Latest Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the choreographytogo Instructor Newsletter. This is a free weekly resource that I designed over 7 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 email Lesley@choreographytogo.com   or call the C2Go office 07854 739285

 

Snippets

With the weather soaring into the mid 20's and Andy Murray getting through to the 1/4 in Wimbledon it's been a hard week for community Instructors, with numbers down due to the great British public enjoying this glorious sunshine, and who can blame anyone. I've found my daytime classes in the clubs have been as busy (if not busier) than ever, but evening numbers are down, although Fitness Pilates is still holding up as people seem to be coming to chill out and relax in the cooler evenings......I couldn't write this newsletter without mentioning Michael Jackson. His music and dancing has influenced all aerobics Instructors around the globe; I'm sure everybody reading have used MJ tunes in class and his moves have been copied and woven into our routines and choreography. Many of us have done Thriller for Halloween classes and used the Jackson 5 tracks in out 70's Disco inspired sessions. For the group exercise and aerobics community his music and influence will live on as we continue to be inspired by his amazing talent and ability.. If you are on Facebook the amount of Instructors who were getting together Michael Jackson tributes has been unbelievable and I have used MJ for Aqua, Body  conditioning, Seniors and even Fitness Pilates this week..............So what's new, well I taught a terrific Level 2 FP course last week in Guildford and during the marketing section (my favourite bit) Sally Ann suggested that you can register on the 2012 Olympic website as a volunteer and that massage therapists and PTs are going to be in demand for the games, so why not get involved now and put your name down. Go to the London website and hit the get involved section. http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/index.php and be part of the action, what a great opportunity for fitness Instructors and PTs.........I've had great feedback from Katie Bulmer's new downloads and this week Jo Parry will be in the choreographytogo conservatory filming a ton of new stuff for us......Our big project this weekend is the launching of the Level 3 Pilates course in London, of which Kelly and I are SO excited to be bringing you. We both have worked so hard to get to this stage that I actually can't quite believe we are on the point of delivering it. I will bring you a full report next week...I will also be launching an online Level 2 Exercise to Music Qualification, which I will be targeting at schools and 6th form and new Instructors to the Industry.....The ETM qualification has been dying on its feet around the UK as the demand for the qualification has gone down due to the popularity of PT qualifications and Les Mills. Fitness is booming as we know and there is a REAL shortage of well trained, highly skilled freestyle Instructors who can teach multi disciplines like HiLO, Step, Body Con etc, so a course with all the back up we offer on choreographytogo, including the downloads, forum and DVDs, should make entering into the Industry a really viable career option, delivered via a format that young people respond to and can operate easily......Flyers will be out very soon for Teaching Teens with Jo Parry, Freestyle Fridays with myself and Delvin and New Skool Conditioning with myself and Marvin Burton......In this newsletter you will find loads of great articles from Jayne, Marvin, Lincoln and Jody Bunting. Right, I am off now to a Buddhist Mediation class with Jody and I'll let you next week how I go on as I'm so looking forward to it......and Kettlebells after training with them now for a few years Ive been putting some of the moves into my BC classes holding a dumbel for a different slant in class so will do some new Kettlebell/dumbell downloads very soon...

 

Are you ready for Bootcamps? By Rachel Holmes

 

Weight loss Bootcamps have been massively popular in the US for some time now and are poised to explode onto the UK fitness scene in “ big style” for 2008.  New York trainer Lauren Brenner from Pure Power Bootcamp earned over $1million in sales for 2007 purely by running Bootcamps. She has been featured nationally on all of US news networks which indicates the potential in the UK and Europe to formulate this is huge. But what is a Bootcamp? How do they run? Who are they targeted at? and how do you begin to market such a fantastically simple idea. 

Bootcamps are ideal for both Personal Trainers and Group X Instructors to organize and teach. In a set time frame and basic interval, circuit style format Bootcamps are geared to get clients fit and lose weight in a no frills, no gimmicks setting. 

