Jennifer Mcdade, Author at Triib

Virtual Client Engagement with Challenges

Jennifer Mcdade — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:41:15 +0000

Whether your gym operates in-person, hybrid, or online, client engagement should be a top priority. Regardless of the marketing and sales benefits, client engagement promotes community and helps reinforce accountability. Virtual client challenges are a great strategy to promote client engagement and community growth. Creating successful virtual challenges are easy, you can apply similar concepts to in-person challenges like having online leaderboards, sharing progress pictures/videos, and “live” winner announcements online. Here are 4 of the top benefits of engaging virtual clients with challenges.

Build Your Community:

I challenge you to view virtual client challenges as an opportunity to build your own community. Encourage your clients to share challenge results and progress with family and friends. If social media is a significant part of your marketing plan, start a hashtag and encourage your clients to post about their challenge successes. Even better, design a partner fitness challenge, so you are involving the greater community and not just your members. Make sure the challenge is universally fun for your clients and creates an air of competition. Scheduling regular virtual competitions can be fun for your clients to see their progress. For example, if you have a push-up competition the first of each month, your client will be able to see their progress, even from home.

Motivate Your Clients:

Due to the irregular circumstances COVID has inspired, nearly every person participating in a fitness community has experienced fluctuations in motivation over the past couple of years. Virtual client competitions are a great way to bring the community back together and motivate each other by lifting each other up. Gym communities that appeal to athletes should see great success with invoking the competitive spirit of the community. A virtual challenge could be just the thing to motivate your client to get back into a consistent routine. Syncing up challenges with some of the emerging move to earn platforms may add additional value for clients.

Hold Each Other Accountable:

Accountability programs are great and can often help with retention of clients. Unfortunately, lockdowns and restrictions have decreased the efficacy of several in-person accountability programs. When meeting someone physically at the gym or running on an indoor treadmill on rainy days becomes unreliable, accountability may tank. When you host a virtual client challenge, facilitating daily community check-ins can help promote community accountability–even with a virtual community. Fitness tracking devices are abundant–particularly in gym communities. This can be a really fun tool to utilize for accountability-focused virtual challenges. Daily steps, total steps, or target heart rate challenges can be a great way to utilize this equipment and keep the community engaged. Leaderboards can be strong motivators for these types of challenges.

Improve Your Program Marketing:

Let’s say you are launching a new core-focused virtual fitness class in December. In November, start a virtual plank hold challenge. Not only are you getting the community involved in a great fitness challenge, but you are also secretly getting the community into a core-focused mindset for your new virtual class launch. Virtual challenges present a unique opportunity for marketing, but particularly for promoting new programs. Timing your challenges correctly has the potential to boost your program participation.

Virtual client engagement can be a challenge, but using challenges can lighten the load. There are so many benefits to utilizing virtual challenges, and your clients will certainly appreciate the community-driven motivation. I hope to see some more fitness challenges going viral soon!

How can TRIIB facilitate challenges in your gym?

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The 5 Most Used Business Models For Personal Training

Jennifer Mcdade — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 18:37:22 +0000

When it comes to personal training businesses, the model for making money (and delivering value) is the most important thing to clarify.

A model represents one or more of the unique ways you can interface with clients to generate profit. Scaling this type of business, either as your main focus or as an add-on to an existing gym business, is dramatically changing so savy fitness entrepreneurs must be smart about the model they choose.

Gone are the days of being dependent on filling up a schedule with back-to-back sessions.
Today’s trainers can easily work with individual clients, small groups, in private and semi-private settings, online and more.

In light of the evolving landscape, we decided to take a deeper look at some of fitness’s most common business models and the benefits and roadblocks you might face when testing them out.

Whether you’re just starting your career as a trainer, trying to enhance your existing business, or looking to add a new service to your lineup, we’re here to break down these business models and help you match the optimal approach(es) with your current and future business goals.

