Technology
Digital Distractions
?Soothing candlelight warms the room with a mellow glow, and soft music eases everyone into deep relaxation. You’re slipping into a meditative state, holding your yin yoga pose, when a phone rings. It stops. Relief. It rings again. Aggravation. It rings a third time. Now, you’re angry. The mood is irretrievably shattered. The phone owner looks up at the class leader and shrugs her shoulders. Complaints flood the front desk. Fran Philip, owner of Menlo Pilates & Yoga studio in Menlo Park, California—the heart of Silicon Valley—shared this true incident.
Challenge Inspires Yoga Sessions Worldwide
Rachel Brathen, international educator, yoga director at Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa in Aruba and Stand-Up Paddleboard Yoga pioneer, loves getting people excited about this mind-body form of exercise. This year she is hosting a yoga challenge to inspire her social media followers—and has used the free Client Challenges tool that is accessible through IDEA FitnessConnect.
How To Be a Social Media Rock Star at Your Next Fitness Conference
Are your social media skills lacking? Do you mean to stay engaged in social media at fitness conferences but get wrapped up in the energy and forget to post? These tips will help you learn to make the best of social media at every conference.
Follow & Use the Official Event Hashtag
5 Tips For A Successful Online Business
Have you considered expanding your business to an online platform? Jade Teta, ND, CSCS, co-creator of Metabolic Effect, shares his top 5 tips for developing a successful online coaching business.
Jade Teta interview.m4v
Apps for Group Fitness Instructors
Have you ever awakened at 3:00 am in a cold sweat, clutching your bed covers and muttering, “But I’m not on the schedule, and I have to drive across town…
Selling Yourself (Without Selling Out)
Social media marketing is extremely popular among trainers. Some fitness pros have cultlike followings on Facebook. Others offer workout routines to subscribers through YouTube. Many pros blog about health and…
5 Tips for Successful Online Communication
Amanda Vogel Interview.m4v
Introducing FitFeed
How can you keep up on the latest news and trends in health and fitness? Would you like to find a simple way of sharing this news with your clients—as well as your fellow fitness and wellness professionals? Then you’ll want to check out IDEA’s new FitFeed, at www.ideafit.com/fitfeed.
Armchair Fitness?
We all know that too many people sit for much too long—and by doing so endanger their health. German researchers may have a solution to get people moving.
Kids’ Sleep, Obesity and Electronic Devices
The rates of overweight and obesity among kids continue to climb. Food choices and inactivity are considered major culprits. Are electronic devices also to blame?
Scientists from the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta have linked use of electronic devices, poor sleep patterns and obesity among Canadian 5th graders. The researchers surveyed sleep habits, food intake, physical activity levels, height and weight measurements, and nighttime use of electronic devices among 3,398 children.
5 Tips for a Successful Online Business
Jade Teta interview.m4v
Tricks of the Trade
As a stay-at-home mother of two, I offer only online training at this time. I find it fits well with my schedule and still allows me to work in the…
Smart Apps for Smart Appetites
During the holiday season, your clients need a defense against the temptations of devilish desserts and traditional feasts. After all, in the U.S. the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day cause, on average, 0.8–1.4 pounds of weight gain (five times more in those who are overweight or obese), accounting for 51% of the yearly weight gain in the typical American (NIH 2000; Hull et al. 2006).
Change Comes Out of Challenge
Sherry Winslow believes in continually challenging her clients. “Challenges provide a way to get people out of their routines,” she explains.
Increasing Her Visibility
Certified personal trainer Kimberly Linton. , MBA, loves helping people improve their fitness levels—and their lives. As owner and manager of Fitness 4 Life Studio in Springfield, Virginia, a suburb…
Client Challenges on IDEA FitnessConnect
You are excited about helping your clients adopt healthy behaviors and achieve new goals. However, as you know, making changes can be really difficult! The more you do to set…
Measure Social Media Efforts
Wise fitness professionals take advantage of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter™ to increase Internet presence and enhance revenue potential. But how do you know if your efforts are hitting the mark? These social media measurement tools, courtesy of IDEA author Melissa Spraul, will help you gauge whether your message is being heard:
Radian6 (www.radian6.com). This paid social media listening, tracking, monitoring and engagement tool allows you to understand how social media and social customer relationship management can impact your success.
Promoting His Professionalism
After serving in the United States Army as a medical specialist, Stephen Landrum transitioned to the civilian world of personal training. As owner, manager and personal trainer of Hard Corps in East Ridge, Tennessee, he uses his experience working with a wide variety of people in the army to serve his clients better. “The most important thing that I learned then, and have continued to prove since, is that no one is beyond help,” he says.
Impacting the Quality of Clients’ Lives
Michael Massafra, CPT/NCSF, is the owner of Dynamic Fitness and Wellness in-home training in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He also trains and teaches classes at Ellis Athletic Center in Newtown. He strives to help people improve their health, fitness, attitude and vitality. His sincere wish for his clients is that they feel good every day and live life as a rewarding experience.
The Anatomy of a Successful Client Testimonial
Customer testimonials can be fantastic tools for driving new business to your door. But boring, photo-free client comments buried deep inside your website are unlikely to do the trick. To quickly capture the imagination (and training dollars) of the masses, it is critical to breathe life into client success stories.
So what makes some testimonials tedious and others terrific? Follow these four steps to avoid the mistakes of time-wasting customer snooze stories. Bring your facility’s testimonials back from the brink—and attract new-member dollars to your door.
