Categoriesbusiness

The Perfect Business Growth Plan: 6 Keys to Creating a Successful Personal Training Business

A common fallacy in the fitness industry is that if you don’t own a gym you don’t have to worry about “business stuff.”

Another common fallacy are those who open a gym and automatically consider themselves businessmen (or women). The idea being because they open an impressive looking gym filled with all the bells and whistles, that all they have to do is turn on the lights and people will show up.

Copyright: yuryimaging / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Ryan Ketchum chimes in today with an excellent article on the “fitness business” and how to build a successful one at that. I chime in too with some “TG Tidbits.”

His insanely reasonably priced resource The Academy is on sale now with tons of free bonuses. 

Enjoy! 

The Perfect Business Growth Plan

You didn’t go to business school and most the trainers I talk to don’t really have a passion for the business side of things. You’re in it to help people and create an impact.

Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of career options for trainers. You can work at a big box gym, maybe you get lucky and get a job working at a facility that provides you opportunities or you head out on your own.

So it’s no wonder that many great trainers end up frustrated with their business, struggling to get by or worse…

…end up leaving the industry.

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You can’t SOLELY rely on your skills as a trainer to build your business. If you choose to start your own business you’re going to have to learn how to market, sell, and manage your business.

Fortunately there are 5 keys to ending your frustration and finding the success you want.

Step 1: Start With The End In Mind

If you don’t know why you’re doing something, the purpose behind it, it’s nearly impossible to get there.

Having a long term vision for your business helps you create a short term action plan that gives you purpose. When you have purpose you’re more motivated to take action.

Start by describing what you want your business to look like three years from now. Imagine writing an article about your business that’s going to be featured in your local paper or even something like Inc.

Tell the story of your business. How many clients do you have? How many team members? Locations? What are your values? What impact do you have the community?   How are you innovating?

You don’t have to figure out how you’ll get there just yet. But, you need a clear picture of what it looks like when you arrive.

TG Tidbit: I remember when Eric, Pete, and I were drawing up the “plans” for Cressey Sports Performance back in 2007. The three of us huddled up at a table in a local Applebees and tried not to destroy the back of our pants drew up a business plan and mission statement.

I want to say the business plan was “don’t suck” and the mission statement was “make people into deadlifting X-Men,” but of course we were a bit more thorough than that. The point being: this had to be done. How else to draw a line from Point A (gym owner rookies) to Point B (WHOA – people are paying us)?

We had to write down our WHY and then how we were going to achieve it.

HINT: read Start With Why.

Step 2: Zoom In!

Once you’ve got a clear picture of where you want to be and what your business looks like in a few years it’s time to zoom in and focus.

This is what separates the dreamers from the achievers. It’s critical that you establish a 90 day plan.

At a minimum your plan should include:

  • Revenue and profit goals
  • Marketing goals
  • Key projects/initiatives you’re going to complete
  • A simple plan for hitting your marketing and sales goals

You can focus on hitting your goals and completing these projects over the next 90 days. It helps you set priorities and allows you to focus.

Copyright: dogfella / 123RF Stock Photo

If you accomplished 2-3 key projects or initiatives each quarter you’d have made progress in 8-12 areas of your business through the year! That’s huge progress, but you have to take it one quarter at a time.

TG Tidbit: When I opened CORE in 2015 this was something I admittedly struggled with. I still do. I’ve never been one to write down lists and then attack them. However, now that I’m starting a family it’s become more imperative I plan a head and recognize what needs to be done to best set myself and my family up long-term “success.”

Accountant? Check.

Financial Advisor? Check

Signing up for Jason Bourne hand-to-hand combat classes, which has nothing to do with nothing? Check

Finally understanding the power of list making and crossing things off? CHECK.

Step 3: Develop Your Marketing Strategy

If you’re going to grow to six figures and beyond you’ll need a strategy to acquire new clients.

Here’s where a lot of business owners go wrong! They deploy tactics with no consideration of an overall strategy.

Tactics are things like referrals, bring a friend days, FB marketing and joint ventures.They all work, but you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish and have a clear plan of attack before implementing these tactics.

A good business owner will understand their strategy and be great at implementing the right tactical methods to get them to their goals.

To start with your strategy let’s look at what you need to define:

  1. Your Core Offer – what are you building your business around?
  2. Your Ideal Client – who are you building around?
  3. Your Local Market Positioning™ – why they should choose you?

Once you have this the next step is to figure out what you’re trying to accomplish with your marketing. Defining the objectives of a marketing plan will help you create the right tactical plan to get the results you want.

Did you know that only about 3% of customers are ready to buy right now?

That means that for every 100 people who see your ads, fliers, social media posts and hear about you from your clients only 3 are ready to buy from you today.

But, what if you could educate and persuade those others?

Here are some sample objectives you can accomplish:

  • Get people to trust you and your business
  • Build credibility within the community
  • Educate the market why they need to work with us
  • Refer new business
  • Gain respect
  • Overcome price objections
  • Gain influence
  • Build urgency

Once you’ve created at least 3-5 objectives for your marketing plan it’s time to develop it.

Most fit pros get a majority of their leads from word of mouth marketing or referrals. And while you need that in your arsenal of marketing tactics it’s way too passive to grow an easy to run and fun business.

Because you’ll constantly be worried about getting referrals 🙂

If you choose to use an education based marketing approach you’ll be creating content that you can use to educate your target market that simultaneously sells your services.

TG Tidbit: Here’s where I lucked out. I started blogging in 2005-2006, when there weren’t that many people writing fitness blogs. As of today I have 1,875 posts on this site. That’s a metric shit ton1 of content.

Moral of the story: what are you waiting for? Stop procrastinating. WRITE! Building a brand isn’t going to build itself.

On an aside, I also think one of the often overlooked “keys” to marketing is to not look like you’re trying to market. There’s a lot to be said about authenticity and being genuine. 

Determine what the biggest pain points are for your target market (this is why you need an Ideal Client profile) and create articles, videos and workshops covering these topics.
For most many trainers the primary goal for your clients is weight loss. Knowing that, what are the biggest concerns for someone that’s trying to lose weight but hasn’t had success?

Here’s a few ideas for content:

  • How to eat if you want to lose 20lbs without following a strict diet
  • How to get results with 30 minute workouts
  • Eating Habits For a Lean Body

Quick Tip: You can get some really cool ideas from this Headline Generator.

Creating education based marketing on these topics will not only attract the other 97% (remember only 3% are ready to buy now) but it will also position you as the expert.

