15 November 2012

Thanks to everyone who messaged me about their ideas for 2013 classes.
Loads of Instructors appear to are dusting off your Steps and marketing Step Xmas specials, with a view to relaunching Step again in the new year. This is terrific. I’m over the moon. I posted on FB this week that if you really love a style of class, if you are truly passionate and you have a buzz about you when you teach it, I promise people will come. Ditch those toxic classes that drain you and teach modalities that you love. The right people will come along, they will find you.

Do the research, talk to people, post on social media, plan some innovative and creative class ideas and investigate what people of our age really want.

Teaching, attending and loving freestyle group x classes has never just been about fatloss or keeping fit. It’s a mindset thing for me. It regulates my mood, it makes me feel positive, it clears my mind. If I have an issue or problem that I  can’t resolve I’ll always have the answer after I’ve taught a class. I feel focused and on point, I always walk away feeling happier. The sky’s always bluer after you have taught a great class with great music.

I think it’s important we promote these crucial but often overlooked aspects of Group X as well as the usual health, fitness and fatloss angles. Nothing beats mastering a great routine, doable choreography, motivating music that proves a full on escapism experience. It’s the best stress buster going. There is a massive collective of people who can remember that; who used to feel that buzz, the adrenaline, the satisfaction of mastering the choreography. Reach out to them again and let’s get them back into class.

New KSFL Franchise Business Opportunity

This week we filmed the first KSFL Home Workout DVD which will be on sale for Christmas and I am now launching the 2nd phase of KSFL Franchise Business Opportunities. If you missed it last time, I’m sure you can see the buzz it’s creating. Email me asap Rachel@CHoreographytogo.com and check out the Franchisee page click here

New Downloads

I’ve uploaded a new Freestyle Aerobics Download click here to view and you will find lots of new Step, Hilo and Fitness Pilates from Kelly and myself also on the new download page.

An Audience with Rachel Holmes

I will be speaking at a brand new event on 1st December in Northampton called An Audience with Rachel Holmes. Here I will be spending the day going through my business blueprint system, strategies, ideas, future trends and how to build your fitness business. Places are limited for the event http://anaudiencewithrachelholmes.com/

Jayne Nicholls
Who said that?

Our industry has a tendency to create rules and routines that we all follow and unconsciously, over time, we fall into line. While no one tells us that “we have to”, we very often adhere to a timeline of none change and repetition. Talking to so many fitness presenters and instructors lately, the common thread is that they want freestyle back on the timetable for 2013, so to be honest – what is stopping us?

I thought that I would try something new in the run up to Christmas, in the name of freestyle, variety and just because at this time of year, the routine is killing me. So inspired by Cross Fit and in the hope of enticing new and old clients to come back to class after a break from exercise, I am introducing the following:

WOD & WOW

WOD – is the Workout Of the Day, for my H.I.I.T style classes we will have a challenge at the end of the class made up of 3-5 exercises that we have focused on in the class. It will be competitive & fun.

WOW – is the Workout Of the Week and will be a freestyle class that I have not done for a while, anything from Salsa to Cross Conditioning and for my yoga classes we will vary between Flow through to Strength, Endurance and Flexibility focus.

I will introduce them in the newsletter each week, which will also give me the opportunity to educate my database on just what these classes include and the benefits form each different style of workout.

I want a party atmosphere, loads of fun and feedback so that I can make the January timetable as effective as possible.

Yvonne Radley Media had a great weekend press wise.

Our very own lovely Rachel Holmes and her KSFL Programme were featured in a double page spread in our local newspaper magazine.
Copies sold out all over the city and I know she’s been inundated with tweets and people stopping her in the street to say they saw it.
On the Sunday one of my boot camp cadets was featured in a weight loss article in The Sun on Sunday giving Action Boot Camp some great publicity.
Even though our companies are small, quite often one-man-bands, it doesn’t mean you can’t get great exposure.
Don’t be afraid to ring your local newspaper with a story idea or send in a press release. If you have a great story from one of your clients, get their permission and then send it off to the Daily Mail or Daily Express who are both very female friendly and love a good health story.
Do it in November and December when the news desks are looking for stories over the quiet festive season. Let me know how you get on.
Yvonne Radley
YvonneRadleyMedia.com
Radley@yvonneradley.com

I will be hosting a special fitness media webinar with Yvonne on Monday 26th November 930 – 1030pm To register for this free event click here and pop your name down Registration Web Link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/134302046

