The Blog For Mobile Fitness Professionals

Put The "Personal" in Your Services

2009-01-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

With the NEW YEAR under way it is easy to become so busy with all of our clients and the stress that comes from how busy we are that we forget to put the "personal" in our services and we don't always go the extra mile during each training session.

Remember to always FOCUS on your clients overall experience each time you interact with them.

Most of your clients are struggling for balance, health and happiness in his/her life. Personal Trainers are the motivators for change for many people.

Your clients like to feel noticed and they often need to feel valued. Let your clients know that you care about them. Your clients are looking for connections. Be sure to connect with each individual client. You can do this a number of different ways.

Always go the extra mile during your sessions
A little bit goes a long, long way.

Follow through and keep your word
I can't tell you how many clients we've obtained and retained by simply following through and keeping our word. We are usually the first to respond and we always follow up. Its sad that many people today simply don't keep their promises and don't follow through. But it is also an opportunity for you to set yourself apart from other personal trainers.

Develop excellent communication and excellent listening skills
We could spend a lifetime working on communication and listening skills. It is so important to establish a rapport with people.

Be on time!
Its amazing how many personal trainers are not on time. We take this a step further and make sure that we are actually early for all of our appointments. We feel so much more relaxed having a few extra minutes versus racing from appointment to appointment.

Here are a few very easy ways to stay in touch with your clients while you are not physically with them.
Send emails and to pick up the phone and call your clients every once in awhile to check in with how they are doing.

Give or send them birthday cards on their birthdays. A great FREE service we use is called, www.birthdayalarm.com Immediately, after someone fills out our health history paperwork we enter his/her birthday in birthdayalarm.com. Birthday alarm sends us an email a few days before this person's birthday and we make sure that we send each one of our clients a birthday card on his or her special day. It is a small gesture, but small gestures like this one really sets you apart from other personal trainers.

Always handwrite thank you notes for referrals. In today's busy world, many people don't take the time to write handwritten notes.

Happy Holidays:-)

2008-12-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having an amazing holiday season. Remember to HAVE FUN and use this down time to get ready for a busy 1st part of the year!

The beginning of the year is an exciting time in our industry. Many people finally feel ready to "get off the couch" and make changes in their lives. We get the privilege to be part of that amazing transformation.

I also know that being inspirational and motivating is hard work and that it takes constant dedication and focus! I also know that with nothing but bad news filling our airwaves and TV screens, it makes it even more challenging. Despite all this, I want 2009 to be your best year yet for you and all of your clients. If you need a little "fill-up" in your "inspiration-tank" check out this short video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslbhDZoniY

NEWS TO SHARE:
I have some amazing news to share with you! Ryan and I have been chosen to teach a special 4 hour intensive workshop at the IDEA World Convention

this coming August! We hope to see you there!
http://www.ideafit.com/conference/idea-world-fitness-convention-2008

Save the date for August 12-16 in Anaheim CA!

The future of mobile fitness training continues to be bright! Thank you for all the inspiration you have provided to us to keep our industry growing!

Be A Healthy Role Model At All Times

2008-11-25T12:43:00.000-08:00

I know this is sort of a "no brainer" but its important to remember that people are watching you all of the time and that as a fitness professional you are constantly making an impact on others. I was at the grocery store the other day. I put all of my items on the conveyer belt and I was waiting for my turn to pay for my items. This really nice middle aged woman was in front of me. She glanced at my items and said, "Wow, you sure look like a healthy person." I glanced over at her items in front of me and saw that her items mainly consisted of canned goods, frozen weight watchers meals and other various convenience processed foods.

I looked down at my items and noticed that my items did consist of all fresh vegetables and fruits. Of course these types of encounters are always a nice lead in about what you do for a living. After we struck up a conversation I told her that I was a personal trainer and handed her my business card. I told her about my Complimentary Get Fit newsletter and answered a few of her other questions regarding exercise and food. Then I went on to say that I know that cooking and shopping is time consuming but in the end it is worthwhile because we only have one body and I believe that my body is worth "real food etc."