 “Bootcamp” is a buzzword synonymous with “Military basic training”. The term mentally conjures images of straight forward and hard training, exercise drills and circuits. Bootcamp classes can take place outdoors in the summer months and indoors in sports hall, gyms or anywhere where you have access to a large clear space. 

So how does a Bootcamp work? 

 The most successful trainers running Bootcamps organise 2 or 3 sessions per week for 1 month and the attendees pay up front for the course. Every attendee fills in a par q plus health and lifestyle questionnaire.  They are asked to record weight and body measurements the results of which are submitted via email before the first training camp begins. Many trainers also include body fat testing on the first and final session. 

Paul Mort from Precision Fitness Training in the North East has been running camps for over 18 months. 

“My camps have been an amazing addition to my personal training business, we have all shapes and sizes but predominantly the tried everything and failed type of client”

In the summer Paul’s camps run outside as he is based near a beach but he also uses local parks and in the winter he hires a nightclub. All newcomers are given and expected to follow a “cleansing diet” which eliminates wheat, alcohol, sugar and processed food and fill in a detailed food diary.  Re-joins follow an “insulin” controlled diet which uses the insulin load index.  Paul markets himself as a fat loss expert and is so confident his camps work he provides a 100% money back guarantee. How many classes and training sessions do that?

Marketing a new camp requires carefully planning and a full media attack.  As this is guaranteed to be the new buzzword  in fitness, you can act now by sending Press Releases and Media releases to get the local papers and radio interest.  If you offer some exciting incentives for the journalist in question to come along and take part.

Says Paul “I contacted the local papers and invited the local journalist to come along and try the camps for free, I also wrote an article about social support during weight loss and mentioned how great Bootcamps can be for offering camaraderie, support and social network”

Advertise your first Bootcamps in your classes and to your existing clients. Get new flyers printed and contact your local press.  Contact commercial stations and Local BBC Radio but the BBC station would more than likely get you in to talk about your Bootcamps. You would also be wise to create a website or design a Myspace page detailing exactly what the camp is all about. 

Sarah Jane Hunter from SJ Fitness in Glasgow runs 2 week Butt Blaster Camps and offers an inclusive package of 1 x PT session, unlimited Body Conditioning classes, 2 x power plate session plus a DVD to work out at home with. Clients are also given a diet to follow and must fill in a food diary.

Her sessions have been featured in the Glasgow Daily record and BBC Radio Scotland.

“I invited one of the Radio presenters to take up the 2 week challenge, which she did I weighed, measured and fat tested her live on air 2 weeks later, I had no idea how she would do but she lost 7lbs and an inch from every part of her body which boosted my PR massively and helped me fill up all of my New Year Butt Blaster courses”

SJ also runs alose a stone in a month courses which are always full and with waiting lists.

“My business focus is fat lose and I market myself and my classes as a fat lose expert and concentrate on that. It’s what people want” says SJ

But what does a Bootcamp class consist of?

Most group X teachers are fully qualified and able to handle a group of mixed ability clients and Bootcamps are no different. Most instructors stick to circuit style classes with no choreography and include athletic drills, sports moves, team games, relays and bodyweight training. The emphasis on Bootcamp training is to use little or no equipment and as the class runs  2 or 3 times a week you can change the emphasis and goals of the circuit each session to ensure maximum benefits for the clients.  I always include a 15 minute motivational talk at the beginning of each session and then we train for 45 minutes. If you are including diet and weight loss advice you will need to be qualified in this area.   Expect to field questions after the session on weight loss issues and body shaping.

Fitness Trends

Recently the fitness industry has been swamped with great new trends and exciting formats so maybe the time is right to get back to the number 1 reason why people join gyms and diet club…. which is weightloss.

I guarantee that Bootcamps will explode in 2009/2010 so all you savy fitness entrepreneurs should start planning your camps now.

