2. As a follow-up to my interview with Alwyn Cosgrove on the business of personal training earlier this week, you absolutely HAVE to check out this blog post from Thomas Plummer, widely regarded as the authority on the business of fitness.  It’s not only spot-on, but also absolutely hilarious:

The Medical Community Doesn’t Get What We Do

(if you haven’t read any of Thomas Plummer’s stuff, I highly recommend The Business of Fitness)

3. I never realized that left-handed pants were such a life-changer.

4. The other day, I promised A’s pitching prospect Shawn Haviland that I could get him above the 60 hits per day mark with a single link to his blog.  So, check him out; there is actually some excellent stuff in there if you’re a baseball fan: Ivy League to MLB.

5. Enjoy the weekend; this kid’s got a feeling it’s going to be a good one.

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Post tags: Alwyn Cosgrove, Baseball Fan, Exercises, Fitness, Frankel, Ivy League, Last Friday, Medical Community, Mini Seminar, mlb, Personal Training, Random Thoughts, Thomas Plummer, Trx

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EC: In your experience, what are the biggest mistakes aspiring fitness professionals make?

AC: Here are my top four:

1) They don’t understand that they are running a business!!!!

Most fitness professionals are running a hobby and trying to make money at it. That will never work long-term.

Being a great trainer is imperative in today’s market. You aren’t going to succeed unless your skill-set is of a high enough level.

However, it’s not just training skills – that’s only part of the big picture – the “client fulfillment “portion.

It’s also business skills. Michael Gerber – the author of The E-myth – calls this the seven essential skills: Leadership, Marketing, Money, Management, Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Client Fulfillment.

You have to understand how to lead and motivate your team: leadership.

You have to understand marketing, which results in lead generation.

You have to have good sales skills – which converts leads to customers.

And you have to be able to understand cash flow and operating expenses before you can create a profit.

You need to have mindset AND skill-set before you can be successful. But skill-set consists of seven areas. Make sure you are studying each area (not just training) equally.

2) They don’t understand the client mindset.

Ask yourself these questions if you’re a trainer:

Do you think a good fitness professional is a valuable investment?

Do you think a good fitness professional can get someone to their goals faster than they can get there on their own?

Are you personally in the greatest physical condition of your life right now?

Are you ecstatic with your own strength levels and conditioning?

I bet that 80-90% of those who answered will say – yes, yes, no, no.

So – extrapolating from that – what is YOUR trainers name? Why did you hire him or her?

I bet most trainers don’t even have training partners – never mind a coach to help them with programming and getting to the next level.

In other words – if you tell me right now that you DON’T have a trainer – despite not being in the best shape of your life, not being ecstatic at your own fitness, and believing that a good trainer can get you there faster than you can alone, and is valuable — then deep down – you don’t believe that a trainer IS valuable.

What I’m getting at – is WHY, despite all the knowledge and beliefs and goals, most trainers haven’t hired (or used) another trainer to help them?

It’s the same reason prospects aren’t hiring you — they aren’t in great shape, and maybe don’t know (as we do) how much a trainer can help?

Lawyers hire other lawyers. Barbers hire other barbers. Doctors see other doctors.

So list the reasons why you didn’t hire a trainer personally. That’s why people don’t hire you.  And that’s the WHY we need to figure out for your next career move: the client mindset.

“If you can see John Smith through John Smith’s eyes, you can sell John Smith what John Smith buys.”

3) They Don’t Create TOMA.

Have you ever had a client tell you that “I’m definitely going to hire you as my trainer, but I am going to lose ten pounds first!”

I’m sure you have. But while we think it’s crazy, it’s a sign that you don’t have weight loss TOMA in your area.

TOMA is Top Of Mind Awareness. Are you the first person or business that jumps into a client’s mind when they think “weight loss?” Or “sports conditioning?”

Quick, name a soft drink company. I bet it was either Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

What is the number one sneaker brand? I bet you came up with one of three names: Nike, Adidas, or Reebok.

Your goal with all of your marketing is to position yourself, in your area, for your target market as the “top of mind awareness” obvious choice for that particular topic.

A lot of fitness businesses get hurt here by dividing their efforts and marketing to different demographics – and that’s ok – but two demographics should mean two different campaigns – not two “half” campaigns.

What do you want to be known for?

This is something that you’ve actually done very well, Eric (probably before you actually had your business systems in place). Think baseball conditioning in Boston and Cressey Performance springs to mind.

4. They don’t find mentors and coaches for the business side, and they don’t mastermind with like-minded successful individuals.

Okay, this is really two for one!

Mentoring: “All successful individuals have coaches” – James Malinchak.

Think about this: boxing and MMA are probably the ultimate “one-on-one” sports. Two guys, with no equipment (or even shirts!) face one another.

But when you look back to the corner – there are usually three or more guys helping him. They include a coach (known as the “chief second”) and several other teammates.

To me, a mentor is nothing more than someone who is climbing or has climbed the mountain before you, and has reached back and is helping you up, way faster and easier than you can climb yourself.

One of the fastest ways to success in any field is to find a mentor who will help you, and a “mastermind” group of likeminded people with whom to network. The key phrase there is “likeminded;” we’ve all had the situation of asking a family member or friend for feedback on a project and being shut down when they don’t realize or understand the big picture. You need to be around people who are thinking the same way as you.

