Archive for July 2018
A Corporate Wellness Strategy That Works!
Corporate wellness is the “elephant in the room” in our industry. You can ignore it. You can dance around it and say it’s not your thing.
Read MoreEffortless Ways to Increase Revenue
Wouldn’t it be great to gather the best practices of fitness facilities around the country and distill this knowledge into a succinct series? That’s what this new column explores: the very best secrets of success for operating, managing and marketing a fitness facility.
Read MoreSexual Harassment in the Fitness Industry
One day, while stretching my client Jim, I was taken aback when I realized he wasn’t wearing underwear. His shorts were swim trunks with interior netting. I quickly looked away and continued to stretch him. This happened with Jim on several other occasions, but I never mentioned it because I wasn’t sure how to broach the matter. I also didn’t feel that he was doing this intentionally, nor did I believe he meant harm.
Read MoreEmpowered Entrepreneur: The Ups and Downs of Crowdsourcing
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Read MoreACE Mover Academy Makes the Grade
A new feature at IDEA World, this educational track led by ACE faculty equipped attendees to coach their clients to lasting behavior change. Topics included diabetes prevention, pain-free movement, exercise for cancer patients, the life of a fat cell and much, much more. Here are just two important reminders from the ACE experts:
* “We are not diagnosing anything—we’re not medical professionals,” stressed Anthony Carey, MA. “We have to be very careful how we respond to clients’ questions.
A Revamped Recipe for Reaching More Clients
The way personal trainers are taught to get clients is not only antiquated but also ineffective in today’s marketing world. Offering free sessions and trying hard to close the deal on the first try have resulted in a lack of trust from the consumer and an uphill climb to book business. It’s time we traded in this system for a newer model.
Read MoreA Coaching System for Fitness Managers
I have worked with hundreds of managers in the fitness business. I have promoted most of them from roles such as personal trainer, group fitness director, café manager, massage therapist and leagues director. While these people were all knowledgeable and skilled in their job areas, most of them had never overseen and managed a team.
Read MoreHow to Be a Pro at Productivity
Have you ever wondered how superachievers seem to get so much done? Their businesses are booming; their marketing is on point; they’ve built an incredible, supportive team; and they have professional vision and clarity. What’s their secret?
Read MoreSexual Harassment and the Fitness Industry
One day, while stretching my client Jim, I was taken aback when I realized he wasn’t wearing underwear. His shorts were swim trunks with interior netting. I quickly looked away and continued to stretch him. This happened with Jim on several other occasions, but I never mentioned it because I wasn’t sure how to broach the matter. I also didn’t feel as if he was doing this intentionally, nor did I believe he meant harm.
Read MoreHere’s to Hormones!
When you’re designing a fitness program, you may or may not consider the endocrine system, and yet it’s a key component of wellness. A network of glands that secrete hormones to support bodily functions, the endocrine system regulates internal processes—including growth and development, metabolism, homeostasis, response to stimuli, and reproduction—via the bloodstream (Sargis 2016).
Read MoreStress and Nutrition
Feeling stressed? You’re not alone! The trick is knowing what to do about it.
Research tells us that stress-relieving strategies include making a concerted effort to minimize stressors, engaging in meditation and physical activity, and nurturing strong social relationships.
That’s good advice, but it ignores the common plan that many of us resort to: the “comfort food” strategy.
Change, Challenge, CHARGE!
The IDEA team has navigated through a period of exciting change over the past 18 months. Staying true to our professional values and our drive to Inspire the World to Fitness®, we have assessed each turn, innovated adroitly and charged forward. Big thinkers in all walks of life and business intuit that change equals opportunity. When we fail to welcome transition and, with it, some measured risk, we passively and perilously expose ourselves to becoming irrelevant.
Read MoreCelebrating Failure
There’s a problematic F-word that the fitness industry rarely cares to discuss: failure. We’ve all experienced failure to one degree or another—and so have our clients—but you’d hardly know it in this industry where being positive and motivating is our specialty. We push success, and we push it hard, leaving little room for clients to feel accepted and supported during periods of low success or even spectacular failure.
Read MoreShift Happens! Saying YES to the Next Step
It’s time to stop saying, ‘I’m only a fitness professional. Every fitness pro knows that you are a confidante, a best friend, a coach—maybe even a self-esteem consultant—and that needs to be honored,” says Robert Holden, PhD, New York Times best-selling author; director of Success Intelligence, a consultancy group offering leadership programs and coaching; public speaker; and weekly radio host of Shift Happens!
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