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Sports management courses cover a wide range of topics that prepare students for a career in the sports industry. These courses provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and lead sports organizations, events, and facilities. Let’s have a look at the various topics covered in a sports management course in detail.

Sports Organisation Finance

Sports organisations, like any other business, require financial management skills to thrive. Therefore, one of the essential topics covered in a sports management course is finance. Students learn the required skills and knowledge to manage the financial aspects of sports organisations effectively.

Budgeting and accounting are the basic concepts that form the foundation of financial management. Students learn how to prepare and manage budgets that align with the organization’s goals and objectives. They also gain an understanding of the accounting principles, such as the preparation of financial statements and the management of accounts receivable and payable.

Moreover, financial analysis is a vital skill taught in sports management courses. Students learn how to analyse financial data to determine the organisation’s financial performance and identify areas of improvement. This analysis can provide critical insights into areas such as revenue, expenses, and cash flow, helping sports organizations make informed decisions about financial matters.

Sports organisations face unique financial challenges, such as revenue generation, ticket sales, and sponsorships. In a sports management course, students learn how to manage these challenges effectively. They are taught how to develop effective marketing strategies to generate revenue and increase ticket sales. Additionally, they learn how to negotiate sponsorship deals and manage the relationships with sponsors.

Return on investment (ROI) is a very crucial metric in financial management. Students learn how to calculate ROI, which helps sports organizations determine the financial impact of their investments. It allows them to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing strategies, sponsorships, and other financial decisions, and make necessary adjustments.

Making sound financial decisions is a crucial aspect of financial management. In sports management courses, students learn how to use financial analysis to make informed decisions. They also learn how to manage financial risk, such as managing cash flow and maintaining financial stability.

Sports Organisation Marketing

Marketing is a crucial topic in sports management courses. Students learn how to develop and implement effective marketing strategies to promote sports organizations, teams, and events. This requires an understanding of consumer behaviour, identifying target markets, and developing advertising campaigns that resonate with the target audience.

Consumer behaviour is a fundamental concept in sports marketing. Students learn how to analyse consumer behaviour, including how consumers make purchasing decisions, and what motivates them to choose one brand over another. By understanding consumer behaviour, sports organizations can create marketing strategies that appeal to their target audience, such as tailoring promotions, events, and sponsorships to specific demographics.

Identifying target markets is also a critical aspect of sports marketing. Students learn how to identify and segment target markets based on demographics, psychographics, and behavioural factors. This helps sports organizations create marketing campaigns that target specific groups of consumers more effectively.

Developing advertising campaigns is an essential component of sports marketing. Students learn how to create effective advertising campaigns that communicate the organization’s brand message, values, and objectives. They learn about different advertising mediums, such as television, radio, print, and digital media. They also learn about the latest marketing techniques, such as social media marketing, content marketing, and experiential marketing.

Social media marketing is a dynamic and rapidly growing field in sports marketing. Students learn how to use social media platforms for instance Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to promote sports organizations, teams, and events. They learn how to create engaging content that resonates with social media users, and how to leverage social media to build brand awareness, drive traffic to websites, and increase ticket sales.

Content marketing is another marketing technique taught in sports management courses. Students learn how to create high-quality content, such as videos, blog posts, and infographics, which provides value to the target audience. By creating valuable content, sports organizations can attract and engage their target audience, build brand awareness, and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.

Experiential marketing is a growing trend in sports marketing, and students learn how to create unique and memorable experiences for consumers. This involves creating interactive events that allow consumers to engage with the organization and its brand on a more personal level. For example, experiential marketing may involve hosting a fan experience day, where fans can meet and interact with players, tour the facilities, and participate in interactive games and activities.

Sports Organisation Law And Ethics

Sports organizations are bound by a range of legal and ethical responsibilities, and sports management courses provide students with a comprehensive understanding of these issues. Students learn about the legal issues that affect sports organizations, such as contract negotiation, intellectual property rights, and liability.

Contract negotiation is a critical aspect of sports management. Students learn how to negotiate contracts, including athlete contracts, sponsorship agreements, and broadcasting rights. Negotiating contracts requires a thorough understanding of the legal requirements, as well as an ability to communicate and negotiate effectively with other parties.

Intellectual property rights are also a crucial topic covered in sports management courses. Students learn how to protect and manage intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyrights, and patents. They also gain an understanding of the legal requirements related to the use of intellectual property, such as licensing agreements and fair use.

Liability is another legal issue that sports organizations face. Students learn about the potential legal liabilities of sports organizations, including risks associated with accidents, injuries, and wrongful actions. They also learn about the steps that sports organizations can take to minimize liability, such as risk management strategies and insurance coverage.

Ethics in sports management is equally critical, and sports management courses cover ethical issues extensively. Students learn about the importance of sportsmanship, fairness, and integrity in sports organizations. They also gain an understanding of the ethical considerations that sports organizations must balance, such as the need to win versus maintaining high ethical standards.

Sports organizations have a unique responsibility to maintain high ethical standards, given their influence on society and their impact on athletes and fans. Students learn about the role of ethics in sports management and how to apply ethical principles in their decision-making. They also learn how to balance the needs of sports organizations with ethical considerations, ensuring that they maintain high standards of ethical behaviour.

Sports Organisation Facility Management

Facility management is a crucial topic covered in sports management courses. Students learn how to design, operate, and maintain sports facilities, including stadiums, arenas, and training facilities. This includes understanding safety and security requirements, managing equipment and facilities, and complying with regulatory standards. Students also learn about event planning and logistics, including crowd management and emergency preparedness.

Event Planning for the Sports Organisation

Event planning is a critical aspect of sports management, and sports management courses provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge to plan and manage sports events effectively. Students learn how to plan and execute sports events of various scales, from small local tournaments to large-scale international events.

Event planning requires a thorough understanding of logistics. Students learn about logistics planning, including venue selection, equipment rental, and transportation arrangements. They also gain an understanding of the various stakeholders involved in the event, such as athletes, sponsors, vendors, and spectators. By understanding logistics, students can effectively manage the resources required for the event.

Risk management is another critical topic covered in sports management courses. Students learn how to identify and manage risks associated with the event, such as accidents, injuries, and weather-related issues. They also gain an understanding of legal liabilities related to the event and how to minimize them.

Coordination of the various aspects of an event is a critical skill taught in sports management courses. Students learn how to manage the event schedule, coordinate staffing, and manage transportation and logistics. Effective communication is essential in event planning, and students learn how to communicate effectively with stakeholders, including athletes, sponsors, vendors, and spectators.

Sports Organisation Human Resources

Human resources is another topic covered in sports management courses. Students learn about the management of human resources, including recruitment, training, and performance management. They also study the importance of effective communication, leadership, and teamwork in managing sports organizations. Students learn how to create a positive workplace culture and develop effective employee policies and practices.

Sports Organisation Leadership And Communication

Sports management courses emphasize the importance of effective leadership and communication skills. Students learn how to motivate teams, make decisions, and inspire people to achieve their goals. They also learn how to communicate effectively with stakeholders, including athletes, coaches, sponsors, and fans. Effective communication is critical for building relationships, negotiating contracts, and handling crises.

Emerging Trends in Sports Management

Sports management courses also cover emerging trends and issues facing the sports industry. Students learn about the latest technologies, such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and how they are being used in sports organizations. They also study emerging trends, such as sustainability and environmental responsibility, and how sports organizations can address these challenges.

A sports management course covers a broad range of topics related to the sports industry, including finance, marketing, law, ethics, facility management, event planning, and human resources. Sports management courses prepare students for a career in the sports industry by providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and lead sports organizations, events, and facilities. Sports management courses also cover emerging trends and issues facing the sports industry, ensuring that students are quite prepared to meet the challenges of this dynamic

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If you feel that you want to become a sports manager, then you need to do our Sports Management Course.

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Develop A Strong Brand Identity

Branding is essential in any business, including yoga instruction. A very strong brand identity can help you stand out in a crowded field, attract new students, and build loyalty with existing ones. To develop a brand identity, consider your unique selling points. What makes you different from other yoga instructors? What are your values and philosophy? What type of experience do you offer students? Once you have identified these key elements, you can create a visual brand identity that communicates your message through your logo, website, social media, and other marketing materials.

Developing a super strong brand identity is essential for any business, including yoga instruction. A strong brand identity assists you to stand out in a crowded field, attract new students, and build loyalty with existing ones. Here are a couple of key steps to developing a strong brand identity as a yoga instructor:

Identify your unique selling points

To develop a strong brand identity, you need to identify your unique selling points. What makes you different from other yoga instructors? What are your values and philosophy? What type of experience do you offer students? Start by asking yourself these questions and writing down your answers. Your unique selling points will form the foundation of your brand identity.

Define your target audience

Once you have identified your unique selling points, you need to define your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your yoga instruction? Are you targeting beginners, advanced students, or a specific demographic like seniors or pregnant women? Understanding your target audience is essential for developing a brand identity that resonates with them.

Create a visual identity

Your visual identity is the face of your brand. It includes your logo, color scheme, typography, and other design elements that communicate your brand message visually. Designing a visual identity that aligns with your unique selling points and target audience is essential for building brand recognition and differentiation. Consider working with a professional graphic designer to create a visual identity which reflects your brand values and resonates with your target audience.

Develop a brand voice

Your brand voice is how you communicate with your audience through written and spoken messages. Developing a consistent brand voice that reflects your brand values and speaks to your target audience is essential for building trust and credibility. Your brand voice should be steady across all channels, including your website, social media, and marketing materials.

Build a brand experience

Your brand experience is the total experience your students have with your brand. It includes everything from your studio environment to the way you greet students to the actual yoga instruction. Creating a positive and memorable brand experience is essential for building loyalty and repeat business. Consider how you can create a unique and memorable experience for your students that aligns with your brand values and speaks to your target audience.

Consistency is key

Consistency is key to developing a strong brand identity. Your visual identity, brand voice, and brand experience should be consistent across all channels, including your website, social media, marketing materials, and studio environment. Consistency helps build trust and credibility with your audience and reinforces your brand message.

Get feedback

Finally, getting feedback from your students and peers can assist you with refining your brand identity and make sure that it resonates with your target audience. Consider conducting surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews with your students to get feedback on their experience with your brand. This feedback can help you identify areas for improvement and make sure your brand is effectively communicating your unique selling points to your target audience.

Establish An Online Presence

In today’s digital age, having a presence online is very important for any business, including yoga instruction. An online presence can help you reach a wider audience, build your brand, and connect with students. Start by creating a website that showcases your services, classes, and schedule. Also, you can use social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to promote your brand, share photos and videos of your classes, and connect with potential students.

Offer A Variety Of Classes

To attract a diverse range of students, it is essential to offer a variety of classes that cater to various skill levels and interests. For example, you could offer classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced students, or classes that focus on specific styles. You could also offer classes that incorporate other forms of exercise, such as Pilates or barre, or that focus on specific themes like stress relief or mindfulness.

Here are a couple of the most popular types of yoga classes that you can offer.

Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is by far one of the most popular types of yoga classes offered in the Western world. It is a slower-paced yoga style that focuses on breathing techniques and holding poses for longer periods. Hatha Yoga is ideal for beginners as it helps to develop strength, flexibility, and balance.

Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa Yoga is a dynamic yoga style that involves linking movement with breath. The practice includes a series of flowing movements, such as sun salutations, and each movement is synchronized with an inhale or an exhale. Vinyasa Yoga is ideal for those who want to build strength, flexibility, and endurance.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga is a challenging and intense yoga style that involves performing a set sequence of poses in a specific order. The practice is physically demanding and requires a great deal of strength and endurance. Ashtanga Yoga is ideal for those who are looking for a more athletic and challenging yoga practice.

Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar Yoga is a slower-paced yoga style that emphasizes proper alignment and technique. The practice involves holding poses for longer periods, and props such as blocks and straps are often used to help students achieve proper alignment. Iyengar Yoga is ideal for those who are interested in developing their strength and flexibility, as well as their understanding of proper alignment.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a slow-paced yoga style that focuses on holding poses for longer periods, typically between three and five minutes. The practice involves stretching and lengthening the connective tissues in the body, which can help to improve flexibility and reduce stress. Yin Yoga is ideal for those who are looking for a gentle and restorative yoga practice.

Restorative Yoga

Restorative Yoga is a gentle and relaxing yoga style that involves holding poses for extended periods using the support of props such as blankets and blocks. The practice is designed to promote relaxation and reduce stress, making it ideal for those who are looking to unwind and de-stress.

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga is a spiritual and energetic yoga style that involves a series of dynamic movements, breathwork, and meditation. The practice is designed to awaken the Kundalini energy that is believed to be coiled at the base of the spine. Kundalini Yoga is ideal for those who are interested in exploring the spiritual aspects of yoga.

Collaborate With Other Businesses And Instructors

Collaborating with other businesses and instructors can be a fantastic way to expand your reach and build your brand. For example, you could partner with a local gym or wellness center to offer yoga classes to their members, or you could team up with other instructors to host a workshop or retreat. Collaborations can assist you with tapping into new audiences, share resources, and create new opportunities for growth.

Offer Workshops And Retreats

In addition to regular classes, offering workshops and retreats can be a great way to generate revenue and build your brand. Workshops and retreats allow you to offer more in-depth instruction on specific topics, such as alignment, breathwork, or meditation. They can also be a great way to connect with students on a deeper level and foster a sense of community around your brand.

