Super Model Orgies- How to Sell Something that Everyone Already Wants

My consulting business has been really taking off lately. It is a crazy time to be in the fitness industry. The big box gyms are dying and the "little guys" seem to have it all figured out. Face it, people don't want to pay $49 a month to go in circles on a machine circuit. It doesn't work and it's as exciting as Dancing with the Stars now that the Hoff has been sent packing.

While the small, private club owners are typically good at training, they are notoriously lousy at business. I'm not sure when or why the "starving artist" syndrome started, but it's time to let it go. There is no rule that states that trainers must not make money in the service business, lest you become evil.

We absolutely must learn to sell to survive. It's not like we are selling useless widgets or a worthless product. Heaven forbid that someone might actually decide to make healthy changes in their lives because of our influence. Sales does not come natural to everyone, but with a little training and understanding of clients' needs and psychology, it can be learned.

My mentor, Thomas Plummer, writes:

Perhaps the most horrid of all sales people are trainers. I am absolutely convinced that trainers couldn’t sell free passes to a super model orgy if their lives depended on it. They have no sales experience, hate the concept, and fail to even learn the basics because that goes against the supposed rules of their training code stated in the trainer creed: “I, as a trainer, swear to be dirt-ass poor for my entire career because I am too stupid to learn even the basic skills of presenting what I do for a living and letting people know how I can help them live a higher quality life. I also swear that I will never ask anyone for money because money is bad and is something only rich people, like my clients, have and I don’t want any of that bad money around me.”

Ah, the gentle approach.

Speaking of gentle, here is what we like to do with our interns (only when we get bored)



RM

Put a Little PT in Your PT- The Ultimate Marriage

It's great to see that everyone is finally catching up! This article in the Wall Street Journal explains the benefits that PT's can have on the preventative side of health and fitness. We recognized this early on and have been fortunate enough to have physical therapy in our business since 1992. While I am not a therapist, I knew that it was a great marriage of services. We now have North Point Physical Therapy located in our facility.

A good percentage of clients who come to us with fitness goals are in pain. Bad backs, sore knees and bum shoulders are things that we deal with on a daily basis. So what do we do when a new client comes to us with pain? Send them to the therapist. Luckily for us, he is just a few steps away.

Sadly, this does not happen in many facilities. They simply discount the injury and start the now future surgical patient on a fitness program- injury be damned. Short sighted!

Hey listen, I get it. I am not paid to rehab injuries, I am paid to produce results in the strength and conditioning arena. That being said, I am not going to try and stack fitness on top of dysfunction and pain. This is a lose/lose situation. Client injury and the loss of a customer are the only outcomes.

If you are a strength coach or personal trainer, align yourself with a good therapist in your area.

If you are looking to get in shape and are fighting a nagging injury, make sure your interview process for a trainer includes some discussion for getting you pain free and in shape.

If your fitness goals are the only concern for the trainer in question, limp your butt out of there and interview someone else.


RM

Evolution Complete



This is how my week went



Well, I'm going to live after all. My visit to the Dr went well and after a week of rest, rehab and good drugs, I'm finally upright! It looks like I should heal up fine and at this point I have no referred pain or side effects.

One huge bonus of lying flat on your back for a week is that you have ample amounts of down time. I have been on a reading tear lately and last week gave me tons of time to finish some of my "books in progress".

Here's a review of what I've finished recently:

Cesar's Way- My kids have been on me about getting a dog so I told them that they would have to read this book before I would consider it. Epic backfire! My son read it in like 3 days and is now convinced that it is not the breed that makes the dog, but the owner. I now find web sites left open that feature rescue programs for Pit Bulls, German Shepperds and other dangerous and troubled K-9's. I'll go ahead put my attorney on retainer.Great!

Vagabonding- A book about how to travel the world on a budget. Being a hacker, I like the overall message of the book. Keep it simple and enjoy the experience. Your "stuff" will just get in the way. So true!

Crush It- Social media on steroids. This book will give you the skinny on how to brand yourself, promote and make money with social media at little to no cost. The only catch- you will be at the computer until your eyes bleed. 

Flip It- Common sense advice about how to look at things differently (positively). Not a ton of useful info, but a good reminder that attitude is everything.

What the Dog Saw- An awesome collection of stories told in the way that only Gladwell can. He seems to be able to point out the extraordinary in every situation. Good stories- Great book!

Switch- One of my favorites as of late. This is a book that studies the behaviors of change. I found this book fascinating and useful. Understanding the dynamics of change is a powerful tool in helping people adopt better health and fitness habits. Kinda important for personal trainers.

