When ya realize you fell off the blogging bandwagon and it has been a month since the last post, you sit your ass down at a coffee shop and get to writing!
This is a great time to catch you up on what I have been up to with my business.
Summer Boot Camp Inspiration
For the last year or so, on and off, I have had been training small classes. I was sort of forced to stop doing them as the park I was at, apparently had given me misinformation initially. Long story but the short of it is, I could not continue there. And so I paused classes.
A few weeks ago, I woke up one Saturday morning and had one of those unexpected moments of, wow, I really miss training classes. I LOVE the Personal Training I do, don’t get me wrong! I was missing though the clients I had been working with in classes. They brought so much energy and positive vibes to every class. It was such a unique dynamic.
And so I found another park I can train at and I put together an impromptu class the next morning. It was like a fun, booty challenging kind of all sweat fest reunion, all in one! I left very inspired! I wanted to do this regularly.
We tend to associate summer with indulging in food at bbq’s and parties, drinking more to cool off on those hot days and overall, all the other fun things that summers bring. It is so easy to either fall of track fitness wise or to delay starting because hello? Who wants to pass up a sunset happy hour or Sunday morning boozy brunch for a workout?
I know it is entirely possible to make workouts fun and social, while still making fitness a priority. By creating a Summer Boot Camp, I knew I could accomplish that AND build on that community aspect. I want to entice new clients with the idea that they can look forward to their workouts, and not dread them or view them as an inconvenience. And they can still fit in fitness without feeling like summer passed them by.
I am also digging the idea of a Boot Camp since it has a start and end date, it is a great opportunity for clients to use those as milestones. It is a commitment they make to themselves to stay on top of their fitness for about ten weeks. It also gives them a chance to see how implemented fitness and health changes can be measured during the boot camp.
My Fundamentals of Group Classes
It has been so exciting to me to see not only many of those clients I have trained before sign up, but to have new faces join in! All are welcome and it has been inspiring to have people be able to make workouts their own even in a group setting.
I have stressed this point to everyone who has been coming to Summer Boot Camp because I think sometimes we lose sight of it when we are in a class. Of course in a group class, it is programmed for everyone and not any one person individually. There is though always the option to modify movements to make them more challenging or swap movements if something does not make sense for someone to do.
At the end of the day, I want everyone who comes to class to leave feeling like it pushed them and challenged them. I also do not want them to leave in the kind of pain that is indicative of a potential injury or like they were forced to do too much.
The workout is for those who come, not for me. It is important that they can do the workout as it makes sense for them. Sometimes, for those who are returning to working out or have been inactive for years, their main goal is to just move. For others, maybe they are really sore from another workout they did and so they can opt to sub a movement for something else. For example, if someone did a ton of shoulder work the day before and can barely raise their arms, then there’s no need to do dumbbell push press. I might have them do bicep curls instead.
I get asked often what my style of workouts are and I always respond with I keep them simple which does not mean easy. It is important to me that my clients spend the majority of the hour class moving and not standing around while I explain and demo some overly complicated workout I put together.
I typically program in two parts. The first being core work or strength work, or a combination of both. It is about 3-5 movements that target different muscles. I like to be efficient with what I program so everyone gets the most bang for their buck, so to speak, in terms of minimal movements as opposed to having to at least twice the number of movements to hit all muscle groups.
The second part I often affectionately refer to as “Crazio” aka Crazy Cardio. This is more of cardio conditioning where it’s meant to be more of getting that heart rate up and pushing one’s limits as much as they can for the specified time frame. This might be a 20 minute circuit. It could be an EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute).
There are many ways I can manipulate the time and rep scheme to change it up every class. Much like the first part, this also will have approximately 3-5 movements. I require EVERYONE to warm up and practice each movement before the workout even starts. The last thing I want is someone standing around in utter confusion because they cannot remember what a tricep dip is since I demo’ed 12 other movements.
What Is the Future of Boot Camps?
One of my business goals this summer is to find a more permanent place I can have classes. More so than ever before with classes, this is the first time I am truly feeling the momentum build. I know I have more eyes on what I am doing with it by the interaction of posts as well as conversations I have had with many people. As a new business owner, it is truly exhilarating and validating to have that feeling that things just may really be starting to click and come together.
I have started to realize that my business, as small as it may seem to anyone on the outside, is a product of my hard work, sweat, and tears. Everything I have comes from my heart as much as it is about income. I have said this a million times. Living in Los Angeles where there are no shortage of other great trainers and gyms, I am always humbled and grateful for those who choose me to work with them.
And that is everything to me. It’s the brand I have built and the community I am creating. Not to mention for the first time ever, I work for myself (i.e. I don’t have a boss!) I am realizing that I never want to lose my autonomy and brand. It is like this new found validation that I have taken my business this far on my own and I am fiercely dedicated and determined to keep going with it.
I am FINALLY at that point where I see the potential for growth and it excites me. I have lived in fear for so long of “What if this is as far as I can take my business?” I am just now truly feeling the culmination of all that I have done starting to come together.
Stay tuned as I plan for how and where to level up classes!
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