Home Posts tagged "Fitness Business Blueprint" (Page 2)

The Best of 2011: Stuff that was Fun to Write/Video

Today, I'll wrap up my "Best of 2011" series by highlighting the pieces that I enjoyed creating.  Check them out: 1. 11 Years, 11 Lessons, 100 Pounds - This T-Nation article recapped my long journey in the strength and conditioning world to get to where I am.  It was definitely one of my most popular articles of all time at T-Nation. 2. The Fitness Business Blueprint - This product was a blast to create because I think it filled a gaping hole in the market.  Until we launched it, nobody had created a fitness business product that didn't just discuss how to grow a business, but also how to improve as a trainer/coach.  I had a blast collaborating with Pat Rigsby and Mike Robertson on it.

3. What I Learned in 2010 - I enjoy writing these articles every year, because they serve as a great opportunity to revisit some of the most valuable lessons from the previous year.  And, as the saying goes, the best way to master something is to teach it to others. 4. Strength and Conditioning Program Success: The Little Things Matter - This was a fun blog to write, as I did so right around the time when several of our athletes were recognized for some awesome achievements.  It gave me a chance to reflect on why they were successful - and why many other folks aren't.  There will be some valuable takeaways for you, regardless of your athletic or fitness goals. 5. Oblique Strains in Baseball: 2011 Update - I'd written about oblique strains in the past, but they continue to be the big fat white elephant in the corner that is being ignored in the context of baseball development.  Hopefully this article got some people to start paying attention to the fact that it's just the fallout of a lot of things that are wrong with the current approaches being employed with respect to baseball strength and conditioning. 6. The IYCA High School Strength and Conditioning Coach Certification - I was fortunate to be a contributor on this awesome resource that will hopefully change the tide of how high school athletes are trained.  Based on the feedback we've received thus far, it's already helped tremendously in this regard.

7. Strength Training Program Success: How Dr. P did at 47 What He Couldn't Do at 20 or 30 - This blog (and accompanying video) were awesome because our entire gym got involved on this goal - and were there to see our good friend accomplish it. 8. The Everything Elbow In-Service - This was an in-service I filmed for our staff this summer to prepare them for all the elbow issues that may come through our doors.  It lasted 32 minutes, and sold far better than I would have imagined - and led to a lot of requests for us to continue filming staff in-services and making them available for sale.

9. Strength and Conditioning Programs: Think the Opposite - This has a few tips about a counterintuitive way to achieve success in training and in business. 10. Hip Pain in Athletes: The Origin of Femoroacetabular Impingement - FAI is becoming more and more common (especially in young athletes), and in this blog, I talk about some of the reasons why. That wraps up our "Best of 2011" series.  Thank you very much for your support of EricCressey.com in 2011; I'm looking forward to making 2012 even more memorable! Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
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The Best of 2011: Articles

With 2011 winding down, I'll be dedicating this week to the best content of the year, based on traffic volume at EricCressey.com.  I'll kick it off today with my most popular articles from the past year. 1. My New Favorite Training Shoe - This post received more than 3,000 views more than #2.  Apparently, footwear is a topic about which folks were anxious to read, and I gave a detailed review of all the minimalist footwear options I've tried - and folks shared it a ton.  Additionally, based on feedback on my Twitter account, a lot of people purchased the New Balance Minimus based on my recommendation and have absolutely loved it.

2. Your Arm Hurts?  Thank Your Little League, Fall Ball, and AAU Coaches. - This post received well over 1,000 Facebook "shares" and loads of Tweets, and I'm hopeful that this is indicative of parents, coaches, and players learning about how to approach arm care and throwing programs intelligently.  I think it was also popular because it was a good blend of scientific evidence and simple, everyday logic. 3. Tim Collins: Why Everyone Should Be a Kansas City Royals Fan (at least for a day) - This was my favorite post of the year, as it was a chance to celebrate a good friend and long-time Cressey Performance athlete who is everything that is right about Major League Baseball. As a cool little aside, traffic to this article played a large part in having "Tim Collins" trending on Twitter during his MLB debut on Opening Day in March.

