Business of Group Fitness
Group Fitness Instructor Tips
Group fitness instructors: If fitness is your career and not just a hobby, you should treat the hiring process the same way you would if you were applying for a full-time job
With Gyms Open, Are Clients Ready?
With many gyms open again—some after long closures—IDEA put three questions to five fitness pros from around the country: Are you now operating at full capacity? How are clients adapting as…
How To Create a Workout Community
As we return to the group exercise studio, it’s good to remember how a workout community not only brings us together, but helps us thrive.
Posture Correction for Static Damage
The word posture tends to evoke the image of a schoolgirl standing perfectly erect with a book on her head. More accurately, static posture refers to the way in which a person holds his or her body or assumes certain positions, such as sitting, standing or sleeping. The cumulative effect of the time spent in certain positions can lead to prolonged static-posture damage to both the musculoskeletal and myofascial systems of the body.
Fitness Class as Experience
Is your fitness class just a class, or is it an experience? People are ready to move and are seeking experiences that engage them on an emotional level.
Merrithew Connect™: Online Pilates, Fitness and Mind-Body Workouts
Keeping programming fresh, effective and interesting for clients is a common struggle for fitness professionals. After a year of teaching virtually, you may be feeling like your program design has…
Teach a Family Fitness Cycling Class
Family fitness events are a great way to bring people together and model healthy habits. Indoor cycling is a perfect choice.
Return to Work: Prepare Your Staff
Are you ready to return to work? Don’t reopen without carefully considering the needs of your staff. They are your customers too!
How to Name Your Group Fitness Class
A group fitness class title is a calling card; it attracts participants by previewing or hinting at the class experience.
Ramping Up Your Virtual Zoom Studio
It was early March 2020 when Seattle, where I live, shut down very quickly due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We immediately knew we’d have to move into the virtual world within a matter of days.
For my first class, I didn’t know what microphone I should use, and I barely knew how to share music, but I flipped on the camera.
Adding a Class to Your Schedule
Whether you’re an instructor wanting to add a class to your schedule or a manager feeling pressured to find the right personality and the best fit for an opening, knowing how others handle this decision may guide you to that “perfect match.” Fortunately, experienced program directors from around the world are willing to share their strategies and suggestions.
Group Exercise Instructors Make an Impact
Group exercise instructors, take heart: Your leadership skills significantly influence participants’ attendance and effort. Australian researchers conducted a study to examine how an instructor’s ability to create a sense of community and group identity among class members affected both effort and attendance. The study examined 249 participants and instructors across a variety of group formats.
Unleash Your Greatness and Build a Career That Inspires
Jack Welch, American businessman and former CEO of General Electric, once said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” This is the reason the IDEA World Convention exists—to bring together some of the brightest people in the fitness industry so they can grow into greatness and inspire that growth in clients, students, athletes, co-workers and staff.
Comprising more than 330 sessions led by top coaches, entrepreneurs, and fitness, nutrition and wellness professionals, IDEA World offers the full spectrum of education you are seeking for instant and ongoing career growth, regardless of your position in the industry.
Prevent Injuries for Longevity and Fun
Like many instructors, you may feel as though you’re expected to do it all and be all things to all people. However, you also need to ensure that you are sustaining your own physical and mental health. How do you keep your standards high and your teaching schedule full while also remaining healthy and injury-free? Read on to find out how three avid veteran instructors achieve balance. Their experiences and advice model best self-care practices for a long and successful career.
Virtual Reality and Indoor Cycling
Indoor cyclists who wore virtual-reality headsets experienced less leg-muscle pain during brief, high-intensity intervals than cyclists who wore headsets showing static images, according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2019; 51 [10], 2088–97).
January 2020 Question of the Month: Equipment and Activity Trends
What activities or equipment-based program trends are you seeing in the new year? Are you boosting promotion of any particular programs like high-intensity interval training, indoor cycling, yoga or barre? Or are you offering shorter class times or opportunities for virtual training? Please share your success stories.
Training Happy for Positive Behavioral Change
Are happiness exercises part of your training program design? Does that question seem odd? As you embark on a new year of helping clients work toward their fitness resolutions, this is the perfect time to pause and consider how you can use every tool at your disposal to make sure people succeed. Your toolbox includes harnessing the power of positivity to promote physical activity.
What’s Your 2020 Vision?
Do you have a 2020 vision?
Do you have a clear view of what you’re going to do in the new year to grow your business even more?
As 2019 closes, it’s important to take stock. What can you improve to ensure a higher-quality customer experience and more revenue in 2020?
Let’s take a look at four areas that impact your business going ahead so you set yourself up to succeed.
Increasing Employee Diversity and Inclusion
As the health and fitness industry continues to evolve and grow, staff diversity and inclusion efforts are becoming increasingly important. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mandates that job applicants and employees cannot be discriminated against “because of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information” (EEOC n.d.). However, making a conscious effort to diversify goes above and beyond following the law.
Discover what diversity means and what you should consider as you put together a diverse staff.
Three Ways to Keep Your Clients
You know the work it takes to get a new customer in the door. You’re spending money on marketing, time making sure your website listings are right, and energy on promotions and intro offers to get the word out. It’s not easy. But remember—it costs less to keep an existing client than it does to acquire a new one. Getting them to return again and again will help you keep your lights on and your business bustling! With that in mind, let’s look at three actions you can take to retain your clients.
