Personal Fitness Professional Spring 2022

WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM SPRING 2022

RESTRUCTURING YOUR BUSINESS FOR PROFIT A step-by-step guide

BUILD BRAND AWARENESS ON A BUDGET CHOOSE THE RIGHT MARKETING PLATFORMS 4 JOINT-TRAINING MOVEMENT DRILLS

O T RE BE E H RI K IC BSC L C SU

PFP ONLINE Visit

www.PersonalFitnessProfessional.com

VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 1 president

chad griepentrog | chad.g@rbpub.com

FEATURES

publisher

josh vogt | josh@rbpub.com editor

erin eagan | erin@rbpub.com audience development manager

rachel spahr | rachel@rbpub.com national sales director

josh vogt | josh@rbpub.com creative director

Treating Osteoarthritis Join the Movement Do you have what it takes to train those with medical conditions?

By Lisa Dougherty

Understanding the pathological process and medical approach is the first step in helping your clients with OA

By Chris Gellert

kelli cooke | kelli.c@rbpub.com contributing writers

Meredith Butulis, CarolAnn, Justin Hanover, Jason Karp, James Patrick, Meg Prejzner, Arian Stowe, Becca Tebon featured columnists

Brandi Binkley, Trina Gray, Dan Ritchie, Pat Rigsby, Kurt Weinreich Jr.

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DID YOU KNOW

VIDEO

The top reasons people work out has changed since the start of the pandemic.

• Had the

Visit our website to view for instructional videos and other training tips, including Exercise of the Week, Fitness Business Insights and Functionally Fit by Brian Schiff.

Pre-Pandemic: 1. Control weight (35%) 2. Feed good (33%) 3. Live a long and healthy life (32%)

••

Had the the

Today: 1. Reduce stress (43%) 2. Feel better mentally (43%) 3. Look better physically (39%)

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| WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | SPRING 2022

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Personal Fitness Professional (ISSN 1523-780X) is published quarterly: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

[Volume 24, Issue 1] Published by MadMen3, LLC C/O Chad Griepentrog 708 Mohawk Trail DeForest WI 53532-3035 Tel: 608.241.8777 Periodicals postage paid at DeForest, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Personal Fitness Professional | P.O. Box 259098 | Madison WI 53725-9098.

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By Lindsay Vastola

ONE-MINUTE PRACTICE: PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

By Dr. Adrienne Ione

Yes2Aging.com

Be the Purple Cow

The STOP Method

The fitness industry has long been plagued by a sea of sameness.

If you don’t quite agree, consider the proverbial, “It’s hard to see the forest through the trees.” In other words, the way we see the fitness industry from the inside is much different than those who see it from the outside.

We are aware of the differences between a big box gym experience versus that of a studio. We know the differences between streaming and on-demand fitness. We recognize the benefits of personal training versus small group training versus group exercise classes. The list could go on.

However, when the average person looks at the fitness industry, even with the ever-increasing options available, they probably see a lot of the same.

They see 28-day challenges, first-month-for-$1 deals and all the other stock low-barrier offers. They’re inundated by images of bright, colorful, fit people who are in love with exercise. They see lists of exercise classes with fancy names. They see gyms boast about their own certifications, their tracking apps, bands and straps.

You may be reading this, shaking your head, saying, “Yeah, but I’m different!” YOU know you’re different. Your clients know your different.

But those who do not know you… do they know you’re different? Or do they see you as part of the fitness camouflage?

In Seth Godin’s, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, he describes a “Purple Cow” as: “Cows, after you’ve seen one or two or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though… now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable. Every day, consumers come face-to-face with a lot of boring stuff — a lot of brown cows — but you can bet they won’t forget a Purple Cow. And it’s not a marketing function that you can slap onto your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It’s built right in or it’s not there. Period.”

When is the last time you took an honest look at your business through the lens of an outsider? What are they seeing and thinking? Can they immediately determine whether your business is perfect for them or not? Is your promise too general? Do you look like the rest? Or are you a Purple Cow? When you’re a Purple Cow, you stand-out to your ideal client. This is visibility at its best. Marketing, as an extension, becomes much simpler.

Being a Purple Cow doesn’t require spending millions on New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square or headlining Wall Street news for changing at-home fitness. But if you want to increase your visibility you have to cut through the sameness.

As you read this issue focused on marketing and visibility, try asking yourself, “How can I be the Purple Cow?” Imagine how many more we could reach if only there were more Purple Cows!

Life is uncertain. There is fear with day-to-day happenings, fear with aging or “getting old,” fear of saying the wrong thing. If we practice “being old” before we are old, will this change the way we experience aging and being old? If we practice being present, in this very moment, will this lessen our fears?

British novelist Terry Pratchett writes in Moving Pictures, “Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.”

There is the possibility of being in harmony with the prospects of old age and with the uncertainties of living. Rather than living in fear, let’s try another way of being.

One way to soften the perceived sharp edges of aging and with living is to increase our familiarity with present moment awareness.

Be here. How? Give the STOP method a try:

Lindsay Vastola is the creator of Momentum365, a turnkey mindset and habit-change platform for fitness and wellness companies. Lindsay is the founder of VastPotential and Body Project, the former editor of Personal Fitness Professional (PFP) magazine and is a speaker and presenter across industries. Visit LindsayVastola.com.

Stop Take a breath Observe Play or proceed Maybe our orientation to the world will shift away from a fear informed model of aging and the world around us and toward a mindfulness-based perspective. With fear taking up less space, this may open up space for love to fill.

Once a day, for every day of this month, try STOP and let’s see how the collective Tacoma energy shifts.

Formerly a fitness specialist with the U.S. Marine Corp. and a counselor in residential and clinical settings, Adrienne Ione is now committed to the mind-body well-being of people ages 60 and greater, by utilizing an integrative therapeutic approach.

CONTENTS

10

TRAIN YOUR JOINTS

Help your clients start a daily joint movement routine by teaching them to perform these four joint movement drills

By Meredith Butulis

20

IT’S TIME TO DITCH THE SCRIPT

Instead, focus on how to have a sales conversation that sets the tone for the future of the relationship

By Justin Hanover

Volume 24 | Issue 1

12

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION

Ways to teach clients to take ownership of their health through proper nutrition and movement

By CarolAnn

22

RESTRUCTURING YOUR BUSINESS FOR PROFIT

A step-by-step guide to get you started and keep you focused

By Becca Tebon

16

BUILD BRAND AWARENESS ON A BUDGET 8 ways to be seen, be heard and be read

By James Patrick

18

CHOOSE THE RIGHT MARKETING PLATFORMS

It’s important to be selective and intentional when targeting your ideal client

By Meg Prejzner

24

BUSINESS LESSONS FROM KENYA

What we can all learn from the focus and work ethic that makes these runners so successful

By Dr. Jason Karp

DEPARTMENTS

05

LETTER FROM THE ADVISORY BOARD

ELEVATE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

Be the Purple Cow

The 2 steps to online marketing

By Lindsay Vastola

By Pat Rigsby

07

08

TRAINING FOR FUNCTION

7 elements of functional aging training program design

By Dan Ritchie

6

08

REAL TALK: LESSONS BEHIND SUCCESS Own your year: take a dream walk

By Trina Gray

| WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | SPRING 2022

09

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Finding the right format

By Kurt Weinreich Jr.