4. Weight Training Programs: You Can't Just Keep Adding - It sounds like many of my readers were glad to hear that I was doing some writing on managing training stress.  There is a lot of common sense in this one, but sometimes, that's what people need! 5. Strength Training Programs and Squat Technique: To Arch or Not to Arch? - Here's a very misunderstood topic in the area of strength and conditioning technique.  You'll be happy to know that I'll be addressing it in great detail in the new Functional Stability Training resource that Mike Reinold and I are releasing soon. 6. Shoulder Hurts? Start Here. - In this piece, I outlined three sure-fire strategies that just about everyone can employ regardless of their shoulder issues.

7. Healthy Food Options: Why You Should Never Take Nutrition Advice from Your Government - One of the biggest surprises for me in 2011 was that my readers absolutely ate up (no pun intended) nutrition content, and summer Cressey Performance intern Tyler Simmons' guest blog perfect example.   He shared some great (and controversial) thoughts in this guest blog. 8. Correcting Bad Posture: Are Deadlifts Enough? - People want results, and they want them fast.  This post touched on whether or not the deadlift could be an optimal "shortcut" for getting to where you want to be. 9. Why the Gym's Out-of-Business and the Porn Store's Thriving - This was proof that I can write about just about anything.  Don't ever expect to see a content drought here at EricCressey.com.  The timing for this was really good, as I got the idea to write it right around the time that we released The Fitness Business Blueprint.

10. Lifting Heavy Weights vs. Corrective Exercise: Finding a Balance - I can definitely see how folks found this topic so interesting, as it's a very challenging balance to strike.  In fact, it was even a very challenging piece around which to wrap my brain! This wraps up our top 10 posts of 2011, but I'll be back soon with more "Best of" highlights from 2011.  Next up, I'll list my top product reviews of the year. Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
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The Most Overlooked Continuing Education Opportunity for Fitness Professionals

I write a lot at EricCressey.com about various continuing education opportunities for fitness professionals. Reading this blog and other related websites on the 'net is one. Checking out some of my products and those created by other folks in the industry is a second. Attending seminars is a third. Getting out to observe other coaches is a fourth; we have observational interns stop by all the time to check out Cressey Performance for a day or two. Fifth would be teaching.  One of the best ways to master a topic is to have to teach it and answer questions about it.  This is why giving seminars and doing staff/intern training makes me better at what I do. However, there is a sixth option out there that - to be very honest - blows all the rest out of the water.

All of your clients/athletes have things to teach you.

Case in point, Monday was the busiest day in Cressey Performance history, as lots of our college guys rolled back in from the fall semester and jumped in with our professional athletes, adult clients, and high school and middle school clientele.  This week alone, we saw athletes from the following:

29 of the 30 MLB organizations

Over 20 area high schools and their associated middle schools Wake Forest University Vanderbilt University University of Virginia University of Maryland Boston College Northwestern University University of Florida Coastal Carolina University University of Connecticut Columbia University Florida Tech Kennesaw St. University University of Hartford Binghamton University Bryant University Babson College Assumption College Wheaton College Rollins College Southern New Hampshire University UMASS - Lowell UMASS - Amherst Middlebury College Emory University Elon University Carson-Newman College St. Lawrence University Washington University - St. Louis Franklin Pierce Colby College Bowdoin College Eckerd College

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few - and this is on top of our adult clients, but that's neither here nor there.  The point is that every single one of these individuals has a unique background: different injury histories, different training backgrounds, and different responses to the training they are doing with you.  Ask them questions about what they like and what they dislike.  Find out what's worked, and what hasn't.  Ask where their biggest shortcomings are; what do they struggle with on a daily basis?

This form of education is the absolute best of the bunch for two reasons.

First, it's the best kind of information, because it's already framed in the context of an existing schema in your mind (I covered this concept in an old blog, Strength and Conditioning Programs: How to Make Change Easier).  Comparatively speaking, when you read about a concept in a book, you have to consider how it applies to a client/athlete of yours before you can apply it - and then you have to evaluate it to see what works.  When you do "Q&A" with the individual in question, you get useful information that you can immediately apply.

