How To Get More Done

January 5, 2010

Here are a few random tips that will help you get more done and probably enjoy your life a little more in the process. I can’t take credit for “inventing” these tips but they are very useful and have helped me to be more productive.

Get your most important tasks done first thing in the morning- Do this before you check email or voicemail or anything like that. When you start getting sidetracked with other stuff ten minutes can turn into two hours and before you know it it’s time for your lunch break. Get the important stuff done first.

Don’t answer every phone call or text you receive- You are not required by some odd law to do so. You are not required to be at the beck and call of everyone you know. Many friends and acquaintances get upset if you don’t immediately pick up or text them back.

“That bastard! I know he has his phone with him right now!”

But these people fail to realize that a cell phone is a luxury that you have for your convenience and it is meant to make your life easier; not more difficult and more stressful. It is not meant to keep you on a leash and accountable to everyone in your life at all times.

Turn off your cell phone- Not too long ago we were somehow able to survive without cell phones. Now people can’t even turn theirs off. I was guilty of this for a while. But turning off your cell phone and unplugging completely, once in a while is a very liberating feeling. And when you do so you won’t even be tempted to answer every call or text, because you won’t even know they are coming through. When I want to be productive the first thing I do is turn off my cell phone. I also leave it off for extended periods when I’m at home which helps me to relax and just be in my own world for a while.

Check email less often- People are increasingly guilty of checking their email too often. This is an addictive trap which leads to zero productivity. Most smart productivity and business experts recommend cutting this down to twice per day, at most. Something like 10am and 4pm. Condition people to know that you only check email twice per day and that they shouldn’t expect an immediate response from you.

Get a phone that doesn’t have email or disconnect your automatic email- I had that on my phone a few years ago when it first became available because I though it was a good idea. All it did was ruin my life so I got it disconnected. You want to check email less, not every thirty seconds when it vibrates its way into your pocket. Talk about a miserable idea. There is no way you can ever unplug and live in the real world with this going on. Get rid of it and thank me later.

Don’t respond to every email you get- This is hard at first because you want to be a nice guy. But when the numbers start piling up you simply can’t answer all of them and expect to also make money and have a life. On a daily basis I now receive more emails than I could possibly answer in a month. I used to try and answer all of these personally. Then it started to make me miserable because I was getting nothing done and letting other aspects of my life suffer. So I had to start cutting it off. Answer only the most important emails and limit most of your responses to a few lines.

Delegate- With my personality this was very hard to do. But it can pay huge dividends if you are willing to turn the reigns over to others on certain aspects of your business or life. For example, I have very little artistic ability. So I don’t even try to come up with logo’s, t-shirt designs, slogans, etc. I leave that to my good friend, Mark Crook. I tell him what I need images or designs for and he goes to work on it. He is far more talented than I am and whatever he comes up with will be better than anything I could ever do on my own. Put your trust in someone else to do the things you aren’t good at or the things you don’t like doing. I also have someone else do all my web stuff because it’s not my field of expertise. I also have people answer emails for me for many of the reasons listed above. You have to do what you’re good at and let others help you with stuff you aren’t good at. I’m good at designing programs and training people. So I focus on that and let others do the stuff I don’t want to do or don’t know how to do. I highly recommend giving this a shot.

To read more about this I recommend the following books:

Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Business, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

What it Takes to Train at Renegade Gym

July 21, 2009

Question: Jason, I just wanted to let you know that I have been following your stuff since 2003 and am a huge fan of your work. I am thinking about opening a small, hardcore gym like yours and had a quick question for you. Would you mind sharing with me what kind of application form you use and how you determine who gets to train at Renegade Gym? From what I understand you don’t just accept anybody off the streets, correct? Thanks for all that you do and keep up the great work.
Andy

Answer: Andy, thanks for the comments and the support. Years ago I had a formal application sheet that potential gym members/clients had to fill out as a pre screening measure. After looking over that we would arrange for a sit down interview with them. If I liked what I saw and heard the applicant was granted a short term membership to prove their self. If that worked out they were invited to stay.