09

CAREER ACCELERATOR

3 ways to grow your business without losing margin

By Brandi Binkley

28

NEW ON THE MARKET

The latest trends in fitness equipment

30

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

If you build it, they will come

By Ariana Stowe

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE TRAINING FOR FUNCTION

By Dan Ritchie

FunctionalAgingInstitute.com

7 elements of functional aging training program design

F

or the past 25 years of my fitness career, I have been blessed to train older athletes. After years of research and hundreds of clients, I have developed a functional aging training model that I believe works well for clients. Here are what I believe are 7 key elements for any program, whether 1-1 training, small group or large group fitness:

1.

Focus on functional tasks your clients need to do on a daily or weekly basis. For example, movements could include tasks like carrying groceries, laundry or household items; shoveling snow; raking the yard; picking up items; climbing stairs; putting something on a shelf; or looking under the couch for the darn remote.

2.

Focus on balance challenges your client might face on a weekly or monthly basis. This could include activities like navigating a parking lot, stepping over a parking block, stepping up or down a curb, changing terrains from grass to dirt to pavement, etc. Tasks inside could include climbing stairs at home, stepping over pets, navigating from hardwood floors to carpet or catching your foot on something.

3.

Think about what your client can do and less about what they can’t do. What are their strengths and abilities? Don’t just focus on their limitations. Celebrate the small wins and build on what they can do well. Design your sessions for success!

4.

Be sure your session has some fun activities; make sure everyone at some point has a reason to smile. Exercise should be enjoyed! Include an obstacle course or balance game. Maybe play red light/green light or get out the agility ladder. You could set up a pretend creek with various colored stones to get across without getting wet. Play with balloons or nerf balls. The possibilities are endless!

5.

Do get down on the floor. Whether it’s for push-ups, bird-dogs or planks, be sure to incorporate some floor training. Modified burpees, get-ups and mountain climbers are all great options, too.

6.

Remember to think about all 6 Domains of Human Function from the Functional Aging Training Model: Musculoskeletal, Cardiovascular, Balance, Mobility, NeuroMuscular and Cognitive/Emotional.

7.

Lastly and most importantly, care about your clients: call them by name, ask them about their lives, give them high fives and hugs… you might be the absolute best part of their day. Enjoy being with your clients and appreciate them… you might be the only one that does all day.

Dr. Dan Ritchie is the president and co-founder of the Functional Aging Institute. Dan also owns and operates Miracles Fitness in West Lafayette, Indiana, where they have trained over 2,500 clients since 2007. Dan was the 2014 PFP Trainer of the Year and is a sought-after expert and speaker at national and international events on topics like balance for older adults, fitness business development, the global aging phenomenon, and functional aging training models. Learn more at www.functionalaginginstitute.com.

SPRING 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 7

REAL TALK: LESSONS BEHIND SUCCESS

ELEVATE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

By Pat Rigsby

PatRigsby.com

TeamRockstarFit.com

The 2 steps to online marketing

Own your year: take a dream walk

W

O

hen it comes to online marketing, the default way of thinking for most fitness business owners is that they’re one magic funnel, ad, or campaign away from creating a flood of new business. It’s no surprise that they believe this, considering the fact that just a few years ago you could run a single ad for 2-3 days and fill up a challenge.

Add in the constant array of experts promising to fill your gym with 50-100 clients in a couple of weeks and the fact that most business owners struggle with online marketing is more easily understood.

If that’s not the right way to succeed with online marketing, then what is? It really comes down to just two steps: 1. Connect.

2. Convert.

The first step, Connect, is simply making a great first impression while casting a wide enough net to attract all the people who might be interested in what you have to offer.

While most businesses are trying to get people to make a buying decision as they scroll, the research says that the vast majority of people who are eventually going to buy don’t make their decision immediately upon learning about an offer. So we make the initial connection and get permission to follow up by giving those prospects something valuable in exchange for their attention. This could be as simple as giving them a book, a workout, a guide or some other gift.

Then, once we’ve connected, we move to the Covert step, where we continue building a relationship with the prospect. Your objective here is to help the prospect get to know, like and trust you while keeping your offers in front of them until they’re ready to move forward with a program.

Conversion can happen in a variety of ways like email, text and Facebook Groups. All of these blend repetition, education & persuasion to move prospects from ‘interested to ready.’ This approach allows you to get the best possible ROI on your marketing efforts and to also employ the most effective approach to attracting & qualifying the people you want to work with.

When you combine these two steps, you both get a much higher percentage of your leads to become clients and you pre-sell those leads so that when they are ready, they choose you because you’re the best fit for them and their goals.

Pat Rigsby is one of the fitness industry's leading business coaches and the owner of PatRigsby.com. He has built over a dozen businesses in the fitness industry as a CEO and co-owner, ranging from two-award winning franchises to certification organizations and equipment companies. Now he focuses exclusively on helping fitness entrepreneurs build their ideal businesses.

8

By Trina Gray

| WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | SPRING 2022

ne of the most powerful exercises of my year to date has nothing to do with a squat, lunge or a press. It was a “Dream Walk.” Instead of hitting a nature trail as the name implies, I took my mind on an adventure. My goal was to create a vision board for my business and life. I wanted to see the possibility of balance, joy and success on my terms.

My instinct told me that 2022 would require more from me as a leader and human being to keep hope when it was dim, and to take the lid off my dreams. After two years of yo-yoing from quarantines to cancellations to finding a new foundation for my health clubs, I wanted a colorful plan.

I am sharing behind the scenes of my vision session to inspire you to pause your grind, and add this recovery exercise to your routine this month. The vision board has three key components: 1. The Bucket List — Write a list of adventures, hobbies, selfcare ideas and experiences with family or friends. From a solo trip with your kids to a golf or ski trip. Think big and small. Think new.

Now shift your thoughts to the things you already value and want to keep in your year. What brings you happiness in your days? From paddle boarding to yoga to camping. What do you want to keep?

Write those.

2. Business Goals — Start with a promise statement of how you want to show up in your year. Who do you need to be to accomplish this list? Then write specific goals for your fitness career. From renegotiating a lease, to signing 20 new clients, to growing your team, to building an online business.

3. Words to Live By — Flip through a personal development or business book. What quotes speak to you? Make a list of quotes that give you confidence and inspire you to take action. This section will help you create the life you want, even when it is hard.

To bring your vision board to life, write it out and paste photos like a school art project. You can also make it digitally with this template. Enjoy. I can’t wait to see what you create: https://tinyurl.com/ PFPdreamwalk

Trina Gray is a leading entrepreneur in the fitness industry with 20 years of experience from the trenches to the top. She owns Bay Athletic Club, an award winning medically-based health club in Michigan. She is a seven-figure working mom leading the industry on her terms. She broke barriers in corporate wellness. She founded a top online coaching team with Beachbody, called Team Rockstar Fit. Her team has been in the top of the company for a decade and earned the CEO award. She helps women in fitness expand their income to reach more people, outside of sessions and classes. She’s a sought-after presenter and mentor, who has simplified her life. Connect with her at www. teamrockstarfit.com or on Instagram @trinagray.