Once you’ve completed your education based marketing you can offer a solution for the biggest problem that your audience is facing. This is where you try to move a lead into your intro program.

Taking an education based marketing approach allows you to accomplish your primary marketing objectives.

If you’re stuck on tactical methods to get this strategy out to your audience here’s a quick list:

  • Free e-books
  • Workshops
  • Seminars
  • Lunch and Learns
  • Videos
  • Blog Posts
  • Email Marketing
  • Public Speaking
  • Joint Ventures
  • FB Marketing (ads to your videos/workshops/etc)
  • Networking

Plus, when you educate your clients in your marketing they are more likely to refer their friends. And because you’ve educated them they know exactly what to say.

TG Tidbit: I had this conversation with a friend of mine the other day who started working in a commercial gym recently and has been having difficulty finding clients. I told her “why not set aside 30-60 minutes during your floor hours and provide a free “clinic” to members on topics you’re passionate about and will resonate? Topics like “Better Exercises Than Crunches to Build Your Core,” or “Fat Loss Myths,” or maybe provide a squat or Turkish get-up tutorial.

Get yourself in front of more people’s eyes, provide education (value), show them you’re an “expert,” and it’s likely someone interests will be piqued.

Step 4: Create Simple Systems

An easy and fun business doesn’t require you to do every single task. That actually sounds like a hard, lame business to run.

If you’re just starting out there’s going to be a short period where you’ll have to do it all. As long as the goal is to get non-revenue producing tasks off your plate as quickly as you can afford to that’s okay.

You need to create systems for the following:

  • Lead Generation (marketing) Systems
  • Conversion (sales) Systems
  • Training Systems
  • Customer Service Systems
  • Billing Systems
  • Accounting Systems
  • Human Resources Systems
  • Facility Management Systems

When creating your systems make sure you keep the 80/20 rule in mind. Knowing that 20% of your activities will produce 80% of your results will keep you focused on documenting the most important activities in your systems.

The rest can be up to the person completing the system. If you get all your systems to 80% and you hire the right people they can take it the rest of the way.

TG Tidbit: I’ll tell you right now, Pete Dupuis not only handled all the “business stuff” for CSP in the early days, but he also handled the calls, billing, scheduling, payments, and also helped handle cleaning duties (with everyone else).  His life changed dramatically, though, the day we hired an office manager (see Step 5). However that wasn’t until three or four years into our business. The systems he developed prior were what helped him not go insane.

Step 5: Hire the Right People

Now that you’ve got your systems in place it’s time to look at hiring or outsourcing some of your tasks.

The first hires in your business should be a great accountant, a solid bookkeeper and a superstar admin.

Stacie Leary, the “face” of Cressey Sports Performance and who really runs the show…;o)

Unless you love staying up to date with tax code and spending countless hours getting your P&L ready a great accountant will save you tons of time and lots of money.

You want your accountant to do more than end of year tax prep. You want them doing your monthly P&L, cash flow statements and balance sheets. It’s also critical as your grow to have them help with tax planning so you don’t get behind or surprised with a huge tax bill on April 15th.

A bookkeeper will help you manage your expenses and work with your accountant to make sure everything is tracked correctly. My bookkeeper provided me with an accounts receivable and accounts payable report each week and I’d tell them what to pay and what to hold off on for our bills based on due dates and the cash we had available.

Hiring a bookkeeper saved me at least two hours a week doing stuff I hated!

Next you can look at hiring an admin to take on some of the work you’re doing that’s not revenue producing. Training, marketing and sales can stay on your plate for now but everything else if fair game to delegate to an admin.

Hiring trainers is a great idea once you have these other areas covered. That’s a tougher position to fill and requires more training on your part, which is why you do it after the other three.

Having an accountant, bookkeeper and admin frees up your time to train your trainer on your systems.

TG Tidbit: Having an accountant is HUGE. Especially one who’s familiar with the fitness industry and tax code (knowing what you can and cannot write off).

Also, in terms of hiring in general for your business….Hire PEOPLE not resumes.

Step 6: Know Your Numbers

Successful businesses don’t guess. They use data and information to make educated decisions.

That’s why you need to know your numbers. Tracking and reviewing a few numbers in your business will help you identify issues before they become a problem and help you make key decisions.

You need to be tracking the following weekly:

  • Leads
  • New Front End Offer Clients (people on your low barrier to entry offer)
  • New Core Offer Clients (those signed up for your membership)
  • Retention Rate

The following need to be tracked monthly:

  • Operating Margin
  • Autopay to Expense Ratio
  • Closing Rate
  • Growth Rate

If you can get this info you’ll be able to manage the health of your business and make better decisions on a weekly basis.

It’s not always fun setting things up so that you can get these numbers but it’s well worth it once you have it.

Wrap Up

You’ll be able to create a six figure strategy for your business by getting this in place. Don’t worry if you don’t have it all right now, or even if you don’t have any of it.

Start by making one of these a priority to get in place this month and then add a new one each month until they are all in place.

Not only will you be able to grow your business to six or multiple six figures quickly, but your business will be more fun and a lot easier to run.

You can get access to all the resources and training you need to build your own six figure personal training business in The Academy.

Give it a test drive and watch your business grow.

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Categoriesbusiness

Announcing CORE: Remember When I Said I Never Wanted To Own a Gym? Yeah, About That

Some of you may recall a blog I wrote a few months ago titled I’m Not a Businessman, I’m a Business, Man.

36100738 - strong businessman

Copyright: fotogestoeber / 123RF Stock Photo

I spilled my heart into that post and revealed a few personal things. Namely, that after leaving Cressey Sports Performance to pursue other opportunities, I had zero interest in ever running or owning my own gym.

[More to the point: I wanted to iterate to fitness pros that the “end-game” in this industry is not gym ownership, that success should not be dictated by whether or not you own a gym, and that, contrary to popular belief, you can do quite well in this industry – with a lot of hardwork, consistency, and expectation management – without that monkey on your back.]

After watching Pete and Eric in action for over eight years I came to the conclusion that “business” wasn’t my strong suit.2 My strengths weren’t in dealing with spreadsheets, client retention strategies, marketing, ROI, scheduling, and endless phone conversations with parents, athletes, prospective clients, scouts, and Comcast.

Moreover, I wanted no part in worrying about overhead (rent, payroll, equipment replacement, etc) or any other “unexpected” snafus such as CAM expenses, trash removal, and which insurance policies were the best fit for the the business.

