All of the standard policies are in there.  It should be simple for you to grab a copy of this, and remove our name and logo and insert your own.  It’s 100% customizable with your own info.  Policies include:

Once again, it can take a very long time to compile this information for your business when you have better things you’d like to be doing.  Save yourself a LOT of time and effort and pick up our copy to customize for your business.  I’m making our intellectual property available so your life can be easier.  It takes a lot to run a business and it’s almost more than any one person can do alone while still delivering a good service.  You don’t want to let things like this slide.

So pick up a copy now to download and save for your personal training business.  While you’re at it, combine it with our other personal trainer employee and contractor forms to have a complete system ready to go.

If you haven’t heard of it, Linked In is a professional networking site.  It’s more than just an online rolodex or resume which is what most people think it is.  There are many other uses and applications you can use to network and attract more potential clients. Take a look at what I’ve done with my profile as an example of all you can do.  I have:

• My Twitter account linked to my Linked In status.
• Virtually my entire resume including specialties.
• Over 800+ connections.
• My websites and blogs listed.
• I have almost 30 recommendations. I use it to easily ask for testimonials and then you can use them anywhere. Plus they are displayed on my profile.
• I’m a member of about 50 discussion groups 3 of which I created. You can participate in those and network with your peers and other business leaders quite easily.
• I have this blog fed right into my profile page so when I post it shows up there automatically.
• And I used Google Docs to display a MS powerpoint sales presentation that anyone can view.

It leaves the possibility for me through my network to potentially contact as many as 8 million people.

I’ve used my profile or all of the things listed in the article.  And there are many other things you can do and it’s all free.  If you wanted to get in contact with another business leader in a big company, but don’t want to get stopped at the door, you could probably do it through your network on Linked In using the “get introduced” function.  By the way, if you’re not connected to me, log in and go ahead and connect.  If you need my email to connect, it’s info@spartatraining.com.

Read the article here and start to get more leads for your personal training business.  If you don’t necessarily like going to networking events in person, this can offer you a decent alternative.

In addition to using great free tools like this, be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

It’s already going to be hard for us just because of the nature of what we are doing.  We need to do everything we can to raise that standard and attract the right customers and employees.

Take it seriously, make your clients, prospects, and employees take it seriously too.  Stand up and project a professional image.  Build your brand.  Look nice. Look like you really know what you are doing compared to the unprofessional people out there.  Don’t settle for the same old crap from clients and employees.

Here are a few business tools that can help you do that.

Chris Lutz- Master Trainer

Personal Trainer Business Tools and Forms

Here’s what’s included for you:

The Hyper Intensity Training Manual
Instructional Videos
Live Action Training Videos
Workout Log Sheets
Free Bonus #1: Special Report-”5 Advanced Strength Training Techniques Used In The NFL”
Free Bonus #2: 30 days FREE unlimited access to “High Intensity University”
Anti-Procrastination Bonus: “The H.I.T. All-Star Roundtable, Volume I” MP3 Download
**NOTE** THIS BONUS ENDS AT MIDNIGHT EST FRIDAY JUNE 24TH**

I’ve used them myself and this was what I had to say:

“Lately, I’ve had great results building my chest, shoulders, and traps especially using advanced HIT techniques like static holds and strongest range reps outlined in Dave’s book. It’s done a lot for my confidence as a man having larger neck and shoulders. I’ve increased them so much, I could no longer button the top button on my dress shirts anymore. I need new clothes, but I’m happy because my muscles have noticeably grown and I’ve been training HIT style for over a decade!! These techniques work!!”

Click Here! to get your copy.

All of this for only $19.95

We were happy to contribute some of the videos to Dave’s product. Remember, if you buy through us, you’ll get an extra bonus from S.P.A.R.T.A. Simply email us your receipt and we’ll send you a copy of our own ebook: 17 Advanced High Intensity Training Techniques

So even if you’ve been training for years, these techniques can re-ignite your progress and in a visible noticeable way in your body.

We’re really excited this product is finally out there, we hope you are too. And remember, it’s only $39! AND, if you’re not happy with it in any way, there is a 60 Day money back guarantee so there’s no risk.

Click Here! to get your copy now.

