Current Covid-19 measures have had an enormous impact on the Fitness and Sports branches in Belgium and Europe since March 2020. Gyms are closed, regular sports activities mostly canceled. Some of the population has taken up individual activity (walking, cycling…). Others copy streamed exercise routines of others. While anything is better than nothing, for those who wish or need more precise support there are possibilities to get quality personal training today.

Since the first lockdown in March 2020, FLOW has offered Distance Personal Training (sometimes called Virtual PT) to current and prospective clients. Although we train with the interposition of a screen, motivation, correction, and adaptation in real-time remain central to such a session. Training (while at distance) thus remains both personal and personalized.

These sessions are structured slightly differently from face-to-face training to ensure optimal results and enjoyment. Clients have taken a liking to them and found them so efficient that some have opted to keep all (or some) of their sessions as Distance PT through last summer and fall. Several have indicated the intention to continue to do so even post-Covid-19.

During Distance PT sessions we put all of our skills at your service so that the training to be truly adapted to you every session. This ensures both safety and progress. It is not comparable to virtual training, which is often in the form of some generic exercise video or global class. We engage with new clients via a structured assessment process to ensure several key outcomes can be achieved. These include ensuring that the intensity of the training and the exercise selection is adapted to each client and their aims.  For this to work optimally, having a trainer with a corrective exercise basis is a first guarantee against injuries through over-use or poor movement techniques. 

Regarding Covid-19 or immune response concerns, adapted intensity and precise intensity fluctuation are essential. As noted in several studies, health development is more optimal when the full gamut of exercise intensities from moderate to HIIT is practiced. On the other hand, as explained by Jeffrey Woods (Professor of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois, an expert on exercise and immunity) in the New York Times: “It is fair to say that a large increase in exercise intensity and/or duration, especially in people new to exercise, might have transient negative effects on the immune system...” Hence it is desirable to train under the guidance of experts.

Achieving the desired levels of intensity is possible through different activities, and while the availability of some tools or equipment offers an opportunity for variation, these aren’t indispensable. At Flow, our trainers are qualified in body-weight training among other skills, and this alone makes it possible to have meaningful intensive training without extra equipment. 

In 2021 we're all looking forward to the re-opening of fitness centers. At the moment we can't say when this will happen. Unfortunately, it could be a matter of months not weeks. 

In the meantime, if you wish to get started towards your goals now, get into the Flow today.