Invest In Professional Development

Investing in professional development is essential for any yoga instructor looking to build their brand and improve their teaching skills. Continuing education can help you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and techniques in yoga instruction, improve your teaching skills, and expand your knowledge base. Consider taking workshops, attending conferences, or pursuing additional certifications to enhance your skills and credibility as an instructor.

Marketing and branding yourself as a yoga instructor is very important to stand out in a crowded field and attract new students. By developing a strong brand identity, establishing an online presence, offering a variety of classes, collaborating with others, offering workshops and retreats, and investing in professional development, you can build a successful yoga business and share your passion for yoga with others.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you want to become a yoga instructor then you need to do our Yoga Instructor Course. Follow this link to find out more.

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This is for those who are looking for something outside of the normal gym workout in order to stay fit or for those to utilise it as a good body conditioning plus your weight or cardio workouts.

In addition, aerial fitness allows for the freedom for the different design of body types, personality types as well as in different levels of challenge for reviving or – alternatively – restoration. Aerial fitness has a special focus on three-dimensional movement, conditioning as well as joint rotation and mobility.

Aerial fitness is for:

• The woman who would like to have a strong core, great flexibility, poise and posture, and is open to trying something new.
• The man who is able to take a step outside the box in order to challenge himself, have a lot of fun with the flexibility, build muscle as well as solid core strength.

Aerial Fitness makes use of a soft hammock supporting 454 kg to support as well as suspend your body to work with your body type making use of the effects of supported body weight as well as gravity to lengthen, strengthen, contract, extend muscles improve posture, add gentle traction effects, optional inversions, and align joints.

What Are The Benefits Of Aerial Fitness?

Aerial fitness routines have the following benefits:

• Intensifies stretches,
• Relieves joint pressure as well as spinal compression that floor workouts can trigger,
• Relieves tension,
• Increases balance and proprioception (in other words, bodily awareness),
• Improves core strength,
• Enhances breath awareness,
• Simpler access to inverted postures, as well as
• Releases endorphins.

As you are able to see, there are myriad benefits of aerial fitness. While all of these provide positive additions to your daily routine, perhaps the most noteworthy is the fact that you’re hanging suspended in the air somehow provides a sense of safety which is difficult to match.

What Is Aerial Yoga?

One of the most common practices of aerial fitness is termed aerial yoga, also known as flying yoga. It takes traditional yoga poses and then combines them with the usage of an aerial hammock as a prop. This aerial workout makes use of yoga hammock, or fabric suspended in a U-Shape, in order to suspend your body mid-air and perform poses that are derived from the traditional yoga and Pilates.

The fabric is often suspended from two points, which offers stability. The hammock acts as a helping hand, a balance partner in addition to a support tool in poses. Inversions become available to everyone with the assistance of a hammock. This means that aerial yogis enjoy all the advantages of hanging upside-down and also decompressing the spine. You have the choice to put together your aerial flow and are even able to upgrade your favourite floor yoga flows with the assistance of the hammock and gravity.

What Are Aerial Silks?

Aerial yoga and aerial silks can often be confused to be the same thing. The truth is that these practices have quite different basics:

• While aerial yoga originates from traditional yoga with an emphasis on breathing as well as flows, aerial silks is traditionally a circus act that has a focus on tricks as well as dance. The two can be recognised by looking at the flow, style, and equipment that is utilised.
• Aerial silks make use of different types of equipment in order to perform mid-air – typically the same fabric as aerial yoga, however rigged differently, so that the user has two “poles” of fabric hanging down from one single point. This creates a larger challenge for the aerialist in order to support themselves because there’s no pocket of fabric to sit or – alternatively – stand in.

With higher intensity, the ultimate aim of this approach is frequently to practice routines – as well as tricks – in a performance-like way and is frequently called “Aerial Dance”. However, a lot of classes teach aerial silks tricks for beginners with more emphasis on fitness as well as strength training. That means, more muscle usage and exquisite movements to practise.

What Is The Aerial Hoop?

Another format of aerial arts is derived from Circus, aerial hoop is growing in popularity quickly! It’s a mixture between pole fitness as well as aerial arts, with many tricks that transfer from one apparatus to another one. Aerial hoop is a very Instagrammable format of aerial arts which is perfect for photoshoots. As an aerial art, it’s a fantastic way to build strength, flexibility and is a beautiful type of aerial arts.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you would like to learn more about yoga then you need to do our Yoga Instructor Course. Follow this link to find out more.

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The research study, which recently appeared in the journal entitled Nature Food, assessed more than 5 800 foods, ranking them according to their nutritional disease burden to humans in addition to their impact on the environment. It was found that substituting 10% of daily caloric intake from beef as well as processed meats for a mixture of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and select seafood may reduce your dietary carbon footprint by one-third and allow individuals to gain 48 minutes of healthy minutes per day.

Generally, dietary recommendations lack specific and actionable direction to motivate people to change their behaviour, and rarely do dietary recommendations address environmental impacts.

Don’t Fear Fat

Sure, there are plenty of fat-laden foods which are terrible for you, such as those that contain saturated as well as trans fats. However, there are also good fats, such as omega-3s, monounsaturated as well as polyunsaturated fats. Foods which contain these good fats include avocados, walnuts, olive oil, salmon, tuna, dark chocolate in addition to flaxseed.

These good fats have been proven to help in weight loss. Try to integrate these foods into your diet and you may see some changes to the waistline.

Exercise Portion Control

Except if you take time to peek at the nutrition labels on the foods which you eat, you perhaps aren’t aware of the recommended portion size for that specific food. These are important. It is so difficult to conceptualise how many servings you are eating if you do not measure it out beforehand. In addition, this can also be quite a challenge when dining out as we live in a culture of supersizing.

Also, make sure that keep in mind that you don’t have to eat every last morsel of food that is on your plate. Ask the waiter for half of your meal to be put in a doggie bag before it’s even served to you. Take your leftovers home and then enjoy the meal again the next day.

Eat The Colours Of The Rainbow

The shade of a fruit or vegetable is often determined by which types of nutrients it contains, which is why it’s very important to incorporate a variety.

This assists with ensuring that you’re eating a well-rounded eating plan. Making sure that your plate has – at least -three different colours on it will assist you to focus on putting together more balanced meals, not to mention it is also quite easy on the eyes (or makes that picture-perfect Instagram post!).

Different coloured fruits and vegetables also offer nutrients as well as vitamins, which will not only assist with weight loss but overall health as well.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Are you keen on discovering more about nutrition? If you do then you need to do our Specialised Nutrition Course. Follow this link to find out more.

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For people who are starting out in the fitness industry, it can be quite intimidating. How are you supposed to compete with far more experienced professionals? Or businesses with larger audiences? In order to stand out, you need to be noticeably different. When it comes to positioning your brand, you need some awesome points of difference (PODs) as well as the usual points of parity (POPs).

Find Your Unique Angle

What elements can you identify in the fitness industry that make you different from everyone else? After all, not every coach motivates clients the same way. Maybe you can differentiate yourself by the clients you serve, the science behind your technique, the results that you’re able to achieve or the way you deliver your service. Whatever that distinct approach is, make sure to tout it to your clients.

Stand For Something Different

Another way to distinguish your fitness business is to stand for something different. Your values or beliefs could be what distinguishes you from the crowd. In an industry which is rife with fitness myths as well as misinformation, what you stand for can demonstrate your credibility.

Get Collaborative

Spread the word about your fitness technique far and wide so that it’s not drowned out by the sound of others who are talking about their methods. If you have knowledge that you’re willing to share with others, everyone will want to come to you as a source.

Try Alternative Platforms

If you’re struggling to get noticed among the crowd, then go where it’s far less busy. Instagram is full of fitness bloggers, so it may be difficult to stand out there. However, there are always new platforms that are being developed where there won’t be as much noise.

Of course, there could not be as big of an audience either however 100% focus from a small group is much better than 0% of a large one. Select a platform which others haven’t yet discovered – think about which social media sites that are up-and-coming? Where else will you be able to establish yourself as a thought leader in the fitness industry?

Whichever social media platforms you try out, make sure that you post high-quality photos and videos. This is key. If you’re going to do ONE thing make it this. If your feed is just a thrown-together mish-mash of blurred photos, screenshots as well as quotes, it’s not going to look visually pleasing to someone who is just landing on your feed. The more beautifully and engaging the grid, the more people are going to want to follow you.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you want to learn more about marketing your fitness business on social media then you need to do our Social Media Management For Fitness Professionals Course. Follow this link to learn more.

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We’re not all gym people. Some of us like to exercise in the comfort of our own home, however finding the motivation to train at home can occasionally be a chore (the couch is right there). However, hold up, there’s this thing called virtual training gaining steam in the fitness world. All it is that you require is a broadband Internet connection, a webcam and some advice on where to start.

But real talk: Working out with a personal trainer through a screen is undoubtedly different as opposed to having them right beside you. Different, however, does not mean worse. In fact, there are tonnes of benefits to working with a virtual personal trainer — particularly if you learn some tips and tricks to really make it work for you.

Do Your Research

Prospective trainees must make sure the virtual fitness coach is experienced as well as educated. You don’t want to be working out with a trainer who got certified over the weekend. If a fitness coach has worked for 10 to 12 years, you’ll want to go with them. Alternatively, if they’ve had a background in movement, like a professional athlete or a dancer, then that contributes to their knowledge of the body.

Find A Certified Virtual Fitness Coach Who Caters To Your Fitness Goals

More and more virtual fitness coaches look to social media (hello, Instagram live workouts) as well as training apps in order to gain new clients, however it’s important to recognise that anyone can put a workout out there — regardless of how qualified they may or may not be. Judging a virtual fitness coach’s skill set and experience which is based on their Instagram followers as well as videos isn’t exactly the best way to gauge how well (or safely) they’ll actually train you.

Make Sure That You’re Comfortable

Call (or Skype) and really converse with your prospective virtual fitness coach. Get to know them. Ask for a short session (30 minutes or less) if you’re attempting virtual training for the first time as well as if you’re feeling uncomfortable you are able to stop. If you’re not able to have the first phone call, look at your first experience with the trainer as means of determining if it’s a long-term fitness fit.

Establish A Rapport With Your Virtual Fitness Coach

Establishing rapport is key, whether it’s during an in-person training session or a virtual one. Even though it is simpler to build a rapport with a virtual fitness coach in person, it’s essential to have a strong connection virtually — you will, after all, be training together on days when you don’t really feel like it, or times when your motivation is shot.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

If you would like to discover additional information about developing a virtual fitness coaching business, then you need to do our Entrepreneurship Course. Find out more by following this link.

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Skipping may seem like child’s play. However, as any boxer can tell you, it can also be genuine exercise. Individuals have been skipping as exercise for most of civilized history. Egyptian athletes had a skipping workout as early as 1600 BC.

Interest in the sport is now experiencing one of its periodic spikes ever since being introduced in the USA in the 1800s mainly as an exercise for girls. Some skippers have become social media stars on platforms such as Instagram as well as TikTok.

Jump On The Balls Of Your Feet

When you skip, try to softly jump up and down on the balls on your feet. Your heels should not ever touch the ground, which is one reason why skipping is a serious calf workout.

Don’t Jump Too High, Relax

Many individuals who try to skip jump so high it’s like they don’t realise that the rope is an eighth of inch thick. If you’re attempting to get in a rhythm and skip for more than 30 seconds without burning yourself out, make sure that you keep your jumps as small as possible without tying up the skipping rope. Just relax and don’t fret if you trip on the skipping rope.

Don’t Swing Your Arms/Shoulders Too Much

Skipping is all in the wrists. Watching people who don’t know how to skip reminds us of how some individuals will try to swim really hard however barely go anywhere. Then you see another swimmer who is scarcely trying yet flies through the water.

Just as swimming is all about the effectiveness of your stroke, jumping rope effectively is all about the effectiveness of the revolutions. If you are making use of your arms and shoulders while jumping very high, jumping rope becomes an EXTREMELY  difficult cardio activity. Just make use of your wrists in a circular motion.

Get A Great Skipping Rope

You don’t need anything fancy in terms of a skipping rope. There are all types of ropes from plastic to leather to cloth. The plastic as well as leather ropes are more unforgiving: they sting when you miss and you’re going ‘pepper’. The cloth ropes are slow and also ‘float’ too much for our liking. These are the most forgiving for skipping beginners.

The Beginner Skipping Routine

This is a beginner skipping routine for you:

• 30 seconds of ‘phantom’ skip
• 30 seconds of prisoner squats
• 30 seconds of ‘phantom’ skip
• 30 seconds of push ups (modify these by doing them on your knees if need be)
• 30 seconds of ‘phantom’ skip
• 30 seconds of front plank (drop to your knees if needed)

Repeat between three and five times.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Want to become a fitness expert then you need to do our Personal Training Diploma.  Follow this link to find out more.

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Walking can be as superb as a workout, if not better, than running is. You often hear of people ‘plateauing’ when they carry on doing the same workout routine and don’t see results. You need to be switching up your exercise routine constantly in order to get the maximum benefit for your health.

A brisk walk can actually do wonders for absolutely every area of your fitness. Fitting in a few 45-minute strolls per week — at a pace of, say, five to six kilometres an hour — is one of the smartest things which you can do for your recovery, posture, injury avoidance, blood flow, and a lot more. It’s not high tech, it doesn’t look cool on Instagram, and everyone seems to have ignored its usefulness.

Here are a number of the benefits of incorporating walking into your exercise routine.

Better Mental Health

Studies have shown that exercise releases endorphins. These feel-good hormones may improve your mood, reduce stress levels and encourage emotional and mental satisfaction.

