Instructor Newsletter 20th September

Great to see many of you at LIW yesterday. Having a wander round checking out all the equipment, chatting with the guys on the stands is always something I enjoy. The show itself is not really geared to smaller independents but what is gold is the networking and I’m going to coin a new phrase here…its called “Intentional Networking”

Instead of aimlessly wandering around hoping to bump into people, have a plan. Find out in advance who is attending an event by asking on Facebook and Twitter then arrange a quick meeting. Even if its just to say hello and put a “real” face to someone who is on your Facebook.

Jill Gardener, Yvonne Radley, Andrew and I arranged to meet and walk the show together. It was really fun to stop and chat and lots of people said to Jill -“Ahh its great to see you in real life I watch your Hate It Change It Videos”

Next time you see a networking event, book on and find out via social media who is going and get together for a quick meet and start Intentional Networking. You know the old saying Network for your Networth…. its a really golden opportunity.

Launching a new idea is always exciting. Creating the concept, planning the workout to designing the marketing, PR, buildup and eventually launch is a process I always LOVE. Especially on the back of the Olympics and Paralympics keeping the health, fitness and feel good momentum is something I want to drive forward with.

I

have secured a new venue in my local community and have been talking, networking and reaching out to local businesses about KSFL. I’ve been feeling the buzz as I get ready to launch. I am so positive about it and I can’t wait to help more people lose body fat and get in the best shape for “them”. My motto in my community classes has always been the “Cheers” theory – way back some of you will remember Cheers, an old American sitcom and the strap line is “The bar wherever everyone knows your name” that motto is AS important for me now as it was 25 years when I first set up my community classes.

Fast forward to 2012 and we now live in a society where branding, logos, colours are key. YOU are a brand, fitness is a brand, your classes are a brand and everything you do, market and create shout volumes about you and your business. The advantage of running smaller community classes is you can give the customer a great experience, you can deliver a fantastic class, you can create your own class that will work in your area for your customers plus you can build a successful and sustainable brand using the web and social media.

Encourage your class members to get involved in your brand. You don’t have to teach loads of classes, support them online with workouts, offer quality information and phone coaching. Reach out to local businesses, make a list of every business within a 5 mile radius of your classes, email, Facebook, tweet them, ring them or go in and see them – get involved – It’s a recession, no business is going to turn away the opportunity to network with someone who could potentially send new customers their way.

Fitness is In Vogue. Classes are Cool, You are in an Uber cool profession so capitalise on it my friends.

Kick Start Fat Loss

It’s heads down for the franchisee training and I’m committed to coaching and mentoring this new concept and driving the group forward.
We have some great people on board in over 25 UK locations. We are partnering with local businesses and retailers and some major brand names are also getting involved. It’s exciting times. If you interested in getting involved email me asap. RachelLHolmes@aol.com

Choreography….Please don’t let it die.

HIIT training, Bootcamps and Conditioning is all in Vogue at the moment. And it’s great, it’s get results, most people can do it, it’s not complicated, you don’t need to be co ordinated blah bah blah…BUT I have a worry…..In 12 months’ time will we only see HIIT, Conditioning Bootcamp, Les Mills, Zumba, Mind Body on timetables?

Basically, do you think Aerobics/Step is dying a slow and painful death?

In Nottingham and Derby I can count on one hand the number of Step/HiLo classes. While I was off over the last 4 weeks it was impossible to get cover.

I’m sad.

I do not want these classes to become prehistoric so I am going to launch a fresh series of downloads called Kick Start Step and Kick Start Aerobics – Basic workouts with choreography and intensity If you feel like me then we need to reinvent these classes and create a buzz again – Are you with me on this?

The selling points are different to HIIT and results based training, it’s the feel good factor, the learning a routine, the choreography, the buzz of putting it all together at the end to a banging true Its about endorphins, euphoria, exhilaration and accomplishment.

The future of Step and Aerobics really is in our hands.

Please Tweet me I need your opinions @RachelHolmes

I’ll be teaching HiLO this morning at Virgin Active Nottingham!

