Personal Fitness Professional Summer 2022

WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM SUMMER 2022

AN HONEST APPROACH TO CLIENT MOTIVATION

USEFUL STRATEGIES TO EMPLOY

WHY DOES CORRECTIVE EXERCISE FALL SHORT OF CLIENT GOALS? CREATE ADDITIONAL INCOME THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WHY YOUR LEADS ARE NOT PURCHASING

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

VOLUME 24 | ISSUE 2 president

chad griepentrog | chad.g@rbpub.com 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

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creative director

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

Meredith Butulis, Brinda Desai, James Patrick, Jim Romagna, Becca Tebon featured columnists

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

P.O. Box 259098 | Madison WI 53725-9098.

Tel: 608.241.8777 Email: customerservice@rbpub.com Print Subscription Information Subscriptions are free to qualified recipients: $36 per year to all others in the United States. Subscriptions rate for Canada or Mexico is $60 per year, and for elsewhere outside the United States is $80. Back-issue rate is $5.

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COLUMNS

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The articles in this magazine represent the views of the authors and not those of MadMen3 or Personal Fitness Professional. MadMen3 and/or Personal Fitness Professional expressly disclaim any liability for the products or services sold or otherwise endorsed by advertisers or authors included in this magazine.

Personal Fitness Professional (ISSN 1523-780X) is published quarterly: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. [Volume 24, Issue 2] 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 Dr. Adrienne Ione

07 08 08

Best Practices Communicate often and clearly with multiple tools

By Dan Ritchie

Elevate Online Presence How to deliver a great online training experience

Pat Rigsby

Real Talk: Lessons Behind Success Steal these winning strategies

Continuing Education Utilizing resources to become the resource

By Kurt Weinreich Jr.

Box Breathing

10 12 30

By Trina Gray

Reprints For high-quality reprints, please contact us at 608.241.8777 All material in this magazine is copyrighted ©2022

by MadMen3 All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Any correspondence sent to Personal Fitness Professional, MadMen3 or its staff becomes property of MadMen3.

One-Minute Practice: Present Moment Awareness

Career Accelerator 3 ways to increase customer engagement

By Brandi Binkley Ask the Experts: Physical Therapy

Why does corrective exercise fall short of client goals?

By Dr. Meredith Butulis Diversity, Equity and Inclusion The time to shift the tide is now

By Sheldon McBee

DEPARTMENTS

06 09 11

Letter from the Advisory Board Finding the right resources

By Greg Justice Spotlight:

Fitness Marketing Agency

Spotlight: FiTOUR

28 29

New on the Market Spotlight: Chuze

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE

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FEATURES

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An Honest Approach to Client Motivation While we cannot do the work for our clients, we can give them the tools to succeed

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By Jim Romagna

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Creating Additional Income Through Partnerships

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By James Patrick

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The experience you create for them is what keeps them hooked

By Brinda Desai

5 elements to help you develop a robust lead-nurturing strategy

Why Your Leads Are Not Purchasing

Practical Client Retention Tips

Consider Your Options Which professional service provider will best suit your needs?

Take Training to Another Level Technology solutions to help grow your business

Snowball your brand utilizing the bandwidth of other companies

By Becca Tebon

SOCIAL MEDIA

OUR ADVISORY BOARD

pfpmedia pfpmedia pfpmedia pfpmedia

Lindsay Vastola

Greg Justice

Farel Hruska

Joey Percia

pfpmedia

SUMMER 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 5

LETTER FROM THE ADVISORY BOARD

By Greg Justice

By Dr. Adrienne Ione

Yes2Aging.com

Finding the right resources

Box Breathing

As fitness trainers, finding the right resources and tools to effectively run your business can be challenging. This month’s issue of PFP has you covered, with articles on lead nurturing, client retention, motivation and assessment.

Lead nurturing is simply developing and maintaining relationships with clients throughout their time with you. It begins when they’re prospects, and continues for many years after they become clients. It’s important to remember that lead nurturing is the first step toward client retention. Other factors include motivation and inspiration.

Sam Taggart says, “Motivation is a push factor; it’s an outside force that is compelling you to take action, even if you don’t want to.” Many of our clients need that “push” that we provide during their training sessions. Taggert goes on to explain, “Inspiration, on the other hand, is more of a pull or drive force that comes from within.”

The bottom line is, if we can motivate and inspire our clients, they will be with us for the long haul. Trust and communication between trainer and client are central to setting achieving goals and fulfilling the vision. A few minutes at a time, a few days each week, our clients communicate their very lives to you, creating a bond of friendship and trust.

Your client/trainer relationships are investments you make in your business.

It’s also important to “keep score” ... What I mean by that is to assess where your clients are when they begin, and measure their progress along the way. Paul Chek likes to say, “If you’re not assessing then you’re guessing!” Whether the goal is weight loss, improving range of motion, pain relief or something else, it’s important to know where you are, and where you want to go.

The training industry has a notoriously low retention rate, and that’s because too many trainers aren’t listening to their clients. So, how can you create and sustain a long-term trainer/client relationship in an industry that has only a 31% retention average longer than five years? You create a special world just for them.

We live in a day and age where many people feel lack of control over most areas of their time and life, where responsibilities and commitments can sometimes be overwhelming. The world you create for them on their terms will offer an environment that is enriching and nurturing to them.

The world you create for each client will be a little bit different. Listen for their preferences and create that special world, just for them.

We can look to many sources to help us understand the complexities of the breath. We can try and understand a Hebrew word “neshama” — the act of breathing. Perhaps we want to turn to Western medicine and physiological explanations of the impact of diaphragmatic breathing in exciting the parasympathetic nervous system. Or, we can pull from yogic science and explore Sama Vritti Pranayama, a Sanskrit term that roughly translates to equal flow or equal wave of controlled or bridled energy. Put differently, it’s a practice of taming and observing of the wild monkey within. This wild monkey is named “Breath.”

I invite you to make friends with your wild monkey named Breath. Notice where in your body you feel your breath. With one finger, can you point to where in your body you feel your inhale begin? With another finger, can you identify where your exhale begins? What is going on in your body between your inhale and exhale? Now, with your focus on your breath, about shaping your breath by practicing box breathing or, in Sanskrit: Sama Vritti Pranayama.

This four-phase practice is not for everyone.

For example, pregnant women and people with high blood pressure may want to avoid holding the breath. During all four phases, there should be no strain on any respiratory organs for members of either of these populations.

For people dealing with trauma the diaphragm may feel tight and some report feeling uneasy during this practice. Trust your body. You know your body better than anyone. Do only what feels comfortable.

Where you are right in this moment is the perfect place to practice this.

You have everything you need.

1. Breathe in through your nose and count to four. Notice your breath in your body.

2. Allow your breath to suspend for a count of four. Observe any bodily sensations.

3. Exhale over the course of a count of four.

Observe.

4. Pause for a count of four.

Repeat steps one through four.

Greg Justice is a best-selling author, speaker and fitness entrepreneur and was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame in 2017. He opened AYC Health & Fitness, Kansas City’s Original Personal Training Center in May 1986. He is the CEO of the National Corporate Fitness Institute, and Scriptor Publishing Group. Greg holds a master’s degree in HPER (exercise science) from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky.

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ONE-MINUTE PRACTICE: PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS

| WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | SUMMER 2022

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE BEST PRACTICES

By Dan Ritchie

FunctionalAgingInstitute.com

Communicate often and clearly with multiple tools

W

e are inundated with ways to communicate with one another these days. So much so it can be overwhelming. But as business owners we don’t have a choice; we have to communicate to build and maintain our businesses. So what are the best ways? My philosophy is this: Communicate often and clearly!

So how do we do that? Here are a few tips:  Build your email list: One of the core principles I teach every business/studio owner is to build a list. The money is in your list!

Foundational to any great list is growing it with the ideal client in mind. You really want to grow a list with people who can pay for your service, have a need for your service and even desire your service. But to maintain this list, don’t limit yourself to Gmail or Google sheets. Expand your reach and productivity by using platforms like Aweber, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit or FitPronewsletter.  Try texting: Yes, we use text in our personal lives, but you can also use it to communicate with prospective and current clients. You need to be able to text people using a platform like TextMagic, Skipio, or FitProTracker.  Pick up the phone: Believe it or not, some people prefer a phone call — an actual person-to-person phone call! Don’t be timid when it comes to actually picking up the phone. You will be surprised by the rapport it builds immediately and the conversation doesn’t get buried like with email. Additionally, you can choose to use automated services that will leave people voicemails, too!  Send snail mail: Don’t underestimate the power of a personal note. Sometimes a client needs a thank you card, a word of encouragement, or an appointment reminder.  Don’t forget the big guys: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are all lists of followers, fans and subscribers. As business owners, we need to educate, provide content and offer value consistently, and this is where our clients are.