In addition to getting that all-important boost of ‘happy hormones’, making sure that you get out into some greenery is superb for the mind. A lot of research also shows that walking outside in nature may positively impact your mood. In actual fact, a 50-minute walk has been shown to decrease feelings of anxiety and worry in adults.

Untold Benefits For Physical Health

There are a number of different reasons to walk for exercise. Walking has been seen to do the following:

• Improve fitness,
• Boost cardiac health,
• Alleviate depression as well as fatigue,
• Enhance mood,
• Put less stress on joints and reduce pain,
• Prevent weight gain,
• Reduce the risk for cancer and chronic disease, and
• Improve endurance, circulation, and posture.

It has been found that the energy used for moderate-intensity walking and vigorous-intensity running caused parallel decreases in risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes as well as heart disease over a six-year period.

Walking Doesn’t Tax Your Nervous System

It’s all very easy for weight training to be very taxing on the nervous system. Straining every muscle – as well as firing all your adrenaline in order to hit heavy compound lifts – can be great. However, if you’re too tired to do much of anything the next day — or worse still, if you’re still wiped but head back to heavy lifting at the gym anyway — then your recovery won’t be where it should. Walking is a great middle course to keep things moving without stressing your systems.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Do you want to become an expert at exercise? If you do, then you need to do our Personal Training Diploma. Follow this link to find out more.

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1. Sustain Your Body

If you are regularly working out, you cannot ignore what your body needs to not just function, but maintain. While calorie counting may not be a suitable solution for everyone, you need to be aware of how much food your body needs. The amount of calories that you need differs from person to person, as it is dependant on your current weight, your goal weight (if you intend to lose weight), and your workout routine. Particularly if you are working out a lot, you have to make sure that you are taking in enough nutrients to sustain your body during exercise, without overeating too much (which can lead to weight gain).

2. Whole Foods Only

Just because you are creating healthy habits does not mean that you have to eat salads every day or that you need to restrict yourself when it comes to certain foods. The best habit to form is to eat whole foods that are unprocessed and packed with nutrients. By avoiding the empty calories of processed foods and unnecessary sugar, you will quickly and easily be able to create a healthy diet that will help you get the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.

3. Consistency Is Key

Being consistent is one of the best habits that you can have when it comes to nutrition. While one cheat meal won’t ruin your progress, an easy way to keep yourself on track to reach your goals is to be consistent in your diet. Once you have worked out what kind of diet works for you (e.g. Keto, whole foods, high fat/low carb etc.) try and stick to it as much as possible, because once you’ve built the habit, you won’t have to work so hard on eating healthy – it will be second nature!

4. Love Your Diet

Many of us might baulk at the word diet, associating it with fads that force you to cut sugar or carbs or fats. However, you can create your own diet that is not scary and does not force you to cut out anything that you don’t want to. Of course, we would not recommend designing yourself a diet that consists of take-a-ways and chocolate, but you should create a diet for yourself that you will genuinely enjoy! If you don’t like salads or hate the standard meat/veg/carb plate, experiment with dishes that you like and find some healthy foods that you will look forward to eating regularly.

5. Prepare Your Food and Snacks

Meal prepping is something you have probably seen on Instagram, but it can be a great way to build the habit of eating healthy on the regular. If you have meals prepared in the fridge, or even just the ingredients prepped and ready to be cooked, you will be more likely to eat healthier food than pick an unhealthy option. Another tip is to prepare snacks as well! Whether it’s a hand made healthy snack or a healthier replacement of your favourite cheat snack, having it on hand means that you can make healthier decisions with ease.

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If you are keen on learning more about healthy eating habits, then you need to do our Specialised Nutrition Course. Find out more by following this link.

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1. Any Exercise is Good Exercise

When you are starting out, the biggest hurdle can often be deciding what kind of exercise to do. There are so many diverse kinds of exercise nowadays, from spin classes, HIIT workouts, and Pilates, to yoga, jogging, and weight training. If you are a newbie you have the opportunity to try out what might work for you, so do not get caught up in trying to pick one thing that you are going to stick to and instead, try out a variety of options to see what you like. Any movement is good! Over time you will learn what you like and then you can start to build a program that works for you.

2. Too Much, Or Too Little?

It is usually recommended that you do about 30 minutes of exercise a day. However, this exercise can vary from walking to a full cardio session. As an exercise newbie you may want to begin with 30 minutes of exercise two to three times a week, such as a jog, HIIT session, or yoga class – and keep the other days simple with a brisk walk.  Over time you will be able to do more intense workouts more often but remember that any movement is better than no movement! In terms of doing too much, as a beginner, you do not want to overdo it. Rest days are important, even for professional athletes, and working out too often and not giving your muscles time to repair will damage your progress overall.

3. Develop Habits

Starting slow and building up to more intense workouts might seem counterintuitive if you are looking for quick results, but in the long term pushing yourself to work out for an hour five days a week will lead to injury and burnout. What you are aiming to do is build the habit of exercising regularly and putting together a program that you can actually follow consistently for a long time. By working slow and steady, you will develop a healthy relationship to exercise, which in the long run will help you to maintain your routine for longer.

4. Find Motivation

Motivation to exercise will mean different things to different people. Once you find your motivation, it will be easier to keep going and keep improving. Try exercising with a friend, so that you can work together to build healthy habits (and they can help get you out of bed when you are feeling unmotivated!). Or try setting realistic and dynamic goals that are not based on weight – for example, try aiming for an extra five reps and then when you achieve that, push for ten!

5. Take Care of Yourself

This is the most essential thing to remember to do when starting a regular exercise programme. Make sure to drink enough water, don’t skip the warm-up or the cool down, and take rest days if you are feeling too sore or uncomfortable. If you feel bad, you will associate that feeling with exercise and this will stop you from enjoying your workouts! Lastly, remember that taking care of yourself does not just involve your physical health – your mental health is just as important! While exercise boosts endorphins and can help you to feel better on a bad day, when you are new to exercise and you are not seeing the results that you want, it can be hard to stay happy. Make sure to celebrate all of your successes, no matter how small. Whether its five push-ups instead of four, a few seconds improvement on your running time, or a small improvement to your form – you made that happen and it is worth celebrating!

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If you’re an exercise newbie, then you may want to hire a personal trainer to help you get on the right track. Better yet, why don’t you study our Personal Training Diploma to see how it’s done! Follow this link to read more.

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What Are Supersets?

Supersets are a technique to allow you to get the most out of your workout by keeping the rest time short. Usually, a superset is made up of two exercises (e.g. bicep curls and tricep dips) that are alternated without a rest in between. The idea is to do a set amount of each exercise, take a short rest, and then repeat the set again.

There are three main types of supersets:

• An Antagonist Superset: these supersets target opposing muscle groups—for example, one exercise that targets the triceps and the other targeting the biceps. The advantage of this kind of superset is that you can maximise your recovery time, as when the one muscle is being worked its opposite is relaxed, and therefore you only need to take shorter breaks between sets.
• An Agonist Superset: these supersets target the same muscle group with both exercises, for example, the chest. The advantage of this is that you are adding intensity to your workout by really targeting and working one area of your body with maximum intensity.
• The Unrelated Superset: this kind of superset targets two very separate muscle groups, for example, lunges and pushups. The advantage of this kind of superset is that you are not overworking one area of your body and you, therefore, do not lose strength in one muscle group, allowing you to perform higher quality reps throughout the set.

What Are The Advantages Of Supersets?

• One advantage of supersets is their ability to allow you to boost your performance in specific targeted areas. For instance, if you are trying to improve your squat performance, you can superset jump squats and weighted squats to target the muscle groups with explosive movements. Or if you’re looking to improve your upper body strength, you can focus on two exercises that are target those muscle groups and intensely work those areas.
• Doing supersets of the same muscle groups (the agonist superset style) allows you to target those areas with greater intensity in a shorter period of time.
• You also have the advantage of keeping your workout simple, but because you are switching between different exercises so that you will not get bored doing the same one exercise over and over.
• Lastly, the biggest advantage of a superset workout is that you are getting an intense workout in a short period of time. By taking short breaks and performing quick reps, you are maximising your workout time without compromising on intensity.

In conclusion, supersets are a great way to add variety to your workout routine. If you are short on time, you can still get a powerful workout, and if you have the time, you can target specific groups with high intensity.

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A personal trainer will be able to assist you in terms of adding supersets into your routine. Perhaps you want to become a personal trainer yourself and learn all that there is to know about health, fitness and everything in between. Follow this link to learn more about this course.

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1. Quality Over Quantity, But Quantity Does Matter

It may very well be the oldest phrase in the book, but when it comes to online content, quality is incredibly important. With the rise of influencers and professional social media marketing, a low-quality photo with a half-hearted caption is not going to cut it. Make sure to put effort into the content that you produce and ensure that every post that you send out represents who you are and what you stand for. That being said, with the algorithms of Facebook and Instagram at work, you need to post regularly in order to be visible to your followers. Do not spam their timeline with multiple posts a day, but make sure that you have content going out regularly so that you stay relevant and familiar to your audience.

2. Plan Your Posts

A lot of people online do not plan the kinds of content that they are going to put out, opting for posting whatever they think of on the day. A better strategy to follow is to sit down and think out a plan of what kinds of things you want to post and on what days (even it’s rough!). Look at other personal trainer’s and fitness bloggers’s profiles and see what trends they are following and which posts of theirs are receiving a lot of engagement. It is important to understand what your potential audience enjoys and to make posts for them. It is also a phenomenal idea to change the kinds of posts you put out, from videos of workouts, photos of you and your clients, to motivational posts.

3. Be Transparent

In order to build good relationships with your online followers, they need to know who you are. While talking about the services that you offer is important, in the online arena, there are many personal trainers who are doing the same thing. Stand out from the crowd and make yourself relatable, by sharing your story about who you are as well as why you do what you do. Another great way to make yourself accessible to potential clients is to be transparent about your business and the world of personal training, by talking about and answering frequently asked questions about the misconceptions that people have about personal trainers. While you may think that this might turn people away from your business, it can actually have the opposite effect, as by being open about things that might be making your customers nervous you can build trust and break down the common misconceptions at the same time.

4. Conversation versus Speech

The most important thing which you need to remember about social media is that everything that happens online is a conversation, not a speech being presented to your followers. Unlike print media, social media allows your audience to talk directly to you, engaging with your content directly via comments and direct messages. Make sure to engage back – reply to their comments and messages and get involved in the conversation. Don’t be that person who just posts motivational quotes and beautiful photos but never talks to their followers. See your followers as friends and potential clients, and then talk to them as such. This is the number one way to build successful relationships online and it cannot be ignored!

Simply put, in this day and age, social media is unavoidable. If you want to make the most of your online presence make sure to remember the key things; post quality content consistently, plan what you want to say, be open and available, and communicate with you followers.

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If you happen to be a personal trainer or any other fitness professional and would like to discover more about marketing your business on social media, then you need to do our Social Media Management Course for Fitness Professionals. Read more here.

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What Goes Into Keeping Your Family Well And Healthy?

To start with, it will help your family feel good both inside and out. The first step in doing so is changing our eating habits. This will translate into healthier habits and promote an active lifestyle in the process. Don’t try and change things overnight, involve your family in the process and allow them to have their say – after all, it affects them just as much as it affects you.

Start Simple

Start with simple daily tasks; don’t bombard your family with everything in one day. It can be difficult to fit in and complete an hour-long workout session and pre-plan every single meal and snack to feed your active family; it will take time to turn it into a routine. Work with what you have and find simple ways to incorporate healthy changes. Too much too soon can be overwhelming and result in your efforts going to waste.

5 Tips For Encouraging Exercise

1. Find ways to keep the family moving

Spend some time outside in the garden. In addition, try to have everyone involved in chores. Reduce TV time and find fun ways to get everyone off the couch and on their feet. Daily walks with the dogs can do wonders. All you need to do is find a small part of your day to dedicate to some sort of activity.

2. Involve the kids when it comes to preparing meals

Even though it’s healthy and possibly green, you kids may be more excited to eat your healthy food when they’ve played a role in preparing it – you’ll also be teaching them some valuable life skills in the process.

3. Promote rainbow eating

Colourful fruits and vegetables are essential for any diet and by making a game out of it, you’ll have your kids looking out for all kinds of colourful things to eat that aren’t forms of processed sugar.

4. Go to the shops

Not to spend money, but to keep the kids moving in a way that they least expect it, who would’ve guessed that a trip to the mall would equate to exercise?

5. Set goals

With fitness trackers being made readily available and more affordable than ever, why not challenge the family to see who will be able to track the most steps in a day or week and reward them with a prize?

Once you’ve got your family up and moving, it will be easier to get them to agree to participate in exercise programmes and other forms of physical activity that aren’t necessarily home-based. Motivate your family to do more and achieve more and reward them for reaching their goals. It’s a simple process but will do your family a world of good. Isn’t it time to take a step in a healthier direction?

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If you are intent on hearing more about exercise tips to keep your family well, then you should consult a personal trainer. Better yet, why not become a personal trainer yourself with our Personal Training Diploma? Read more here.

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Why is core training important?

There are three major benefits to having a strong core; posture and balance, athletic performance, and injury prevention.

Improving your balance and posture is very important, particularly as many of us live very sedentary lives. By strengthening your core, you will have the ability to carry yourself with a better posture throughout your day-to-day life as well as during exercise.

Increasing core strength can also improve your athletic performance. You might have heard before how important core strength is, regardless of what exercise you do, and everyone who says this is correct! Your core connects your upper to your lower body and a weak core weakens your body overall. By building a strong core, you increase your ability to lift heavier weights, move faster and stronger, improve your reaction times, and perform exercises with greater control.