These types of encounters happen to me on a regular basis. So, always be prepared, always have business cards with you and remember that by simply being a healthy role model many people will automatically gravitate towards you and want to ask you health and fitness questions.

How to Weather an Economic Downturn

2008-10-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

I've received quite a few e-mails recently with questions related to this, so there is no time like the present to talk about it. Let's face it, when times get tough, people are forced to make difficult decisions. For some of our clients, hiring a personal trainer may seem like a luxury. The reality is that for most of your clients, it is a necessity! Without your instruction and motivation, most of your clients will not stay adherent to their program. It's understandable that when push comes to shove, a client may need to cut back, but there are other options than just quitting their exercise program. If you are facing this situation with some of your clients at present, try to do the following:

Don't panic
It is normal to go through busy cycles and slow cycles. Know that the slow times will eventually pass and the good times will return.

Be creative with your business
Ask yourself, "what can I offer to make my services more affordable yet keep the value and the revenue going strong?"

Offer more small group training classes and online training. This will cut the cost to your clients, yet still allow them to receive your motivation and services. Work on collaborations with other health and fitness professionals when possible (yes, more networking). Alliances with other health professionals is a good way to strengthen your customer base. With the right collaborations you are reaching a broader spectrum of possible customers and you have more to offer each potential customer.

Continue to educate your customers
Personal training is not a luxury item. Make sure all of your marketing promotes personal training as a necessity. Remind consumers that personal training isn't a luxury, it's an opportunity to GET FIT and STAY FIT! Put it in your newsletters, website, flyers, and anywhere else the consumer learns about you and your business.

Stop unnecessary spending
There are many places to cut back in your business. Just make sure that anything you spend money on is an absolute essential to surviving or operating your business.

Re-organize Yourself
Take advantage of this slow time to organize yourself both professionally and personally. Evaluate all of your business ideas, rewrite your business plan, re-define your goals. Your business plan should be the working base for your company. Have you strayed from it in any way? Does it need revision in light of new information? Should you be considering new directions that are not included in it? Sit down and read it from the perspective of someone about to invest in your business - and make any revisions that seem appropriate. You may even identify additional information you need to gather in order to make decisions about the future of the company.

Make Customer Service Your #1 Priority
Your clients are your lifeblood in any economic climate. In a downturn they are what keep you in business. Treat them well, always over-deliver and exceed their expectations. Spend time listening to your clients to hear what they like and do not like about the services you offer. Change those that you can. Take time to be innovative in meeting your customer needs. Do whatever you need to do to keep your current customers loyal and to position yourself to win new clients and referrals.

Stay optimistic
The slow times will eventually pass and the good times will return:-)

Find a niche

2008-09-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging very much lately. I have been working really hard on finishing the Own Your Own Mobile Fitness Business manuel and as many of you can probably relate, being on the computer too much can suck the life out of you. But, I have successfully completed the rough draft and the manuel is in the editing stage and I hope to have it out by 2009!

It is really important to find a niche or to specialize in a specific area that you feel passionate about. By doing this, you can target all of your marketing towards this group of people. An example of a great niche in the fitness industry is Curves. Curves caters to 40+ women. Curves took the health and fitness industry by storm when they opened up their fitness centers and have become one of the most successful franchises in our industry.

Here are some questions to help you define your Specialty of Niche

What makes you different and unique?

What specific segment of the population do you want to serve?

What needs are you going to fill?

Why do you want to work with this target market?

Who is your competition?

If you have competition, what are your competitors strengths?
What are your competitors weaknesses?

What sets you apart from your competition?

What makes your services unique?

Why should Sally work with you instead of someone else?

Why should Mrs. Smith refer clients to you?

An Eye Opening Experience

2008-08-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I had an interesting experience this past weekend. As many of you know I have been doing some collaborative projects with nutritionists, healthy chefs and life coaches. In the process of promoting some of my new programs I have come into contact with many different people and as a result many of these people have expressed an interest in doing some collaborative projects with me.