Making A Difference by Yvonne Radley

When you launch a new product out there you are always worried, is it going to work? Will people like it? Will people buy it? Is it what they need?

It’s the same for offline classes and online products; we get ourselves all worked up because really what we are selling is ourselves! It’s our image, our reputation on the line and we don’t want to get it wrong.

These kinds of thoughts can stop us producing a product especially if something goes wrong along the way.
As you all know I’ve been producing BIG Me Up, a start-up media kit for fit pros. It’s taken me weeks, partly because I’ve needed to learn new skills like how to make a webinar, and get my head around new software by using products such as Camtasia and Gotowebinar. It’s a whole new world to me.

During the time I was creating it life did get in the way sometimes and set me back and technology also came along to throw a spanner in the works when my internal server crashed. I felt like giving up as it was such a mammoth project I was undertaking and what if nobody liked it anyway? But you just have to “feel the fear and do it anyway” otherwise it’s going to sit on that dusty shelf and all that knowledge that you have inside is going to be wasted unless you share it.

I finally launched last week and people have bought my product and they do like, it is what they need and it is working.
The thrill I got when the first sales came up was amazing. I was selling to my peers all over the country – another scary thing as I’d only ever sold to my clients before so this was a new audience.
But the best thrill I got was when I heard from Katie Bulmer Cooke the day after she got my pack.

(See her testimonial here) http://youtu.be/SVjZcb_RaQ8

She used my tips and got herself on the BIGGEST radio station in the North East the NEXT day! This is why I created BIG Me Up to help fit pros get into the public eye, to get featured on the radio and become a mini celebrity in their area. This alone has made it all worthwhile. So if you have a product you are thinking about creating I say “do it” and don’t be afraid you could be helping lots of people out there with your knowledge.
Yvonne Radley
Yvonnneradleymedia.com
Radley@yvonneradley.com

Kids back to school – thought it was meant to get easier?!?!?!? Sally Ghafoor

This weekend was the most stressful for me in a while. Any of you with Children will know when they are going through a “stage” it can leave you mentally and physically exhausted, but when you are trying to run a business as well, it can just be, well hell on earth.

See we were kids once too, but hey that doesnt help when your kids are screaming at you and wont do their homework. So whats that got to do with fitness, well not much really, however I know sometimes being self employed in the fitness industry can be tough and lonely and throw them kiddies into the mix, it can get all so too much.

So here are my top five tips for fitpro’s with kids to get through those stressful days when it just all becomes too much: (and if you havent got kids this does work on the other half too 😉

1. Stop trying to control and take charge instead. Its a battle between child and parent – both want to be in control. You can never make a child do something they dont want to do, so start taking charge of things you can be in control of. For example, when they misbehave take away privelages that you have complete control over – the telly, their phone, the internet, video games.

2. When they refuse – Well there is nothing you can do, faced with “no I wont from” a 12 plus year old, you need a plan – tell them “ok i cannot make you do it but until you do what I have asked you wont be able to watch the telly or XYZ” and enforce it.

3. Its your rules – They dont have to like them but they do have to abide by them, set out your rules and make the consequences of not following the rules clear.

4. Dont shout – I know how hard but this is something that has seriously worked for me, I spell the rules out clearly without raising my voice whereas before i would be nose to nose shouting. Seriously you feel in control and calm when you dont rise to the shouting.

5. Dance, swim, jump, whatever do something you enjoy, you are not just a mum, find your identity again and be you, take time out and enjoy yourself without feeling guilty.

Before the weekend of hell I had, I decided to rebrand my recipe book, I added a ton of new clean recipes and have decided to sell it off at a very cheap price….
You pay for it, I send it to you, you rebrand it in your name and you sell it on to your clients for however much you want.
Here are some of the recipes:
Lemon Berry Cheesecake
Mushroom Sauce
Salmon Fishcakes
Banana custard
Fragrant Thai Prawns

Plus many many more, all clean and nutritious and tried and tested by all my online bootcampers.