A strong core will also help you to avoid injury. By improving your body’s ability to hold positions and bettering your ability to support your body weight, you are less likely to fall or injure yourself. You are also able to stop the overextension of other muscles in the body, which can occur when your abs are not strong enough to support certain exercises (particularly heavyweights); therefore leaving the other muscles in your body to compensate.

Progressive Core Training

Now that we understand why progressive core training is important, we can look at a few examples of core strengthening exercises that will help you to develop a strong core:

1. Weighted Forearm Plank

This exercise takes a standard forearm plank and adds another level of strength training. Essentially perform a forearm plant, weighting yourself on your forearms (hands palm-down, elbows under shoulders) and toes. Keep your back straight, forming a line from your neck to your lower spine. Have a partner place a weight (e.g. a circular weight) on your back and hold the position for 30 seconds. You can also start on your knees, placing the weight yourself, before moving to the plank position.

2. Bird Dog

This exercise involves dynamic movement that forces you to control your core to hold your position stable. Begin on your hands and knees. Your hands must be under shoulders with your knees under your hips. Holding in your core lift your right arm and left leg off the ground, reaching them out until these are parallel to the ground. Controlling your abdominal muscles, retract your limbs back to the starting position before repeating with the other arm and leg.

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Progression is a vital concept that every personal trainer needs to master. Find out what other concepts they need to master on our Personal Training Diploma. Follow this link to find out more.

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What Is Olympic Lifting?

Olympic Lifting is a form of weightlifting that stems from the lifting performed at the Olympic Games. Moves such as the Snatch and Clean-and-jerk are used to judge strength and form, with the main goal of this style of lifting being moving a very heavy weight off of the ground and above your head in a controlled manner. You might be thinking. I’m not an Olympic athlete, so why would I be doing this? In previous years Olympic Lifting has become more mainstream, with more people including these styles of lifts in their workout routines because of the many benefits!

What Are The Benefits?

Apart from the general benefits of building strength and muscle, Olympic Lifts have a few other added benefits. Due to the extreme weights used in Olympic Lifting these style of lifts are a full-body experience. You are engaging muscle groups all over your body as you perform as therefore, as well as building strength, you are engaging with your body and its movements, which will help you to improve balance, posture, and form.

What Should You Know Before You Start?

One thing that is very important to note before you jump right into Olympic Lifting is that these lifts are not something that you can just start doing. Due to the large amounts of weight you are required to shift, you need to know the exact techniques in order to perform these lifts correctly. It is recommended that you find someone with the knowhow to coach you and watch your form to make sure that you do not injure yourself. Start small and controlled and get to know the movements before you start using weights!

What Kind of Olympic Lifts Are There?

When you get started there are two moves that you will probably get to know quite well, the above mentioned Clean-and-Jerk and the Barbell Snatch.

The Clean-and-Jerk involves lifting a weighted barbell off of the ground, onto your shoulders, and then squatting briefly before standing up straight.

The Barbell Snatch involves raising a weighted barbell up off of the ground and up over your head in one fluid motion.

There are many benefits to Olympic Lifting, from improving muscle tone and strength, increasing speed and agility, and enhancing your balance and reaction times – do not be afraid to give it a try as something to add variety to your workout routine.

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Has this article inspired you to find out more about Olympic lifting? If it has, then you should really check out our Olympic Lifting Course. Follow this link to find out more.

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What Are They?

If you haven’t seen battle ropes before, they are large and heavy ropes that are anchored to a single point. For most workouts with them, you hold one in each hand and use dynamic movements to exercise different muscles and build strength.

What Are The Benefits?

The benefits of battle ropes are multiple! You can work many different muscle groups with various moves: mainly your chest, arms, and shoulders, but also your back as a secondary muscle group, as well as legs and core as you stabilise yourself. They are also a great option for those looking for an intense full-body workout that is low impact, giving you the experience of endurance running or other intense workouts without the same wear and tear. Battle ropes (while working your whole body) are a rare upper body-focused workout that improves cardiorespiratory fitness – which will help to improve your resting heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory endurance. Lastly, they’re fun! It’s a very different kind of workout for a lot of people and the excitement and challenge of something new can add a level of fun to your workout routine.

How To Get Started

The battle ropes might be intimidating to a beginner, and they are not for the fainthearted. Like all other workout techniques, it is important to focus on techniques, learn what you’re doing, and practice – do not go too hard too fast. The battle ropes look easy when you watch someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s just waving a rope around right? In fact, it is much more about technique and specific movements. Here are two basic moves to start off with:

1. Battle Rope Waves

• Standing with feet hip-width apart bend your knees slightly, and keep your back straight.
• Holding a rope in each hand, engage your core, and alternately wave the ropes up and down. Try not to move your body as you do so, only your arms.
• Try and keep going for at least 30 seconds, to begin with, and slowly work up to longer sessions.

2. Battle Rope Slams

– Standing with feet hip-width apart bend your knees slightly, and keep your back straight.

• Holding a rope in each hand, engage your core, and slam the ropes up and down simultaneously.
• This is an intense move and should be dynamic; allow your body to move along with the movement. Again, try to go for 30 seconds at the start before building up to longer sessions.

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 So many more moves and workouts can be performed with battle ropes, all of which can help to build muscle, strength, and cardiovascular fitness. If you want to learn how to use battle ropes for yourself then you need to do our Battle Ropes Course. Follow this link for more information.

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However, if there was ever a workout that would be able to do it, it is Pilates. Notorious for its ability to build a stronger core, certain Pilates moves can help to target those elusive lower ab muscles and give you the core strength you have been searching for.

And the advantage of focusing on your lower abs is not just a flat stomach as those muscles are also important for helping you stabilise your back and pelvis as well as overall balance. When working your lower abs, make sure to focus on the muscles you are trying to work and take it slow and steady in order to see the best results.

5 Lower Ab Pilates exercises

1. 90 Degree Static Press

This move is the perfect way to start off a workout as it will definitely warm up your abdominals!

• Lying on your back with your knees lifted off the ground at a 90-degree angle keep your feet flexed towards the sky. Keep your head and shoulders pressed into the ground and press your palms onto the top of your thighs. Breathe in deeply. As you exhale engage your core and press your lower back into the floor as you press your thighs back into your hands. Hold for a second before releasing.

2. U-Boat

This is a deceptively good move for the lower abs – don’t let the tiny movement fool you because this will engage your core intensely.

• Sitting on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, carefully lean back and rest your body on your elbows, with your hands facing towards your body. Engage your abdominals and slowly lift your legs (keeping the knees bent) up at a 90-degree angle. Holding this position and bring your legs over to the right side. Lower the legs to the middle and then over the right (tracing a ‘u’ shape in the air).

3. Lift and Switch

This is a fantastic move for not just the lower abs but the entire core. It may take a little practice to get good at it but you can start small and then work your way up (a great way to see the progress that you have made).

• Start on your back with your arms resting at your sides. Cross your feet at the ankles (or press the ankles together) and, using your core, lift your legs up straight. Hold for a second before bracing your abdominal muscles and lifting your lower body and legs off the ground (keeping your head and shoulders on the ground). Pause for a second before lowering yourself back down.

4. Jackknife

This move will help you to engage your abs and improve your control over them.

• Lie on your back with your legs extended and arms stretched back overhead. Press your lower back into the floor. Engage your abs. Pointing your toes and engaging the muscles in your legs and glutes, lift your legs and upper body off the ground to create a ‘V’ shape. Use your core to hold the position and slowly lower yourself back down to the mat.

5. Plank Jack

This is a dynamic move that will help you to engage your core muscles and build strength in your spine, improving alignment.

– Begin from a plank position with your hands under your shoulders, toes pressed into the floor, and core engaged to support your back. Then jump your feet in and out, like you are performing star jumps or jumping jacks in the floor. Keep in mind that you need to keep your core and glutes engaged as you move.

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Pilates is an exercise that works more than just your core. If you want to learn about the other exercises which Pilates offers then you need to do our Pilates Instructor Course. For more information, please follow this link.

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In general, any kind of workout or fitness regime is a way to feel better and reduce the signs of ageing. Pilates is a great choice because it is accessible for everyone, regardless of your fitness level, flexibility, or age.

Standing Up Straighter

When we think of the implication of ageing on the body we usually think about going grey and gaining wrinkles, but what we often forget is what a difference bad posture can make to appearance. Not only does poor posture give the illusion of age physically, it can mentally make you feel uncomfortable and older than you are. Pilates focuses on improving your bodily alignment and posture, strengthening your muscles and allowing you to stand taller and feel better about yourself.

Strengthen and Lengthen

Pilates is also a good way to combat another thing that happens to us when we age: muscle deterioration. While that sounds scary, it is a natural part of ageing and happens gradually over time. However, if you do not stay active you stand a chance of developing further injuries and problems such as osteoporosis. Pilates is a nice, easy way to keep your body moving, retain flexibility, and improve your muscle tone.

Prevent Instead of Fix

Another problem that comes with age is that injuries can become more frequent and can have longer-lasting impacts on your body. While, as mentioned above, any kind of exercise can help to keep you feeling younger, Pilates is particularly good because it is a low-impact workout that exercises the body as a whole. Other workouts can place focus on one specific body area during a workout, and this can lead to imbalance in muscle groups and a higher likelihood of pain following workouts. Pilates allows you to work all of your muscles every workout, ensuring that you are not putting too much stress on your body in specific areas. All of this means that you are working to prevent further injuries and remain as strong and flexible as possible.

 Mental Age is More Important

Lastly, and possibly the most important anti-ageing thing that Pilates can give you, is better mental strength. Pilates workouts focus on building a connection with your body and understanding the way that the moves which you perform help to strengthen your muscles. Building awareness of your body and connecting with yourself with guided breathing can improve your ability to move and be active in your daily life. Exercise routines like Pilates also help to keep your mind sharp and focused, while reducing your risk of mental illness and depression.

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Does this sound interesting to you? If it does then you may be interested in becoming a Pilates instructor. For more information, please follow this link.

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However, the new workout craze that seems to have taken Instagram by storm might not be as familiar to you. Barre has become the workout routine of choice for many, but you might be wondering what exactly it is all about.

 Barre and Pilates are Similar

 Pilates and barre share a lot of similar elements, which is why you will often see classes that are a hybrid of the two, like Pilates-barre classes, or even those that include principles of yoga as well, like barre-yoga and yoga-lates. But, as they are seen as being so similar it can be hard to determine what makes these workouts distinct. We are here to break down what these two workouts are and how they can benefit you.

What is Pilates?

Pilates is a full-body, low-impact workout that can be performed on a mat or using equipment. These workouts usually consist of moves designed to help you build strength, flexibility, and balance. Mindfulness and breathwork also play a large role in Pilates as the practice is designed to assist you with becoming more in tune with your body as it moves.

The benefits of Pilates include:

• Builds core strength,
• Improves joint alignment and posture,
• Full-body workout and focuses on muscle toning,
• Great recovery or second workout for athletes,
• And it is accessible for everyone, regardless of your fitness level.

What is Barre?

Barre workouts incorporate moves from ballet, yoga, and Pilates. It usually requires (as the name suggests) the participant to be supported by a barre, although mat work also plays a large role in barre workouts. Unlike Pilates, barre workouts are designed to include segments of higher intensity cardio that raise your heart rate, although there is still an emphasis on low-impact moves like Pilates and yoga. While Pilates movements are usually slow, intentional, and based around a large range of motion, barre movements are often smaller, deliberate, pulsing movements.

The benefits of barre include:

• Increased balance and core strength,
• A full-body workout which increases flexibility and posture,
• Micro-movements work to tone as well as define muscles
• Cardio portions can help to burn calories
• Accessible to everyone, regardless of dance experience or fitness level.

What is the Difference?

As you can see the two are slightly different although both share a lot of the same benefits. Barre workouts are more cardio intense and often include music and choreography, while Pilates tends to be a quieter more introspective experience. Therefore, choosing between the two is more a matter of workout preference than picking the ‘better workout’. Both Pilates and barre are great workouts, with fantastic physical and mental benefits – so no matter which one you choose, it will undoubtedly benefit you in the long run.

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Want to find out more about becoming a Mind Body Specialist, which will make you into an all-round yoga and Pilates specialist? If you do, then follow this link.

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One of the biggest advantages of Pilates is that it can be done easily from the comfort of your own home, so you are not restricted by gym memberships or bad weather conditions! However, like any new workout routine, it can be daunting to start something that you don’t know anything about. So, here are four easy steps to get started doing Pilates at home:

Four easy steps to get started 

1. Setting Up Your Space

Most Pilates workouts only need a space the size of a yoga mat so as long as you have enough space to comfortably move your body, you can start to practise. Luckily, Pilates does not require a lot of space or expensive equipment (though you can start to build a collection as your progress if you wish to), but usually a good yoga mat or cushioning for your knees and elbows will help you to be comfortable during your workout.

2. Find A Workout

Thanks to the Internet, there are multitudes of Pilates workouts available for free online. From YouTube and fitness apps to online articles and Instagram live classes, there are plenty of choices when it comes to selecting a workout for the first time. Make sure to try a few different options until you come across an instructor that you enjoy listening to and whose classes are appropriate for your fitness level.

3. Get Mentally Ready

A large component of Pilates is breathing and mindfulness, so make sure to get in the right mood before you begin your workout. Dress comfortably, stretch before the workout, and practise your Pilates breathing. Pilates may look like a calm stretching workout (and it is relaxing), but it is also a full-body experience so prepare yourself for a good workout!

