The Disney PT Experience

Do you give your clients the full Disney Experience? No, I don’t mean wearing silly costumes!

What I mean is this…

Everyone one at Disney is made to feel special – like they are the most welcomed guest. At restaurants they always exceed expectations for waiting times and nothing is too much trouble. Every day is a special day, a celebration.

I’ve seen behind the scenes I’ve studied their operations as both a customer and student and I think we could do worse than to learn from Disney. So here is my ‘Disney Client Charter’ that I think we should all follow in our PT work and the world may even be a better place if we followed it always in all walks of life!

1. Focus on your client – they are the most important thing in your life and theirs in each and every session and contact. Make them feel special.

2. Exceed expectations – always be just a few minutes (too early is poor service too) early and never rush clients off at the end of sessions (think carefully when you plan back to back clients).

3. Smile – oh, yes we often forget this one but it goes a long way and not just face to face but if you smile before you pick up the phone it makes a difference to your voice and attitude.

4. End on a high – congratulate your client on all their hard work and send them off with a smile on their face, that way they’ll want to come back!

So if you want a ‘Happy Ever After ending’ – follow the Disney charter!

Ok here goes - does this Ping thing work?!!

Gym'll fix it?

As ever I'm restless near the end of another accountancy training term - did I mention that this is my other job? I teach people to pass their accounting exams - I'd not say 'to be accoutants' because they can only be that with practise!

So, I've been looking at ways to increase my PT income and I have 2 new lines under development;

A weekly boxercise circuits class in a local community hall (6 week trial to begin with)
Buying the equipment and client list of a local small leasehold gym

The boxercise class I should have done sooner but life gets in the way - the gym came up a little earlier than I would have expected purely by chance........

I was browsing estate agent sites on the web looking for property to buy or rent to set up a PT studio. I have been informed that the usage type I need to be allowed to do this is difficult to get agreed by the local council (anywhere in the UK). As I mithered about I saw an ad for a gym and of course I had to look!

Now, I'm a free weights and mixed gym girl at heart and the gym I'm looking at is not. But looking at financial projections I think I can make a go of this if I can add more members, some classes at quiet times and also before and after the usual hours, I can even add some PT work for members and non-members for me and others.

It will take some work - I'm not afraid of hard work. However Mr BristolPT (the hubby) is a bit more risk averse and I'm working hard just selling the idea to him! Oh, well - I plan to work there for a day soon to get a real feel for it, wish me luck!

Head for the hills!

A Little blog to help you weekend mountain bikers out there!

Mountain biking – Get fit and get kit!

I went out biking with my hubby at the weekend – due to the harsh wind we decided to head for the protective cover of the woods and mountain biking instead of being blown all over busy highways on our road bikes.

Now I’ve not ridden my mountain bike since a triathlon last year and I’ve not been doing any specific training either! So, this was gonna hurt but at least it helps me to share with you exactly which muscles are needed (via the feedback of a bit of pain and soreness) and to identifies what kit and which little upgrades could help reduce some of the worst excesses when you go out for a ride.

I’m making no mention of the bike here – this is very much down to your riding style, terrain ridden, budget, size, weight, in fact more variables than you might think. For help and advice here contact a local bike shop or two and try before you buy. If you can wait and you can get to Birmingham (new venue in 2011) the Cycle Show in October is a great place to see many manufacturers in place www.cycleshow.co.uk. I’ve also not quoted prices as there are so many choices and suppliers that all but the serious kit options can be found at most price points.

Basic kit

There are 3 MUST have things on my bike kit list (apart from the bike), 4 for the girls, they are;

A helmet – quite frankly you’d be mad to ride without one. Make sure your helmet fits right – it should stay on with just the head strap the chin strap is merely an extra to stop it from flying off if you fly through the air. Make sure it covers your forehead too, I’ve seen lots of skidlids placed jauntily on the back of people’s heads, this will not protect you properly in a crash or fall. It MUST also comply with safety standards – look at the labels.

Cycling shorts – you can spend lots of money on these but you don’t have to. The best alternative for infrequent bikers is probably short liners – they are padded and worn under any trousers or shorts you may already have. A little note about what to wear under them – ahem.......most comfortable if worn commando, i.e. next to skin.

Gloves – It’s going to be bumpy so a pair of gloves will help absorb some of the shock especially a pair with pads or gel inserts. They will also reduce callouses on your hands from gripping the bars and in my case stop my hands getting torn by the trees I push past or hit.

Item 4 for the ladies – wear a good supportive sports bra (level 3 or above), the lumps and bumps on the trail are going to be challenging enough without them causing you more pain and damage.

Good investments

These are not MUSTs but are still good items to have to make your ride a more pleasant experience;

A good saddle – mens and womens saddles should be different as we are a very different shape so make sure you have the right type for you first and if are still suffering from numbness or pain go talk to your cycle shop about sizes and types. However, don’t expect not to have any soreness unless you ride very frequently.

Better handle bar grips – these can absorb some of the trail vibrations and reduce that juddering feeling.

Stiff soled shoes – Although cycling shoes and clipless pedals would be the best thing to cycle in the next best is to make sure that your shoes do not allow your toes to flex. If you wear soft soled trainers you toes can bend down around your pedals leading to cramp, numbness and pain. Adventure racing shoes can be also great choice as these can also be used for walking and running.

Bigger volume tyres – (e.g. upgrade 1.9 to 2.1) will be higher and wider to spread the shock and weight and if ridden a little below full pressure, a little trial and error here may be needed based your wheels and the feel of your ride. Too little pressure will result in a pinch flat or a deformed wheel. Tyres can make a surprisingly large difference to your riding enjoyment.

Serious kit

If you’re planning on serious mountain biking and riding a lot or doing some really technical courses you might also need;

Carbon fibre handle bars – again these will absorb the shock but are very expense and need care when fitting.

Protective padding/guards – available for shins, knees, elbows, back, anywhere that you might damage in a serious fall in fact.

Simple adjustments

Riding position and wrist position if wrong can ruin an otherwise good ride, make sure your bike is set up for your leg length and height to begin with and that your wrists are not at an angle when reaching for the brakes.

After riding for a while you can try adjusting saddle height, handle bar height, distance of saddle from handlebars to suit your exact requirements and moving break levers for easier access.

Having got you bike and yourself all kitted out and set up to your liking it’s now off to the woods/hills/mountains/trails. You’re going to use a lot of muscles, here are some of the main ones and some ideas or how to get them ready for the ride;

Core – it may sounds strange to you that I’m starting here but without good core you can’t even sit on the bike. Luckily though few of us are so bad that we can’t at least sit and pedal. However, on the trails steering is less about the handlebars and more about core ability and body position.

My key core exercises would be BICYLE (of course!) opposite knee to elbow, ensuring a big twist a the waist and the straight leg to be as low and parallel to the floor. FROGGIES (or V-crunches) with arms out to the sides. CAT STRETCH to ensure the spine is also flexible and strong. PLANK could also be used to simulate periods of static body position on downhill sections

For the arms and upper body I recommend PRESS-UPS, these can be full or half press-ups, preferably at your own handlebar width, TRICEP PRESS with a dumbbell, LAT PULL DOWNS to engage shoulders and use upper back.

Last but by no means least you also need to use your legs – a lot! After my session my quads were burning so I will be doing plenty of SQUATS with dumbbells and also some static WALL SQUATS. I won’t be leaving out my calves either with some DROPS and RAISES on the stairs at home to stretch and strengthen these muscles.

A few stressful days

The last few have been so. I have been waiting for my London Marathon pack for weeks now and was getting concerned - posted on www.fetcheveryone.com to see if everyone else has had theirs and they have. Looked on VLM website and found a number to call but it was too late in the evening to call then so called on Sat am - of course they only work Mon to Fri, hence the stressful weekend!

On Monday when I called at 9:10 a slightly bored sounding but just as informative lady asked for my name and  DOB and informed me that I had not paid for the race so was not in it. Cue shocked me. I asked if there was anything I could do - git an unexpected answer and an email address to try.

Sent slightly begging email and waited, and waited, 'til just after 6pm as I was on the way out to a PT client, hubby swung into action finding a cheque book, envelope and printing the email whilst I was out so that I could put it all together and send special delivery today to reach tomorrow at latest.

I can't believe my luck - second chances for a big city race do not often occur. I suspect that they may have many deferrals as many may want to run in 2012 but I could be wrong. Currently just waiting to here that they have got the cheque and then I will really relax.

Too stressed to do one more long run - but many people are already tapering so not so far behind afterall. I have never been so ready, it would be a shame not to run this year and a massive disappointment too. Running a little with a client tonight that will help me relax I hope!

Are your clients like mints?

No not spearmint of peppermint but like mint sweets – hard or soft, let me explain:

Soft mints

These are the clients that need a lot of encouragement and positive re-enforcement. They give in at the slightest problem. They ‘can’t possibly do another rep..’, they simply seem to give up long before you know/think they should.

This type of client can be really frustrating to you as you know they are capable of more just how do you get them to believe and do it? Mostly with gentle positive encouragement, if you push too hard or take a ‘military circuits’ approach very few of the soft clients will react well.

A few well placed ‘well done’, ‘looking good’, that’s 3 kgs more than last session’ will help them to try a little bit more and see the improvements that they want far more than ‘COME ON!’. This approach will simply reinforce their belief that it’s just too hard.

The ‘softies’ need to be protected and supported or they will crumble and when they do that’s you out of a job. As ‘walking adverts’ for your business they may need a lot more time to be that in the physical sense but every word they say about you to people in their network will be positive and that’s going to help you gain more clients (of any type) in the long run.

Hard mints

You may love the client who always rises to the challenge of one more rep or 2 more kgs. But they can harm you business and themselves just as easily. These guys will work thorugh niggles and pain and seee giving in to it as a weakness.

Tke care with them, if it turns out to be more than just a little niggle or DOMS from the last session they could end up injured. Then you’re either out of a job for a few weeks, permanently or looking for ways to reworks sessions that may not be as effective as your original plan. Worse could be to come too, if the client believes that you are in some way to blame then you could be looking at a law suit – check you’re insured!

If you suspect that a client may be in pain and it’s more than just a little bit of extra effort to get in a final rep then take the decision to reduce the reps or weight for them. It is far better to have the believing they can do more and uninjured than the reverse.

More mint-spiration

It takes can take some time to figure out which mint your client is more like as few of us are completely at one end of any spectrum. Watch, listen, see how they react. Make sure each clients session is that – their session, one size does not fit all.

Suck it (the mint!!!) and see!

Coping with loss (of clients)

Loss of clients, loss of earning that is.

So you decided to be a PT, you gave up the day job and took the plunge into a new role. At first it was hard to get clients then all of a sudden your list was nicely populated and you felt good about yourself and your future.

Then disaster strikes..aaagghhh! A client leaves – what do you do?

1. Don’t despair/panic

The world is not going to end and there are other clients out there just waiting to hear about you and train with you

2. Ask the client for their reasons (if you can)

Make sure that this does not come over as aggressive in any way but ask them so that you can make any changes to your sessions/business in the future if needed. Remember that a client who wants to train for an event or lose weight for one may not always continue with you afterwards, although a lot do.

3. Make the change

As identified above if it is warranted.

4. Move on

Don’t wallow in self pity even if the loss was down to something you did or didn’t do and should have. Move on, you can’t find any new clients if you just lie in bed feeling low.

5. Be ready

It is inevitable that clients will come and go. Be ready. Make sure that you are marketing your self all of the time, not just when you realise that you may be losing/have lost a client.

When I lost my first client I felt physically sick – it felt like a really hard blow, but I asked why and found it was not my fault but a financial issue and the client hoped to be back in the future when it was sorted out. (These are hard economic times folks and we are a luxury for most of the population. Those of us who can survive this climate and be ready for the upturn will not only survive but prosper.)

Anyway, must go and do some more marketing – bye for now!