Be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

Lead capture, marketing and promoting yourself and your services…these are all core business practices for you. The eFitnessTracker system helps with that. Imagine having a tool such as a Fitness Analysis to send people to and be able to capture them as a lead. Or just a Contact Us page for someone to contact you and inquire more about what you have to offer. Do you think that could lead to extra sales for you? Check out some demos:

- Fitness Analysis – http://demo2.efitnesstracker.com/?goto=Fitness-Analysis (Modern Layout)
- Contact Us – http://demo1.efitnesstracker.com/?goto=Contact (Classic Layout)

Now what about easily accepting payments online? Setting up recurring monthly payments? Promoting upcoming events such as bootcamps, group classes, etc. and accepting registrations AND payments for those events? Check out some demos:

- Products & Services – http://demo2.efitnesstracker.com/?goto=Products (Modern Layout)
- Events Calendar – http://demo1.efitnesstracker.com/?goto=Events-Calendar (Classic Layout)
- Event Registration – http://demo2.efitnesstracker.com/?goto=Event-Registration (Modern Layout)

You can sign up to get your own site where you can sign up for a no risk free month of full service on a Business Account with PROMO code 1MONTHFREE from the following page (you can cancel anytime with no additional charges): http://www.efitnesstracker.com/home/Subscribe-Trainer.asp
You have options for different color schemes and logo options. Or if you have your own logo/graphics and/or color scheme, this can be used also for setup of your site and is an option to select on sign up.

If you’d like to receive more ways you can multiply your income as a personal trainer, fill in your info below.

Be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

One of the ways you can add to your personal training income is to create new programs. One of the most popular lately is boot camps. And we’re going to save you a whole heck of a lot of trouble. We’re selling our boot camp programming to you. It’ll be an entire 3 months worth of multiple time per week classes. Don’t waste time creating everything by yourself. Just buy a copy of our done for you programming for 3 whole months. That’s enough to run multiple camps in that time. There is programming specifically for men’s (coed) and women’s classes.

This is a good cheap way for you to add more programming options, train more people in less time, and expand your income even further with little cost to you. Spring is nearly upon us and now is the perfect time to get ready for planning your programming to include your new boot camp option.

For a short time, we’re making it even more affordable. We’re breaking the payment up into 2. It’s only $48.50 spread a month apart.

We’re throwing in a couple of bonuses too. A flyer for you to help market your new program as well as your client intake forms to easily sign up new prospects. The forms include health history and liability waiver. Forms are completely customizable to your business.

Are you ready to start your boot camp this Spring?

Be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

The Skyndex is probably the best body fat caliper on the market. This is the one with 2 formulas programmed into it. It has the Jackson-Pollock formula which is good and reasonably accurate for everyday use and the Durnin formula if you ever plan to need it for research or a clinical setting. Or if you just want to be a little more accurate. It’s easy to use. You set the dial to a number that corresponds to a range of the subject’s age. Then take 3 or 4 sites to measure, entering each one as you go by pressing the thumb button. When you are done, it automatically goes through the formula for you and give you the body fat percentage on the digital display. It’s the best one I’ve used to date. Everybody claims hydrostatic weighing is the gold standard, but you have to measure tidal volume. If you don’t, it’s not any more accurate than calipers. Plus, hydrostatic weighing requires extra time, a wet area, etc. It’s a hassle. Why not just get reasonably close to the same results in a much more practical product? Comes with its’ own case and power supply.

This is the Lange skinfold caliper. It’s a little more cost effective option, but is not digital. It is very compact and comes in a small case that you could easily store in your gym bag or something. This is the second best body fat caliper I have ever used. It takes a little more time because it isn’t digital, but it is VERY well constructed and will last you a long time. It comes with a calibration block to ensure accuracy. It’s accurate down to within 1 millimeter.

Garmin make some awesome stuff. This is the Forerunner. It’s a GPS with a heart rate monitor and stop watch mounted on the wrist. It’s pretty cool and you can use it to compete with previous workouts for yourself or use it in the gym to time client’s sets and/or workouts.

The PT/Pro Bench is great. For you in home trainers, it’s an excellent portable option for a professional adjustable bench. It’s got a carrying handle and strap for you to easily maneuver from location to location. It’s pretty versatile for just about any type of training you want to do. At 23 pounds, it’s heavy duty too so you don’t have to worry about it falling apart on you.

The Bowflex SelecTech Dumbbells. These could also be portable if you want to lug them around. It’ll replace a whole rack of them. Between the PT/Pro Bench and these, you could really put together a good program for someone. They are fully adjustable and should satisfy the needs of most clients going from 5-52.5 lbs. each. This link even has many of the routines and exercises you can do listed right out for you.