Nowadays, in an effort to be more time efficient, and just because I have done this so many times over the last 15 years, we have whittled the application process down to this…you come in and you train. That’s it. Your “application” is your first workout. I know within one training session if someone is Renegade material and if they are someone we want at the gym. After that first session I will invite someone to train with us or bluntly let them know that it isn’t going to work out. At this point in my career it usually doesn’t even take a workout any more. One two minute conversation is usually enough. But I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

At Renegade we want and accept only the most dedicated, disciplined hardest workers around. There is absolutely zero tolerance for anything less than 100% commitment. I don’t say that to be cool or hardcore or tough. Because I am none of those things. I say it because I take this business very seriously and am not in it for the money. I do it because I eat, sleep and breathe this shit. I am obsessed with it. I love getting people bull fucking strong and jacked out of their minds. I love helping guys run faster and jump higher. I live to help people hit goals and do things they never thought possible.

Gym Pics 316.1 The majority of people, however, just don’t have the level of commitment that I expect and demand. That is why I have turned down more clients than I have accepted and will always continue to do so. It’s why I have always thrown an average of probably half a dozen people per year out of the gym. From a business perspective I highly recommend that you do the same. When you’re starting out it can be tempting to just take money from everyone that comes your way. But doing this will ruin your business in the long run. Your clients/ members need to be walking billboards for your company. And if they are lazy, whining schmucks, how is that going make you look when they get zero results and then tell people they train at your place? Never mind the fact that these types of negative, weak minded people will ruin the atmosphere in the gym, bring others down of and basically make you hate your very existence.

At Renegade we demand that if you are going to be a part of the team, you bring something to the table and make the entire group better. If you are not making the atmosphere better you’re only making it worse and just taking up space that we can’t afford to give you. At Renegade it’s not just about you; it’s about everyone else you train with as well. You need to not only elevate your game but also bring everyone else up with you. And if you are the low man on the totem pole, your job is to get to the top fast.

Like the great strength coaching legend Louie Simmons said about his world famous Westside Barbell Club, “I don’t have room for poodles in my gym; I only want pit bulls.” I am not comparing myself to Louie or Renegade to Westside, because there can not and will not ever be any comparison. But like Louie, I want guys (and girls) who are fiercely competitive and will do whatever it takes to constantly set PR’s and be the top dog in the gym.

Gym Pics 289.1 I expect that every member of Renegade not only “brings it” each and every time they are in the gym but also that they do whatever is necessary to enhance their results outside of the gym like eating more (or less), getting enough protein, sleeping more, foam rolling, stretching, meditating, doing mobility work, sprinting, conditioning, etc. And if they don’t do it I always know. And soon I lose interest in them. We all do. Renegade is similar to the animal kingdom in that once you fall behind the pack you’re on your own and left to die. The rest of the group will move onward and upward and those who are not doing what’s necessary to excel will be forgotten about. In the jungle, the weakest and slowest water buffalo are left behind to get eaten by the lions. Things are no different at Renegade. When you get to the point that people stop caring about your results and your lack of progress you are all but dead. And your complaints and excuses will fall upon deaf ears because nobody gives a shit.

Gym Pics 356.1 Yesterday was a max effort squat day, and longtime Renegade member Jeff D’Annunzio walked into the gym with a fire in his eyes and approached me like he was going to punch my teeth out. He told me he couldn’t sleep last night nor could he think about anything all day long at work except hitting big numbers on his squat last night. He had his fists clenched and was nearly foaming at the mouth before we even started warming up.

THAT’S the way it should be.

Some guys walk in and don’t even know what we’re training that day and are more concerned with what they are doing after the workout is over than the task at hand. Those are the guys that won’t last long and will never achieve greatness. I’ve always said if I had a 100 guys like D’Nunz and Doyle I would never leave the gym all day long.

For 15 years people have walked through the doors of Renegade Gym and have left their blood, sweat and tears on the floor. And those people have all become family. I have formed some of my closest friendships and bonds inside those four walls and I love many of those guys like brothers.

