I hope your week is going well. I had a blast in Nashville this past weekend while speaking at the Pitchapalooza event, but now it's back to the regular craziness of the baseball off-season. I'll have some new content later in the week, but in the meantime, here are some good reads for the week:
30 Days of Arm Care Updates - You can see all these videos (currently on day 23) via the hashtag #30DaysOfArmCare on both Twitter and Instagram.
Pre-Suasion - This is the second book I've read from Robert Cialdini, and while neither of them were directly written for strength and conditioning coaches, they can both really help the way we interact with our athletes.
The Ideal Business Show with Pete Dupuis - Pat Rigsby interviewed my business partner, Pete Dupuis. This is a great listen for all fitness professionals interested in the business side of the industry.
New Boss Derek Falvey Looks to Make an Imprint with Twins - Derek Falvey is the new team president of the Minnesota Twins - at age 33. That's an incredible accomplishment, and this article sheds some light on how he quickly ascended through the MLB front office ranks. There are great lessons in here for up-and-comers in any field. Derek has become a good friend, and I'm really excited to see where the Twins go in the years ahead behind his leadership.
Top Tweet of the Week -
A minor-leaguer just told me he's had 10 pitching coaches in 3 yrs. It's a good reminder that you always have to be your own best coach.
It's been a hectic week in South Florida with Hurricane Matthew preparations on top of the baseball off-season, but we lucked out as the storm moved past us in Jupiter before coming ashore further North. Hopefully all our readers in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas are safe and sound!
That said, here's a little content to get the week going:
Elevation Training Masks: An Analysis - I've been meaning to write a similar post up for a long time, but suffice it to say that I never got around to it. Luckily, Doug Kechijian made it happen and did a great job. Elevation masks are a waste of time and money - and have potentially negative side effects.
Gym Owner Musings: Installment 2 - My business partner, Pete Dupuis, discusses a few of the lessons we've learned in running Cressey Sports Performance for the past 9+ years. I think point #3 on early-stage "learning by doing."
The Ideal Business Podcast with John Berardi - Dr. John Berardi was been a great friend and mentor to me, and he shares some awesome business development wisdom in this podcast with Pat Rigsby. I thought the portion of the interview where he talks about the importance of saying "No" was particularly intriguing (and an area in which I need to improve!).
My topic for our 5th Annual Cressey Sports Performance Fall Seminar is "Forecasting Fitness." I'll be talking about where I think the fitness industry is headed in the next few decades. While I've been pulling together my PowerPoint, I've come up with some good odds and ends that I feel warrant reflection here in a blog. Before I get started, though, just a quick, friendly reminder that today is the last day to get the early-bird registration discount on the event. Hope to see you there!
Without further ado...
1. Humility is a must.
Over the past week, I've listened to podcasts interviews with three of my good friends in the industry: Brijesh Patel (head S&C coach at Quinnipiac), Mike Irr (S&C coach and physical therapist for the Golden State Warriors), and Josh Bonhotal (S&C coach at Purdue). I'm a huge believer (both in life and continuing education opportunities) in the importance of finding common ground. [bctt tweet="Focus on the 90% of things successful people have in common, not the 10% upon which they disagree."]
In all three of these interviews, the coach - in one way or another - stressed the importance of humility. Josh, in particular, commented on how he knew absolutely nothing about training divers (or even the sport itself) when he first started training divers with Olympic medals under their belts. And, rather than trying to employ a "fake it 'til you make it" strategy with them, he was very honest with them about his lack of experience, but also committed to learning as much as he could by observing and asking tons of questions. I think athletes and clients appreciate that humility - and certainly prefer it over a "know it all" demeanor.
2. There are four predominant ways to win over a potential customer in the fitness industry.
Last month, an intern asked me what I felt made some fitness writers successful while others struggled to gain a following. It got me to thinking about the qualities of the prominent fitness writers I know, and the more I considered it, the more I realized that these are the same qualities that make for a good in-person trainer or coach. Here are some of the four primary things the best writers (and trainers) do:
Innovate - These are new ideas that you can't find elsewhere. Think of what Nick Tumminello and Ben Bruno do with the introduction of exercises you haven't seen before. It's what we've tried to do with our baseball-specific approach to strength and conditioning. Ron Hruska did this with the Postural Restoration Institute approach to restoring optimal movement, and Dr. Stuart McGill has done it with his research on back pain and spine biomechanics. In the in-person training realm, this is the trainer at the commercial gym who picks up clients because they see him/her always introducing new drills with clients to keep things fresh. Or, it might be the reason baseball players move from across the country to train at Cressey Sports Performance in MA or FL.
Translate - This is someone taking an innovator's ideas and making them more user-friendly for the masses, and it's often necessary because not all innovators make great teachers. I think Mike Boyle has done a tremendous job of this over the years because he's very well read and a good teacher. In a presentation in Charlotte earlier this year, Mike joked that he has "no problem being the dumbest person in the room." In other words, he asks questions, and in doing so, learns how to best teach the material he's acquiring. Ultimately, this also leads to innovation, too.