Bodylastics are a great complement to the bench and the SelecTech dumbbells. Very lightweight and versatile with door anchor and ankle straps. You can load up multiple bands at a time with the carabiner clip totalling 127 pounds per side.

The TRX is hot right now and it was specifically invented to use where equipment is lacking. That’s one of the hardest things to address is pulling exercises for the upper back (latissimus) when there is little equipment around. Not everyone can do a pull up. That’s one of the benefits of the TRX is that you can use your body weight (or only a fraction of it) in a way that will allow you to address those previously neglected areas. This one is a cool military green color. It’s VERY well made and should last you a very long time.

This is the online training system that we use. It can allow you to get at previously unreachable markets and disperse your fitness knowledge to people over distance. We private label our site through their enterprise account and our own domain name so it looks like the clients are signing up right through us. All you need is a paypal account. Like I said, this is good for people at distance or a good downsell to someone that cannot afford your services one on one. It has a library of fitness routines, a workout wizard, and nutrition tracking. You can set your own pricing and customize the users experience as much as you want.

If you have your own location, a good scale is a must. A physician’s balance beam model is the way to go as you can calibrate it easier and they are more reliable. You can also measure height with this model.

Myotape is a great tool to use in place of a regular measuring tape. You can measure up to sixty inches and the push button tape retraction makes it a little easier than fumbling with a cumbersome normal tape measure.

Robic is one of the best companies out there for timers. Here they have a clipboard with a ruler/straight edge down the side as well as a stopwatch/calculator combo. You’re covering all of your bases with this one as you can time client activities and calculate anthropometric measurements as clients come in during the day.

This is Sportline’s digital tally counter. I don’t know about you, but the traditional way of counting reps gets in the way of instructing the client mid set. With this tool, you can click off the reps as the client completes them while you continuously instruct them. Then you can look at the total countable reps you clicked off to record after the set is complete. It frees your mind to focus more on what you should be…instructing the client, not counting to 10. You can obtain a lot of data while fully instructing a client. You can time the whole workout, time each set with the clipboard, and track whole reps with the tally counter. All of those numbers should give you a really good idea of what kind of progress your clients are making.

Another testing device is the flex tester sit and reach. Probably the most used test to determine flexibility improvements. Obtain readings in metric or standard. It is well made and accurate with the height of the box at the subject’s hands.

Here is another portable option if you’d like to have clients do a chin up or pull up. This bar has multiple different hand grips and won’t cause damage to the door frame. It can also be used as an anchor point for a band or other suspension device like the TRX.

So there you have it. 14 awesome tools you can implement in your personal training business if you don’t already have them.

Be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

You’ll need a plan first and foremost. A marketing plan.

*I would pre-sell before you open for a discount or charter membership or something. That way you can hit the ground running at opening.

*Get a few people in for very low fee and make it absolutely mandatory that they give you referrals to maintain that rate.

*Get out and network. Here’s how.

*Post flyers, business cards, and postcards every where.

*Introduce yourself to businesses with similar clientele and try to joint venture.

*Get your friends and family involved as paying clients first.

*Advertise on craigslist all the time.

*Give a free consultation or session.

*Have a NICHE. Like stay at home moms or something. Something very specific and something you can go deep with.

*Give out a referral letter or gift cards in exchange for free sessions to your clients you do have.

*Build an email list and send out a newsletter to stay front of mind. Include a referral link or ask them to send it on to their friends.

*Write prospecting scripts (or buy them here) and get on the phone to drum up new business form your existing contacts. You can call people you already know to see who they know that could benefit from a program like yours’ and see if you can give them a call. It’s not a cold call, you’re tracking down warm leads.

*Have a dynamic website.

*Get a wordpress blog and contribute at least weekly.

*Write a free eBook or report to give to new contacts in exchange for their email address to add to your list.

*Put on a workshop or class for your niche. Make sure you market it appropriately with enough lead time. You’ll probably need a press release, email blasts sent out, a letter or paper tickets, more email blasts, phone calls, and finally, more email blasts to remind everyone to show up. Have them RSVP.

*Buy cheap ads on Facebook and/or Google.

That should hold you for a while.

Be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against education or anything as I am the President of a personal trainer association. However, many of these efforts seem a little backwards.

“If I go back to school and get a degree, I’ll make more money.”

“If I get this license to be a dietician, I’ll make more money.”