One person happened to be a weight loss counselor at Weight Watchers. After we spoke on the phone she invited me to attend one of her many meetings at Weight Watchers so that I could get an idea of her coaching and teaching style. I figured, it would also be a nice way for the 2 of us to meet in person.

What an eye opening Experience. I realized as I was sitting in the Weight Watchers room how important it was for these people to have a forum to celebrate their successes and talk about struggles they are having with losing weight with a group of people that are going through similar experiences. I also felt sad that so many of these people are prisoners to food and how desperately many of them want to lose weight. It was completely packed by the way. There were easily 75 people in this room. It made me realize that they are a lot of unhappy people out there that truly need our help and want to find a way to live more balanced healthy lifestyles.

For those of you out there that have never attended a weight loss support group that work with people who's primary goal is to lose weight, and many of us do. it is definitely something you should do at some point. It may help you understand just a bit more about your current clients that are trying to lose weight.

Of course if you have signs and business cards on your vehicle, it is also an easy way to do a bit of marketing. I would suggest getting to know one or a few of the counselors for the weight loss support group. These people could potentially refer you to tons of new prospective clients.

Have a great week:-)

Hiking with Clients

2008-07-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer. My husband and I just got back from a trip up to Lake Tahoe. For those of you that don't live in California or Nevada. Tahoe is an amazing wonder that should be on everyone's list to visit at some point in your life.

We camped a few days, did some stand up paddleboarding, kayaked, swam and did some great hiking. As many of you probably have experienced, hiking is one of those amazing activities that can transform a person. As we were hiking along the rocks, mountains and visiting different lakes I realized how perfect hiking is as a workout. I do quite a bit of hiking with current clients of mine as a way to get them outdoors, away from their current worries and surroundings.

In everyday life we do so many things in the frontal plane. Most people also spend most of their day hunched over in a seated position. When you are hiking you are forced to use lateral movement and of these different movements are great for coordination and balance. Hiking includes the following types of activities. Stepping over rocks, avoiding tree limbs, hill climbing, descending down hills and rocks, climbing on top of rocks, crossing streams, etc. All of these activities require a person to use their whole body many times throughout the hike.

Even if you have a de-conditioned client you can still have them doing all of these cross training activities. I usually carry a medium size backpack, I put a tubing band in the backpack and carry my clients water. Once you become comfortable with creating a workout in all different surroundings I think you'll find that hiking is a great way to spend a session(s) with clients.

Thats all for now! Keep enjoying the long, sunny, warm days:-)

How To Be A Successful In Home - Mobile Trainer

2008-07-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Wow, Ryan and I just received our copies of the educational DVD that was filmed this past April at the IDEA Fitness Fusion conference. Apparently the DVD has been selling really well and we are getting some great feedback and are thrilled that this product is helping other fitness professionals get started creating their own in home/ mobile fitness businesses. Thanks to everyone for your support. We are already working on future presentations.

If you haven't seen the product, click here for more information.

Here are some comments from trainers who have purchased the DVD!

I just purchased and saw your IDEA DVD on in-home
training. It was outstanding! I learned so much from it and wrote 9 pages
of notes. I'm looking to start my own mobile fitness business soon. I look
forward to getting your book on the subject. Thank you so much for everything, and I wish you continued success with your business.

Ryan and Machelle did an excellent job. Good information, very well presented. This DVD was wonderful. I think IDEA should include more courses geared toward in-home training. Many trainers are doing it or thinking about getting into it.

This DVD was extremely informative, It's about time someone covered this topic. I feel inspired and I can't wait to join The Invisible Gym when they finish their licensing program. Thanks!

I hope everyone has a great 4th!

How To Use Your Business Card As A Lead Generator

2008-06-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have been off the radar for awhile. I have been engrossed in yes, another NEW Project and this new project of mine has taken quite a bit of time and energy.

