Feeling the DailyBurn

I love my kickboxing workouts. The atmosphere is motivating and fun, the workout leaves me dripping in sweat, and the routine works perfectly with my lifestyle. There’s just one problem: I’m bored.

Not bored of the workouts, not bored as in I want to quit. But I’m bored as in I need something different to help mix things up. Not only that, but I don’t want to give up my kickboxing.

So, between not wanting to give up kickboxing and trying to stick to a morning workout routine, I decided to do the DailyBurn 30-day trial. And thus, I have my morning workout commitment.

Here are the reasons why it’s been working well for me the past couple weeks:

• When you sign up, it asks you questions to fit you with a program that works best for your goals – the length of time you want to workout, your physical level, etc.
• Except for my rest days, I don’t have to think about which exercise I’m doing – I just turn it on and it keeps me going with the program.
• It’s not (quite) the same thing every day. There’s cardio, strength circuits, and kickboxing – with more to come.

I’m feeling great, and so far I’ve only missed one rest day (rest = stretching, yoga, etc.).

And while I really do enjoy and appreciate the type of exercise program opportunities, there’s one thing that gets to me just a little bit. One of DailyBurn’s promos is that the cost of it for a year costs less than one session with a personal trainer. There are others, but this one kind of gets to me because of my aspirations to be a personal trainer and health coach.

That said, I understand a lot of people who can’t afford personal trainers. But the deeper I get into this, the more I appreciate what trainers still have to offer that DailyBurn doesn’t:

• Correcting form – Performing the exercises is one thing, but performing them correctly is key. There’s a significant risk of injuring yourself if you perform exercises incorrectly.
• Customizing the workout – Even though I really like the workout, I don’t know that it’s necessarily serving me and my goals. A trainer can make sure the exercises planned are ones that serve your needs.
• Providing accountability – If you skip your DailyBurn workout, there’s no one around to ask you why. Sure, there might be reminders like an email saying, “Hey, we noticed you haven’t done your workout today.” (I don’t know for sure, I haven’t missed one. Go me!) But that’s not the same as having to look someone (whom you’re paying) in the eye and say, “No, I didn’t do my workout. I slept in, instead.”

I know, I know – yadda, yadda, yadda. What it all comes down to is that kickboxing, DailyBurn, and personal trainers are all wonderful and serve unique purposes in helping people to achieve their fitness goals.