If Todd Durkin’s “Burn the Bird” boot camp marketing campaign pays off, dozens of ‘lucky’ San Diegans will not only survive the next five weeks of over-indulgence after Thanksgiving, but lose weight along the way.
Durkin, owner of the Fitness Quest 10 fitness performance center (www.fitnessquest10.com) in San Diego, came up with the idea of the “Miss Fit” boot camp as a way to motivate female clients to stay active and keep extra pounds off their frames during this holiday season.
Starting at 5:30 a.m. the week of Turkey Day, participants will meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for five weeks at an outdoor location for 60 minutes of waking up while crawling under obstacles, leaping over fences and running up a flight of stairs.
“We advertise this boot camp as a way for women to lose inches and pounds,” Durkin said. Realizing that this boot camp challenge is no holiday, Durkin still promises these tough ladies a good time.
That includes weekly giveaways, such as dumbbells and medicine balls, for the “most inspirational woman” and “hardest worker.” Boot camp participants also receive weekly e-mailed tips on healthy eating and fitness.
Durkin expects approximately 40 participants. Cost per recruit is $250. The boot camp will be led by the director of the “Miss Fit” boot camps, Anna Renderer, whom Durkin describes as an “outstanding trainer.” Given Durkin’s own success as 2005, ACE-Personal Trainer of the Year, celebrity trainer and mentor to his own trainers, the class is likely to draw a crowd.
Reality
Let’s face it. During this time when most Americans indulge on food and drinks like no other time of the year, many trainers struggle to keep their clients accountable and motivated.
In this article Durkin and two veteran ACE-certified Personal Trainers—Marjorie Geiser, who is also a registered dietician and author; and Pete McCall, who works as an Exercise Physiologist at ACE,—provide their most creative holiday workouts.
Holiday Contests and Rewards
Contests are always a great weapon for trainers to inspire clients. But during the holiday season, a contest can make the difference between clients staying at home or making their way into the gym.
Durkin swears by this concept; especially in December and January.
“That’s the time when clients get flaky and make things like shopping, dinners and parties their priority, not exercise,” Durkin said.
Fitness Quest 10’s annual holiday contest and associated prizes—gift certificates to neighboring restaurants and businesses, massages, T-shirts and fitness perks—bring out “the best and worst in people.” Durkin means this in a good way.
Under the rules, each contestant accumulates a certain number of points for attending personal training sessions, group exercise classes and training on their own. A depiction of a mountain, featured in the gym, shows each competitor climbing for points. The point system is updated daily to keep everyone informed and, of course, rev up the rivalry.
Durkin has found this system works wonders for client adherence.
It’s also good for business; his own and neighboring small business owners.
“A lot of stuff is donated, and therefore, it costs the staff and me just the time it takes to accrue the gift certificates and gifts,” Durkin said.
Not bad, given the grand prize winner walks away with a package worth $300-$500; second and third prize winners also get great perks, including free massages and personal training sessions.
Behavioral Contract
Behavioral contracts also work great for extra motivation and inspiration, Durkin has found. To make it more interesting, create a trainer-client contract that resembles “a bet” where both parties have something at stake.
It worked for one of his trainers and a client. Said Durkin, “They were both working their tails off.”
Skype Training
During this challenging economic time, trainers may also consider offering more affordable training services, Geiser suggested.
Under her wellness program, clients pay $25 a month or $60 for three months for a 15-minute weekly virtual session using Skype, e-mail, or for the less tech-friendly, talking by phone.
Geiser likes the idea of using Skype, a software that allows users to make phone calls over the Internet and using a Webcam. This allows clients to demonstrate exercises while Geiser critiques their technique. By the way, most of Geiser’s clients are located outside of her state and simply contacted her on her Website at www.megfit.com.
Kate Chadwick, a New York-based client, feels that her 15-minute weekly Monday phone meetings with Geiser keep her on track with her diet and fitness.
“She (Geiser) helps me get organized, so I don’t go off the deep end and eat more,” Chadwick said. Each week Geiser sets a new, small goal that should be attained within the week. Not all clients meet their weekly goals, which can be frustrating. But for those who do, Geiser feels she can make a difference.
Create Holiday Programming
McCall, a former master trainer at Washington Sports Clubs in Washington, D.C. and former director of fitness education for Millennium Partners Sports Club LA in Boston, considers December a time for experimentation and exploring alternatives.
Realizing that most clients have less time to exercise, he proposes packaging workouts in less time while raising exercise intensity to burn more calories.
Option 1: Encourage clients to try new group exercise classes, such as a 30-45 minute class, during their lunch hour to fit in exercise.
Option 2: Offer a 30-minute personal training session and create a circuit.
Option 3: Create intervals in place of steady-state training and explain to clients that they will burn more calories in a shorter time frame. Works great!
Option 4: Set a body weight goal where you will weigh a client a week or two before Thanksgiving, and if they maintain their weight between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25, clients get to treat themselves to a shopping spree.
Option 5: Teach a Turkey Day step class, a spin class or a circuit class—anything to get your clients into the gym and working out.
Option 6: Throw a Holiday party for your clients. McCall and his wife Monica Ammann, an ACE-certified Group Fitness Instructor, are believers that an evening of splurging on delicious foods and drinks on the trainer’s tab can go a long way with clients.
“We looked at it as job security,” McCall said. “We told them they can eat as much as they wanted and told them we’d be there for them in the New Year.”
Sign up for an Event
Nothing gets people more motivated or scrambling than a looming deadline or an important event.
Durkin also has found that most clients will get their act together fast if they have committed to a 5k run, a sprint triathlon or any other sporting event.
Today’s abundance of charitable events nationwide makes it easy for clients to find and support a cause close to their hearts.
Team in Training (www.teamintraining.org) and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (www.challengedathletes.org) are among the organizations that even train individuals for upcoming triathlon races, marathons or other events in exchange for raising funds.
Party Tips
To help clients fit into their clothes after all the stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes and marshmallow-topped yams and endless desserts are said and done with takes a strategic battle plan.
Trainers can truly make a difference by helping their clients plan ahead. Here are some practical tips:
- Work out before the big feast, family gathering or holiday party
- Geiser tells her clients to fill up on veggies before even thinking about looking at the dessert table
- Eat a salad or some healthy food before going to a party or gathering and drink plenty of water ahead of time
- When drinking alcohol, drink a glass of water after every alcoholic beverage
- If you lose all self-control at the site of chocolate or other sweet favorites, eat a lighter meal to cut at least some calories before attacking the dessert table
The New Year
Finally, with many clients splurging in the next few weeks with the good intentions of making it their New Year’s resolution to start eating and living healthier, a little early intervention is often warranted, Durkin said.
“Often clients get frustrated and say they will start exercising after the first of the year,” he found. “That’s too bad, because if they could just chip away between Thanksgiving and the New Year, they wouldn’t have to fight so hard to lose the extra weight.”
A little introspection may also serve trainers well in the coming year, according to Geiser. “If trainers take a step back and identify their ‘ideal’ client by looking into themselves and writing it down on paper, they find out what makes them unique and draw the people they really want to work with and want to work with them.”
So… how will you keep your clients motivated?
Marion Webb is the managing editor for the American Council on Exercise and an ACE-certified Personal Trainer. For specific fitness-related story ideas or comments, please email her directly at marion.webb@acefitness.org.