You know, Health Insurance, Liability Insurance, In-Case-The Avengers-Show-Up-and-Wreck-Shit-Up-Collateral-Damage Insurance.

When we opened CSP I recognized that my strengths resided in being on the floor, coaching, demonstrating to young athletes that the garbage they listen to today is not hip-hop, and serving as brand ambassador. I’d let Pete and Eric take the reigns on “building” the business.3

Of course, in hindsight, despite my aversion to being a “businessman” in the ten years I’ve been in Boston (eight of which were at CSP) I did end up building a “business,” in that my brand – Tony Gentilcore – became a thing.

Thanks in large part to both Eric and Pete I was able to leverage the CSP brand to facilitate the growth of my own.

Over the years I have seen my website grow in popularity, I’ve become a published author in many of the most reputable fitness publications out there, I’ve been invited to speak in places such as Seattle, LA, DC, Chicago, Sydney, London, and Prague for crying out loud, and ticker tape parades have been held in my honor. <—- Only a slight exaggeration.

Not too shabby for a kid from Groton, NY.

When I left CSP, however, I decided the best fit for me was to sub-lease space. Gym ownership wasn’t for me. I connected with a woman who already had a training studio she was leasing (a mile from my apartment no less) and she was kind enough to allow me to vomit strength and conditioning all over the place and bring in my own equipment to utilize the space. At the end of each month she tallies the number of hours I use it and I pay “rent.”

It’s a beautiful set-up. This way I can still train people throughout the week, yet without the responsibility of running a gym. I show up, I make people awesome, I leave, repeat. I still have ample time to film interpretive dance videos write, take care of my distance coaching clients, and travel for speaking engagements whenever necessary.

It’s the life I’ve been living since October of 2015.

And then this happened a few weeks ago:

Introducing CORE

I now “own” a gym. It’s called CORE.4

Own is in parenthesis because it’s not like I said “f*** it, I’m done with sub-leasing and I’m going to open up a 20,000 sq. ft facility in downtown Boston complete with state-of-the-art equipment, parking, and a juice bar that serves gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO protein shakes with organic unicorn tears.”

That’s not even close to what happened. (Mostly because I don’t have a bazillion dollars).

Circumstances arose where the woman whom I was sub-leasing from had her dream-job come to fruition and she decided not to renew the lease. She then asked if I’d be interested in taking it over? To which I responded…

Oh. Hell. No! in #JenniferLawrence

However, after putting pen to paper, hyperventilating into a paper bag running some numbers, and discussing things over with Lisa, it made sense to maybe give it a whirl.

Besides it would have been a nuisance to try to sell or find storage for all the equipment I had purchased, not to mention attempting to find another space to train people out of sounded about as much fun as a prostate exam.

Plus, did I mention the studio is a mile from my apartment?

It’s a mile from my apartment.

Basically, there was no denying the convenience factor. And thanks to my wife’s support (and the lessons learned observing Eric and Pete all those years) the concept wasn’t too too daunting.

So, long story short: as of June 1st I took over the lease and have been busy in the time since making the space more aesthetically “me.”

  • Having more flooring/turf put in, purchasing some new equipment & storage items, and having a platform made.
  • New paint on the walls.
  • New logo (seen ^^^) and decals to go on the store front.
  • Adding in a smoke machine, black lights, and disco ball.

It’s nothing fancy-pants, but I’m pretty excited and darn proud of the initial result.

If you’re located in or around Boston (or stopping by Boston to visit)…don’t hesitate to reach out. Deadlifts and Tiesto will be waiting…;o)

Excuse me while I go try not to destroy the back of my pants.

Trial Run of Untitled 6-Week Beginner Course Coming Soon.

In the very near future CORE will be offering a 6-week beginner program designed to educate and prime people to become their own best health/fitness advocate.

The Initial Deets

1. The course will be six weeks, meeting 3x per week in a group setting (~2-4 per class), where the objective is to learn and hammer the basics, enhance movement quality, instill a sense of accountability and intent with training, and set the framework to make you more autonomous.

2. There will also be a nutrition and mindset component, where every other weekend the idea is to sit in on presentations and have questions answered from a Registered Dietician as well as an Exercise/Behavior Change Psychologist (Spoiler Alert: the psychologist is Lisa).

3. It will serve as a wonderful opportunity to surround yourself with like-minded people and become a part of a community who’s sole purpose is to help increase your general level of badassery.

4. Only 8-12 spots will be made available to start. And I’m not saying this to suggest a false sense of urgency or as a way to lure people in. I’m not kidding, only 8-12 spots will be made available.

5. Attendance subject to spontaneous rap battles.

I’d love to find out if there’s any interest in this sort of program from people in the Boston area. If so, please contact me via the “Contact” tab at the top of the website and I’d be happy to provide more details.

Categoriesbusiness coaching fitness business

“Real” Fitness Business Talk With Pete Dupuis

This past weekend I attended The Fitness Summit in Kansas City, MO. It was my third year in a row not only attending, but speaking as well. It’s easily one of my favorite events each year.

Not only for the huge honor of being invited to speak, but also for the people. It’s truly more of a “lets get together and hang out5” thing than it is a formal fitness event.

The FItness Summit 2016

Ladies and Gentlemen: your 2016 Fitness Summit speaker panel.

I’ll spare everyone the words of adoration and brown-nosing (you can read that on my Facebook page), but suffice it to say: if you’re a fitness professional or just someone who enjoys watching Bret Contreras and Spencer Nadolsky’s man-crush for one another grow by the second lifting heavy things, than you owe it to yourself to attend.

As we boarded the plane early Thursday morning, Pete Dupuis (Cressey Sports Performance’s business director and fellow presentee) had a brilliant idea. If we were going to be stuck on a plane for 3+ hours, why not produce some blog content?

We decided to jot down a few fitness-business related questions for one another and then do a laptop exchange.

Note to Pete (after the fact): fingers crossed you didn’t click the icon labeled “Tony’s Titillating Tickle Fights” on my desktop.

If so: you’re welcome.

If not: shoot me a PM.

You can check out what I wrote for his website HERE.

And you can check out what Pete had to say below.

Enjoy!

TG – You have an MBA from one of the most prestigious business schools in the US – Babson College – which I know has served you well as an entrepreneur. Yet, I have heard you say several times that “business” is every bit as much about common sense and “feel” as anything else. Explain.