Here are the pros and cons of five common personal training business models:

Model 1: Private

Private training is a one-on-one session lasting anywhere from 30-90 minutes, depending on the client’s personal preferences, schedule and goals. It’s been one of the most popular models for the last few decades, and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

Private training starts with client assessment and moves into drafting a customized health and fitness program based on unique goals, limitations and needs. From there, each session unfolds on the client’s desired cadence (usually 1-2 times per week for 60 minutes) and includes one-on-one training, sporting activities, nutritional counseling and direct support on the journey to achieve their wellness goals.

Sean Murphy from Ultimate Performance London says that based on clients initial consultation, we design a tailored body transformation program that is unique to you using our custom methodology. This is a 12-week plan that is designed to evolve as your conditioning improves and will see you gaining lean muscle at a record pace. The Ultimate Performance (UP) 12-Week Body Transformation program provides personalized training, expert guidance, and comprehensive support, including nutritional and lifestyle coaching. Clients receive tailored workout plans, regular progress tracking, and access to state-of-the-art facilities. The program emphasizes commitment and accountability, leading to significant health and fitness improvements, the transformations are very impressive.

PRO:	CON:
Unshakable & growing market need for private training. You can work solely with clients who make you passionate about what you do. Session lengths are malleable — a win for you and the client. Overhead & startup costs are minimal (can use public/ shared spaces, outdoors or at home). Substantial profit, even with a small client base.	The market is booming, but so is the competition. You might get locked into less-than-ideal rates with legacy clients. Depending on the time of year (holidays, summer, etc.), client needs can drop off rapidly, leaving you uncertain about income.

Model 2: Semi-Private or Small Group

Semi-Private/ Small Group training is a happy medium/ hybrid between Private training and Group training and a fun, budget-friendly way for clients to experience the many benefits of personal training. It’s becoming one of the hottest offerings at most popular gyms and fitness centers.

Small Group training usually involves one trainer coaching 3-5 clients looking to add a more social component to their fitness routine. These clients might already be acquainted and are excited to embark on a fitness journey together. Session length is typically 30, 45, or 60 minutes.

PRO:	CON:
Profitable pricing structure tied to individualized subscription with a social component (can charge higher than large-group classes). High retention rates. Appeals to clients with specific goals (new moms, marathon trainers, etc.).	To stay profitable, the trainer must meet a minimum number of clients, which can be challenging to maintain.

Model 3: Group

Group training is similar to Private training in one key regard: they both became really popular in the eighties. What started with the rise of aerobic classes has evolved into everything from HIIT training to yoga, pilates, cardio and bootcamp classes, CrossFit, boxing, martial arts and more.

Clients pay a monthly membership or subscription and attend in groups of 10-50 (depending on the size of the space) for 45-75 minute sessions.

PRO:	CON:
The opportunity to serve many clients at once. Overhead and startup costs are minimal (can use public/ shared spaces, outdoors or at home). Sense of community is motivating and engaging. Can upsell semi-private and private sessions to a larger market.	Since anyone can do it, everyone often does. Competition is high, and many offer discounts in an attempt to poach clients.

Model 4: Online/ Remote

With the onset of digital transformation, Online/Remote training is fast becoming one of the industry’s most popular business models. Sessions are delivered through various platforms and features including videoconference (Skype, Zoom, Go To Meeting, Google Hangouts), email, phone, etc.

An online membership program can help streamline all these interfaces into one, offering users additional features like appointment booking, knowledge libraries, community forums, chat rooms and other social media to help track goals, ideas and communication.

PRO:

CON:

- The power of flexibility- less time commuting means more time with clients (or yourself!).
- It’s easier to grow an online community than an in-person one (maximize those hours).
- You can work with more clients by subbing in supplemental features to help retain and grow your base.
- You can test out your online marketing and sales chops.
  There’s an easy record of information and it’s all in one place.

- Less face time with clients can mean less accountability and less commitment/ retention.
- If you’re not sales and marketing savvy, it can definitely be tricky to grow a base.

Model 5: Challenge-Based

Challenge-Based training has become hugely successful with the rise of social media and online training. It’s an intuitive way for people to satisfy their social media cravings and marry them with their health and fitness goals. Bonus: the world gets to watch!