Your mind is like a garden. Be careful what you plant in there.

EC: That’s fantastic stuff – and #4 certainly hits home for me, as you’ve been my primary mentor in getting my facility off the ground.  To that end, while all my education came via email exchanges between the two of us, you’ve now made it easier for folks to learn what’s made you successful by introducing some products.

Most recently, there is “The Evolution of Personal Training” DVD, and just a few months ago, you released “55 Fitness Business Tips for Success” book.  I’ve checked out each of them, and in my eyes, people should buy both!  However, can you go into a bit of detail on the difference between the two?

AC: The DVD is a live shoot of a presentation I did for Perform Better this year where I really go into detail about how to evolve your business in today’s economy. The old methods of one-on-one training, weight-training-only workouts, and charging people for a “ten-pack” of sessions are just inadequate or outdated practices. I cover a few things in more detail – like transitioning into a semi-private model, repositioning yourself as a consultant as opposed to a “rep counter,” and understanding the client or prospect mindset. If you don’t understand that, you’re dead in the water as a business owner.

The book “55 Fitness Business Tips for Success” should have been titled “55 things that we did wrong when we opened our facility and somehow managed to survive, but make sure you don’t repeat these!” It’s kind of like a “pocket guide” to basic business tips for fitness professionals. And when I say “basic,” I mean stuff everyone NEEDS to know and practice but usually don’t! I tell my business coaching group to keep that book in their office and read a couple of pages every day to make sure you don’t ignore anything crucial.

EC: Thanks for the time, Alwyn.

I’d strongly encourage those readers of mine in the fitness industry to check out these resources, as Alwyn’s stuff is fantastic.  You can find out more and order at Alwyn’s site.

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Post tags: Alwyn Cosgrove, Big Picture, Business Side, Business Skills, Cash Flow, E Myth, Fitness Industry, Fitness Professional, Fitness Professionals, Good Fitness, Lead Generation, Mindset, money management, Operating Expenses, Perfect Time, Personal Training, Running A Business, S Market, Skill Set, Team Leadership

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1.  A few weeks ago, Matt Fitzgerald (my co-author from Maximum Strength) and I filmed a series of “Monday Minute” segements for Competitor.com.  Basically, it’s a weekly one-minute exercise demonstration and description along with the rationale for that exercise.  Here’s this week’s:

Wasn’t that fun?

2. One of the resounding themes at this past weekend’s Perform Better Summit in Long Beach was “invest in yourself.”  It’s no coincidence that all the presenters at this year’s event agreed that devoting time, effort, and funds to continuing education was a huge part of their success.  In a dynamic field like fitness/strength and conditioning, if you’re not getting better, you’re falling behind.

Alwyn Cosgrove wrote a good blog the other day about how he and his wife Rachel have used this mindset to establish one of the best staffs of trainers in the country.  Likewise, Mike Reinold published an essential list of the best titles in physical therapy, athletic training, strength and conditioning, manual therapy, etc. here last week. Just being around guys like Alwyn and the rest of the presenters makes you want to get better and better, and reading stuff like this from Mike reaffirms that mindset.  Not coincidentally, this weekend preceded my twice-a-year book buying shopping spree.  I purchased ten books online last night and can’t wait to start devouring them.

So, I guess the question for the weekend is, “What are you doing to get better?”  Let’s hear what you are going to do in the next week to set yourself apart in your chosen field.  Are you going to read a book?  Attend a seminar?  Watch a colleague in practice or call him/her to talk shop?  If you’re not getting better, you’re falling behind.

3. This is the most flat-out atrocious piece of journalism I’ve seen in my entire life:

Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin

Talk about skewing research to tell the story to which you’re clearly biased  in order to generate some controversy!  There is no mention of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or the difference among different types of exercise (steady-state cardio, interval training, resistance training). There isn’t any discussion of visceral versus subcanteous fat loss.

And, it isn’t that exercise won’t make you thinner; it’s that exercise combined with increased calories may not make you thinner. In other words, exercise is good, but morons are bad.

This is a perfect example of a journalist who clearly knows NOTHING about exercise interviewing a bunch of experts and then presenting one side of a story without making some very important qualifying statements (trust me, I’ve seen this multiple times before when freelance writers have interviewed me for stories for mainstream magazines).  In this writer’s case, those qualifying statements should be:

a. “Research has shown that exercise in conjunction with a maintenance or reduction in calories does increase fat loss as compared to maintaining or reducing calories alone.”

b. “I really am in no way qualified to write this article.  In fact, I’m probably not even smart enough to turn on a treadmill, so they just put me on this hamster wheel in my cubicle to make me feel somewhat qualified to discuss exercise.”

Honestly, I could go on all day ranting and raving about this, but such rubbish journalism isn’t even worth my time.  Instead, I’d just encourage you to give up Time Magazine altogether for publishing such crap.  I know I will be doing so.

Have a good weekend.

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Post tags: Alwyn Cosgrove, Athletic Training, Co Author, Coincidence, continuing education, Dynamic Field, Fitness Strength, Matt Fitzgerald, Maximum Strength, Mindset, Minute Exercise, physical therapy, Randomness, Rationale, Shopping Spree, Staffs, Strength And Conditioning, Time Effort, Wife Rachel, Year Book

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