How to Create Better Workout Videos On Any Budget

There are many benefits to creating your own exercise videos. Increased brand recognition is one. The more people who see your workout routines, the easier it is for them to identify your brand. Get enough viewers and you become a household name.

Another advantage of offering video workout classes is that it gives you another revenue stream. The more products and services you offer, the more money you can make as a certified personal trainer. The best part is that it is passive income. Tape your training session once and you can sell it repeatedly, even if you're not actively working.

How do you create appealing workout videos if you don't have thousands to spend on production? The answer lies in ensuring that your video contains all the necessary elements.

5 Elements of a Good Workout Video

There are good workout videos and there are bad workout videos. To ensure that yours falls in the first category, it should contain these five elements:

1. Beaming with Energy

Who are you more inspired by: a fitness trainer who is energetic and excited to help you or a trainer who lacks enthusiasm and appears ready for a nap? Infusing energy into your video workouts makes you fun to watch. It also encourages viewers to get their heart rate up because that excitement is contagious.

2. Works Regardless of Fitness Level

Unless you're producing a fitness video for a very specific group, it should appeal to both beginners and those who are a bit more advanced. This gives you a wider group of people who can use your training sessions. It also helps if you include exercises that don't require a gym. This enables them to use your video with the equipment they have at home.

3. Shares Proper Form

The last thing you want is to create an exercise video that doesn't provide results. Talking to the viewer about using proper form increases effectiveness. Harvard University indicates that it also decreases injury risk.

4. Relevant to Your Viewer

People won't watch your video unless they know it will help them meet their fitness goals. Reinforce relevance in the video's title, such as "20-Minute Glute Strengthening Workout." Talk about its benefits during the program. For example, if it is a muscle-building program for older persons, explain why strength training is important for seniors.

5. Looks Professional

Admittedly, this is where costs can easily rise. Yet, you can still create a video that looks professionally done with little to no expense.

• Consider your environment. What's going on behind you? You can shoot your video at home, but be sure to clean up and use good lighting. If you're going outside, avoid noisy areas, overly bright sunlight, and backgrounds with a lot of activity.

• Dress to impress. Even if you're shooting at home, do your hair and makeup so you look nice on camera. Pick clothes that show up well again your background (skip colors that are too dark or too light).

• Check your sound. If your viewers can't hear you, they won't keep watching. Consider doing voice-overs or splurging for a nice microphone that cuts out ambient noise.

• Edit your videos. Cut out the scenes where you're turning the camera on and off. Add your logo and contact information. If you shot the video with your smartphone, download it to your computer, then edit it using free software. Digital Trends states that some of the best programs include Lightworks, iMovie, Blender, and Shotcut.

Ultimately, your video needs to inspire viewers to want to get off the couch and exercise. How do you do that without a lot of high-cost frills?

3 Low & No-Cost Ways to Make Videos that Inspire Viewers to Workout

It doesn't matter how good your video is, if it doesn't inspire viewers to want to exercise, it's a waste of time to create. While you can't force motivation, there are three things you can do to make viewers want to watch (and do) your exercise videos.

1. Highlight Your Expertise

The reason it is important to highlight your expertise is that it gives you more credibility as a personal trainer. It says that you know what you're doing. It also proves that you can provide results. This will inspire your viewers to stick with the exercise, even if they feel like giving up.

One way to do this is to begin your video with a few simple statements. Tell viewers that you're a certified personal trainer. Talk about the results your workouts deliver.

Throughout the video, educate viewers on how each move can help them reach their fitness goals. This shows that you can apply what you know in a way that resonates with your audience.

Use rest periods to continue to show your expertise. For example, if your video includes both aerobic exercise and weights, talk about whether cardio and strength training work together. Teach your viewers something new and they will begin looking to you for all their fitness advice.

2. Give a Custom Workout Feel

If you want to keep your video viewers engaged, it helps to make them feel as if you created that workout solely for them. Granted, custom workouts aren't an option for each individual audience member, but it should feel like it is.

Plus, if your video workout is too easy, you'll lose viewers with more advanced levels of fitness. If it's too hard, beginning exercisers won't want to try it. This is partly where providing alternatives based on the level of fitness comes into play.

When creating video workout programs by yourself, this involves showing different ways to raise or lower the level of difficulty. Another option is to have other people in the fitness video with you. Have one person performing the movement so it is easier and another showing how to make it harder.

For instance, if your exercise program includes squats, have one person barely squatting down and the other with their thighs parallel to the floor. If you're doing a bodyweight exercise like push-ups, have one person do them with straight legs and the other with knees on the ground.

This enables viewers to watch the person best matched to their current fitness level. It creates a custom workout feel they can modify as they get stronger and more fit.

3. Make the Videos Easily Accessible

No matter how committed your viewers are to their fitness, there will be times when their motivation is lagging. The easier you make it for them to access your videos when they feel this way, the more likely it is they will.

There are several options for creating easily accessible videos. For instance, you can place your videos on Instagram or another social media platform. This keeps them in your follower's news feeds. It also enables them to save the videos for future use.

You can also load your videos onto a personal training or workout app. This gives your viewers access to all your workout plans in one convenient location.

Free Workout Videos vs Charging Clients: Which Is Best?

Some personal trainers offer free fitness videos to help grow their business. Or they provide them at no cost, but only to paid training clients. In this case, they are a perk that enables clients to workout between training sessions and better meet their fitness goals.

Other certified personal trainers charge for their workout videos. This includes charging viewers to download a particular workout program. Another option is to charge a recurring fee for access to a number of different videos. Which is best? It depends on your goal.

If you want to build your brand and gain more recognition as a fitness professional, offering free videos is one way to achieve this. Encourage the sharing of these free resources and you can reach a wider audience yet.

Conversely, if your goal is to increase your revenue, charging for your videos might make more sense. Pair these fitness videos with other items—such as dumbbells, fitness trackers, or weight loss meal plans—to make them more appealing to your target audience. You can charge more by doing this as well.

To increase the likelihood that people will buy your fitness video, offer a 30-day free trial. This reduces their risk. It also allows time for them to start to get results. This makes it much easier to pay for the video further down the road.

How to Create Better Workout Videos in Less Time

When you're first starting out, a workout video can take you hours, if not days to create. Rest assured, the more of them you produce, the faster you will get. However, if you don't have a lot of time to spend getting your workouts out there, another option is to release short videos instead. For instance:

• Create a 10-minute workout designed to give viewers their "daily burn."

• Offer short bodyweight workouts people can do during commercial breaks of their favorite shows.

• Develop 1-2-minute exercises people can repeat in HIIT workouts (high intensity interval training).

The benefit of these shorter videos is that viewers don't expect them to be ultra-fancy. All they care about is the information provided and how it will help them achieve their fitness goals. They want to know that it will enable them to transform their bodies.

To learn even more about how to help clients make permanent changes, the ISSA offers a Transformation Specialist Certification. This course teaches the skills necessary to positively influence clients' behaviors. It also enables you to help them reach higher levels of physical and mental health. Check it out today!