If you haven't got enough customers then 'hug' those you have!

What are your emotional coping mechanisms for Competitive Anxiety in Business?

At the end of the month, when you sit down to do your BAS and realise that the new competition in town has effectively cut into your customer base and your forward bookings and turnover has dropped what helps you sleep at night and not stress out?

This blog does not pretend to have the answers, only questions and suggestions. What we need to do is have a conversation – to share what we have done to overcome that dreaded feeling of being competitively frozen.

Since the dawn of time human beings have been fundamentally competitive.

The very notion regarding survival of the fittest is hard wired into our DNA.

Without the adaptive survival skills we evolved over the millennia we, as a species, would have been eaten long ago. So it is in small or large business enterprises.

The “dog eat dog” culture that has pervaded our business world has encouraged this “survival of the fittest” mentality. And that works well and feels great when you are the “innovation disruptor”. By that I mean, when you are the “new kid on the block”.

Being the newest business in the market sector can feel great. That brash confidence has a certain degree of momentum. You feel “edgy” and full of that market leadership zeal.

So, you settle into your routines. Your systems are in place and you have attracted a sustainable client base to achieve a reasonable turnover. THEN . . . out of the blue that vacant building down the street suddenly has newspaper on the windows and people are busy creating something behind closed doors. You wonder and indeed hope that it is not another competitor in your product or service specialty. You pray that it is someone opening a business completely different from you. After all, you are the edgy new guys.

But, alas, your fears are realised and damn it, when the newspaper screen comes down, there it is, your latest competition offering very similar products and services to you, but now in a shiny new facility and some of the employees you discover used to work for you and know all your systems and approaches.

The night sweats begin.  You spend a crazy amount of time Facebook stalking them and getting really annoyed that they look like they are having more fun in business than you are – and double damn it you spend way too much time looking behind you at what your competition is doing and not what you need to do to continue innovating.

But the irony of being the innovation leader in an industry is that other companies will simply copy you. I thought that if we all focused on innovation, “may the best innovator win.” That’s not the case, because sometimes it’s the best copier who wins. (We’re using Facebook, not Myspace, right?

This forces us to reevaluate our strategies, and compete through innovation.

Innovating means taking a risk, and it makes us vulnerable to successful copycats. But the consequences of not improving existing products, creating new ones, or embracing emerging markets at the right time is to be outpaced by our competitors just when we are patting ourselves on the backs for implementing less risky strategies that normally sustain us. So, we channel our competitiveness into innovation to survive.

Now, that all sounds just peachy. Just innovate to survive. But first how do we overcome that natural human emotion to “hate” our competitor to be so preoccupied with self-doubt that we neglect our own business, employees and sadly the people who have stayed with you – your regular customers.

I remember hearing this statement from a Group Fitness instructor when they turned around and saw that only a handful of people were waiting for them to start the class: “Well where is everyone?”

Boy that question was an atmosphere killer. That teacher effectively said: “you people don’t count, you are always here, I really want my room filled because I am so great.”

In small business, and let’s face it most of us in the fitness industry would fall into this category, is an emotional journey. The buck, for your successes or failures, stops with you. In large companies with hundreds of employees it is easier to deflect blame to market volatility, or bad decisions of other departments. But in a small business we live with our mistakes and flourish with positive attitudes.

The degree of emotional torment a small business owner can go through can devastate a business within the passage of one BAS period.

Instead of innovating, some business just slash their prices to compete.

 Forced to do more with much less, the small businesses that have managed to survive and even thrive during these tough times have recognized one important factor: You can’t always compete on price, but you can compete on service. And the best thing about great customer service is that providing it doesn't cost you an extra cent.

 Remember, customers are concerned about their own financial security. When they walk into a business, they need to feel cherished and special.

 They need to be ‘hugged’ by great customer service. Customers don’t expect to get bottom-of-the-barrel prices everywhere they go, but they do expect to be treated with respect.”

Great customer service doesn't just happen. It starts with employees who have been trained in the science of service.

Today, not every business is getting customer service right, but not every business is getting it wrong, either. Fortunately, for any small business owner looking to improve his customer service, valuable lessons can be learned from both the good and the bad.