4. Slow and Steady

Like any new workout routine, Pilates is going to be difficult at the beginning so start with beginner’s workouts and look out for modifications. All Pilates moves can be adapted to be easier or harder, depending on what level of fitness you are and what you are seeking to gain from the particular workout. Don’t stress too much if some moves are too difficult at the beginning. It will only be more satisfying when you finally master them!

Pilates is a great way to improve flexibility, strength, and posture, and it is possibly one of the most simple ways to exercise at home! And, the best part about Pilates is that it is easily adjustable for your fitness level, meaning that as you get stronger, you can progress with more challenging workouts and see even better results.

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If you want to become a Pilates instructor, then the best way to do this is by doing our Pilates Instructor Course. For more information, please follow this link. If, however, you would like to become a Pilates Instructor as well as a Yoga teacher, then you should really check out our Mind Body Specialist Certification. More information can be found here.

The post The Beginner’s Guide to Doing Pilates at Home appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

However, the good news is that we are also aware that sports, as well as physical activity, have been proven to have positive effects on mental as well as physical well-being. Thus, hiring a personal trainer can help with a great many different chronic conditions.

The proof is in the research

Studies which have been conducted show that regular exercise can assist with:

• Relieving stress,
• Reducing depression, and
• Improving cognitive function.

This functions to enhance a person’s ability to better be able to take life in their stride. A recent survey which was conducted in the United States found that over one-third of adults (which translates into 37 percent) reported that they took part in exercise less than once a week, or not at all.

Behind the scenes look at the effects of exercise on the brain

Physical activity is responsible for stimulating brain chemistry in a number of different areas which control mood. Studies show that working out assists the brain with releasing endorphins and producing serotonin, which generates the feeling of well-being in addition to happiness.

Every single day, there are increasing amounts of evidence to support the fact that exercise has an incredibly beneficial effect on depression and anxiety. There are excellent placebo control studies which compared the effects of antidepressants as well as exercise on the mood of a patient. It was found that the effect on mood is the same for both forms of treatment.

Science has demonstrated that exercise can be responsible for alleviating symptoms of depression. In fact, a large new study found exercising anywhere between two to six hours a week seems to reap the most mental health benefits.

In another study which was carried out by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, it was found that 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise, which was done five days a week was responsible for reducing symptoms of depression by almost half after 12 weeks.

Depression’s roadblock against exercise

However, although exercise is often suggested for depression, for patients suffering from this disease finding the energy to work out can be a serious struggle. Depression can make dealing with day-to-day responsibilities energy-zapping, so it’s not surprising that self-care routines like exercise are often not feasible.

If you’re suffering from depression and want to exercise, but don’t know how to get started, here are some ideas regarding how you can get the motivation to make this happen.

Start small

If you’ve been sensing like your energy levels are low, it’s probably a good idea to revamp your exercise routine with something simple to avoid getting too overwhelmed. Try starting with a 20-minute stroll, and work up to a longer walk, or jog if that’s your preferred type of exercise. In addition, don’t underestimate the power of a simple stretching routine to help you stay active. This will assist you with getting back into the swing of exercising.

Exercise at home

If you’re finding it to be particularly difficult to get dressed and to leave your house to exercise, try not to push yourself past your limit. Luckily, you don’t need a gym to break a sweat: Download a free exercise app or browse Instagram to find a routine you can commit to — without leaving the comfort of your home.

Phone a friend

Depression can make you feel isolated as well as alone. The best way to combat that is by reaching out to your support system. Finding a friend that can be your workout buddy could be super beneficial, especially when you are feeling depressed. Research shows that exercising in groups can help you stay motivated and holds you accountable. It also releases more endorphins than solo workouts do. This means that you’ll get more mood-boosting hormones that can help improve your mental health if you commit to working out with a buddy.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Want to learn more about the benefits of exercising? If you do, then you should definitely contemplate doing a personal trainer course such as the ones that we offer. For more information, please follow this link.

The post How hiring a personal trainer can assist you with beating depression appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

With the right qualification behind you, you could pursue a fitness career working with high-profile clients both here and abroad, and will have everything you need to ensure that your fitness business is a success.

So which course gives you the best shot at success?

Our personal training diploma and platinum package is arguable the best one available in the South African market.

Personal Training Diploma: The Platinum Package

The platinum personal training package offered by the Trifocus Fitness Academy gives budding fitness professionals a complete set of skills necessary to be an effective trainer, and to run their own businesses with the best chance of success. Complete with international accreditation from REPSSA, CATHSSETA and SAQA, no field of professional fitness will be out of your reach when you hold this qualification.

So let’s take a closer look at what this course offers:

A Personal Training Diploma & National Certificate of Fitness

The platinum package personal trainers course offers an encompassing set of modules that are essential to an understanding of professional fitness and includes topics covering anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, conducting physical assessments and health screening, motivation, and wellness concepts.

This course also covers essentials for managing yourself as a fitness professional, such as entrepreneurship, designing exercise programmes, as well as coaching for special needs and population groups such as the elderly or disabled.

Beyond this, the platinum course also covers a range of specialist skills that allow you to focus on particular segments of fitness; including a group instructors course, an online Bootcamp course, a sports psychology course, life coaching, a specialised course in nutrition and a course on social media marketing for the fitness industry.

Let’s take a closer look at how this enhances the quality of your qualification when doing the platinum course:

Group Instructor Course

A group instructor course will allow you to specialise in workshops and sessions that train groups of people. These group instructor courses include specifics on Yoga, boxing instruction, kettlebell courses and more.

Online Bootcamp Course

The comprehensive Bootcamp course includes drills, how to set a Bootcamp up, offers information on the nuances of group instruction and offers practical instruction on how to facilitate effective and profitable outdoor Bootcamps; an excellent addition to the repertoire of any personal trainer.

Sports Psychology Course

The Sports Psychology course offers specialised information for mental skills training and what a coach’s role is in this regard.

It imparts knowledge on how to work with and motivate groups, teams and individuals, how to deal with sports industries, and how to combat discrimination on the fitness industry.

Life Coaching Certificate

The life coaching segment of the platinum course includes information on how to assess the needs of your clients, will give you the tools needed to conduct career coaching,  offers an understanding of the principles of wellness coaching, relationship coaching, establishing a beneficial client/coach relationship, time management principles and matching skills to ideal tasks or jobs.

UK Sports Nutrition Diploma

This segment of the platinum personal training course will outfit you with specific knowledge for understanding the relationship between proper nutrition and performance in exercise. It gives you a complete overview of how nutrition relates to wellness and sports, and how to assess and design specialised nutrition plans.

Social Media Management Course

The platinum course also outfits you with the tools and knowledge to conduct effective social advertising for your business or fitness brand.

This segment of the package includes modules relating to content creation for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube to draw in clients and create interest around your fitness business.

Contact the Trifocus Fitness Academy 

Are you looking for the best possible personal training course in South Africa to kick-start your career in fitness?

Contact a representative from the Trifocus Fitness Academy today, or visit our website for further details on all of our online fitness courses.

The post Where Can I find South Africa’s Top Personal Training Course? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

What business fundamentals does every fitness professional need?

Although being a superb fitness professional means having an accredited qualification as well as heaps of experience, taking that skill and running a successful fitness business takes a bit more.

Business plan

First you need to put pen to paper and write a business plan. The business plan is the blueprint for the fitness business that you’re going to be starting. In other words, it describes exactly how you’re going to make your business fly.

Often, we make the mistake of thinking that a business plan is a single document that you put together when you’re first starting out and then leave it along. However, in actual fact, the business plan for any business will change over time as the organisation develops. Any particular business may have multiple business plans as its objectives change.

Here are the sections of a business plan:

• Executive summary which is a snapshot of your business.
• A company description which describes what you do.
• Market analysis consists of research about your industry, market and competitors
• Organisation and management looks at your business and management structure
• Service or product deals with the products or services you’re offering
• The marketing and sales section details how you’ll market your business in addition to your sales strategy
• Funding request looks at how much money you’ll require for the next three to five years
• Financial projections contains information such as balance sheets
• The appendix is an optional section that includes CVs and permits

Marketing and sales strategy

Once you’ve put together a detailed business plan, the next business fundamental that you need to have – as a fitness professional starting out your own business – is a marketing strategy. You may have developed a superb business plan but unless you know the best way of getting your business to market, you mind as well pack up shop right now and start looking for a job.

Together with a marketing strategy, you’re going to need to know how to sign up those clients and to start making money because you can have the best marketing strategy in the world – and get all the leads for new clients that you can – but unless you know how to convert these leads into sales your business is not going to do well.

Social media

One of the best ways that fitness professional – particularly a personal trainer – can market their business is by using social media. Some of the best platforms to use for this include Facebook and Instagram as these are visual and do justice to what a personal trainer is trying to portray.

The fabulous aspect about social media is that it is possible for you to target people locally, in the area that you work in, or otherwise you can expand your reach nationally and internationally. This brings in the possibility of putting together new product offerings such as online training.

Study the Fundamentals of a Fitness Business Course with Trifocus Fitness Academy

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy 

Want to learn more business fundamentals about running a fitness business? Check out Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Fundamentals of a Fitness Business Course to learn more.

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We’re not saying that a personal trainer – or any other fitness professional, for that matter – must become an expert social media manager. However, what we are saying is that fitness professionals cannot afford to neglect social media marketing for their businesses as this marketing channel brings in the most customers, for business, at the lowest possible cost. In this article, we’ll have a look at what social media marketing principles fitness professionals need to know.

Must-have social media skills for fitness professionals

As the social media network that has the largest number of people on it, starting off your social media presence on Facebook is a good first step. And the great news is that you don’t have to start out by spending a cent. You can set up your social media presence on Facebook for free.

Create a personal business presence by utilising a fan page

One of the main strengths of social media marketing is its power to create relationships between businesses as well as their audiences. The person-to-person communication that can happen on social media makes potential personal training clients feel that they have encountered a personal trainer in a meaningful way and that they now have a special connection with that company.

Maintain a robust brand presence

While it’s true that your Facebook posts most likely won’t appear in your audience’s news feeds you  unless you are paying for this privilege, that doesn’t mean that you should refrain from posting on your page.  Today, people often use Facebook as a search engine in order to find out more about a company. This means that a robust, active page that’s full of regular posts and lots of audience engagement is a great way to showcase the fact that your customers are satisfied and enthusiastic.

Join Facebook groups

Facebook groups offer a networking opportunity for professionals. There are any number of Facebook groups which are dedicated to various industries, professions as well as interests. Use your personal account in order to join groups of colleagues in addition to groups where your target audience is likely to be found.

Create your own group

If you can’t find a Facebook group that really fits what you’re looking for then you should create your own group:

• Add members,
• Publish articles that you feel will be of interest to them,
• Carry on meaningful discussions, and
• Meet quite a few prospects.

Because you own the group and control the conversations, this automatically grants you industry leadership status in the eyes of your members. This can only help when they realise that they need the product or service you provide.

List your events

If you’re hosting a webinar or speaking somewhere you can create an event page and invite friends and people in the groups you’re in to attend. You can even see the number of RSVPs you’ve received and get feedback from attendees.

Syndicate your blog

If you know that you will forget or won’t be able to find the time. to share your latest blog posts on your Facebook page or profile each week, automate the task. There are many different online tools which you can use in order to do this, from simple plugins for WordPress to suites of digital marketing software, that will automatically post each new blog post to your Facebook page for you. More Exposure = More Traffic = More Leads.

Stream live video with Facebook Live

The intimacy and immediacy of making live videos on Facebook creates the sense, for your viewers, that they are getting a behind-the-scenes peek at the real you. This will also entice them to stick around to watch much longer than they would for a regular video owing to the unpredictability of live video.

Create a community

Perhaps Facebook’s biggest benefit is that it lets you create a community. It provides you a group of people who are constantly connected to you. In addition, they are open to hearing your message. Engage with people authentically, this means writing on their walls, responding to their comments on your own, conversing in groups, or introducing people to each other. Before you know it, you’ll have created a community of friends who look favourably on you and your personal training business.

Study Social Media Management For Fitness Professionals at Trifocus Fitness Academy

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Want to delve in depth into how you can leverage social media for your fitness business? Check out Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Social Media Management for Fitness Professionals.

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Fitness in Sports Management

The above might give off the impression that sports management is all work and no play, but it really isn’t. When a sports management course is combined with a personal training diploma, entrepreneurial sports enthusiasts have the tools to build wildly successful careers as personal trainers, group exercise instructors, sports team coaches, and more.

Sports management has essentially become sports and fitness management, due to the high number of people wanting to land jobs in the booming fitness industry. In this context, a sports and fitness manager – like a personal trainer – would also be responsible for developing fitness programmes. In our exercise science certification course, which falls under sports management, students learn fitness fundamentals like the energy systems, the FIIT principal, and learning how to motivate clients to improve their fitness.

Some other fitness-related roles sports managers need to fulfil could include:

Managing Trainers & Classes

A sports and fitness manager needs to facilitate the fitness lifestyle itself. They do this by ensuring that group exercise classes are scheduled and run smoothly. This might also include sourcing sports managers specialising in various fitness programmes.

An athlete has various requirements that need to be fulfilled in order for him or her to be at the top of their game. For example, they will need personal trainers to make sure that they are in peak physical condition in addition to nutritionists to ensure that adequately fuel their bodies so that they perform at their best. The sports manager will be in charge of sourcing these professionals for the athlete.

Maintaining Exercise Equipment

Facilitating fitness in a gym and sports environment also includes the managing of exercise equipment used in the fitness process. People need machinery to get fit, and that machinery requires repair from time to time – even replacement. Hey, someone has to keep the medicine balls in good shape!

Before using any equipment check that it is safe and stable and that there are no loose nuts or screws on the machine. If the machine rattles or works with a jerking motion while doing an exercise stop immediately. Unplug any equipment when it’s not being used. Check cables on the weight machines to make sure that they’re not frayed or damaged. Make sure that cables are covered with a protective sleeve. When buying a machine that need electrical power, make sure that the electrics are covered by the warranty.

Sourcing New Clients

Another responsibility of a fitness or sports manager might include sourcing clients for their fitness centre, personal training business or sports facility. This would involve marketing the establishment, planning open days, canvassing for local clients, and facilitating public relations activities.

A great way to make this happen is through social media. Use visually based platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to showcase pictures of your fitness and sports facility. Only put your best pictures onto these platforms as you want to show the best side of your organisation.

Retaining Existing Clients

Getting new people into fitness and well-being is one thing, but a sports and fitness manager can also endeavour to retain those clients and enhance their fitness journey with programmes and fitness incentives. Make them feel special and that  they matter to you. Give them perks that other fly-by-night customers aren’t eligible for so that they stay with you for longer.

Study Sports Management Part Time with Trifocus Fitness Academy

With our sports management course, you’ll learn the essential skills needed to successfully enter the sports management industry – regardless of where you see yourself. Contact us today for more information on our wide scope of fitness courses!

The post What Does Fitness Mean in Sports Management? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Like it or not you, likely everyone you know interacts with social media at some point in the day. Because of how widespread it is, and because your target clients are already spending a lot of time on social media, it makes perfect sense to promote your fitness business using platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

It’s easier than it looks, and if you’re a personal trainer then your clients are looking for businesses like yours on social media already. You just need to show them that you’re there.

Social media marketing for you fitness business

Marketing a Fitness Business on Facebook

Facebook requires no real introduction. You probably know quite a lot about it already. Setting up a business profile on the world’s most popular social media platform just makes sense.

It’s quite simple really:

• Go to Facebook and sign up for an account, if you don’t already have one.
• Once you have completed that, set up your page and you will have access to a neat set of extra tools that you can use to manage your Facebook presence. There are:
• Publishing tools,
• A job manager,
• An ad centre, and
• Even information about how many people are viewing and interacting with your posts.

What’s good about it?

Facebook has a massive reach and its basic publishing options are free. You only need to pay if you choose to boost your posts so that they have a much higher, and far more targeted reach.

The abovementioned targeting options are easy to understand and quite customisable. To be honest, you get great value for your money when boosting posts.

For sharing videos and pictures, Facebook is great. Considering the nature of the fitness industry, videos and images are the exact type of content you want to be sharing if you’re a personal trainer. The thing we like most about Facebook is that you can schedule posts, which makes planning ahead that much easier.

Things to Remember

Boosting posts can be a little risky. If you make a mistake with the budget options things can get expensive fast. You can, however, use the ‘Billing’ tab to set a billing threshold, which is highly advisable.

Facebook also has a fairly strict set of rules about what can and what can’t go into a boosted post. If you try to pay to have a post boosted and your ad gets rejected, make sure that it is in line with Facebook’s Ad Guide. This link is also helpful if you don’t intend on paying for boosts, since it contains helpful information on best practices.

Post Scheduling Best Practices

Remember to post regularly but without overdoing it. It is best practice to stick to a regular schedule. Perhaps daily; three times, or twice a week.

Start an Instagram Profile

Instagram markets itself directly to mobile device users, and as of 2019, 63% of all Internet users access it using their phones.

Instagram shares its popularity with Facebook; both are very widely used, and are perfect for sharing media such as images and videos, that you can use to get your brand out into the world.

What’s good about it?

Instagram is fairly simple to set up, even when setting up business profiles. It is regarded as the most widely used visual sharing platform, and this is because it has been designed to be used on the go.

It is also free, and content on Instagram is highly shareable, which makes it a great way for small brands to get their name out.

Hashtags, too, are a powerful tool for getting your content out there; they are also essential to your posts, so make a point of including plenty of them.

Things to Remember

Unlike Facebook, Instagram (as of yet) doesn’t allow you to schedule posts, but that doesn’t mean that consistency is any less important. You will still need to stick to a (planned) posting schedule, except that you’ll need to be vigilant and do it yourself.

There are third-party scheduling tools that can be used, but it’s probably easier to just do it yourself.

Instagram also has a set of guidelines that you should stick to for your posts to be effective. Pay particular attention to the aspect ratio of images (1080px by 1080px) to have them display properly on smartphone displays.

Learn More at the Trifocus Fitness Academy

Trifocus Fitness Academy is an online, accredited provider of fitness courses. Enroll with us today to learn how to start and run your own fitness business, by visiting our website.

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For most personal trainers, Instagram has become not only their fitness diary but a way to connect with the community and reach out to a bigger customer base. Without the right hashtags, however, your Instagram account will dormant.

Hashtags allow your posts to be seen by a wider audience who might not already be connected to you. They allow you to categorise your posts on Instagram under a particular heading so that when people are searching for a specific category – such as #fitness – and your posts are also categorised under #fitness, you’ll get a whole new audience.

As a trainer, you want your images, information, services – or whatever you may feel pertinent in marketing yourself – to be viewed by likeminded individuals. Using the correct hashtags puts you that much closer to your goal.

Using the right hashtags

Investigate what your competitors or other brands in the fitness space are using. Narrow down which hashtags fit best with your target audience. You can even come up with your own unique hashtags to share on all your posts, and encourage your clients to use it too. Or, use hashtags that are commonly used in your community. This can be a great way to build your brand and attract the right kind of followers.

Be specific

The more specific your hashtags are, the more targeted your audience will be that will see your posts. In addition, there won’t be much competition for specific hashtags as not many people use them. This means that there will be a better chance of your social media post getting seen as there isn’t a lot of competition.

Stay relevant

Ensure your tags are relevant to the post. For instance, if you are posting about a workout session focused on legs, hashtag the body part being worked out (this being the legs).

Hashtag the names of movement being performed, like #squats #legextensions #legcurls.

Use broad terms, phrases and ideas that relate to fitness and exercise, like #exercisemotivation #fitnessmotivation#diet #mealplans #personaltraining #grouptraining

Pace yourself

Do not post too many hashtags. This can also attract the wrong kind of followers. In addition, if you have too many hashtags attached to your post, people will get the impression that you don’t know what your target area is. Try to use, at the most, five hashtags.

Some popular hashtags

#Fitspo #Fitfam #GirlsWhoLift  #GymLife #Legday #NoPainNoGain #FitLife #GetStrong #Workout #MondayMiles #ChestDay #SeenOnMyRun #TrainHard #Gains #Strengthtraining #Physiquefreak #Fitness #Bodybuilding #Yoga #CrossFit #FitFluential #Fitnessfriday #Flexfriday  #Sundayrunday  #Instarunners #Gym #Movenourishbelieve #Squats

Obviously, the same applies to other social network sites, as hashtags have become a common way of finding things in, what can be, the confusion that is social media. The most important things to remember, when you are using hashtags as a personal trainer, is not to stray too far from hashtags relating to fitness. Its all about attracting the right followers and making it easy for people to understand and find you. If you use hashtags correctly, it can be a very valuable marketing tool. But if you use them incorrectly, they can drive away a large portion of your client base.

So remember to hashtag wisely!

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Social media is a superb way for personal trainers and other fitness professionals to market themselves. If you want to get more in-depth knowledge about how to go about marketing your fitness business on social media, Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Social Media Management for Fitness Professionals is for you! For more information, follow this link.

The post How can Personal Trainers use Hashtags? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

The idea that only wealthy people with premier gym contracts have access to personal trainers is a myth. In fact, with the rise of Internet-based communication, anyone with a computer or smart device can now enjoy personal training sessions. Let’s define online personal training, look at a few workouts you can expect when engaging an online personal trainer, and discover the benefits of online personal training for both trainers and clients alike:

Defined: Online Personal Training

This self.com article on whether to hire an online trainer or not reveals that, ‘more trainers are offering their services through Skype, e-mail and online training platforms’. You can add to that list social media, with many trainers setting up and inviting people to fitness events – through social media management –  that are often held in public parks or sports grounds.

As previously said, online personal training can then be defined as the process whereby personal trainers plan, promote and execute personal training sessions via the Internet. Trainers and clients can use these online-based services to arrange times and dates of sessions (via e-mail and/or instant messaging), meet up for training sessions (via Skype/Google Hangouts), and exchange valuable training insights through shared multimedia.

Types of Workouts Involved

If your personal training session is online, chances are that you won’t be moving around too much. You’ll need to stay close to the webcam and screen to stay in communication with your trainer. This is why many online personal training encounters are centred around a fitness step or confined to the exercise mat. For runners, online personal training comes in the form of VOIP calls between client and trainer while hitting a 5K. There are also amazing group training apps, computer programs and online courses that personal trainers use for getting groups of people together and exercising in the digital world.

Why Consider Online Personal Training?

For trainers

• Access to a much bigger potential client marketplace
• Ability to train more people at once
• Trainers can work from practically anywhere
• Don’t need to use a gym’s facilities and, as a result, will save you oodles in rent

For clients

• Regular communication with your personal trainer
• Ability to join personal training sessions from anywhere
• Don’t need to have a gym membership
• Cheaper than in-person personal training

The key to success with online personal training

Your brand is your calling card. It’s the feelings and thoughts that people have about you when they hear your name or your company name. What this means for a personal trainer is that when potential clients here your name, the first thing that you want them to think is: “He/she is really good! I need to take sessions with them!”

By far, the best way to develop your personal brand is social media. For personal trainers, the best platforms to use are – without a doubt – Facebook and Instagram. Why do we say this? A personal trainer’s calling card is their body. They need to keep their bodies in top-notch condition so that potential clients will look at them and think: “If he can do this for himself, I wonder what he can do for me?”

Both of these platforms are visually based. They allow users to express themselves through pictures. This is particularly true of Instagram as the main focus of this channel is sharing pictures. They offer a number of filters for you to apply to your pictures so that you can give them the wow factor.

As a personal trainer developing their personal brand, you need to have a Facebook and Instagram presence on which you can share pictures of you and other people who you’ve worked with. One of the beauties about Facebook is that the platform allows you the ability to input your contact details so that people searching for you can find you. This is particularly powerful because it takes over the function of a website so if you don’t have the resources to develop one at the moment, people will still be able to find you and see what you’re able to do!

Become an Online Personal Training Guru

Take the online personal training world by storm and use your social media skills to promote your own online personal training business! Get the essential personal training skills you need with a Trifocus Fitness Academy personal training diploma. Contact us to find out more about kickstarting your career in online personal training today!

The post What is Online Personal Training? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Personal Trainer Duties

Assessment & Goal Setting

Your personal trainer should start off by assessing your current fitness level, and discuss any personal goals you’ve set, as well as any past injuries. Getting back into shape is a big decision to make. This is because it usually coincides with the setting of a specific outcome. Want to run the Comrades Marathon? Maybe it’s to look good in that dress you bought when you were two sizes smaller? Your personal trainer should listen to your goals and aspirations, and endeavour to make them a reality.

However, if your goals are unrealistic – like shedding 10 kg in a week and keeping it off – be prepared that your personal trainer will tell you this. He or she will make sure that the fitness goals that you set for yourself are S.M.A.R.T. This stands for:

• Smart
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time bound.

Exercise Plan Development

Once they know what you’re capable of, a personal trainer gets to work developing your custom fitness regime. Complete newbie to exercise? Your personal trainer should start you off at a level you can handle – slowing increasing your capacity with lifting weight, reps and sets as your fitness improves. Personal trainers are well connected in the fitness industry and can even put you in touch with dieticians and nutritionists should you want to get your eating habits aligned with your new healthy lifestyle!

Leading by Example

It’s a personal trainer’s job to know exactly how to perform an exercise, and yours won’t shy away from getting sweaty with you! Working out is tough on the body, and when exercises are performed incorrectly this leads to pain, strain and sometimes injury. Watch your personal trainer carefully as they show you the exercises you’ll be doing, and prioritise form when performing them yourself. With good form, you’ll strengthen correctly and won’t be plagued by downtime due to soreness or – even worse – as not having the correct form when you exercise can lead to serious injury.

Motivation & Celebration

There’ll be times that you might hate your personal trainer, and that’s OK. Sculpting the body of your dreams isn’t easy. Fret you not, because your personal trainer will be there at every step of the way. Motivation comes naturally to them, and you want to push yourself more just because they believe in you. The final but most important thing a personal trainer does is celebrate your wins with you – regardless of how small you think they might be.

When choosing your personal trainer, make sure that his or her brand of motivation works for you. Some people may respond well to their personal trainer shouting at them while others will not be motivated at all by this type of behaviour. So make sure that your personality clicks with that of your trainer in order to get optimal results.

A Good Personal Trainer is a Qualified One

As a final note, be sure to ask your potential trainer about their qualifications. You don’t want to spend money on something that means the world to you, only to find out that your mentor isn’t qualified to train you. For this reason consider trainers that hold a personal training diplomas from reputable fitness colleges. Get in touch with us at Trifocus Fitness Academy to find out about our Personal Training Diploma – Platinum Package and see how this bespoke selection of course will make you into the best personal trainer you can be.