Second, it's an opportunity to show clients/athletes that you genuinely care about them and are taking an interest in their unique situations.  This simply doesn't happen in facilities when they don't do evaluations on the first day.  And, it certainly doesn't happen when everyone does the same program off the dry erase board.

So, the next time you're looking to pick up some new ideas to help your strength and conditioning philosophy evolve, start asking questions of the people who matter the most: your clients and athletes.

For more business, training, and personal strategies, be sure to check out The Fitness Business Blueprint.

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7 Steps for Attacking Continuing Education in the Fitness Industry Expanding Clients' Social Networks: An Overlooked Role of the Fitness Professional

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Fitness Professionals: 5 Tips for Marketing to Physical Therapists

In light of my post earlier this week on how essential it is for fitness professionals to understand corrective exercise, I received an outstanding guest blog submission from physical therapist Ann Wendel that will serve as an excellent follow-up. As Eric alluded to in his recent post, it takes time and energy to build a network of providers in your area. Many fitness professionals are eager to market their services to physical therapists, but they may not know how to get started. Often, their attempts at marketing are ineffective and frustrating. I have worked in the health care industry for 20 years, starting my career as an ATC working with high school, college and professional athletes, and then as a PT/ATC in a variety of settings. Over the years, I have seen both good and bad efforts at marketing by local trainers. In this article, I will give you five pointers to help you market your expertise to the health care community.

1. Build the relationship: It takes time to build trust. You don’t want to come off like a used car salesman. If you rush into the PT clinic expecting to talk with one of the therapists and hand out your materials, you are probably wasting your time. When I worked in a busy orthopedic outpatient clinic, I saw a patient every 30 minutes for 8 hours straight, and I didn’t have the time to even come up to the front desk to meet the trainers who stopped by. Leaving your information without making a personal connection is futile. Call ahead to schedule a time to meet with the therapist. Then arrive on time and be prepared to present your business and explain why we should refer to you over others in your field. Offer us the ability to come to your studio/gym and observe you working with clients, or offer us a complimentary consultation so we can see how you work with a new client from start to finish. I have a policy of never referring to anyone (massage therapist, trainer, physician, etc.) unless I have personally worked with that person and been happy with their services. It’s our reputation on the line when we make a referral.

In 20 years of practice I have only had one trainer offer me a complimentary session to see how he worked. I refer patients to him.

2. Dress the part: When you go to meet with physical therapists or physicians, dress the part. You are entering a professional medical setting. What may be appropriate clothing for your gym may not be considered professional in a clinic. You don’t have to wear a suit; but, take a shower, put on clean, freshly ironed clothes, wear nice shoes, have clean fingernails. I’m being serious! Don’t show up to talk business in your sweats. We want to see that you are a professional and we want to be sure that the patients we are going to refer to you will be impressed by your appearance. Have your marketing materials ready to present, have business cards, have a website; we are going to want to check you out and so will our patients. And, if you participate in social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and have them linked to your professional website, make sure you are representing yourself as a professional. The last thing we want is to refer our 70 year old neighbor to you, and have them see half naked gym/beach/Spring Break pictures and talk of booty calls on your website.

3. Speak the lingo: We want to know that you are going to keep our patients safe. Know your anatomy, know the names of major surgeries and injuries, know about autoimmune diseases, have a basic knowledge of neurological problems such as stroke, MS, and Guillain-Barre. If we are going to refer post-rehab patients to you, we want to know that you understand the issue and know how to help the client regain strength safely. If you don’t have good knowledge of these issues, ask questions, do research, go to continuing education courses that cover post-rehab, ask to come in and observe what we are doing with patients of the same diagnosis. If you have already established the relationship with the therapist, it is easier to ask questions.