I faced this dilemma of being frozen by competitive anxiety. I agonized over why my market share was not what I was accustomed to. It paralysed me. The whiff of depression started making it’s presence felt. Then, it clicked. Go out and analyse what other businesses are doing. What is their customer service like?  What can I learn by good examples and poor.

We all know this stuff. Most of us would have done many customer service and management courses over the years, but as soon as competitive anxiety takes control all your innovative logic goes out the window.

My suggestion, and I am hoping you will have a conversation with me about this is:

“HUG YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH GREAT SERVICE AND HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE THAT THEY CHOSE TO WALK INTO YOUR BUSINESS TODAY.”

And . . . above all . . .

Don’t focus on the competition, they’ll never give you money.”

Written by Garry Hart
Program and Training Director, BTS 

Common Injuries in Group Fitness

How many times has a member asked for your advice about an injury they have sustained? As a group fitness instructor, it is vital that we can distinguish a lack of fitness or technique issue from an injury that needs analysis from a medical or health care professional. Each class differs slightly in the sorts of injuries members may complain about, so let’s take a closer look:

When asked about Group Power®, Master Trainer Charlotte Reeve says some of the most common complaints are lower back, shoulder and knee pain.

Lower back pain is often due to inadequate core strength around the mid-back (lumbar spine) to cope with large weights used, which can be exacerbated by technique faults. Shoulder pain can results from a lack of shoulder setting and a weak rotator cuff muscles, leading to impingement and repetitive strain of structures in the shoulder. Knee pain is commonly attributed to insufficient glute activation and control which affects lower limb function and results in poor knee tracking.

In Group Step®, Group Active™, Group Groove® and Group Kick®, shin, foot and heel pain are other common ailments. Weak hip stabilisers (Gluteus medius) are often to blame, as they affect the biomechanics of the lower limbs, resulting in poor knee/ankle alignment. Incorrect technique (e.g. not grounding the heels in Group Step®) and unsuitable footwear can also contribute.

Hip and back pain can also occur in these programs. Often, this is caused by inadequate flexibility through the hamstrings, quadriceps and ITBs, combined with poor core strength to cope with high impact movements.

In Group Ride®, knee pain due to tight ITB’s is not uncommon. Frequent stretching, correct bike set up, and the use of cleats if available can help prevent knee issues.

Get Hard Core!

It’s important to address one of the main underlying causes of injuries: a weak core. Incorporating a program like Group Core™ as part of a participants’ (and your own) training schedule can be extremely beneficial.

People often mistake core stability as something that can be developed just by training abdominals and shown by the presence of a six-pack. Unfortunately the abdominal region is only one link in the muscular network that provides much needed stability to the spine. Group Core™ will target your abdominals, but will also work your glutes, obliques and posterior chain (the set of muscles that run down the back side of the body). Group Core™ has a large focus on functional training and control of movement through technique. Throughout the class, specific exercises and positions are used to engage the core and maximize recruitment of the correct musculature, thus minimizing compensation from larger muscle groups. This will ensure that every component of the muscular support system is being strengthened, not just the abdominals.

I’d rather be safe than sorry

If a member complains of an injury that is not settling down, or an acute/severe injury that is affecting quality of life and daily tasks, we suggest you recommend assessment by a doctor, physiotherapist or podiatrist. It is important for a member to seek professional advice if they are for instance, complaining of ongoing shin/ foot pain due to the high risk of stress fractures – continuation of high impact exercise in this situation can be detrimental to health and longevity.

If it is pain that a participant is getting only during a particular move/class and appears minor, then attempt to correct any technique faults or poor equipment use first to see if you can overcome their issues. This may also be an appropriate time to encourage more regular stretching. We all aim to deliver effective classes and maximize participant success; however it is important to recognise what may be out of your expertise as an instructor, and to keep your members safe in their training for satisfaction and optimal results.

Written by Tyler Adams
Master Trainer and Assessor, Body Training Solutions

Stocktake Time- End Of Financial Year Gratefulness

GROUNDED in GRATITUDE

STOCK TAKE TIME – EOFYG

The day June 30 represents a myriad of different things to many of us.