Considering a Career in Personal Training?

If you’re passionate about helping people, and you’d like to get into the best shape of your life, personal training might just be the career move you’ve been waiting for! Choose from short personal training courses through to comprehensive recognised personal training diplomas. Find out more about our Trifocus Fitness Academy personal training courses today! Alternatively, we have a wide range of other online fitness courses available. To learn more about these, visit our website.

The post What Does a Personal Trainer Do? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Lelani Loots Q&A

What was that one ‘a-ha’ moment which made you get to the gym?

Before I fully committed to the fitness lifestyle, I lived a pretty ‘typical’ life as an active woman. I was always athletic and I would go to the gym or for runs but I never really pushed myself. I was always conscious of my diet but would never go the extra mile.

What keeps you pushing?

I am always motivated by something new:

• One day it could be someone’s kind words,
• The next day it could be seeing a girl’s physique on Instagram who inspires me, and
• Sometimes I motivate myself by seeing how far I’ve really come.

I think it’s very important to look back and remember why I started. Another motivator for me is when I get questions from people online or at my gym.

What do you enjoy about the fitness lifestyle?

I’m very self-motivated and I love seeing results. It’s fabulous to have such a great fan base and to be able to help change people’s lives

How often do you work out a week?

I work out six days a week:

• On three of those six days I do two sessions a day: a gym session in the morning and a CrossFit session in the evening.

I love training, enjoy working hard and give it my all throughout the week.

What is your favourite type of workout and why?

I find that what works best for me is using a rep range of between eight and 12 reps as this allows me to go heavy on the weights. I also like to play around with supersets, drop sets and pyramid sets. I limit my workouts to between four and five exercises. I never go over this number because adding more exercises feels like a waste of time to me and I always like to maintain my form.

For my cardio I enjoy doing CrossFit because it’s an all-in-one workout:

• Strength,
• Cardio, and
• Gymnastics.

The last time we chatted, you said that you completed our Personal Training and Life Coaching qualifications. What made you go for these?

Getting paid to do what you love and making a career out of it is the dream! The ethos presented by Trifocus Fitness Academy allowed me to do this.  Every day is different. You’ll meet all kinds of people from different walks of life who want to achieve various goals. You won’t just be helping people get fitter, you’ll be making sure they lead healthier, active lives and change how they feel about themselves.

What are your fitness goals for 2019?

This time next year, I see myself training hard and continuing to develop my physique, fitness and health.

If someone, who is just starting out on their fitness journey, came to you for advice, what would you tell them?

• Be consistent as this is the key to success.
• Be patient. Improving your body takes time.
• Don’t let setbacks discourage you. There will always be something that throws you off track. Focus and keep pushing forward.

If you dream is to become a personal trainer like Lelani, have a look at the comprehensive range of personal training courses on offer at Trifocus Fitness Academy!

The post Lelani Loots: An Incredible Fitness Journey appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

The power of the visual medium

Of our five senses, the ability to see is the most powerful. Vision is not just about this ability. The power of vision lies in the human’s ability to derive meaning from what they see and to interpret it.

Instagram is a purely visual social media platform. Its focus is on the pictures that users upload and share with their followers. It doesn’t offer much room for commentary or other sophisticated features. They don’t have all of this clutter so that the user can look at the picture and interpret what they see.

Today, we’re suffering from information overload. When presented with a lot of text that we have to read we’re more likely than not to switch off and not to absorb anything. The fact that Instagram relies on imagery to transmit their message keeps the user’s attention for that much longer as they are not being faced with the prospect of doing work. However, the power of the image means that the single picture has just as much impact as reams and reams of text.

Your content will get noticed

Instagram will only deliver content to their users which they feel that the users will like and respond to. It’s not organised in a chronological fashion so that you are served the latest post made by one of your followers – no matter if you’re interested in it or not.

If fitness professionals harness this characteristic properly, the message that they want to communicate could very well reach a wide distribution and become evergreen. In other words, the content will live on beyond the time that you post it. If you’re operating as a Pilates instructor, you’ll want to follow people who produce similar content to you. This is so that they get to notice you and will engage with your content as well. Chances are also very good that content which you haven’t produced recently gets picked up down the line and engaged with by new users.

Remember the hashtag

Instagram is a great proponent of the hashtag. This is used to categorise similar content so that when a user searches for a particular hashtag they will be presented with all the content that is similar to this theme. You’ll also be shown how many posts have been made with this particular hashtag.  Examples of hashtags that fitness professionals can use, and are widely used by others, are:

• #fitness
• #fitnessmotivation
• #fitnessquotes

Use social media automation tools

As a fitness professional, your time is your money. And you earn your money by training clients as opposed to doing your marketing. To help you minimise the time that you spend on making Instagram posts, but not compromising on your quality, we recommend that you use a tool such as Hootsuite which allows you to schedule up to 30 Instagram posts to go off when you would like them to. This will ensure that you are responding well to all aspects of your business.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Our specialist fitness professionals have told us that the best way that they’ve found to market their services is through social media. However, they had to spend a lot of time trying to figure out the best way of marketing themselves on these platforms. We heard this and have developed the Social Media Management for Fitness Professionals Course to help you get on top of social media in fraction of the time it would have taken you to do this on your own. Visit our website to learn more.

The post Why Fitness Professionals Love Instagram appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

What is a brand?

A brand is so much more than your logo. Yes, you can’t have a brand without a logo but your brand is about the feelings of trust that your clients and potential clients have in you, the fitness professional, when they see your logo on social media. You need to become fitness brand on social media.

The concepts may sound airy fairy but let’s give you an example to bring it down to earth – for example FitChef. This company’s brand stands for good and nutritious food that people following a healthy lifestyle can trust. How they have differentiated themselves in the market is by taking the hassle out of preparing healthy food and pre-preparing it for you – and even delivering it – so that your life is made easier. FitChef has been very clever in the branding and marketing that they do on social media in that they have earned the public’s trust and have gained a loyal following.

The key to developing yourself as a fitness brand on social media

Social media is a very powerful tool for fitness professionals to use to build their brands up. This is particularly true of visual platforms – such as Facebook and Instagram – where you can show off how you could potentially craft people’s bodies by showing them the success that you’ve had with your own body.

Another very key factor in what makes a person decide to go with one fitness professional as opposed to another is the brand of motivation. For example, a client will more likely go to a fitness professional – be in a Pilates instructor, Yoga teacher or personal trainer – who is able to motivate them according to the particular brand of motivation that responds to them. A great way to show fitness brand on social media is to find quotes and motivational snippets that respond to you and keep you going . Post these onto your Facebook and Instagram feeds so that passive social media users will be converted into active fitness clients.

Always be professional

Whatever social media strategy that you decide to follow, always – above everything else – make sure that you remain professional. This will show your potential clients that you take their training seriously and that they will more likely than not be able to get the results that they want through you.

Join Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Social Media Management for Fitness Professionals Course

We, at Trifocus Fitness Academy, have recognised the need for fitness professionals to manage their social media presence and create a fitness brand on social media. This is why we’ve developed our Social Media Management for Fitness Professionals Course. On it, we’ll teach you – the fitness professional – how to navigate the wilds of social media and to make it successful for your business! Visit our website to find out more and to register!

The post How to Develop Yourself as a Fitness Brand on Social Media appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

If you know quite a bit about exercise programs and ways to help people achieve their goals, maybe you are already a personal trainer at a gym, you can become an entrepreneur and start your own fitness business.
Below are the steps which you can follow to get you started.

Advice to start a fitness business

Determine what type of fitness business you want to start

You need to decide if you want to become a personal trainer, a Yoga instructor, a gym instructor or a Pilates instructor – there are many other options available. Besides getting a world-class fitness education, you’ll also need to become a master motivator so that you can help your clients achieve their fitness goals.

Get all the necessary licenses to open a fitness business

You will also have to register your company with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

Lease or buy a space for your fitness business

Firstly, you need to ensure that the space is large enough to house everything you may need as well as a class of people, unless you will be doing one-on-one training. You could even run the business from your home if it is big enough. Other options include training clients at their homes or training people at a gym. Be warned that you’ll have to pay rent to the gym if you decide to go with the second option.

Purchase fitness equipment

You can choose between new equipment or used equipment, that’s in good condition of course. Used equipment will save you money though.

Promote your fitness business

Nothing can make a business fail faster than poor marketing. You need to promote your business in as many ways you can. Marketing can be very expensive so you need to bear the costs in mind. Social Media is a great way to promote your business for free.

Social media can be extremely confusing as there are so many platforms and loads of different types of content that you could post. The good news is that as a personal trainer, there are certain platforms that you should be sticking to that will bring you the types of clients you want. But – before you do this – you need to make sure that you’re very clear about what you’re offering so that you can define your marketing message correctly.

Explain your service offering

As a personal trainer, you need to be very clear about what you could potentially be offering your clients so that you can structure your marketing message in accordance with what you’re offering.

“For example,” says Lisa Schneider: Managing Director at Trifocus Fitness Academy, “you could decide to do – in addition to your personal training qualification – a nutrition certificate so that you can advise your clients on the best diet they must follow so they can achieve their goals. Alternatively, you could look into getting trained in alternative training routines – such as kettlebells – which will add an extra dimension to your clients’ training.”

Choose your platform well

When choosing the social media platform that you want to have a presence on, think about the decision-making process that your clients will go through when choosing a personal trainer. What will they want to see? What will make them choose you?

An idea is to make a short video clip of you demonstrating an exercise, and talking through it, which you can post on social media. This will give people a glimpse into your training methods. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are great for displaying pictures and videos. It’s been shown that people on these platforms are more likely to make purchasing decisions about personal training services than any other social media platform.

Be consistent

Set up a posting schedule for your social media platforms and stick to it. Being present regularly on social media will help people to recognise you and will prompt them to phone you for a quotation.
Social media marketing is a very affordable platform for marketing your business; the only spend you need to make is your time. But make sure that you get your social media presence right. If you don’t, there could be very negative consequences!

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Trifocus Fitness Academy will guide you in the right direction so that you can start your own fitness business. Plus up your CPD points with our Fundamentals of a Fitness Business course or for something more comprehensive – the Entrepreneurship Course .

The post How To Start a Fitness Business appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Why did you choose Trifocus Fitness Academy for your college?

My Name is Mandy Carline Binney and I live and breathe fitness. You can ask any member of my family or any one of my friends how dedicated, passionate, committed and motivated I am. It all started about 6 years ago when I decided to change my lifestyle. I lost both parents due to ill health and lack of healthy habits at ages 64 and 61. Then I decided, I wanted to live a longer, healthier lifestyle so I joined Virgin Active. I was never a Sporty Person, an Athlete of any sort, I was overweight and had a low self esteem. When I joined Virgin Active I was an overweight, 58.8kg, and a size 16.

This is my Fitness Journey.

Introduction

I started by just walking, cycling and rowing as that was all I was capable of doing without passing out. Eventually my fitness levels started increasing and I started with the circuit. Wow, what a workout, even still today. After that I incorporated the weights this was about a year later. I then decided I needed a Personal Trainer, as I could not do this on my own and I did not want to hurt myself, knowing the right techniques.

I then approached Torros Basson, one of the best Trainers at Menlyn. How did I know this you wonder, I watched all of them in that first year, and their clients. Torros had a client who was overweight and after a few months he had lost so much and was well toned. Not only did I see improvements in his clients, Torros worked just as hard at maintaining his fitness. I decided then, that, that was the Trainer I wanted – someone who not only gets results but upholds the image of fitness by executing it himself. Torros would help me with programs – he would train me for 3 days then I would be on my own, go back to him every 8 or so weeks for a new program.

I continued with Torros for about just over a year, the introduction to the weights was awesome, but I wanted more. So I decided to join a Running Club – Love Running. My endurance and stamina grew by the day, I eventually got to run my first 10km. The more I did the more I wanted to do, and this was when I decided I wanted to be a Personal Trainer. I had gone from a size 16 to an 8/10 basically half the person I was, dropped weight from 58,8kg – 48kg. I am currently now 54kg but still a size 8/10. Weight is not an issue for me as I have toned.

Setbacks

We all know that there are setbacks in the Fitness World, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture, which eventually after many x-rays, scans turned out to be nothing, this put me off training of legs for 6 months, I had lost so much time, this pushed me back to the start, I have still not gotten back to where I was before, but every day I try a little bit harder to get there.

Reasons why I became a Personal Trainer

Why is always the question… My main reason for wanting to be a Personal Trainer is to show people that your body can change. You can achieve a better lifestyle, look better with the right exercise and correct nutrition. Everybody’s body is different and to stop looking at magazines and supermodels, because you won’t necessarily ever look like them. You should be the best version of yourself, with hard work, patience and focus, push through. Nothing in life comes easy, you need to work for it.

The results are rewarding. I tell my friends to take the scale and throw it in the bin; I’d rather be heavy and toned than skinny and saggy. Weight has nothing to do with what you look like, you can weigh the same, but lose cm and body fat, and look amazing. I want to empower woman to not be scared of the weights section. The boys are intimidating yes, but if you stand your ground and work hard, you earn the respect you deserve. It takes a while, but soon they will start moving out of your way and stop staring, making you feel uncomfortable. Weights burn so much more, and tone your body; they are 10 times better than just doing the cardio.

I would also like to get the elderly more involved in exercise, even if it is simple little exercises. Even if it is just to increase flexibility so that daily tasks like tying their shoelaces will not be a problem. It will assist them in everyday life, like taking a walk without having to stop for being out of breath. Fitness will help them to be more alive and happy with life. Exercise releases endorphins and you stress less and tend to be a happier person.

