How does online coaching work?
A brief overview of the process can be found here.
Shortly after purchasing your program, you will receive an email with a link to the online coaching portal asking you to:
– Choose a new username and password of your liking
– Read and accept the user agreement
– Fill out the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
Dr. Mike will reach out to you to set up a day/time for a phone or video consultation where you will review and complete:
– Body composition analysis
– Before and after photos (optional)
– Experience level
– Goals
– Strength training equipment preferences
– Cardio exercise preferences
– Nutrition preferences
– Schedule preferences
After consultation, Dr. Mike will fine tune your program, personalize it, and have it available to you no later than the next day. Whether for questions, comments, motivation or accountability, communication will continue throughout the length of your program. Every six weeks, there will be a review of your complete program to ensure it’s meeting your goals at the pace originally planned; there will be minor adjustments if necessary. You will have access to the online coaching portal for 12 weeks, 6 months or 1 year, depending on which program you are on.
What are all the assessments used before getting started with my online coaching program?
The first step is completing the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). Once this is complete, during the consultation, a fitness appraisal follows – establish current body weight, body fat percentage, and before and after photos. Your nutrition, cardio, and strength training goals, exercise experience level, and equipment and scheduling preferences will conclude the assessment. These latter assessments serve as the foundation to building your fitness and nutrition programs.
Why is there a review at six weeks?
Generally, if consistent with your nutrition and exercise habits, it takes approximately 4-6 weeks to begin seeing noticeable physical changes in your body and performance. At this point, you will continue to move in a positive direction. After 4-6 weeks, depending on the pace you’re moving towards your goals and/or the consistency in your daily habits, it’s important to make small adjustments to your nutrition and exercise plans to keep you on the right track. It may also be an ideal time to change some of the exercises to add variety.
Do you offer refunds?
The only time a refund is offered is if the program is purchased and cancelled prior to the consultation and program creation. After that, there is a strict no refund policy. Offering a refund is allowing you to quit. As a fitness and nutrition coach, the objective is to help you succeed in achieving your goals. The hope is that this policy will serve as both a motivator and accountability for you to commit and believe in yourself and your online coaching program.
How do you determine your pricing for your online coaching program?
Dr. Mike’s Fitness offers flexible, convenient, and results-driven online coaching. With expert advice, a consultation, program creation, continuous communication, as well as providing you with an awesome plant-based cookbook to help you on your health and fitness journey, pricing is established with this value in mind and to also be competitive enough to help as many people as possible live a healthier, happier, and longer life.
Do you offer exercise or nutrition services alone or are they only provided together?
Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, increase performance and/or to improve overall general health, the exercises done vary in terms of frequency, intensity, time and type. At the same time, nutritional intake also varies in total calories, as well as the proportion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats for these same goals. This indicates that without both a personalized exercise and nutrition plan, the chance of fully achieving your goals are slim. However, for those who already have a solid exercise program in-place but are looking to transition to a plant-based lifestyle, a nutrition-only program can be purchased. Similarly, if your nutrition is solid but need a personalized exercise routine, and exercise-only program can be purchased.
Do I have to follow a plant-based nutrition plan?
Dr. Mike’s Fitness offers an exercise-only program for those who already have their nutrition dialed in. Additionally, for those who enjoy the foods they already eat and just need guidance on calorie, carbohydrate, protein, and fat numbers that are compatible with reaching a specific goal, all exercise and nutrition plans can be adapted to your needs.
Do you offer a sample meal plan or a sample exercise plan?
There are sample screenshots of the assessments, as well as the exercise and nutrition programs, so you can view an example how your online coaching program will appear in the online coaching portal once created.
How do I know what exercise equipment and other resources I will need?
During the assessment process, and before designing your exercise plan, you will be selecting (and excluding) the types of equipment you have or will have access to (e.g., machines, free weights, cables, elastic bands, etc.). You will also be selecting from various cardio exercises that you enjoy and plan to do while on your health and fitness journey (e.g., walking, running, biking, swimming, treadmill, stair climber, elliptical, sporting activities, etc.). By doing this ahead of time, your online coaching program will be built around the various equipment, facilities, and other resources so your program is personalized to you.
What if I want to make changes to the exercises and equipment in my exercise plan?
Adjustments can be made throughout the length of your program. This includes changing strength training and cardio exercises. Changing exercises don’t alter the overall objective, but rather give you the ability to add variety to keep you motivated. Regardless of what changes are made, print and video exercise demonstrations will be included. Additionally, changes can be made to time availability and number of days you plan to workout.
How do I add or eliminate certain foods in my nutrition plan?
After your nutrition plan is set up and meals and recipes are placed on your calendar for a given day/week, you will still have the ability to substitute in/out certain foods and recipes for a particular meal. This is possible because there are thousands of foods stored within the online nutrition database. The system is set up in such a way that when substitutions are made, the calories and macros (grams of carbohydrates, protein and fats) remain the close to the same as their original numbers. The foods and recipes in the cookbook can be manipulated similarly.
Is there a minimum or maximum age requirement to participate in the online coaching program?
The minimum age to participate is 18 years, unless parent is involved, including a parent consent signature. There’s no upper age limit. In fact, research continues to show that regular exercise and quality nutrition has a positive affect as you age. Regardless of age, with regular strength and cardiovascular exercise, you can expect to enhance strength, balance, and agility; strengthen bones, tendons, and ligaments; and improve memory and mood, while reducing anxiety and depression. Depending on your goals and experience level, a program will be created that’s personalized to you.