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE CONTINUING EDUCATION

CAREER ACCELERATOR

By Kurt Weinreich Jr. KurtWeinreich.ISSACertifiedTrainer.com

By Brandi Binkley

GetPhysioFit.com

Finding the right format

3 ways to grow your business without losing margin

A

T

s gyms reopen, the fitness industry has redefined itself in a great way and with it came the need for professional development in new directions. Whether it is “pivoting” your business, enhancing current client offerings or expanding specialization there is a growing need to increase value of the fitness professional through continuing education. Vocational schooling has been reduced dramatically, so many certification agencies and continuing education providers have been focusing on increasing the opportunities for the fitness professional to add qualifications to their portfolio.

The first step on this path is to find the right format. To make this decision, the fitness professional must consider the following: certification requirements, client demographics, specialization interest, business applications and personal skillset.

Once these criteria are established, the time comes for deciding the right format for your investment: Online, In-Person and Virtual.

Online Education. Most popular for its convenience, online continuing education will include multiple options combining reading materials, visual presentations and videos. This format is best utilized for subjects that require more science-based research such as nutrition, neuroscience, programming and business.

Live Events. In-person events are the preferred option for most certification agencies because they provide opportunities for questions to be answered directly from an instructor while allowing proficiency to be assessed immediately. This format is the most applicable education for the personal trainer.

Virtual Training Education. The advent of a global pandemic has shifted the continuing education experience to combine both of these methodologies. With livestreaming, educators can interact directly with students through coaching and assessments. Ancillary materials can be provided electronically. Testing and participation requirements can be confirmed through interactive programs.

Besides staying current, the habit of increasing knowledge is a universal baseline for enhancing success while being associated with industry colleagues. Besides meeting the requirements for your certification renewal, the benefits of choosing the right format will become evident in your provided service, articulation to your clients and the success of your profession.

Kurt Weinreich has over 22 years of experience in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, professional educator and fitness manager. He was formerly a Senior Instructor for the National Personal Training Institute and Advisory Board Member for Heritage College Trainer Program. He was chosen to be a Fitness Ambassador for the 2008 Olympics and twice appointed to the Colorado Governor’s Council for Healthy Lifestyles. Kurt continues to train full-time in Colorado while developing fitness professionals through consulting, lectures and internship programs to assist trainers with skillsets in coaching, marketing, education, and business.

here are solid ways to grow your business without spending so much of your time and money. Have you considered that your clients and your time could be your best marketing assets? Here are a few ways to maximize your bottom line, and play the long game in your personal training career: Understanding margin Margin is the amount available beyond what is necessary. To calculate your margin, use this formula: 1. Find your gross profit. Cost - price = gross profit 2. Gross profit/price = margin. To get a percentage, multiply it by 100 and that's your margin %.

Missing in the calculation of margin is the cost of time. We must pay close attention to the time/expense we are utilizing on outlets such as social media, blogs, websites and marketing campaigns. For example, if your hourly rate is $100 and you spend 5 hours on social media marketing, $300 for a click campaign, 3 hours writing your blog and another hour organizing to get it online, you have now cost yourself $1,200 for an immeasurable ROI (return on investment). That’s a very expensive, exhaustive way to market yourself.

Utilize low-hanging fruit Your current clients are your best marketers. Ask them for referrals and introductions to their friends who need help getting healthier.

The barrier to entry is lower on referrals since they are coming through trusted relationships. Referrals typically stay with you longer because they now share a new common bond with their friend/ family. In addition, say yes to opportunities to serve and give in your community. It’s the best way to network authentically.

Stop discounting and/or raise your prices This seems to be the most difficult option for people in our industry.

With rising expenses everywhere, you can’t afford not to make changes. You either need to stop discounting packages, charge a flat monthly fee, go up on your prices, or defer convenience fees to customers. You may need to do all of the above!

Brandi Binkley has been an Exercise Physiologist for 19 years. Her first company PhysioFit has been called the Gold Standard for its interdisciplinary approach to technology and the clinical space. She has served as a consultant to the Department of Defense, Alpha Warrior, Technogym, and multiple healthcare companies. Brandi also spends her time serving on the board for End Slavery TN, Tennessee State NSCA Advisory, C12, and The Todd Durkin Mastermind.

SPRING 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 9

FEATURE ARTICLE

By Dr. Meredith Butulis

MeredithButulis.com

TRAIN YOUR JOINTS Help your clients start a daily joint movement routine by teaching them to perform these four joint movement drills

By Dr. Meredith Butulis

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24% of people have arthritis, and almost 60% of them are ages 18-54. While this joint wear and tear represents a major reason people limit activity, fitness, occupational choices and quality of life, it doesn’t have to be. Fitness and nutrition are major components of increasing pain-free functional ability!

It is never too early to start training joints to move well, and we don’t need to wait for an arthritis diagnosis to begin. Joints occur where bones in your body come together.

As we age, the joint space narrows. Individual biology, activity and nutrition choices impact the rate of joint space narrowing. The joint space is filled with synovial fluid. The joints are surrounded by ligaments and balloon-like structures called capsules. These fluids and capsules can be thick and sticky, making movement difficult. They can also be fluid and pliable, offering ease of movement.

When it comes to optimizing joint pliability and synovial fluid flow, however, not every exercise is the right movement. While joint health exercises can be performed in open or closed chain, movement is generally slow and steady without external weights added.

You can help your clients start a daily joint movement routine by teaching them to perform these four joint movement drills in pain-free ranges.

1

10

| WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | SPRING 2022

Hip opener: Helps with hip and knee joint health Follow these steps: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Lie on your back Bend your right knee up toward your right armpit Grab the inside of your foot with your right hand Relax your hip and knee Let your arm do the work as you guide your hip through tiny circles, as if you are stirring your hip in its socket 6. Repeat 10x clockwise, and 10x counterclockwise, then give the other side a turn Alternative: If it is difficult to relax your hip and knee into this position, wrap a yoga strap or extra pair of sweatpants under your thigh as you hold the loose ends in your hands to guide the motion.

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE Bow & arrow: Helps with total spine and shoulder motion Follow these steps: 1. Lie on your side with knees bent 90 degrees 2. If available, put a pillow or cushion under the head for support 3. Begin with both arms straight out in front of the body, just below shoulder level 4. Draw the top arm back toward the center of the chest as you rotate the spine; the goal is to get both shoulder blades flat on the floor without the hand going past the center of the chest.

5. Allow the neck and eyes to follow as part of the motion 6. Return to the start position; Repeat 10x, then switch sides

Sprinkler: Helps with total spine and shoulder motion Follow these steps:

Lunge rockers: Helps with ankle and knee mobility for loaded motions Follow these steps: 1. Begin in a split stance with toes facing forward, and both heels on the ground 2. Distribute the weight between the big toe, little toe and heel of each foot 3. Shift the bodyweight forward as the lead knee and ankle bend; keep the front heel on the ground. It is ok if the back heel comes up a bit 4. Shift the weight back to the starting position 5. Repeat 10x, then give the other side a turn

Exercise instruction and client motivation tips: Part of teaching your clients home exercises for their joint health is your instruction. Many clients shy away from exercises they can’t “feel,” since they don’t understand the benefit.

Encourage your clients to use the movements to warm up their joints, as opposed to trying to feel a burn, stretch or push through a blockade.

Since joints wear out faster than muscles, your clients’ years of fitness longevity is likely limited by their joint health. Sharing this longevity factor may help motivate some clients.