“Maybe if I have 6 more certifications, I’ll stand out and get more clients.”

Now, not all of this is about making more money. Everybody wants to wait until they are seemingly “qualified” or have this degree, or that certification to start. I’m just not convinced having in some cases, a multiple year plan and taking on thousands of dollars in debt is a good move to get into the fitness industry especially in a down economy with no guarantees that you’ll be successful.

In fact, that’s what’s great about this industry is that you can literally do whatever you want. I’m not against certification, you do need to specialize in your niche, but this might be the opposite of what you want to do to get into the industry. You definitely don’t need 17 certifications. If you want to pursue CEC’s just for the learning experience, then more power to you. I worked my way through school as a personal trainer to obtain my degree in exercise science. During that time, I obtained 3 more certifications while studying for my classes. One of my specialty certifications I studied and worked on the job for 2 years before attempting it because it was so difficult. At least in my head. Truthfully, I could have done it after a couple months. All financed from my CURRENT personal training job at the time. Even smarter was getting my employer to pay for my last specialty certification.

Why wait? The longer you wait, the more money you are paying out for education and not bringing in by actually training. This is called opportunity cost. It cost you because you’re missing the opportunity. Why not hit the ground running? There’s really not a lot standing in your way. There is very little barrier to entry in this industry. The longer you plan to wait and the more debt you pile on, the more unlikely it is that you’ll succeed when you do start if you ever get the nerve to start at all.

The point is that you don’t necessarily need all of that. I would never encourage someone not to go to college, but don’t think that it is a guaranteed route to your success in the fitness industry. It might be a $100,000 liability that you have to overcome as soon as you graduate. You will still need to get a job or start your business. Unless you majored in business, a degree in exercise science, or a personal trainer certification won’t give you any of those skills. You’ll need to get those skills too which may have extra costs associated with them after graduation or certification. That’s one of the major drawbacks to most personal trainer associations; business is an afterthought. All the education in the world won’t help unless you can convert that into paying clients. It won’t just happen automatically especially if you have no clients to start with. It just doesn’t work like that. Just because you build it, does not mean they will come.

Instead, don’t wait, jump in (but have a good plan). Don’t put things off for months or years, take action now. There’s no replacement for experience in the trenches. Use your position as a trainer as the vehicle that will allow you to get a degree or license. Don’t put yourself in debt with the hope that it will automatically translate into a good job or a successful personal training business. You’ve got to make the most of what you’ve got. Get in, learn some things, get some experience and see if it’s something you feel like committing to for the long term before you commit to things like tuition to start your training business.

Be sure to check back or subscribe to S.P.A.R.T.A.’s business of personal training blog for more updates and personal trainer business tools and services.

I was a trainer for a long time and there are certain things where the formula just has to be figured out and it will allow you to blow it up. I think that’s what we’ve done here.

At present time of writing this (March, 2010), a couple of years ago, no personal trainer or personal training association would have ever thought to have suggested that clients workout for shorter amounts of time.  But, that’s exactly the case I’m going to make here.  The best part is that it won’t skimp on anything and might even increase their results and it will certainly double the time that you have available to take on paying clients or give yourself more free time.

Classically, the typical personal training session lasts 1 hour.  I’m here to tell you that you can convert all of your 1 hour clients into half hour sessions so that you can now see 2 people in an hour and double your income.  I have been instructing 1 on 1 personal training workouts for over 11 years and have NEVER performed an hour long session.  There are numerous ways that you can perform a quality 1 on 1 session in half the time.  It just so happens that we use the high intensity training (HIT) approach which has always been a duration of around 30 minutes.  Basically, we perform full body, single set programs, to voluntary muscular fatigue on each exercise, and move QUICKLY between each exercise to maximize cardiovascular involvement too.  If you’d like to learn more about this philosophy, you can obtain a specialty certification from us for $449.  Or if you join our association (Only $33/month) to get our newsletter and join our social network, you’ll be able to purchase the certification discounted to $119.

