Hello  and welcome to the Choreographytogo Instructor Newsletter. This is a free weekly resource that I designed 8 years ago 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. We aim to answer your emails within 24 hours. Please add Lesley@choreographytogo.com to your address book as mail sometimes can go to your junk/spam mail box. You can also find the answers to many of your questions in the FAQ section and Help section of the site click here for FAQs and Terms & Conditions

 

News and Updates by Rachel Holmes

I made the long trek up the A1 last weekend to present a full workshop in Edinburgh and Newcastle and again the feedback on all of the new Fitness Pilates information has been outstanding. The foot and ankle work and making FP a more functional class is going down exceptionally well and I am confident we can continue in making Fitness Pilates one of the most progressive forms of Pilates there is. Thanks to everyone that came along last weekend, it was brilliant workshop. This week also saw the launch of Kelly’s new Balls, Bands and Body Conditioning Tour 2011 click here and Jo’s Zumba classes that she is taking around the UK, everyone is welcome to come along and experience 2 x Zumba classes with Jo click here for details We launched (in my opinion!) the best music mix download of the year so far on Infitnessmusic.com there is so much excellent music in the charts right now, listening to Radio 1 in my car, I’m mentally ticking of all the tracks that are wicked for class. Have a listen to our Chart Hits 7 and let me know what you think click here to listen to Chart Hits 7 Its so good and the mix kicks of with the amazing Lady Gaga Born this way track!

2011 has kicked of amazingly well for Group Exercise teachers with the popularity of Zumba, Bootcamps, Fitness Pilates and a whole host of great classes with  social media, websites and blogs to help you get the message across and promote yourself as an expert in your local area. Its never been a better time to teach Group Exercise.

Twitter – I’m so chuffed now that more and more of you are moving over to Twitter and working out how to promote yourself, your brand and your business using this nifty little tool. You can follow me http://twitter.com/RachelHolmes for updates, news, gossip and info!

Convention Season

IFS 25 – 27 March 2011

As we head into March we hit Convention season and first up is the amazing International Fitness Showcase in Blackpool organised by Steve Watson & Ceri Hannon of Chrysalis Promotions. Blackpool this year promises to be bigger and better than ever before with a full on Zumba day and massive Zumba Sponsored Arena. For the full line up and details then head over to Chrysalis Promotions and book your spot. http://www.chrysalispromotions.com/

Fitpro Spring Convention 20th Anniversary 7 – 10th April 2011

2 weeks after Blackpool is the Fitpro Spring Convention and it’s the 20th Anniversary. You will see the world’s best educational leaders here and ,of course, a packed Les Mills section, plus ViPR, PT on the Net and a host of great sessions. http://www.fitpro.com/convention11/

 

Jayne Nicholls

As I write this week I am sitting in a leadership conference in China, listening to industry leaders discuss ways forward. The thing that strikes me is that the very best in the business gain success in the very same ways that we do, except they are more aware of their key skills than you the fitness professional.

I am also faced when giving my presentation with the question – why should I believe you over my own personal trainer? and this is no different to teaching the instructor on my workshops and events. How do I get this group of people to understand that I know what I am talking about and that they should not only trust me but take my information and fly.

It takes time to build trust and this I do not have with them. I have it with you as I now prioritise my newsletter piece over what is going on around me in order to move you my target market forward. But consider this, what makes me, Rachel and who ever else you take information from right or wrong? Rachel and I know the answer to this but what makes you stand up and listen or invest money in advancement. Is it because it is new, is it because it is the same, is it because the person in which you put your trust shouts the loudest?

I hope it is because  the person that you look to for leadership has loyalty, integrity, resilience and knowledge – all of the things that I am learning, make a great leader.

Jayne Nicholls
Group X Training
07989433969

Set your Classes on Fire!

We all know that Fitness is a people business 🙂

To really succeed you have to love being with people, helping people, ensuring they have a great time, introducing people to each other in your group and going that extra mile

Position yourself as an authority

Lots of people go to Pilates classes because they love the “care” a good Pilates teachers takes over them. A good Pilates Instructor will focus on a client’s form, technique…every little detail is considered in  Pilates. The general public regard a Pilates teacher as being highly qualified due to the attention to this detail . So can you take this principal and use in ALL classes. Correct individuals, notice them in class, tweak their position…..NOTICE them!

1. Give your clients minor corrections to position you as an authority. This makes clients feel like they are getting even more value from you. When you make these corrections, make it super important.

e.g When class members are doing lunges or squats you could try saying, “Bring your left foot out 2 inches or slightly step forward a fraction, a little bit more scapulae retraction….that type of thing

2. Energy!!!! The music will lift and energised the class and if you LOVE the music it will show all through your session. Choose the best music you can find and LIVE it!

