Fitness Training and the Suburban Jungle

It appears that the rush to suburban living is far from over. In a previous blog I suggested that high gas prices would force people to move closer to the urban core. This could mean that city dwellers walk, run or bicycle to work more frequently rather than drive. There is also better access to mass transit with a more compact city.
   I may have been overly optimistic. Oil from Canada's oil sands, fracking, and offshore drilling has kept the supply of supply of gasoline rolling along.
   Suburban living has always been centered around the internal combustion driven automobile.
That's why there are no sidewalks. Everything revolves around driving. Buses and trains can be a sporadic entity in the furthest reaches of the suburban hinterland. This discourages most unorganized physical activity. Sure there are hockey arenas and soccer fields and baseball diamonds and occasionally even a skateboard park. They just seem to be unaesthetic and lacking of and soul.

   On the plus side, the suburbs are full of big box style fitness centers. There will likely be more of them being built as urban sprawl runs rampant. This should ensure a need for Fitness Trainers. Fitness Trainers that come to the place of residence to train clients will also be a potential growth business.
Fitness Trainer's will likely need to rely on the automobile to get get to their clients. I suppose they could become early pioneers of the electric automobile.

Maybe Fitness Trainers can't save the planet directly! 
However, each person that we convert to an active lifestyle may come to rely less on the automobile.
"One small step for man ,.....one giant step for Mankind! "
                                                             (Neil Armstrong - First man on the moon.)

Until next time,.........Keep Fit

Little Bobby Strong.                         schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Expand Your Fitness Horizon - Try Zumba

   I am skeptical of many fitness fads. The flavor of the month training breakthrough often has a brief shelf life. Take some of the following past trends:

• What happened to Tae Bo or Boxercise classes? I always feared that such class members would suddenly feel emboldened to try and clean out a biker bar. Good luck with that!   What scared me more was the imaginary reflection of ex-boyfriends in the eyes of the women participants. There just may have been a punching diva or two sporting the Little Bobby Strong image in their intense and vengeful pupils! Gadzooks!
• Step classes seem to have phased out of existence.
• Low impact aerobics is missing in action.
• In the 1980's you had to book days in advance to secure a racquetball or squash court. Such courts usually sit empty now. I went into an unused court at my fitness club to stretch only to find it filled with discard exercise bikes.

   I am not suggesting that these were not viable alternatives to traditional fitness paradigms. If people enjoyed themselves and were vigorously active, that's great. Whatever it takes to get them in motion can't be a bad thing. Many people want to get fit but dislike weight training or working out on stationary exercise equipment. There is also the group camaraderie factor. Why suffer alone in some dungeon of a weight room when you can shake it in unison in a social environment?

  I have also stated in previous blogs that Group Fitness Instructors have a leg up on attracting clients over those who specialize in one on one Personal Fitness Training. It is less expensive and the participants aren't required to sign a long term contract. 

   The MSN  internet service provider had a Canadian Press article written by LuAnn LaSalle. The article forecast that future fitness opportunities may be abundant for instructors in exercise offshoots such as Yoga and Zumba. Yoga is already an established branch of the fitness world and it is here to stay.

   Zumba piqued my interest so I Googled it. Zumba was described as a mix of Latin and international music used as a background for dancing. People can 'dance the pounds away'.

Zumba is a growing phenomenon with group dance classes. You don't need a partner to perform the movements like you would with a Tango or a Country Two Step. Nor do you need to be a Fred Astaire or a Ginger Rogers with magic footwork. Anyone can participate no matter what their fitness levels! It is also a relatively safe recreation with little wear and tear on the joints of the body.

   To become a Zumba instructor requires going through a certification process. I am all for that!

If you are going to teach something, learn to teach it right and in a safe manner! 