Rework- Advice on how to break all the rules and still make it work. If you own a business or would like to, you'll enjoy this read. No marketing, customers are not always right and offer less services,  are just a few of the suggestions. Grab a copy and let me know how that works out for ya.

That's all for now. I'll catch up next week when I am fully recovered.

Peace

Random Friday- 1 Week on Your Back



Didn't they cancel these fools years ago?

 I would like to preface this post by telling you all that I have not worked since Monday. Before you go all "Lucky Bastard" on me, let me tell you why. On Monday, while dead lifting (like 1000 Lbs) I suffered a pretty nasty back injury. I am scheduled to see the doc today to make sure that I am not permanently messed up. I am still walking around like an old man wearing Depends undergarments so I'm looking for some relief ASAP. I have a crazy busy week coming up and I need to "evolve" to walking upright before then.

Needless to say, I have read a ton and watched my share of day time TV in the last few days.

Here are some random items based on doing nothing for a week:

• After learning 101 ways to earn 1 million dollars in the comfort of my home, I was actually reduced to watching Beavis and Butthead yesterday.... and I actually found it funny (too many meds I guess)
• I Hate Miracle Whip! Those damn "Don't be so Mayo" commercials are just down right offensive. Trying to make us Mayos look all boring and yesterday. Child please!
• Stuff happens. I know some of you internet cowboys are probably thinking that I wouldn't have been injured had I done my mobility work, support training and perfected my form. Guess what? I did! Sometimes and for no particular reason, stuff happens. It can't be explained- not even with the full extent of your knowledge built in the 22 years you have been on earth so don't even go there.
• If there is a fire in my house, would I be able to make it out in time? This crossed my mind as I was crawling to the bathroom on Tuesday morning. At least I'm already low to the ground. Once again, the muscle relaxers talking.
• The sinks in my house are really low! Big People Little Sinks. A new show maybe?
• The Kindle is awesome! and now only $139- a no brainer
• More football- less Say Yes to the Dress during the week. Please.
• I should have talked Andrea into having like 27 kids. Apparently, that gets you on TV and makes you rich.

Ok guys- that's all I've got for now. I'm off to the Doc to see if I'm going to live. Wish me luck!

RM

How to Get an Apple Butt without the Thunder Thighs

Just love the title of this one. Pretty cheesy, but that is exactly what we are going to address.

In our 19 years in business I have had maybe a handful of female clients that actually requested large thighs. Typically, ladies want to reduce the size of their legs and could give less than 2 sh*ts how much they squat or deadlift.

This next piece is for the trainers reading- now, before you go all, "Who cares about size, it's about body composition. Women should feel empowered and strong. To hell with what everyone tells you what you should look like.", be honest. Try feeding that line to the lady who can no longer fit into her $200 size 6 jeans because your program has her deep squatting for 4 sets of 20, three times a week.We fitness folks live in a pretty small world where even aesthetics sometimes take a back seat to being a total beast in the weight room. Earth to trainer, this isn't the norm. If you want to make a decent living in the fat loss industry, you'd better read up.


In reality, most women just want to be functionally strong, but not at the expense of larger thighs.

Not desirable for most women

So how do we accomplish this? Most of the exercises that will increase heart rate, build nice glutes and "tone" the legs are going to greatly effect the thigh musculature. If you have the propensity for gaining large amounts of muscle in your thighs, you'll want to avoid tons of volume with knee dominant movements (squats, step ups, etc) I should mention that you need to be honest. If your nutrition is bad, you are more than likely gaining fat and not packing on muscle. Just sayin.

Desirable by most standards

There are a few ways to work the glutes with minimal quadriceps involvement.

My two favorite are:

KB Swings





and


Bridges






As you can see, it is possible to use a considerable amount of weight with these movements. They both involve serious glute recruitment without much risk of building thunder thighs.

I want you guys to know that I, by no means pretend to know what each and every person desires or should look like. Personally, I think strong women are sexy due in part to the self confidence that goes with having a fit, strong body and mindset. I am simply relaying to you the feedbaclk from the thousands of women who have walked through our doors at NPPT.

From the Mail Bag

So where do you come down in the frequency vs volume/intensity debate, Rick?

Ashley

This was a question prompted by the post Be a Hacker. It's a great question and one that is often debated. As usual, my first response is, "it depends".

First, let's begin with what we typically see at NPPT. Beginners almost always need more volume. It makes sense- when you are hardly training at all, any regularly scheduled exercise routine is going to increase volume. This will produce some pretty dramatic results in the way of fat reduction and increase in lean tissue. Kinda a no-brainer.