I'd like to talk about the power of using your business card as a lead generator!

I see so many personal trainers who only use one side of their business card.

*Remember our main goals of marketing our mobile fitness business are to:

Get The Phone To Ring

To Get People To Our Website.

Make sure there is a Call To Action on your business card. You can offer anything you want to offer but you should make it a compelling offer! Don't be afraid to be creative here.

Here are some examples of Compelling Offers:

complimentary session

complimentary subscription to your E Newsletter

weight loss report

free e book

some sort of free info product

This is a sample of the back of my business card.

That's all for now! Remember to keep a pair of sunglasses handy, because the future of mobile fitness training LOOKS BRIGHT!

The Power of Positive Energy

2008-06-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

Every single one of us has a tone. Believe it or not, your 'tone' is what determines your outlook on life.

If you have a high tone - your outlook on life is positive and optimistic.

If you have a low tone - your outlook on life is negative and pessimistic.

Go with me for a second, think about how you feel when you are around "low tone and low energy" people where after awhile you actually find yourself losing your own positive outlook on life. I know that this sometimes happens to me and I definitely try to avoid low tone and low energy, negative people like the plague.

However, if you are in the company of someone who's high tone and high energy before you know it your outlook on life takes a turn for the better. I have a lot people tell me that when I'm around them they feel so much better. They also feel more motivated to do things. I'm sure many of you have this similar experience many times throughout each day.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because, this valuable piece of information can help you easily gain and retain more clients.

The fact is most people are stuck in the rat race... always in a hurry to get from home to work... from work to home. You know the people I am talking about. The person that is always in a hurry, always on their cell phone, the person who needs to carry their palm pilot with them while they are working out with you...

Stress, more stress and even more stress... a natural formula for breeding low tone and low energy people. Doesn't it look like a big stress cloud follows this person around?

By simply staying optimistic and having some zest for life you can help people feel good about themselves and they will want to continue to work out with you and it will be easier for you to motivate them to reach their current health and fitness goals:-)

Want to know a secret for success?

2008-05-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

Take Action - Start by writing down all of your goals and dreams. Did you know that we are 300x more likely to do something if we simply take the time to write it down. At that moment we are writing something down, that dream actually starts to become a reality.

Sounds simple enough, right? But simply taking action for things that you want, will change your life almost over night.

In fact, if your clients made the conscious decision to take action they would achieve quicker and more permanent results, right?

Well, the same applies to you and your desires for successes:-)

Here's why most people fail at achieving their desired level of success. Fear. That's right, fear of success in the number one reason why most people never achieve their goals. I'm sure many of you have heard that the thing that people fear most is how powerful and successful they actually are.

Fear can rear its ugly head in many ways. For example, some use the excuse that they are too busy, or don't have enough time to take action. Others 'act' like they are taking action, but in reality they are simply going through the motions, spinning their wheels - they self sabotage.

And yet others profess to want success. They want to thrive. But deep down inside they continue to sabotage themselves. These people subconsciously feel that they don't deserve success. And so they invite failure without even realizing it.

Want to know a secret for success?

Failure doesn't happen, it's accepted. So you and I have a choice. Every time I start a new project or endeavor I choose to not accept failure as an option.

Instead I passionately plug away at my desires. I take action every day because in my mind I have already achieved what I am after. And you know how the old saying goes... if you believe it, you can achieve it.

One of the greatest things about owning my own mobile fitness business is that I am constantly able to re invent myself over and over. I love working on new projects, goals and ideas. So, remember, don't be afraid to go after your dreams and remember to TAKE ACTION! There is no time like the present. What are you waiting for?

Top 5 Reasons Its Great Being A Mobile Fitness Professional

2008-05-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

I know we all have days when we wonder why we are doing what we are doing? Why we have chosen to become personal trainers, if the work we are doing matters, have I made the right choice for a career, etc. etc.

I had a funny experience this afternoon when I dropped off a pair of my pants to be hemmed. My husband and I have a joke that I wouldn't need to get my pants hemmed all the time if the manufacturers that make pants would simply stop making things for "Tall People." For those of you that actually know me or have met me, You know that I am 5"3 and although I don't feel short, I know that 5"3 isn't exactly the average height for a female.

Anyway, the tailor that I take all my alterations to has a small shop. A few hours ago, I went into the dressing room and slipped on the pair of Khaki pants I wanted hemmed. I stepped out onto the platform for my tailor to pin the pants. 2 other women were in the shop and one said out loud so that we all could hear, "Wow, that is the way Khaki pants are supposed to look. I wish my Khaki pants looked like that." In that instant I realized that she was talking about the way the pants fit my body. Then she asked me if they were low on my hips or not and I pulled up my shirt to show her the waist of the pants. Then I took a quick look at all 3 of the women and realized that all 3 of them were overweight and obviously unhappy about their bodies.

1) There are so many people out there that want what we (personal trainers) have. We are motivated individuals that put our health first and as a by product of all of the choices we make, we have lean, fit bodies. Not only that, we are energetic and have lots of energy. Think about this, how cool is it that at any given time, most of us can pull out energy when needed. We've all been there, you've trained too many clients on a particular day and you are feeling exhausted, but by some miracle, you are able to dig deep and pull out, yes more energy.

I'm sure many of you have experienced this many different times:
After leaving a client I find myself in an extreme state of gratitude that my life is balanced and revolves around being fit and healthy. I feel happy that I am not struggling to fit exercise into my daily life. My dilemma is probably, hmmm, what do I feel like doing today for my exercise session. There are so many great options...

2)Being a personal trainer allows us the opportunity to meet people from all different walks of life. I guess the saying, "step into someone else's shoes" comes to mind. Well, as personal trainers we get the opportunity to step into our clients shoes multiple times each day. I guess we could call this the spice of life.

3)Flexibility and Freedom:
I love that I am my own boss and that I am constantly re inventing myself over and over. I don't have anyone telling me what to do, when to do it and how to do it. I simply create that journey each day.

4)Being a mobile personal trainer allows you to constantly use your creativity creating workouts for clients in a variety of locations. I would be so bored if I was still working in a gym or a studio. I find that the changing of location constantly stimulates my mind and allows me to be creative and I continue to grow as a personal trainer.

5) And finally, I love being able to wear fitness clothes all of the time. Its so nice to be comfortable and casual. Wearing a business suit each day, uncomfortable dress shoes and having to dry clean or iron everything would be a bummer.

That's all for now:) Have a great rest of the day:-)

Top 5 Reasons Its

2008-05-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ditch your cable television

2008-05-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Many times when I am working out my clients they will often ask me about a certain T.V. show. I always find it hilarious when they are so shocked and surprised when I tell them that I don't have cable and that I have no idea what they are talking about.

A common question I get often is, "What do you do with your time" My answer(s) I exercise, I run around outside, I read, I ride my bike, My husband and I actually talk to one another. etc. etc. the list goes on and on.

In fact I haven't had cable television in over 15 years and I have never once regretted my decision. People spend hours in front of the boob tube and waste away the day.

Not watching cable television has had a huge impact on my productivity and I find that I have much more energy to spend on growing my business.

Cable T.V. is a funny thing. Most of us don’t realize it but it really does influence many people's day-to-day lives.

Best of all, I get zero negativity. Think about it. According to the news reporters on T.V. the economy is crashing, your city is not safe and disaster is always just around the corner.

What a crappy thing to hear day-in and day-out.

And never mind all the time that gets killed when one hour becomes several hours in front of the tube. All of the sudden your productivity is lost!