1. Start on hands and knees, with your right hand directly under your right shoulder, and knees directly under your hips 2. Place your weight through the thumb side of your palm, and all of the fingertips (as if you are grabbing the floor) 3. Place your left fingertips on the back of your head. Inhale as you lengthen your spine and rotate your sternum and eyes up toward the ceiling. Allow the spine to arch a bit.

4. Exhale bringing your left elbow to your right elbow. Allow the gaze and head to follow, as the spine rounds a bit 5. Repeat 10x, then give the other side a turn Alternative: Perform the spine motions in standing with your hands against a wall (like a wall push up)

Another way to help clients understand the benefit is to allow them to feel the difference.

Have your client perform a typical exercise, perform the joint motion drill, then perform a second set of the exercise. If your client feels more freedom of movement, or another favorable sensation, encourage them to keep that joint motion drill as part of their daily movement routine.

One word of caution: These joint motion drills are intended for people that do not have underlying joint hypermobility. If your clients can already move with ease into

extreme ranges of motion, focus more on stability drills instead.

Dr. Meredith Butulis is a licensed Sport/Orthopedic Physical Therapist, Certified Exercise Physiologist, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Personal Trainer, and Yoga/Pilates Instructor practicing since 1998. She is the creator of the ISSA Fitness Comeback Coaching Certification, author of the Mobility | Stability Equation Books, host of The Fitness Comeback Coaching Podcast, and Assistant Professor at the State College of Florida. Follow on IG @Dr.MeredithButulis or visit MeredithButulis.com.

SPRING 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 11

FEATURE ARTICLE

By CarolAnn

CarolAnn.Fitness

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION Ways to teach clients to take ownership of their health through proper nutrition and movement

By CarolAnn

12

| WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | SPRING 2022

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE

A

s health/fitness professionals, we’ve said it over and over again to our clients, “You can’t out-train your diet.” Then we send them on their merry ways to leave it up to their own devices to figure out what that means.

Many movement specialists or personal trainers steer clear of educating their clients on nutrition for fear that it is out of their scope of practice unless they are registered dietitians. State laws govern what one can and cannot do with clients within the realm of nutrition. However, the most educated and experienced coaches and leaders of the industry recognize that the ultimate path to obtaining optimal results is to coach a client within their context and as a whole person.

This ultimate coaching technique includes movement, lifestyle, and, yes, NUTRITION.

are within the scope of practice of a health/ fitness professional.

Teach Energy Balance to Accomplish Goals Out of all the billions of questions that any and all human beings can ask on Google, “How to lose weight” ranks #6. This result should scream opportunity because this inquiry is an indication that people are struggling, and the help is within the scope of practice. “How to lose weight” has a global monthly search (GMS) rate of 550,000. “How to lose weight” can be translated to educating clients on energy balance which is the ratio between calories (energy) consumed and calories (energy) expended. To lose weight, one needs to be in a calorie deficit which involves manipulating the variables of nutrition and exercise. The average client may not know this information. Therefore, health/fitness professionals can address the topic of how many calories are in certain foods and how many calories are expended performing certain exercises.

Teaching these concepts empowers the client to monitor energy balance resulting in goals achieved. Moreover, within the top 100 questions of Google searches, “how to lose belly fat” ranks #30 with GMS of 201,000, “how to gain weight” ranks #82 with GMS 135,000, and “how many calories are in a banana” ranks #100 with GMS 110,000.

Within the top 20 Google nutrition searches/questions, “how to read nutrition labels” ranks #11. In addition, “where are the macronutrients located on a nutrition label” ranks #15.

The question is, how do we educate our clients on proper nutrition and remain relevant with the trends (meeting the current demands of the client) without compromising the scope of practice? Many personal trainers are tempted to prescribe fancy meal plans or recommend trendy diets to keep the client’s interest, which compromises the scope of practice. However, does this teach the client autonomy, and is that really what the client wants? An effective strategy to determine the most common, popular nutrition interests is to turn to Google. One may be surprised to learn that the most popular nutrition questions and searches on Google

Teach Portion and Serving-Size Control Out of all the “HOW” questions and phrases posed on Google, below are within the top 10: #6: How to lose weight (GMS 550,000) #7: How many ounces in a cup (GMS 450,000) #8: How many ounces in a pound (GMS 450,000) #9: How many ounces in a gallon (GMS 450,000) These results may be an indication that people are cooking/baking at home, but more

SPRING 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 13

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE

Figure 1

This update made it easier for the consumer to understand, and it helps one choose foods for a healthy diet. As of late 2021, the updated label is required on all packaged foods made in the United States and imported from other countries.

Another positive addition is “Dual Column Labels.” Many food and drink packages contain more than one serving, but a person may consume the contents of the whole package at one time, for example a pint of ice cream or a bag of chips. Two columns provide calorie and nutrition information for one serving and for the whole package. Teaching clients how to read nutrition labels is another strategy for empowering the client to reach his/her goal.

Figure 2 importantly, they are measuring out their ingredients or maybe even their portion/ serving sizes. Portion control (shown in Figure 1) is absolutely essential to the success of a client and is a teaching moment for the client and the pro.

Teach How to Read Nutrition Facts Labels Within the top 20 Google nutrition searches/ questions, “how to read nutrition labels” ranks #11. In addition, “where are the macronutrients located on a nutrition label” ranks #15. Once again, this is encouraging because clients are looking for answers that fall within the scope of practice. The FDA first introduced the Nutrition Facts label in 1994 and updated it in 2016 (shown in Figure 2) based on the most relevant science and recent dietary recommendations.

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Keys to Healthy Nutritoin  Eat a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits and whole grains.  Eat lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and low-fat dairy products  Drink plenty of water  Limit salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fat, and trans-fat in the diet.

Teach Why Proper Nutrition Is Important Continuing to focus on the top 20 Google nutrition searches/questions, “what is a balanced diet” ranks #3, “why is nutrition important” ranks #9, and “what does nutrition mean” ranks #14. While health/ fitness professionals THINK that the general population is too sophisticated for foundational nutrition education, getting back-to-the-basics is what people are searching. Nutrition is a process that serves two purposes: to provide energy and to maintain body structure and function. Food

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is essential to providing vital nutrients for survival, functionality and health.

According to the World Health Organization, nutrition is essential for health and development starting early in life and continuing through a lifetime. Better nutrition helps to protect against noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. In addition, when people have proper nutrition, they are more productive at home, at work, and in life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that healthy eating should be simple, but people continue to struggle with healthy eating.

Now that fitness professionals have validation that not all clients want customized meal plans or trendy diets, they can focus on what is important… empowering the client to take ownership of their health through proper nutrition and movement.

Known as the trainer’s trainer, CarolAnn has become one of the country’s leading fitness educators, authors and national presenters. Combining a Master’s degree in Exercise Science/Health Promotion with several fitness certifications/memberships, she has been actively involved in the fitness industry for over 3 decades presenting at FiTOUR, Club Industry, MedFit Network Tour and SCW Manias. As one of the leading experts, she has served on several health advisory boards, performed as a wellness fitness coordinator, owned her private studio and operated several gyms. She moved her programming online as the creator and star of “The Steel Physique Fitness on Demand” series (www.CarolAnn.Fitness). FiTOUR is launching the Primary Nutrition: Theory Application and Advanced Nutrition: Practical Application Certifications. Visit www.FiTOUR.com to learn how to expand your health/fitness career by incorporating nutrition into your coaching business.