Today only the price for this is £27, why so cheap? Are the recipes rubbish? – nope I can send you piccies of them, or give you more info, or the full list of recipes, you can even take a look before you buy. I just know times are tough and you can make your money back and more from a book I have sitting in my documents.

So here is the link – buy it then sell it on and make some extra money to treat yourself when those kiddies and running a business makes life seem that little bit overwhelming 😉 http://uploadnsell.com/buy/nQPLPV

Sally Ghafoor

Fit Pro Super Heroes – Be BOLD and be different by Jill Gardner

What can you do to stand out? What can you say to make an impact? How do you look and are you creating an image? What does your branding and logo say?

I decided to be BOLDer and get brave with my videos last week and the impact was amazing. This video went viral immediately. Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGttPO-eROs

Are you just a fitness instructor or personal trainer:
I help people lose weight
I help people get fitter blah blah blah………

or could you portray yourself as a super hero?:

Someone who transforms peoples health?
Someone who gives people back their mojo?
Someone who makes people feel fantastic naked??Someone who saves peoples lives?
Someone who makes people feel fitter, stronger and happier?
Or maybe you bring people back to life!

Think about your website and other social media sites. Do they create a bang? Or do they just look like all the other fitness sites? Do you sound like every Fit Pro out there?

Be #BOLD with your words and speak how you really feel!
Be #BOLD with your image and represent what you believe!
Be #BOLD with your branding, photos and colours!
Be #BOLD with your message and be true to your values!
Be #BOLD with your videos, vlogs and blog articles!
Be #BOLD and don’t hold back!
Be #BOLD and IGNORE what everyone else is doing – you are not everyone else!
Be #BOLD and make no apologies to anyone!
Be #BOLD in your mission and go forth unabated!
Be #BOLD and BE YOU!
Be #BOLD and be a Fit Pro Super Hero!

How can you be #BOLD today? #BOLD

Big #BOLD love, small tummies!

Jill Gardner – The Fat Controller
www.hateitchangeit.co.uk www.facebook.com/hateitchangeit @itsjillgardner

Jayne Nicholls

I walked over the O2 at the weekend, it is just like a giant Bosu – no kidding!

Rachel and I have been discussing all of the things that have gone out of focus for instructors in the age of social media and business. The practical benefits of fitness and moving to music that make climbing the O2 an absolute breeze rather than a workout, the skill and the dexterity of being fully co-ordinated, quick and agile. All these things that make life superior in quality.

We offer this stuff every day of the week or at least we used to when Group Exercise was about skill and included choreographed routines that our clients had to learn and make perfect. In our desire to allow everyone to ”get it” as quickly as possible we have turned our backs on a whole set of skills that are important and presently understated.

When Rachel and I created the Unite workout, we decided to make the learning process an integral part of the programme. What appears difficult in the first couple of weeks very quickly becomes an acquired skill making it flow with grace. This kind of training empowers our people and makes them feel wonderful in achievement.

It is not hard to include a section in any class based upon brain power and focussing on improving motor skills and co-ordination. When you mix this with speed it am equals achievement.

We can sell fit and agile over just fit, perfect for the baby boomers and the young clients who are our prime target market. Today I chatted to someone who was really feeling the stress of getting older as an instructor and I tried to tell her that if when the music comes on , you still perform like a teenager, then there is no reason that we should not all teach until we are 75.

Jayne – www.groupxtraining.com

Do you train your clients for you or for them? Cori Withell

Whether you are a PT, class instructor or nutritionist. Do you actually train and educate for you or for the clients in front of you? Do you put across your views and beliefs in a way that pushes it onto the individual rather than them making an informed choice? When teaching, do you choose the music you like and the routines that you most enjoy teaching? Do you choose to teach hard classes because that is what you like and your clients can like it or lump it?

It is important that we enjoy what we are doing, of course it is but surely our main aim it to give our clients what the want and what they are actually paying for. If they are paying for a dance class but you add in some heavy conditioning at the end, is that fair? Is that benefitting the client in the best way? You may argue that you are strengthening them etc etc BUT they have not paid for that. If they want a conditioning class then surely they will choose to go to a conditioning class?

