Seen At 11: Personal Trainers Monitoring Workout Data Is Future Of Fitness

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- When you try to lose weight and start working out, you sometimes just need a little push. But hiring a personal trainer isn't always affordable -- until now.

As CBS 2's Kristine Johnson reported, new technology is making it cheaper and easier for personal trainers to access your progress.

Jan Winterhalter, for example, wears a band that monitors her activity levels, including heart rate and calories burned.

"It's exciting to see how far I'm going and if I'm achieiving my goals," she said.

To maximize her workout results, Winterhalter is making sure her trainer, Bethany Alber, has access to all of her fitness data.

"It's making us smarter, a lot more knowledgeable, and it's making it a lot easier and even more fun for our clients as well," Alber said.

The practice is part of a new program being offered at the health clubs pairing personal trackers with personal training.

The American Council on Exercise says it's a growing trend.

"People that have been tracking things like steps, like calories, like their sleep, they have all this information," said Ted Vickey of the ACE.

Experts say around-the-clock monitoring and feedback could reveal why you may not be losing weight or meeting fitness goals. If you slack off, your trainer sees that.

And other devices can offer additional personal data to trainers. Wi-Fi scales send weight and body fat readings. And cycling monitors can track power output on a bike.

"Interpretation of data is the way of the future, and that's how you really get results," said fitness expert Tom Holland.

However, Holland added that it's still important to have in-person sessions with a trainer to check progress and avoid injury.

"I need to know how you feel today," Holland said. "'Are you fatigued? Are you sick' So we can never forget that we need that interaction, that the virtual world only goes so far."

Winterhalter said she's seeing more progress combining her in-person sessions with information from her tracker -- and it's helping to keep her motivated.

"I kind of set a goal in the back of my mind, like I want to beat what I did the other day," she said.

Experts add it's important for trainers to know how to properly interpret the data from fitness devices so they can tailor workout sessions for optimum results.

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