FEATURE ARTICLE

By James Patrick

JamesPatrick.com

BUILD BRAND AWARENESS ON A BUDGET 8 ways to be seen, be heard and be read

By James Patrick

W

ouldn’t it be great if all we had to do in order to grow our business was to purchase some advertisements using our limitless finances that were guaranteed to generate legitimate sales?

Unfortunately, many believe there is legitimacy behind this approach and if you do not have the finances to afford advertising, that you are immediately at a disadvantage.

The truth is, paid advertising can be extremely difficult and requires an extraordinary threshold of an investment before one could potentially see a return. There are a variety of means that entrepreneurs, like you, can levy to build your brand awareness without breaking your budget in the process.

But first, it is important to understand why advertising has become so difficult. Consumers have become increasingly adept at tuning out advertisements. We swipe away, mute, unfollow, change channels and even block out the marketing messages we are exposed to.

It is estimated that we are exposed to upwards of 10,000 advertisements and marketing messages every single day. It would

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take a significant investment to attempt to stand out in that crowded marketplace.

Early in my career, I did not have the finances to even consider advertising, which meant I had to get a lot more resourceful about my marketing and brand awareness strategies. My approach to brand awareness can be summarized into three points: Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Read.

In order to grow the imprint and impact of my brand on my target audience I knew I needed to have my brand experienced in a variety of means that did not just blatantly request that I be hired. Instead, I wanted to ensure my outbound marketing added some value to the lives of those I was trying to reach.

What follows are a variety of tactics you can customize and experiment with in your own marketing strategy.

news, podcast guest segments, appearing in local or national print media as well as online publication features. As these features are earned, they are not paid so there is no cost involved outside of time pitching yourself and your topic ideas to various media outlets.

1. Earned Media Features This is a phenomenal way to position yourself as a subject matter expert, validate your brand’s credibility as well as generate leads for your business. These can include, but are not limited to, appearing on your local

3. Word of Mouth/Affiliates You could incentivize your current clients to bring in additional leads. This could include anything from prizes, free branded swag or even cash rewards. At one of my live events, we paid cash for any referral our audience

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2. Industry Collaborations Consider partnering with another professional within your industry that could provide a complementary service to yours.

For example, a nutritionist partnering with a personal trainer. You could promote one another’s business, do co-lives together on social media to promote one another’s brand. If you picked a new person every week for two months, that would provide you the opportunity to get in front of the audiences of 8 colleagues.

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PAID ADVERTISING CAN BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND REQUIRES AN EXTRAORDINARY THRESHOLD OF AN INVESTMENT BEFORE ONE COULD POTENTIALLY SEE A RETURN. brought in. That day we handed out envelopes filled with hundreds of dollars in cash, but actually net us thousands in return.

4. Active Community Engagement You should seek to entrench yourself within your industry and within your community.

What events, meet-ups, social groups exist within your niche? Don’t just become a member, become an active participant.

5. Create Binge-Worthy Content Turn your social media channels, and your website if you have one, into a platform that allows your audience to binge your content.

Your content marketing plan should be educational, inspirational or entertaining (or a combination of those). For example, if a photographer were to find my social media page they would find lots of tutorials on lighting and photography that they could binge. It is a great way to provide value to your audience and honor our desire to consume lots of content in a short amount of time.

6. Online Reviews This is a fantastic tool for businesses as your

consumers are doing a lot of the marketing for you. Using tools, such as Google My Business, you can encourage your clients to leave reviews and comments on their experience. This can prove to generate a substantial amount of SEO leads.

7. Branded Swag Although there is a cost involved with created branded swag, it can be done cost effectively. What type of swag would your audience not only want, but regularly use? My team has had lots of success with branded tank tops, hoodies, journals and water bottles. Even when I look at my own water bottle, it is covered with stickers of companies I myself have hired.

Another opportunity to create sharable content is to provide your current customers with content and instructions on how to post that content. For example, at one of our events, when someone purchased a ticket, they immediately received social media graphics that they could share to let others know they were attending our event. We incentivized this further by offering a prize to several who posted these graphics to their feeds.

That is one example of many of how you can customize, combine, mix and match these ideas into your own marketing campaigns.

Ultimately, just because you might have the budget to run advertisements, does not mean you have to in order to build the brand awareness that generates qualified business leads.

8. Shareable Content This can mean a few things. If you create content on your social media channels that has a tremendous amount of value (education, entertainment or inspiration) you may find your audience sharing it and thus marketing you to their respective audiences.

That is why I’ve found such benefit in having my own podcast. It gets shared constantly.

James Patrick is an award-winning photographer with more than 500 published magazine covers, entrepreneur coach, podcast host and best-selling author of Fit Business Guide: The Workout Plan for Your Brand. He is the founder of FITposium, an annual conference and online education network for fitness entrepreneurs to thrive in their careers.

His work can be seen at JamesPatrick.com

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FEATURE ARTICLE

By Meg Prejzner

HackettBrandConsulting.com

CHOOSE THE RIGHT MARKETING PLATFORMS It’s important to be selective and intentional when targeting your ideal client

By Meg Prejzner

W

hen you are doing everything on your own, you have to make sure that your time and energy are well spent.

That said, the best marketing strategy is the one that is selective and intentional.

You want to choose the digital platforms and strategies that allow you to reach the people you intend to serve — your target audience. That can look different from one fitness professional to another which is why, before you can choose where and how you show up and market your brand, you first have to identify who your ideal client is.

Who is Your Ideal Client?

The first thing you need to do when planning your marketing strategy is take a step back and evaluate yourself as a brand. Ask yourself, “Who do I want to work with? Where do they get their information from?” Many new entrepreneurs establish a presence on YouTube or Instagram simply because it’s what they have seen other people in the in-

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dustry do, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that is where your ideal clients are. Can you help anyone who wants to get fit, or are you looking to work with a specific group? Maybe you want to work with mothers who are in postpartum recovery, young college kids who want to learn to take care of themselves, or busy executives who are pressed for time but still want to prioritize their health.

Where Do They Spend Their Time?

Your potential clients should be able to find you at their point of search. That is, the point at which they are looking for exactly what you have to offer. This is a major reason why marketing on all platforms isn’t the most effective strategy; you may reach a large audience, but that may not include your ideal clients. Once you have determined who they are, ask yourself how they spend their time. What are they reading and watching? Where would they go to look for a fitness professional? Where could I show up and surprise them? Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal client and walk

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yourself through the search process. Every step along the way is a potential platform for you to market yourself.

For example, if your intended audience is college students, Instagram may be a good place for you to show up, but that audience is very wide. It would be even more effective to market yourself on the university website, in the campus newsletter or even going in person to the campus rec center and speaking to everyone who walks through the door.

Choose Your Platforms At this point, the hardest work is done — you know who your ideal client is and where they spend their time. Now you are ready to select the platforms you’ll use to reach them. This part is easy, but sadly, it’s not that simple. Forgive the statement of the obvious but, there are a ton of platforms out there! Far too many to choose from, which leads to that feeling I mentioned in the beginning of needing to be in all places at once. FOMO is a real thing! Trust me when I say that you are not missing out if you aren’t

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BEFORE YOU CAN CHOOSE WHERE AND HOW YOU SHOW UP AND MARKET YOUR BRAND, YOU FIRST HAVE TO IDENTIFY WHO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT IS. everywhere. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

You’re missing out if you are in too many places.

