Career Path for Mind-Body Professionals
3 Keys to Profitable Growth Strategies for Advanced Fitness Business Owners
The most successful fitness professionals and business owners reach a point where their time and energy are MAXED OUT!
There’s simply no more capacity to continue growing their business. There aren’t enough hours in the day.
So even though they want more out of their fitness business, they don’t have the capacity or capability to continue increasing total client numbers.
Succeed in the Business of Fitness
Learn the strategies to develop a club or studio that inspires, thrives and affords you the personal and professional life you’ve always wanted at the IDEA World Club & Studio Summit.
Heading into its fourth year, this Summit—on how to succeed in the business of fitness—has become its own conference thriving inside IDEA World. There seem to be events popping up all over the country for people who run clubs and studios.
Build a Better Club or Studio
Whether you’re the owner of a large gym, a small-studio entrepreneur, a mobile personal trainer, or a yoga or Pilates specialist, a basic tenet of keeping your edge sharp with clients is to shake things up frequently enough that they (and you!) don’t get bored. Certainly, that means changing your programming regularly, but it also means looking at your equipment with fresh eyes and considering some new tools for experimentation—all while being judicious about your budget.
Finding the Right Credential: Meeting Your Potential
As your clients resolve to shed bad habits and holiday pounds, you probably have a few personal goals of your own this year. Maybe you want to better help clients in the new year or advance your career. Maybe you want to start your own business or increase your earning potential.
Do We Have Gender Equity in Fitness?
Who are the top bosses at the fitness clubs or companies where you spend your time? Is the CEO a woman or a man? Thinking about your own job, are you paid a comparable wage to others whose work is the same as or similar to yours? How would you know for sure?
IDEA Member Spotlight: Tasha Edwards
I’m not even sure when attending IDEA became an idea. Perhaps it was in the back of my mind, subconsciously, when I took a job selling memberships at a local gym in 2004, shortly after moving to Huntsville, Alabama, with my family. I didn’t know IDEA by name, but I most certainly knew it by connection. I knew there had to be a place to help me become better at what I was doing in the fitness industry at the time, a place bigger than what I was seeing.
Elevate Your Career and Live Your Passion
Your purpose as an impassioned personal trainer, manager and owner is to deliver life-changing fitness experiences for your clients. It is also up to you to invest in yourself so that you can become the fitness leader your community deserves. The best way to do that is to surround yourself with people who have already succeeded and can show the way.
Find success for your personal training business
If you want to know how to become a successful personal trainer and influential leader to your clients, you need to invest in yourself as a professional. How? Seek out resources, people and a personal training business plan that will enhance your career. The good news?
Gender Equity in Fitness: Are We There Yet?
Is there an issue with gender equity in fitness, where women represent more than half the frontline workforce? Let’s investigate.
IDEA World Fitness Award Recipients
Experienced fitness professionals know that the exercise experience is not just a set program of squats, pushups and lunges. It’s key to consider each client as a unique person with unique needs. Fitness pros who truly listen and connect with their clients are better able to guide them toward a fit lifestyle.
2018 IDEA® World Scholarship Recipients
In partnership with ACE, IDEA co-founders Kathie and Peter Davis have established the IDEA World Scholarship Fund, which provides selected recipients with a registration for the event as well as financial assistance for related travel expenses.
New Mindful Outdoor Leadership Program
As green exercise and the health benefits of spending time in nature gain more prominence in popular and scientific news, the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is introducing a Mindful Outdoor Leadership Program in October.
The curriculum includes elements of forest bathing, Ayurveda, yoga, outdoor skills, and research related to nature’s health benefits.
Strong Starts
The warmup. Is it simply a time for small talk while people trickle in, or is it an opportunity to ignite attendees’ best efforts? This may be the class section that fitness instructors plan the least, yet devoting some time to designing the warmup is really worthwhile. Why? Because starting on a strong note significantly affects the outcome of the entire workout. We want our participants to get the most from our classes, so let’s set them up for success.
2018 IDEA® World Convention: An Epic Explosion
While life may not always be a highlight reel, thousands of the best personal trainers, group exercise instructors, fitness entrepreneurs and nutrition/wellness professionals added significant footage to their lives at this year’s IDEA World Convention, where everyday actions became epic adventures in education. At the 2018 event, held in San Diego, June 27–July 1, more than 14,000 like-minded pros converged to learn from more than 350 workshops and workouts taught by the industry’s keenest minds.
Sexual 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.
Top Money Tips for Fit Pros
Money is often a dirty word among fitness professionals. Most get into the business to help others, but you can’t pay bills with good intentions, says Frank Pucher, owner of Fitness 121 Personal Training in Roseland, New Jersey, and author of Smart Money Moves: A Practical Approach for Earning, Growing & Protecting Your Money. He adds that the financial side of fitness should receive as much detailed attention as the programs you design.
A for Effort
client: Kent Denver School Students | personal trainer: Laura Bordeaux, strength and conditioning coach, Kent Denver School location: Englewood, Colorado
A complete course load. Think of it as core curriculum—literally. The Kent Denver School, a college-preparatory institution outside of Denver, offers a comprehensive educational experience that emphasizes both academics and sports. That’s where Laura Bordeaux comes in.
Stand Up to Aging
Getting up off the ground grows more difficult as we age. Muscles and bones weaken, coordination becomes less fluid, and simply doing chores around the house gets more challenging. Ground-to-standing (G2S) exercises address these changes. hile even performance athletes can benefit from G2S drills (see the sidebar “G2S Exercises Also Help Performance Athletes”), they’re supremely helpful for older exercisers who are at risk for broken hips and other threats to their mobility.
The Case Against Allowing Injured Instructors to Teach
Owing to the part-time nature of most group fitness instruction jobs, program directors don’t always interact with staff on a daily basis and may not know that an instructor is teaching while injured.
Are You Ready to Sell Your Fitness Business?
Are you thinking about selling your personal training studio or fitness business? Your business is probably your primary source of income, and selling it will mean you’ll lose that annual income but achieve a one-time capital gain. Are you prepared for that? IDEA member Toby Davis, senior adviser at Sun Acquisitions, Chicago, shares the following tips for anyone preparing to turn over the keys: