Evolution of Personal Training Seminar DVD

The business model has changed and will continue to do so. The old ways no longer work and what was driving business two years ago is also not going to work now. For success you need to know how to thrive in change or better yet lead in change. In tough markets the rules are different but basic values will always guide the way.

I do feel there will be a lot of gyms, training centers and personal trainers who will not make it past 09 but the reasons will be their own fault for not embracing change but fighting it."
- Dave Tate


“It’s time to reinvent ourselves. The time has never been better or more urgent in which to question every truth, belief, premise, product, service and price of your business. This is a time of transition to a new economy which you are going to participate in, willingly or reluctantly, successfully or unsuccessfully”
-Dan Kennedy

“The business is in major transition right now.I’ve been in this for over 30 years. It has changed more in the last 3 years than I’ve seen it change in that entire time period.There has never been a chance for greater growth in the fitness industry for those willing to reinvent their businesses and grow with the coming consumer" 
– Thomas Plummer

“You’ve got to reinvent your business to fit the realities of the new market”
– Seth Godin

“Reinvent your business constantly. The end goal may be the same, but the tools and methods are constantly evolving.”
– Ken Tucker
If you are a trainer or coach in this field - ask yourself if your business practice is the same as it was last year, or two or three years ago. Ask yourself if your programming has evolved to meet the demand's of todays consumer. If you haven't changed your model radically - you will be left behind in today's economy.

The only constant in today's business world is that everything is changing.

Your marketing has to be different. Your sales script has to be different. The services you offer have to be different. The actual workouts you put clients through have to be different (today's client is physically different and has different goals from even ten years ago).

It's time to evolve and reinvent.

This year for Perform Better I presented on the Evolution of the Fitness Profession - "tested Methods to Transform your Personal Training Business - and shared proven strategies that will allow your business to evolve and grow. This was my highest rated and attended talk ever.

We've just released a DVD of my presentation from the 2009 Perform Better tour.

This seminar covered strategies to completely evolve your training business and literally make you bulletproof in the current economy (and as usual with me - it's all battle tested - we're on track to have our best year ever in the gym). Businesses need to evolve and change. You literally need to reinvent your entire business identity every 3-5 years or you'll be left behind.

We cover:

• Understand that business is a system: If you don't hace a system in palce you are winging it. Business is too important for improv.
  
  
• Understand the mindset of the client: "If you can see john smith through John smith's eyes, you can sell John Smith what John Smith buys"
  
  
• Repositioning yourself in today's market : being a one-on-one clipboard holding, rep counter just won't work in the new economy
  
  
• Semi Private Training / Group Training: how to implement different offerings and stil maintain a high quality of programming
  
  
• Fitness Programming for the 21st Century: today's clients have changed, their goals have changed and their demands have changed. We need to change the very product we are offering.

Bottom line: We need to RADICALLY change our business because our customers and prospects behaviors and psychology are changing.

You can pick up a copy of the DVD here => Evolution of Personal Training
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AC
PS - Make sure you sign up for my email newsletter. One hundred copies of our NEW Results Fitness Program Design Manual will be launched on MONDAY - EXCLUSIVELY to newsletter subscribers.
This will not be available via the blog, or on any of our websites until 2010.

Corrective Interval Training ?

Guest Blog by Eric Cressey

I love interval training, but one of the problems we commonly run into—particularly if someone isn’t prepared physically to sprint or doesn’t have a place to do it because of weather restrictions—is that repetitive, low amplitude motions are our only options. In other words, it has to just be cycling, the elliptical, or the stair climber. While slide board work, medicine ball medleys, barbell complexes, and sled pushing definitely help to work around these problems, when it comes down to it, many of them still don’t give certain folks the variety they need in their exercise programming.


In our “Building the Efficient Athlete” seminar, Mike Robertson and I spoke about the law of repetitive motion: I = NF/AR.

In this equation, injury (I) equals the number of repetitions multiplied by the frequency of those repetitions (NF) divided by the amplitude of each repetition times the rest interval (AR). While you can attack each of these five factors differently, the take home point with respect to today’s discussion is that simply increasing the amplitude—or range of motion—in one’s daily life can reduce (or eliminate) the presence or severity of overuse conditions. For that reason, I often substitute one or both of two different training modalities for my clients’ interval training.

The first is dynamic flexibility circuits with little to no rest between sets. In this scenario, we program 2–3 different mobility/activation drills for each inefficiency the athlete displays and then combine them in a series of drills. Ideally, we do as many of these drills as possible in the standing position.

