In this episode, we discuss the rules and tools of Alloy programming for active aging clients.We discuss what are some rules that Alloy believes in or that we adhere to when we were framing out programs for adults.We also discuss how the dynamic warm-up, overhead squat, and functional movement screen fit into the scheme of things. We talk about how important it is to have a balanced approach when it comes to workout - Nobody moves differently from one another. We may have deficiencies, we may have issues that we have to work around. But we all push, we all need to pull, we all need dominant movement, and we all need to do hip down movements, and there's vertical pushing and pulling mixed in there. But in a total body approach, if we hit all those every single time, you're going to get much better results, you're going to get a consistent workout.Stay tuned for more.Key Points of Discussion:Activating people with limited time - The first thing is total body training (3:19)Starting out with a dynamic warm-up when somebody comes in (5:07)Ina sitting-oriented society, where should most of the exercises happen? (9:32)In a total body approach, you're going to get a consistent workout… (10:22)Putting exercises into different blocks for varying levels of clients (11:00)Where do the folks that are a little bit beat-up go? (13:24)Alloy’s core philosophies; programming at different levels (18:00)Six core movements for each workout (27:17)The metabolic finish (27:49)About some of the bootcamp type of businesses - One workout fits all (33:14)A coach should look at it through the lens of the client, not themselves (35:00)Plugging and playing into patterns (36:12)Of suspension trainers and kettlebells… (41:19)Come up with your rules; figure out which tools are going to work (45:40)---------Additional Resources:About Dr Stuart McGillLearn About The Alloy Franchise Opportunity---------You can find the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

In this episode, I sit down with my personal coach, Tim Fulton, to discuss the 5 keys to a successful small business launch.He shares with us his thoughts on having a business plan. Quoting a study that pointed out that there is a larger than expected number of small businesses that have any type of plan, he puts the absence of a plan down to a fear factor - the fear of being held accountable, the fear of this becoming real when it's in writing.He also emphasizes the fact that growth sucks up cash - Unfortunately, many business owners don't realize that until they're in the midst of it and all of a sudden, cash is getting scarce.Another pearl of wisdom - Find some advisers, and be humble enough to ask for help.He also talks about the significance of being clear about your “why”.Tim feels having a growth mindset is important. Individuals having a growth mindset almost look forward to making mistakes because mistakes are learning opportunities.Stay tuned to know and learn more.Key Points of Discussion:Having a business plan (7:59)A study found less than 20% of small businesses have a plan (8:19)Why do so many businesses not have a plan? It’s a fear factor, feels Tim (8:40)Be adequately capitalized. Growth sucks up cash (11:33)Find some advisers, and be humble enough to ask for help (15:42)Have a strong “why”; figure out your purpose, your mission (18:03)Tim feels having a growth mindset is really important (24:54)Those with a growth mindset almost look forward to making mistakes… (26:21)---------Additional Resources:Small Business Matters website"Small Business Matters" by Tim Fulton on Amazon"Small Business Matters & All That Jazz" by Tim Fulton on Amazon"Start With Why" by Simon Sinek on Amazon"Start With Why" - Simon Sinek's Ted Talk on YouTube"Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh on Amazon"Mindset" by Carol S. Dweck on Amazon"Good To Great" by Jim Collins on AmazonLearn About The Alloy Franchise Opportunity---------You can find the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

In this episode, we’ll talk about policies and procedures for personal training businesses. We will zero in on three of them, namely, a 24-hour cancellation policy, medical freeze (or just simply “A freeze”), and rollover sessions.The 24-hour cancellation policy is applicable in situations where a client has booked a training slot and then they cancel, which means that the business will have lost the revenue it would have generated during that time slot. Therefore, the client has to be charged a stipulated cancellation fee when they cancel. That policy serves well in making clients more accountable because the moment they book a slot, they will always ensure that they attend the training, which of course, keeps them on track in their fitness journey. The medical freeze or freeze is when a client is looking to take time off from the gym to go on vacation, work, or anything else that might keep them away from the gym. That usually takes anything between one to three months, and it’s usually a very bad sign because it might mean that the client is trying to leave the facility. We will share our experience with this and talk about the strategies we use to overcome it effectively. Rollovers refer to when a client doesn’t use up all their sessions and they can roll them over into the next month or year. When we had annual memberships, we ran our rollovers like the old school cell phone service providers used to do where a user had a certain amount of minutes they could use every month, and if they didn't use them all, they would roll them over to the next month as long as they stayed active as a member with the service provider. Stay tuned to learn more about the best rollover tactics to use and pick all the actionable steps you can take at your personal training facility to grow sustainably. Key Points of Discussion:The questions around policies and procedures for personal training businesses (03:10)The promise that you make someone as a personal trainer to hold them accountable (05:20)Taking it back from transactional to the coach relationship (08:39)Better behavior equals better performance (13:11)Allowing a two month freeze in an annual membership but doing it in such a way that no client wants to take that time off (15:20)The best strategy for someone who might be going on a medical freeze (19:04)In rollover strategies, use or lose it is a great policy, but not the best  (21:47)Allowing clients to downgrade their memberships to use rollovers (27:18)Additional Resources:www.AlloyPersonalTraining.comLearn About The Alloy Franchise Opportunity---------You can find the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

