The Future of Fitness: You Can Now Do Virtual Personal Training Sessions at Home With Mirror

Seeing a personal trainer, no matter where you are in your fitness journey, might be the extra motivation you need to stay accountable and put in work. It especially may be a good idea if you're new to exercise. As one certified strength and conditioning specialist told POPSUGAR in a past interview, a personal trainer can help a beginner transition into a workout routine, aid in setting tangible goals, and teach proper technique. Now, you don't even need to go to the gym to get the expertise of a certified trainer; you can do it right at home if you have a Mirror (and, yes, the "m" is supposed to be capitalized there).

Back in March, we brought you an inside look into how Mirror works. It's a literal mirror connected to an app that lets you stream up to 70 new live classes per week or follow along to hundreds of stored sessions on-demand. There are boxing, kickboxing, barre, strength, yoga, dance cardio, cardio, and pre- and postnatal workouts, all ranging from levels one through four and lasting 15 minutes to an hour long. Mirror costs $1,495 (or $42 per month) plus tax, delivery ($250), and a monthly subscription fee ($39) for the app, where you'll access classes. Now, though, you'll also be able to book one-on-one personal training courses with one of Mirror's certified trainers, starting at $40 per session.

You and the trainer can actually see and hear each other in real time. Just like in the Mirror workouts, a hologram-type projection of your trainer will appear on the Mirror's surface, and you'll be able to see yourself as you move through the sessions, which is particularly helpful for making corrections. Right now, the trainers film out of a studio at the Mirror headquarters and they customize your sessions according to your ability level (they can see your profile, which features your metrics, what classes you've taken in the past, and any notes you leave them prior to your training session). "Eventually, we imagine a national network where trainers can film from their homes, so they can be anywhere and access their clients," Kailee Combs, Mirror's vice president of fitness, told POPSUGAR during a demo session of the personal training feature.

To access these personal training sessions, a Mirror member would go through the company's app. There's an option to book a session, which allows you to select a trainer and find what time of day they have available that works for you. Determining how much a session costs depends on length and the seniority of the trainer. Since the one-on-one feature just launched, sessions are currently set around $40, but Kailee said that, moving forward, there's potential to increase the rate, especially once they roll out longer sessions (Kailee said she imagines they'll range from 15 minutes to an hour long, like their other classes).

Yes, you need your own Mirror to access this cool feature. It takes at-home workouts to a whole new level, and I'd go so far as to say it has the potential to revolutionize personal training. Of course, you aren't physically with your trainer, but you're as close as you can be. They can see you, you can see them, and you don't need to leave your living room (or wherever you've set up your Mirror) to take full advantage of their instructions on form, suggested modifications, and other fitness tips.

Mirror CEO Brynn Putnam told POPSUGAR via email that personal training was always a goal of the company and it seemed like a natural progression, but they wanted to wait a year since launching in September 2018 to "perfect Mirror's core product offering and learn more about our growing member base." Eventually, the goal is to broaden to non-fitness-related experiences through the Mirror platform, she said. This personal training feature, she explained, "lays the foundation for Mirror to expand and bring people intimate access to experts in other fields such as fashion, beauty, and health." Read up on Mirror here, or head over to the Mirror website to learn more.