If you need a few more hours each week, ditch your cable television:-)

The Ever Changing Environment for Mobile FitnessTraining

2008-05-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

The Ever Changing Environment (homes/offices/outdoors)

Lets talk about the ever-changing environment. This is probably the biggest challenge for many fitness professionals that start doing mobile fitness training. The reason this is challenging is because we aren’t trained to see “The Invisible Gym” all around us. We are trained to work people out with machines, free weights and inside facilities. We don’t go through a training program where we learn how to use our environment around us to create exercise environments. When you are in a health club, gym, or studio, your environment really doesn’t change very much. There may be different people moving around or doing different exercises, but the equipment stays in its place. You might have cardio machines, free weights, multi-station machines or perhaps you have a stretch area where you like to stretch your clients out after your workout..

With mobile training, you are walking into a different environment and setting each time you see your client(s). Even if you work out in the same space, it can change each time.

The key is to learn how to be creative and utilize the environment all around you. That way you aren’t lugging tons of equipment around all day long.

Ex: couches, chairs, countertops, walls, stairs, step-ladders, tables, hallways, driveways, decks, porches, etc.

Outdoors: benches, poles, sidewalks, playground equipment, grassy areas, beaches, parks

The list goes on and on.

Also: Many in home clients already have exercise equipment at home.

Accompany them to the equipment store and help them pick out appropriate items.

But of course, we can't deny who we are. As fitness people we love our exericise equipment, gear and toys. In reality, I think we actually like our "exercise stuff" much more than any of our clients..

Just keep in mind, that the more exercise stuff you have, the more exercise stuff you will be lugging around all day long and it will start to get tiring..

Types of Equipment We recommend For Mobile Fitness Training

Tubing bands, (Stroops for outdoors)

Some sort of balance apparatus- stability ball, bosu, ballast ball, balance boards, wobble boards

Set of adjustable free weights

Mini yoga balls filled with sand

Pilates ring

Medicine ball

Exercise Mat

Foam Roller

Reasons People Site For Not Sticking To A Consistent Exercise Program

2008-05-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Let’s talk about some of the most common reasons people site for not sticking to a consistent exercise program

1. Lack of time – Sure, this is a common excuse for everyone. We’re all busy and have difficulty making time for physical activity. With mobile training, you are saving your client the time it normally takes to drive to and from the gym.

2. Convenience – How more convenient can it be than to deliver your services to your client’s doorstep. Plus, there’s no dealing with parking, locker rooms, crowds, etc..

3. Lack of instruction – This one surprised me because most gyms have floor staff. Then I remembered the education of most floor staff and flashed back to when I served as a floor staff member. Heck, I was still in high-school and new next to nothing about fitness. What I did know was what I learned from my high-school PE coach,….say no more! Again, as a traveling trainer, you are providing the instruction sought by your client.

4. Family and Work Commitments – This is a tough one because you must work to survive, and who can argue with family time. Well, what better way to make fitness a family priority than by exercising as a family? Even the former Surgeon General suggested that families be active together as a way for parents to instill physical activity as a value to their children. What do we see now. We see parents encourage their kids to get outside and be active, then they sit on the couch and watch Oprah! Mobile training is already saving people time and making fitness convenient – but it can also provide a great opportunity for families to be active together.

5. Inaccessibility – Here’s proof that people think that physical activity is synonymous with a gym if they are citing inaccessibility as an adherence issue. Inaccessible to what?? One of the jobs of mobile training is to show your client how to be active anywhere they are regardless of the available equipment.

6. Cost – Sure, there is definitely a cost to personal training. The benefit of mobile training is that your client doesn’t also have to pay a membership fee in addition to the training like they would have to do at the gym.

7. Weather – With mobile training, you can train anywhere! If it’s cold outside, you can train in the house. If you want to train outdoors, go outdoors. If you want to train at the beach or in a park, no problem!

Mobile Personal Training eliminates all of these adherence issues! By going directly to the client, you’ve saved your clients precious time. You’ve also shown them how to exercise anywhere they go, whether it’s at work, home or in the great outdoors.

Marketing The Mobile Fitness Business

2008-04-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Let’s talk a little bit about Marketing the Mobile Fitness Business. Obviously we don’t have a four-walled facility with a sign in a high traffic area that someone can see on a day to day basis. So we need to be a bit creative when we market a mobile business.