In the in-person training world, this is the trainer who has great knowledge, but can "dumb things down" to create an efficient training program without overwhelming clients (who may not be interested in the science behind the training, anyway).
Entertain - This approach finds ways to make otherwise mundane content more palatable. If you read Tony Gentilcore's content, he does this really well; you hear about his cat and the movies he's seen as you're digesting content on shoulder mobility. These are also people who bring to the forefront entertaining stories that you might not have seen, but also offer social commentary (think of Barstool Sports or The Onion). In-person, these are the trainers who make things so fun that you actually forget you're working out.
Relate - This skill creates a sense of acceptance or unity. It's what Girls Gone Strong has done for females who like to lift weights, and why many powerlifters enjoy following other lifters' training logs that are posted online. The exercises aren't necessarily unique or hard to understand, but it gives a glimpse into someone else's reality that feels like your own. In-person, this is why some clients seek out trainers who are more like themselves. Smaller females usually don't want to train with huge bodybuilders, and guys who want to be huge bodybuilders don't want to train with smaller females. Baseball players don't want to train with guys who look like 300-pound offensive linemen, and 300-pound offensive lineman are usually skeptical of little guys who don't look the part.
Keep in mind that all successful writers and trainers do a combination of a few of these things; they never happen in isolation. If you look at EricCressey.com, I have a whole lot of innovation and translation, but less entertainment and relating. Conversely, you can get those latter two things on my social media offerings (particularly Instagram), as I post pics of my kids and own training, plus loads of self-deprecating humor and comical hashtags.
Let me preface this point by saying that you can be a great coach even with poor writing skills. What I will say, however, is that having unimpressive writing skills will make it dramatically harder to a) get a job and b) acquire clients.
For me, writing is a "tripwire." The second I see an email or resume with horrendous punctuation and loads of typos, it flips the "evaluate this under a microscope" switch. In other words, if someone writes (especially in a professional context) carelessly, it makes me wonder how far their lack of attention to detail extends. Will they show up on time? Will they swear in front of clients? Will there be typos in the programs they write?
In a world where 95% of fitness resumes look almost identical, polished writing can actually be a strong distinguishing factor.
4. Switch "ABC" to "ABCD."
This is borrowed from a slide in my 2016 Perform Better talk, but it's so important that I think it warrants reiteration.
Many business coaches have written about the ABC approach to selling: "Always Be Closing." I happen to think that's the short-term-gain, long-term-pain approach to building a business, especially in the fitness industry. People are constantly getting pitched on something, and it sure gets old.
I favor the ABCD approach: "Always Be Creatively Delivering." As Pat Rigsby has said, you want to find ways to add value, not extract it. Go out of your way to find avenues through which you can add more value to a client's experience and you'll have a much higher likelihood of fitness industry success.
Wrap-up
That'll do it for this month. I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments section below. And, we'd certainly love to see you at our fall seminar!
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Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all those present and past who have served to protect our freedoms.
Here's some recommended reading to check out once all the barbecues and family time have settled down later today.
44 Lessons I've Learned Along the Way - If you're involved in the fitness business (or any business) and haven't seen one of Pat Rigsby's epic lists, you're missing out!
What You Should Know About Sleep - Chad Waterbury doesn't post often, but when it does, it's always a good read. Check out this article about sleep quantity and benefits.
I'm psyched to announce that Cressey Performance will be hosting the first ever Elite Training Workshop in the Boston area on Sunday, April 21. Presenting will be Mike Robertson, Mike Reinold, Dave Schmitz, Tony Gentilcore, Jared Woolever, and Steve Long. Additionally, there will be a "bonus" fitness business day with Pat Rigsby and Nick Berry on Saturday afternoon, April 20. At just $99.95, this is an outstanding value.
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the day my business partners and I founded Cressey Performance. In that time, we've gone through two expansions, and we're now in the process of a third one, which will effectively double the size of our space to over 15,000 square feet.
It's been somewhat of a tradition for me to write something about Cressey Performance on EricCressey.com every July 13 in honor of the occasion. To that end, in light of the fact that I know I have a ton of current or aspiring facility owners reader this site, I thought I'd use today's post to outline one of the most important considerations I want our entire staff to understand.
Success isn't just measured in revenue.
Most business owners look to at a net income total at the end of each month to determine if they're successful. While this certainly governs whether or not they'll be able to keep the lights on at the facility and feed their families, it doesn't speak to the far-reaching implications that a successful business has.
In the case of a fitness business, how many chronic diseases have thousands of exercise programs helped prevent? How many bum shoulders have become asymptomatic so that a father can throw 400 pitches at his son's team's batting practice? How many kids have gained confidence that's gone far beyond the weight room, impacting school performance and social interaction? How many shoulder and elbow surgeries have been avoided by proactive strength and conditioning program initiatives? How many young athletes have spent 10-12 hours a week at Cressey Performance surrounded by professional and college athlete role models when they could have been out getting into trouble with the wrong crowd? How many families have collectively started eating healthier because a young athlete came home from CP with some healthy food options for them to try? How many young athletes have been inspired to pursue fitness as a career? How many people have learned to stand up for their beliefs in vigorously defending their answers to the Tim Collins Question of the Day?