Goal Setting by Cori Withell

Do you actually set goals with your clients?
If you do, are they REAL goals?
Are they SMART and do they make them GROW?
SMART meaning specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. GROW stands for goal, reality, options and will.
Basically, setting goals is a great way to inspire and motivate your clients and to keep them accountable, but all too often we do not delve deep enough. We ask what the client wants. They say they want to lose weight for their summer holiday and we accept that as a good goal. But is it really a good goal? For me, a good goal has to drill right down into what makes my client tick. By using SMART and GROW I can do that quite effectively. I want to get as specific as possible about everything that relates to that goal. Now, you might be sat there reading this and thinking there is no time to do this and unless you do coaching as part of possibly a PT programme then no, there probably isn’t BUT there is nothing to stop you setting this kind of work for you client to do between sessions. To get them to be really honest with themselves. Some of them will never have done this, it can be quite emotive and even upsetting. For some, it is very private and personal and we shouldn’t feel that people have to share their innermost thoughts, they don’t. The important part is that they have that conversation with themselves and that they are able to write it down and articulate it properly.

So, for someone who wants to be slim for their holiday, that is the end result. What is the driving force behind it? It could be that they don’t want to be pointed at on the beach, they don’t want to be comparing themselves to other slimmer ladies, maybe it is about their fear that their husband will notice them compared with everyone else. So, this has nothing to do with their shape and size but everything to do with their self confidence.
What about someone who needs to be slimmer because that will make them happy? We get this all the time don’t we? People that come to you and put their life’s happiness on being a size 8/10/12. Do we not have a responsibility to our client to break this down? To guide them through a goal setting process to find out what the actual root causes are. Again, you don’t need to hold their hand through this process, you just need to be able to explain to them what they need to do and why they are doing it.

Take last night for example, I have several people struggling with goal setting. It took me 20 minutes at the end of class to go through what they needed to do to find the root causes. 20 minutes is all – not that long and I have five very happy clients messaging me in the morning saying they feel so much clearer and more motivated to stay on track, I’m happy and they’re happy – happy days 🙂

Here is to goals and success 🙂

Health and happiness x
Best wishes
Cori x

Vikki Scovell

Well today is the day that I am launching my little Weight-Loss Cookery E-Note Book: Notes from a Laid-Back Kitchen with a foreword from the lovely Rachel Holmes. I love writing for all of you, and I love exercising, but most of all I am a little bit of a piggy and I LOVE eating, so I have married two of my greatest loves, and written a little note-book full of tasty grub, that will not have you logging on to www.giantknickers.co.uk I can spend hours in the kitchen baking, chopping, stirring and making plenty of mess, but most of all I can spend lots of time nibbing. Nibbling is great. I do lots and lots of exercise, and probably the most-used phrase thrown at me is ‘but you can eat whatever you want with all of the exercise you do.’ Well, no. None of us can. I once taught a small group of women in Bristol an hour of legs bums and tums, and then they would all trot off down to McDonalds for their post-workout snack, because they had burnt sooooooo many calories. Hmmm….. Doesn’t quite work like that, does it? I tried to explain that an hour of LBT doesn’t actually allow you to eat whatever you want for the rest of the week, but my sensible words fell on deaf (but hungry) ears. Exercise is one thing, and eating is another, and no amount of Wii hula-hooping is going to burn off a thick slice of coffee and walnut cake (oh Ok maybe a year without stopping). Because I am reluctant to stop nibbling, I have had to make sure that what I nibble is not going to push me into plus-size clothes, but also with the amount of exercise I do, it has to be nutritionally sound too. Second to nibbling, I like scribbling, and you know I can scribble thoughts about this, that and the other. Add nibbling to scribbling and you get a little Cookery Note Book, and so bingo-bango I have written one for you, your tummy and your conscience. I do hope that you like it, it has been lost of fun to do, and I can’t wait to get started on the next one.
You can download your copy at www.fitbite.co.uk for only nine pounds ninety-seven. And here is a recipe for you to try if you are too peckish to wait:

Huevos Rancheros (for two nibblers, or one hungry me)

You will need;
A red pepper cut into slices with the seeds removed
Some fresh red chili if you wish, cut finely in a quantity equivalent to your bravery
A couple of splashes of passata or homemade red sauce
2 large eggs
A handful of chopped parsley or coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
A spoon of olive oil
A small frying pan (or a large one if you are doubling up and cooking for 4)
Heat the oil in a pan, and sauté the peppers and chili for a couple of minutes to soften. Stir in the red sauce and heat until it is all very hot. Make two holes in the mixture with the back of a spoon and break the eggs into it. Cover with a lid or a baking sheet to keep the heat in. Cook for around 3 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to your preference. Slide out onto a plate, and season, throwing the herbs over the top. Serve with some watercress or spinach leaves for extra green goodness, and ENJOY!
Vikki Scovell @fitbite

Have a wonderful Thursday

Love Rachel xx
Tweet me@rachelHolmes