For some it is time to check the finances, tally the books and prepare to pay the government some tax, for some it is time to pop into your local tax agent and look forward to a little “nest egg” tax return that is kind of like a bonus to pay the car rego, go on a holiday or slip it into a bank account for a rainy day.

For many people in business it is time to assess the financial receipts and hopefully profits over the past 12 months and, as is the case in our target driven society, set new and even higher fiscal goals for the next year.

In our fitness world the same is true.

·         Have we gained enough members for a profit this past year?

·         What are our membership and retention ratios?

·         What are our employee costs and their productivity differential?

I wonder how many of us simply stop at this time of year and experience a EOFYG?

That is; End Of Financial Year Gratefulness. To do a stock take of what we have and what we give to others.

This may all sound dreadfully esoteric and “out there”, if such a concept were just “pie in the sky”. However, quantitative studies have supported the value to the human spirit of having a Grounded in Gratitude Attitude.

Research Shows Gratitude Heightens Quality of Life

Two psychologists, Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, wrote an article about an experiment they conducted on gratitude and its impact on well-being.

The study split several hundred people into three different groups and all of the participants were asked to keep daily diaries.

-The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day without being told specifically to write about either good or bad things;
- The second group was told to record their unpleasant experiences;
- The last group was instructed to make a daily list of things for which they were grateful.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. In addition, those in the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, were more likely to help others, exercised more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals.

 If you're like most people, you notice what goes wrong more often than what goes right. Human beings seem hardwired to notice how reality fails to meet some idea of how they think things should be.

 How many times a day do you sink into disappointment, frustration, or sadness because others haven't met your expectations? If you limit your attention to how life lets you down, you blind yourself to the multitude of gifts you receive all the time.

In addition, Dr. Emmons’ research shows that those who practice gratitude tend to be more creative, bounce back more quickly from adversity, have a stronger immune system, and have stronger social relationships than those who don’t practice gratitude. He further points out that “To say we feel grateful is not to say that everything in our lives is necessarily great. It just means we are aware of our blessings.”

One of the things these studies show is that practicing gratitude can increase happiness levels by around 25%. This is significant, among other things, because just as there’s a certain weight that feels natural to your body and which your body strives to maintain, your basic level of happiness is set at a predetermined point.

If something bad happens to you during the day, your happiness can drop momentarily, but then it returns to its natural set-point.

Likewise, if something positive happens to you, your level of happiness rises, and then it returns once again to your “happiness set-point”. A practice of gratitude raises your “happiness set-point” so you can remain at a higher level of happiness regardless of outside circumstances.

So, as Group Fitness professionals, Personal Trainers, or Health Club Owners and Managers we have a lot to be grateful for.

As trainers need to wake up every morning thankful that we operate in an industry where we help people achieve personal goals of fitness, health, and self determination.

People often tend to take for granted the good that is already present in their lives. There’s a gratitude exercise that suggest that you should imagine losing some of the things that you take for granted, such as your home, your ability to see or hear, your ability to walk, or anything that currently gives you comfort. Then imagine getting each of these things back, one by one, and consider how grateful you would be for each and every one.

Here are some simple statements we could dwell upon each day

“I am grateful for the abundance of love, harmony, friends, prosperity, etc that I experience daily.”


“I am grateful that I have enough finances for my bills, living costs and other incidental needs.”


“I am grateful for my job that pays well, and offers many opportunities for professional growth and advancement.”


“I am grateful for my body's excellent health and its self-healing abilities.”

 We Aussies tend to be influenced by certain elements of the media and politicians who can paint pretty negative pictures of the world around us in an attempt to create fear and compliance.

So instead of being a victim to such propaganda, maybe we should conduct a “gratitude stock take” at this time of year and tick off how fortunate we are to live in this lucky country, how blessed we are to be able to share with our friends and clients our skills and passion for health and fitness and how amazing it is to have a fully functioning body and above average health.

It is time for an  END OF FINANCIAL YEAR GRATEFULNESS.

Written by Garry Hart

      Program and Training Director, Body Training Solutions 

Club Trainer: What's it all about?

TEACHING A DEAD LIFT WITH A “Dead Poets Society” attitude.

The deepest possible sense of satisfaction comes from coaching others to achieve.

An equally deep sense of gratitude surges through you when you realise people want to spend time with you and learn from you.