This model involves selling standardized short-term (4-6 week) packaged services to support clients in achieving targeted goals like race training, body transformation, mountain climbing, and other intensive fitness endeavors. Think something that both challenges and changes them… and you’re steering toward success.

PRO:	CON:
If the challenge is annual or seasonal, it can be marketed at certain times of the year to build continuous and repeated interest. Overwhelming client engagement in the pursuit of their personal goals. Lots of emphasis on accountability and daily check-ins. Can be foundational approach to healthy habits.	Requires a large enough market to support ongoing sales of the program (short term nature means lack of recurring revenue). Must be savvy at the point of conversion to graduate challenge participants into longer term options/followings.

Your Personal Training Business Is…. Your Business

At the end of the day, how you approach your personal training business is… most definitely your business. If time really is money, and you feel like you’re spending yours wisely, then it’s safe to say you can stick with what you’re doing.

But maybe it’s time to branch out into unchartered territories. Try tacking on one or two Small Group sessions to see if they’re a fit. Conduct a little more research on popular online fitness platforms or challenges. Whatever your strategy of choice becomes, be sure it includes three of the most important career takeaways: revenue generation, client satisfaction and continued passion for what you do.

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CrossFit Gift Guide For Coaches And Gym Owners

Jennifer Mcdade — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 14:20:57 +0000

The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year to let the special people in our lives know just how much they mean to us. For a fortunate bunch of us, those special people include CrossFit coaches, gym managers, and box owners. What better way to spread some holiday cheer than to give back to these folks who give so much to us every day of the year? Here’s our CrossFit gift guide for that special CrossFit coach or gym owner in your life.

The CrossFit gift they will definitely use:

No doubt, most CrossFit professionals already have all the staple CrossFit gear. But you can always count on there being a few new toys released each holiday season that would light up their lives. From popular CrossFit gift ideas to more unique or personal presents, and everything in between – we’ve got you covered.

Must-Have Gifts

The biggest, most well-known apparel and accessory brand for CrossFitters is Reebok. The official sponsor of The CrossFit Games has some new items out right now that your CrossFitter probably hasn’t had a chance to get his or her hands on yet. The most sought-after gift for a male coach this year would be the Reebok Froning shoe. Additionally, Reebok has a festive holiday collection out right now which make great gifts ideas for both male and female coaches to rock while leading classes!

Unique Presents

Big CrossFit brand-name apparel and accessories are trendy. But what’s even cooler, in my opinion, is getting a gift from a small company especially one that’s by athletes, for athletes like Tango Charlie Apparel, JekyllHYDE Apparel, No Surrender Gear, and Doughnuts and Deadlifts. Some brands especially for women that your favorite female coach would love to receive a gift from include Femme Royale, Fleo, Luxe Babe Apparel, The Chestee, Unbroken Designs and Mae Cargo.

A Gift for everyone on your list

One thing CrossFitters are well known for, in addition to fitness, is food. You really can’t go wrong with edible gifts whether it is a more intimate or personal gift from the heart, like baked goods, or a gift card to a grocery store. Healthy snacks and protein powders are also great food gift ideas that CrossFitters can keep handy in their gym bag like Fuel For Fire or Ascent Protein. You can also find gifts for CrossFit box dogs and lovers of four-legged friends from Wags & Weights.

The CrossFit gift that makes their lives easier:

Gym employees dedicate a lot of time to making sure that member experience with CrossFit is smooth and successful. If you’re looking for a gift to thank a coach or gym owner for all the early mornings and late nights they put in at the box, a gift that makes their lives a bit easier is the way to go.

Subscription Service Gifts

Your coach probably sounds like a broken record when they tell you to stick around before/after class to get that mobility in. But oftentimes they don’t have the time to get it in themselves. A subscription to a service like ROMWOD or GOWOD Mobility can take the guesswork out of how to tackle mobility. And sometimes “how to tackle it” can just mean how to actually FIT it into a schedule. Having a subscription right in front of them can solve that problem.

We’ve established that food is a sure-fire gift to your coach’s heart. You can order healthy pre-made meals from meal prep services like KettleBell Kitchen or Ice Age Meals. Alternatively, you can purchase a gift card to a meal-kit delivery service like Sun Basket – which offers a paleo option. Or you can go all out and gift them with the nutrition coaching that they’ve been recommending to clients and also wanting for themselves like RP or WAG.

Subscription Box Gifts

If you can’t decide on what CrossFit gift makes the most sense for your favorite coach – you can give them a little bit of everything with a subscription box

A good subscription box gift for male coaches is the Gainz Box.
For the female coaches check out the Barbella Box.
For the sock aficionado at your gym, there’s a subscription option from Stance.
And for the coach who just doesn’t need any more gear – you can gift the prtnbox.

The gift for the CrossFitter who has everything:

For those CrossFitters in your life that seem like they already have everything under the sun, maybe it’s not a “thing” at all on their wish list this holiday season. Maybe they would appreciate a gift that is more experiential. These type of gifts make great group gift ideas for members or box owners to gift to their coaches.

Gift Certificates for Educational Training/Seminars

CrossFit coaches and owners LOVE continuing their educations by attending a training, seminar or course to learn more about the various aspects of our sport so that they can bring that knowledge back to their members. Unfortunately, those courses are pricey and can oftentimes require travel. A nice group gift idea for coaches is for multiple people to chip in and raise some funds for your coach and present it to them in the form of a visa gift card.

Gift Cards or Vouchers For Events

Similar to seminars – big events like the newly sanctioned CrossFit events and the CrossFit Games can be dream trips for coaches and owners. You can also group-gift this experience by pooling some money from amongst multiple people for items like event tickets or hotel and flight vouchers.

Group Gifts

A gift that’s sure to delight the owner(s) and coaches at your gym is a gym floor scrubber. Members or coaches can pitch in to get this gift that keeps on giving and benefits everyone at the gym! Coaches and owners oftentimes play the role of “marketer” in the gym as well – which means keeping the website and social media sites up-to-date with photo and video content. Phone cameras have gotten super sophisticated these days – but an actual camera can help them step up their game and drive more traffic to the gym.

The CrossFit gift that shows your appreciation:

Ever miss a week at the gym without telling your coach that you’re going on vacation? Do you get an email or a text asking if you’re OK? Where you’ve been? Coaches and owners have a way of looking out for their members and that often manifests itself in personal notes. You don’t have to spend money on your coaches to tell them how much they mean to you. A hand-written note or card that comes from your heart may be the best gift that your coach gets all year. Let them know how they’ve positively impacted your life and how far they’ve helped you come. It’s why they do what they do, so they’d really love to hear it! And last but not least, a great way to show your thanks to your CrossFit coach or box owner this year is to volunteer your time and help them tackle some projects around the gym such as wiping down equipment or organizing–they won’t forget it!

Interested in learning more about on how Triib can help you grow your CrossFit gym? Click Here.

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2018 Black Friday And Cyber Monday Gym Equipment Deal Guide

Jennifer Mcdade — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 18:13:17 +0000

We’ve put together the ultimate roundup of the must-see Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on equipment for gym owners and to save you time and money while outfitting your fitness business this Holiday season. Make sure to bookmark this page as we will update it through Cyber Monday!

Rogue Fitness

Dubbed “Matte Black Friday”, November 23rd at Rogue is full of exclusive gear and promotions. Rumor has it this is their one sale of the year so it’s a great time to stock up!

One-off Black Friday exclusives: everything from barbells to power racks to Rogue Echo Bikes. Once the deal is announced on their site, countdown timer appears and you will see how many items are left available at the “hot deal” price.
“Hundo Deal” – the more weight you buy, the less you pay per pound. This could be the best time of the year to get all new plates for your gym.
5 for 5 deal– fill your cart with any 5 or more qualifying items across Rogue Fitness & Roge Supply and it ships for just $5. With this deal you can order over like 1000 pounds worth of items and it ships for only $5! Look for the 5 for $5 symbol on their site.