3. One of the strongest human emotions is the desire to feel important. Make your Clients FEEL Special, take a genuine interest in people.

5. Appreciate your class members! Tell them how much you enjoy seeing them in class and congratulate them on their continued attendance.

6. Introduce class members to each other and get a great group camaraderie going on.

7. Invite class members to events, social outings or even a coffee. People LOVE to be invited to things even if it’s a 20minute coffee after class. Your members will become part of a group and will keep coming back week after week

 

Making your classes ‘Functional’

By Marvin Burton PT, ETM, SMT, Dip.FT, FAFS, FMR, MD

Hips alive

The hips are what I like to call the engine room.

The muscles located around our pelvis are crucial in almost every movement. Our glute muscles and pelvis are located in the centre of the body.

They power all movement above and below.

From our ETM or instructor courses we were taught all about anatomical terms for movement.

Let’s see what you can remember! And a little more..

Quiz:

Q 1 – What movements are possible at our hip joint?

Q 2 – How many different ways can we get the same movement at each joint?

Q 3 – Can you describe the motion of gaining each movement, at each joint?

Answers:

1 – Flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, internal rotation, external rotation

2 – 5 different ways to get each movement, at each joint.

That means if you did all 5 movements, in all 3 planes of motion. In 5 different ways. You would have 75 exercises for your hips. You would have never done the same exercise twice.

So let’s imagine it’s a LBT class. You are doing a full glute workout with our 75 exercises and 10 reps of each exercise 1 set. 750 exercises = awesome hips and painful trips to the toilet for the next week!!

Normally I would do 2 sets because I’m mean. So I’d be doing 1500 glute exercises….still got legs and tum’s to do!

3 – Proximal bone = pelvis. Distal bone = femur

1. Proximal still, distal moving
2. Distal still, proximal moving
3. Both moving in opposite directions
4. Both bones moving in the same direction, proximal faster
5. Both bones moving in the same direction, distal faster

All you need to do now is workout how to get the above movements as exercises. That’s your homework.

So when do all of our movements occur.

We’ll use walking (Gait) as our example, as that’s what most of us do daily.

Scenario:

Beginning to walk forward

From normal standing anatomical position

Right leg lead

As you take your step forward – this is what is going to happen in your hip’s

Right hip joint –

Begins flexing in the Sagittal plane, adducting in the Frontal plane, internally rotating in the Transverse plane.

Left hip (while the right is doing the above) –

Extending in the Sagittal plane, abducting in the Frontal plane and internally rotating in the Transverse plane.

Before I studied applied movement science I went on my instructor workshops and courses and always wanted to ask WHY? To almost everything that I was taught.

The most common questions I had were:

“Why does the therapist lie me down to improve my motion if I get injured? I want my back/leg to work when I’m moving”

“When I learn exercises I’m told a specific way to perform them. But what makes exercises unsafe?”

“Why do I train my Abdominals on the floor and then stand up to look in the mirror and see if they look good?”

By understanding how we move, we can train to improve motion leading to looking better when we’re walking along the beach and undertake daily tasks. It became apparent to me that there are 3 components to designing exercise classes and programmes:

What the participant wants

What I want And most importantly

What they need!

Change your classes. Re design your routines. Don’t be afraid of change.

This is science, not a revolutionary product that promises flat, rock hard AB’s in 2 weeks.

The only question I ask myself now is how far on this journey do I want to travel?

Marvin

www.marvinburton.com

 

 

 

Are you still THINKING about it? Let’s DO it! by Katie Bulmer

Is there something in your mind you’ve been mulling over, thinking should I, shouldn’t I? What if this, how about that? It would be great but…?

I’m sure we’ve all had one of these moments at some point; I know I have, as taking a chance on something new or making a change can be a scary thought. But it can also be the best thing you’ll ever do and the only way to find out is to give it a go!

Whether it is setting up a new class in the community, starting a boot camp, opening your own studio/gym, starting a new business venture can be a daunting time!

In this week’s article I thought I’d help bust some of the reservations you may  that could be holding you back from putting your thoughts into action…

What if no one comes to my new class/boot camp?

FREE LEADS TO FEE: Give something for free; this will get people through the door, and once they’re in that’s the hardest part done. Try free class passes; give them out in your existing classes, to your PT clients, give them to local charities as raffle prizes, offer them to fellow mams and dads at the school gates. Make sure you have something to give people rather than just telling them the first class is free, give them a pass, something t hold (something they will see every time they look in their purse, even attach a value to it, for example…£3.50 class pass.

LET THE WORLD KNOW ABOUT IT: Use every opportunity to tell people about it. Use face book, twitter, my space; regularly update your ‘status’ and ‘tweets’ as well as creating a group and sending members regular messages.