 

 

 

 

 

Jayne Nicholls

I have certainly had my eyes opened this year as we progress further into offering Qualifications and further education. It raises so many questions regarding our basic training and the requirements needed to advance what we do and how we do it. 

What makes an advanced or indeed a GOOD instructor? Is it the amount of years spent in the business or is it the amount of further education that we take on? In the past it was perceived that the longer you had been teaching the better you were but with REPS being a new organisation many of the qualifications that the older instructors have are not recognised and the newer instructors are automatically Level 2 or 3 on the register.  

As teaching undoubtedly improves with practice we have to credit our on the job experience in shaping how good we are. Dealing with people, situations and sharpening up our skills can only be done well when we actually teach. What is most or more important is what we teach and how we teach it. Do we advance our class members according to their skill levels? Do we vary our class content? and do we progress what we say when we teach? Of course if we teach Les Mills then this is all taken care of and many instructors who are now moving back to Freestyle tell me that they have got out of the habit of changing what they do on their own. 

I think that the industry needs new recognised qualifications for instructors with experience teaching who want to move forward. We see many instructors coming onto our events who are shocked by the lack of bedside manner and softly, softly teaching that we now offer, not realising that in order to advance training at any level the care and guidance for sixth week beginner and participants with disabilities needs to be dropped. Fitness Training is hard and it requires skill and discipline in order for goals to be achieved and results to be seen.  

Just because we don’t modify does not make us dangerous. In fact it is the other way round. Continuous and insistent modification only serves to hold back progression and results.  

Advanced instructors are those who are competent to deal with result based exercise prescription for the healthy adult. Our basic training doe not give us this only on going practice and advanced learning.  

Jayne Nicholls www.groupxtraining.com  

 

 

soooo…..are you ready? I mean REALLY ready?

By Lincoln Bryden

 

It was once said by American Artist Any Warhol that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.  I would like to add that this is true as long as you are ready for it.  If you are then your 15 minutes can open a lot of doors and it could really set up your business.  If you are not ready then you will always be wondering, “what if?......” 

My chance came 9 years ago as I was driving back from presenting in the South of France.  As I was driving and thinking how crap my French was I received a call from a lady saying she was from Planet 24, which was the production company for the Big Breakfast TV Show on Channel 4 that Johnny Vaughan and Denise Van Outen used to host! They had come across my “website” and saw that I was a Fitness Presenter and wondered if I would consider being their streetdance fitness expert for a month! 

Now what you need to understand is that my site was made with Microsoft Publisher and cost me £25!! And that was to register my domain name!  Also their version of a fitness presenter and the industry’s version are very different, so I was basically thinking that this was a wind up from someone, taking the Mickey out of my site. 

Anyway I thought I would be smart, telling the lady that as she had my website, she knew my email address and so she could email me all the details, including Planet 24’s number. Hah, I thought, “You can’t get one over on me!!” 

Needless to say when I got home to my flat, (breaking several speed limits on the way), I opened up my email and sure enough there was an email with the contact details.  I still thought this was a wind up, even when I called the number, and was invited for a screen test!  I still thought it was a wind up as I got off the tube the following week, and was standing outside the offices.  I remember thinking,” If this IS  a wind up, I will bloody kill who is responsible!” 

Anyway to cut a long story short, the screen test went well, especially as I had to teach 3 professional dancers who had all been in West End Shows, my little step touch funk routine!! I must admit I was amused when they all asked me who was my agent, and I replied that firstly I didn’t have one, and secondly the second biggest TV breakfast show at that time found me from a £25 website! 

I presented on that show for the agreed 4 weeks and had a great time. I met some great people and lots of doors suddenly opened. Also it is a great thing to have on your portfolio.  The local media coverage in Cheltenham was great and all of a sudden I was a local “celebrity”, and my classes were HUGE! 