The real magic is in choosing platforms that are true to your brand, your bandwidth and that will give you access to the people you are most interested in working with.

These are some guidelines to keep in mind as you work through deciding where you’ll market yourself:  Start with the basics: You need a place for your information to live. If it’s in your budget, create a website. If not, you can always create a profile on sites that list services similar to yours, like your local gym and Google Business. This will not only serve as your baseline online presence, but it will also give you a link to direct potential clients back to if they come across your information on a third-party website.  Choose ONE social media platform to start with: Growing a following on any social media platform is equal parts art and science. You have to be consistent, engaging, and most importantly, authentic,

if you want to be seen as an influencer in your field. Focus on growing your audience on one platform, and then, when you have mastered that one, you can take on another, but no more than two. (At least until you have the power of a team behind you).  Go deeper rather than wider: If you find yourself creating content on two platforms and feel like you have the bandwidth to dedicate more time to your audience, rather than trying to take on a third or fourth platform, expand your reach on your existing ones. For example, if your Facebook page has grown, create a group where you can interact more with your followers. If your Instagram feed is consistently getting likes and comments, add weekly Live Q&A sessions. Create more ways for your followers to interact with you, or even with each other, rather than establishing new audiences on a new platform.  This is where LinkedIn comes in: It’s important to meet your ideal clients where they are already looking for a service like yours,

but it can also be really effective to show up in a place where they aren’t expecting you. If your ideal clients are busy corporate executives or entrepreneurs who, like you, are hustling hard to build their business, why not become a fitness influencer on LinkedIn? Lawyers have found clients on Tiktok, doctors have found patients on Instagram; it’s a way to cut through the noise of a saturated industry and still reach the people you want to serve.

Meg Prejzner is the founder and CEO of Hackett Brand Consulting, a digital marketing agency that focuses on helping mission-driven brands bring their vision to life and grow their business. For more than 15 years, she has helped build brands and marketing programs for everyone from Fortune 50 companies, national franchise concepts, and globally recognized brands. Today, she not only helps support HBC, but also helps independent entrepreneurs and small business owners with marketing consulting and courses through her other company, Meg Prez.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

By Justin Hanover

www.FRNation.com

IT’S TIME TO DITCH THE SCRIPT Instead, focus on how to have a sales conversation that sets the tone for the future of the relationship

By Justin Hanover

H

ow much better would your business be right now if you only lost half of the clients you lost over the past year? If you are like most, I’m sure you are thinking to yourself, “Damn, that would be a game changer for me.” You would be right to think that! It is vital to this type of business to not only make sure we are bringing new people in, but to ensure we are keeping them longer in order to have an impact on them and to actually see the profit come in.

Given my role and what I do, I talk with a lot of different gym owners and people in the industry. There is a common thread between

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the ones that consistently keep their clients for 5, 10, 15 or 20 plus years! It all starts from the very beginning and having that first conversation.

One of the worst things you can do is look at your sales conversations as just sales conversations. Rather than seeing them for what they really are — opportunities to build relationships. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know any strong relationship in my life that was ever built from a script. If you are still using a script it’s ok, this article will help you.

But, you have to move away from that if you really want to connect with people. At the end of the day, this is a relationship-focused

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business, so if you are coming across as robotic or insincere that isn’t going to make the person on the other side feel truly connected to the solution being provided.

So, what is the better approach to building stronger buy-in?

Great question! Instead of a script that is impersonal it is more about having a framework to the conversation. Having the right framework keeps it authentic while purpose-driven. You are guiding the conversation in a way that allows them to build more trust with you, and for you to bring out the right information needed to truly serve them.

It isn’t just about getting the yes. It’s about

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getting the yes with the deeper understanding of who this person is, why they are here and how you can best serve them. That is what sets the stage for the relationship, and that level of insight is how you keep them bought into the solution moving forward.

The sales process doesn’t end when they sign up. You are selling them every day moving forward and when you have the right insight you can do that effectively.

With that being said, let’s walk through an effective 5-Step Sales Framework.

This 5-Step Sales Framework allows you to actually be with the person in front of you and create a connection with them. Once you get used to it, it becomes really simple and flexible to use. The framework is based in behavior change science and designed around the same principles that are used in coaching fitness clients:  Understanding the client and their situation  Understanding where the client is trying to go  Helping them discover their motivations and options  Empowering them to change the situation Step 1: Welcome and Build Rapport In the first step of the Framework it’s important to remember why you got into fitness. It was probably your passion for fitness itself at first, but then it was most likely because you wanted to change peoples’ lives. So get out of business owner mode and back into that passion for helping people. Get to know your prospect. Listen. And share about yourself and your journey without shifting the focus off of them. Then be upfront about what is going to happen in the conversation.

Step 2: Explore Aspirations This second step is so important because it becomes an anchor for the whole conversation. You want to encourage your prospect to dream about their ideal future. Let them talk about where they want to be in three months.

Prod them. Push them. People need a little push in this stage because they are often

thinking that things are going to stay the same. They may also have a judgement about their dream, or think that their fitness goal is outrageous. It is a vulnerable space.

Step 3: Uncover Afflictions As you dive into their dreams you will start to uncover what is stopping them from reaching their dream. Right? Because if there wasn’t an obstacle in their way then they wouldn’t be sitting with you. This step goes into the dark spaces, the even more vulnerable space that people definitely don’t want to talk about.

But all you need to do is ask. Over and over.

You find every obstacle that is stopping them from reaching their fitness goals. This process is super valuable to the prospect. I’m sure they don’t often think about what is stopping them from reaching their goals. If they left the conversation after this step, you will have already helped them tremendously.

Step 4: Collaborative Evaluation During this stage the two of you will evaluate the pros and cons of the prospect taking action — and of not taking action. Go in depth and take this stage seriously. Lead the conversation and keep it connected to pros and cons specifically for them. This is where you are able to leverage what you learned about the prospect in the “Explore Aspirations” and “Uncover Afflictions” stages. Let them discover the impact of their choices.

You are guiding the conversation so that they can sell themselves on your packages. This is much better than trying to convince them that they need to change, let them prove to themselves that they need to change. This leads to the final stage in the process.

Step 5: Recommendations and Commitment If you have done the prior four stages then this is going to be really easy. Be confident in your ability to help this person make the changes they need in their life. Make your offers with confidence and clarity. Bring back the last three stages. Remind them about the

aspirations that they shared with you, then remind them of the afflictions stopping them from reaching their aspirations, then make your offer. Talk about your offer as a solution to their specific problem. You can strengthen the offer with social proof. Tell a story about a client that had a similar problem and how your offer helped them reach their goal.

At this point, the prospect should be pretty excited because they are living in their new future.

Now, you can offer the commitment question. “Based on what we’ve talked about, what do you see as the next step?” Framing the question like this gives them the freedom to choose and puts their fate in their hands.

All the work you have done in this process has helped them see that what you have to offer is the solution to their problem. This reinforces the themes we’ve followed all along:  You’re genuinely helping them.  They truly can make the necessary changes.  It’s their decision to make — no pressure.