PD – I’ve been asked the question “was your MBA worth it” on more than one occasion in recent weeks.

I should probably start my answer by mentioning that I didn’t go back to school in 2006 with the intention of accumulating the skills necessary to run a profitable fitness facility. In fact, Eric was living and coaching in Connecticut when I enrolled, and I didn’t even know who Tony Gentilcore was at the time.

The idea of owning a fitness business was about as likely as me pursuing my dream job as the starting goalkeeper for the US Men’s National Soccer Team.

I had hit a point in my young career where it was becoming clear that my ceiling as a Marketing Manager in a publicly traded company was considerably lower than what I had in mind for my professional future. The economy (and job market) weren’t exactly thriving in 2007, so I decided pursuing an MBA at that moment in time was what made sense for me.

There were some skills acquired during my undergraduate and graduate level business school courses that have been immensely valuable, and others that have been filed away in the “stuff I’ll never apply” folder in the back of my mind.

One of the most useful learning experiences I covered would be the Introduction to the Microsoft Office Suite course that delved into the minutia of each application. I’d imagine that for a couple hundred bucks, anyone could enroll in a similar course at a local community college and suddenly become a rock star at writing macros in Excel.

As you’ve mentioned, I like to say that 99% of operating a profitable and efficient fitness facility is application of common sense. Don’t spend more than you collect, and you’re in business for as long as you can tolerate the entrepreneurial grind.

Lastly, and arguably most importantly, I’d encourage all fitness professionals to continuously embrace and develop the art of networking. If there’s one thing you fine-tune during an MBA program, it is the skill of professional small talk.

TG – One of the things that CSP has done very well, and prides itself on, is allowing the opportunity or “window” for the staff and coaches to use the CSP brand to build their own brand.

Can you explain why it behooves other small (fitness) businesses to follow suite? Personally, I think it’s a huge mistake when I hear stories of gyms telling their coaches/trainers that they can’t start their own website or generate other revenue streams.

PD – As it turns out, the answer to this question makes up just about 50% of my presentation content for this weekend’s event, titled “Empowering Your Fitness Team.” Here’s a look at the three big takeaways:

For starters, when your employees have the autonomy to explore the development of their own brand and identity within this industry, they are more likely to coach as the most authentic version of themselves on the training floor of your gym. I want my employees to influence the personality of my brand, and not the other way around.

The second reason that I encourage my team to pursue personal brand development is that it allows employees to increase earning potential through writing opportunities, speaking engagements, etc.

If I can assist an employee in increasing earning potential without it impacting the bottom line of my business, I’m going to do it.

Lastly, CSP coaches who successfully establish their own business within our business are more likely to think entrepreneurially as it relates to the growth and development of your gym. They also carry a little more credibility in the eyes of a new client who happens to remember having seen their name in the pages of an issue of Men’s Health or in a guest post on Eric Cressey’s website.

TG – How much does CSP miss Tony’s Techno Thursdays?

PD – About a 6 on a 100-point scale.

TG – I know it’s generic to ask, but it’s still a relevant question for any person contemplating opening their own facility: what are the TOP 3 things to consider/ask one’s self on the topic?

PD – These are the 3 questions I’d ask myself if considering starting a gym from scratch today:

Q1. Do I have something unique to offer?

Is my training model going to introduce something new to the existing set of gym options in my immediate area, or am I simply recreating the offerings of my future competition? If I’m not unique, I’m selling a commodity product. Commodity products compete on price, and that’s a horrible place to be as a gym owner.

Q2. Have I identified “my ten” and run it by them? I recently stumbled upon a fantastic blog post from Seth Godin titled “First, Ten.”

Godin explains that the best way to determine whether an idea or project is worthy of further pursuit is to run it by your ten most trusted confidants, and see if they bother to tell someone else about it.

If they decide to spread your message organically, you’ve got something solid on your hands.

Otherwise, you toss it in the trash and move on to the next endeavor. So, the question becomes: Did “your ten” bother telling friends you were thinking about opening a gym?

Q3. Have I fully come to terms with the realities of owning my own business?

TG – Can you elaborate on why you feel offering FREE consultations is not a wise choice for fitness professionals?

PD – Absolutely. Check this piece out.

TG – Trainers/coaches/gym owners think that getting their names in national publications is the key to success, when in fact it’s LOCAL exposure that pays the bills. What are some hard hitting strategies you’d suggest to anyone looking to increase both their local exposure and lead generation?

I’m sad to say that I didn’t embrace Facebook advertising until just recently. It is quickly becoming an efficient and affordable tool for us. I can’t think of a more effective way to allocate our advertising dollars in a targeted manner, so investing in Facebook ads would be my first piece of advice to those looking to spend toward the pursuit of lead generation.

We’ve managed to minimize our marketing investment over the years by instead focusing on helping our brand to grow organically within our general area.

This happens quickly when you demonstrate how much you care first, and how much you know later.

We attend baseball games. We show up to watch our clients play a gig with their garage band. We make ourselves visible in the community outside of our facility. There’s a whole big world of potential clients outside the walls of your little fitness playground, and sometimes you need to leave your comfort zone and have actual conversations with people.

CategoriesUncategorized

Business Q and A with TG at 30,000 Feet

Pete Dupuis and I flew down to Kansas City this morning for this weekend’s The Fitness Summit. We had a 3+ hour flight, and to help pass the time we had a tickle fight exchanged lap tops and asked one another business-related questions.

Pete just posted MY half of the party over his blog like five minutes ago.

You should check it out.

HERE

CategoriesMotivational rant

I’m Not a Businessman. I’m a Business, Man.

Any hip-hop junkie will recognize the title of today’s post.

It’s a quote from Jay-Z.

I’m in no way putting myself in the same company as one of rap’s biggest historic moguls, but I felt the title was appropriate given the context of what I wanted to write about today.

It’s something I rarely broach on this website, yet it’s an integral component to just about every fitness professional’s day to day life.

Surprisingly, I’m not referring to energy drinks. Or protein.

Let’s Talk a Little Fitness Business Mmmkay?

It’s been a little over two months since I left Cressey Sports Performance to pursue other opportunities and my own “thing” in Boston.

NOTE: I put quotations around “thing” not as some ubiquitous attempt to insinuate I have no plan. I do! But, well, just keep reading……

Since leaving CSP things have been great. Life has had a nice pace to it.