In all the years since I first started doing this, I have never once tried to sell myself or the gym. I have read almost as many business books as I have training books and I have helped many people in the fitness industry increase their yearly income to six figures. I know all the rules of business and have taught them to many people. But I don’t follow too many of them. It’s just not in me to do so. Like Sinatra, I have to do things my way.

Many of my friends and clients joke around about my salesmanship, saying it’s the worst they’ve ever seen. One of my oldest clients, Mike Schwalb, brought his friend Andrew Slater in once about six or seven years ago, and on the way to the gym repeatedly told him, “Don’t expect any sales pitch whatsoever from Jay. In fact, don’t expect him to say much of anything. He really doesn’t give a shit if you train there or not. If anything you’re gonna have to prove to him why he should let you train there.”

Gym Pics 352.1 Andrew is now one of my close friends who I go to concerts and party in Vegas with. Something neither of us would have guessed that first day. But when you go to battle with a guy you develop a level of respect and mutual admiration that you can’t get in any other way. And if he starts slacking in the gym I’ll be the first person to get on his ass and let him know it.

I couldn’t possibly count the number of people who have trained at Renegade over the years. The weak fall out rather quickly; the driven often become lifetime members.

My friend and longtime client, Joey “Styles” Scott told me recently that winning the Big East Championship with Seton Hall University and playing professional baseball in the Oakland A‘s organization both paled in comparison to the times he had training at Renegade. He said it was the best time of his life and many have echoed his sentiments.

To create something that special that people love so much is an amazing feeling that no words can describe. There is no amount of money in the world that can replace that. That is why I will never accept payment from just anyone who walks in my door. It’s not about the money.

It’s about creating a place where guys can excel beyond any and all expectations and be the absolute best they can be. And if you’re not prepared to do whatever it takes to be the best… you’re not prepared to train at Renegade.

Please leave your comments below.

Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Business, Strength & Conditioning | 74 Comments

The Business Implications of the “Fun Factor”

April 27, 2009

Saturday we did floor presses and parallel grip chins for our main two exercises and finished with a high rep challenge on the log clean and press. This is probably my number one favorite exercise of all time and definitely creates an awesome atmosphere in the gym. We had nine guys on one log and everyone else stood around cheering and yelling while each guy took his shot. Everyone tried to out do each other and it was a blast. Although it seems like a lot of rest, it really wasn’t a factor. After more than ten reps on the log you need a good five minute break.

Though, the log clean and press is my favorite exercise the reality is that I could be happy doing dips, chins, squats and deads from now ‘til eternity. I don’t need much variety to keep me happy. In high school I watched the same exact porno every single day for four years straight. And it always got the job done. Having access to thousands of other options these days is more of a waste of time than anything. Keep it simple and the results are usually faster to come. So to speak…

The truth is that none of us really need much variety in our training. Most people would actually get better results from focusing on fewer exercises and doing them better. Then, of course, the fun/entertainment factor of running a training facility and/or training people comes into play and that rule kind of goes out the window.

Not everyone that comes in to my gym or somewhere else similar has read The Way to Live by George Hackenshmidt. They haven’t memorized what Paul Anderson ate for breakfast every day. They don’t know that the squat is “the king of all exercises,” and they don’t take the ghosts of Arthur Saxon, Perry Rader and John Grimek with them every time they approach the squat bar. I do. But they don’t. They don’t know the history involved and the reverence the squat commands. And I can’t expect them to. Nor can I expect them to keep giving me money if we do the same four exercises from now til 2015. They might end up stronger that way. But they will be bored to tears and hate my guts. And it doesn’t take much for people to hate my guts.

So to run a successful training center and have guys who aren’t all about old school strength training still enjoy it enough to keep coming back week after week you have to add a “fun factor” to every workout. This is the reality and the art of coaching that a lot of people don’t understand. This fun factor usually comes in the form of an odd lift that they can’t do anywhere else or some kind of competition. The log took care of that for us on Saturday.