Okay, we’ve discussed the ways to communicate, but how do we do that consistently? The rule of marketing communication is that someone will need to hear your message 9-12 times before it fully connects and resonates with them. So if someone comments on a YouTube or Facebook video, they might need six emails, three texts and two phone calls before they really are ready to come try your program.

How often we give up after one phone call or email!

Your client list needs regular communication like recipes, fitness tips, videos and encouragement. You can use services like Naamly

or Coach Catalyst to help engage, inspire and foster more client accountability.

Consistent follow-up is key as well. Have a simple formula in place for follow up with everyone that expresses interest. Simple does not mean one phone call or one email. Create a 6-8 step email sequence that introduces your business and what clients can expect when they get started with you. You should have a phone call and texting sequence as well, designed to get them on the phone or in person.

With former clients, we call it our search and rescue campaign.

Clients quit for any number of reasons, but it is not our clients’ job to remember us! We must seek them out, find them, learn what they need now, and how we can help! This year we have had plenty of former clients from the past 2 years re-engaging, but we are finding clients from 10 years ago who are responding and coming back!

Remember, communication is key and finding a plethora of ways to do so is important. Build your list and engage with your clients!

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.

SUMMER 2022 | WWW.PERSONALFITNESSPROFESSIONAL.COM | 7

ELEVATE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

By Pat Rigsby

PatRigsby.com

Deliver a great online training experience

I

f you want to integrate online training into your business, it’s more than just sharing a workout and a few videos. You need to deliver the results your clients want through an experience they enjoy. Here are 5 components that will help you do just that.

Component #1: Live Coaching — This could be live workouts delivered via Zoom or some other live streaming platform or simply be coaching sessions that solve problems and keep someone on track.

Clients will be more accountable if they have a personal connection, so results will be better and retention will be improved.

Component #2: On Demand — By providing on-demand workouts and other deliverables, your clients can execute your program when and where it is most convenient for them.

Component #3: Community — By creating a community for people to support one another, cheer each other on and share experiences, you’re providing an environment and culture that gives your clients the best possible chance of success. Even if you train clients individually, you can create platform-based groups or hold client-only events that allow people to be part of a community of like-minded and supportive peers.

Component #4: Personal Connection — People want to feel important. They want to feel like they matter. They want acknowledgement for a job well done. They don’t want to be just another face in the crowd. So personal outreach from you is vital to the sustained success of an online coaching business. Making sure that each person is recognized as an individual, and they feel cared for and connected with, that’s going to be paramount to your success.

Component #5: Accountability — Accountability is a must for the success of an online coaching program. The inherent accountability that comes with in-person training has to be strategically developed with an online one. You don’t need to micromanage your clients, but you need to be sure that you’re watching and giving them every opportunity for success. This could be as simple as texts or scheduled calls. This will show your client that they are not on their own — and that you’re with them every step of the way.

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.

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REAL TALK: LESSONS BEHIND SUCCESS

By Trina Gray

TeamRockstarFit.com

Steal these winning strategies 1. There is no glory in burnout.

Over the years, I’ve experienced vocal nodules from teaching too much, poor sleep from chronic stress, strained relationships from busyness and injuries from overtraining. I know you have your own list of self-care fails as a fitness professional. Let’s stop making burnout our battle cry in the industry. When you feel better, you serve better. Working yourself into the ground will drive your business into the ground, too. If you are wired to grind, make sure you also unwind daily, not just on a vacation. I have achieved greater success in business by incorporating yoga, meditation, walks in nature, more sleep and personal development into my life.

2. More isn't better. Better is better.

Take a look at your current business plan — personal training, memberships, group classes, boot camps, corporate offerings, kids programming, virtual classes, outdoor training, nutritional coaching, etc. They are all good things, just not all at once. I have three quick fixes.  Cut what is causing the most stress. That may include cutting a long-time service or even a staff member. We eliminated our onsite daycare, we scaled back our community weight loss camps and we removed a lone-ranger trainer who was draining the team.  Add things that easily scale. We added a virtual option to all in-person group fitness classes with a high-quality camera, microphone and zoom line. This hybrid model doubles our reach without doubling our effort. We reach 20 to 30 people in classes, with more than half participating at home or work. I also doubled down on my virtual coaching, outside of the club. It’s a way to earn more without having to physically deliver a service. I use top-selling workouts along with nutritional plans that are already created and provide accountability. This requires no overhead and no staff.  Repeat programs that are working. We needed to increase our client base after the shutdowns. Instead of waiting on people to be ready, we gave them a reason to act. We launched a simple “72-hour Burn Camp.” For three days, campers commit to good nutrition, hydration and group workouts. People come back for three days and re-sign up as a member. It is working, so we keep repeating it. Find things that work, and repeat until they don’t.

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 helps women in fitness expand their income to reach more people, outside of sessions and classes.

Connect with her at www.teamrockstarfit.com or on Instagram @trinagray.

Look for a webinar series from Trina this fall on creating a Virtual Studio with gut health, weight loss and recovery programs for your clients.

SPOTLIGHT: FITNESS MARKETING AGENCY fitnessmarketingagency.com

team@fitnessmarketing.agency

866.781.4050

Fitness Marketing Agency Helps Launch New Gym With 100 Clients Before Doors Even Open!

G

avin Denning is the owner of GWD Performance gym in Bedfordshire, England.

He’s been in the industry for nearly 20 years — as a personal trainer and now a gym owner. Gavin has been a Fitness Marketing Agency (FMA) member since August 2018.

When he joined FMA, Gavin was paying rent to run his business from within a bigger fitness center but was searching for his own facility. FMA initially helped him to grow his client base and at the same time the perfect venue became available, but the Covid-19 pandemic hit, which presented him with a new challenge.

Assisted by FMA and with a great team behind him, Gavin pushed forward with his new gym launch, capitalizing on the increasing concern over health and fitness across the country. Launching his new gym on April 12, 2021, Gavin already had 100 sign-ups for a 30-day trial before the doors even opened.

At 4,500 square feet and featuring several coaching areas for team training, an InBody machine, yoga studio, massage rooms and an education space, Gavin’s new facility was perfect. This, combined with his hard work and determination, led to a 100% conversion rate and all his trialists renewing.

There are 3 key reasons for Gavin’s success: 1: Didn’t Stagnate When Covid hit, Gavin could have easily let fear get in the way and put his preparations on hold, but he didn’t. Instead, he took a calculated risk to keep things moving regardless of the narrative in the mainstream media or government restrictions.

Gavin used the downtime during lockdown to keep grafting, knowing full well there was a newfound demand for coached services and helping people with their physical and mental health. Too many businesses wait to turn their marketing on until after the facility is ready, but while the builders were doing their thing, Gavin was getting paying clients on board in preparation for the launch.

2: Not Afraid of Spending to Make Money In life and business, nothing is guaranteed, and Gavin knew that he

had to spend money on advertisements to grow his business with speed and certainty. It’s true that there are hundreds of different ways to market a business, and techniques like referrals, direct messages and posting content on social media are all well and good, but nothing beats the predictability of paid marketing (as long as you have a process that converts and works). Using FMA’s Fitness Funnel Framework, Gavin was able to generate over 16K front-end revenue from a 4.5K ad spend during a 6-week period.

3: Budgeting for Success Gavin went all in with his facility, he budgeted effectively so he could open his dream facility with everything he could possibly need. Far too many fitness business owners will hold back from investing in their gyms and make sporadic improvements, taking a long time to bring their facilities up to scratch and meet the demands of clients. Gavin didn’t do that — he decided to go all in from the start and create a perfect facility from the get-go.

Here’s what Gavin had to say about FMA: “Since working with FMA, my leads have gone absolutely mental, through the roof. Leads are now not an issue. I know most coaches out there struggle with leads, but that won't be the case if you are working with FMA.” If you’re reading this and you want help achieving your fitness business goals just like Gavin, head to fitnessmarketingagencycall.com.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

CAREER ACCELERATOR

By Kurt Weinreich Jr. KurtWeinreich.ISSACertifiedTrainer.com

Utilizing resources to become the resource

T

he foundation was created by your baseline certification, but this is just the starting point for a career in the fitness industry and must be built on to create a stable platform for professional growth. Learning how to utilize the resources available will enhance your continued education experience in the field while building your professional expertise.

There are many resources to consider while navigating the needs of not only your personal development, but the services that you provide clients. Here are some of the most requested resources from clients to their trainers that should be considered.

