Instructor Newsletter 21st July 2011

Note from Rachel

Thanks to everyone who attended the Fitness, Fatloss and Bootcamp Workshop last weekend in Chelmsford and Oxford. Great vibe and atmosphere and the Bootcamp workouts are really taking off all over the country. I’ve added some workout ideas for you this week that I hope will inspire you over the summer. I am now into week 3 of my mentoring program and I’ve got to tell you how much I am loving coaching and mentoring. The students have been progressing so well in such a short time, we have been working on video coaching, business branding and setting up new passive incomes streams. I’ll be featuring the guys over the coming weeks in the newsletter and on Choreographytogo so would love to get your feedback.

Need some new ideas for your Conditioning Classes?

The St Petersburg Bootcamp Conditioning Workout

The St Petersburg Workout was the first Bootcamp Conditioning Workout I created and I use it in my Conditioning Classes all of the time. The music is sectioned into 6 x 40 second intervals with 20 secs of recovery. You have 4 rounds of this with a 40 second break in between. Making the main part of the workout 28 minutes long. The music is very high energy, super motivating and great for you, as you can really coach your group and offer tons of alternatives for various levels.  You can tweak your exercises into tri plane variations ensuring a fully 3 dimensional and functional workout. I’ve had some great feedback from my own class members who have road tested this with me over the past 4 months and it’s been well received by Instructors on the F3 Tour.

You can get the St Petersburg Music Mix for Infitnessmusic.com click here

Workout 1

St Petersburg Workout: 40/20 4 rounds 6 exercises No Equipment

Add options and alternatives as required depending on the group’s level. The aim is to get the heart rate up high in the intervals ensuring the clients get a metabolic training effect but allowing the HR rate to drop during the 20seconds of recovery.

Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
Lower Body	Upper Body	Burpees	Core – Prone
Jump Squats fwd/back	Press up regular	Sagittal Plane	Hill Climber
Gallop Squats side	Tricep Dips regular	Frontal Plane Burpee	Fast Hill Climber
180 degree turn jump squats	Press ups wide/narrow	Corkscrew Burpees	Side Taps
Walking Squats fwd/back	Tricep Dips travelling side to side	Burpee with press up, jump fwd/back	Knee across to wrist
Walking Lunge	Rotional press ups	1 Leg Burpees	Plank to Pike
Wide to narrow jack squats	Tricep Dips Transverse travelling in a circle	Burpee with lateral jump	Knee fwd/side/across pike to plank repeat left

Over a period of 4 weeks with 2 classes per week I do the following rotation:

Week a: Perform the above workouts x2 per week

Week b: Change Round 2 and use Weights for the upper body

Week c: Change Round 3 and use Skipping ropes and variations of skipping for each interval

week d: Change Round 1 and use a step for power legs.

Every class is slightly different ensuing the class members don’t get bored and never hit a plateau. I’ve seen a MASSIVE increase in cardiovascular fitness and body composition.

45 Minute Class Ideas

10 mins Warm Ups

28 mins St Petersburg Workout

5 mins cool down and stretch

I hope that gives you some ideas for your summer classes.

Fitness Pilates Updates

I have been adding logos and updates to the Fitness Pilates community page on Choreographytogo. If you would like to download or use any of the FP logos on your websites or Facebook and Twitter, then pop over to the page and you will find an assortment of  logos that you can use. I’ve also uploaded some hand outs and Press Releases that you are more than welcome to use and copy if you teach FP. click here to go to the Fitness Pilates Community Page

Watch todays Daily Fit C2GOTV

THE FASTEST WAY TO GET THROUGH YOUR TO DO LIST by Rachel Holmes

Do you make endless to do lists every single day?

Do you ever get through your to do list?

Does your to do list keep increasing in size as you go through the day?

Do you keep rolling  your tasks on to the following day until by the end of the week you have an unlimited amount of jobs to complete?

Think about it in the positive – how does it make you feel when you tick those items off your to do list.  You feel that you have really achieved something. It feels amazing and  gives you a great sense of positivity when  you start ticking off items down the list. But, if you look closely at those items are they sometimes the smaller items, the quicker items and they are not actually items that will help push you and your business forward .