Anyway, the point of all of this is not to boast, but to highlight the importance of being ready for that all important call, from someone, and it WILL come, trust me! But you need to be prepared.  Ask yourself, if someone suddenly wanted you to host your own 5 minute slot on TV, would you be ready?  Do you have a website in place?  Do you have a portfolio, or press kit that you can give/send to interested parties?  Are you confident in your knowledge so that you could confidently talk about an area of health and fitness, and come across as an industry leader? If you are not confident about any of these areas then I cannot stress how important it is to get yourself trained up so that when opportunity knocks, you are ready. 

These things are not hard to set up. In fact if you go to http://www.continuityblueprint.com/12minute.html you will see how you can setup a membership site in 12 minutes! Also please look at one of my other sites http://www.fatlosscommunity.com as that cost me the MASSIVE sum of £50 to set up!  That’s it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So you have no excuse.  I have been really lucky in my life, in that I have had a little bit more than my 15 minutes, and I still want more!  But I would love it if you could get yours too. Please don’t be the one saying, “I wonder what would have happened if……..”

 

Until the next time,

 

Linx

 

http://www.fatlosscommunity.com

http://fitnesstrainingforlife.com

 

 

The Five “C’s” of Successful Fitness Entrepreneurs

 

After being around some of the most financially successful fitness professionals in North America a few weeks ago, it became very evident the difference between them and the typical trainer struggling to stay afloat.

 

Here is what the best-of-the-best have going for them:

1) Confidence. When they talk people listen. They are not wishy-washy with anything they say. Their message is clearly communicated. They give off energy that people want more of. They have no doubts whatsoever about the value their fitness business provides and, therefore, have zero problems talking about money.  

Now, confidence is not necessarily something that comes to you overnight. You don't just look in a mirror and say, "Ok, NOW I'm confident." But I have always found that confidence does build with each success. Success begets success. So with each tiny victory your confidence grows. Internalize that.

2) Courage. They are not afraid of rejection. They act despite any fears they may have. They know that presenting an attitude of "I don't need the money" - even if they really do - will allow them to attract the right type of clients into their business.

Again, even if they do have some trouble asking for money they do it anyway. They do not hesitate to offer their multi-month options and sign people to long-term contracts. They ask for commitments - again - with extreme confidence. They know the energy they are putting out is the energy they are getting back.

3) Commitment to High Return Activities (HRAs). They use a lot of lead generation tactics, but they have one or two killers working for them and they focus on those like a laser. They don't have something work for them amazingly well once and then go back to scratching their head wondering what to do next.

If it's public speaking engagements they are making a zillion calls a week to find more. Not asking two people and hoping that something turns up.

If it's networking they are going to every event they possibly can.

It it's a Body Transformation Contest they are perfecting that event and doing them over and over.

4) Connections. They are networking with the “Who's Who” in their community. They are becoming one of them. They are a pillar of strength in their community. They want to talk to every successful person they can. They sit down with influential people and get wired in.

5) Crazy work-ethic. They don't fool themselves into believing that just because they are busy means they are working. They actually accomplish things. They start something and get it done. If it works they do it again and again. If it doesn't they don't throw a pity party and sit around wondering why it didn't work. They move on. They relentlessly go after what they want.

I know a lot of personal trainers are trying hard. But I also know a lot of them aren't trying nearly hard enough. They might think they are, but they aren't.

 Take inventory of how the Five “C’s” above apply to you. If your fitness business isn’t where you want it to be I guarantee you’re lacking in at least a couple of these areas.

 

Jim Labadie is the CEO of Prograde Nutrition a nutritional products company created specifically for fitness professionals. He is also co-owner of Ultimate Business Systems which provides business coaching services and products to personal trainers. His newsletters, products and coaching continue to encourage personal trainers to leave the Meat Head image behind and be viewed as experts in a world that desperately needs their help. For much more information from Jim, please be sure to visit his blog at: http://PatNickandJim.com

 

Have a great week

 

best Wishes

 

Rachel xx