Koko Nation, have you noticed our new campaign that boldly tells the world that Koko Smartraining is better than personal training? You may be wondering, “Michael Wood, how can you get behind that? YOU are a former personal trainer!” Tell you what, I have no problem with it. The Koko claim is based firmly on a combination of results*, time efficiency, cost per session and quality.

Quality. That’s the piece I want to focus on today.

I am a degreed exercise physiologist and a certified strength and conditioning specialist; during my personal training days I was voted “Best of Boston” and named to the Men’s Journal “Dream Team” comprised of the best nine trainers in the country. Unfortunately, with my qualifications, I represent only a small percentage of the personal trainers out there. And, in most states, there really are no degree or certification requirements for personal trainers. That’s not changing anytime soon. A recent email from the International Health and Racquet Sports Association (IHRSA) proves my point.

On August 18, I received a “legislative update” in my inbox from IHRSA. They are a prestigious industry group who’s mission is to “protect and promote the health club industry.” It announced a “victory for Bay State fitness professionals.” They defeated a Massachusetts senate bill that would require licensing for personal trainers. So, Massachusetts remains like most every other part of the country where you can pretty much become a personal trainer just by calling yourself one. This is a victory? It certainly isn’t a victory for people spending big money at clubs and training studios with the expectation that they are being trained by knowledgeable, quality professionals.

With our claim, Koko is not picking a fight with personal trainers. We know that quality personal training is very effective. The problem is, unfettered access to a quality personal trainer isn’t realistic for the vast majority of people who would benefit from the results this level of personal training can achieve. They are limited by many factors, including financial constraints and a lack of educated, certified trainers. Smartraining technology makes it possible for every Koko FitClub member to receive personalized, world-class training from myself and elite trainers Kathy Kaeler and Rob Parr for only a few dollars per session. And I have to say, human personal trainers simply can’t begin to manage all the variables or track progress with the precision we can through Smartraining technology. This is high quality training, with data to back it up.

So yes, I’m very comfortable telling the world that for the majority of people- for you, Koko Nation- Smartraining is better than personal training.

*Note: I plan share more details of the 8 week strength and body composition study I conducted early this summer in a near-future blog post. I will say that my results were at least as good and often better than those achieved through personal training, in half the workout time.

Michael Wood, CSCS
Chief Fitness Officer
Koko FitClub