You may find that you spend far too much time doing “stuff” tasks, basic tasks that don’t push you and your business forward.

Well, I have a little strategy for you.  Try making one list that only has 5 items on it and those 5 items are so important that you cannot stop during the day until those 5 items are complete.  Those 5 items are big tasks that will only help push you and your business forward.  None of the menial stuff, none of the little things, just those big chunks to drive you forward.

A great book to read is by Brian Tracey and it’s called “Eat That Frog” and in this book Brian Tracey suggests that the first task you do or complete in a day is the biggest baddest frog – Eat That Frog.  The  worst thing to do is start with the smaller menial tasks –  going on Facebook, checking your emails, answering your telephone.  Put those tasks to the end of the day or when you have finished your big tasks, or use those tasks as rewards when you have completed bigger, scarier, more important jobs. If you don’t you will only fill your precious admin time with smaller “stuff” that doesn’t progress you.

Another strategy to try is making your to do list last thing at night.   By doing it this way, your subconscious and your brain has six or seven hours for those tasks to sink it and it has time to think  about the  answers and deliver solutions to you easily and quickly the following day.

So in summary, do your to do list in the evening and make sure you eat your biggest baddest frogs as soon as you sit down in your office.  That way you will ensure you are driving your business forward and the menial stuff can either be delegated or you could do it later on during the day.

Great books to read on this subject are Michael Heppell Ways to save an hour every day and Brian Tracey Eat That Frog. You can listen to both of these as audiobooks from itunes.

It’s OK To Be Yourself! by Katie Bulmer

Hi everyone,

Sorry it’s been a few weeks since I last wrote for a while, the truth is, I’ve been pretty stressed with a capital S!

And you know what…I’m not ashamed to admit it, that sometimes stuff gets on top of me. I get frustrated, I have some self doubt and sometimes a have a little cry.

I have so many ideas and products I wanna nail and finish as well as continue to help people look and feel amazing, sometimes it all just gets to me.

I’m not super woman.

Even though I’ve made some huge changes to my business since becoming a mam, and taken some incredible leaps to enable to help me work smarter, not harder…I’m only human.

The truth is I’m a 25 year old mam who in the past 7 months has taken on probably some of the most stressful tasks a person can…all at once.

I’ve bought another house, renovated it (well my lovely husband did), brought up a new baby, got married, been on honeymoon, taken on an instructor, grown my business, learnt how to be a landlord and manage 3 rental properties and for 4 months lived with my mam (which I must confess I loved) while the house sale went though.

So I think it’s pretty fair to say I’ve had my hands full.

But why am I telling you this?

Well I just wanna say that it’s ok to be real, to have struggles, challenges and pain. And what’s more, it’s ok to share it. You don’t have to always be the super confident, strong woman who appears to be care free and invincible.

You know what else, it’s ok to have your own dreams whatever they may be.

Whilst I was going through this stressful phase, I kept seeing lots ‘6 figure fit pro’ stuff. I think there is a lot of pressure out there to earn 6 figures, and that if you’re not, that’s a measure of your success.

Well for me that isn’t the dream, it’s not MY driving force and you know what…that’s ok!

My dream is lifestyle based. I’m happy in my new home, I want a big playhouse for Heidi, I want to be able to take my family on holiday 3 times a year. I want to convert our loft. I want to be able to pick Heidi up from school everyday and put her to bed every night. I want to eat out whenever we want…it’s my favourite pastime.

I just want enough money to do this.

It’s also ok to do YOUR thing…

Is that to be a 1 man band, instead of having many instructors working for you?
Is that to teach classes that you love?

Whatever it is, if it makes YOU happy, then go for it and don’t stress about what other people are doing!

So the moral of the story…

We are positive, energetic, confident, caring people with goals, hopes and dreams.

BUT it is ok to be you. To face challenges, to feel pain and to have your own goals, whatever they may be!

Success lies in being happy in your own skin!