I’ve been able to keep up with writing and running this website while also building whatever it is I’m building here in Boston. I.e., a small army of deadlifting psychopaths…;o)

As it happened, maybe a week or two ago, Pete and I were texting back and forth and he mentioned that it would be interesting if I spoke to what it’s been like for me during this transitional phase in my life. What have been some of the hardships (if any?) and lessons I’ve learned in starting my own “thing.”

Sorry, there’s that word again.

The “Thing”

At the CSP staff Christmas Party this past weekend, Mike Reinold and I were chatting about how hard and impossible it must feel for upcoming fitness professionals to make a name for themselves.

On one side of the fence the internet has made everything – and everyone – more accessible. Fitness celebrities and can be constructed in a matter of months.

On the other side, however, the market is so saturated with Instagram feeds, Facebook likes, websites, blogs, and hashtags that everything – and everyone – is seemingly invisible.

There’s too much noise.

When we opened CSP back in the summer of 2007, I had already been working as a trainer for five years and writing on my own website and sites like T-Nation for a little over a year (my first article on T-Nation was published in 2006).

I joined Facebook not long after with little comprehension of A) knowing what the hell it was and B) definitely not knowing what it would become. Nonetheless I crushed LOLCats on it.

Likewise, I joined Twitter in 2010. Again, not really understanding what the point was. All I knew was that all the cool kids were doing it.

The important thing to consider, though – and this is where many upcoming fitness pros miss the boat – is that I didn’t initially use any of those platforms to build my brand or market myself or use them to build some semblance of “fake experience.”

I spent years training and coaching people before any of that shit entered the equation or even mattered.

Too, I spent over a year writing to the 10 people who read my blog – for free – before I got my first break on T-Nation.

Long story short: I did the work. I worked the long hours, I trained hundreds and hundreds of people, got up early/stayed up late, and I paid my dues. The work is what helped to mold me as a professional. Not the race to accumulate friends and arbitrary “likes” and “shares”

But I also recognize I lucked out to a degree.

I was an early adopter of all those social media thingamabobbers (particularly blogging). Today I’d feel super intimidated if I were to start a blog.

Another thing I lucked out with was having Eric and Pete in my corner….and I feel they would corroborate the sentiment: me being in their corner as well.

Eric: There is only one Eric Cressey. The man is a machine and has the work ethic of a rabid rhinoceros. I don’t even know that means, but suffice it to say that it’s hard to know someone for a decade, live with them for two years, start a business, and not have some of their traits and habits rub off on you.

Pete: Part of what I feel made CSP so successful to begin with was because Pete assumed the role of “business guy” from the start. He was the one responsible for scheduling, invoicing, taking phone calls, ordering equipment, negotiating the lease, and all the other dirty work many people can’t fathom or appreciate.

This allowed Eric and I to do what we do best…..coach!

And argue over the music.

All of This To Say….

I have NO interest in opening or owning my own facility.6

I’ve spent over a decade building my own brand and a “business,” but I am in no way, shape, or form a businessman.

I think one of the biggest fallacies in fitness is thinking that the end-all-be-all destination is to be a gym owner.

Ask ten young trainers/coaches what their end-goal is and I’m willing to bet 80-90% of them will raise their hand and say “to watch Tony Gentilcore train shirtless to own my own facility someday.”

It’s a respectable goal to have; albeit a lofty one.

Strength coach, Clifton Harski, has this to say on the matter (and I tend to agree):

“I would wager that over half of gym owners did it due to their own EGO and an initial goal they had when they started – which they never really thought to reevaluate over time. It seems like the next logical step for someone. However, it’s not – quite often.”

Moreover, I feel there’s an “expectation management” gap that exists when it comes to gym ownership. The expectation is that someone decides to open a gym, they buy a bunch of fancy equipment, and they think that by turning on the lights that a drove of people are just going to show up and hand over their money.

Realistically, someone will come up with the idea of opening up their own facility, buy a bunch of fancy equipment, make sure the electricity is turned on (always an important step), and then are quick to realize it’s not as much of a cake walk as they had originally planned.

(NOTE: there’s nothing I can say with regards to fitness business that Pete hasn’t discussed over on his website. I’d highly encourage you to check it out (linked to above) and thank me later)

This is what I like to call the “Commercial Gym Trainer Conundrum.”

Typically what happens is that someone who’s been working at a commercial gym for all of two weeks thinks they’re getting screwed by the man. I mean, they’re the one doing all the work, right? Yet, they’re only getting 1/3 of the cost of a training session, and the gym is just pocketing the rest. Like a bunch of a-holes.

Um, no.

The “man” is paying your health insurance, taking care of utilities, equipment upkeep and replacement, and ensuring the rent/lease is paid each month. And this doesn’t even take into account paying the salaries of any support staff – janitorial, front desk, etc – in addition to any CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges that may exist (snow removal, landscaping, building upkeep).

ALL of these will be YOUR problem the second you open up your own facility. In addition to things like lead generation, scheduling, invoicing, bookkeeping, to add on top of your coaching and programming responsibilities (which can vary depending your business model).

Oh, and the case of phantom explosive diarrhea in the bathroom…guess who’s cleaning that up?

Dean Somerset wrote an excellent article on why being a commercial gym trainer isn’t such a bad thing.

I don’t know about you, but none of that sounds fun to me. I’d rather jump into a shark’s mouth. Which is why I had to sit down and figure out what it is I wanted to do for the next 5-10 years of my life and what was going to be right fit.

I had to have a hard conversation with myself and come to the realization that I AM NOT A BUSINESSMAN.

Don’t get me wrong, I run a business – coaching, writing, this website, speaking engagements – but I don’t consider myself a businessman in the sense of having the desire to own and run a facility.

So, To Conclude My Rambling

1.  I’m sub-leasing in Boston at a space called Run Strong Studio. I have no overhead other than paying “rent” for the time I use, and paying for my own liability insurance (via the NSCA).

It’s the right fit for ME.

2. I did purchase around $5000 of my own equipment to get started (which I can write off for tax purposes), but I made sure to give myself a HARD AUDIT as to what I’d really need.

This is a mistake many fitness professionals make. Their eyes are often bigger than their wallets and they end up purchasing equipment that’s 1) cool and only they’ll use or 2) takes up too much space.

Think of if this way: Power rack = something everyone will use. Big, fancy leg press = not so much.

3. And speaking of taxes: GET A GOOD ACCOUNTANT!!! I’ve had the same one for five years and he’s more of less my BFF.

4. My goals at this stage in my career is to coach 20 or so hours per week, which still allows me plenty of time to keep up my writing responsibilities and allow for windows of travel for workshops.