While chains do very little for the raw lifter looking to improve one of his big lifts, they can be added to assistance work for the “fun factor.” Are dips or chin ups or pushups any more effective with chains than they are with a weighted vest or a dip belt on? Of course not. But they look cooler. And when you are looking to run a successful training business you always need to consider these things.

In the age of the internet, many trainees’ minds have been warped. They have been led to believe that there is surely no way you can get results from just… squats, deads, militarys and pull ups!! You need to do reverse band squats with chains and weight releasers and Mardi Gras beads on the bar, and you need to squat to a box while standing in a sandbox, with a pale and shovel approximately 27 inches directly in front of you. Be sure to vary the tempo on every rep and do an eccentric quasi isometric static hold and dynamic pre stretch before the concentric, but for exactly .87 seconds and no more.

Because in the age of YouTube nobody gets excited about a basic barbell exercise that some loser did back in 1906. It’s sad. It breaks my heart. But it’s reality.

In my opinion this is probably the most important value that chains, bands, sledgehammers, tires, sleds, sandbags, kegs and logs add to any training center. They make it unique and they keep it fun for everyone who didn’t grow up watching Pumping Iron on repeat and reading The Keys to Progress by John McCallum as their bed time story.

I will always train guys with five or six basic exercises for strength but for assistance work and finishers you have to incorporate fun stuff and exercises that everyone can easily compete on. If not the atmosphere will suffer and so will your finances.

Jason Ferruggia

PS. My buddy Mike Geary has a lot more great business advice for small gym owners and trainers that you can check out at http://www.SmallBizSuperProfits.com/ if you’re interested.

Please leave your comments and questions below.

Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Business, Muscle Building | 15 Comments

The Business

March 19, 2007

Originally written in 2006 by Alwyn Cosgrove & Jason Ferruggia for EliteFTS

business school The Business Over the past year, we have both received tons of emails and phone calls that go something like this: “I have listened to you for a while now and have purchased several products from you. I’ve watched you and your reputation grow.”

Or like this: “What was the one thing you did or the one step you made that took you from being a ‘personal trainer’ to a more accomplished fitness expert? Basically, what got the ball rolling for you and got you that first break? How did you leap frog the competition? What advice would you give someone aspiring to do the same?”

Normally, we have no problem answering these questions, and we have helped many trainers with their businesses. Recently, however, there has been an alarming trend that we’ve both noticed. People seem to think that the “in the trenches” experience is a step they can skip.

AC: Prior to anyone in the field having “heard” of me through products, websites, or magazine articles, I had been financially successful as a trainer full-time for over 10–12 years. I had opened my own fully equipped gym with four full-time staff and saw close to 300 members 2–3 times per week. While I do make money from writing articles, etc., the bulk of my income comes from my gym. The current line of thinking seems to be that training people and getting results is unimportant and not really required to become a well-known trainer. However, it’s the only thing that IS required.

JF: I didn’t leap frog any competition, and I am far from an overnight success. People see my column in Men’s Fitness or see me on the staff at EliteFTS.com, and they wonder what I did to get there and how they can do the same. The people asking me this question have usually trained three people and have been in this field for about a year.

Do you want to know how I became successful, got in the magazines, and got people to pay big money for my advice and buy my products? Do you want the simple formula for becoming a big success in this industry?

Ok, I’ll give it to you. Start training people when you are 19-years-old and going to college. Continue to do so until you’re done with school. Read a book a week for the next 13 years, go to countless seminars, and do internships. Pay anyone you can find for advice; some of it will be good and some of it will be bad. Use every possible method and system of training you can find or invent one for yourself first and your clients second. Train literally hundreds and hundreds of clients for 6–12 hours per day for ten years. Get great results in your own training and with your clients CONSISTENTLY.