4. Have a desire to collaborate: Realize that physical therapists have gone through (at minimum) 7 years of schooling to get their degree. We have also done continuing education and post graduate certification courses. We don’t know everything, but we did learn a thing or two. I have had trainers come in to meet with me before who want to impress upon me how much they know, and they come off as so arrogant and unprofessional that I throw their cards away as soon as they leave. Come in ready to partner with us in treating the client. Share your knowledge in a non-aggressive manner.

Most of us are looking for the right person to whom we can refer clients, and we are more likely to refer them to someone with whom we feel we can easily share information.

5. Refer to physical therapy when appropriate: If the client starts to have a return of symptoms after discharge from physical therapy, worsening of symptoms or new symptoms refer them to a therapist for an evaluation. Know when it is time to bring in another set of eyes or hands to assess the client. Sometimes the patient is more appropriate for therapy for a while before they are ready to come back to you for post-rehab. Don’t worry, if you are good and the patient has developed a good relationship with you, they will be back. If you have developed a good relationship with a therapist, patients can easily transition between the two of you as appropriate for their condition. As healthcare continues to change, insurance reimbursement continues to decline and patients are limited to a certain number of physical therapy visits, we are going to need to develop a good network of trainers and fitness professionals. Start thinking about how you can make some small changes to make yourself more marketable than every other Joe out there. If you are taking the time to read this blog, you are clearly interested in becoming better at what you do. Understanding what therapists are looking for puts you ahead of everyone else already. Showing up to meet with a therapist looking professional, talking in a way that is non-aggressive while showing us that you do know what you are talking about, and having quality marketing materials makes you the perfect person to hand our patients off to for continued care. About the Author Ann Wendel holds a B.S. in P.E. Studies with a concentration in Athletic Training from the University of Delaware, and a Masters in Physical Therapy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Based in Alexandria, VA, she is a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) licensed in Virginia, a Licensed Physical Therapist, and a Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist (CMTPT).  For more information, please visit Ann’s site, Prana Physical Therapy. Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
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Test Drive The Fitness Business Blueprint for $1

Today, Pat Rigsby, Mike Robertson, and I are excited to announce an early holiday gift to people who want to build successful fitness businesses in 2012.

We aren't just offering you $100 off our best selling product, The Fitness Business Blueprint; we're also giving you the opportunity to test-drive it for a full 30 days for just $1!

You can pick up your copy or learn more HERE.

We're very proud of just how comprehensive this resource is.  It doesn't just cover sales and marketing, but also areas other products along these lines have missed:  staff training, assessment/intake, program design, and personal development (among others). I should mention that your net payout is actually even lower than you might think, as this is an investment that can be written off on your tax return as a business expense - because it will directly assist you in increasing your income. The $1 Trial ends on Thursday at midnight, so don't delay.  Head here for details. Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!
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Feedback on The Fitness Business Blueprint

Since we released it two months ago, The Fitness Business Blueprint has received some excellent reviews from fitness professionals who have been enable to effectively employ the strategies Mike Robertson, Pat Rigsby, and I outline in the product.  Here's one such individual: “The thing I love about Mike, Eric and Pat is the consistently high quality of all of their products.  I’ve been following Mike and Eric’s work for years now, and as a direct result, I was already a great coach with a solid assessment procedure in place.  After Eric’s presentation in the FBB, I was able to streamline this procedure, and make it run that much more smoothly – for me, this alone was worth the price of the product.  But it didn’t stop there.  Mike and Pat followed up Eric’s presentation with some great back end business ideas and systems advice that have had an immediate effect on my bottom line.  You won’t be disappointed with this product”. James Garland Strength and Conditioning Coach - New South Wales, Australia Click here for more information on The Fitness Business Blueprint.

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Strength and Conditioning Programs: Think “The Opposite”

September 6 might seem like just another Tuesday to most folks.  Many people probably despise it because the day after Labor Day serves as an unofficial end to summer.  Kids go back to school, teachers go back to work, and many seasonal businesses lose customers and employees as the season winds down.

Not me, though.  Today, the madness begins for me – and I love it.

