Best Practices
What’s Hot in Equipment: Fitness Pro Favorites
Fitness professionals like their equipment—from "tried-and-true" to "oh, so new." And equipment companies like to fill convention halls with fresh gear to help trainers and clients hit their goals. Of course, fitness pros also enjoy new gadgets for the pure thrill of them—and will sometimes go for equipment that targets a fun goal over a hypertrophy goal, for example.
Fitness Technology That Shakes Things Up
For me, the annual Consumer Electronics Show combines the joy of Christmas morning with the wonder of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. The massive Las Vegas trade show surrounds me with the bells and whistles of the latest and greatest technologies from around the world, with booth after booth full of people showing me why their products will be the next game changer in the health-and-fitness industry.
Creative Ideas That Inspire
H.I.I.P. Hype (High-Intensity Interval Painting) in New York challenges body, mind and creativity. Ninety–minute sessions begin with a warm-up followed by short intervals of high-intensity body-weight exercises interspersed with periods of painting. The energy participants generate while exercising helps them express themselves more freely when they paint, according to organizers. The last 15 minutes of class are reserved for a cool-down, as well as painting presentations. Mats and art materials are provided.
“How did you finance your personal training business or studio when you started it?”
The journey I took to open my own facility was long and happened in small steps. I was working in a big gym in Washington, D.C., when I decided it was time to step out on my own. My landlord was also a client, and when I told her what my intentions were, she suggested moving out of my studio and into a one-bedroom apartment in the same building. I turned the living room into the workout space and used the bedroom as my living space. I financed the move through what little savings I had, $2,000, plus a $1,500 loan from my parents.
The 4-Step Marketing Funnel to Attract New Clients
Discover a targeted client-attraction system that provides results.
The Foundation of a Fulfilling Future
Las Vegas has a reputation for secrets. As they say, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." This July, more than 10,000 professionals will break that cardinal rule because what happens at the 2017 IDEA World Convention will be shared with millions of people worldwide. With more than 335 workshops, lectures and workouts, plus tons of special events planned to celebrate IDEA's 35th anniversary, it will be impossible to keep quiet about the career-changing experiences and top-level knowledge offered at this year's event.
Fewer Repetitions Means Better Results?
Short-duration workouts have become popular over the past several years as the time-crunched seek out effective ways to exercise. Recent research adds more support for the benefits of fast workouts and indicates that less may even be more, provided you have appropriate equipment.
Gym Memberships Pay Off
Many people who want to join gyms are skeptical that it will actually help them reach their fitness goals. A new study from Iowa State University may assuage those doubts—and help gyms to convert more browsers into buyers. According to the research, published in PLOS ONE (2017; http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/jour
nal.pone.0170471), gym members tend to have significantly higher levels of strength and cardiorespiratory fitness and are generally more active than nonmembers.
Sustainability Important For Gym-Goers, Says Survey
When it comes to exercise, people might give greater effort if there’s more at stake than calories or improved performance. A recent survey suggests that gym-goers might be motivated to work harder if their energy is converted to power for the gym.
Community-Based Classes Boost Activity Levels
One of the biggest challenges facing the fitness industry is how to encourage more people to get moving. A government-sponsored activity program from Brazil may offer helpful insights.
Dubbed Academia das Cidades—or City Academies—the program offers residents free access to fitness facilities, exercise classes and fitness professionals. The participants also receive dietary guidance. Since its inception in 2002, City Academies has expanded to thousands of cities nationwide.
Do You Need a Better Technology Policy?
If you've spent any time at all inside a gym, you've likely experienced this scenario: You're humming along on your treadmill when Joe Talksalot hops onto the machine next to you and proceeds to speak loudly into his smartphone. To distract yourself from Talksalot's not–so–private conversation, you scan the gym floor—and over in the corner you see a woman doing backbends while contorting her neck to maintain a visual on her tablet.
On-Demand and App-Based Training: Getting Clients via Smartphone
The on–demand economy—featuring Uber–style personal fitness training—is here. While app platforms vary in structure and locale, they share a common thread: on–demand connection with fitness experts.
On–demand mobile commerce attracts more than 22.4 million consumers and $57.6 billion in spending annually, with $8.1 billion going to health and beauty services that include fitness training, Harvard Business Review reported in April 2016.
The Group Fitness Trifecta
Measure your progress with a three-pronged approach to metrics.
Fit-Tech Trends to Watch in 2017
Fitness technology is part of the fitness industry's "new normal," but it's changing rapidly. Many of the fitness technologies we saw at the beginning of last year have already morphed into new and improved devices and features. We should expect more exciting updates this year as fit-tech companies, app developers and tech-savvy fitness brands continue to iterate.
Creative Ideas that Inspire
Barrelesque at Rock in Opposition, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a mash–up of various dance styles, Pilates and yoga. It includes barre techniques, but it also spices things up with burlesque–style dance movements. Open to all levels, this class provides a dynamic workout in a playful environment.
Games at My House Fitness® in Winter Springs, Florida, is a school recess–inspired experience for adults.
5 Steps to Be a Fit-Tech Guinea Pig
You don’t learn how to ride a bike by reading a book about it. You have to get on and start pedaling. The same is true of fitness technology: To learn it, you have to use it.
That’s why I recommend you become a fit-tech guinea pig—experimenting on yourself to see what works. Fitness technology offers motivational tools that can do the following:
Avoiding Payroll Tax Problems
The Internal Revenue Service can be tough on collecting income taxes, but it’s even tougher where payroll taxes are concerned. Mistakes in withholding and paying withheld taxes can be expensive, even when a third-party payroll service is involved, as the IRS recently revealed (TIGTA 2015).
How to Market Exercise Classes for Older Adults
The image of the cookie-baking, rocking chair–bound, bespectacled grandma is about as outdated as, well, leg warmers. It’s no secret that today’s older adult is “not your grandpa’s retiree.” Among people retiring now, many are socially, mentally and physically active. And that’s why fitness facilities that want to attract this cohort need to be particularly careful about marketing language and schedules.
“How do you handle the situation when a client comes in sick or with an obvious medical condition such as open sores?”
I ask the client to obtain a medical clearance from a doctor before we can train. I explain that this is precautionary for his or her own health. Why do I ask for medical clearance? When clients are ill, exercise is most likely not going to benefit them. When a client seeks medical clearance, the doctor usually reinforces my original concerns.
Bill Ross
Owner, Bill Ross Fit and
Holistic Life Forever
Denver
Business on a Budget
Is the new year rekindling your desire to open a training facility? What’s stopping you? Do you think you don’t have enough cash to get started?
You aren’t alone. Countless personal trainers share the dream, yet not everyone has the courage to get started. But if you’re reading this, you’ve already taken the first step toward launching your vision.
Discover how to open a facility with relatively low funds—and get a blueprint to help make your dream a reality in 2016.