When you have done that, you will have achieved your “overnight success.” That’s when you should start writing articles. Alwyn and I were both in the trenches for at least ten years before we ever wrote an article. We both believed that we had no business trying to spread our word to the masses until we had paid our dues and earned that right. For some reason, this is the only field where people don’t seem to follow that same line of thinking. How long do you think Paul Tuttle of Orange County Choppers worked on bikes until he got a TV show? A year or two? Come on now, we all know better than that. How long do you think Chris Garver was tattooing before Miami Ink debuted on TV? Chris was recently quoted as saying, “It seems like anyone can become a tattoo artist these days, but it takes a very long time to become a good one.”

I agree 100 percent. I’ll add that it seems like anyone can become a trainer, strength coach, or internet guru these days, but it takes a very long time to become a good one. In the shop where Chris Garver works, there is an apprentice named Yoshi. Before they will allow Yoshi to tattoo anyone, he must learn from the masters and pay his dues. This is how it should be in our industry. You shouldn’t be able to get in the magazines or on the websites if you haven’t paid your dues. It’s that simple. If you’re going to trust someone with your body, who do you want putting your tattoo on you—Chris Garver or some art school graduate who can talk a great game and even has a whole portfolio of Marvel Comics characters he drew to show you? By the same token, if you trust someone with your body in a different way (i.e. getting training advice from them), who are you going to listen to—someone who has spent the last 15 years in the gym and has amassed over 10,000 hours of working time with clients or the guy who just got into this field a year ago, has received 28 certifications in that time, and can quote everything Mel Siff ever wrote word for word?

Now don’t get us wrong. We are all for helping everyone that we can. There are plenty of up and comers in this industry who will tell you that we’re always willing to answer their questions and do whatever we can to be of assistance. We don’t blame anyone for trying to make a living, and we love to see people succeed. It’s just that if you’re going to write about training people, you actually have to TRAIN PEOPLE!! And not just for a few years. That does not make an expert. Get a successful training business up and running, put in the time and effort, and then you may be ready to speak to the masses.

The problem is that we both came up the hard way, the old-fashioned way I guess. We spent thousands of hours in the trenches and experienced many ups and downs and hard times on our way to the top. It was never easy, and we struggled to make it many times. But, we persevered and earned our spots. The thing that pisses us off sometimes is the fact that nobody wants to do that anymore. People expect to come straight out of college, get in the magazines, write a few books, charge $400 an hour, and become a superstar. It’s a little disrespectful to guys like CJ Murphy, who has busted his ass in the gym for close to 20 years working, learning, and getting unbeatable results. He is so busy that he barely has the time to even turn on the computer, never mind becoming an internet guru. Murphy will never starve because he is doing things the right way and always has. If the magazines decide not to pay him anymore for his very limited time, he’ll be fine. The guru’s who have based their whole career in this industry on writing and selling products but haven’t done time in the trenches will one day be exposed and left with no choice but to find a new career path. Like Ice Cube once said, “You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.”

So, more articles and more products do not necessarily equal more success. Just keep that in mind. Don’t confuse “publicity” with being good at what you do. There are several well-known “trainers” out there. We were making good money actually training people FIRST. THEN, magazines started asking us about training and people asked about products. The articles and products came as a result of our reputation. They didn’t help us get clients, or get good at our craft.

Good trainer first, marketing second.

AC: I mentioned this once to a “business adviser” in the fitness industry. I had commented that Trainer X literally had no clients. Not one. Yet, he was positioning himself as some sort of expert in the field, working harder to get magazine articles published and products released than he was getting clients and actually doing what he talked about.

I thought it was a valuable point, but the “business adviser” disagreed. He said, “I think it’s great. He has skipped all the bullshit and is making some money and a real name for himself.”

But it’s NOT great. It’s deceitful.

What these people really do is journalism, not training. This is fine, but they’re claiming more than just writing skills. The best journalists and magazine editors we know have never said they were trainers.

If training people and mastering your craft is “bullshit,” then I don’t know what this industry will become. There seem to be several guys out there who are excited at having “skipped all the bullshit” (their words). They are now writing articles and selling products without having spent any time “in the trenches.” Why are they proud of this? They should be ashamed of it.

How can you “skip” the “in the trenches” experience? That’s not an option.