Nutrition. Having the appropriate education in combining the science with the counseling will assist the trainer in answering questions about goal customization, comparing diet programs, and use of supplementation.

Training Tools. While many trainers utilize various implements in the gym, only educated professionals will have the credentialed foundation needed to properly teach these variations safely. Certifications utilizing suspension trainers, kettlebells and more are all valuable educational resources.

Mindset Coaching. There is only so much time you can spend with a client, so being proficient in mindset counseling, goal planning and positive communication is an invaluable way to affect them outside the gym. This is the primary reason clients stay with trainers when the coaching is given in a manner that they can apply in various aspects their daily lives.

Medical. While not within the scope of practice of the personal trainer, there are many specializations currently available to be a resource of assessment, referral and communication with a medical professional or rehabilitative therapist.

Online Software. The recent pandemic, combined with the current economic climate, has allowed for some clients to fit their needs by utilizing online software. Even in a hybrid training model, online programs can be utilized for education, program scheduling, nutritional accountability and offsite coaching.

There are courses available to the fitness professional on these topics provided by various certification agencies, professional organizations and product companies. Utilizing these tools will make the fitness professional a valuable resource their clients, not only expanding their knowledge, but by exhibiting their expertise in the field.

Kurt Weinreich has over 22 years of experience in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, professional educator and fitness manager. 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.

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By Brandi Binkley

GetPhysioFit.com

3 ways to increase customer engagement

H

ave you ever curated a list of all the questions and/ or needs your customers have? Oftentimes, these questions either fall out of our scope as trainers or they can provide wonderful insight for us as we serve our customers. It’s easy to inundate our clients with newsletters, blogs, links to informative websites and even social pages, but these outlets can often feel impersonal. Instead of sharing with the client what you have, how about asking the clients what they need and then giving them that? Here are 3 low-cost ways to increase customer engagement and provide high-value resources for your clients.

1. Host a bi-annual or quarterly get together.

Hosting a meeting for your members creates a sense of community and can add a ton of value to your business. You might title it something like “you are invited to a meeting of the minds.” Regardless of what you call it, the objective is to lead with a framework around what you want to accomplish. This is the opportunity you have with them to hear their ideas, get feedback on how you are doing and if led correctly can give them an incredible sense of healthy ownership in helping you both succeed. Tip: Have someone else lead it-NOT YOU. 2. Plan a client-focused professional workshop.

Ask a current member or a respected professional in your community to come in and give them information on the most current ways to increase their health outcomes other than exercise. Make it open to clients as well as their friends and family. Have the professional who is speaking also extend an open invite from their network. Tip: Have a creative way to get contact info of the new guests so you can follow-up with them.

3. Create a business board.

Although this is not typical in the fitness industry, it can be a key component to success for you and your customers. This board can be made up of your top clients, industry professionals or leaders who have a vested interest in seeing your business succeed. These should be people you know and trust who will speak truth into your business and your life. Tip: The board should be made up of an odd number for voting purposes.

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.

SPOTLIGHT: FITOUR® fitour.com

clara@fitour.com

Introducing FiTOUR® Primary and Advanced Nutrition How to provide nutrition advice & remain within your scope of practice

P

eople are desperate for change. Often going to extremes with weight-loss pills, drastic cleanses or extended fasting periods, people are looking for the best solution to the age-old question: what should I eat? As fitness instructors or personal trainers, your ability to advise on nutrition is limited because nutrition is outside the scope of practice for personal trainers and fitness instructors.

Any trainer or instructor worth their weight in salt will certainly agree — you can't out train a bad diet. It is necessary to combine a wellness strategy that includes both movement and nutrition. The fact is, prescribing a regular cadence of training sessions with a well-rounded movement sequence that improves cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength fits neatly within the scope of practice for a personal trainer. However, stepping into the world of nutritional advice often gets murky. How can fitness professionals educate clients on proper nutrition without compromising the scope of practice?

FiTOUR® Certifications' latest programs are a step in the right direction for fitness professionals who are looking to confidently expand their scope of practice and help clients attain wellness goals.

Since 1989, FiTOUR® is known for affordable, comprehensive, cuttingedge certifications grounded in exercise science and guidelines for safe and efficient health and fitness practice. This year, FiTOUR® brings two new certifications to market with FiTOUR® Primary Nutrition Certification: Theory Application; and FiTOUR® Advanced Nutrition Certification: Practical Application.

Trainers can make a real, quantifiable impact on clients’ lifestyles by working one on one or in a group setting to apply basic or athletic performance nutritional coaching. Trainers can address objectives of nutrition like:  Mindset to successfully reach goals  Energy balance to accomplish goals  Portion and service size control  How to read nutrition facts labels  Why proper nutrition is important The American Nutrition Association offers a valuable resource that shares the governing laws for nutrition programming by state. Before getting started on a nutrition course, understand and follow the appropriate state provisions. To remain compliant with local laws, it is important to be knowledgeable of what is outside the scope of practice for a nutrition coach:  Creating individualized meal plans  Nutritional assessments  Specific recommendations for nutrient intake, caloric intake or specialty diets  Nutritional counseling aimed to prevent, treat or cure a disease or condition

 Recommending or selling supplements  Promoting oneself as a nutritionist or dietitian With FiTOUR®’s latest nutrition courses, trainers will be equipped to help clients looking for expert advice on nutrition and movement to maximize results. Trustworthy nutrition coaches provide balanced, comprehensive nutritional information and advice. There are six key areas that fitness professionals can address with clients after completion of the FiTOUR® Nutrition Certifications that fall within the scope of practice: 1. Principles of nutrition and food prep 2. Food necessary for a balanced daily diet 3. Essential nutrients and the action of those nutrients on the body 4. Effects of deficiencies or excesses of nutrients 5. How nutrient requirements vary through the lifecycle 6. Information about nutrients contained in foods or supplements By adding a nutrition certification, personal trainers and fitness instructors position themselves as true experts in the field and will, undoubtedly, open doors to strong career opportunities.

ASK THE EXPERTS: PHYSICAL THERAPY

By Dr. Meredith Butulis

MeredithButulis.com

Ask the Experts: Physical Therapy Why does corrective exercise fall short of client goals?

A

s fitness professionals, we are taught that corrective exercise improves movement safety leading to fewer client injuries. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself if this represents the whole truth?

The truth is corrective exercise often falls short of clients’ goals.

Now let’s dive into 3 big reasons why, and how to bridge the gap.

Myth #1: Corrective exercise fixes movement Corrective exercise typically focuses on one joint or muscle at a time.

For example, calf stretching increases ankle dorsiflexion. Bridges activate the gluteus maximus. We spend time on the corrective exercises, yet we don’t see a difference in the client’s movement in the workout that follows. Their bodies rebound to their previous movement habits.

Why do clients continue to demonstrate previous movement habits, even after doing corrective exercise? Complex movement is dependent on neuromuscular control (how well the nervous system coordinates the movement). Neuromuscular control depends on how the brain organizes input from the nerve endings in joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, fascia and skin, to create movement output.

This means that you must first recognize that a client’s form is speed and load dependent, and then coach clients for nervous system integration. For example, a back squat, front squat and overhead squat all have different technique. The technique changes based on the load. Because of this, the alignment cues, muscle activation cues and timing cues are all completely different for each situation. Being sensitive to load and speed variations will help you hone in on which cues to provide for the basic kinetic chain check points (ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and head alignment).

After embracing form variations, we need to find cues that lead to clients exhibiting changed performance. Cueing options include:  Verbal: What you say to the client.  Tactile: How you use your hands or external objects like bands, balls or rollers to promote proper alignment or muscle activation.  Visual: Feedback that the client takes in through his/her eyes, such as looking in the mirror, or watching a video of his/her movement.  Environmental: How you set the physical space for movement success.

Environmental setup is one of the most often overlooked, yet most valuable cueing methods. It allows clients to problem solve and create real movement learning, and many “aha” moments along the way. Environmental cueing is like motivational interviewing to help a

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client’s abilities naturally emerge; instead of telling the client what to do, you set up an environment that facilitates solutions.

Myth #2: Corrective exercise prevents injury Corrective exercise is designed to increase range of motion, muscle and connective tissue length, muscle activation and muscle strength.

When these factors are not optimized for the workouts that follow, the deficits present injury risk factors.

Injury, however, is multi-factorial. An injury prevention focus requires you, the coach, to address each factor. These factors fall into two categories: intrinsic (factors within the client’s body) and extrinsic (factors outside the client’s body). Here is a quick checklist you can use to audit your injury prevention coaching plan:

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Intrinsic risk factor minimization:  Client’s health status: Before working with a client, start with a health history and physical activity readiness questionnaire. If clients have risk factors or medical conditions, see if you can have permission to correspond with the client’s medical provider directly. Questions to ask the provider include: o “What would you like me to avoid?” o “What can I do to help this client attain better health?” o “Are there any special precautions we need to observe before, during, or after workouts?”