You see, today is the start of the professional baseball off-season, as some minor leaguers played their last games yesterday.  Between now and the start of spring training in February/March, Cressey Performance will likely see over 50 guys either in the big leagues or trying to make the big leagues.

We get a special type of ballplayer, too. Trekking to Hudson, MA in the winter isn’t for everyone – and certainly not for guys who want to be coddled.  Our guys love to work smart and hard – and that makes my job incredibly fun.

People are often surprised to learn that I never even played baseball in high school.  Being an “outsider” to the game would seemingly make it harder to enter the world of baseball strength and conditioning, but I actually used it to my advantage.  To put it bluntly, I had no preconceived notions of what people think works, so it made it easy for me to “buck” stupid baseball traditions and focus on what I know works.  In short, as some of the world’s smartest marketing advisors have recommended, I did the opposite of what others do, and the Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Development Program thrived.

Given that baseball players are among the most often-injured athletes in sports, many “experts” in the industry baby them with “do no harm, but do no good” strength training programs.  We show guys that it’s possible to get strong in an intelligent way while decreasing the risk of injury – both acutely and chronically.

Conversely, many strength and conditioning coaches alienate players by looking, acting, and programming like football coaches.  We don’t Olympic lift, back squat, or bench press with our baseball players – and we’ve gone to great lengths to bring in equipment that enables us to modify traditional strength exercises and make them safer for a baseball population.

Many coaches who have played the game before rely exclusively on their experiences playing the game to dictate how players prepare nowadays.  What they fail to appreciate is that the modern game is far different: more off-field distractions (e.g., heavier media attention, social networking), heavier travel schedules (more teams = more travel), more competing demands (e.g., strength and conditioning), and more pressure to succeed (larger organizations = more levels of minor leaguers pushing to take your job).  As a result, I do a lot more listening to my athletes than I do talking - and much less assuming than other coaches do.

Loads of coaches run their pitchers into the ground, thereby ruining guys’ mobility, sapping their power, and abusing their endocrine systems in an ignorant attempt to improve recovery.  Our guys never run more than 60 yards – and they get healthier and more athletic in the process.

Many organizations hand out the same strength and conditioning programs to all their players – regardless age, training experience, dominant hand, and position on the field.  A lot of facilities are no better; one training program on the dry erase board dictates what everyone in the gym does on a given day.  In a sport where each body (and injury) is unique – and asymmetry is overwhelmingly problematic – we give our guys a competitive advantage with a strength and conditioning program that is individualized to each player.

While some facilities were aligning themselves with companies who were trying to be “everything to everybody” by catering to loads of different sports, we allied with New Balance, a Boston-based and not only has a heavy baseball focus (225+ MLB players under contract), but a strong commitment to various charitable causes, American workers, and the education of up-and-coming players.

Walk into any professional baseball clubhouse, and you’ll see a lot of different “cliques.”  Guys of a wide-variety of ages come from different states and countries, speak different languages or have different accents, and play different positions.   On a 25-30 man roster, a player might only hang out with 2-3 teammates off the field at most during the season.  We’ve made camaraderie an insanely important piece of the CP professional baseball approach, introducing guys to each other, setting up out-of-the-gym events for our guys, and creating a culture where everyone roots for everyone else.  I’ve had guys at my house for Thanksgiving and at my wedding – and guys have held back on referring other players because they didn’t feel that their work ethics or attitudes would be a good fit for CP.  In short, we’ve created a family and an experience – and given our athletes an ownership stake in it – while others just  “worked guys out.”

Although it is a point Pat Rigsby, Mike Robertson, and I heavily emphasize in our Fitness Business Blueprint product, the concept of “doing the opposite” to succeed isn’t just applicable to business.

Go to any gym, and look at how many people are on the treadmills year-after-year, none of them getting any leaner.  Get some of them to head across the gym to a weight room and they’ll transform their bodies in a matter of a few months.  Switch someone from a high-carb, low-protein, low-fat diet to a high-protein, high-fat, low-carb diet, and they’ll often drop a lot of fat in a short amount of time.

