Latest Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the choreographytogo Instructor Newsletter. This is a free weekly resource that I designed over 5 years ago to provide support, ideas and back up for all Instructors and Personal Trainers. I love to receive your feedback, so if you do have any comments or would like to contribute in any way please email lesley@choreographytogo.com or please use the very lively forum.

For website/membership/course bookings and general admin please use Lesley@choreographytogo.com   or call the C2Go office 07854 739285

 Watch out for 50% OFF Friday on all of KCS Clothing Rachel Holmes Signature Range Go to http://www.kcsclothing.com/ and choose ready for tomorrow

Snippets

Another busy week passes us all by as we cruise into October. It's doom and gloom daily on the news, but is the credit crunch affecting your fitness business? I've opened a thread on the forum about it so do have a look and contribute. If you are finding things a squeeze don't put all of your eggs in one basket, mix community classes with health club classes, in home personal training with club PT, diversify, get into schools/older adults/chair based exercise/GP referrals. Don't rely on one income stream, make sure you have multiple streams so that if one goes down you still have others that earn well for you......Last week's newsletter appeared to motivate so many if you as I received so many emails and texts, and so I have decided to add in a few more how to survive and thrives tips from presenters. I hope you enjoy these just as much!.....This week I delivered my Teaching Teens course for the Stockton on Teens PE teachers, Dance coaches, and it was WICKED. So much fun motivating and inspiring the staff.  I've now been booked to run "aerobic" days for PE staff for Derbyshire, for which I am hoping to make more links with PE Teachers and schools on a national basis...... This weekend I will be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to do the long drive up to Edinburgh and then hit Newcastle on the Sunday...Remember, if you are coming to Newcastle it is the Great North Run, so many roads will be closed and diversions in place. I couldn't even get a hotel anywhere close to Newcastle so it's a pretty busy weekend  in the North East......As I've been presenting so much over the last week or so I will be uploading all the new videos by Friday so watch this space for some new choreography downloads on the site....I've now released my new  Fitness Pilates certification dates and 2009 Evolutionary Fitness Pilates Updates tour, which kicks off first week in January, plus Super Seniors 2, which will run as a weekday workshop. So check out the events booking page for dates, times and venues.....

Hobby or a career? Jayne Nicholls Fitness Fact Not Fiction

This week saw many instructors have their pay cut at one of the biggest health club chains. Who would do such a thing & why? Unfortunately those on the receiving end are unlikely to get a satisfactory answer as – at the end of the day the freelance instructor is faceless to the corporate side of health & fitness and the fact that we are the most professional, most reliable and should be one of the most valued commodities within the club or centre is most often ignored. 

How do the places that you work at rate your scale of pay?

Does how many rep credits you accumulate each year affect how the club pays or values your service?

Do instructors who teach for a full time career get more than those who teach 1 or 2 classes as a hobby?

Does the amount of time you have taught at a club influence their loyalty to you in financial terms? 

I have worked in health club chains for 18 years as a full time instructor and as such, I can honestly say that I have never had my pay increased on a scale or for reasons that the average worker would experience. When the country is affluent do we get a bonus? NO. When the credit crunch hits the news are we first in line for a cut? YES. 

We have worked long and hard to make this industry great and still, the free lance instructor is treated like someone who works as a hobby. 

If you are one of those whose pay is being deducted -  Call REPs the governing body that we have all been pressured into joining and ask what they can do to help you as a fully qualified instructor with ongoing evidence of updates. 

Feedback to Jayne via the forum

jayne nicholls
www.groupxtraining.com

How to Thrive and Survive in the fitness Industry by Rachel Ravenscroft

My top tips for surviving and thriving in the fitness industry;

Attend regular masterclasses/conventions to get new ideas and re-ignite your passion for fitness

Make your classes simple and fun - use current trends to theme your classes and add variety for yourself and your members.
 
Don't spend ages worrying about new choreography- it's amazing how different a grapevine can feel set to different music - try giving your class a different theme or format if your creative juices just aren't flowing!