As an example, let’s say a client has poor thoracic spine mobility, a horrific Thomas test (restrictions in one or more of the hip flexors), bad glute function, and a lack of hip external rotation. Here’s what his circuit might look like:

A) One-leg supine bridge

B) Wall hip flexor mobilizations

C) Three-point extension rotations

D) Cradle walks

E) Overhead lunge walks

F) Walking Spiderman with overhead reach

G) Yoga push-ups

H) One-leg SLDL walks

(You can find videos of many of these exercises in the Assess and Correct Program and I’ll have more information on the rest down the road.)

Is this circuit going to completely “gas” an athlete? Absolutely not. However, it is going to make him/her better in light of the inefficiencies I outlined above. And you don’t have to leave the gym exhausted to have improved. It’s a great option for powerlifters as well because going too crazy with supplemental conditioning work can really sap strength.

The second option is to simply take a series of resistance training exercises with a corrective emphasis (sometimes integrate with the drills outlined above) and put them in a series of supersets. For these exercises, the load utilized should only be about 30 percent of one rep max.

I outlined this option a while back in my article, “Cardio Confusion.” Here’s an example I used with an online consulting client recently.

A1) Overhead broomstick walking lunges (3 X 10/side)
A2) Push-ups (3 X 12)

B1) Face pulls (3 X 15)
B2) Body weight only reverse lunges (3 X 10/side)

C1) One-leg SLDL walk (2 X 6/side)
C2) Band external rotations, arm adducted (2 X 15/side)

D1) Behind the neck band pull aparts (2 X 15)
D2) Bowler squats (2 X 10/side)

This series is preceded by foam rolling and a dynamic flexibility warm up and can be followed by more “traditional” interval training.

Like I said earlier, I’m still all for both traditional and non-traditional interval training. Initiatives like I outlined above though can serve as a nice change of pace and work in corrective exercises while keeping the heart rate up. Be as creative as you’d like and you’ll see great results. The sky is the limit in terms of the combinations you can use.

To check out a new product that Eric, Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman have put together - that shows you exactly how to create a "corrective exercise program" - one that you can add to your tweak and set up as a VERY metabolically demanding circuit or interval program such as above - check out the "Assess and Correct Program".

--
AC
PS - With 27 self-assessments and 78 corresponding exercises, you’ll cover virtually everything you or your clients will need to feel and perform well - check it out HERE

Aerobic training doesn't create an afterburn effect?

A recent study from the University of Colorado (published in the Journal of Applied Physiology) had participants perform an hour long easy ride and monitored the "afterburn" - to see how much fat they burned post workout.

They didn't burn any more than they did if they hadn't exercised.

From the New York Times:

To their surprise, the researchers found that none of the groups, including the athletes, experienced “afterburn.” They did not use additional body fat on the day when they exercised. In fact, most of the subjects burned slightly less fat over the 24-hour study period when they exercised than when they did not.

WAIT -- An hour long EASY ride didn't have an afterburn effect?

Really? I'm shocked..... you'd think that an hour of pedaling easily would melt the pounds off these people (note sarcasm)

And the title of the study: " When energy balance is maintained, exercise does not induce negative fat balance..." ?????

Really? If you burn 300 calories (and there is no afterburn effect or additional post-workout caloric burn) and then you replace those calories you don't lose fat?

Again -- REALLY? Who'd have thought that? (note sarcasm again)

I understand that wasn't the point of the study - but did they really think that an easy ride would increase post workout fat burning significantly? Did they also really think that - for example burning 300 calories and then eating 300 calories would have resulted in fat loss?

I think I've said A LOT that low intensity aerobics doesn't create any post workout increase in metabolism. I'm just surprised that people still thought it did.

The researchers concluded:

These data suggest that when exercise is performed with energy replacement (i.e. energy balance is maintained), 24 h fat oxidation does not increase and in fact, may be slightly decreased. It appears that the state of energy balance is an under appreciated factor determining the impact of exercise on fat oxidation.

First off I don't think anyone thinks that energy balance is an under appreciated factor. I think we all know you have to burn calories (although I do think our understanding of calories in vs calories out is probably incomplete).

But performing low intensity aerobic work in that state could LOWER fat oxidation (burning) post workout -- In other words it could be a negative?

I wonder if anyone ever said that before.

(For the record - Dr. Eric Serrano showed me research that he had done on aerobic work actually hurting fat loss back in the mid 90s)

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AC

Bootcamp SYSTEMS

I bet everyone reading this has had a hamburger that tastes better than anything on the McDonalds menu. So it's fair to say that McDonalds may not have the best hamburgers in the world right?

So why then do people invest several million dollars in a McDonalds franchise?

I'll tell you ..... It's not the hamburgers. It's not the fries. And it's not the special sauce.

It's the SYSTEM.

The word system is essentially an acronym for

SAVE
YOUR
SELF
TIME
ENERGY
MONEY

You see McDonalds has developed an absolutely perfect turn-key business SYSTEM. You don't have to know how to make a hamburger, how long to cook the fries for, how much salt to add -- you just need to follow the system. It's done for you.

