If you are trying to gain the competitve advantage in your business, seeking out experts in your field from whom you can glean knowledge is a smart place to start. This is true whether you are striving to be the top instructor at your club or you are the CEO of a company. There is no better way to avoid mistakes and set your path to success straighter than by consulting with folks who have already done what you strive to do. I had a chance to speak with one of the most accomplished women in the fitness industry. She has a great deal of insight to share with us about how to get ahead in the world of group fitness.

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I wanted to share with you an invitation I just received to ECA/THRIVE! 2008 Fitness, Sports Training and Wellness Conference.  It is being held November 13 – 16, 2008 at the Miami Resort and Spa Hotel in Miami Beach, FL.  If things go according to plan, I will be in labor that weekend, so it is a no-go for me, but I want to let you know that it looks like it is going to be a great event. 

There are opportunities to get certified in Spinning, Stott Pilates. Some of my favorite presenters will be there sharing their knowledge:  Joshua Taylor is a Master Instructor for the Spinning program and a professional cyclist.  He is hands down the most exciting man from whom you can take a Spinning Workshop, IMHO.   Len Kravitz blew my mind the first time I heard him speak.  He is an expert in Fitness Science and will teach you more than you imagined about how the body works and how exercise changes the body.  Everyone has heard of Petra Kolber.  She is a staple in the Group Fitness world, as are Patrick Goudeau and Rob Glick.  There are others with outstanding resumes who will be presenting and the class line-up looks like a must-go.  If only I could!

If you are interested in checking out ECA/THRIVE! in Miami, you should visit the ECA World Fitness website:  http://www.ecaworldfitness.com.

A recent news story about a cancelled American Airlines flight provides an excellent example of how NOT to conduct Customer Service.  While I empathize with the crew and can completely understand the outrage of the passengers, the situation was not handled very professionally, in my opinion.  While the story might be aggravating, reading it reminded me how important customer service skills are to Group Fitness Instructors.  In this post, we’ll examine how we might better mitigate student complaints and help everyone win.

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I had the pleasure of spending three days in sun-drenched Orlando, Florida for the SCW Fitness Conference called Florida MANIA. I am pleased to report that not only did it outperform my expectations, but it actually gave me a reason not to be sad that I was unable to attend the concurrent WSSC Convention in Miami. Gas prices what they are, I had to stay closer to home this year, and I am glad that I did. I received a wide-variety of information that will not only satify my CEU requirements for most of my certifications, I learned new things in each of the areas that I went to study.

In order to provide you with the best possible review of the conference, I am going to share with you my responses to the convention survey and fill in every detail that I possibly can!
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By Biray Alsac

What makes a great instructor an extra-ordinary one? While there isn’t a golden answer to this question, there are certainly things every instructor should do. For extra ideas, you can learn from other successful colleagues and fitness professionals around the world. Last week I was an invited guest at FitnessTurk 2008, a conference for fitness professionals based in Istanbul, Turkey. In my down time, I attended a session facilitated by Lawrence Biscontini, an international presenter and extra-ordinary instructor, himself!

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Biray Alsac
http://fittmaxxinstitute.com
http://befitwithbiray.com

Every year mega-conventions (SCW Fitness Mania, IDEA, CanFitPro, WSSC) offer opportunities for group fitness instructors to develop their professional skills while accumulating all of their continuing education credits in one fell swoop.

In a previous post, Krista mentioned her plans to attend SCW Fitness Mania in Orlando, Florida. And since there may be instructors out there also considering attending this or other conferences this year, I thought it might be best to write a post on how to get the most from a conference.

If you’ve attended conferences before, you know what an overwhelming experience they can be. Session after session, cognitive overload. Workout after workout, physical exhaustion. By the time we come home, we’ve retained key pieces of the conference, perhaps spent too much at the expo, and forgotten the names of the people we’ve met.

Below are five different ways to make your conference-going experience successful.

1.       SESSIONS: Couple your session notes with visual cues. Nothing is more frustrating than coming home from a conference and not being able to decipher your session notes. (This is especially true with choreography-based notes). We often pepper our notes with stick figures or expand our explanations to help us remember, but that may not be enough. In addition, write what you were wearing, who you were with, or where in the room you were standing. Sometimes visualizing ourselves in the room can be more effective when it comes to information recall. The more you write about the experience of that session, the more likely you’ll remember what the session was about.