Second, and this is where it gets a little tricky, is the novice lifter, runner or etc. This individual most likely needs an increase in intensity to promote change. Once the original adaptation to exercise has taken place, they need to change things to continue to make progress (what is the definition of insanity??). Most people have a limited amount of time (and desire) to devote to exercise. Thus, intensity becomes the most important component of the program. An increase in intensity will naturally force a reduction in volume. Again, this is understandable. You simply can't train as long, if you are putting out a maximal effort. Additionally, recovery periods will need to be longer to offset the increase in intensity.

Hint- this is NOT the way to increase intensity!!

Again:

Beginners (less than 4 months)- increased frequency, less intensity/more volume

Advanced Trainees- decreased frequency, more intensity/less volume

I'd probably pass on this also, but.. to each his own.

RM

Exercises You Should Be Doing- Ball Slams

Benefits: Build explosive core strength with very little spinal loading. Slams are easy on the body and build great anti-extension strength

Execution: Pretty simple. Extend the ball (or whatever you want to slam) overhead then explosively slam the ball to the floor and repeat for the desired time or reps.

Progressions:Speed. Don't worry about the load so much as the pace. Slam it hard and fast (que 70's porn music)

Especially good for: Athletic performance. Also, as a finisher/conditioning tool. Couple slams with kettlebell swings on a Tabata (20 seconds on/10 seconds off x 8) protocol for an awesome metabolic finisher. The slams are essentially coiling the body, while the swings are an uncoiling movement. Perfect match!

Final note- please slam a non-bouncing object. I have seen this happen in person on more than one occasion. It's pretty darn funny in a sadistic sort of way ;)



RM

You're not Lazy- You're just too Tired

Having trouble losing weight? Can't seem to make those exercise resolutions stick? As it turns out, you may not be at fault. Well, not consciously anyway.

The idea that those unaccomplished goals are somehow the result of a lack of will power or resolve is a common misconception. "Suck it up", "Just Do It", "Where there's a will, there's a way". Sound familiar?

In the post, Will Power is a Muscle, I discussed the concept of will power being an expendable resource. Studies support that we all have a limited supply.

In the book, Switch, authors Dan and Chip Heath describe a study in which students were asked to participate in a simple food experiment. The students were lead into a room in which there were two tables. One table featured a tray of cookies- the other, radishes. One group was told to eat only cookies and the other to eat only radishes. Following the simple food exercise the students were then given a test. They were told the test was to determine the difference in intelligence levels between college and high school students. This was so that the college students would "bow their chests" a bit and give a good effort. In truth, the problem given in the test was unsolvable. The researchers were simply trying to gauge effort levels in regards to trying to solve the problem. The results were definitive. The group that ate the radishes spent, on average, only half of the time on the problem as the students who ate the cookies.

Why? As it turns out, students that had to resist the temptation of eating cookies used a great deal of will power to do so. As such, they exhibited far less resolve in sticking to the task of solving a seemingly tough problem. They were simply tired. Their will power muscles had reached their limit.

Having this knowledge can help you devise a strategy for your nutrition/exercise program. The key word is strategy. Since we have already established that will power is a limited resource, a solid strategy is key to your success.

A couple of examples:

• Limit the junk food in your home. Why tap into your will power tank when you don't have to? This is more of a buying behavior and a heck of a lot easier than the 11:00 pm fridge raid resistance plan.
• Workout in the morning with an appointment. Just another decision you can take off of your plate for the day and nothing will get in the way first thing in the morning.

Ultimately, it is up to you to take control of your own well being. It just helps to understand that you aren't a complete loser if you don't always stay on track. You may just need a new strategy!

RM

Exercises You Should Be Doing- Quad/Hip Flexor Stretch

Let's face it, we all sit wayyy too much. I know there is no avoiding it in some cases, but we need to come up with a strategy to combat the problems caused by excessive sitting. Slumped shoulders, tight hip flexors and a craned neck are the most common postural issues that we see. Not only do these conditions make us look weak and unhealthy, they can wreak havoc on our back health.

One of the challenges mentioned above is tight hip flexors. This condition can be particularly troublesome for your lower back. You see, shortness in this area can pull you into anterior pelvic tilt.

This tilt will over stretch your hamstrings and really prohibit your glutes from firing correctly. If you glutes are not working properly, you will most likely not hinge well at the hips. Meaning that you will flex the spine when bending over, rather than keep the back flat as it should be. And we all know that we should keep our backs flat when we lift things!!!

Check out the following video of a great stretch for the hip flexor/quad area. This should reduce the likelihood hood of back problems and of you looking like a complete wuss. Well, maybe.



RM