Once you have the information, follow it instead of trying to come up with creative workarounds.  Client’s energy: While providing meal plans is out of scope for most fitness professionals, professionals can still inquire about nutrition, hydration and nutrient timing relative to workouts. It is within a fitness professional’s scope to modify or postpone workouts if the client has a relative lack of caloric intake or hydration to perform safely.  Client’s fatigue and focus: Fatigue continues to be the leading factor contributing to injuries. Fatigue alters neuromuscular control, which decreases clients’ abilities to operate within safe movement zones. Focus also takes a lead in injury prevention, as distracted clients cannot attend to key sensory information that their brain needs to coordinate safe movement output. Asking clients about sleep, stress and recent illness can help detect these movement detractors. If, as a coach, you notice trends like 4 hours of sleep per night, caffeine-reliance or chronic stress elevation, engaging in lifestyle coaching (or referring out for larger scale challenges) take a paramount seat in your professional relationship. It is also your responsibility to modify the workout intensity and complexity to meet the client’s physiological capabilities, without exceeding them, in each session.

Extrinsic factor minimization:  Environment: Do you conduct safety walkthroughs before your sessions? If you are indoors, check the flooring, ceiling, air temperature, electrical wires, noise levels and equipment. If you are outdoors, check the air quality, temperature, humidity, ground consistency and surrounding structures. Many fitness professionals overlook these steps, leading to clients falling, equipment malfunctioning or environmental incidents like bee stings.  Clothing and footwear: New clients may not be familiar with what to wear. Experienced clients may be coming directly from work. Clients that observe specific clothing cultural practices may need to modify movement. Some environments change temperature several times each day, leading to a client having difficulty warming up or cooling down. Providing clients individual education on what to wear for your intended environment and activity sets them up for success.

 Proximity to objects or people: Collisions happen. In the fitness environment, most of them are preventable. At a minimum, there should be at least a 3-4-foot perimeter around each client’s activity to avoid collision with objects or others.

Myth #3: Corrective exercise enhances the value you provide clients Many publications suggest 4 weeks of corrective exercise re-setting time between each 12-week progressive endurance, strength and power training block. This lengthens every program section from 12 weeks to 16 weeks. While this is simple physiology-based math, clients focus on goals and emotions, not exercise physiology.

Here’s where many fitness professionals create a client motivation gap. For most clients, extensively educating them on physiology detracts from perceived value. Clients want to see their results.

Results commonly have outward measurements like scale weight, body composition change, lifting PRs, or endurance sport PRs. That achievement is intrinsically driven by deep super-whys and motivation sustainability.

When fitness professionals introduce language like “corrective exercise,” it creates a connotation that the client is doing something wrong. Very few people enjoy being told they are doing things incorrectly, and this inference can both decrease motivation and increase disparity in the client’s perceived value of efficient goal achievement.

To avoid the pitfall of explaining the need for corrective exercise, fitness professionals can use strategies (like motivational interviewing) to uncover how clients feel about movement, and which elements they want to see performed differently. Once fitness professionals start diving into uncovering clients’ senses of movement ease and efficiency, the door for movement coaching unlocks a whole new world of daily movement PRs that help clients recognize their wins.

Next steps As you move forward in your fitness coaching career, take a moment to use these concepts to audit your practices. If you’d like to modify your own approach, use the same strategy you would with clients: commit to one small change, make it a habit, then after a few weeks of consistency, add another small change.

Dr. Meredith Butulis, DPT, OCS, CEP, CSCS, CPT, PES, CES, BCS, Pilates-certified, Yoga-certified, has been working in the fitness and rehabilitation fields since 1998. She is the creator of the Fitness Comeback Coaching Certification, author of the Mobility | Stability Equation series, Host of the “Fitness Comeback Coaching Podcast,” and Assistant Professor the State College of Florida.

She shares her background to help us reflect on our professional fitness practices from new perspectives that can help us all grow together in the industry.

Instagram: @Dr.MeredithButulis.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

By Jim Romagna

Merge-Performance.com

AN HONEST APPROACH TO CLIENT MOTIVATION

While we cannot do the work for our clients, we can give them the tools to succeed | By Jim Romagna 14

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This might be an obvious statement, but the clients that get results are the ones that continue to be motivated. They are the ones that adopt most of what we present to them, make progress, gain momentum and ultimately live the optimal healthy lifestyle. Results are motivation. How do we get a client to this point? Let’s take a look.

They must be ready. No matter how excited we are to help a client, they must be in the right state of mind to start. A common model for this assessment is the Transtheoretical or Stages of Change Model. This model includes:  Precontemplation (no intention to change)  Contemplation (recognize the need for change but not ready)  Preparation (realize the need for change and start making steps toward the change)  Action (doing it, practicing new healthy behavior)  Maintenance (sustained behavior change)  Termination (no desire to return to old behavior)

This might be an obvious statement, but the clients that get results are the ones that continue to be motivated.

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ne of the greatest challenges we face as fitness professionals is motivation; not our personal motivation, but client motivation. We have the knowledge, the tools, a desire to help and perhaps even a proven track record that we have been successful in leading clients to achieve their fitness goals. But ultimately, they have to not only desire the outcome, but they have to do the work to achieve the outcome. We cannot do it for them.

This idea is reinforced by the Greek philosopher Socrates, credited with saying, “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” Similarly, we cannot do the work for our clients, we can only give them the tools to succeed. If the founder of Western philosophy admits the struggle, then we sure have our work cut out for us.

When a client is in the precontemplation or contemplation phase, even the best trainer in the world is going to struggle to get them motivated and started on a routine. They may be coming to training sessions with good intentions, or by way of someone else’s good intentions (gift certificate) but likely, they are not wholly committed to change.

As professionals, where we can start to make a difference, is in the preparation phase. In this phase, the client is finally ready to start to change, and with our encouragement and knowledge as reinforcement to why they should begin, their motivation starts to grow. Next, the action phase. The fun part. Now, the client is investing their time, energy and sweat into something that will pay dividends in the form of physical and even mental improvements. The action phase is the training sessions, where we have a captive audience and have the clients’ undivided attention. This is a great time to empower them and help build their confidence as it relates to their fitness progress.

In the maintenance phase, clients will start to realize the full benefit of making an exercise routine part of their new lifestyle and hopefully their inactive and unhealthy past is terminated.

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So, to revise the Socrates quote with a fitness professionals touch; “I cannot motivate anybody to do anything. I can only make them think.” Frankly, they must take the initiative, make the commitment and do the work; we are just the guide along the way.

don’t keep working on it or making it part of their daily lifestyle, they can relapse. As personal trainers we have a lot of influence on their fitness once they have tasted some success. Here are a few tips to help them stay motivated, committed and moving continuously toward their fitness and wellness goals.

As fitness professionals, we know the benefits of exercise and if we can help our clients experience that, their motivation heightens and their commitment to the fitness lifestyle strengthens.

1. Know the barriers — Help your clients identify the things that impede their progress. Maybe its screen time, too little sleep, mindless snacking, poor time management; help them analyze their daily routine to see what barriers they face and find simple strategies to overcome them.

They must be aware. No matter where a client is in the process, they must be aware that health and fitness is transient, and if they

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2. Positive attitude and self-talk — In the action phase, they start to gain motivation as they gain confidence. Help them foster the growth mindset, in which they continually gain knowledge and make progress. Reinforce that they are in control and help them gain a positive attitude toward the work they do and the change it produces.

3. Control the environment — Even the most motivated can have weakness sometimes. The more conducive the environment to wellness the higher the rate of adherence. If a client struggles with late night snacking, don’t rely on willpower, just have them remove the unhealthy options from the house.

4. Shaping — For both ourselves and our clients, we want results, and we want it now. We must be the voice of reason and get them to take baby steps. Find small things that they can change that over time will add up to big results. Start with shorter training sessions to get them acclimated versus high-frequency, high-intensity, or have them eliminate one unhealthy food choice from their diet instead of doing major diet overhaul. Too much too soon can be overwhelming resulting in a relapse on their fitness journey.

5. Reward — Talk to your client about working toward something.

This could be as simple as just feeling better, or putting check marks on the calendar to signify workout days, or it could be bigger, like new clothes or even a vacation. Whatever the reward that helps motivate them, make sure when it’s achieved that you work together to stay on track and reach the next milestone.