It excites me to see our former interns doing absolutely fantastic things. Many have gone on to master's degrees and doctorates in physical therapy, and two are in medical school. Some have started their own training facilities, and others have gone on to college strength and conditioning positions. Kevin Neeld is working with the U.S. Women's National Hockey team and loads of high-level hockey players. Brian St. Pierre and Jay Bonn are having a huge impact on a number of lives through their work with Dr. John Berardi and Precision Nutrition. Brad Schnitzer can drink a bottle of water really fast, too.
I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I'm very proud of all these interns and what they've accomplished.
Taking it a step further, I'm always psyched to see guys like Tim Collins (Royals), Steve Cishek (Marlins), Kevin Youkilis (White Sox), and Bryan LaHair (Cubs) doing as much stuff as possible in terms of charity work.
And, I'm even more psyched when I see our minor league guys wanting to follow their lead, and that's why getting involved with charity initiatives is an important part of our off-season pro baseball training crew. These little gestures of kindness mean a lot to people, and they mean even more when you're on the biggest stage and have a rare opportunity to impact thousands of people with your words and actions. My hope is that the Cressey Performance experience has helped to not give our younger guys the the awareness to appreciate these opportunities to help others, but instill in them the humility to properly make use of them.
Additionally, in our case, Hudson, MA isn't a tourism hub by any means (although we do have an Applebees, for what it's worth). Yet, CP brings anywhere from 80 to 120 clients per day to Hudson from all over Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. They spend money on food (including at our building's cafeteria), gas, and any of a number of other things while they're in town. Additionally, we have a lot of clients and interns who travel from all over the U.S. and abroad to train with us, and they support local hotels and rental properties. Finally, in Tony's case, he single-handedly keeps a local auto body shop in business with all the repairs on his car; in fact, I think their owners would vote for him if he ran for mayor because of all the "economic stimulus" he's provided them. At least these kids got some exercise and entertainment pushing his car to the mechanic.
All these considerations in mind, recognize that you don't go into business solely to make money. When you're six feet under and looking up at the grass, nobody remembers you for your net income in August of 2010, but rather the impact you had on the world before you left it. And, on a related and interesting note, looking at ways to overdeliver and add value to someone's experience is often the best way to make a business more profitable. As my friend Pat Rigsby would say, pursue "value addition" opportunities, not "value extraction" ones.
To all our clients who have supported us for the past five years, thank you very much. Our entire staff is deeply appreciative of your continued support.
Speaking of Pat, he, Mike Robertson, and I collaborated on a product called the Fitness Business Blueprint last year. It discusses all the mistakes we made when opening our fitness businesses, as well as the common mistakes Pat sees in the businesses for which he consults. Mike and I complement Pat's business teachings with training-specific information like assessment and program design. Taken all together, it's a great product for someone looking to start their own fitness business, or improve upon the one they already have. In honor of CP's fifth birthday, we've put it on sale for $100 off for this weekend only (sale ends Sunday, July 15 at midnight). You can pick up your copy at the special sales page HERE.
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This project has been in the works for almost a year now, and represents a great opportunity for you to receive a multi-faceted fitness education from the comforts of your own home. Mike Robertson, BJ Gaddour, Dave Schmitz, and I all have unique specialties within the fitness industry, and we're thrilled to have this opportunity to share them with you, as we all genuinely love to teach, coach, and learn - and this resource allows us to do all these things in one convenient set-up.
And, to sweeten the deal, you can sign up for Elite Training Mentorship right now for only $1 for a month to see if it's the right fit for you. This launch special ends on Friday (3/9) at midnight, so don't delay. I, personally, already have three staff in-services, one webinar, two exercise tutorials, and two articles available on the site - and Mike, BJ, and Dave have plenty of their own as well. As the saying goes, "Content is King" - and we intend to deliver a lot of it each month.
Check it out for yourself: Elite Training Mentorship.
I'm psyched to announce that today, we begin the "pre-launch" phase of a project - Elite Training Mentorship - that has me very excited.
I'm collaborating with Mike Robertson, Dave Schmitz, BJ Gaddour, and Pat Rigsby to create a virtual mentorship program for trainers and coaches. We'll be filming staff in-services on various topics, going over sample programs, providing coaching tutorials, and doing Q&A. All of us come from different backgrounds and bring unique specialties to the table, so it's excited to think about what we'll be creating with this online resource.
We don't officially launch the program for a few weeks, but in the meantime, as a little sample of what's to come, I want to encourage you to check out a recent staff in-service I delivered at Cressey Performance on the topic of lower-extremity assessment. You can get access to it HERE.
I'm confident that this collaboration will become a resource that really helps to advance the industry, and we'll be using the next few days to highlight some of the expertise that will help it do just that. So, stay tuned - but for now, don't miss out on a chance to check out this lower-extremity assessment video at no charge.
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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!
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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!
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.
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