Who are the competitors (live and deadpool)? This can’t be the first time someone has tried this.
Too late to the game and nowhere near the interface that Nextfit has. 4 years and $17 Million invested, formerly podfitness. Better talent, better content, and you get to use your iTunes music.
They have a dynamic platform that allows users to change trainers, get dynamic and progressive sessions mixed DAILY,(no canned/pre recorded sessions). I’ve been in the game over 25 yrs (cscs & nasm), completely re-tooled my training business with Nextfit. http://www.ten-weeks.com if any trainer out there is tired of no-shows, clients who drain your energy, gym owners who don’t get our business, or just tired of spending 8-10 hrs a day in the gym…
Have you seen NextFit.com recently? They have totally changed there initial idea and now you cant use your own music at all.
Yes I have seen it lately, downloaded a leg workout this morning with Rush, Stones, Styx and Zep. My clients love the flexibility to choose between the pre-loaded music or their iTunes. Anyone who is serious about using an audio workout, needs to compare everything out there, content, cost, ease in downloading and flexibility of platform. I used to spend 10+ hrs a day in the gym training and had a staff of 40 trainers working for me as well. It’s a new business with partners like Nextfit.
I think this is a great idea! I was a Division I athlete in college – and I know that it gets hard, even for me, to keep my regimen interesting and to stay on track. I would love to take advantage of this sort of service – but I know that there are MILLIONS of other people who are trying to get in shape, but don’t know the first place to start, and FitOrbit would be perfect for them. Of course, having a personal trainer is the best thing available, but the reality of the situation is that most people will never have the income to support having one. Sure, these people could just buy a book with workout tips and healthy diet options, but once you have hit rock-bottom, I understand that it is so difficult to pick yourself up. FitOrbit seems to meet somewhere right in the middle. It is generally affordable, offers one-on-one attention, seems to cover all aspects of a healthy lifestyle, and gives customers access to an on-line community. I have recently been so impressed with on-line communities since I heard a story about a suicidal woman with fibromyalgia – and how the camaraderie she discovered in her on-line community saved her life.
FitOrbit is a great idea that could really hold up. It may give people hope that they can get into great shape and have a relationship with a personal trainer – for a fraction of the typical cost. I also love that an app for the iPhone is integrated in this plan. I hope that this is a trend that will continue. We all know that America is literally *dying* to get fit – I hope that our love for technology can arm Americans with the tools they need to fight obesity.
Great article, Robin.
not to be a naysayer – because i love hearing about startups getting funded – but this smells like a madoff, what does this provide that a personal trainer couldn’t provide via email or a free web site, possibly the site takes the payment and passes the personal trainers cut back to a paypal account – a cheat? what’s that a frowning icon put on your login page? when i’m good i see a smiley? I guess i just see being fit as exercise with a little common sense in the way of form and being reasonable about what i’m eating.
This site looks awesome. Real personal trainers will give me advice, and not only that but there are actual videos that I can watch that show me exactly how to do the exercise.. AND I will get a daily meal plan with breakfast, lunch, dinner and healthy snacks.. this is what I need! Plus… I am SICK of meeting with my personal trainer and going to the gym every day.. if I can do exercises from home.. and also take this advice and go to the gym when I want.. my life will be so much better!
This site looks awesome! This is so unique too, because other sites that have tried to do something like this never added up to what this site does.. this site has REAL personal trainers that give you workotus, meal plans, and post videos of workouts so we know exactly what to do and what to eat to get in shape.
I need a change in my lifestyle.. and I want it to be simple.. and I want it to work.. I feel like this site will do this for me!
Thanks for your comment, astro-turfer.
It still looks like a crap waste of time IMHO. If people really want to get fit they’d get their ass to the gym and not piss around on some virtual trainer BS.
http://www.MyTrainer.com came out a few months ago, I think it’s the same thing?
For all the great ideas out there that CANNOT get funding, stories like this just make me laugh. The unmotivated will always be unmotivated.
9.99 a week.. that’s way cheaper than real work trainers and nutritionists! Tight, this sounds pretty cool..
FitLink has been doing this for years. Though it’s not 100% geared towards online training…you can interact with local trainers as well.
I pay a small fortune to my PT and gym each month. Let’s be clear, most PTs don’t make $60/hour even if you’re paying $80/hour to the gym. It’s more like $40/hour excluding the prep time they need to spend before each session on a personalized workout.
While I like the idea of a community who supports people during their exercise routines, I don’t think this is comparable to a real PT. There are already plenty of fitness communities on the web for non-professional support that serve a valuable purpose.
At the end of the day though, in order for a personal trainer to deliver real results, he/she needs to be at your side during your workout correcting you, motivating you, and pushing you at the precise time you are exercising. And that costs a lot more then $9.99/week.
I use dailymile, it’s the greatest
I see some value in this product but it will never replace the value of a hands on personal trainer.
PITCH*
If you really want to find an in-home personal trainer you can go to http://www.findmytrainer.com. All personal trainers have been pre-screened, certified, and insured. We’ve conducted in-depth interviews with top trainers nationwide, weeding out the inexperienced and unprofessional. We’ve developed a respected network of the most effective and affordable fitness trainers across the U.S. No guesswork, no hassle.
Looks very Great …!!
When I first heard about FitOrbit.com it seemed like an interesting twist of technology and fitness. Also, having the backing of Ron Conway is a HUGH deal. However, when I read Nimesh (Nick) Desai was the CEO…I laughed.
Since his days at Nimantics he’s been one of those guys that really pushes the limits of “by hook or crook.” Some of his past companies:
Nimantics
Invium.com
Lemko.com
Zkey.com
Juicewireless.com
Juicecaster.com
I’m not some disgruntled employee, I’m happily employed by the county government. In fact, I’ve known Nimesh for quite some time and even hung out with him and his siblings on Ocean Ave. I’m finally speaking out because several friends have lost money because of him and he is the exact opposite of a true leader. To his credit he is an excellent salesperson and can pickup the lingo, thank god he did not turn into a mortgage broker. He is a pure ego manic and it shows in some of the online descriptions of him:
…Nick invented Juice’s innovative mobile products including MobileBday.com…
…He co-invented Juice’s flagship, award-winning mobile social media product — JuiceCaster…
…Nick and his team recently developed the world’s first Mobile Video Search (MVS) technology…
…Nick Desai is the Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Juice Wireless…
…I am a single, 36-year-old guy (you try running a company and having a life)…
But it’s not just me, read some of the links below:
Charges of fraud at Nimantics from 1997
http://www.edn....xt=nimesh+desai
Comments about Nick from the Juice days
http://www.mole...m.html#comments
Sites like this make me laugh because if there is 1 thing which is not possible to virtually do, is get the benefits from a personal trainer online.
To me it’s a joke and is a waste of people’s time and money if it’s not free.
The fact that re-hash sites (especially stupid ideas) get so much funding is beyond me, maybe why the economy sucks?
I totally agree with the post above, but as a PT I guess you’d think I would!
The great thing about PT is it’s offline benefits. Whilst the internet is an amazing thing, some things just don’t transfer, or at least not yet.
I totally agree with the comment above, but being a PT I would, wouldn’t I
?
Whilst the internet is an amazing thing, some offline activities just can’t be replicated. Personal training is one of them – we do a million and one things more than a website at present can. Whilst sites may be able to show you the basis of medical operations, to parallel it to something else, I can’t see ‘Do it yourself surgery’ catching on, can you?
Rich Leigh
I am extremely unhappy with this “service”. They charged my card twice. When I tired to contact them regarding my refund, I did not get an answer back. Beware !!