They must find a reason. Again, we are certainly excited for and supportive of our clients, but they have to personally find the reason to make the commitment. It can’t be because others want them to. I simplify the reasons to engage in a fitness program to this: wanting to look better, feel better and function better. These three things cover the “why” of exercise engagement.  Look better. There is no shame in a little vanity. Clients should want to physically look better. Being comfortable in their skin and getting compliments from family and friends goes a long way for self-confidence.  Feel better. Regular exercise can increase energy levels and productivity; it can help manage anxiety and depression and even promote a positive attitude and optimism.  Function better. When exposed to regular exercise, the body certainly increases strength and endurance, helping to perform tasks with undue fatigue. Additionally, there are physiological reactions that improve such as resting heart rate, metabolism, circulation and bone health.

As fitness professionals, we know the benefits of exercise and if we can help our clients experience that, their motivation heightens and their commitment to the fitness lifestyle strengthens. That is no easy task, but employing some of these strategies can help us help our clients.

Jim Romagna has nearly 30 years of experience in the fitness/wellness/ strength and conditioning field. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer through the NSCA. Additionally, Jim is the Department Chair of the Health, Wellness and Sport Department at the University of Dubuque where he has also taught for the past 15 years.

Jim spent 7 years as a college strength coach, 10 years as the strength coach for the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints. In 2016 Jim launched MERGE Performance Institute (MPI), which is built on four pillars: fitness, performance, sports medicine and education. Jim has a master’s in physical education and a doctorate in educational leadership. Follow on Instagram @jimromagna or email jimromagna@msn.com.

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SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE FEATURE ARTICLE

By James Patrick

JamesPatrick.com

WHY YOUR LEADS ARE NOT PURCHASING 5 elements to help you develop a robust lead-nurturing strategy

By James Patrick

Y

ou set up your Instagram account, you tested a few Facebook ads and perhaps you even registered your studio on Google My Business hoping to get a few more clicks; however, the leads you are generating do not end up purchasing.

There are a variety of marketing research estimates available, but they all indicate the same reality — a vast majority of your business leads will not convert into sales.

The fact of the matter is that prospective buyers are far savvier than ever before and are choosing to invest more time into researching service providers and educating themselves as they explore various options to solve their needs.

Some may believe that in order to overcome this maturity in consumer behavior they must purchase enough advertisements to

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stay in front of their potential customers.

However, consumers no longer want to be sold to. They want to be engaged with.

The consumer journey has evolved. What once was a linear path of need to research to purchase has now lengthened, even from where it was just a few years ago.

It is crucial that entrepreneurs and business owners implement a lead-nurturing campaign into their funnel.

That is marketing-speak for engaging with your prospective customers at every stage of their journey to build trust and deliver value until that individual is ready to make a purchase decision.

Lead nurturing is about developing lasting relationships with your audience to increase sales, lifetime value of consumers as well as to speed up the consumer journey process.

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A robust lead-nurturing strategy will involve many of the following elements: 1. Defining, Segmenting and Scoring Your Leads What do you, or your company, consider a lead? What qualifies someone as a potential customer? This can include both demographics and psychographics. As a business owner, you need to know who you are targeting. You can, and should, examine your current lead list (or email list) to segment the list based upon how much those individuals fit into your proposed definition and how likely they would be to purchase at this time.

2. Create Value-Added Content Marketing Content marketing is one of the fastest and most effective ways to build trust and rapport with your leads. This is a

CONSUMERS NO LONGER WANT TO BE SOLD TO. THEY WANT TO BE ENGAGED WITH. cross-channel approach of content that can appear on social media, your website, email campaigns, direct mail and even SMS marketing; your content needs to add value to your audience through education, entertainment, inspiration or a combination of the three. The more you and your company can be seen as a trusted resource to your audience, the better.

3. Create Funnel Opt-Ins It is essentially required that you have a means for your prospective audience to express interest in you, or in the solutions you can provide. This is most commonly achieved through a lead magnet opt-in (free e-books, guides, templates, tutorials, webinars, courses, etc.). You are leveraging value to connect with your audience and provide solutions to their needs before you ever ask for a sale.

4. Automated and Scheduled Follow-Up We all lose so many sales by failing to follow up with our prospective clients. Once we lose the top-of-mind position with a lead, it is open for another to claim in. Follow-ups with your prospects can be automated, such as an email auto-responder series leading into a regular newsletter. They can also be scheduled, such as a marketing calendar of appointments to directly reach out to prospective clients via SMS, email, DM or a phone call.

5. Test and Refine As you watch your lead-nurture campaign, it is important to listen to the feedback from your prospective consumers, both in their direct comments as well as what the data is showing you to refine your elements. If your auto-responder series is not being opened, perhaps there could be an improvement to your email

headlines or to the sign-up page itself. If you are guiding a lot of leads onto sales calls, but not closing those sales, perhaps you need to examine your sales script and delivery.

Being able to look at your lead-nurture program from a holistic view allows you to see ways in which to warm up your leads by building a strong relationship at every stage in their journey interacting with your company and looking to make a purchase decision.

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 Becca Tebon

BeccaTebon.com

CREATING ADDITIONAL INCOME THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS Snowball your brand utilizing the bandwidth of other companies

By Becca Tebon

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hen two (or occasionally more) brands put their heads together and work on a project, something beautiful can happen. Strategic marketing and product partnerships is about two businesses combining skill sets, audiences and, normally, budgets while working to their respective goals. Cultivating partnerships can snowball your brand utilizing the bandwidth of other companies.

WANT TO GROW FASTER AND STRONGER? Before discussing what makes a great partnership, it’s important to have a concrete brand for yourself. Start by defining your brand using

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these three steps, enabling you to clearly showcase who you are and how you help others when pitching your product or service.

STEP 1: Define your target audience: First, understand your ideal customers. Create buyer personas, called avatars, by listing what you know or envision about them, such as their age, occupation and interests. Understand what problem you answer for them. Knowing your customers will make it easier for your brand to address their needs, speak their language, and hence, identify and share it with potential brand partners. Remember, the riches are in the niches. An inch-wide meaning,

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be a very highly targeted subsection within a category. A mile-deep meaning, there are a lot of people looking for a solution to a specific problem. Dominate one niche at a time.

Author Simon Sinek said, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Sinek’s famous “Golden Circle” encourages brands to focus on the why, before tackling questions of how or what. Focus on your brand’s core values and purpose, and the rest will easily and organically fall into place.

Ask yourself the following three questions:  Why does your business exist?  How does it do business?  What does your business do?

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STEP 2: Establish your brand personality.

As part of your brand strategy, compose a list of adjectives describing your company’s character, as if talking about a person. Would it be better portrayed as classy or trendy? Is it reliable and mature, or edgy and youthful?

It’s important to have your brand’s personality well defined because it allows potential partners to “see themselves” aligning with you. Your brand personality will comprise your core values and your mission statement, not just design and look. Companies do business with companies that share similar goals and stand for the same ideas.

STEP 3: Establish a reputable brand and name for yourself. My friend, Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals, coined, “People do business with people they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.” Your track record, even small, means a lot. Being consistent in social media depicting your core values will go miles. Trust is stored and nurtured like money in a bank account. Your brand makes deposits into your customers and potential business partnership every time you show up — beware of depicting political affiliations and negative talk.

Likewise, do your research! Does the person or company you want to work or partner with have a track record of making business moves that align with your own?  Be sure to have testimonials and references to share.  Establish your communication style — how you talk and write about your brand.  Showcase your branding consistently — “Live and breathe your brand” Now that you have solidified your unique selling point (USP), and have a clear focus on your audience, let’s look at what makes a great partnership.

Look for companies that are communicative, accessible, flexible, provide mutual support and you can create measurable results with.

These qualities are crucial in optimizing your partnership relationship and agreements for the long haul.

There are many ways for brands to partner.

Broadly, you can split collaborations into those

that make something new (i.e., co-creating a product, an event or a campaign), and those that boost distribution or marketing for a pre-existing resource (i.e., republishing content, social media shout-outs or distributing another brand’s products). What you do will depend on your business’ needs and where you are in your life cycle, but it should help you capitalize as much as possible on your partner’s assets.

Overall, a multifaceted strategy where you’re open to anything — like distributing a company’s products and shouting about them on social media — will deliver maximum impact for both parties.

Cash isn’t always involved. You’re more likely to have funds involved if you’re making and co-branding something new with your partner because of manufacturing, distribution or marketing costs and the like. But brand partnerships don’t need a big budget to have an impact. In fact, they’re a great way to make waves without spending anything. Who needs an Instagram ad budget when you can make use of another account whose followers fall into the demographic you’re targeting?

