Yes, we are the Professionals

Let’s face it coming to Innovative Fitness is a luxury bonus which only few people can afford. Many people are suffering or will soon be affected by the economic crisis in some way or another. When financial hardships occur in our lives and money becomes tight, then we start to invest money into the things which are the most important in our lives and drop the things which are a luxury bonus. With the average cost of each personal training session being $70.00, the question is are our customers getting more than what they are paying for. Everybody loves to get more than what they pay for and if a customer cannot justify they are getting what they pay for, then they will either look elsewhere for a better bargain or discontinue the luxury of having a personal training coach.

What can we do as professional training coaches to keep our customers loyal during these challenging times in our economy:

• BE THE PROFESSIONALS!!

• Have customers aware of his/her program so they can see the value of our service. Program = accountability.
• Be on time. Be out on the training floor with a towel ready before the customer arrives. Greet them with a smile and create urgency from the start they walk in through the doors. Give your customer a quick review of their game plan for the hour.
• Energy/Excitement. A Customer is coming to IF to get energized before a long day at work or to build excitement and feel good after a stressful day at work.
• Little Things. The little things is what separates us from other personal training companies. These little things go a long way.

Are you being the professional?

The Gambler

"You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away - and know when to run."

Ahhh, Kenny Rogers. Such a simple metaphor, and yet one that, as leaders, we should pay attention to.

Simplified, what the line says is that we have to know when we should stay in the game, when we need to step aside - and when we need to leave knowing that we've done what we can. As leaders, learning to recognize the trailmarkers for these points is of utmost importance.

With a customer, we can get them to register for an event, we can give them a thorough training program, we can offer them clubs and clinics... but if they are not doing any of these things, then we have to ask ourselves if there's anything else we can do? Do we have one last "bet", or effort - or is it time to "fold"? This doesn't mean we've left entirely - but we're out until the next round.

It's similar with people we've chosen to lead - we need to know when to keep working with them, to keep pushing them, but we also need to know when it's time to stop focusing our energies on something that doesn't offer a return. And, in the long run... we need to know when it's time to move on entirely.

Who knew that Kenny could be so wise?

~Guy

Step by step

We Challenge, we work through Adversity and we experience Victory…simple right?
Well, it’s not always that cut and dry. Sometimes this process takes years – sometimes it's the case of an existing customer who doesn’t want to do an event or someone who hasn’t been directed towards the appropriate destination - we never know what that reality is until we start to dig/push/listen...

But, to be honest, it can be that simple – all it takes is planning

In early September we started talking about the fall running events and of course, promotions and excitement were created. The Fall Classic is one of the bigger runs that end the season. Mid November when the weather is changing and running gloves are necessary. The whole fall road running series potentially sets you up for the Fall Classic is half marathon.

To challenge someone is easy. To follow up and actually execute a-z is not – but our saving grace is that all one must do is plan the route and stay on top of the journey for fine tuning along the way.

It’s not rocket science that we look at; skill-set, commitment levels, potential issues, rehab/prehab progressions and a periodized program…

For Dianne, we ran a handful of times together, she ran on her own a bit, we focused on her weaknesses in the gym and continued to build her confidence around running. It’s not like she couldn’t run, she can push herself quite hard. A 10km wasn’t way out of her realm. The crazy part was that for as long as she’d been with IF, she had never done a 10km. She had completed a 5km run years ago, but didn’t think she could do anything bigger…

Fast forward – She totally rocked the 10km at the Fall Classic – no stopping, no complaining, no problem.
She ended up sprinting to the finish and was absolutely beaming from ear to ear in the end.

Rest up Dianne - we are running a tempo on Thursday and bigger run than that Fall Classic next weekend!

All it took was planning and staying true to the road map...

The best part, just imagine how excited she will be when we run the Cambodia Half together December 7th!

By the way: Josip and his friend raised just over $10,00.00 dollars last Monday night at Remembering to Give!

The Importance of Support

We are fortunate to work in an environment where we are constantly surrounded by supportive people. That is our nature, that is what we do.

Personally, I am extremely lucky to not only work at a place that supports me in everything that I do, but also my parents have and continue to support, watch and cheer in all my activities from sporting events, charity races or functions, and much more. They are always there taking pictures, bringing the extra water and fuel, and being there when I cross that finish line to congratulate me.

I feel that when I was an adolescent, I never fully grasped the concept or appreciated how much my parents did for me, by driving me to all my practices and games, provided me with my equipment, team fees and anything else I would need for each sport. I can’t remember one game or race that they were not at.

Reflecting back on all that they have done for me, I now truly appreciated and am humbled by all their support. I now make a point of thanking them, make sure I spend time with them after my game/race and introduce them to my teammates or fellow racers. I know that I have a unique family, and I am so grateful for them to continue to come out and support me. I know that from the example that my parents have set, that it will make me want to support my family, friends, customers and coworkers in anything that they do.