Now you can see how this one conversation done the right way will have a profound impact on how long that client stays with you.

This biggest takeaway from this is the power of a perspective shift. Going from thinking that getting a YES is the end goal to looking at it as just the beginning. Hopefully this provided the clarity you need to kick the “scripts” to the curb!

Justin Hanover’s mantra has always been “Create An Impact” and he does this relentlessly. That’s why, in 2008, he started a fitness business from the trunk of his car. Over the next 10 years he grew it into a 6,000-square foot facility with over 350 members and 8 team members. After moving on from his business in 2019, he’s been creating an impact as a Success Coach with Fitness Revolution and has been helping other gym owners create their own impact, as he helps them build businesses they love running. Justin understands how so many lives are impacted by one successful gym owner, so it is his mission to help create as many as possible.

SPRING 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 21

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By Becca Tebon

BeccaTebon.com

RESTRUCTURING YOUR BUSINESS FOR PROFIT A step-by-step guide to get you started and keep you focused

By Becca Tebon

F

or most fitness professionals, the last two years aren’t worth looking back at, but for some it provided opportunities, ways to navigate like Cheetahs on a hunt for their next meal, changing direction and ready to attack. This type of adaptation is a necessity for entrepreneurs — whether you’re a gym owner, personal trainer or provide any level of health coaching.

The experience of the pandemic has sharpened both edges of the sword around the world. According to a survey published by McKinsey, 40% of the general population surveyed now consider wellness a top priority in daily life.

With extra time suddenly added to their lives, many seized the opportunity to emphasize their health, getting in better shape and seeking out means to create workouts from home, while for others, the seclusion dismantled their lives and they adapted bad habits and used food, alcohol and narcotics to buffer their fears and pain.

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For those of us in the fitness industry, this is the perfect time to thrive. Your challenge now is to figure out how to fill the needs of either or both populations — those looking to get healthier and those who desperately need intervention and transformations — by designing niche offers, products or services to support your consumers on a broader level.

Study the latest trends for inspiration and envision how you could create or reinvent a system in a more efficient or unique way.

Here are 7 of the top fitness trends in 2021.

Do any of them speak to you about how you can capitalize needs?  Gyms having to meet high hygiene standards  Online fitness apps gaining in importance  Safety in outdoor workouts  Differentiated and target group-oriented training  Connection of mind and body in training

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Be aware it is a heavy lift when adding new directions to your business. The following 7 steps will help you get started and keep you focused along the way.

Step 1

Keep the end goal in mind Prepare a thought-out business plan, and write your goal on a sticky note where you will see it every day!

Step 2

Decide on your niche.

Create an avatar (who you serve) and learn everything you can about them — things they want, how they fail, what social media they use, words they use to describe themselves and their problems.

Step 3

Find your fitness brand persona.

Identify your “unique selling point” (USP). What do you do differently? Why do your clients love you and what keeps them coming back?

ACCORDING TO A SURVEY PUBLISHED BY MCKINSEY, 40% OF THE GENERAL POPULATION SURVEYED NOW CONSIDER WELLNESS A TOP PRIORITY IN DAILY LIFE. Step 4

Rise by helping others.

You can always team up with someone.

Collaboration is king. Add value to another person, brand or company and reap the advantages of collaboration by having your brand or specialty seen within new communities and markets.

Step 5

Create captivating branding and marketing.

Have you ever noticed how bad ideas with great marketing (ie Pet Rocks or Chia Pets) scale, yet, great ideas with bad execution fail?

If you aren’t confident in marketing, enlist a team of professionals.

Step 6

Know your WHY! Why you do what you do? What keeps you up late at night or excited upon waking? Knowing this will help you stay on course, or divert with ease, as obstacles jump in your success path.

Step 7

Avoid Shiny Penny Syndrome.

Stay focused on your blueprint to success.

Avoid allowing side opportunities that do not accelerate your MAIN goal.

Get Prepared and Be Resourceful Always lead your visions targeted to support, simplify, amplify and creatively provide services and products with your avatar (target market) in mind. Solve a problem. Looking at the hottest trends may inspire you to develop a new app, tangible or wearable product or service.

Traversing new concepts can be daunting and pose many wrong twists and turns while feeling fruitless at times. Expanding into new arenas can be a strain on your mental well-being. While things like fear of failure, loss of savings or imposter syndrome may show up, it’s important to come back to these 7 steps, which will enable you to gath-

er yourself at moments of distress and keep you focused on strategies.

After being badly hurt in a car accident, Becca Tebon began a rehabilitation program using tubular and yoga stretch bands. She soon realized how much she despised them because of how quickly they wear out and the tremendous impact created when they snap — as well as trying to grip the yoga band with major neuropathy in hands and fingers and the cutting off of blood flow from them being too tight. After 18 months of trial and error, she developed the three-band system used today called powHERbands™️.

Since then, she has launched the “Woman Band Together” movement, has been featured in magazines, podcasts and many fitness trainers now use her system. You can find Becca on most social media with the @BeccaTebonFit &/ or @powherbands handles. Use this quick link to connect https://linktr.ee/beccatebonfit.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

By Jason Karp

DrJasonKarp.com

BUSINESS LESSONS FROM What we can all learn from the focus and work ethic that makes these runners so successful | By Dr. Jason Karp 24

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As an American coach living and coaching in Kenya, I see hundreds of runners like Kipruto, all training to run fast enough to race in the US and Europe so they can have a chance to win prize money and escape poverty.

To get faster and chase their dreams, the Kenyan runners have specific training habits which, believe it or not, can benefit your fitness business and career, whether you are a personal trainer, gym owner or yoga instructor. Here are four of them.

“I

ran 30 kilometers [18.6 miles] this morning,” Emmanuel Kipruto said in his Kenyan accent, as we sat down for some Kenyan chai tea at 10am at Iten Club, a quaint café and restaurant just outside the gate of the famous High Altitude Training Center in rural Iten, Kenya. One of the many Kenyan runners here literally running for his life, Kipruto has run 28:02 for 10K and 1:01:22 for half-marathon, both at altitude in Kenya, where race times are significantly slower than at oxygen-rich sea level.

Work in Groups Like a pack of wolves traversing the wilderness together, Kenyan runners train in groups every day, which ensures competition to push the pace for the more seasoned runners, while providing careful training and motivation for the lower-level runners, who practice holding on to the group pace.

One way to work in a group is by partnering with a couple of other people to grow your business rather than doing it as a solo venture. Few fitness businesses became successful at the hands of only one person. To make your business successful, put together a team of like-minded people with different skills (e.g., subject matter expertise, marketing, sales, finance) who can work on different parts of your business and push each other daily to be successful.

If you are a business owner or a manager who oversees a large staff or an employee of a large company, try using work teams (an organizational structure called Holacracy), which distributes power throughout the organization, giving employees freedom to manage themselves. Like the Kenyan training groups, Holacracy works best if your employees are self-directed, value autonomy and commitment, and seek responsibility, and includes a strong leader who can oversee the work.

Control the Pace A senior member of the Kenyan running group dictates the pace of the run. No one is allowed to pick up

the pace on his or her own. Everything is controlled.

This is a difficult concept for many US runners to understand. When I was in college, there was a guy on the cross-country team who always had to be in front. He would push the pace all the time because he always had to finish each run ahead of everyone else.