You don’t have to partner with a similar-sized brand. It might feel natural to buddy up with another small business, but big brands have a lot to gain from partnering with newer companies. They might want to reinvigorate their image, show support for emerging ventures or reach groups of people they haven’t thought about before. Leveraging a big brand’s following and expertise can lead to big wins, but you need to make sure your business gets its fair share of profit or benefit and that your values align with those of your prospective partner.

You’re not confined to your own industry.

Cross-industry collaboration is often an overlooked aspect of brand collaborations. This is most often seen when brands look to push social goals — on topics such as sustainability, diversity or mental health.

Once you’ve found your partner, set up the guidelines and deliverables for both parties with a solid agreement. LegalShield is a company that provides inexpensive legal advice and can help you with your contracts and agreements. A partnership agreement is a legal document that outlines the way a

business partnership or legal entity is run. It details the relationship between its partners, defines assets, profit shares and liabilities for each partner. Partnership agreements can be called different names, some of which include: Business Partnership Agreement, General Partnership Agreement and Partnership Contract.

Here are 14 steps you can follow to write a partnership agreement: 1. Give your partnership agreement a title.

Make sure it reflects the type of partnership being formed. These can be limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, general partnerships or limited liability limited partnerships.

2. Outline the goals of the partnership agreement.

3. Mention the duration of the partnership.

4. Define the contribution amounts of each partner (cash, property, services, etc.).

5. Define the ownership interests of each partner (assets such as stocks or shares).

6. Outline management roles and terms of authority of each partner.

7. Add accounting obligations of each partner, if applicable.

8. Provide details on the distribution of profits and losses between the partners.

9. Detail the salaries, work hours, sick leave and vacation policy for each partner.

10. Add permissions and restrictions on any outside business activity for any partner, if applicable.

11. Include information about the partners’ buyout options, if any.

12. Include the process for adding new partners or removing original partners.

13. Add clauses and provisions. Clauses and provisions set separate rules for certain special circumstances.

14. Add terms and conditions under which the partnership can be terminated.

Becca Tebon developed a three-band system used today called powHERbands™️, has launched the “Woman Band Together” movement, has been featured in magazines, podcasts — and many fitness trainers now use her system. She can be reached at Becca@ BeccaTebon.com, via Instagram @BeccaTebonfit or visit www.BeccaTebon.com.

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SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE FEATURE ARTICLE

By Brinda Desai

PRACTICAL CLIENT RETENTION TIPS The experience you create for them is what keeps them hooked

By Brinda Desai

A

long and happy client-trainer relationship is a crucial part of the business of personal training. Having clients that swear by you for years, are willing to pay you your price and get you referrals are dream clients — and you can have them!

No matter what, some clients will leave, but the majority will stay. The secret lies largely in the overall experience you create for them that keeps them hooked, not just your subject knowledge. The client wants that one hour with you to make them feel awesome! Here are some applicable tools to help you create exactly what clients want, divided into three parts: Before training, during training and after training.

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 Part 1: Before Training  Prep, prep, prep! Do not go into a training session and wing it. Refer to the notes you made in the previous session and use them, always keeping their end goal in mind. Prep an amazing workout. When you are prepared it gives YOU a plan of action,

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making you look forward to the workout, coming into the session with inspiring energy; AND you will be putting out a workout that is well thought of.

Understand your client’s preferred style of training and make that the basic layout, peppering in what must be done as well.

Do they like free weights more, slow reps, intervals? Remember, their bodies are telling them what feels good, so we must appreciate and work with it.

Give the client what they love often, even when they don’t ask for it. This may not be in line with what they need to do, but do it anyway. Whether it’s breath work, a challenge, a dance-y warm up or their favorite exercise — put it on the schedule.

Drop in a motivating message the previous night like, “Hey Jane! We are going to work on sculpting the thighs tomorrow with paper plates and you are going to feel it right away. I’m eager to get you onto this new tool. See you at 9:00 am!”

Being flexible with clients occasionally cancelling class or slight delays goes a LONG

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way! It shows you understand. See how you can best adjust this to what works for you.  Give more than expected.  Add creative tools, not just gym equipment, but try footballs, cleaning dusters, paper plates and let them know because they get intrigued and eagerly look forward to the next class.  Change the workout location. Take it outdoors or into the pool.  Finish 10 minutes early and use that as a bait (for those who are always wanting to rush off). “Shirley, if you hold the plank for 15 seconds longer today in both sets, you get to finish today’s workout 10 minutes earlier!”  Add extra time for eager beavers, but let them know a few days in advance. Do a 20-minute bonus.

Part 2: During Training  Show up on time. Never make your client wait. Greet them with enthusiasm.  Recap the last workout, reminding them what they achieved.

 Introduce today’s workout and give them a brief. “Today we are sculpting your thighs.

After your warm up we’ll dive into to the paper plate exercises and round off the session with some relaxing stretches.”  Be genuine! This is the make or break of your client-trainer relationship. A client can immediately sense when you are not being authentic and come across as rehearsed. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting out as a trainer, be your unique self. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. You can always correct it. Laugh it off, but always show that you are in control.  Be dependable. From body language (strong yet friendly) to reassuring words, encouragement and flexibility; show the client you care and that they can rely on you.  Be respectful and never get personal or argue.  Limit information about yourself or your achievements. Sharing a bit is good but not too much.  Be smart with use of compliments or correc-

tions. Give appreciation when it is genuinely required. Let go of some mistakes that don’t potentially harm, saving correction for those that do. Space out your corrections over different sessions in order of priority.  Don’t feel compelled to talk all the time.

Give your client time to feel the exercise in silence.  Make it fun! Think of ways to make this the best part of your client’s day. Chatting a bit, cracking a joke, using music they love lightens up the mood. Be warm. Show them you love to train them.  Finish your session by telling them what they accomplished and if they must watch out for any soreness or fatigue. Also tell them you look forward to seeing them for their next workout and what they will be working on.

Part 3: After Training  Check in with your client in the evening or morning after, to see how they are doing.

Send them a high five or give them tips to relax the sore muscles.  Send them information they are interested

in or were asking for, even if it isn’t fitness-related.  Celebrate! Birthdays, Christmas, other holidays are a great time to show the extra care. Send them a card and a small gift. Use the holiday theme in your workouts. For birthdays, do exercises that spell out their full names. As an example, for “Jane Smith” you could do jumping jacks for the J and alternate lunges for A… and so on. Do their favorite workout or skip the session & take them for a tea or coffee! For Christmas, do a stretch segment to Christmas music.  Send them an annual thank you note and gift. Get creative, make your own swag!

Soon you will see — applying these tools will make all the difference in the world. Your clients are going to love you!

Brinda Desai has been in the fitness field the past 23 years as group fitness trainer, head of group fitness department, personal trainer (ACE) & fitness author & writer. Her book is called Secrets to Being Quintessentially Svelte.

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CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS Which professional service provider will best suit your needs?

Guiding Businesses in the Fitness Market That Want to Have a Huge Impact With Their Marketing Have you ever asked yourself?  How can I scale my fitness business, product or service in this industry?  I’m so burned out — how can I find a different perspective with my marketing?  How can I generate more leads and stop relying just on referrals?  How can I find time to work on the business and not in the business?  What marketing systems do I need in place to make my life easier?  How do I position myself and my business to attract more of the right customers?

If so, you’re in the right place.

Growing your fitness business, product or service in this industry can be tough but with the right marketing — marketing that consistently brings you new customers and sales — it becomes much easier. If you’re frustrated and unclear what to do next with your marketing and know you have the potential to scale, impact and leave a legacy with the product and services you sell, then Fitness Marketing Agency can help you so you’ll never struggle again to get new clients. Fitness Marketing Agency is led by fitness industry expert Ben Davis, who is consid-

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ered the authority on marketing in the fitness industry by most. He’s the marketing expert business leaders go to when they need help with their own marketing.

No matter what your service or product is, Ben and his team can show you how to market and sell it more effectively.

Who we help: Gyms/Studios/ Facilities/Independent Health Club Owners/Online Coaches.

If you sell fitness memberships for group training, one-to-one personal training, classes from a physical location or you’re an online coach and are fed up with the growing competition in the marketplace that seems to just rip off your marketing efforts and business model/idea. If your new client numbers and sales have dropped over recent months and you are struggling to get new clients in the door or online. If you’re at the forefront of the industry and you know innovation is key to stay one step ahead and you’re always looking for opportunities to grow and develop.