In this episode, we discuss the best practices around creating an effective pricing strategy for your personal training business.We talk about whether you should do per session pricing or EFT.We, at Alloy, have done both. When we opened in 1992, we sold packages of sessions.The cashflow is much easier to manage when you're charging people by the month. And getting into the monthly payment mode landed us into EFT.In EFT model, you simply go to the customer, you have one transactional conversation, then you move their relationship immediately to relational and personal. And that's where it should stay forever. And for lack of better terms, the money just sort of goes away and you never have to think about it again. That's the best relational way to set up personal training as well. And there's never that awkwardness of asking for that sale over and over. Stay tuned to know more.Key Points of Discussion:Downsides of the per session pricing model (2:33)Cashflow is easier to manage when you’re charging people by the month (4:19)Pain point of going back to that client saying: “Hey, your 10 pack is up…” (5:48)In EFT, after one transactional conversation, it’s relational, and personal (6:16)When we switched to EFT, frequency of the usage went up (7:42)Moving from one-on-one into small group training… (10:14)Keep it really simple (17:18)At the sales process, definitely use unit pricing. Every retailer does that (18:02)Monthly versus annual memberships (19:41)Three buckets of people… (22:41)Sit down and review those notions at times, and challenge yourself… (25:52)---------Additional Resources:The book "Switch" by Chip and Dan Heath on AmazonLearn About The Alloy Franchise Opportunity---------You can find the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

In this episode, we look at a concept from the Harvard Business School that helps us define the true "Job" of our product or service.A Harvard professor presented this concept called job of the product. And basically, what he was challenging us to think about was when someone buys a product, or they do something, they're buying that product to do a job. So there is a job in my life that I need filled and I'm going to hire a service or I'm gonna hire a product to do the said job.Remember, the job of their product is through the lens of the customer.Anybody that is starting a new business should maybe re-evaluate their business through this lens and sort of figure out: “Well, what job is my service?”So, “What job is personal training really doing for people?” is where you would start. And once you can identify what that means, then you can understand who your true competitors are and you can put more effort into that.Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the concept.Key Points of Discussion:This concept called job of the product (3:28)The job of their product is through the lens of the customer (7:38)“What job is personal training doing for people?” is where you would start (9:18)Understanding who your true competitors are (9:23)If you knew exactly what the customers were trying to accomplish… (10:00)"Healthier to spend your money on, come here, and get your community" (12:56)Exercise means a lot of different things to a lot of people (15:42)If they're not getting that community, they stop coming in (15:45)Ask that question of you, put time into it, and then run it by your team (16:06)Once you identify that job, then you put efforts into meeting it (16:22)---------Additional Resources:Clayton Christensen on disruptive innovators and how to hire a milkshakeLearn About The Alloy Franchise Opportunity---------You can find the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

Delving into the origins and misconceptions of high intensity interval training (HIIT), the hosts discuss the risks of prioritizing calorie burn over muscle building. They explore the benefits and limitations of HIIT, emphasizing the importance of incorporating it in small doses at the end of a strength training workout. The chapter also addresses challenges of implementing HIIT in a group setting and avoiding overuse injuries.

The podcast discusses the importance of combining digital marketing with local grassroots strategies in the fitness industry. They emphasize the need for human interaction and explore the benefits of diversifying marketing efforts through local networking. The concept of cross promotion is explored, along with various tactics for effective guerrilla marketing. Building relationships with physical therapists and physicians for personal training businesses is highlighted.

This podcast discusses the importance of core values in a fitness business and how to develop them. It emphasizes the role of core values as a decision-making compass for the team. The podcast also highlights the need for simplicity in core values as the business grows. It explores the concept of 'owning it' in the fitness industry and the significance of embracing change and driving it to stay ahead. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of simplifying core values for onboarding new team members and making decisions.

In this episode, we discuss the five things you should consider when considering buying a fitness franchise.Franchising is hot right now. It's a great investment opportunity; it gives you a better return on investment as an entrepreneur. If you go to sell, if you're an independent operator, it gives you systems and a massive shortcut to success.Nonetheless, you’ve got to put the work in and run the systems. It's one thing to have them create it, but you still have to be an entrepreneur.We felt like it's a better vehicle for our potential or our core customer, and ultimately, a better vehicle for their core customer.How about the pricing? What's your investment for a franchise versus starting on your own? And the sustainability and longevity? What is the level of support that you're going to receive ultimately? Those are important questions to consider.The franchisee-to-franchise alignment and financials are other vital considerations when you are mulling over buying a fitness franchise. Stay tuned to know more.Key Points of Discussion:Pricing: The upfront fee (franchise fee) and the ongoing fee (4:13)There are franchises that do a flat fee (5:27)With low barrier to entry and price per month, don't expect lots of support (9:36)Sustainability and longevity: You need to look at overall market conditions (13:12)Make sure there's some history there, that the scalability is proven out (16:40)Level of support you're going to receive could make or break you (17:03)Make sure the franchise fee threshold is enough to get you training (17:27)Franchisees to franchise business coach ratio - the less, the better (20:09)You can't take the personal out of business relationships (20:24)Your core values: Do they align with the master franchise? (23:15)The financials: Ask for an Item 19 if they don't have that (24:08)How soon will you get a return on your investment? (25:18)---------Additional Resources:Learn About The Alloy Franchise Opportunity---------You can find the podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

This podcast episode discusses best practices for hiring personal trainers. It covers creating effective job ads, using tripwires to filter out unqualified candidates, and hiring criteria for personal training businesses. The importance of dress code, punctuality, and asking about background and lifestyle is also highlighted.