It’s also a key indicator or CLUE of their real intentions. We all got into this for the same reasons—because we have a huge passion and want to help people get better. The best way to do this is face to face, and it’s also the best way to make a difference. If you skip this step, then what difference are you really trying to make? Why are you in the coaching business anyway?

We know guys who have little to no real world experience training people, yet pride themselves on how many articles they have had published. Are you kidding me? The guys with no experience are some of the biggest names in the field. You’d recognize their names if we published them.

If you just won the lottery and needed to invest your money, would you go to a kid that is green in the business with zero money of his own? Or would you more likely trust the guy with a few million in the bank who has been helping clients for years? If you knew this, would your decision be based on experience or publicity? What if the new guy had all kinds of nice looking ads in the paper with a daily column? Would this influence your decision? Or would you go with your gut and seek the guy with the money and experience?

It’s almost as nuts as a guy who has never trained any tennis players or no more than a few high school kids EVER writing an article about training tennis players. Crazy, huh? Oh wait…

Honestly, we have more respect for some of the personal trainers who are working long hours at 24-hour fitness facilities and are actually getting people in shape. They are putting food on the table for their families based on their ability to get results, not just their marketing.

Now, we want to be clear that we don’t think “paying your dues” means taking a shit job, or making shit money. But recently it seems that guys think putting your time in, actually getting good, and spending time on developing your skills in the real world is a step that can be missed.

Unfortunately, becoming a high profile trainer has recently been marketed as if it were a separate issue from just being really good.

It’s the equivalent of starting karate and saying, “I need to skip all the bullshit between yellow and blue belt and just tell people that I’m a black belt. If I skip all that, write some articles, and make some products, I’ll be making black belt money!”

The problem is that you can buy the black belt, make a certificate, and “act as if” all you want. But when push comes to shove—and eventually it will—you’re going to be exposed as a white belt. In other words, you’re a liar.

Before you even focus on trying to expand your business, or your profile, make sure that you’re technically really good at what you do. Everyone thinks that they need business development, and this is true, but most of the trainers I’ve met need to get better at training first! You can’t skip this step. Being really skilled at what you do is the only guaranteed way to improve your business. Marketing and business practices are very important but will only take you so far. Great marketing and a great image will be exposed if you can’t back it up by producing real results with real people.

If you’re just a good personal trainer, start educating yourself rapidly. The more you learn, the more you can earn. It’s that simple. And it’s important to understand your limitations. We all have limitations when it comes to experience. For example, we’re not powerlifters. We don’t train powerlifters, and as a result, you will never see us posting in the Q&A on EliteFTS.com in any areas we do not feel comfortable. We’re not the strength experts. That’s why we ended up seeking out Louie Simmons and Dave Tate and their educational material. It’s ok to find someone to help you. We’re not the diet, supplement, or drug experts either. We might not even know as much as you do. But, we definitely know someone who knows more than you, and all we have to do is call him.

We DO have years of experiencing training athletes and regular people. This is what we do, and what we love to do. This is what we know.

If this step is something that people are looking to skip, then they are in the wrong field. So what do you do? Up until now, this has been little more than a rant. Well, that’s not us. Here is our plan of attack to take your career up a notch.

1. Set benchmarks of success that you want to hit. If you work in a club, maybe you want to become the head trainer or the busiest trainer? Perhaps you just want to have a full client load or charge more money?

Maybe you want to go out on your own or open your own place? (Keep in mind that although it seems like a goal, opening your own place or even working for yourself is maybe not the way you want to go. There are some GREAT trainers who have made a name for themselves working for someone else. Martin Rooney and Stephen Holt come to mind.)

If you’re just starting out, seek out a mentor to help you. Offer to assist them for free or even pay them for their time. It will put your experience and education on the fast track to a level far beyond any financial investment you may make.

2. Establish a level of excellence in everything that you do. How’s your exercise technique? How’s your client’s exercise technique? What if you’re not there?