If you’re reading this and you want help achieving your fitness business goals, please visit fitnessmarketingagencycall.com. fitnessmarketingagency.com

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Make Sure Your Business Is Protected with the Right Coverage Insurance coverage options can be complex and not all insurance programs are alike; if you’re shopping for coverage it is important to note differences in coverages, optional coverages offered, and coverage limits when choosing your insurance. The lowest price product may not include everything you need to be fully protected. Commercial general liability, products-completed operations, personal and advertising injury, legal liability to participants and professional liability are all specialized coverages that fitness professionals should consider.

Now more than ever, virtual training/ instruction is an important coverage consideration; make sure that you look for insurance that includes virtual training under your direct supervision including live online instruction as well as recorded training sessions that your registered clients can access.

If you are working as an independent contractor at one or more health club facilities, don’t assume that you are covered under the health club’s insurance plan; independent contractors are often excluded. Fitness professionals should always have their own coverage as well as additional coverage for any studio or fitness facility they own. A homeowner’s policy will most likely exclude coverage under a “business pursuits” exclusion; be sure to check with your insurance agent before assuming coverage is covered under the homeowner’s policy as a studio or other facility policy may be required for proper coverage.

If you have taken the time to participate in educational programs, some companies reward fitness professionals for training certification with discounted rates. And if you have any questions or concerns about the coverage needed for specific situations, always make sure to call your insurance representative for clarification. fitnessinsurance-kk.com

Need a Spot? Be Covered for Injuries In-Person and Online As a fitness coach or trainer, today’s virtual world allows you to work with your clients from anywhere. However, accidents can also happen anywhere — and whether they occur in your gym or their living room, your supervision as a trainer could make you legally liable for incidents.

Fitness trainers should have insurance coverage that’s as flexible as your teachings. Even individual instructors face similar liability risks as large, membership-based gyms or facilities.

Whether you interact with clients on your premises or your computer screen, Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) provides specialized coverage tailored to your unique practice.

Why Insurance Is Essential for Fitness Professionals Just as accidents and injuries are an ongoing concern throughout the fitness industry, so too is insurance essential for protecting fitness businesses and professionals from their potential financial impact. So it pays to make sure you’re covered in the event of an insurance claim, and that there are no “gray” areas involved.

For instance, unless there is an employment contract or similar written agreement in place that states explicitly that a personal trainer or group exercise instructor (whether an employee or independent contractor) is covered by their fitness facility’s insurance — they are not. So those individuals should definitely have their own insurance. All insurance contracts are different, and some general liability insurance policies exclude professional liability coverage — especially in the case of independent contractors. So all personal trainers and group exercise instructors are strongly encouraged to verify that they are covered by the insurance policy of the facility where they will be working—and that the policy includes coverage for professional liability.

Of course, fitness professionals who teach clients privately outside of a

PHLY offers broad coverage for several fitness instructor categories, such as yoga, swimming, martial arts, dance and more. With a 96% customer satisfaction rating and over 20 years of experience insuring fitness studios, personal trainers and health clubs, our fitness insurance experts provide the knowledge and protection you need to train and teach from anywhere.

You’re constantly on the move, so we’ve designed our one-page online application to be incredibly simple, user-friendly and completed in minutes from any device.

Just create an account, enter any relevant information about your business and request a competitive insurance quote. In less than 24 hours, you’ll receive a personalized email

from a PHLY representative who will guide you through the process.

With busy appointment schedules, lesson plans to create, and clients to motivate, let PHLY do the heavy lifting when it comes to your fitness insurance coverage. Get started today and learn why fitness trainers nationwide trust and renew coverage with PHLY! Visit phly.com/fitnessinstructors to get protected in minutes! Email us at sales@phly.com or call 877.438.7459 Monday – Friday from 8:30am to 8:00pm to speak with a representative. phly.com/fitnessinstructors

health club must carry their own professional liability insurance policy.

Other important insurance to have in place is coverage for sexual abuse/ harassment claims. Sexual abuse claims have been growing at a tremendous rate. So fitness professionals should take steps to protect themselves by purchasing sexual abuse and molestation coverage on their general liability and/or professional liability insurance policies. However, the best protection against such claims is to remain “professional” at all times. No matter how well you get to know a client, avoid overly-familiar communication or touching. While it may seem to come naturally, it may be unwanted or misinterpreted as offensive.

Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation (SFIC) has provided insurance exclusively to the fitness industry in the US and Canada since 1985. In addition to general liability and professional liability insurance, they offer property insurance, umbrella policies, workers compensation and surety bonds for health clubs, fitness studios, yoga & Pilates studios, dance studios, martial arts schools and more, as well as personal trainers and group exercise instructors. sportsfitness.com

CONTACT INFO Fitness Marketing Agency fitnessmarketingagency.com team@fitnessmarketing.agency 866.781.4050

K&K Insurance fitnessinsurance-kk.com info@fitnessinsurance-kk.com 800.506.4856

Philadelphia Insurance Companies phly.com/fitnessinstructors sales@phly.com 877.438.7459

Sports & Fitness Insurance Corporation sportsfitness.com askus@sportsfitness.com 800.844.0536 ext. 2333

TAKE TRAINING TO ANOTHER LEVEL Technology solutions to help grow your business

Fitness Professionals Succeed When Their Clients Know Their Numbers!

MicroFit offers fitness professionals a variety of Fitness / Wellness assessment solutions: 1) Their HealthWizard standalone software and manual testing devices allow you to provide comprehensive baseline testing and is a good starter package; 2) Their FAS-2 FDA registered medical grade testing devices allows for more accurate and efficient test administration do to its direct interface to your computer and HealthWizard software applications; and 3) A complete FAS-2 Fit-lab which often includes their advanced Monark 828e/RoboBike, MF-1215 testing / training treadmill and other accessories.

For more than 36 years, quality fitness centers have relied on MicroFit assessment products as an essential member service and to promote a much higher level of personal training. MicroFit Fitness / Wellness

assessments allow trainers to easily meet new members, gain their trust, understand their goals, recommend results-oriented programs and track their progress.

Reminder: Your clients are looking forward to “Realizing Realistic and Reliable Results” and MicroFit has a track record in helping you to assist them in this effort.

Most importantly, the MicroFit team is committed to your success and offers training on: 1) Your initial HealthWizard software setup; 2) A better understanding of the “Why” and the “How” to properly conduct an assessment for best results; 3) How to Sell / Market assessment services profitably; and 4) A proven way to engage your local medical groups and business leaders to expand your impact throughout the community.

Footnote: This can actually be your best source of quality referrals to sus-

tain and grow your personal training business.

In summary, MicroFit, Inc has served a wide range of fitness professionals for over 36 years and their commitment to excellence has been the guiding principle, which has allowed them to survive and thrive in a highly competitive industry. So if your goal is to improve the “member experience,” upgrade your personal training, increase your retention and ultimately grow your business with a new revenue stream and higher quality referrals, be sure to check out MicroFit for yourself by contacting: sales@microfit.com, calling 800.822.0405, or checking out microfit. com. You won’t be disappointed!

IntelaMetrix, Inc. is a technology company that designs, develops and markets cutting-edge solutions for the health, fitness and wellness industries. Our passion and belief in measuring and monitoring various metrics with precision allows for timely intervention while motivating and sustaining a long-term commitment to physical activity, proper nutrition and healthier lifestyles.

overlooked today and constitutes a lack of muscle and a body composed primarily of fat. The BodyMetrix™ Pro’s distinct advantage features a 2D cross-sectional scan option, performed at targeted areas to visualize and quantify changes in fat and muscle layers, providing irrefutable proof of what’s happening inside our bodies. Scans motivate clients; they see the truth and can understand how fat and muscle is distributed in their body. The progress the client is making toward their fitness, health and nutritional goals becomes visible and is validated. For the practitioner, it’s an excellent opportunity to better evaluate training, diet and nutrition compliance, relative disease risk and progress by comparing the scans over time.

BodyView™ Pro software is packed with various performance metric test options which allow you to tailor HTML

reports to your specific protocols and present to clients. In addition to monitoring body composition, you can track blood pressure, resting heart rate, circumference measurements, BMR and BMI and see changes over time.

The BodyMetrix™ Pro is an affordable, cost-effective solution loaded with an arsenal of tools, providing exceptional value at a price point unmatched in the industry. It’s a powerful revenue generator with a quick ROI, backed by science and trusted ultrasound technology. Visit us at bodymetrix.com for more information.

