The secret of exercising successfully is to do what you enjoy doing. Then you will keep it up. And it’s important to try different things so that your muscles are continually being challenged.
And if like me you are gym adverse or lead a hectic lifestyle then this is a convenient way of exercising which doesn’t cost the earth – only £5.99 per month and no contract. So far I have tried the Barre class – it was easy to follow and you didn’t need any special equipment only a chair in your living room.
So here is everything you need to know followed by an explanatory video – have fun:
InstructorLive – this is what you see on screen and to the left the live chat with questions from fellow exercisers
What is InstructorLive? InstructiveLive broadcasts live, interactive fitness classes over the internet. Subscribers pay £5.99 per month for access to over 40 live classes per month and unlimited access to an archive of on-demand classes. All classes are led by experienced instructors. There is no contract so the subscriber can stop their subscription at any time.
How do the live classes work? Participants (subscribers) can see and hear the instructor. They cannot see other participants and the instructor cannot see them. The participants can ask the instructor questions or chat with one another through a live messaging service on the screen. The instructors provide live feedback and motivation in response to the participants’ questions. As classes are live and interactive they are different every time. All of the classes have been developed for this format and the instructors chosen for their ability to simply explain how to do the exercises. Each class lasts between 30 and 60 minutes and none of them requires any exercise equipment more sophisticated than a kitchen chair.
What is the on-demand archive? For those days when the class you want to do isn’t being run live when you want to do it, InstructorLive provides subscribers with unlimited access to recordings of previous live classes meaning that they can work out when they want.
Free trial & Sign up Even though there is no contract anyone who wants to sign up to InstructiveLive automatically gets a one week free trial. Once the free trial is up participants will be invited to join. NB they can cancel their membership at any time with no penalty and no card details are required until the participant chooses to become a member.
Why can’t the instructor see the subscribers? Research highlighted that many people don’t want to be visible when they are exercising as they feel self-conscious or lack confidence. InstructiveLive therefore enables participants to see and hear the instructor though the instructor can’t see or hear the participants and the participants can’t see one another. Instead participants can ask the instructor questions by typing them into a “chat” panel on their screen.
How is InstructorLive sociable? Subscribers are notified when their friends are online and can use the panel to chat with each other as well as with the instructor creating a sociable and morally supportive atmosphere. Some attendees join sessions as much because they want to catch up with friends as for the health benefits.
How InstructiveLive compares to other exercise classes
InstructorLive
1. No contract
2. £5.99/month
3. Body image irrelevant – nobody can see you so it doesn’t matter how you look
4. Your schedule – if you miss a live class watch the recording at your leisure
5. Time efficient – you don’t need to travel or change, great if you’ve got kids or a busy lifestyle
6. Instructors provide advice, encouragement & motivations
7. Class is different every time
Traditional Gym
1. Contract
2. Average £442/year or £36.83/month
3. A significant number of people are self-conscious about exercising in public
4. You’re tied to the gym’s schedule – classes are only available at scheduled times
5. Travel and change time can take a lot of time out of your day
Fitness Videos & Consoles
1. No contract
2. Cost of console or video
3. Classes are repetitive
4. No motivation, advice or encouragement from instructor
5. Lack of social element
Instructor Live Classes
• Barre Concept: Barre Concept combines Yoga and Pilates with the grace of Ballet. The result is a clearly visible change in body shape whilst improving posture and overall fitness.
• Fit Club: The 8th and final rule of Fit Club: If this is your first night at Fit Club, you HAVE to dance! Fit Club is only available LIVE. Thursdays at 7pm. Be there!
• Legs, Bums, and Tums: Get ready to tone up your legs, tighten your bum, and flatten your tum! This class focuses on those key areas of your body using specially designed exercises.
• Pyjama Pilates: There is something about being in our pyjamas that makes us feel good. Now feel even better by joining this class to help improve your posture, muscle tone and flexibility.
• Cellulite Dynamite: Fed up with unwanted lumps and bumps? It’s time to focus on blasting off that stubborn cellulite! Don’t be fooled, it can be done, and this class will show you how.
• La Bomba: With music provided by top latin DJ Jose Luis (La Bomba at Ministry of Sound), this dance fitness class will bring out the latin blood in everyone. Prepare to sweat!
• Yoga – Dynamic Flow: From advanced to those completely new to Yoga, this class has options for all levels. It will help you to a more lean, agile body, and a mind with a greater ability to ‘let go’ of your troubles.
• Yoga – Monks Method: Forget the stresses and strains of life with this unique yoga class. Based on developing good co-ordination and focus to help you refine, unwind and relax.
• Pre & Postnatal: For pre/postnatal women, this class will help you; prepare for labour, speed recovery, and give strength for carrying your baby whilst inevitably multi-tasking!
• Fusion Power Pilates: Combining a powerful workout with the elegant movements and music of ballet, this class has been created by Mao to specifically address core strength, balance, and body tone.
• Aerobics: There’s a good reason Aerobics has been going strong for decades; It’s a great workout and loads of fun! With music you’ll want to sing along to, this class is suitable for all.
What exerciser say:
“InstructorLive allows me to do classes from home, at my convenience, for an affordable price. I do classes in the morning before work, and love the archive of classes which is being constantly updated. Being able to ask the instructor questions live online gives the classes a nice interactive feel. The variety of classes is great, my favourite is the pyjama pilates as Sam is a fantastic teacher.” Natalie, young professional.
“I love the convenience and do the yoga classes once a week.” James
“InstructorLive is easy to slot into my busy life and if I miss the live class I can do archive classes whenever. I use it two or three times a week.” LBT & Aerobics regular
“It’s like going to classes at the gym but I can do the classes at home so don’t have to leave my baby and at £6/month it costs the same as one Zumba class. Pyjama Pilates is paced exactly right for me – it’s challenging without being impossible, and the instructor’s guidance means I can be sure that I am doing it right. Great value for money.” Andrea, new mum
InstructorLive Founder Luke Walter “We’ve spent the last six months trialling InstructorLive with a wide variety of test users. The feedback has been fantastic and has enabled us to develop a unique fitness experience for our members that is accessible, sociable, flexible, affordable and most importantly effective. With New Year’s resolutions around the corner, InstructorLive provides a great value alternative to a gym membership. People will be able to slim their waistline without doing the same to their wallet.”
The Inspiration for InstructorLive “My mum and sister have spent a lot of their lives struggling with their weight and have never felt like the kind of people who ‘belong’ in the gym. Discovering classes that they loved, pilates in my mum’s case and Zumba in my sister’s, completely changed them. They became more confident, self-assured and looked great too. It saddened me that it took them so long to get up the courage to venture into a group exercise environment. Justin and I set off to find a way for the millions of people, like my mum and sister, to be able to have that transformative fitness experience in complete privacy and from anywhere in the world. It just didn’t make sense to us that fitness at home was still stuck in the dark ages of pre-recorded videos and DVDs, and such a solitary experience. It’s been great for me too – I’d never have dreamt of doing pilates or yoga a year ago. All the great feedback is really exciting and encouraging. Our New Year’s resolution is to be runninglive classes 24 hours a day by the end of the year.”