We have 2 goals in mind:

Goal #1 of Marketing for Mobile Services- Get the phone to RING!

Goal #2 of Marketing for Mobile Services- Get people to your website!

We want to be able to:

Inform the customer about the service

Educate the customer about the benefits of the service

Provide the necessary information so the customer can contact the business

Because there is not a physical space or location with mobile fitness training, potential customers cannot just drop in and visit like they would a health club or gym. For that reason, getting the phone to ring and obtaining email inquiries about our services is the goal of all promotions.

Personal Trainers might understand what service they provide, but does the potential customer? It is important for a trainer to know exactly what type of service they provide

Who is your customer?

Set yourself apart from the other fitness professionals in your area. Create a niche for yourself. Don’t try to be everything for everyone. Figure out who your ideal client is.

Decide what type of client(s) you want to work with

Seniors

Baby Boomers

Stay at home mom’s

Athlete’s

Post-rehab

Etc.

Differentiation is a must, especially when competing with the larger health clubs and gyms

A personal training business will want to provide something that is not being provided by the larger gyms.

Common characteristics of most successful clubs include being helpful, friendly, convenient, and clean.

Differentiating characteristics of clubs might include being results oriented, community oriented, patient, rugged, or feminine.

An older woman with children will most likely prefer a clean facility with a comfortable environment, whereas a young man might prefer a more rugged, high energy environment.

The goal is to inform the customer of what the business is about, how it is beneficial and how it is different from the rest.

One key differentiation of a mobile fitness training service is the place, or the fact that the service comes directly to the customer, not the other way around like most fitness businesses. We use the slogan, “We Come To You” We also differentiate ourselves by marketing our services as “FUN”

The Story of The Crab Bucket

2008-04-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'd like to begin todays blog entry with one of my favorite stories:

THE STORY OF THE CRAB BUCKET

One time a man was walking along the beach and saw another man fishing in the surf with a bait bucket beside him.

As he drew closer, he saw that the bait bucket had no lid and had live crabs inside.

"Why don't you cover your bait bucket so the crabs won't escape?", he said.

"You don't understand.", the man replied, "If there is one crab in the bucket it would surely crawl out very quickly. However, when there are many crabs in the bucket, if one tries to crawl up the side, the others grab hold of it and pull it back down so that it will share the same fate as the rest of them."

So it is with people. If one tries to do something different, get better grades, improve herself, escape her environment, or dream big dreams, other people will try to drag her back down to share their fate.

Moral of the story: Ignore the crabs. Charge ahead and do what is right for you. It may not be easy and you may not succeed as much as you like, but you will NEVER share the same fate as those who never try.

Remember to keep a pair of sunglasses handy because the future of mobile fitness training looks bright! Don't let any of the crabs in your life bring you down.

This morning I was out training one of my clients and she was feeling gloom and doom about our current economy and coming from a scarcity mentality. I love it when people tell me that I can't do something or that my dreams are not possible. It actually only makes me want to try even harder.

Own your calendar

2008-04-15T12:11:00.001-07:00

I see so many talented personal trainers burn out in our industry. The reason so many talented personal trainers are burning out is that we are trying to be everything for everyone and often times we don't take enough time for ourselves. By nature, many of us are givers and it is often easy to keep on giving.

At the end of the day, if you are exhausted and not taking enough time for yourself it will affect how you are with clients. I decide on a number of training sessions that is do-able for me to handle each week and I stick with my schedule. I also block off time for my own exercise sessions. If you aren't taking care of yourself, you aren't living up to the healthy role model you are supposed to be.

Take time for yourself, don't be afraid to say "no" and stay balanced and healthy:-)

Write Articles For Your Website

2008-04-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Happy Monday:-) I hope everyone had a great weekend:-) I wanted to talk about the importance of writing fitness articles today and placing them on your website.