X Training Equipment

Looking for deals for the whole gym? X Training is offering low pricing on essential gym equipment ranging from the small necessities like jump ropes and resistance bands to big ticket items such as runners and glute ham developers. See all their deals on one page here.

Get Rx’D

These deals kicked off early–right now you can save up to 50% on everything in their online store including 10% off items not shown on their “Top Black Friday Deals” page, which includes CrossFit box necessities like jump ropes and resistance bands to big ticket items such as runners and glute ham developers. See all their deals on one page here.

Titan Fitness

Take advantage of Titan’s Pre-Black Friday weekly doorbusters going on now. They also released a coupon code: titanblackfriday that’s good for buy one product at the original price and get 10% OFF for an additional item that is added to your cart. Plus, they have Free Sitewide Shipping!

Rep Fitness

Rep Fitness’ Black Friday sales have begun with buy more/save more deals and 5-20% off products sitewide! See more here.

Fringe Sport

FringeSport is known for having the lowest prices overall for gym equipment, and the best deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They run weekly deals year round and during Black Friday just about everything will be on sale. Check their deal page here.

PRx Performance

P RX performance is offering up to $100 off all racks. See their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal page here.

Again Faster

Again Faster is having a huge Black Friday sale on everything from Abmats to Assault Air Bikes with free shipping. Check out their deal page here.

Top Black Friday/Cyber Monday Equipment Deals Quick List:

Know of any other 2018 Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals for fitness business and gym owners? Share in the comments below!

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Why You Should Sign Up For A CrossFit Competition As Newbie

Jennifer Mcdade — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 18:55:19 +0000

New to the sport of CrossFit? Still trying to figure out what all the movements are, and what all those wacky words mean? Think your CrossFit competition days are still far in the future?

You’re likely more prepared to throw your hat in the ring than you think. Here’s why you should sign up for the next upcoming competition now:

There’s no environment like competition… except competition.
Fear is the greatest barrier to achievement.
Competition is just another form of benchmark.
Consider it CrossFit networking.
The food, the friends, the fun!

1. There’s no environment like competition… except competition.

First of all, something really special and magical happens in a CrossFit competition setting, and you may not believe it until you really experience it. The vibe is just… different from a normal class. It’s different from the CrossFit Open. It’s just…. different. You work harder, you push yourself to a place you never thought possible, and you feel the type of love and support that you can only get in that one, specific environment. Furthermore, there’s a reason competitions seem to be breeding grounds for PR’s and firsts. Something just… happens when you push yourself beyond your normal limits! You may very well end up surprising yourself in that kind of environment. Yes, it’s a lot of pressure. And yes, you may still be new at this. But if a competition has a scaled or newbie division – chances are they’re prepared to help usher you through this new, exciting, and sometimes nerve-wracking experience.

Finally, the people who cheer you on and support you during competition will mean something to you as you conquer this milestone in your fitness journey. Similarly, you can then turn around and cheer them on and mean something to them. Competition is the culmination of what we call “community” in CrossFit. It’s worth the nerves you may feel while the clock counts down that 3-2-1.

2. Fear is the greatest barrier to achievement.

I don’t know if that’s a famous saying, or if I made it up… but I believe it wholeheartedly. If you’re not signing up for a CrossFit competition because you’re afraid that you’re not strong/fast/lean/experienced/insert-silly-reason-here enough, then you’re only stopping yourself from actually getting to the next level of your fitness journey. Furthermore, if you don’t take a risk and push yourself out of your comfort zone, you’ll be stuck with the same mental and physical roadblocks you’ve always had. And why do we do this fitness stuff anyway? It’s to become better. To live better, healthier, more fulfilled lives. So we can be around longer to enjoy everything this world has to offer. If entering yourself into a competition is a way to further that process, what are you waiting for? You can’t let any kind of fear stand in the way of that.