2.       PRESENTERS: Introduce yourself to the presenter before the session begins. This may seem counter-intuitive, but many presenters are bombarded with questions right after their sessions. If you want to stand out, make the connection beforehand. I’m not suggesting you engage in a lengthy conversation or disrupt the presenter while he/she is prepping for her session. But an inviting message or an encouraging comment is often welcomed. Example: “I’ve never done double step before, so I’m really looking forward to this session” or “Where do you suggest is the best place in the room to set up for your session?” When you follow-up via email or in-person, presenters are more likely to remember you.

3.       ATTENDEES: Create a temporary community at the conference. You’ll meet a lot of people throughout the conference. Not all will be potential business relationships or future friends (though you never know), yet everyone will be experiencing similar moments together. When you meet someone new, find a way to stay connected during the event. If there is a conflict between two sessions in the same time block, try finding someone already attending one of the sessions and ask if they’d be willing to meet briefly afterwards to go over any take-away points. More often than not, you’ll find yourself taking better notes, knowing you’ll be delivering this information again to a colleague. Text messaging is also a great way to send bits of information during the sessions. Text websites URLs, choreography combos, or quick positive messages.

4.       EXPO: Explore the expo with your eyes first. I don’t know about you, but somehow I always end up spending way too much money at the expos. A penny-wise way to keep from going broke is taking a tour of the entire exhibit floor first. Get the ‘lay of the land’. It helps if you take pictures of the things you might consider buying (bring a cell phone, if it has a built-in camera). Sounds odd? Well, sometimes this helps avoid impulse buys. You can look through the pictures throughout the day or later when you retire to your hotel for the evening. Share ideas with your friends and get their opinions before going back to the expo and purchasing what you need. (Note: Nowadays, you can find better or similar deals online on Amazon and/or ebay.)

5.       WILD CARD: Do something you’ve never done before! Although we attend conferences to get new ideas, be better fitness instructors, and improve our professional careers – at some point during the conference do something completely different. Whether you attend a session on a topic unrelated to your field of expertise or explore the host town with some newfound friends – just remember that the experience isn’t always limited to fitness.

Enjoy your conferences this year! And if anyone is going to IDEA World this summer, send me an email – Let’s organize a meet-up so we can “unleash the power of group fitness” together…

So it’s the middle of winter.  The cold weather has set in and your body has switched into energy conservation mode.  Maybe it isn’t the weather though.  Maybe something has happened to leave you feeling less giving, less motivated, less able to make it to your classes with a smile on your face.  Whatever the reason, wherever it came from you’ve got it…  You’re slumping.  The thought of leading a group of students to fitness nirvana leaves you cold.  How do you pick it up and find your joy of teaching again?  Not only for your sake, but the sake of your students?

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You’ve been given this advice many times from me, from your Directors, from other sources….  If you need more bodies in your classroom, go out and pull them off of the cardio equipment!  Talk to the folks in the weight area and drag them in.  Make an announcement on the PA system — that’ll pack the room!

I laugh out loud even as I write these pieces of advice because I know exactly the thoughts and feelings I had at the prospect of trying to persuade someone already into their workout to stop what they are doing and come into my class.  My thoughts amounted to something like, “#@&*#@ That!”  Yours do too, I’m sure, unless you happen to be one of those unique and quite amazing individuals who could sell running shoes to a paraplegic.  In this post, I’m going to attempt to help you find real ways you can talk to strangers and get them to take your class.

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As the holiday season sets in, you’ll probably notice your class numbers fluctuating, even bottoming out.  This is as common as warm weather enticing gym-goers outdoors and is a normal part of a gym’s attendance cycle.  Take the advice salespeople use to increase sales to close your own “sale” and pack your classes throughout the holiday season.

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If you’ve been lacking in motivation, or if you’ve been making up excuses for why you haven’t acheived the goals you’ve set for yourself, here is the kick-in-your-ass you need:  Gym Jones.  He’s harsh, but he’s pretty dead on.   And the before and after pictures are remarkable!