Technology
Escape the Time-For-Money Trap With Online Products
?Jason is a busy fitness professional. He generally leads 35 one-on-one sessions and five group training hours per week, splitting his time between two fitness facilities. Jason also runs a Sunday boot camp at the local park. In his spare time he develops client and group fitness programs, answers emails, returns phone calls and tries to keep up with a weekly blog. Jason is married and has a young son, but time with his family is limited owing to his busy schedule. Despite his efforts, he struggles to pay his bills each month.
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
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.
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.
How to Develop Your Own Educational DVD
Many fitness professionals entertain the idea of developing their own DVD programs. You may have many amazing talents to share, so what better way to promote them than on camera? As the creators of 10 fitness videos, we have learned the ins and outs of making a DVD from start to finish.
Convert Facebook Fans to Members
Turning Facebook fans into club members is easier than you think! After a year of interviewing facility operators and businesses that were experiencing remarkable success using social media, I found the common thread: they’re giving people a reason to do more than just “like” them. The following three steps illustrate how to make it happen for you.
Step 1: Solve People’s Problems
Top Twitter® Tips
According to a 2010 report posted on the blog of the social networking site Twitter™, the organization claims 145 million registered users. The number has surely increased since 2010, and the users are not just individuals keeping their “followers” up-to-date with daily happenings; many business owners log on to market services and generate profits. “I have found Twitter to be helpful in enhancing my credentials and reputation with fitness consumers,” says Alexandra Williams, MA, IDEA author and co-creator of FunandFit.org.
The Anatomy of a Successful Website
Google the words personal trainer and your city. The results will reveal the good, bad and ugly of the Internet, from the stunning to the unreadable. But creating a website that lures customers and conveys the right info is achievable with some structural know-how. Discover the best ways to portray your prices, personality, and perspective online and watch your website work for you.
The Bare Bones
Generate and Follow New L.E.A.D.S.
The term social media typically refers to popular online tools like Facebook and Twitter™. However, social media broadly includes any form of media used to communicate and interact with an audience. When fitness professionals leverage social media tools to engage clients, colleagues and fitness enthusiasts, the resulting increase in the pros’ online presence can further their career opportunities. This is why IDEA FitnessConnect offers a range of social media tools to assist fitness professionals in generating new business.