[It’s funny: many trainers/coaches want the same scenario that I am doing right now, but fail to understand I spent 13 years coaching people and writing 1,800 blog posts and countless articles to get there.]

Could I coach more if I wanted? Yes, and, honestly, I could make more money if I did so. However, I love the freedom and autonomy I have now.

I mean, if I want to go to an afternoon matinee or, I don’t know, practice my nunchuck skills, I can.

Autonomy is sweet.

I remember reading something somewhere (<— how’s that for a citation) that many people feel happier and more fulfilled being their own boss….despite making less money.

I have to say, I concur.

5. You’re only as good as your systems.

Knowing my limitations, and after asking several colleagues, I signed up for a service called Front Desk, and it’s been spectacular.

Any peace of mind I can give myself in terms of management of money and “systemizing” things is all good in my book.

My eight years at CSP helped to prepare me (and dampen) the inevitable failures I’ll come across on my own. However, I’m a firm believer that you learn more in failure than you ever do in success.

And in the end, that’s some solid business advice.

CategoriesStuff to Read While You're Pretending to Work

Stuff To Read While You’re Pretending To Work: 10/30/15

I kid you not, as I type these words I am sitting in my apartment waiting for the delivery guys from Sleepy’s to drop off the new mattress Lisa and I bought the other night.

Not that any of you reading are in any way interested in mine and Lisa’s sleep quality7, but she’s had the same mattress for about a decade (and we’ve been together for six years), so it was time to upgrade.

We walked to the local Sleepy’s down the street from our apartment and spent a good two hours test driving a few mattresses8 and narrowed it down to the one that’s supposed to be arriving between 8-12PM today (or when hell freezes over, whichever comes first).

We’re totally going to be asleep at like 6 tonight. Can’t wait!

A few things before I get to this week’s list of stuff to read:

Last weekend marked my official “start date” for my new solo venture.9 I’m sub-leasing space from Run Strong Studio in Brookline, MA (Boston) and training people out of there. Here’s a little flavor for what it looks like:

A little flavor for what the new studio space looks like. Meeting clients for first time this AM. Hope they like 90s hip hop.

A video posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

Rebecca – the woman who owns the studio – has been awesome. She’s a doctor who trains people on the side (mostly runners) in a rehab setting. When we met for the first time in person I saw she had a copy of Gray Cook’s Movement on her desk and she also dropped a few Mike Boyle and PRI references. I knew right away she was eating at the cool kids table.

Since our first meeting to now she’s allowed me to “vomit” strength and conditioning and bring in a bunch of equipment into her space. The result is what you see above.

It’s nothing fancy pants, but it’s perfect for what I’m looking to do: coach people, write awesome programs, and make them into badasses.

The first week has gone well and I’ve already had several people perform their initial assessment and are primed to get after it. If you’re in Boston and want to check things out for yourself you can go HERE.

ALSO

As a reminder: Dean Somerset and I will be in Los Angeles (Anaheim) at CrossFit 714 for our Complete Shoulder and Hip Workshop the weekend of November 14th.

 

That’s in two weeks, yo. For more information you can go HERE.

[Cue obligatory “this is why Tony & Dean are the awesome” testimonial here]

“Being cynical of the workshop frenzy in our industry has made me extremely picky with how I spend my time and money with my educational efforts. Tony and Dean presented our group with simple and concise information that will be easy to implement into my business’ daily operations.

The assessments and corrective strategies that I learned this weekend will be very useful in any size setting which translates to me being able to spend more time growing my business while delivering an effective product. If you value your time and the quality of your work, this is a must-attend event.”

5 Pitfalls (and Fixes!) for the Barbell Back Squat – Jennifer Blake (via JenSinkler.com)

We like to get overly technical when it comes to the big lifts, often to the detriment of looking past other commonly made mistakes.

This was an excellent watch from Jennifer and I recommend you watch it too.

Scientists Just Found That Red Meat Causes Cancer…Or Did They? – Kamal Patel (Examine.com)

It’s articles like this as to why I consider Examine.com one of my GO TO resources for un-biased nutrition and supplementation information.

They rock.

Last week (another) major story broke reminding everyone that red-meat is going to kill us all. It happens every year, it’s nothing new, really, it’s not, and the mainstream media latches onto it and apocalizes (<– Yep, I just made up a word) it.

RUN EVERYONE. BACON IS GOING TO KILL YOU. AHHHHH……….

Deep breaths, relax, and read this.

We Waited 7 Years to Open a 2nd Location…Here’s Why – Pete Dupuis

Cressey Sports Performance business director, Pete Dupuis, explains why we waited seven years before pulling the trigger and opening a second location.

CategoriesMotivational

Reflecting On Eight Years of Cressey Sports Performance

“Hey dude, wanna open up a gym?”

I had come home from a full day of training clients at SportsClub/LA (a former fancy pants high-end health & fitness club that was bought out by Equinox not too long ago) when Eric peeked his head through the doorway, plate of egg whites in hand, and said those seven words to me.

That’s more or less how Cressey Sports Performance came to exist.

That was roughly eight – eight! – years ago to this day. The two of us, along with Pete Dupuis10, decided to jump head first into gym entrepreneurship. The odds were against us to say the least.

Not that we weren’t confident in our abilities and work ethic, but if you were a betting man (or woman), and based off the somber statistics (8 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first 18 months of operation. A whopping 80% crash and burn.), there was more likelihood [cue Dr. Evil voice] Unicorns would fly out of an erupting volcano attacking us with freakin laser beams from their freakin heads than there would have been any chance in us succeeding.

I mean

1. We were (back then) two 25 year olds and one 30 year old with no track record of business ownership.

2. We were (back then) two 25 year olds and one 30 year old with no track record of business ownership.

3. We were (back then) two 25 year olds and one 30 year old with no track record of business ownership.

4. I was balding. Not that that had anything to do with anything, but I was sad.

The fact I’m writing this post eight years later speaks to the actual outcome.

We Survived. We Made It. We Beat the Odds

 

Make no mistake: the ride hasn’t been all butterfly kisses and rainbows. All three of us can recall very long hours, 6-7 day work weeks, sleep deprivation, limited time with significant others, subsisting on nothing but protein shakes, and any number of growing pains tied with opening a new gym (purchasing & assembling equipment, construction, lease negotiation, lead generation, marketing, payroll, cleaning, not to mention assessments, program writing, coaching, and arguing over what’s being played on the stereo).