Offer to give a talk on the benefits of your new class at local groups, try toddler groups or business networking groups and offer everyone who attends a free class pass.

Another great way to let people know about it is to become a ‘conversation turner’. For example if someone mentions the weather you could say…’we’ve definitely been having the best weather early doors lately, at my boot camp this morning at 6.15am it was clear, not a rain drop in sight’!  I guarantee people will then ask you a question about your new venture and then you can sell sell sell!

How will I retain my members once I’ve got them?

GIVE, GIVE, GIVE then GIVE again! Reward the people who make you money, and help them help you make money without even knowing it! Offer a ‘bring a friend for free’ session and tell your clients that if there friend becomes a customer; your current client will receive a discount for referring them. It is important to make this discount worthwhile, go for 50% off…what may seem like a huge discount will give your clients a much greater incentive to actively recruit for new clients for you. Last Friday we used this at boot camp in Sunderland and some people brought up to 3 friends…we had a grand total of 53 (22 of those were ‘free friends’) people at 6.15am! And guess how many new sign ups we had for next month’s camp…16 within the same day!

It can often seem like a huge leap to make changes to your fitness business, and you may be reading this thinking that it will never work, but it can, I’ve done it and it was sooo worth the risk. Less than 3 months ago I left the health club which I had worked at all my working life…I ran my PT business from there, taught loads of classes there and all my eggs were in one basket. Now I have my own PT mini studio, Sunderland’s biggest fat loss boot camp as well as teaching 5 classes a week. I work less and earn more and have more time to spend with my lovely other half, family and friends…life is good!

So if you were THINKING about it hopefully this article has helped you put your thoughts into ACTION!

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions. And check out my new site Katiesrealmums.com

Katie xxx

 

 

 

 

 

Why I don’t use whey protein by Paul Mort

It is my opinion that we’ve been conned.

Very CLEVERLY conned by AMAZING advertising.

I’m even going to admit that I was taken in by this BRILLIANT marketing for over 10 years!

You see, most trainers and fitness enthusiast alike are using whey protein thinking it’s the answer to all of their health and physique goals.

We see guys posing with ripped physiques, chiseled abs and a cheesy grin holding their protein shakers and we think ‘wow, that must be how you get abs’

Well first of all, you can drink protein shakes all day long but if they rest of your diet is shit and you train with the intensity of a tortoise with a hangover then you’re still gonna look like a bag of lard my friend.

Anyway, I actually do believe that post workout liquid nutrition is very important as it enables to get important nutrients (mainly amino acids) in very quickly without much of a need to digest them- or so I thought.

What many of us ignore is actually what’s in the whey protein powder.

So whey protein is made from cows milk right? You know my thoughts on that.

Cows milk is for baby cows.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it was from, grass fed, organic cows but guess what?

IT’S NOT

It’s made from pasteurized milk, and is actually a WASTE PRODUCT that’s left over from the production of cheese.

You think THAT’S easy to digest? You think that’s great for your health?

Whey protein is LACED with allergens.

In fact, lets take a look at some of the other ingredients.

How do you think it tastes nice?

SWEETENER. Yup, artificial sweetener.

Usually one of 3

Let’s take a look at the first one.

Aspartame

just google “aspartame, neurological problems” and you’ll see how horrific this ingredient  is for your health.

There are over 92 different health side effects linked with aspartame consumption!

It is quite simply a dangerous chemical food additive and is banned in several countries.

Again, google it.

Next up on the hit list is- Acesulfame K

This little beastie is also pretty frightening. Linked to several tumours and lung diseases, again. Google this badboy- the evidence is pretty conclusive but its frightening that so many people are oblivious to this.

And lastly is SUCRALOSE

Sucralose is another one of these sweeteners used in some whey protein shakes that can lead to long term health problems. In this case, a shrunken thymus gland- not a good sign if you’re looking for long term health.

What if I told you there was an alternative to this madness?

Lets look at why we use whey protein again post workout.

For the intake of amino acids to stimulate muscle repair right?

Maybe some carbs or glutamine in there to help replenish glycogen?

Well a simple rice and pea protein blend has EXACTLY the same amino acid profile as whey without ANY of the allergens.

Its that simple.

I like green protein power from pilchards.

I’d like to some this short piece up by saying this

“ Just read the label”

Thank you and goodnight J

New Choreography this week

Funky HiLo for February 2011 with Rachel Holmes

Code:HLv1	Aerobic
	Rachel rocks this download with a funky mix of hi and low intermediate combinations. You have a mix of grapevines, chasses with kicks ball changes, high knees running, hopping and jogging in. These blocks are really tried and tested winning combinations. click here to vie the downloadThis choreography download has received rave reviews from everybody who has downloaded  and used it in class this week!
	2 Tokens	Length: 7 mins
	£4.99	Size: 29 MB