3. Competition is just another form of benchmark.

We test stuff ALL THE TIME in CrossFit. We re-do workouts, check on our 5, 3, and 1 rep maxes, run time trials, and try to beat previous records. Everything we do is measurable, and we test every aspect of fitness constantly. CrossFit competitions run by the same standards as benchmarks. We give it our all every time we do Fran because we want to see how fast we are, how our muscular and aerobic capacities hold up, and how strong we can stay under mental and physical pressure. The principles of competition are the same! And yet for some reason, people feel much more intimidated when it comes to signing up and trying their hand at a day of competition, than they do coming in for a 5:30pm WOD to do Grace. Why? Consider it a day of pushing your body to its max in order to see where you’re at and how you can improve. You were probably going to workout that day anyway, right?

4. Consider it CrossFit networking.

If you’re newer to the sport – you may only know your gym, your programming, your 400m running loop. When you go to a CrossFit competition – you have the chance to meet other CrossFitters in your area who can introduce you to so much more! You will meet other athletes, similar to you. And you will meet different kinds of athletes, owners, and coaches to follow and learn from. Furthermore, you’ll learn about other gyms you may want to visit someday in the future. You’ll be introduced to new techniques, warm ups, stretches, even types of gear! It will expand your CrossFit network and open up other doors that can only enhance your experience with the sport.

5. The food, the friends, the fun!

All strategy aside – the basis of any and every comp is just to have a good time. Competitions are warm, welcoming environments that promote positivity and strength. There isn’t an athlete out there who doesn’t get the jitters in one way, shape, or form. But we’re all in it together, so it’s achievable and rewarding. Competitions are basically days full of yummy snacks (some healthy, some not so much…), friends (old and new), and having fun. Don’t overthink it, just sign up and let the good times roll.

If you’re looking for a competition to sign up for, ask around your box, check social media, or peep some sites that pull resources together like these ones:

https://rxcompetitions.com/

https://competitioncorner.net

https://www.wodrocket.com

And once you make the decision to sign up, be sure to check out our Top 10 CrossFit Competition Essentials To Pack so you’re prepared on the big day!

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How to Develop an Intern Program for Your CrossFit Gym

Jennifer Mcdade — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 16:01:58 +0000

In my last post, I talked about some of the ways that you might bring a new coach on to your staff. The most common process we see for adding coaches to the fold is by taking athletes currently at the gym and putting them through an internship program. In this post, I’ll expand on the idea of such a program by helping you flesh out some of the considerations that should go into hiring and training an intern for your box.

How to start an internship program

Decide what it’s for and how often it runs
Develop an application process
Create an outline to structure the program
Make a plan to develop and assess your interns
Make expectations and outcomes clear
Plan to assess your interns

1. Decide what it’s for and how often it runs

Internship programs might be created for a variety of reasons. In many cases, there might need for additional coaching staff at the gym. In other cases, the program could run with regular start dates to create more interest from athletes, with multiple athletes doing the program at a time. Just as some athletes take the L1 course for their own education and information, there might be athletes at your gym who are not necessarily interested in coaching as a career, but just want to know more about Crossfit and your gym.

Deciding on the desired outcome of your program is an important initial step. It will help you frame the process that interns are going through, it will help you measure their progress, as well as set clear guidelines and benchmarks for what you want them to know. For example, if this is a general, informational process open to anyone, you’re likely to be less concerned with the nitty gritty of coaching and correcting than you would be if you need everyone who comes out of the program to be able to step in and lead a class solo.

2. Develop an application process

Just as it’s important to decide the purpose of your program, you’re also going to want to figure out how to decide who you’re going to bring on as an intern. In many gyms, this process tends to be informal, with athletes who are interested reaching out to a coach or the owner.

Even if that’s the case, and you don’t set up a formal application process, it’s still important to be clear about who you take on as an intern, and why. If you have the resources, you might make the process open to essentially anyone with the time and interest. But it’s more likely that you’re already crunched for time, in which case it’s better not to invest your already limited energy into interns who don’t seem like a good fit, or who don’t intend to coach when they’re done.

