Archive for January 2019
3 Keys to Profitable Growth Strategies for Advanced Fitness Business Owners
The most successful fitness professionals and business owners reach a point where their time and energy are MAXED OUT!
There’s simply no more capacity to continue growing their business. There aren’t enough hours in the day.
So even though they want more out of their fitness business, they don’t have the capacity or capability to continue increasing total client numbers.
Older Adult Fitness & Your Business
The aging of the global population is single-handedly forcing and inspiring change in many ways—both obvious and subtle. The continued growth of the older population for the next 30+ years will influence the fitness industry in ways that we probably can’t even imagine yet. To help you prepare for this growth, here are some noteworthy aging trends (counting down from least to most important from a business standpoint) that could affect you over the next 5–10 years.
Trend #5: Brain Fitness Comes of Age
Read MoreSleep Deprivation & Diabetes Risk
Did you know that losing a single night’s sleep may affect the liver’s ability to produce glucose and process insulin, increasing the risk of metabolic diseases such as hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) and type 2 diabetes?
Read MoreImprove Your Yoga Teaching Skills
What makes a yoga teacher skilled, effective and relatable? In reality, you could answer this in several ways, but there are some key principles that make up the foundation of a teaching practice. Let’s call them The ABCs of Teaching Yoga.
Surprisingly, the ABCs are not always taught in professional training programs, and many teachers find themselves stumbling through their classes when just starting out. The good news is you don’t have to! I’ve outlined everything you need to know here.
Read MoreA Dynamic HIIT Workout With Sand Bells
More flexible and variable than dumbbells or kettlebells, sand bells are sand-filled disks that can be lifted, slammed, tossed, curled, or flipped like a heavy pancake. The following playful workout mixes high-intensity cardio and strength training with two levels of progression, creating a user-friendly class for any participant.
Sand Bell HIIT Details
FORMAT: strength and cardio conditioning
TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes
Read MoreCan Exercise Improve Mental Health?
Exercise has proven benefits for improving physical health. But what about mental health? For starters, active people are nearly 45% less likely to have depressive symptoms than inactive people (Booth, Roberts & Laye 2012). But a deeper look at the connections between exercise and mental health raises complicated questions:
Read MoreSucceed in the Business of Fitness
Learn the strategies to develop a club or studio that inspires, thrives and affords you the personal and professional life you’ve always wanted at the IDEA World Club & Studio Summit.
Heading into its fourth year, this Summit—on how to succeed in the business of fitness—has become its own conference thriving inside IDEA World. There seem to be events popping up all over the country for people who run clubs and studios.
Why You Need a Client Avatar
Remember the days when all you had to do to usher in a rush of new clients was run a Facebook campaign or a Groupon® offer? Those days are long gone. The market is becoming saturated, and fitness facilities are popping up on every corner, each wanting a piece of the pie. Also, consumers are becoming more educated about fitness; they’re more cautious about where they spend their hard-earned exercise dollars—and for good reason!
Read MoreMeet an IDEA Team Member!
INTERNET MARKETING DATA ANALYST MELPHIN JAMES
A man of many talents and interests, Melphin is something of a contemporary Renaissance guy. It’s not uncommon to find him lost in sketching, drawing or painting; playing hoops with the guys; or immersing himself in complicated data analysis for the IDEA Internet Marketing team—all in the same day.
Fast Facts
Meet Your IDEA Team!
This month we are delighted to introduce you to the professionals at IDEA who work tirelessly to develop continuing education, cutting-edge experiences and essential business tools to make you successful. We want to show you the faces of those whose drive and creativity bring you this magazine and the other IDEA publications you value; the incredible events you love to attend; the educational products from which you earn CECs; and the stellar inspired service of specialists dedicated to delivering whatever you need from us.
Read MoreBlood Facts: Circulating Information
In literature, it has been known to curdle, boil and run cold. Yes, we’re talking about blood. A closer look at its function and composition reveals an interesting story about the human body. Blood travels through the circulatory system to deliver vital nutrients, oxygen and hormones to the body’s tissues, and it’s made up of four components: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma (MSKCC 2017).
Read MoreStarting a Home Yoga Practice
Do you love taking yoga classes? Learning from a skilled teacher is essential for any yoga student, but classes can be full and are sometimes fast-paced. A self-initiated, self-led home practice is an opportunity to enhance your body awareness and sensitivity, shedding light on misalignments or tight areas that might go unnoticed in the studio. Moments of awareness are important because they inform future yoga practice and enhance your knowledge of your body and yourself.
Read MoreIntegrated Stretching
When it comes to integrated stretching, the TRX® Suspension Trainer™ is a helpful tool. Stretching can often feel somewhat passive; however, the game changes when you hold straps or attach them to your feet. Our bodies move in patterns, not in isolation, so why not enhance that concept and include this equipment in your cooldowns?
Read MoreHow to Keep Attendees in Class
If you’ve been teaching group fitness classes for any length of time, you’ve likely experienced the dreaded student walkout. It’s the end of class—and time to stretch—and a portion of the class members start putting away equipment and heading for the door. Participants in certain classes are guiltier than others (cycling instructors, are you nodding in agreement?).
Although your program director knows this happens all the time, frequency does not make it okay.
Read MoreTeam IDEA, At Your Service!
Suited Up and Ready for the 2019 Event Lineup!
Read MoreBuild a Better Club or Studio
Whether you’re the owner of a large gym, a small-studio entrepreneur, a mobile personal trainer, or a yoga or Pilates specialist, a basic tenet of keeping your edge sharp with clients is to shake things up frequently enough that they (and you!) don’t get bored. Certainly, that means changing your programming regularly, but it also means looking at your equipment with fresh eyes and considering some new tools for experimentation—all while being judicious about your budget.
Read MoreThe Nutrition–Fitness Hybrid: Bending the Model
What are consumers looking for when they come to your gym or studio? Sure, they want great workouts and access to the latest equipment in a welcoming, fun environment. But above all, they really want to attain their health and fitness goals.
Read MoreFrom Baby Bump to Muscle Pump
CLIENT: Stephanie Park Wilson | PERSONAL TRAINER: Megan Johnson McCullough | LOCATION: Every BODY’s Fit, Oceanside, California
When an internet search led Stephanie Park Wilson to personal trainer and wellness coach Megan Johnson McCullough in January 2017, Stephanie was overdue for a fitness overhaul. The businesswoman-turned-stay-at-home-mom wanted to improve her health and confidence with the help of a pro, and she found the perfect fit with Johnson McCullough.
Read MoreRecipe for Health: Spelt Chili
If you want to know which foods deserve prime real estate in your shopping cart, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition offers some guidance. German investigators reviewing how certain food groups influence disease markers found that nuts, legumes and whole grains had the greatest impact on metabolic measures like LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides and insulin resistance, while sugary drinks performed worst.
Read MoreAsk the RD
QUESTION: Now that I have results from my DNA test, can I use them to figure out which weight loss diet would work best for me?
Read More