Personal training used to be about the connection of a trainer to a singular client. As with many things, changes have forced people to stop this practice due to the cost. So group training was invented, and this has helped ease the cost for many participants.
But what we are missing here is a great opportunity to motivate people further. By placing people in small groups of 3-4 (obviously they would all have to be similar in their goals and abilities), you can create a ‘cell’ or a ‘squad’ like they do in the military. In the military, the team does everything together. In a health club, a team of members can do their cardio training, train with the trainer, go out for special healthy-eating events, walk to the grocery store with the nutritionist and so forth — all as a team.
Adding this social component to your fitness regime will not only increase participation and retention, but more importantly, results! Having people other than a trainer to hold you accountable (not just in the gym, but outside it as well), makes it that much harder for clients to not comply with the trainer’s suggestions. Also, using social media to help is a great idea. Have participants take a picture after their cardio session in a group setting to prove who came. Use a picture diary of food and post it on Facebook for the team to see. This adds another level of accountability and compliance.
Vic Spatola is the Director of Personal Training for Greenwood Athletic and Tennis Club in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. Contact him at vics@greenwoodatc.com.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