Now sure - you can invest your efforts, time, energy and money and maybe -- maybe - several years from now you'll have come up with a better method.

Or you could learn their system now and save yourself years of frustration.

The fitness business is the same. when we added a shake/smoothie bar to our gym we looked for an established company with a proven system. When we added kettlebell training and group classes we looked for a company that already had a tested, proven system.

In this economy - one of the key things to focus on is your ability to change and offer new services. Clients needs and desires are changing rapidly - so as business owners, we need to evolve our offerings and introduce new services.

One of the fastest growing markets for fitness professionals right now are bootcamp classes. Bootcamps are a low cost program for the client, but can be very profitable for the business just due to the sheer numbers that you can work with.

Provided your programming is excellent. It all falls apart if you don't get great results.

But just like the McDonalds example - starting from scratch and trying to figure it out on your own is waste of time, energy and money. You need a system.

If you haven't run bootcamps or large group workouts before, the one thing you DO NOT want to spend time doing is trying to figure out how to design the workouts, what equipment you'll need, how to adjust your current one-on-one programs to bigger groups etc etc.

And the good news? You don't have to reinvent the wheel. It's already been done.

Turbulence Training founder Craig Ballantyne has just launched a complete Turbulence Training Bootcamps product that includes 21 done for you bootcamp workouts to help you make more money in less time - all based on the proven, time tested Turbulence Training Fat Loss Bodyweight only workouts.

If you are interested in expanding the offerings in your business or getting into larger group training -- then this product is definitely for you.

=> Turbulence Training Bootcamps

Seriously -this is as close to "done for you" as it gets - other than Craig actually showing up in your town to run the session for you.

Check it out here : Turbulence Training Bootcamps

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AC
PS - Adding group programming to your current services is a fantastic way to create additional income to your business, offer a great new service and reach more clients. But make sure your programming is top-notch: Turbulence Training Bootcamps

Build Muscle & Burn Fat At The Same Time?

Guest blog from Elliot Hulse

Build Muscle and Burn Fat At The Same Time?

The most common strategy most people employ for packing on
muscle mass, and then leaning out, is through “bulking and cutting.”
The problem though is that it doesn’t always work.

The most common scenario is that you put on more weight than you
want so you get “fat,” and then jump into endless cardio only to lose a
lot of the hard-earned muscle that you built. So, for a lot of guys the
choice seems to be between being strong and fat or weak and lean.

I’m here to tell you with absolute certainty that this doesn’t have to
be the case. You don’t have to choose between being really strong and
a bit plump or being really lean and kind of weak with little muscle
definition.

I’m going to let you in on a secret—it’s an unconventional approach that
runs contrary to ordinary training philosophies. To build the body you
want, you need to build muscle and burn fat at the same time in order
to achieve that goal of having a ripped, muscular physique.

The way to build muscle and burn fat at the same time is through
incorporating both aerobic and anaerobic activity not just in the same
training session but in the same exercise.

By combining resistance weight training with cardio training
in the same set, we force the thicker stronger Type-II (fast twitch)
muscle fibers to behave more like Type-I (slow twitch) fibers.

By utilizing both types of muscle fibers in the same exercise we can
actually build a “HYBRID” Type-IIC muscle fiber that has been
nicknamed a Type-III.

Now why would you want a Type-III hybrid muscle fiber?

This reconfigured super muscle has more mitochondrial density which
means more nutrients can be processed giving these Type-III muscle
fibers a greater capacity to grow bigger and resist fatigue for longer periods.

This style of training mimics the way that our ancestors used to live.
They didn’t train with weights one day and run laps the next. No.
The kinds of activities they did every day would have been very much
like the hybrid training we’re talking about.

Our ancestors were both muscular and lean and it didn’t result from
things they set out intentionally to do but rather, it was a natural
byproduct of the way they lived their lives.

They were able to both build muscle and burn fat at the same time
without even having to consciously think about. By adopting some of
the very same training principles that they employed, modern man
can achieve the same results.

To discover how you can tap into your hybrid muscle fibers
in order to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously go here:

Lean Hybrid Muscle

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I checked out their new program myself. Similar to how we do things at Results Fitness - Mike and Elliot have integrated bodyweight training, strongman training, kettlebell training, Olympic lifting, powerlifting, and bodybuilding. It truly is a hybrid system.

Check it out for yourself - Lean Hybrid Muscle - for a limited time, Mike and Elliot are offering their entire program and nutrition support system for 50% off.

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AC
PS - UPDATE: The 50% off offer ends in a few hours (Sat 14th Nov 2009) - move fast.
Pick up a copy of the program HERE