The importance of supporting a family member, friend, or customer is a matter of being there for that person and them having someone to share their accomplishment with. They may not always thank you for being there but deep down they are so happy that you came and took effort out of your day to be there. Who knows, down the road when you are accomplishing a challenge they will be there for you.

My advice and challenge to you, is to go out and support someone when they least expect it. It will show them that you care, you believe in them and you will be at the finish line waiting to celebrate the victory with them.

The Icing on the Cake

Comedian Jay Leno once said, ‘that anyone who says their marriage is hard work probably isn’t in a very good marriage.’ Marriage isn’t just a state of being. It requires time, thought and attention. It is a million separate actions taken in order to stay with someone, share a life with someone, have a partnership with someone, appreciate and support someone, cultivate love with someone – actions taken consistently over the long haul.

Making a commitment on your wedding day takes one little ‘I do.’ Living the commitment every day takes a lot of doing. In short, just because you know how to get married doesn’t mean you know how to be married.

There’s no faster way to kill love than to blame the other party for not doing what you ought to do for yourself. To be sure, you can be blissfully happy with a partner, but you can’t hold him or her responsible for making and keeping you happy. It’s not fair and it’s not possible. That’s expecting your partner to do it all for you: make you happy, fix you, fulfill you, complete you, define you, and make your life meaningful for you.

It seems that Arnold Schwarzenegger had it right when he met Maria Shriver. After a while together, my future husband said to me, ‘Don’t expect or rely on me to make you happy.’ Well, I thought, isn’t his grasp of the English language adorable. He doesn’t realize what he is saying. Who else is supposed to make me happy, if not him? But he was adamant. ‘You must be happy with yourself first. Be happy with your life separate from what the other person brings to the table.’ This was serious. He told me he would be ‘the icing on the cake, but I shouldn’t expect him to be the whole desert.’

You must work at making your own life and identity. It’s within you to carve out your own future, and create your own destiny. I am happy to say that I am marrying someone who recognizes me as an individual first and foremost and that my life apart from him is as important to me as our life together.

Appreciate the simple things of life

Quite frankly it often takes a tragedy to wake us up and make us re-evaluate our lives. Growing up I can remember always focusing on what I did not have or cannot change at that time, instead of being grateful or happy at what I had.
- I wanted to be bigger.
- I always wished my family had more money.
- In grade 12 I wanted a nicer car.
- Growing up I thought I was always skinny. Then after working out for 10 years I thought I was too stocky.

Writing my personal inventory last year gave me a chance to re-evaluate my life. Realizing that I came close to death 3 times over the course of my 26 years, I began to appreciate the simpler things in life since I had all the essentials to live a great life. Instead of always focusing on the things I cannot change or did not want, I started to regain my thoughts towards the simple things that I did have. I started to think of the people who did care about me, instead of the people who did not. There are some things you cannot change and some things which are obtainable but not through instant gratification. I started to reflect at a deeper level on the things which I am grateful for. A loving family, food on the table each night, a healthy body and mind, supportive friends, a born hard worker, above average intelligence and a career I enjoy. Appreciate each day and the challenges you overcome in life. Appreciate waking up in the morning and being able to eat. Appreciate the simple things in life.

What are you appreciative about today? Think...

Modern Communication

It's funny, actually. I was watching Kung Fu Panda this weekend, and there was a line that I found very poignant: "There is no good news or bad news - there is only news. It is, what we make of it."

Well, this past Saturday I decided to end all questions and make my plan to spend the rest of my life with Sasha public knowledge. Although I had actually already asked her on the Great Wall of China, it seemed time to make it official with a ring.

How does this relate to Kung Fu Panda you ask?

Well, once we told our families, we simply changed our posting on Facebook - and I can't even begin to tell you how many people complained about finding out that way. But the way I see it, imagine if there wasn't a Facebook? How could I possibly let everyone that I want to know that I'm getting married, and not drop the ball and forget someone? Even though the others would have appreciated the phone call, how would that one, two or three other people that I didn't tell feel when they finally did find out?

No, for once I actually appreciate what Facebook has allowed us to do. Instead of running the risk of missing someone, I've actually been able to let everyone know at once... and no one has to feel left out. It's the modern day equivelant of posting it in your local paper under "Announcements" - except a) that came with a cost, b) it went to the entire world, instead of your entire world, and c) not everyone reads the same paper.

So lament, if you will, the direction modern communication has gone - pine for the good old days. I, for one, in an uncharacteristicly optimimistic manner am going to embrace this convenience, and appreciate it for the good that it has brought... at least in this case.

~Guy