Make time for yourself to train or attend someone else's classes - not only will it give you that 'time out' you give to others all the time, you might even pick up new ideas. It will also help to give you an insight into what else is happening in your local area.

Don't overtrain or 'overteach' - make sure you have at least one rest day a week, and try and make sure you have a good variety of classes - 20 aerobics classes a week will send the most motivated instructor round the bend!

Most importantly - Eat well and sleep well!!! Fuel your body with the right nutrients and get a good nights rest for your body to recover end repair - leaving you fresh and lively to do it all again tomorrow!

Rachel Ravenscroft, Winner of 2004 Pure Energy Presenter Search, Celebrity Personal Trainer to Vicky Binns (a.k.a Coronation Street's Molly Crompton) and Fit32 Presenter.

Top Tips From The UK's Top Co-ordinators 

Another Top Tip feature from the awesome Co-ordinators!

Lynn Wilson JJB North West Co-ordinator

Paul Thorn Virgin Active Chelmsford & Thundersley

Paul has been a Group Exercise Coordinator for Virgin Active Health Clubs for 5 years and currently manages the studio programmes for clubs in Thundersley and Chelmsford Essex.  He has been working in the fitness industry as a freelance group exercise instructor and gym instructor for over 8 years.  

1.       Don’t be complacent – you can always improve!

2.       Keep yourself current – update your education regularly!

3.       Be flexible – people remember this!

4.       Don’t be a diva – you’ll get a reputation!

5.       Be there for your participants – without them, you wouldn’t have a job!  

How to be the Dominant Personal Trainer at your Health Club by Jim Labadie  

Personal Trainers working at health clubs have a built in audience to market their services to. They don’t necessarily need to do any outside marketing – though it’s the smart thing to do – as they can typically book their schedule just by consistently promoting their service within the club’s four walls. The following tips will help any personal trainer looking to become the dominant, most sought-after fitness professional that all the members want to train with. 

Act like a professional 

This is about as obvious as it gets. But even though the personal training profession has made enormous strides in recent years there are still some who give it a bad name.  Too many trainers are still pre-occupied with either their cell-phone or members of the opposite sex. Having the reputation as the “consummate pro” at the club is as easy as acting like one.   

Become an expert  

The fastest way to be viewed as an expert is to write articles and give presentations. Neither is difficult to do. Personal trainers need only survey clients and members and ask which topics they are most interested in.   

The articles can be very simple “How-To” articles – like this one –that address a specific topic and solve a problem for the reader.  

Presentations can be given to small audiences at the club – preferably at a nominal fee to increase attendance – on the very same topics as the articles.  

Be grateful   

Send thank you cards. Again, more obvious advice, but rarely anyone sends hand-written thank you cards anymore.  They go a million miles towards building great relationships with members and clients and help to set professionals apart.   

Specialize   

If a personal trainer tends to work best with one specific population of the club than they should exploit that. Trainers who are known for having a specific expertise in a specific niche will attract that clientele quite easily.   

Ask for referrals  

It is shocking just how many personal trainers fail to ask their clients for referrals. By simply educating members what a “perfect client” looks like and where to find them, personal trainers see an immediate boost in new clientele.   

And as written previously, it is imperative that gratitude be shown to all those who refer. In fact, it is a good idea to show great appreciation to anyone who allows the time to educate them on what a good referral looks like.  

Business education  

Often the difference between a personal trainer who does well financially and one who doesn’t comes down to their education. Understand exercise science and nutrition is a pre-requisite for success as a fitness professional. But those who are able to make a career of it are the ones who also continuously invest in their business education. Personal Trainers who have a firm grasp of sales and marketing will always out earn their colleagues.   

Jim Labadie has helped thousands of personal trainers become more successful with easy-to-follow business strategies. Readers can instantly download a  FREE copy of his e-book “63 Must-Have Sales Tips for Personal Trainers” by visiting http://PTSalesTips.com