And . . . when you coach or teach anyone anything, that is when you learn the most about yourself and understand your motivation to pass on your skills.

That is exactly what Club Trainer Intensives are all about. Learning how to learn.

Revisiting concepts, ideas and ideals and seeing them again through a fresh new perspective; through the lense of your peers and through your own reflective vision.

In other words; Taking experiences and learnings and passing the baton.

Every time I conduct a Club Trainer Intensive I am blown away by the willingness and passion of the BTS teachers who sign up for three days with me to explore what it takes to recruit, train and mentor group fitness instructors for their clubs.

And even better, when we reach the understanding that we are not just training new group fitness teachers. We are doing a lot more than that.

We are learning how to form effective relationships, how to adapt our personality behavior traits to help our club trainees find themselves amidst the theory, practices and protocols.  To find how they too can relate to their clients, class members and ultimately their friends in a productive and objective way.

The BTS Club Trainers who have attended these intensives over the past few years have all been outstanding individuals. I am constantly amazed that the weekend intensive always seems to attract just the right mix of people. And one outstanding feature shines through every time.

The quality of caring and compassion that each Club Trainer brings to the training. Everyone I have had the pleasure to work with at the BTS Club Trainer Intensives has reached a stage in their careers where giving is more important than receiving.

Giving of themselves in a very holistic fashion. Giving of themselves physically, emotionally and in many other ways. It reinforces to me the age old saying that: “water finds its own level” because we never experience conflict during these events, we always have a sense of bonding and alumni that lifts the learning and understand of everyone present. We always seem to leave these trainings enriched by the contribution of all who attend. That is what Club Trainer Intensives are all about.

The work that Club Trainers are now doing back at club level is equally enriching.  The Club Trainers are helping new members join this crazy and wonderful world of “group fitness” learn way more than how to do a step touch or a dead lift.

They are coaching, teaching and sharing of themselves in a DEAD POETS SOCIETY fashion. Long may we pass on the baton.

Why do so many Australian Health Clubs want to be Orange Fish?

With a plethora of coffee shops and cafes in any given city it is always amazing that some upstarts with a whacky concept comes along and enters a market that ostensibly looks fully catered for.

These whacky individualists then open a Nuevo grungy coffee shop asking patrons to sit on milk crates on the street and serve a brand of coffee no one has heard of before and make a stack of dollars and go from strength to strength every month in popularity and prosperity.

Why is it in the insane world of IT that someone skilled in writing code dares to offer the online community an app that challenges the dominance of Apple, Microsoft or Facebook?

The answer, I believe, is that they want to be “blue fish”. They want to stand out in the crowd, they want to be known for innovation, creativity and being a little different. They wear that badge of “difference” with honour. 

It is interesting to look at how a company like Starbucks started out with a clever and different idea and then the “ordinariness” of their chain of sameness brought their undoing here in Australia.

This leads me to ponder on the fitness industry and ask why so many owners and managers just want to “fit in” to an expected norm and not be excited about training their own team members.

The age-old chestnut we hear all the time is: “Oh I can’t do that in my gym because no one else is doing it.” Or “We have to wait until an instructor walks through our doors already trained in that program before we can put it on our timetable.”

This is an orange fish response, that is, take the course of action with the least amount of challenges.  Blend in, don’t make any statements, steady as she goes, don’t rock the boat.

If that was a successful business motto, then you can bet your cotton socks that someone like Richard Branson would never have risen to become one of the world’s greatest business entrepreneurs and status quo challengers.

Taking on board a select group of people that you have interviewed and you believe have that attitude of gratitude to be on your team and providing them with training, mentorship and ongoing support can mean you will have a fitness business that is a “blue fish” operation.

Your club will stand out because you want to stand out. Because you want people to walk in your club’s doors and say, “hey this looks and feels different”.  And most importantly the new member walks up to you and says: “Wow your instructors are amazing. What are you feeding them? They are so helpful, innovative and friendly.”

Clubs around Australia who have a BTS Club Trainer walking the talk are part of that “blue fish” movement. I have seen so many awesome new instructors who have been trained “in house” by Club Trainers who coach to the needs of their clubs and the individuals in front of them.