Despite it all, we’ve managed to not only not suck…but thrive in the eight years we’ve been in operation.

I’m not going to sit here and blow sunshine up our own asses, but it’s pretty satisfying knowing the three of us have been able to build what started as a 2200 square foot gym located inside an indoor batting cage facility with broken windows and a bathroom which required a tetanus shot to use…

…to a 15,000+ square foot flagship facility that’s often regarded as one of the premier “go to” training facilities in North America (if not the world).

Not too shabby for a place located in little ol’ Hudson, MA.

And yes, I could easily sit here and wax poetic on all the things we did right. Work ethic, having a client roster right out of the gate (because we were both already sorta-kinda established in the area, between Eric and myself we had a list of 40+ clients who were willing to train with us on Day #1), starting small and only building out/expanding when it was appropriate (and fit our needs), only hiring when it was within our means, starting an established internship program, and understanding that by identifying an under serviced demographic (in our case, baseball players) it was more than okay to target – and eventually own – a niche market.

All of it played a role.

I’d also be remiss not to mention how fortunate we’ve been in how are coaching staff has grown throughout the years. Our first hire was Brian St. Pierre who has gone on to a very successful career with Precision Nutrition.

Right now we have eight coaches who, on top of being profound ambassadors of the CSP brand, have also gone on to build their own successful brands within the fitness industry. Something we adamantly encourage. Everyday I feel fortunate that I get to work in a place that’s not only super fun, but challenges me to get better on a consistent basis.

But more importantly, it’s about the people we have the privilege of working with on a day-to-day basis

While I still have to sometimes pinch myself at the shear number of professional athletes I get to interact with – my 13 year old self would flip out and punch my older self in the face in disbelief if he knew how many guys I’ve met whose baseball cards I collected back in the day – it’s everyone who makes CSP such a special place to work and train.

Gerry, a 60+ year old who first came to us after having major heart surgery 4-5 years ago, who’s now hitting the weights 3x per week without fail. And busting my balls every step (and Prowler push) along the way.

Emma, a 20 year old who originally started coming to CSP because her father, Clint, did, who’s now training for her third powerlifting competition. And can do this:

 

Or any number of our Strength Campers – male/female, varying ability levels, varying ages, all shapes and sizes – who come in and get after it week in and week out.

Everyone – athletes and general pop clients combined – buy into the #CSPFamily mindset, and it’s amazing and a testament to the culture we’ve worked so hard to establish, cultivate, and maintain.

And lastly, just to put things into perspective.

Pete and I were having a conversation the other day reflecting on the whole “eight year thing.” Everything I mentioned above (and the dozens, if not hundreds, of things I failed to touch on) could fall under the “why we made it” umbrella.

Pete brought up a good point, though.

Vision vs. Actuality

I find that many coaches, trainers, and people who love the gym (and will end up stabbing their boss in the neck if they have to spend one more day behind a computer) who entertain the idea of starting their own gym, tend to battle a large gap between their vision and what is manageable and realistic.

Pete never had the vision of turning CSP into a 10,000 square foot mecca. The thought never entered his head. Rather, his goal, the thing he day dreamed about, was to have his own office. A place where he could shut his door and not worry about signing people in, answering the phone, and listen to me and Eric bicker about why Tiesto should or shouldn’t be played more often on the gym floor.

He eventually got his office. In year FIVE of our business.

Thank you everyone for your support and patronage throughout the years. And thank you Lisa – my wife – who has always been my biggest cheerleader.11

CategoriesUncategorized

6 Tips On Becoming a Better Fitness Professional

I’ve been toying around with writing a post providing tips and insight for new and upcoming trainers/coaches on how to become a better fitness professional for a while now, as I feel the ‘new class’ coming in often has an overwhelming sense of entitlement.

Not all of them, of course.  But a fair share.

For some, they feel that just because they’ve spent the last four years in school and completed a few internships, they’re entitled to a killer job that has them training professional athletes eight hours a day and provides them with full benefits and a Lamborghini.  Hell, throw in some stock options, too!

Sorry, hate to break it to you, it doesn’t quite work that way.

For others, they feel that all they need to do is find the perfect 15,000 sq. foot location, sign a lease, and the people will just magically appear readily handing over their money.

Again, you’re more likely to ride a unicorn to work this morning than that actually happening.

For a select few, however, they “get it,” and understand that it often takes YEARS of incessant studying, honing their craft, attending seminars and workshops, developing interpersonal relationships, building professional networks, and putting in some VERY long hours writing programs, scheduling, building a client list, and otherwise building their business (whether they’re a one-person show or part of a group or team of trainers/coaches) to become successful.

As luck would have it, Pat Rigsby dropped it like it’s hot last week, and shared some of his thoughts on the topic at his website:  www.fitbusinessinsider.com.

HINT:  if you’re a fitness professional and NOT subscribed to this site, you’re really missing out on a ton of FREE information that’s helped not only myself and countless others.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I figured I’d re-post Pat’s thoughts here, and then expound of them a bit with my own musings and diatribes.

Enjoy!

6 Tips On Becoming a Better Fitness Professional

If you want to become the best fitness professionals and run the best business in your area, here’s what you need to do:

1. Study Your Craft.

You need to be studying continually.  Becoming the best is a dynamic thing as every day you need to keep improving to either climb to the top or stay there.  Study everything you can that will assist you in getting your clients better results.

TG:  We had a staff in-service yesterday where myself and Chris Howard took all six of our interns and had them name a muscle that attached to the scapulae, as well as name an attachment point (distal or proximal), as well as name an action (as it relates to the shoulder).

Upon looking at some of their faces when put on the spot, you would think we asked them to swallow the red pill

I’m not gonna lie and say that I passed with flying colors (I held my own), but it was definitely a testament on how important it is to take it upon yourself to get better.

I’ve worked with people in the past who hadn’t picked up a book in years.  YEARS!!!  I can remember one instance where a male trainer I worked with a few years ago said to me during a casual conversation about attending a seminar, “I’m not going. I’ve learned all I need to know.”

He was a douche.

2. Practice What You Learn.

There are a bunch of internet jockeys out there that read enough that you’d think they could become PhDs, but reading or watching isn’t enough.  You need to put what you learn into action.

TG:  It seems that anyone with a digital camera and a Youtube channel can mold themselves into a fitness celebrity nowadays.  In reality, for many, it’s nothing more than a facade of BS.