With all that said, the answers for me will never be the right answers for you.  Look at what you’re doing – whether it’s in training, business, or life – and think about how doing the exact opposite may, in fact, be the best way to improve your outcomes.

For those of you interested in taking a peek inside what goes on with the Cressey Performance Elite Baseball Development Program on a daily basis – from training videos to footage of guys goofing off in the office – I’d encourage you to follow @CresseyPerf on Twitter.

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Strength and Conditioning Stuff You Should Read: 8/12/11 (Fitness Business Blueprint Edition)

With today being the last day of the early-bird $100 off discount on The Fitness Business Blueprint, I wanted to take a quick second to direct you to a few reads that might be of interest along these lines: Bret Contreras Interviews Cressey, Robertson, and Rigsby - Here, Bret asks not just about our new resource, but a lot of how our businesses came to be. Your Fitness Business Blueprint Questions Answered - Have a question about The Fitness Business Blueprint?  Chances are that it's answered here. EC on The Fitcast - I went on the Fitcast with Kevin Larrabee the other day to discuss the new product as well as the overall concept of running a fitness business.  If you'd rather listen than read, here's the one for you! Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a deadlift technique tutorial!
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Strength and Conditioning Programs: How to Make Change Easier

Yesterday was a busy (but fun) day at Cressey Performance, and when I got home around 7pm, I was beat. Luckily, it doesn’t take much energy to check emails, so that’s what I did.  This one made my night: Hey Eric, Just wanted to thank you for helping me out this summer. I've weighed in at 197 the last few days, a 19 pound increase in about 3 months. My fastball has gone up 7-8 mph and I still feel like I haven't thrown the ball near my best yet. Because of the work I put in this summer I now have a legitimate shot to pitch a lot this year after not seeing an inning and getting redshirted last season. Thanks again, John Pretty cool, huh?  These are the kind of emails that make the long days all worthwhile and remind me why I have the coolest job in the world.  It gets better, though – as there is a lot to be learned from this specific story. John – a college pitcher coming off two surgeries in two years on his throwing shoulder, plus a few hamstrings pulls – drove seven hours for his one-time consultation/evaluation at Cressey Performance back in May and then took a program home with him.  Then, he drove back to CP at the start of his June and July programs to learn the exercises and check in with us to make sure everything was progressing nicely.  That’s some serious dedication (and gas money!).

Just as significant, though, was his ability to embrace change, as our programs were a huge deviation from his previous experiences.  His original email to us included this line: “I run 6 days a week, one of my goals between the end of this season and the beginning of next one is to run 1,000 miles.”  He didn’t do a single “run” over 50 yards in the entire three month program with us.  He also did far more (and longer) long toss in his throwing program than he had previously.  So, you could say that he not only embraced a change, but thrived with it. Change is tough, though.  Lots of people read my blogs, hear me speak at seminars, and interact with me on short-term observational visits to Cressey Performance – but only a small percentage of them actually put things into action.  Loads of people acquire knowledge, but never act on it. However, interestingly, when a new client starts up at CP, they stand a much better chance of succeeding with change.  Starting (and staying consistent with) a strength and conditioning program is a big undertaking; in fact, for many, it’s as significant as taking on a new job, opening a new business, or learning to play a new sport or instrument.  And, when that program is a complete deviation from what you’re expecting, it’s even tougher. Why, then, do some people succeed with change more than others?  I think it has to do with a lot of factors, but these five stand out the most to me: 1. They get those around them involved – John’s dad came along for the ride for his first day at CP – and this is often the case for the parents of our high school athletes.  While you don’t want overbearing parents, you do want a support system that’s aware of new goals and can be there to help keep one accountable in the quest for change.