The new instructors fully embrace the club culture; they respect the mentor that has given of their time and expertise to help them on their fitness journey. They are also fully engaged with the members of the club. They want to help the people they once shared the floor with and have some incredible success stories of losing weight and finding new excitement in their lives and want to share that passion with their peers.

The BTS Club Trainer program is designed to help club owners and managers create a “blue fish” business. A fitness business that stands out for all the right reasons.

All a club needs is one experienced team member who wants to take their fitness careers to another level. Someone who has reached that stage in their careers where it is not “all about me”.

To be a great coach, to be an inspirational mentor, you simply have to follow the lead of one the 20^th century’s greatest leaders, Mahatma Ghandi:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Be bold and be a Blue Fish.

By Garry Hart, Training Director, Body Training Solutions Australia.

For details on the next Club Trainer Intensive in Australia please contact:

Charlotte Reeve. 02 6281 7520 or charlotte@bodytrainingsolutions.com.au

Make your classes more successful!

GROUP FITNESS TOP 10 TIPS

Tip 1: Using the term Aerobics vs. Group Fitness may decrease participation.  

Aerobics implies dance or female and will likely limit participation of males and even some females. 

Group Fitness is a more neutral term and allows the program or class to be judged on its merit. Consider using the term Group Fitness Room and Group Fitness Instructors. Remember, however, changing a name cannot fix a poor program.

Tip 2: “Retention rates are higher for Group Fitness Members than for Machine Members.” 

IHRSA’s Guide to Membership Retention “Every club has hundreds, and sometimes thousands of machine members, whose only interactions with their club are with the particular exercise machines on which they exercise. Machine members are high-risk members. They belong in every club’s ‘intensive care’ unit.”

Tip 3: “63% of the population is already convinced of the virtues of fitness and ready to join a club, however many feel that they’re unhealthy, overweight and/or unathletic and may be self-conscious about their bodies.”

American Sports Data

Also, “90% of all exercisers report that they would prefer to workout in a group.” CBI, June 2000  

Tip 4: Your Group Fitness timetable is only as good as your worst class or experience.

Your objective is to constantly work on the quality of the classes you offer so the worst class is still of a high standard.

Participants evaluate classes based upon the workout or program, the instructor and the room. When one or more of these components are viewed as weak by participants, the result is low participation.

Tip 5: “A lack of supervision while exercising leads to twice as much dropout when compared to exercising in groups.”

Group Fitness offers both the supervision and the social interaction that increases retention. Higher participation and future retention will be the result of higher quality of classes and instruction.

Tip 6: There are three leading indicators of higher retention rates.

1) % of members involved in Group Fitness Programs2) % of members involved in Personal Training3) % of members spending at least $.50 in non-dues purchases for every dollar they spend for dues

– IHRSA’s Guide to Membership Retention.

Tip 7: There is a method to increase the rate of joining your facility by 300%.

Simply get the prospect to workout at your facility and they are 300% more likely to join.

Tip 8: During sub-maximal repetitive exercise, music can divert attention away from the sensations of fatigue.

“Rather than stopping the exercise, music enables the exerciser to continue the activity and achieve more results. The synchronisation of music with exercise consistently demonstrates increased levels of work output among exercise participants.” Music in Sport and Exercise: Theory and Practice, Dr. C.I. Karageorghis, PhD.

Memorable group fitness classes that combine great music with safe, effective movements keep members coming back for more.

Tip 9: There are three key metrics you should know about your Group Fitness department: 

1) Percentage of Total Visits in Group Fitness – Divide your monthly group fitness visits by the total monthly facility visits. Industry average is 10-15%. Once you exceed 25 to 30% you will see a corresponding increase in profitability. 

2) Cost per Group Fitness Visit – Divide monthly instructor compensation by total monthly group fitness visits. The range should be from $0.65 to $1.50 per person.

3) Square Foot per Individual Member – Divide your indoor square footage by the total number of members (not memberships). According to IHRSA Profiles of Success 2007, the industry average was 13.6. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”Greg Thurman

Tip 10: A 2% increase in retention can deliver a 20% increase in profits.

Small improvements in retention can yield large improvements in profitability.

2,000 members x 2% increase = 40 members

40 members x $600 dues = $24,000