Technology
Creating an Adwords Campaign to Build Your Practice
In this article you’ll learn how to use Google’s Sponsored Link advertising to build your personal training practice.
Sponsored Links are advertisements that appear when you do a Google search. The ads contain content that
is pertinent to the keywords used in
the Google search. Figure 1 shows the Sponsored Link ads that appeared when I searched the keywords personal trainer troy mi.
Podcast Yourself
6 Inspirational
Power Points
Let Failure Guide
You to Success
9 Training for Growth
Seasonal Change:
Winter Doldrums
12 Internet Marketing
Creating an Adwords® Campaign to Build
Your PracticePersonal trainers acquire a wealth of information and fitness experiences over their careers. Most are willing to share their expertise if they know it might help enlighten a colleague or motivate a gym member.
Brain Fitness Center Offers Interactive Computer Training
The Brain Emporium, a brain exercise center founded and directed by T.J. McCallum, associate professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, opened at the Fairhill Center in Cleveland in March 2009. The Brain Emporium is another example of the growing popularity of computer-based mental fitness games.
What types of social networking do you use, and why?
We choose social networking vehicles based on what is popular with our mainstream target market. Right now this includes Facebook, a little bit of Twitter (but we are not big fans) and LinkedIn®. We think MySpace is dead, so we just do not use that site anymore.
We use online social networking to create awareness of our presence as professionals in our community, as well as to educate clients and potential clients about our philosophy and the benefits of what we call the “continuous modification of functional exercise.”
Twitter Me This, Twitter Me That
Imagine sending a short, preworkout motivational note to a client without seeing, texting or calling him. What if you could find new boot-camp ideas from top trainers around the world without ever doing a keyword search on Google? Imagine developing genuine relationships with industry colleagues, having never met or e-mailed them. Now envision doing all of these simultaneously on a free, Web-based platform in no more than 140 characters.
Technological Advances & the Mind-Body Connection
Ten reports presented in the International Journal of Psychophysiology highlight how technological improvements are enabling more detailed measurement of mind-body interactions.
Game On!
With the commercial successes of Nintendo® Wii™ and Dance, Dance Revolution® video games, the merging of gaming with exercise has proved a winning combination.
Creating Your Own Educational DVD
Many fitness professionals entertain the idea of developing their own DVD programs. Why shouldn’t you? You may have many amazing talents to share, so what better way to promote them than on camera? As the creators, writers, producers and directors of seven educational DVDs aimed at fitness professionals, and two for the general public, we have had the opportunity to learn the many ins and outs of making a program from start to finish.
Online Fitness Networks: A Link to Hybrid Training?
Hybrid training (online training coupled with face-to-face training) is often the perfect mix for those clients who prefer the conveniences of the Web yet require the guidance of a live trainer. New Web-based social networking platforms exist that can help trainers develop more hybrid programming.
StepTube: The Next Wave?
Whoever says step is on its way out
apparently is not
watching YouTube. Although step has never truly
gone away, over the decades we’ve seen its momentum peak and fade and peak
again, the choreography advancing with each generation of steppers. Because
step has had such a rich history, classes continue to attract audiences fro…
Becoming a Digital Resource
As a personal trainer you get asked many health- and fitness-related questions from clients who rely heavily on your expertise. You have to remain on top of the news and trends. Reading research articles and trade journals, following online fitness forums and health websites, evaluating training textbooks and DVDs/videos are assignments that come with the job.
Although you can&rsq…
Exergaming Good, but Not Great
Significant
buzz has sparked increased interest in exergaming as a physical activity
intervention, but researchers are not convinced that it meets traditional
exercise standards. Tools such as the Nintendo Wii—with boxing, tennis and
bowling simulations, as well as dance programs—have recently been tested by
researchers at the University of Michigan Health System (U…
Exergaming: Programming Outside the Xbox
Exergames are “games for health that get the player moving, using physical challenges and interfaces that require movement and exertion,” states Debra Lieberman, a lecturer in the department of communication and a researcher in the Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Rese…
Communing with Nature Less and Less
From backyard gardening to mountain climbing, outdoor activities are on the wane as people around the world spend more leisure time online or in front of the tube, according to findings published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Boost Business by Revamping Your Website
In today’s growing fitness industry, where new
facilities are popping up constantly, how can you add value to your
memberships? One answer: merge technology with fitness. From your website to
software to interactive workouts, technology that helps facilities manage their
business, assess members and pl…
How Online Referrals Can Permanently Boost Your Web Traffic
The Internet has fast become a means for personal fitness trainers to generate new fitness clients. One of the most reliable ways to increase traffic on your website is to join forces with and pay other businesses that refer their online clients to your site. That simple practice, known as affiliate marketing, simply means you pay another website a small fee every time its link to your site generates a sale or a new client.
The Dish on Online Diets: Should Your Clients Log On to Take Off?
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Let’s Get Virtual
&The Press-Enterprise Brenda Maston knocked herself out sculpting her butt, abs and thighs after she signed on several months ago with a personal trainer. "She put me on a diet and targeted trouble spots between my waist and knees," says Maston. "The results were absolutely amazing." Just one thing was missing: her instructor, Angie Lustrick. …
Economist Supports End to Music Piracy Protection
The way in which group fitness instructors obtain music for classes has changed immensely over the past 5–10 years. The online music marketplace offers diversity and ease of use, but digital-rights management (DRM) software prevents copying of music sold online. If Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple Computers, has any say in it, the era of such restrictions could soon be over. In Februa…
Podcasting
Have you ever had the feeling that your clients need more than an hour or two a week with you to gain all the benefits from your fitness expertise? Maybe you have seen new club members wandering around the facility with their exercise guidelines in hand, unable to locate the right machines or remember the movements they are supposed to perform. Perhaps you are interested in maintaining or…