Resources
Proactive and Purposeful Client Management
Synergistic Systems
By Kay L. Cross, MEd
Proactive and Purposeful Client Management
Develop systems to track, organize and manage clients and their data. For those of you reading these columns in order, you may feel overwhelmed at this point, thinking to yourself, “I have so many systems I need to create. How can I possibly get started?” Remember the feeling you had in school of never being “fini…
Speed Demons
Technology
By Joe Dysart
Speed Demons
Get back in the Web’s fast lane with the latest utilities.
QuickCleanTM, by McAfee (www.mcafee.com/us/) ($24.95)
One of the most prominent PC software makers, McAfee has been making products like QuickClean for years, with outstanding results. This little gem essentially goes on “space patrol” inside your PC, eliminating every performance-slowing file it can…
Wanted: Experienced Business/Life Manager
Synergistic Systems
By Kay L. Cross, MEd
Wanted: Experienced Business/Life Manager
Becoming a great self-manager takes practice and consistent discipline. How much fun did you have last month? Did you throw away what you didn’t need, and get organized and motivated for a year of synergy? Now that the cleaning out and filing are behind you, we’re on to the next step– the search for a great busine…
Get Centralized and Automated
Training for Growth
By Sherri McMillan, MSc, and Alex McMillan
Get Centralized and Automated
Streamline your operations and hit revenue goals. As consultants who travel around the world, we see many personal training businesses or departments that struggle with the same issues: I no personal training director or a director who trains 30…
The Legalities of Emergency Care
Legal & Risk Management
By Sean Riley, MS, JD
The Legalities of Emergency Care
Understand your risks and responsibilities. As a personal trainer, you work with a variety of populations, from seniors to athletes. This diversity perpetuates a number of legal issues, particularly with regard to emergency care. With the senior population, you must be able to identify the symptoms of, and remedies for…
Smart Cancellation Policies
Training for Growth
By Sherri McMillan, MSc, and Alex McMillan
Smart Cancellation Policies
Establishing fair and consistent cancellation procedures is essential for business success. We’ve all been there. Your favorite client cancels 2 hours before her session because “something came up at work.” You say, “No problem”–after all, you don’t want to lose her business. The next day, another client s…
IDEA Data Show Business Is Booming
Trainer Survey
By Patricia Ryan, MS
IDEA Data Show Business Is Booming
New data reveal the expansion of training into new skills and new opportunities.
PERSONAL TRAINING GROWS INTO SMALL GROUPS
% of respondents offering program
Total of All Respondents Health Clubs and YMCAs PFTs in Client Homes PFT Gyms
n (number) personal training (one-to-one) personal training (2 clients share) personal trai…
Operation Organization
Synergistic Systems
By Kay L. Cross, MEd
Operation Organization
Don’t wait for spring to make a clean sweep of your working environment! If someone peered into your car, file cabinets, kitchen pantry, laundry room or closet, what would they assume about you? Would they guess that you are always in a hurry, loaded down with too much stuff and barely holding your act together in the public eye? Or …
You Don’t Say . . .
Technology
By Joe Dysart
You Don’t Say . . .
With today’s voice recognition software, you can stick the keyboard where it belongs. Are your hands more comfortable pumping iron than fiddling with a computer keyboard? If so, you may want to consider using your voice as the primary way to navigate on your personal computer. For about $200, you can upgrade your PC and other devices with cutting-edge …
Respecting Your Boundaries
Legal & Risk Management
By Sean Riley, MS, JD
Respecting Your Boundaries
Always remember, your job is to design exercise programs– not to treat, diagnose or prescribe. Study after study has demonstrated that regular physical activity is important to good health. In an attempt to promote clients’ well-being, personal fitness trainers (PFTs) may find themselves involved in activities that can blur…
Creating Effective Systems
Synergistic Systems
By Kay L. Cross, MEd
Creating Effective Systems
Gain more time, focus and energy with streamlined processes for work and home. Current Time: 6:35 AM Required Time of Departure: 6:30 AM “Where in the heck are my keys! Honey, have you seen my car keys? Oh, I hate it when I do this!” The adrenaline is coursing through your veins and your stress is quickly soaring. You are already…
Ready, Set, Present!
Training for Growth
By Sherri McMillan, MSc, and Alex McMillan
Ready, Set, Present!
To ensure success, follow these guidelines before each presentation.
Become Familiar With the Environment
Ask how the room will be set up. Will there be tables and chairs? Will the presentation be lecture style or “in the round”? Find out about any potential problems, such as distractions or poor acoustics, that …
Notebook Computer Buying Guide
Technology
By Joe Dysart
Notebook Computer Buying Guide
Learn the ABCs of these PCs to find a costeffective computer that meets your needs. Thanks to the “faster, cheaper” mantra that has driven computer sales ever since the products first appeared on store shelves, a perfectly acceptable, light-duty notebook PC can be had these days for as little as $400. Granted, you won’t be able to launch the…
Accounting and Hiring Practices
The Start-Up
By Justin Price, MA
Accounting and Hiring Practices
How to set up your books, choose an ownership structure and select staff for your new facility. a daily, weekly or monthly basis. You can create summaries by setting up ledgers (records in which accounts are recorded) and posting information to them. A completed ledger is really nothing more than a summary of revenues, expenditures …
Face Your Finances
Reinvigoration Strategies
By Kay L. Cross, MEd
Face Your Finances
Create a winning budget to gain control of your money– and life. During one of my presentations at the IDEA Personal Trainer Summit…
How to Hire a Website Wizard
Technology
By Joe Dysart
How to Hire a Website Wizard
Not all Web designers are created equally. Do your homework before hiring. Is your website looking a little dog-eared these days? Or are you embarking on your first foray into cyberspace? Choosing the right website designer can be the most important decision you will ever make when it comes to building or improving your marketing presence on t…
How to Beat Spam
Technology
By Joe Dysart
How to Beat Spam
It is possible to take back control of your e-mail inbox. If you’ve been on the Web for more than 24 hours, chances are you’re already familiar with one of its greatest scourges: spam. Offering everything from an inside track on Nigerian fortunes to instant solutions for various and sordid sexual dysfunctions, spammers sometimes make reading e-mail less f…
Crawl Out of Your Comfort Zone
Reinvigoration Strategies
By Kay L. Cross, MEd
Crawl Out of Your Comfort Zone
It’s easy if you learn new skills and create a goal strategy. One of our greatest challenges as fitness professionals is to keep our passion alive. We give, encourage, inspire, motivate and challenge our clients and then desperately need to recharge and refuel ourselves so that we can continue to Inspire the World to Fi…
Marketing Your Start-Up
The Start-Up
By Justin Price, MA
Marketing Your Start-Up
Use these proven strategies to attract clients from the first day you open for business. This article, the fourth in a five-part series on starting your own personal training business, will discuss the different methods of marketing your services. Word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way of getting and keeping clients. Just as impo…
Why You Need Legal Education
Legal & Risk Management
By Sean Riley, MS, JD
Why You Need Legal Education
You have a vital role to play in guaranteeing the quality of your profession.
S
Switch on your television set in the middle of the day and you are guaranteed to find three things: soap operas, talk shows and courtroom programs. The fairly recent proliferation of the last type of programming is just one indication that A…