Your client’s exercise form, without your supervision, is a window into your abilities. If you took a vacation and Dave Tate was supervising your AVERAGE clients’ squat workout (not your star client!), would you be proud of their form, or would you have the excuses lined up?

3. Create a replicable system of program design. There has been a backlash against formal program design recently. The attitude has been “I don’t know what I’m doing exactly until I get to the gym.” This is acceptable when it comes from an experienced trainee, but in business, systems are everything. We should be able to write a program exactly as you do, without your input, by merely following your directions. This is the first step into hiring staff or increasing your business.

4. What are the results of your TYPICAL client? We all have the superstars that we can hold up and say “this is our work!” Well, guess what. ALL your clients are your work, even the “athletically challenged.” It’s easy to show us a picture of a pro athlete who you work with or a Men’s Health cover model and take all the credit (even though these guys were pro athletes or models before they even met you). Your reputation is built on improving the average client, getting Johnny off the bench and into the game, getting 30 lbs of fat off of Suzy. Raise the standards of your results across the board.

5. Think about the type of clients you want. You may want to train baseball players exclusively but right now only 10 percent of your clients come from that niche. How can you target more in that market? Maybe it means offering your services to some local kids for free to build your reputation?

And what kind of clients do you have? If you were to classify them as A, B, C, or D, with A being a highly motivated client in your target market, who trains hard, never cancels, is a great ad for your business, and refers other clients, and D being “you need the work to pay your bills,” how would you classify them? (You can use any system of classification that you want but hopefully you get the picture.) Every three months, you should be able to “trim the & fat” and get rid of the bottom tier of clients. If this isn’t the case, then it’s doubtful that your skills are where they need to be.

6. Start studying the ancillaries of your profession. For example, if strength is your forte, then make sure you have a basic understanding of nutrition, mobility, energy system work, flexibility, and injury prevention/rehabilitation. The goal is NOT to become an expert in all of these areas, but to build a basic level of competence so that you can communicate on the topic and establish who the experts are in these areas. You want to look for THE expert and also the LOCAL expert. This helps build a network for you to consult. It has basically been the impetus behind the Elite Fitness advisory team. To be quite honest, until you are good at what you do, no one cares about your ability to write about it or wants to view your new DVD on it!

7. Now it’s time to study business. Magazine writing and product development all hinge on your abilities as a trainer. Getting good is not a step you should want to skip. If you want to get away from training and coaching, then maybe this field is not for you. Coaching is why we all do this. Don’t be in a hurry to get past that stage.

8. If you want to write, STUDY writing. Some of the top journalists in this field, such as Sean Hyson, Adam Campbell, and Lou Schuler, have spoken to more top trainers than anyone else. These guys know a great deal but NEVER pass themselves off as trainers. Don’t be disrespectful to these guys and think you know how to write. Learn your craft.

9. Business book number one has to be The E Myth by Michael Gerber. Your goal should be to read this book ASAP. A good goal is to read a business book a week, alongside studying training.
The second book to read is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It has about 15 chapters. Keep reading this book. Read a chapter a day every day so that you basically read it twice a month.

10. While we’re on the subject of reading, a competent trainer should be reading Entrepreneur magazine, Fortune Small Business, Inc, Fast Company, etc. You should also be reading all the fitness magazines and websites. You can make fun of the fitness magazines all you want, but it’s what your clients are reading and you should know what’s out there. And face it, there’s not a single trainer out there who wouldn’t love to have a column or article in a national magazine. Read the magazines.
(I once read some criticism on an internet forum that said, “Do you think Alwyn Cosgrove will hurt his reputation with his recent book deal and Men’s Fitness column?” Yeah, right. Every trainer on the planet would hate a mainstream book deal and a column in a national magazine because it might hurt their reputation on a forum.)

11. Attend any and all seminars in your area. You’re not that good that you can afford not to attend. We’ve never got dumber from attending any educational event. In fact, the networking alone is worth more than the seminar fee. And don’t limit yourself to only training events. You want your butt in all the business seminars in your area also.