   To a Fitness Trainer that decides to expand their boundaries and become a Zumba instructor

my advice is,.... Go for it!  This sort of thing may not be for a weight room dinosaur such as

"Underneath the mango tree
My baby and me" !!
A late night solitary aficionado perfects his Zumba technique!
Publishers note: Alcohol may have been a factor!

me. I am an iron hoisting fossil! 
However for the new younger breed of upcoming Fitness Trainers, approach this business with an open mind. Don't be afraid to step beyond the parameters of the fitness establishment! Even if it only turns out to be a short lived fad you have built a rapport with a core group of followers. If you move on to the next fitness revolution there is a strong possibility that they will move on with you. 
This type of following is priceless!  
 I tend to be a believer in the old ways. 
That does not mean that you shouldn't
 keep your mind open.
  Good opportunities 
can often  come in different packages!

   

Until next time,........keep fit! 
                                                                schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
Little Bobby Strong!

Beat the Clock. Fitness Training and Punctuality.

   I was a Johnny come lately!
In a previous life I was a civil servant. Of course, working an office job didn't fire up my passion neurons the same way as did being a Fitness Trainer. I didn't perceive of myself as a bad worker but I was saddled with a bad rap.
I was always late! It wasn't by much, maybe 5 or 10 minutes, but it was every day. My excuse was that I was still bagged in the morning from the previous evening's diet of activities such as track and field, hockey, weight training or amateur wrestling. It was a case of avocation at the expense of vocation.
   I often stayed late to make up for the time lost. I can remember many a Friday night before a long weekend where I stayed for hours after quitting time to empty my 'IN' basket. It didn't matter to the powers that be. I was not punctual! Therefore there was this assumption that I was also lazy, unreliable and unworthy of promotion. The same powers that be were not around to observe me making up the time.
They all left early on Fridays! Flex time was for managers only!
   Of course, it would have caused me less hassle to just crawl out of bed earlier each morning. However, being late is a bad habit to get into and for some can be a tough habit to break!
   When it came time for my career change I decided to eliminate any excuses to success.
I quit my late habit cold turkey. It meant disabling the 'doze' button on my alarm clock. Surprisingly, there were no severe withdrawal symptoms.There were no shaking fits, no spells of nausea, and no hallucinations of giant spider attacks. I am now the early bird!
    If you are late as a Fitness Trainer, then you risk losing the client! It is unprofessional to be consistently tardy in this business. Your clients are often pressed for time. Don't give them a reason to question the need for your services. Word travels fast in the fitness business.
Your reputation is your career!
   There are three peak times of availability for most Fitness Training customers.

1. Before work in the morning
2. Lunch time 
3. After work

      If you can't be relied upon to haul your carcass out of bed in time for morning clients, you will be making yourself unavailable to a large block of potential income. Trying to make it up later in the day the rarely pays off.
(For proof, reference my civil service career.)
    If you are tardy for an initial session or consultation, you are likely toast for trying to sign that prospect.

      Of course, life happens. Traffic, weather, family, car problems and other distractions can slow you down. Just in case, have a well defined contingency plan in place with your clients.

• Contact the client immediately if you are delayed. Having them on speed dial is a smart idea.
• Offer that session without charge if you are significantly late.
• If you miss a session completely, be prepared to offer make-up sessions.
• Ensure that the client is comfortable with doing the warm-up procedures on their own. That way if   you are held up they are doing something productive rather than wasting time waiting.

   Many Fitness Trainer's travel from location to location to work with their clients. Remember, that time and distance along with traffic issues will not always lead to an optimal commute time.There may also be issues with tardy clients that throw you off schedule. Plan for this when booking work-out times. Aim for an arrival time well before the actual appointment.
   If you are like me and not the brightest eyed person in the morning, don't rely on one alarm clock! 

Punctuality is crucial for a Fitness Trainer!
Have a back-up plan so you don't sleep away a fitness appointment.

Get a back-up clock or watch. Most importantly, never, ever, reach for the 'doze'
 button.
If you snooze, you lose!
Until next time,..........stay fit!

Little Bobby Strong

P.S. Comments are welcome.

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