You’ve got mail — now get moving

Tim Wiseman has both virtual and “real-world” helpers to keep him active. He consults over the phone and through e-mail with a FitAdvisor.com coach and also sees a personal trainer at the gym.

With a demanding job as a business consultant that requires long hours and a lot of travel, Wiseman, 39, of Colorado Springs, Colo., says that while he had good intentions, he just couldn’t make fitness happen on his own. “The excuses would pile up more than the execution,” he says.

So he had an initial phone conversation with his FitAdvisor.com coach late last year to get his program started. Now, he communicates a couple times a month with the coach, usually through e-mail, to make sure he’s still on track with his two- or three-day-a-week regimen, which mostly consists of biking, walking or hitting hotel gyms.

“It has really helped keep me accountable in a very supportive way,” he says. “I don’t respond well to the drill sergeant format.”

And Wiseman says his program is getting results. He’s lost 15 pounds in the last nine months and feels stronger, too.

The costs of Web-based coaching can range from nothing to $50 a month on up, depending on how intensive and individualized the services are. But do your homework before shelling out money. The best services offer one-on-one coaching and provide individualized rather than canned advice.

You don’t have to spend big bucks to get fit, though. Parrott says people can take advantage of the Web to join free discussions with online exercise support groups or blogs. Or they can simply find a workout partner in the neighborhood.

Ever since the e-mails stopped, Thomas-McPherson has been missing her “virtual support group” – and her exercise program has suffered a setback. “I haven’t done as well since the study ended,” she admits.

But she’s striving to walk at least two days a week, because she remembers those e-mails touting all the good reasons to exercise. And for this overscheduled woman, there’s one key benefit that she knows first-hand: “It’s a stress-reliever.”

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