If you are teaching a class that want it harder, is that okay to do that? What about any newbies that come through the door? If you are advertising a beginners Pilates class for example, but your group have been with you for a while and are strong enough to work harder (but for whatever reason won’t move to a harder class!) so you increase the intensity. How does a newcomer feel coming to this class? It’s okay you say to yourself, explain that there are different levels etc. How would you feel if you went to a class where everyone else was doing something different to you? It WOULD bother you, it would make you feel excluded and less inclined to return – wouldn’t it?

So, when thinking about your class sessions, music, conditioning, advice etc THINK about who your clients actually are. Know your target client, learn about them, ask them why they come to class, ask them what music they prefer to exercise to and why, ask for feedback. So many of us are scared to get thoughts from our clients, maybe we don’t want to feel criticised but I think this is madness. I get feedback from my clients every 3-6 months. A short 10 question survey asking about classes, moves, music, suggestions from them. The surveys are anonymous so they can speak as freely as they want to, they get an opportunity to voice their opinion that may then shape a future timetable or session that will benefit them – what is there to be worried about! The survey responses will not be personal to you – they are reflective of your classes/sessions/advice and teaching/educating style. If there is something that you could improve on, surely it be better to know than not to kn ow?

Too many of us take everything personally – stop it! The only way to be a better instructor is to put your clients first, that means knowing them, asking their opinions, taking on board their thoughts and making the necessary changes. If you really know and understand your target client, your classes will rock regardless. Your PT referrals will increase, your ability to really connect with a client and help them change their diet will improve – but if you continue to teach for yourself and refuse to ask your clients what they think and want – then how can you and your business move forward?

If you make your clients happy you will be happy – win win 🙂

Health and happiness
Best wishes
Cori x

Running a Fitness Retreat by Katie Bulmer Cooke

Hi C2Goer’s

Hope you’re all good in the fitness hood!

Last weekend I ran my first ever fitness retreat, and it went super well, and I would totally recommend, that if you’ve been thinking about running one yourself, you grab it with both hands and run with it.

Here is how mine worked, to help you get started…

I hired 2 log cabins, with hot tubs in the Ripon countryside on a self catering basis.
I then created a package/itinerary that included a 2 night stay, beauty treatment, welcome gift, 5 workouts, a Pilates class, all food and drink (all healthy and clean), a copy of my e-cook book, a 7 day meal plan and a home workout (so everyone could keep up the good work when they got home)
I booked a local beautician to come to the cabins on the Saturday evening to do treatments
I created a webpage and took bookings via my website using PayPal, you can check out the layout of it all at www.katiebulmer.com/realresultsretreat
I completed my Food Hygiene Certificate, so that I could do all the cookings (which I throughly enjoyed)
I delivered all the workouts. The cabins had a large decked area that was secluded and I held the Pilates session in the living room
Everyone arrived to find a personalised welcome gift on their pillow and a copy of the weekends itinerary, which included the menu, meal times, workouts etc as well as free time to explore the local area along with information on local points of interest.

It really was a great weekend, something unique that showed my customers that clean, healthy eating can be exciting, working out as a group is fun and we all need time to relax.

If you are thinking of hosting your own retreat and have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

Go for it,

KBC x

Make that commitment

By Claire Mockridge
Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Hi there C2Goers,

Today, I’m going to talk to you about commitment, and not just because it’s one of those words in the English language that’s spelt incorrectly all the time. Sorry, I was an English teacher many moons ago. It drives me nuts. Anyway, I digress…

When it comes to your business, how committed are you? (notice the double “t” there in that word?). I’m very driven when it comes to my business. I come from a long-standing stock of hard grafters, and I do firmly believe no one got anywhere without a bit of hard work. My parents lost both their jobs in the same year when I was at secondary school. Times were tough there for while. Several of my relations are/have been self-employed, including my mother, father, brother, 2 aunts and 2 uncles. We’ve all experienced the highs and lows, the peaks and troughs, the good times, the bad times. It ain’t easy, but when a plan comes together, boy is it rewarding.