SEEING IS BELIEVING! Have you ever had a client or athlete question or doubt their body composition numbers or body fat percentage? It’s quite common, particularly for those who are aesthetically “thin” looking or have low “scale weight” numbers. However, being “thin” doesn’t necessarily equate to being metabolically healthy! The “skinny fat syndrome” is a BIG PROBLEM often

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MicroFit, Inc. microfit.com sales@microfit.com 800.822.0405

IntelaMetrix, Inc. bodymetrix.com info@intelametrix.com 925.606.7044

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE NEW ON THE MARKET The latest trends in fitness equipment

GROW AND SCALE YOUR FITNESS BUSINESS

FAREL HRUSKA’S REVIEW: SUPER SOFT OPTP PRO-ROLLER® The Super Soft OPTP PRO-ROLLER® is a welcomed option to traditional foam rolling with a softer and more "forgiving" experience. The softer feature eases the experience in a variety of positions and weightbearing movements. I have utilized foam rolling personally and with my clients for many years and this new softer option is a welcomed addition to my fitness toolbox! I love the comfort that it brings to movements like plank rollouts on my forearms and sensitive areas like hip flexors. The Super Soft OPTP-PRO is a piece of equipment that has been needed for a while and I am thrilled with the comfort and ease of use. This is a keeper moving forward, for sure! optp.com/OPTP-PRO-ROLLER-Super-Soft

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MICROFIT ASSESSMENT PRODUCTS

CHALLENGE WEIGHTED LEGGINGS

Since 1986, quality fitness centers have relied on MicroFit assessments as an essential member service to promote a higher level of personal training. MicroFit helps trainers to easily engage their members, gain their trust, understand their goals, individualize their workouts and track their progress. PFP Summer Specials up to 20% off on their: HealthWizard Lite standalone software for private trainers, the FAS-2 interactive testing equipment and FAS-2 Fit-Lab for larger facilities and performance centers.

MicroFit.com

The Challenge weighted leggings are designed to maintain a stylish appearance and use weighted resistance to offer women a better workout. Each pair has a high-rise or high-waisted construction and comes with three pounds of removable Weight Thins that can be placed into six side enclosures. Quarter-pound weights are flexible, soft and only 1/8” thick. Legging color: charcoal black. Inner waist tie-band for adjustability. Nylon spandex blend.

ChallengeWeightedWorkoutwear.com

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Growing your fitness business, product or service in this industry can be tough, but with the right marketing that consistently brings you new customers and sales it becomes easier. Fitness Marketing Agency provides you with the modern tactics that’ll help you get the first critical mass of customers by using the resources we’ve tested over 5 years with a multitude of fitness businesses. FMA works alongside you to help you implement proven marketing systems so you can start and build the business of your dreams.

FitnessMarketingAgency.com

NAAMLY Naamly helps fitness professionals systemize and simplify their follow-up processes throughout the customer journey (from leads to clients) so they can build long-term relationships that translate into higher conversions, increased client visits, better results and more referrals. It does so by centralizing customers' information from different siloed systems and communications across different mediums (text, email, phone and video messages) so your staff can work as a cohesive team to hold your clients accountable.

Naamly.com

SPOTLIGHT: CHUZE FITNESS chuzefitness.com

chuzefitness.com/careers

ani@chuzefitness.com

Chuze Fitness: Our Hybrid Approach to Meeting People Where They Are

A

multitude of factors have forced change, growth or extinctions over the last two years. As a pillar in the fitness industry, Chuze Fitness looked at these numerous factors head-on to remain relevant in the lives of our current and future members. A clear and obvious need was met with the creation of our online platform iChuzeFitness. This project was developed to highlight collaborations, bringing together our Group Exercise, Team Training, and Culture/Education professionals to pour into a space created to touch the Body, Mind and Heart.

At iChuze Fitness we focus on the whole being: Body, Mind and Heart: BODY: With iChuze Fitness, you get an awesome workout, anytime and anywhere you find yourself. Wherever you are in your fitness journey and whatever your favorite workout is — we’ve got you covered! We may even entice you to try something you’ve never considered before — with all the choices at your fingertips, why not?? Our top-tier instructors are here to guide you through safe, fun and results-driven workouts.

MIND: What would it be like to walk through your days with a greater sense of ease, focus and calm? True fitness is so much more than what you do with your body; taking care of your mind is equally (if not even more!) critical to your overall health. We’re here to support you through meditation, mindfulness and more to help you be your very best self.

HEART: At the heart of iChuze Fitness is kindness, giving back and making an impact. We do it for our community, our loved ones and ourselves to keep us feeling complete and connected. We’re excited to help spread awareness of the importance of heart health by providing healthy heart tips and workouts and through our support of the American Heart Association!

At iChuze Fitness, you have convenient options and increased opportunities to access your favorite coaches and instructors. The

easily navigated site is full of incredible content and your favorite formats & programming types. The excitement continues with periodically released NEW content and special events all priced to be easily accessible to everyone.

Chuze is growing and there is a lot of action within our walls in-club and online. We are continually building our teams and hiring instructors and coaches who are interested in aligning with our mission, our culture and our goal of making fitness classes and sessions an allinclusive, non-intimidating and motivating space for all. Our fitness teams are full of diverse, authentically talented professionals who could pursue several different career paths based on their interests and goals. We have opportunities in Group Exercise, Team Training, Program Management, or a combination of all — contact us for details — we can’t wait to share Chuze Fitness with you.

SUBSCRIBE TO PFP HERE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

By Sheldon McBee

The time to shift the tide is now

T

he fitness industry is moving into a tremendous epoch.

The opportunity to shift the tide to a more diverse and inclusive industry is right now. Whether you are on the front lines as an employed personal trainer, studio manager, health club director or business owner, you are sitting in the wake of a unique moment. Surely, we are in this industry because we enjoy health and wellness, helping others, making money and/or pursuing our passion. As an Executive Director of a large health club and an African American, I have experienced, first-hand, the need for continuing positive change. There is a simple way to state this. A more diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) industry opens the doors to greater business opportunity, improved work culture and a more powerful purpose to stand behind.

In the prior decade, the brick-and-mortar fitness industry was thriving — a growing market, more competitors, increased checkins and growing revenue across multiple business entities. One of the clear signs of a maturing market is segmentation and differentiation. As a fitness professional, manager or owner we know the importance of offering unique services that target a very specific market and solves a very specific problem.

Fast forward to 2020 when decision-makers around the country, and really the world, had to look in the mirror at themselves and their teams to address the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Long overdue in our industry. The need to overcome this very real issue is rooted in the history of systemic marginalization of a variety of groups. This includes groups based on religion, disability, age, sexual orientation and most notably, race. As noted earlier, when an industry matures there is segmentation and differentiation. Compound that with increased competition and there is the natural business need to hyper-focus on retaining the clients and members you have and in turn, monetizing more. The seeds were planted a very long time ago, whether intended or not, for many entrepreneurial fitness professionals, business owners and C-level decision-makers to deemphasize the importance of placing a diverse and inclusive culture at the forefront of their businesses.

There is plenty of room to applaud the industry. There is a ground swell of movement amongst continuing education providers, trade corporations, publications and special interest groups to tackle this

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issue head-on. That said, there is a danger lurking ahead we should keep front-of-mind. As we move on the other side of the pandemic, we are already seeing the dust clearing and a glance toward the future, including significant increase in gym rejoins, check-ins, and overall gym revenues. The crystal ball points toward wearables, home exercise gyms, gamification, behavior modification, mental health solutions and more.

As the industry moves into 2022 and beyond, the need to differentiate and enter unique segments will only intensify for fitness professionals, especially in traditional gym settings. The time is now to challenge yourself and your team to have a good look at your services and operations to, not only differentiate, but encourage DEI! Can you attract a culturally diverse market? Have you reduced or eliminated barriers for marginalized groups? Have you opened the door for feedback? Do you have a diverse staff and client base?

Do you and/or your staff authentically stand behind and believe in a mission that includes DEI? I encourage you to “trend and blend!” As you are challenged to differentiate to flourish, be mindful to do so, but not at the risk of exclusion. Dare I say you can be exclusive without excluding! Study your target market carefully, gauge the demand based on trends, and make clear and targeted decisions on who you want to serve.

It’s a best practice to give a voice to a diverse group who can offer council and feedback. Create a diverse circle of staff, peers and clientele who can regularly audit your mission and vision. As the industry reforms post-pandemic and begins to stand strong again, the opportunity to tap into a more diverse market is not only a growth opportunity but the right thing to do.

Sheldon McBee MS, is an Executive Director for Universal Athletic Club based in Lancaster, PA. He has a Master’s in Human Nutrition, is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and has over 20 years’ experience in health and fitness. Sheldon is an international presenter, lecturer, business consultant, fitness content developer and personal training director. He has presented at IHRSA, IDEA, SCW, CanFitPro, and has been featured in numerous industry publications. He currently sits on the CanFitPro and Club Solutions Magazine Advisory Panels.

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