2. They find good training partners and a quality training environment – I had a quick video blog about this yesterday, but I’m convinced that training partners and environment are just as important as an effective program.  There are always people to pick you up when you’re dragging, and the energy is contagious.  It makes change fun while making it seem like it is actually a “norm,” as training partners are constantly reaffirming what you’re doing and providing encouragement and feedback. 3. They don’t get overwhelmed by changing everything – Sometimes, the easiest way to create massive change is to take baby steps and break the overhaul into smaller components.  As I wrote recently, small hinges swing big doors.  This has never been my “cup of tea,” but there have been times when we’ve had to slowly change around a program for a client that was accustomed to a completely different school of thought.  “One of mine and one of yours” can work for the initial period and help you to gain an individual’s trust before a more thorough transition. 4. They incorporate this change into an existing schema – This is one I originally read in the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip and Dan Heath.

To illustrate things, I’ll call upon my own personal experience.  Back in 2006 or so, I didn’t think that there was any possible way that semi-private training could work. How could you have clients of all different ages, experience levels, and goals training at the same time without having chaos?  My buddy, Alwyn Cosgrove (who, at the time, had just beaten stage 4 cancer for the second time), had some great advice: Physical therapy is done in group settings. Cardiac and pulmonary rehab are done in group settings.  I did pulmonary rehab post-chemo.  Seventeen of us in the group and one nurse. That's called semi-private! Chemotherapy is done in a semi-private setting for most cancers, too. My first time through there were ten of us in a room with two nurses. Actually, when I was in the hospital getting chemo it was still semi-private. I had one nurse who covered six rooms. Now I'm even more convinced. If life saving (and potentially deadly chemotherapy) is done in a small group setting, you're really stretching to tell me that an exercise program has to be one-on-one. We now do almost exclusively semi-private training, and it’s amazing.  Middle school athletes get to watch how the high school guys train.  The pro guys get to mentor the high school guys.  The adult clients get to know athletes they see on TV on a personal level.  Experienced clients introduce themselves to new clients when they start training.  Just the other day, one of our local families had two of out-of-town athletes (Colorado and Virginia) over for dinner on Saturday night, and then brought them to church with them on Sunday morning.  There is insane camaraderie among folks from all different walks of life.

None of it would have been possible if I hadn’t been able to wrap my head around the idea of semi-private training – and it would have been tough to get to that point if Alwyn hadn’t put the concept into my existing schemas (physical therapy, cardiac/pulmonary rehab/chemotherapy) for me. 5. They spend money – Taking a leap of faith and increasing the stakes can sometimes motivate people to make change happen.  Whether it’s a payment for training, or just a bet with friends about exercise consistency or some training goal, separating people from their money always seems to magically increase adherence.  People don’t like getting ripped off – and it’s even worse when you rip yourself off because there is nobody else to blame except yourself! In a recent example, Pat Rigsby, Mike Robertson, and I outline many assessment, training, and business strategies that one can effectively employ in a fitness business in The Fitness Business Blueprint.  One of our primary goals in making it the way that we did was to make sure that we made it easier for buyers to apply the changes we recommended; we discussed how to incorporate our ideas seamlessly in their current business strategy.  Still, none of these tactics will work is someone isn’t willing to change – and that means putting in some leg work to both set the stage for change and then follow through on it.

This resource is on sale for $100 off through Friday at midnight.  If you’re looking to make positive changes in your fitness business – or get one off the ground in the first place – it’s an outstanding way to get the ball rolling.  You can learn more about The Fitness Business Blueprint HERE. Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a deadlift technique tutorial!
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The Fitness Business Blueprint is LIVE!

I'm psyched to announce that The Fitness Business Blueprint, a collaborative project among Mike Robertson, Pat Rigsby, and me, is now available for sale.

A ton of work went in to making this product the most comprehensive resource available to fitness professionals looking to start a successful training business.  And, even if you're already in business, there are business, relationship-building, assessment, program design, and training strategies you'll learn to instantly help take your business to the next level.

Mike, Pat, and I all have unique skill sets, and by combining them, I feel strongly that we've put together a comprehensive approach to attacking fitness business development from all angles.  Rather than list all the details here, I'll encourage you to check out The Fitness Business Blueprint sales page.

The product is on sale at an introductory $100 off price through this Friday (August 12) at midnight.  It's 100% online, and you'll be able to access (and put into action) all the information immediately.

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LEARN HOW TO DEADLIFT
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