I deal with a niche client group (ante and postnatal), which unfortunately, is also very transient. My finger’s always on the pulse. It has to be. I’m very committed to making my business succeed. The question is, are you?

Just this week, I had 16 pregnant ladies leave my classes. For good. There they go, off to have their babies and I won’t see them again for approximately 3 months after birth. Not all of them return to me postnatally, but that’s the risk I take, and I’ve accepted it as part of my business. My maximum capacity over 3 pregnancy sessions is 50, so when 16 pregnant ladies all leave in one go, that’s a hell of chunk, isn’t it? My question to you is: would your business survive if this happened to you?

If you’re trying to target pre/postnatal women, you have to make a commitment to continually advertise. Without a word of a lie, I do some form of marketing every day. Not every month or every week – every day. Whether it’s talking to a pre/postnatal contact about cross-promotion, scheduling posts and tweets on Facebook and Twitter, writing blog posts/newsletters, promoting online products, filling last-minute spaces on courses etc, something is always ticking away.

Pre/postnatal actually isn’t a difficult client to work with. It’s an incredibly rewarding population in fact. The problem isn’t about modifications to exercise, or what you can and can’t do with them, the issue for a lot of ante/postnatal Instructors is a simple lack of marketing and advertising skills. I can help you. All you need to do is make a commitment and follow my advice.

I know what advertising and marketing works for this group of women and I discuss this at length in my “Bridging the Gap” Pre/Postnatal Exercise & Marketing Workshops for this reason. To find out how to book your space, click www.clairemockridge.com/workshops, or connect with me here:

Closed Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/clairemockridge/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clairemockridge1
Twitter: www.twitter.com/clairemockridge
Blog: http://clairemockridge.wordpress.com/

Have a great Thursday!

Claire Mockridge
Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Opposites v Birds of a Feather
By Andrew Crawford

Opposites attract…??!! I believe that’s a lie.. Hear me out…..
Yesterday I was at my friend’s funeral listening to the rundown of her life. It just reminded me just how precious life is. So….whatever you want to do…..do it. Whatever you want to say…say it, wherever you want to go….go…as long as you live in the light of truth and spread your love wherever you go and in whose presence you will influence.

Consider these opposites…..
Alive dead, (Me, my friend), Love hate,( USA, countries who control oil), rich poor, (The Queen, poor person), happy sad, high low, truth lie (Hillsborough), overt covert , (Princess Diana case), Win Lose (Bankers, Taxpayers), Start Finish, Laugh Cry, New Old, Fat Skinny, Ugly Pretty, Good Bad, In Out, Left Right, Give Take, More Less, Front Back…Leader Follower, Awake Asleep…..!!!
The late great Dennis Brown sang in one of his famous tracks “Love and Hate can Never be friends…”
So…what do you think?? Do opposites attract?

I believe in the good old…”Birds of a Feather” concept….if you surround yourself with positivity, positivity will resonate through you, it can motivate, spur, bring on, kick your butt, enliven, refresh your mojo….all within the confinements of the networks you build around yourself.
So Andrew,
What has opposites and birds of a feather got to do with Accountancy and Tax
Well you want your tax bill low, the taxman wants it high. You want to pay the bill slow, the taxman wants it fast.
The taxman will always like to win and for you to lose. You have to be overt with your information the taxman is covert with his. They believe they have no obligation to reveal information to you the taxpayer which they deem unnecessary.

The Taxman is forever changing the tax rules to bring in new ways to take more from you, whereas you may prefer the old way to give them less.

I give out pretty tax reduction strategies which the taxman calls ugly because they receive less and you receive more. It’s a win or lose situation….right?
Certain tax reduction schemes for you and me are good the taxman sees them as bad. There’s times when I want to laugh other times I want to cry.

It is easier to control you and your mind if you are asleep rather than if you are fully awake!!…so be careful of watching the tele-vision-“program”…..!!

