The Online Personal Training Revolution
Coach Development | COVIDABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Hooper
// The Online Personal Training Revolution Has Arrived
“On march the 18th we will go into lockdown until we assess the situation of COVID-19”
This is the message I remember reading when we were first learning about the coronavirus outbreak. It seems like time has stood still since that day. Yet, here we are, almost three months later. Parts of the world have returned to some normality. Gyms are slowly opening back up with safety measures in place. Other parts are still in lockdown. Gyms closed. Some permanently due to financial restraints.
Regardless of where you are in the world we have one thing in common. COVID-19 has affected us and the ones around us. Now that I have had some time to reflect on the past few months I wanted to see how I could turn this negative into a positive.
First thing that I remember was PANIC! Myself and so many other coaches and personal trainers were asking unknown questions. What do I do now that I’m not going to have any clients? How can I make money? When will my gym open back up? This and a whole multitude of other daunting questions ahead and I had no idea what to do.
I remember sitting there for what felt like 30 minutes and wondered to myself. What had I done to prepare for when something like this happened?
I asked myself three questions
How do I keep communication with my athletes whilst making it fun?
How do I keep making money, to keep food on the table?
How do I keep doing what I love doing…COACHING?
I realised something pretty quickly. I needed simple and easy goals. That way I could focus and do things right. I came up with three key points. Keep your business afloat; Get results from your athletes; Work with the right people that can support your business in the best way possible.
At the end of the day it’s the livelihood for you and your family. Rushing things simply doesn’t solve problems…FACT!
The Strength Connection Performance Story
I started my business Strength Connection Performance back in 2017 with the core focus on enhancing Strength and Conditioning protocols to ensure athletes get ahead of their competition.
Noticeably from this point there was a huge gap between technology and science and I wanted to bridge it correctly but not like every other person out there. I wanted to build a foundation for growth and sports development using software as the foundation.
I began specialising primarily on sports-specific programming with a core emphasis on Strength, Speed, and Athletic Development for team sport athletes and that’s where the journey needed to start with TrainHeroic.
5 Tips for Your Online Personal Training Business
While my business grew in the age of the internet, I knew I was equipped with the tools to get through not having a physical gym. It’s a no brainer! We coach people all over the world. This was nothing new, I just needed to adapt using an agile piece of software to get to all four corners of the world and do it as effectively as possible.
I wasn’t sure how important this would really be. We had all the right tools we just needed to optimize them, so I came up with 5 ways TrainHeroic has helped my online training business grow during the coronavirus outbreak that hopefully you can utilize with your own business.
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1. Mobile Friendly Devices
It is estimated that the number of smartphone users in the United States will hit 276 million this year. Fitness apps are rising in popularity. It is not an option anymore. You have to be able to reach your clients via phone.
At SCP we talk to all of our clients one-on-one. Through that initial chat we can uncover all aspects of our athletes life and they know what to expect from us. This allows us to design programs through the TrainHeroic app that are uniquely designed to each athlete and more importantly kept in one place.
2. Make Challenges
You can utilize groups and teams through Facebook and TH. This allows you to form strong communities of like minded athletes. Then you can carefully create challenges and goals to obtain set results that you are looking for as a coach. This will encourage the groups to push each other and motivate each other, but not limit them to explore other areas along the way.
3. Make It Foolproof
Let’s be real. For some clients it is extremely difficult to transition from 20 plus years in the gym to trying to figure out a dumb iPhone app in their garage. You have to make the transition as efficiently as possible limiting as much damage as possible.
We like using TrainHeroic because we feel like it has been really easy for our athletes to transition to. They have a handful of exercise specific tutorials and a great tech support team that they don’t have to wait for hours to speak to someone.
Having a coach on hand 24/7 to give you feedback and be by your side each step of the way has only increased our communication with everyone and we’re seeing the benefits as they are interacting more which is great to see.
4. Easy To Use
Along with being foolproof you want your online training business to be easy to use. We have found the best way to do this is to keep things simple. Don’t overwhelm yourself or your clients with a ton of fancy things. Stick to one to three tools that you can use well and utilize them to the best of your ability. Your coaching will shine through and each athlete will benefit from having it simplified and 9 times out of 10 they are on the move constantly.
5. Keep It Engaging
At the end of the day it is about educating your community. There is no use in creating these groups or learning these new tools if you aren’t going to engage with your community. Check in on your athletes and make sure they are doing okay. Make sure you let them know they are not alone.
The finer details make it all worthwhile not only for you but for your team of athletes. At SCP we live by following the mantra “Inspire, Innovate and Educate”.
Remember to Take a Breather
Times are crazy to say the least. These last few months have been a whirlwind. But it is important to keep your goals in mind. Don’t let your emotions take over.
Try and focus on the things that are important and you can control.
We will get through this!
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Be Your Best,
TrainHeroic Content Team
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