Best wishes, love, health and happiness to everyone who reads this.

Katie xx

 

Being a mumpreneur by Sally Ghafoor

Sometimes I think being a mum can push us into a “safe” zone. Our role is to bring up our children, not take risks in business. The lure to stay working in clubs instead of getting out there and working for ourselves can be pushed upon us, not just in the fitness industry but in all industries. Becoming a mumpreneur is really not something to do until your kids are at least able to get themselves to and from school. We really shouldn’t be taking risks, play it safe while the kids are young, the most challenging thing we should be doing is working out how to work the puree machine to make sweet potato and carrot puree, (which I must tell you I am rubbish at), Wrong, it’s a PERFECT time to branch out, dip your toes into the mumprenuer world and make your fortune.

I have 3 children, 15, 10 and 2. I wish I had got out there when my 15 year old was a baby, instead I spent 10 years working as a part time fitness instructor and working in the day for a company that bored the socks off me.

Time

“I don’t know how you do it, I wouldn’t have the time” I hear that a lot, and its complete rubbish. How do I get time, I just do it.  You do have time, look at your schedule, you can shift stuff around. Now I am not asking for a medal, but the vast age range of my children means they all do different hobbies, so I spend a lot of time with “mums taxi” on top of my car. What  am I doing whilst I am in the car… I am listening to audio books. I have my to do list in the car. When I get to said hobbies, I watch my children and I work. I have a Dictaphone (hey don’t diss it, it really works) I dictate then pass to my admin assistant to action, (and before you say you don’t have the luxury of admin help, this is a new thing for me. Prior to this I would go home and listen to my audio tape and do the work myself). I don’t watch soaps, its not quality “me” time so I don’t waste my time watching them. I have a choice,  I could lose myself in someone else’s fictional characters or I could be pushing my business on or spending time with my family in the real world. I choose the latter.

Guilt

Why, why do us mothers have this engrained feeling of guilt. I have regular doses of guilt. We have been told for so many years that the mother’s role is baking, making fantastic paintings, going to every single class going to make our baby into a little baby Einstein, and for that I fail miserably. I believe kids need to be kids for longer so no I won’t push writing their name before they are two on to them, but I make up for it in what I can teach my children in drive, and never giving up. I have a confession – now this makes me feel soooo guilty. I refuse to do painting with my children. Lennon my youngest just started playschool, he was over awed – he had never done painting, it’s messy and horrible and I don’t do it. Has it scarred him for life – no, it made playschool an easy transition, he couldn’t wait to go to playschool and paint! There is always a flip side to everything!

Me time??? for most the answer to that will be – what’s that, me time seems to equal, me time with major feelings of guilt time, as I really should be doing something for my children and husband not relaxing for myself. Well it’s all in the planning. It is fine to have me time without feeling guilty. Having a baby means you become a mum, but you are still an individual as well. You have the right to sort you day into productive time, play time and me time. Contented mumpreneur = contented family.

So here are my top Mumpreneur tips

1. Use your skills as a mother to help with your business. Being a mum teaches us – prioritising, communication, planning, negotiating, caring, listening, teaching, mentoring, multi tasking are all key components in business. Mums do this on a daily basis and they do it well, use it in your business.

2. Time Management. Set up a system, put behind you all those old beliefs that well meaning relatives put upon you, you can be a mum and be successful you just need to plan your day.

3. You are more than just a Mum, you are an individual as well, remember that and look after yourself.

4. Be proactive not reactive. Being proactive saves you lots of time, being reactive means losing time.

5. Stop finding excuses. If it’s not being a mum, it will be being a wife or being a daughter or daughter in law that stops you. Remove the excuses and get out there and join the thousands of mumpreneurs loving their businesses.

6.   Be passionate. If you are passionate about your business and what you believe in you will go far. Be passionate about your family too, the two can work together if you have the passion to make it so.

Sally Ghafoor – Mumprenuer of 3 gorgeous boys!!!

Thanks so much for reading the newsletter and I hope you are enjoying the content and The Daily Fit

Hugs and Love

Rachel xxx

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