However, that’s not the only way you can do it.  The problem is that there is so much wasted time in a normal hour long workout.  My good friend, Dr. Paul Kennedy, told a story one time where he timed a workout he saw a trainer doing in the gym with 2 stopwatches.  1 to record the total workout time and the other to record only when work was being done.  At the end, the total time was 57minutes and the total working time was about 3 minutes.  That’s because there’s only a few seconds of super fast reps for any given set followed by 3-5 minutes of rest or talking.  Let’s do the math.  If you did 10 sets, with only 3 minutes rest in between, that’s 30 minutes of non-working time right there.  If you rest 5 minutes and talk, walk around, get a drink, etc., that’s already 50 minutes wasted.  A HIT workout is continuous activity for nearly the entire 30 minutes with a high heart rate.  There might be 5 minutes left over to talk about calorie control or do a head to toe stretching routine with 20 second stretches for each area.

About 97% of the research shows that you can perform a quality set to voluntary muscular fatigue and that is just as effective as multiple sets.  If you have been doing 3 set programs, you can eliminate 2/3 of the work without compromising effectiveness.  That’s absolutely true and I’ve been doing it for over a decade.  You can attend to more than one component of your client’s fitness in one program.  Who doesn’t like to kill 2 or 3 birds with one stone?  If you still prefer to use multiple sets, you can use advanced techniques like breakdowns, some sort of superset arrangement, etc.  Or just cut out some of the talking and move on.  Clients also don’t need you to babysit them and stand next to them on a treadmill if you choose to prescribe additional cardio.  A simple direction and you’re off to something else that is bringing you revenue.  You could also have them come in 15 minutes early to do cardio and continue for an additional 15 minutes after resistance training with you.  But, they will only pay for the 30 minutes they are with you.  I’m not saying they will pay you less, on the contrary, you will actually be giving them more work and maybe more productive work in less time.  You’ve found a new method that will possibly increase effectiveness while making it more efficient too.

Prospective clients will associate time with value.  That’s a mistake on their part and it’s your job to educate them that it is far less about quantity and more about quality.  It can be difficult to convert existing clients.  You’ll have to paint it in a new light.  Tell them that you’ve come up with something better.  If they are really against it, you don’t have to do it, but you can make a deal with them.  If they don’t get equal or better results in less time and commitment for them, you can go back to hour long sessions.  Of course, it will be just as effective assuming the exercise intensity is appropriate.

Get out of the mindset that you are trading your time for dollars.  To an extent, you are, but in this case, you charge PER SESSION.  The session will be equally effective if not better because there is more work in shorter time.  What do we call that?  Intensity.  Every trainer knows recent research is showing shorter duration, higher intensity workouts can be more effective and slash exercise time.  Why waste a client’s time?  They can get back to work sooner and be more productive to make more money.  Everyone is benefitting from this arrangement.

If you can convert all of your 1 hour clients to half hour sessions and not glue yourself to the side of a treadmill while they walk on it, you just DOUBLED YOUR CAPACITY.  You can now take on twice as many clients at the same PER SESSION rate.  Remember, you charge per session, not per hour.  Your clients pay for results, not wasted time and your time is valuable.  If you’re accustomed to making an average market price of $60/hour in exchange for your services, just imagine doubling that.  You now make (AND ARE WORTH) $120/hour.  Why would you leave half of your income on the table by not doing this?  Now, take it a step further.  Most people don’t have a lot of cash lying around in a down economy so lower cost small group training is an option.  You can still get $60 in 30 minutes, but get $30 from 2 people that you see at the same time.  It’s a little less personal attention, but it’s half the cost and equal for you.  A better bet would be to find a group of 3.  Let’s say 3 stay at home moms that would like to workout together.  You can charge each $25 for a total of $75 in a half hour.  Let’s say you are really good and you get 2 small groups of 3 back to back and now you just made $150 in one hour.  Does charging $60 per hour still seem like something you should keep doing?  Nearly everybody wants more money.  Why not save your clients money and time and earn more (a LOT MORE) yourself in the process?

If you do a FREE hour long consultation with a client when they first come in, make sure to inform them in your marketing copy and in person that what they are getting is at least a $120 value for FREE.

Start this immediately with all of your new prospects that come in and convert all of your existing clients to this format.  A good approach would be to make it multi step.  Start by sending a letter or email informing them of this with the language that I used above.  Talk to them in person about it and let them know you’ll be moving to that model in the next week and you GUARANTEE that it’ll be equally or more effective as before.  Get the specialty HIT CERTIFICATION to have the new credentials to back up your assertions.  Be sure to join S.P.A.R.T.A. (Only $33/month) to get the certification discount as well as the other services that will help you retain more of your clients.

If you have questions about how to implement this new arrangement or about the specialty HIT CERTIFICATION, feel free to send us an email.