That’s immature, and shows ignorance of how to train properly. Most runners run much faster than they need to meet the purpose of the workout. I have seen this countless times over my coaching career.

Control the pace of your business and its growth by having a plan.

Same is true in the fitness industry — fitness professionals work themselves to the bone, trying to train as many clients or teach as many classes in a day as possible, often neglecting their own exercise and health in the process.

Control the pace of your business and its growth by having a plan. It’s easy to get caught up in making fast money by getting as many clients, teaching as many classes, or opening as many studios as possible, but accelerated growth can be detrimental for a business, causing cash flow problems and significantly increasing the demands on employees, especially if you don’t have the business structure and operations in place to support that growth. Grow your business only as fast as your operations, management and systems will allow. Have specific, realistic financial goals for each month and each year and control the pace.

Run High Mileage Most of the Kenyan marathon runners work a lot, running upwards of 115 miles per week, with the

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shorter distance runners running slightly less. Running 90 to 100 miles per week is nothing special in Kenya. The Kenyans race infrequently, instead focusing on developing their aerobic systems to their highest potential through high mileage, running 11 times per week. They work on their running in addition to in their running, developing a solid base from which to include faster running to prepare them to race.

While you don’t literally need to run 100 miles per week to have a successful fitness business, you do need to spend as much time working on your business as the Kenyans spend working on their running. Whoever tells you that you can sit on a beach and drink piña coladas while money passively pours into your business is lying. It takes a lot of work to be successful, and it takes a lot of work to create passive income Like running high mileage, working a lot has value beyond a successful business.

When you commit yourself to the work, you learn about yourself. You learn the effort it

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takes. You learn the grind. You learn what it means to do more, to be more. No matter at what level your business is — start-up, 5 figures, 7 figures or household name — devoting yourself to the work strips you of the unnecessary baggage you clutter your life with. The work forces you to shut up, stop complaining and stop making excuses for why you can’t do it. Like the Kenyan runners, you come out the other end of the work a stronger, more confident, more capable person. That alone is worth the commitment.

Run Fartleks Every Thursday at 9 am in Iten, about 200 Kenyan runners (and a few visiting Caucasian runners, referred to as mzungu by the locals) collect at a trailhead at the side of the road for the famous Iten Fartlek: 5K to 10K, alternating either 1 minute fast/1 minute slow, 2 minutes fast/1 minute slow, or 3 minutes fast/1 minute slow on undulating dirt, rocky trails. The slow parts are run very slow, which enables them to run the fast parts fast.

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A combination of two Swedish words that, when put together, translate to “speedplay,” fartlek running dates back to 1937, when it was developed by Swedish coach Gösta Holmér, who used it as part of Sweden’s military training. Many of the Kenyan runners in Iten don’t have transportation or the financial means to use the few available tracks for interval workouts, so they rely on fartleks for their hard workouts.

While it is often said that life is a marathon, life — and business — is really more like a fartlek, with short bursts of activity interspersed with periods of recovery and strategy. Run your business like a fartlek — work intensely on a single task for a short period of time, then back off to think, plan and strategize about how to grow your business. Then work intensely again on either the same task if it’s not yet completed or on the next task. When you try to work on multiple tasks at once, important things get sacrificed. As famous physiologist Per-Olaf Åstrand discovered in the 1960s by testing individuals on a stationary bicycle in his laboratory, you can accomplish more work at a higher intensity if the work is interspersed with intervals of rest.

The Kenyan runners have a singular focus and a work ethic that makes them successful.

If you work in groups, control the pace, run high mileage, and run fartleks, your business will surely succeed, and perhaps you’ll even be able to keep up with a Kenyan!

Dr. Jason Karp is an American distance running coach living and coaching in Kenya. He is founder and CEO of the women’s-specialty run coaching company Kyniska Running. A competitive runner since sixth grade, Jason quickly learned how running molds us into better, more deeply conscious people, just as the miles and interval workouts mold us into faster, more enduring runners. This passion Jason found as a kid placed him on a yellow brick road that he still follows as a coach, exercise physiologist, bestselling author of 12 books and more than 400 articles, and speaker. He is the 2011 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year and two-time recipient of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition Community Leadership award. His REVO2 LUTION RUNNING™ certification has been obtained by coaches and fitness professionals in 25 countries.

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SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

By Ariana Stowe

ArianaStoweFitness.com

If you build it, they will come

W

hen I think about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the fitness profession, the first WA thing that must be considered are the facts. Instead of asking, why OR ID aren’t there more black fitness professionals in the industry? The question should be changed to, where is the greatest need right NV UT now that we can concentrate resources to?

CA According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System January 2022 report published by the CDC’s Active People Campaign, AZ “23 states and the District of Columbia had a physical inactivity prevalence of 30% or higher among non-Hispanic Black adults.” That’s 46% of the United States including the territories that had AK sufficient data to include in these results.

But according to zippia, in 2021, out of over 92,610 fitness instructors currently employed in the United States, only 5.7% are Black. That’s 5,278 instructors trying to serve a need that’s in the millions. The numbers just aren’t adding up to match the need that exists today.

One could say that the average annual salary of $43,656, which is a monthly income of less than $3,700, won’t keep many in the professional for very long. Or, which has happened in my case, you have to work additional jobs outside of personal training to make ends meet and you have less hours to devout to training clients. Less hours = less impact = cycle of inactivity continues.

This data reinforces the need for Black adults to not just have safe access to facilities outdoors and in their communities, but also why gyms, recreations centers and more must have adequate representation of trainers that look like them racially and also represent a variety of different body types and socioeconomic backgrounds.

There have been so many times where I’ve heard the words, “I was looking for a Black female trainer and couldn’t find anyone.”

But even once we cross that barrier, most importantly we must be paid in order to stay.

If I were in a position to make changes, here’s what I would do: 1. Place affordable gyms in low-income areas based on the 23 states and DC listed with the highest needs (low-cost gyms like Planet Fitness or 24 Hour Fitness are great options because they have flexible hours of operation)

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ME

ND

MT

VT MN WI

SD

CT RI

MI

WY

PA IA

OH

NE IN

IL

NH MA

NY NJ

MD DE

DC

WV VA

CO

MO

KS

KY NC TN

OK

SC

AR

NM

MS

TX

AL

GA

LA FL

>

HI

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PR

2. Hire local trainers and offer signing bonuses to get certified to work there 3. Offer free nutrition classes to the community 4. Run challenges with prizes each month to incentivize people to get active 5. Collaborate with health insurance companies to use insurance, FSA or HSA accounts to pay monthly gym memberships I could go on and on, but the main point I want to drive home is this. Invest time, money and energy in the communities with the greatest need, put people of color in gyms and facilities in that space to serve those communities AND pay them a livable wage to do so.

If there’s one thing I know about being Black, if you build it, they will come.

Ariana Stowe is an ISSA Elite Trainer with certifications in personal training, nutrition, genetic-based fitness coaching, and transformation specialist. She specializes in helping high-achieving women who have discipline in business but not with fitness to lose weight and build curves in her 90-day online coaching program. In 2020, she was featured in Strong Fitness Magazine as a Women to Watch and successfully led a live online fitness event for Juneteenth on their social media platform. To stay up to date with Ariana, you can follow her on Instagram @arianastowe or visit www.arianastowefitness.com.