There are any number of considerations that can go into choosing interns, and you’ll have to decide what the most important criteria are for you and for your box. Some things you might consider are:

Is their schedule compatible with what you need in terms of covering classes and open gym time?
Is their personality a fit for your gym? Will they present the face to the world that you want?
As an athlete at your gym, do they uphold high standards (for example, not shaving reps, cheering on other athletes, give each workout their best, etc.)?
Are they reliable (for example, do they show up on time for class)?

Ultimately, you’ll have to decide what you think the most important features for an intern are, and who you decide who to take on as an intern. But it’s worth sitting down and brainstorming what the most important features are for you personally before you start so that the process has a clear direction from the outset.

3. Create an outline to structure the program

In addition to having clear ideas about who you want to bring on, you’re going to want to develop an outline of what’s involved in the program before you get started. CrossFit HQ has provided a wealth of free, online reading materials to help in this process. The L1 manual is a great place to start, as are the L2 manual and the CrossFit Journal. For example, at JP CrossFit, we use the L2’s discussion of the six foundations of effective training as a framework for each unit of our internship program.

There’s also plenty to read outside of what HQ provides. Find articles and videos from content experts in Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, etc., to flesh out the program. Encourage interns to drop in at other boxes to see how they run classes, watch videos of HQ seminar staff on YouTube, and generally learn more about health, fitness, anatomy, physiology, and nutrition to help build them into a broad base for being an effective trainer. HQ also has a number of inexpensive, online courses that touch on these areas.

Although it’s important to have a general structure in place for your internship program, it’s also important not to be too closely tied to that structure. Everyone you bring on as an intern is going to have unique strengths, weaknesses, and previous experiences. A school teacher might not need as much help with lesson planning and class management, for example. Or someone with a sports and fitness background might easily spot flaws in people’s movement, but struggle to control the flow of a class and keep things running on time and effectively. Ensure that your program is flexible enough to accommodate the different strengths and weaknesses that each intern brings.

4. Make expectations and outcomes clear

After you’ve pegged down the content you want to cover, you’ll want to decide what’s going to be expected of your interns at each stage of the process, and what the focus is for each unit. Whether it’s class management, identifying flaws, or effective cueing, providing interns with a specific focus will both improve their learning and your ability to provide feedback to them.

You’ll also want to come up with specific drills and activities for interns to work through at each stage of the process. At JP CrossFit, for example, one of the tasks to that interns do early on is to shadow a class and take notes, reconstructing the lesson plan that the coach used. This lets them see how the lesson plan on paper and what actually happens in class are linked, consider timing and class management issues, and help bring to light the minutiae of class management that might otherwise be lost (like instructing athletes on how to set up their gear in the space).

Another expectation that you’ll want to make clear from the beginning is the time commitment you need from your interns, and how that time is spent—whether it’s shadowing classes, attending classes, cleaning the facility, or doing other business activities. In terms of cleaning and other activities, I would strongly recommend that you lean on your intern’s previous experience and find tasks that fit their skills, abilities, and interests—someone with design experience can make a new t-shirt design as part of their internship, someone with marketing experience could help you understand online ad buys, etc. Treat this portion of the internship as a skillshare to help bolster your business and your skills as well.

5. Plan to assess your interns

You wouldn’t tell your athletes to go snatch and then not check in with them and give them feedback. The same thing goes for your interns. After every activity you have them do, whether it’s constructing a lesson plan or leading a whole class, make sure that you have time afterwards to sit down with them and discuss what went well and what they could improve on. This regular, engaged feedback develops virtuosity in both athletes and coaches, and is an essential component of the creating effective coaches.

Hopefully the above has given you a rough outline of what to think about when you’re developing an internship program. The specifics will obviously vary from gym to gym, but if you sit down and develop a clear plan, your interns will be ready to lead classes in no time. If you feel like you don’t have time to train interns because of all your other responsibilities, look into how gym growth software can save you both time and money so you can focus more of your time on building a solid team and community at your gym.

Want to see how Triib can help you run your business? Book a demo.

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