The taxman and myself are total ‘Opposite’ we will never be ‘Birds of a Feather’ that’s why they are not in my network.

Finally

“….There’s Nothing Better Than Love ….”
Luther Vandross and Gregory Hines sang this so eloquently, sadly both are no longer here…just like my friend. Listen here (turn up your speakers).

http://youtu.be/H2nKEVSEcNw

At the end of the day, her close network of beloved people she influenced gathered around to say goodbye…
Ensure that your network of people, friends and associates are the reflection of you and your life. Peace and Love.

Andrew Crawford
www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com
www.fitnessindustrygossip.com
www.facebook.com/andrewjamescrawford
www.twitter.com/tax4fitness

Finding love, and being a Fit Pro: Vikki Scovell

As a beautiful human being and thoroughly charming entity, you will be approached by possible love-interests as you wander through life. Sometimes it is a hopeful, inebriated soul at a party who you wouldn’t touch with an electric cattle prod. Wow-factor individuals may cross your path but ultimately prove disappointing.

You may be approached out-of-the-blue by an unexpected stranger, and take a leap of faith. Listen to your inner voice; you knew the drunk was a no-go, you suspected that Mr/Ms Wow was only shiny on the outside, and your inner voice shouted ‘jump’ at the unexpected. OK, that’s love, but what about work? We all need love and money, but putting time/energy into dud, toxic or dead-end personal or work prospects sucks.

Look at work as you would a prospective lover; how happy will you be, will there be challenges, responsibilities, boredom, insecurity, will you feel in control of the situation, or valued? If something unexpectedly crops up and you have a good feeling about it, will you have the guts to go with that, or will you play it safe and watch the opportunity fall into the open arms of someone braver?

When you meet someone you want to feel confident, happy and attractive; you scrub behind your ears, get your hair done and buy something you feel good in. In the fitness arena you are a Human BILL-BOARD: people are buying into brand YOU so make sure it rocks; look presentable, dress to impress. You may end up as a sweaty, frizzy mess by the end of the day, but pay attention to your appearance/branding and the way that others view you.

OK cue usual Scovell DIGRESSION…………. as Fit-Pros the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM is facing away from you, bending over, and wearing over-stretched lycra with its knickers showing through.

Why does nobody ever talk about this, why are gym outfitters selling us stuff you can’t bend over in? Squatting/down dog and Lycra; a fatal combo. I once taught yoga in fabulous new leggings, and got myself into all sorts of revealing positions, only to discover TOO LATE that they were completely see-through every time I moved. REMEMBER KIDS: Lycra check! If you are determined to show off your frillies, I suggest wearing them on the OUTSIDE of your clothes so that people know it’s deliberate.

At the beginning of a relationship, you want to make the right impression. If they are going to like you and it’s going to last, they need to meet the REAL you from the start. No point in presenting a fake persona or acting like your friend Pam who always gets the blokes in a lather; you can’t keep that up. With clients, be genuine and unpretentious, let them see YOU. As with everything there is a flip side to this coin.

There are some things which your date/client doesn’t NEED or WANT to hear (if you want to see them again), so no moaning/bitching, and understand what to keep to yourself (excessive swearing/disturbing phobia of cotton wool/party trick with ping pong ball).

Ultimately we just want to live happily ever after, to find contentment, security and be valued for ourselves. If you are reading C2Go, then you are already getting closer to your working ‘happy-ever-after,’ so get out your pencil and paper and write down all of the important points that the other (USEFUL) contributors have put forward and ACT on them.

Life ain’t ALWAYS a fairy tale: kissing frogs and waiting passively for a passing Knight is about as REALISTIC as believing the notion of ‘PASSIVE income,’ the business fairy tale. If anything is going to get you to the work equivalent of happily-ever-after it is listening to Rachel and others, because they are the
BEST.

MAKE your dreams come true, love your job and be happy!
FB Vikki Scovell twitter @fitbite

Have a wonderful day

Love Rachel xx