Can I have a "p" please Bob?! *

Well several p’s actually, or maybe as they all start with the word plan it’s only one. Ok, less of this nonsense lets get a ‘blockbuster’ of a session ready…..

Planning is the key to delighting clients every time – from the first meeting ‘til the last session and lets hope that these two are long way apart.

Plan your time

Meetings and sessions

If, like me, you go out to meet clients plan carefully to ensure that you arrive a few minutes early, leaving time to park, get lost (or is it just me?), get cash for meters etc. Always plan sessions with enough time between them to allow you to get from one to the next without too much stress. For you guys in the gym this is still an issue when you think about the next point in particular.

Food/Rest/Life

Leave time in your schedule for these. If you make yourself ill you can’t look after your clients and you can’t be a positive role model if you fail to eat and rest well. Don’t forget your family and friends either – you may love your job but most of us work to live a life we choose so get the balance right early on.

Plan your route

For client meetings and sessions ensure that you know where you are going. Get a map or get a SatNav but don’t get too lost and turn up late! This also applies to knowing your way around your gym and also to getting to any training or CPD sessions on time.

Plan your sessions

Don’t go in with out some sort of plan based on the clients needs and goals. Unless you are naturally able to “shoot from the hip” the client will be able to tell that you are making it up and you go and you may not even ensure that you cover all of the areas needed. Your plan does not have to be in massive detail and should not be completely rigid (see injuries in “Plan for the worst”) but should allow you to address the clients needs in full in the time available.

Plan for the worst

What would you do if?......

You get lost and your map does not help and your SatNav breaks down. It can’t happen you say, wrong! My SatNav has a sense of humour – it has switched off even when fully charged once I’ve gone past the area that my map covers. Fortunately I left plenty of time to find the location (after the first time it caught me out) and I made sure that I had a contact number for the client so that I could warn them. If you are going to call whilst on the way please ensure that you have a car kit for your phone or stop at a safe place before dialling.

Your client gets injured?.....

If they can and still want to train the injured areas change your sessions to suit. Make sure that it is still safe and effective to do as though as they won’t thank you if they get another injury.

Your client cancels?.....

You should make sure that before clients begin training with you that they know any rules with regard to cancellations. Be flexible with clients who due to work or family emergencies have to cancel outside the rules every once in a while – they will love you for it. Regular offenders however can damage your business and earning potential – you must be polite but reiterate the rules and reasons for them.

Plan your finances

Look at your commitments and outgoings, how much do you have to make to breakeven? How many clients does that equate to? Now ensure that you book about 25-30% more sessions than that to allow for cancellations and contingencies.

Proper planning and preparation ensure perfect performance (to change a military saying to one little more positive.)! Enjoy!

*For the youngsters amongst you (and any non-UK-TV watchers) the reference is to a school kids quiz show where questions were denoted by letters on a board which once answered could be used to create a path across the games board. Bob Holness was the host and quiz master.

New Year, New me!

Well OK so it wasn't a new calendar year, in fact it wasn't even a new financial year, it was actually half way through a teaching year at my office job when I finally finished my PT qualification after dragging it out for a bit. Well I was a bit too busy teaching students to go off and learn something new myself afterall!


Been PT'ing (I know it's not a real word but hey!) for a little while now and got some lovely clients most of which are heading towards their goals at greater or lesser speeds. So I thought now was the time to share some ideas with other PT's, or budding PT's or anyone who needs to kill a little time reading blogs.


I want to talk first about what I think makes a good PT (not just as a PT but as a long term client of a good one too) this will take a few 'episodes' to be honest so lets just tackle a simple idea in this first blog:


Likeability
Rule one for me is to be likeable - everyone wants to be liked right? It's in most of our natures. It's also good for business. 


When a client meets me if they don't like me they will not sign up for sessions - simple but true. (Less important from trainer to client where understanding needs is key but if you detest someone you can't understand them fully).


Be likeable folks! Be interested in your clients - not nosey but show some interest, remember their pets/partners/children's name at least. Be friendly but not overly so. SMILE and mean it!