Placing articles on your website serves two purposes. First of all your site will index higher on search engines when your website serves as a resource center that offers articles. Secondly, articles serve as credibility builders. In other words, they showcase your education, training style, and place your services in front of potential clients.

Remember, people are looking for information when they are searching the web.

Writing short fitness, weight loss, and diet articles is a great traffic builder. Resource sites, such as ideamarketers.com, selfgrowth.com, thriftyfun.com, articlewarehouse.com, valuablecontent.com and many others, publish diet and fitness articles given to them from fitness professionals. These web sites are always searching for new articles to offer to their visitors.

Writing a weekly fitness or diet article and submitting it to these sites can prove priceless for winning new clients. When writing an article make sure to always include a bi-line at the end of every article that identifies who you are, what you do, and provides contact information such as your web address, email, and a phone number.

That's all for now, I hope everyone is having a great start to the week:-)

Relationships

2008-04-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with one of my current clients after we finished our workout. This person is an attorney and works at a busy law firm in our area. I've been training her for a little over 6 months and she has had fantastic results. We meet at her office or at her home, every once in awhile I drag her out to the beach depending on her schedule.

She shared some interesting information with me. Apparently a person that works at her firm has a different personal trainer and he was trying to convince my client to work out with his trainer instead. He asked my client how much I charged an hour and said that his trainer is cheaper and that she should work out with his trainer.

What is interesting is what she told him. She told him that she was extremely happy with my services, enjoys working out with me and remembers the first time she met me a few years ago when the 2 of us were in the same networking group. What she remembered was that I provided a complimentary consultation for her. At this time I didn't try to make her sign her life away with a large contract, I simply came to her house, showed her some great exercises and told her that if she was interesting in some additional personal training that she could contact me.

At the time I provided the consultation she wasn't ready to engage in a new fitness program. But a few years later she remembered this interaction and now she is one of my current clients. In the meantime she has referred many different people to me and many of those people are current clients.

Every interaction you have with people in your life is important. Remember to put your best foot forward and always over deliver.

Why Mobile Training?

2008-04-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

Hi,
My name is Machelle Lee. I own a mobile fitness company called,
The Invisible Gym.

Having owned a successful mobile fitness business for over 7 years, my husband and I decided it was time to share our experiences with other fitness professionals and provide help to those who are interested in pursing mobile fitness training as a business option. I recently did a presentation at an IDEA Fitness Fusion conference and I realized that there are not a lot of resources out there for mobile fitness trainers.

Which is why I decided that I wanted to start a blog for all of the mobile
fitness trainers out there so that we can share ideas and we can provide support for one another.

I believe that mobile fitness training is an important part of the fitness industry because it reaches those who will never join a gym or health club (for many reasons), and believe me, there are a lot of these people out there. In fact, only about 14% of the entire U.S. population actually belongs to a gym or health club. That means that 86% of the U.S. population are NOT IN THE GYMS!!

This is also a very easy business to get started - It doesn't require a lot of money to begin or a lot of overhead to maintain. What it does require is a Trainer who truly wants to help those who need physical activity the most. One great benefit is that because of the low overhead, more of the training fee will stay where it's supposed to........in your pocket!

Keep a pair of sunglasses handy because the future of mobile fitness training looks bright!

Some great benefits for In Home/ Mobile Fitness Trainers are:

No Rental or Space Fees:
The competitive advantage of Mobile Fitness training is that you don't have to pay rental or space fees. Because many trainers work out of a fitness facility and have higher overhead costs than mobile trainers, a mobile fitness trainer can provide their services, cover their expenses, pay themselves, have profit and still be able to provide it for less than those trainers working out of facilites.

Flexibility and Freedom:
Why be stuck inside a gym or studio all day when you can be in different places. Mixing up your surroundings helps eliminate boredom and enhances creativity.

Reach out to people who really need your help:
Many people are afraid to come to a health club or gym. It is extremely rewarding to reach out to someone who would never take the step to walk into a health club, gym or studio.

If you have any special topics or requests you would like covered please feel free to add to the blog.

Machelle