workouts

It’s-Not-About-You!

/ Mark A Nutting / Leave a comment

Once again, I feel the need to remind fitness professionals that Facebook and IG pics and videos that show themselves in their intense, half naked glory is not driving new members to their business. “Look at me! Look at how good I look! Look how driven I am. Train with me if you want to look as phenomenal as I do.” (That’s only a little bit exaggerated.)

I’m not saying they don’t get a lot of likes and comments. People like to look at great bodies and insane workouts (while sitting on their sofas at home). However, do they think, “Yeah, I want that person to be my trainer.”? It’s not as likely as you may think.

First, a spectacular body can be very intimidating. It can make people feel that unless they reach that pinnacle, they are losers. The thoughts of, “I could never reach that.” is constantly at play in their head.

Second, photos or videos of intense workouts makes viewers think, “That’s just too hard!” and “I can’t do that!” Let’s face it, people were fascinated watching The Biggest Loser, but the images of overweight individuals working out so hard that they were sick or crying or both did not inspire that many people to start working out. Remember, 80% of the US population doesn’t get the prescribed amount of exercise and 70% are overweight or obese.

What inspires people are pictures of caring, kind personal trainers and people similar to them working out with doable exercises and intensities. In selecting photos or videos, think about your target market. Who are they? What do they want? Use media that represents them, not you. Because it’s just not about you.

What’s Your Coronavirus Plan?

/ Mark A Nutting / Leave a comment

This week, Men’s Fitness came out with an article about how gyms are dealing with the coronavirus. (What Gyms and Fitness Centers Are Doing About Coronavirus)  This is definitely something we should all be considering, but first, let’s start with the facts.

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  1. It’s spread person-to-person and surface-to-person. So, if someone coughs or sneezes within 6ft of you, the particles could land in your eyes, nose, or mouth or be could inhaled. You could also touch a surface that has the virus on it and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. (CDC)
  2. At the writing of this post, in the US there are 80 reported cases from 13 states and 9 deaths. There will be many more. (CDC)
  3. There is no vaccine to prevent it and no approved medical interventions to treat it. However, “most people in the United States will have little immediate risk of exposure to this virus.” and while the symptoms can range from mild to severe and even death, the most severe cases are in the elderly in those with compromised heart and respiratory systems. (CDC)
  4. For Prevention, the CDC recommends:
    1. “Avoid close contact with people who are sick.” No surprise here.
    2. “Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.” Harder than you may think. Start practicing.
    3. “Stay home when you are sick.” Now is not the time to brave through it. Think of those you could be infecting.
    4. “Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.” So, carry tissues.
    5. “Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.”
    6. “CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask to protect themselves from COVID-19.” Here’s news. Reserve their use for medical professionals or if you are already sick.
    7. “Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.”

Back to what this means as fitness professionals, what should we expect and what should we be doing? Here’s my list of “at the gym or studio” guidelines.

  1. Post guidelines for members that include:
    1. Stay at home if you are sick.
    2. Cover your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough.
    3. Disinfect any equipment that you touch.
    4. Wash or sanitize your hands frequently.
    5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth
  2. Have staff disinfect frequently handled objects such as door handles, locker latches, etc.
  3. Provide plenty of disinfecting spray bottles and cloth or paper towels to wipe equipment with. Have these located all around the facility. If they are not convenient, they won’t be used.
  4. Have plenty of tissues around the facility.
  5. Have plenty of hand sanitizer around the facility.
  6. Have plenty of antibacterial soap and paper towels in the locker rooms and restrooms.

This will make your club as safe as it can be, but that may not be enough for some people. When it comes to risking sickness, people get afraid. Fear is a powerful emotion. It’s visceral and in spite of the low risk of contracting the virus at your facility, people will be avoiding heavily populated places, yours included. That becomes a whole other problem. Loss of income for you and, for the member, loss of training time and its benefits.

This would be a time to:

  1. Have members work with a personal trainer to create an “at home” workout program.
  2. Provide an online training program.
  3. Create a hybrid training program the combines the two options above.
  4. Stream classes for members use.

The coronavirus is a real issue that’s not going away soon. The best way to deal with it is by knowing the latest news from a reputable source (I’m sticking with the CDC as my main source), being proactive in managing your facility’s sanitizing measures, and by being proactive in handling your members fears and needs.

Stay healthy!

Let Me Entertain You. Let Me Make You Smile.

/ Mark A Nutting / Leave a comment

Much of the time, fitness is either marketed by using high intensity, sweaty, sexy bodies and promises that you too can have a hot body, or, it is portrayed as a science-based health solution that makes you want to take a nap because it’s so dull. What is often missed is the point that people are more likely to start a fitness program if they think that it’s going to be fun, and, if they are having fun, they are also much more likely to stick with it.

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The idea of entertaining your clients while working with them is not new. Richard Simmons has been entertaining fitness audiences since the 1970’s. But, even before it

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Richard Simmons

was used to promote fitness, the idea of using entertainment to educate has been around for a long time. “Learning through entertainment dates at least to Ben Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack, which amused and instructed colonists with its mix of maxims, weather forecasts, math lessons and puzzles.” according to Greg Beato’s New York Times article, Turning to Education for Fun. More recently, programs that combine these two elements have been dubbed “edutainment”.

While still being a source of entertainment, another variation is taking tasks and turning them into games… not unlike Mary Poppins did. “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap, the job’s a game” This adding of game elements is now dubbed “gamification”.

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For some dance fitness entertainment, check out The Fitness Marshall

So, does this mean that you should always try to entertain your clients and that workouts always have to be fun? No, of course not, but adding a little levity and fun elements to workouts can make the difference between drudgery and something they can look forward to. Imagine if your clients consistently leave workouts in a better mood than when they came in. What a great reinforcement for coming back for the next one.

(Yes, BTW, the title is a quote from the musical, “Gypsy”. I can’t help it. It’s little things like that, that makes me tick.)