One of the best ways to get better is to actually take what you learn, and apply it to a real…..live……person.  Unfortunately, as much as I love the internet, it seems that anyone who’s read Zatisiorky (and has 10,000 posts on some random forum) thinks they know what they’re talking about.

I’ve witnessed firsthand trainers who had all the book smarts in the world and could give Doogie Howser a run for his money, but when it came to actually coaching and applying what they learned to a real person, they were a walking ball of fail.

3. Become An Implementer.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a marketing strategy or a cue for an exercise – learning it does no good if you’re not implementing.  Once you implement something, you can track the outcome and determine if you want to keep doing it or discard it.  But it starts with implementation.

TG:  Pigging back on my point above, what good is it to increase your knowledge base if you’re not going to use it?  For some reason, there’s often a disconnect between what we read and how we apply it.

I was talking with another trainer last week who was in town for a week observing, and he mentioned how many of the coaches at the facility where he works are complacent. He reiterated to me that they were all very bright guys, but that they rarely ever implemented what they read or watched into their programming.

Using an example:  he stated how they work with a lot of basketball players who, for the most part, are notorious for having poor t-spine mobility.

He suggested implementing the side lying windmill to help.

Nothing.  Nada.  No one listened.  The worst part:  many of the coaches KNOW that t-spine mobility is crucial for shoulder health (they all read the likes of Mike Robertson, Eric Cressey, Mike Boyle, Gray Cook, and maybe even myself), yet, they do nothing to implement what they learn.

I don’t get it.

4. Commit.

Being the best requires making a commitment – it doesn’t happen by chance.  You have to be willing to do the things others won’t. You have to be willing to study not just training, but business too. You have to be willing to find solutions to the things holding you back rather than settling for less. You have to decide to be better than everyone else and do what it takes to get there.

TG:  This is something I wish I would have adapted sooner rather than later.  Early in my career, I read nothing but t-nation, and various other websites/books/DVDs on training and nutrition. Basically if it didn’t help me attain knowledge to make people more badass, I didn’t read it.

Then, I slowly started to realize that I wasn’t really making a lot of money despite getting all of my clients results. I had NO idea how to sell myself.  Worse, unlike the paperboy from Better Off Dead (arguably the best movie of the 80s), I HATED asking people for money.  

It wasn’t until I started reading more books on personal development, business, behavioral economics, and the like, that things started to click.

Likewise, the sooner you realize that this industry is not just a 9-5 endeavor, the better of you’ll be. 

HINT:  Get up earlier.

5. Get Help.

No one gets to the top on their own. No one.  Mentors, Mastermind Groups, Business Partners, Strategic Alliances – there is no faster way to get to where you want to be than to get help.

TG:  I owe much of my success as a trainer and coach to people like Eric Cressey, Dr. John Berardi, Dan John, Mike Roberson, Mike Boyle, Optimus Prime, Bret Contreras, and numerous other people whom I know I’m forgetting (sorry!).

Make it a point to visit other facilities and watch other coaches.  Ask for help!   Better yet, help people yourself.

I’ve always been under the mindset that I’m NEVER that big of a deal that I can’t answer people’s emails. Weirdly enough, I’m always surprised when, after taking the time to respond to their email, people email me back just to say ‘thank you’ for responding.

I took it upon myself to reach out to random people early in my career – to the annoyance of a few – but more often than not, they WANTED to help.  So don’t be intimidated to ask.

6. Attend Live Events.

They provide 5 incredibly valuable things: A learning opportunity, Motivation from being around successful, dedicated peers and leaders, networking opportunities with people who can make you
better and understand where you’re at and a chance to get away from your business and work on it rather than in it.

TG:  Listen to the man…..attend live events.  It’s that simple.

Do those 6 things and you’ll set yourself apart from the crowd, guaranteed. I can promise you that most of your competition will never do more than 1 or 2 of those things and only a few will do as many as 3-4.  Commit to doing all six and you’ll quickly be on the path to being the best.

CategoriesUncategorized

Stuff to Read While You’re Pretending to Work: 5/10/2011

Rubber Hitting the Road:  When “Talking” About Opening Your Own Facility Is Not Enough – John Izzo

This was a fantastic article by John Izzo which hits the nail on the head on so many fronts, I don’t even know where to begin.  Not a week goes by where either Eric or myself don’t recieve an email (or phone call) from someone asking business advice.

Full Disclosure:  while Eric is a machine and a brilliant coach and business partner; and while he’s the Cressey behind Cressey Performance; and it’s his name/brand that people undoubtedly recognize; it’s our business guy, Pete Dupuis, who’s the mastermind behind much of our success as a business.  He’s the one who’s taking phone calls from parents (trust me, at times, not fun) and coaches, scheduling clients, tracking sessions, keeping track of expenses, paying the bills, ordering equipment, negotiating with the landlord, and most important of all, writing my paychecks!

I say this because while John hits on many. many valuable points in his article, one point that I feel is crucial – especially if you’re considering entrepreneurship in this industry – is hiring a business guy.  It will make all the difference in the world, and will allow you to focus on what your strengths are.  Which, for most, is assessing, writing programs, having big biceps, and coaching.

5 Most Overrated Exercises – Nick Tumminello

Did I or did I not tell you that livestrong.com was stepping up their game and getting more quality trainers/coaches  to write for their site?  Here, my buddy Nick Tumminello, gives the low-down on a handful of popular exercises that aren’t quite as badass as they may first appear.

Why Kids Need Recess And Exercise – Denene Millner

The fact that this is even debatable blows my mind.  Back when I was in elementary school, some of my fondest memories are thinking back to recess – playing kickball, burnball, and triple-dog daring my best friend, Joe, to try to kiss (on the lips!) Susie behind the swings.

Needless to say, the highlight of the day was heading outside for those 30-40 minutes and doing whatever it is we felt like doing – whether it was throwing rocks at squirrels or using our lunch trays to slide down the hill in the middle of winter.

Today, however, kida are lucky to get 15 minutes – and that’s stretching it.  Instead, schools are under pressure to increase tests scores, and as a result, recess is often an afterthought – despite research showing otherwise that giving kids a break IMPROVES their capacity to learn.  And, lest we forget the ever growing obesity and diabetes epidemic amongst our youth.

Listen, I’m not blaming schools, and I understand that their first priority is to educate our kids.  But to deprive them of a simple need – the need to freakin MOVE – is a travesty in my opinion and something that’s a HUGE mistake.