So overall, getting to the next level takes time. There aren’t any steps you can skip or moves you can make to leapfrog the competition. You just need to have a methodical plan to improve your skills and therefore your business, and do everything in your power to execute that plan.

Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Business | 3 Comments

How to Fast Track Your Career In the Fitness Industry

December 11, 2006

Last week I had the great pleasure of visiting my very good friend and colleague, Alwyn Cosgrove. Sometimes when you’re close to someone you forget about their level of expertise or start to overlook it after a while.

For those who don’t know, Alwyn is one of the leaders in the fitness industry and one of the most brilliant people around. I knew that Alwyn was the leading expert in the field when it comes to business coaching for fitness professionals but I really had an awakening to just how good he is this week. I visited his training facility, Results Fitness, for the first time to do staff training for his employees. To say I was impressed with what I saw would be an understatement.

From the moment I walked in I could tell that this was a highly successful, first class operation that was run flawlessly by Alwyn and his amazing wife, Rachel. He has systems in place and a business model that can’t be beat. There was a great family like atmosphere in the gym that was noticeable immediately that would make all new members feel welcome in a hearbeat.

Alwyn and Rachel have done an outstanding job putting together the best staff I have ever seen in any fitness facility I have been to. Cameron, Mike, Erika, Hedge and Craig are an incredible group of people with amazing personalities and an undying passion to learn. I had the opportunity to speak to them and watch them work and interact with each other and I was genuinely impressed. They all have a great future in this business and I wish all of them the best and thank them for allowing me to share some of my experiences with them.

If you work in the fitness industry you owe it to yourself to read Alwyn’s blog on a daily basis and to do a consultation with him. Whatever price you pay for his services will come back to you tenfold. It will be one of the best investments you could possibly make.

One of the reasons for my trip to Cali was to help my brother with his career. He has worked for me for years and is now ready to branch out on his own in the fitness industry. Since advice is always better taken when it comes from an outsider rather than a family member, I asked Alwyn for his help and he was more than willing to oblige. Not only did he oblige but he went the whole nine yards and did more than I could have ever imagined. The few days he spent with Alwyn have done way more for my brother than a year trying to do things on his own would have done.

We both learned a lot during our week with Alwyn, more of which I will share in subsequent posts this week, but the most important thing I can say to all fitness professionals is this:

If you want to advance your career in this industry, you absolutely can’t afford not to do a consultation with Alwyn Cosgrove.

Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Business | Leave a Comment

The Fastest Growing Sport in the Country

November 9, 2006

Did you know that the UFC/ Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the United States? Every time you turn around there is a new MMA school popping up somewhere. People are obsessed with this kind of training. It’s the hottest new craze sweeping the nation.

The popularity of the UFC has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. In the early days you would be hard pressed to find a single soul on the streets who knew Ken Shamrock or Dan Severn. Nowadays, guys like Tito Ortiz and Chuck Lidell are household names. The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV is enormously popular and there is even a new MMA reality show on another network.

Ultimate fighting and mixed martial arts appeals to the bad ass inside all of us. Seeing two warriors go toe to toe, no holds barred really gets the testosterone pumping. I remember several years back when it seemed like no one was watching. Now, nearly everyone I know watches every single pay per view. A good majority of them sit there drinking beer and eating pizza, thinking “I could do this shit.” With a little training I could kick some serious ass in there.

And because of this, many fans have become participants. Every MMA school around is packed on a daily basis.

If you are a strength and conditioning coach, performance enhancement specialist or trainer this has huge implications for you. This is an ENORMOUS market that you are missing out on. Unless you are skilled and experienced in working with combat athletes you are leaving insane amounts of money on the table every year.

There are probably dozens of these types of athletes in your area that need a good strength and conditioning program to take them to the next level in America’s fastest growing sport. Are you the one that can supply it? Or would you rather they give their money to some one else?

Don’t leave money on the table, my friends. Educate yourselves and start making a lot more money today.

For the most cutting edge, up to date information on training combat athletes, click here now.

Written by jasonferruggia · Filed Under Business, Strength & Conditioning | Leave a Comment

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