I know the fight, he struggle, setbacks and failure, but I also know the success… I want to enrich the minds of others with the knowledge that I have, and the stories of blood, sweat and tears. Being able to associate and let them know that I understand their pain, as I was once in their shoes, is what makes it so great. I want them to be able to look in the mirror and love what they see. I am now more confident than I have ever have been and that is all thanks to fitness.

My Qualifications

• Certificate in Personal Training through Trifocus Fitness Academy
• CPR Course through EMT
• Registered Exercise Professional with the Register of Exercise Professionals South Africa (REPSSA)

My Future

My ultimate goal and what matters to me most is changing the lives of others. I want to show them the capabilities of their bodies. Motivating healthier lifestyles, supporting and motivating people who need it most. Being the Best Trainer I can be, leading by example and showing the world, that ordinary can become extraordinary. I am not in this Industry to see how much money there is to be made. I studied so that I can help others become the best versions of themselves by having the knowledge of safety and to always have their best interests at heart. For me it is all about for the transformations, the smiles, the confidence, the appreciation; none of these things can be bought only earned.

Feel Free to view how I motivate and impact lives.

Fitness Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandysfitnesspage

Instagram: titchie81za

What Course did you just complete?

I completed my Personal Training Certificate Last year. CPD courses: Fundamentals of Fitness Business, Pilates Ball and Athletic Nutrition.

What did you enjoy best about this course?

Personal Training : My case Study, being able to train someone. My CPD’s the wealth of knowledge I have gained, enables me to be a better Trainer and providing my clients with the best of me. Trifocus has a learning platform that keeps you interested and coming back for more!

How did you like the online learning material what parts of the online experience did you enjoy the most? (if the question is applicable)

I liked the videos. Sometimes with studying a book can be boring. Even when there are quizzes, the online platform keeps you interested and your hand does not get tired of writing. You stay focused and keep clicking away, eager to know what’s coming next and don’t want to leave your PC because so much more awaits you!

Would you recommend Trifocus to your colleagues and why?

Most Definitely, REPPSA gives us other CPD endorsed colleges, but I came back to Trifocus for my CPD’s. The consultants are great, the Assessors are friendly and make you feel comfortable. Trifocus helps, their courses don’t intimidate their students with knowledge they help you understand it first. Tri-Focus, the name says it all, 3 Focus Points, 1. Passion to be a Fitness Professional, 2. Knowledge, gain the knowledge and you can’t go wrong, 3. Work Ethic, work hard to be the best version of yourself and lastly Focus, Focus these 3 things and you won’t go Wrong!!!

How has becoming qualified with Trifocus improved your Life Style and Wellness out look?

It has helped me to understand that helping someone achieve their goals is better than watching them fail. For me it’s about the smile that the results bring to my clients. The self satisfaction that nobody can buy. When hard work pays off, that is when we Appreciate it most. There are no quick fixes to this lifestyle and when you realise that with the right guidance and knowledge, you have all the power to be the best version of yourself!

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy 

The post We Catch Up With Trifocus Graduate, Mandy Binney appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

The truth is that their lifestyles on social media are not as made up as you might think they are. These are the benefits that personal trainers have over people in other professions.

Why you should become a Personal Trainer

Personal Trainers are In Charge of their Time

This means that they don’t have a fixed work schedule. They work when their clients need them – no more spending two hours a day, in traffic, getting to and from work!

Personal Trainers write their own Pay Cheques

Yes – you heard right! They can earn stacks of money –  typically most trainers once established earn anywhere from R30 000 –  R70 000 per month. And that’s just in South Africa! Overseas personal trainers can earn upwards of $130 000 a year. That’s a whopping R1.7 million!

Lets face it, everyone wants a better body, but no one is going to take your advice unless
you are a trained fitness professional. So, you never fear about posting that selfie of yourself in
the gym as you will be getting paid for your advice!

Personal Trainers can Work Anywhere in the World

Trained fitness professionals are in demand all over the world. Fitness and longevity is a worldwide trend and  you can rest assured that you can take your skill as an accredited personal trainer anywhere in the world!

Beauty is not only skin deep – all good personal trainers know this

What these elite athletes all have is a well-known qualification. Gyms, private studios and even cruise liners will not hire you if you are not  qualified for the job.

Gone are the days you can complete your Personal Training Certificate through a doggy organisation. You will need a Personal Training Course that is both locally and internationally accredited.

The Beauty of an Accredited Personal Training Certification

Once you have an accredited Personal Training Certification you will be armed with adequate knowledge to back yourself in the fierce fitness industry and work your way up to being one of the Fitness Elite.

So rule of thumb is get down to basics and by basics we mean get an education – and not just
any education but an accredited fitness education.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy

Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Personal Training courses are both locally and internationally accredited and have been used as a solid backing by both the Fitness Elite and novice athletes to propel their way into the fitness industry.

Good luck on your mission! We are confident you will reach your goal of Personal Training stardom!

The post What are the Lifestyle Benefits of Being a Personal Trainer? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Reach the right audience as a life coach

1. Create a brand for yourself

Operating on your own as a life coach means that you are marketing your business and yourself as one complete package. You are your life coaching business, and it is you. It won’t happen overnight and will require a consistent approach to tone, image and identity so that potential clients can come to know you. However, the time is nigh to get your face out there and prove that you are living proof of the benefits of your programme. In all of your marketing efforts, remember that you are a life coach, so be sure to adopt a positive and motivational tone while maintaining an approachable image.

2. Network, network, network…

There are many industries that could benefit from the services of a life coach. The fitness industry, in particular, is made up of a series of tightly-woven relationships between trainers, suppliers, schools, gyms, sports-teams and a variety of other representatives. Making use of the community to get your brand circulating through building connections is not only a good idea, but an essential task for your success. Attend industry events armed with your business card and start introducing yourself and what you do. You’d be amazed how much business you can get by means of word-of-mouth.

3. Share your expertise and find your voice

A huge part of building your brand involves creating and circulating content on the web. Blogging is an excellent way to share valuable content and informative articles to establish yourself as an authority in the industry.  The more content you produce, the more likely potential clients and followers are to find you, read your content and share it. If you write regularly, you will also find your voice more easily; which is the tone you will use throughout your communication with your audience.

4. Provide valuable and rich content

Not every potential client will be willing to sit and read through every blog you post. This is why it’s a great idea to include videos, images and other formats of content to convey your expertise. People love free stuff, so if you have a free eBook, offer it to readers in exchange for their email addresses. Use infographics to convey a particular point instead of a 700-word article. Attention spans are getting shorter, so the sooner you can get your message across, the better.

5. Build a following on social media

Get into direct contact with your potential and existing customers with a strong social media presence. Ensure that your website is in top condition and search engine optimised so that every time you post or share something, you increase your chances of being found online. Then find out whether your customers are on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp or LinkedIn and focus your efforts on just those platforms. Social media allows you to connect with a targeted audience and you can even use it to network with industry thought leaders. Facebook adverts and promoted tweets are an effective way to increase your following if you have a personal branding budget available.

Your skills will give you everything you need to market yourself as a life coach and make a success of your personal brand. Use these simple marketing strategies, be consistent in your efforts and you will see an increase in the attention you receive both online and offline.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today

Do you wish to help others become the best versions of themselves? Would you like to help other people achieve their personal goals? Then our Life Coaching Certification is the course for you. Trifocus Fitness Academy offers nationally and internationally accredited courses at affordable prices. If you would like to know more about our life coaching certification, contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today, or visit our website for more details.

The post HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF AS A LIFE COACH appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

How to market your fitness business?

Start by setting some marketing goals

Before getting started, you need to set a few marketing goals that you would like to see your business achieve this summer. Then you need to draw up a plausible plan to get there. Consider what type of people you are looking to attract, how many of them you aim to reach and consider the best channels to help you achieve these goals. While doing so, take care to acknowledge your budget, bearing in mind that effective marketing won’t always be cheap. However, with a particularly wide variety of channels available to you, you shouldn’t find it difficult to reach your target audience. Once you have drawn up a comprehensive plan, you can start thinking about the possibilities associated with digital marketing and social media.

Get digital

Digital marketing involves marketing products and services using digital technologies, predominantly on the Internet, but also on mobile phones, display advertising, and other digital mediums. Digital marketing seems to offer more possibilities than traditional channels and it can be significantly more affordable, depending on what you do. It is also far easier to target specific demographics for a campaign using digital mediums, which makes them better value for money. Another benefit of digital marketing – it gives you the opportunity to respond to and initiate customer interactions quickly and easily. This means that you can take advantage of potential opportunities. You can also deal with challenges in a much shorter period of time.

Your consumers are online which means that you need to be online. Spend some time on your website and look at investing in search engine optimisation (SEO). This will help to attract potential clients to your website.

Be social

Marketing your fitness business has never been easier than it is today. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have become excellent marketing tools for gyms, sports brands and fitness businesses the world over. It gives you a variety of exciting ways to market your business in a visual, non-boring way. Additionally it creates an opportunity for two-way communication with your target audience. This enables you to build a stronger relationship with your customers and keep them coming back.

Social media is also the cheapest and easiest way to gain valuable customer insights. You can find out who your customers are. What they like, how they feel about your business and what you could potentially offer them. Through daily active engagement and social listening, you can gather relevant information about your customers. The info gathered can assist to make smarter business decisions. For example, if you see that many of your target audience members need dietary advice to complement their training, you can incorporate this into your social media campaign. You may start attracting more customers as a result.

Social media can also increase traffic to your website, which is good news for your search engine optimization. The higher you rank on Google, the more people will find your website and choose you over a competitor.

Offer promotions and rewards

Summer is the perfect time to draw in potential customers and peak their interest. This can be achieved with special offers and promotions on your classes. You can also introduce a rewards system for those who take part. The competitive nature of your fitness business creates the perfect environment for you to design a reward system. A reward system will attract new customers while keeping current ones motivated. For example, with group classes, offer a discount to those who can bring a friend to their next class. If the reward is worthwhile, you may find your next class has a few new faces.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy for details

If you would like to learn more about marketing your fitness business, contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today. Trifocus Fitness Academy offers a comprehensive and accredited entrepreneurship course that will give you the skills to draw up a business plan, attract customers and determine the financial requirements of your new venture. For more information, visit our website or call us on 0861 444 765.

The post MARKETING YOUR FITNESS BUSINESS IN THE SUMMER MONTHS appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

So, if you have been on the lookout for ways to increase your fitness business’ online presence on social media, here are some of the best channels to go for.

Facebook: customer interactions and brand awareness

Facebook is a brilliant platform for fostering brand loyalty and customer engagement. This is a super platform because you can engage your customers in addition to building your fitness business’ online presence – all at the same time. The social nature of Facebook allows for you to use customer reviews, pictures of events and links to your website to drive traffic towards it.

Facebook advertising can also be done. There are various options available out there for every budget. To get started with Facebook advertising, you first need to:

• Decide what your objective is,
• Choose your audience,
• Set up your budget, and
• Select the format of your advertisement.

Facebook also allows you to keep in contact with your target audience by providing them with blogs, news and promotions. This means that you need to make Facebook a cornerstone for your social advertising efforts.

YouTube: instructions, promotions and subscriptions

There are a number of ways that you can use YouTube’s advertising network:

• You can have short video ads displayed between streams.
• Alternatively, you can set up your own channel for instructive videos, news or promotions.

YouTube provides an excellent outlet for publishing content that will engage and interest your customer base. Alternatively, it will simply create brand awareness.

YouTubers view some 4950 000 000 videos daily . This makes it a channel with an extremely wide reach for your fitness business. It also allows you to specify your target audience. This ensures that your message is not wasted on the wrong demographic.

Instagram: rich media and promotions

Instagram is a fantastic platform for building relationships with customers as well as fostering trust and a corporate personality. By using images on Instagram to drive traffic to your website, you can gain a competitive advantage in the fitness industry, for your fitness business, while specifying your target audience.

One of the best things about Instagram is that it offers a solution for free advertising (if there ever was such a thing!) by using images and rich media to promote events, services, instructive images and competitions.

Mix and match

For the best results, a use combination of social media platforms at once. This will ensure that you have the widest reach of in terms of your target audience, you’ll build a strong online presence and provide multiple channels for customer engagement.

Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today to learn how to run a fitness business

If you would like to learn more about how you can market and manage your fitness business like a seasoned professional, contact Trifocus Fitness Academy today or visit our website for details.

The post Which Social Media Channel is Ideal for Advertising Your Fitness Business? appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Let’s be honest, we tend to let go a bit and pick up a few cms around the waistline over the December holidays. Summer holiday means ice cream, on-the-go meals, a drink or two. Christmas means plates and plates of your favourite food – no holding back.

Taking a break from your fitness routine is a must during December – for your body and your mind, especially if you’ve been following a strict eating and training regime throughout the year. However, it is very important to try and make the healthiest choices possible to avoid picking up weight or becoming a bit more unhealthy.

Here are my top tips on how you can stay active, healthy and slim during the holidays and festive season, but still have fun and indulge a bit.

1. Don’t stop exercising

Even if you don’t go to the gym, make sure you do something every day to burn off excess calories. A 20-minute bodyweight training session to kick off every day is more than enough. Or take a walk or jog on the beach. Try yoga or Pilates. Just stay active.

If possible, try to walk to all of your destinations while on holiday (if it is safe and if everything is relatively closeby). Another option is beach sports: volleyball, badminton, throwing a frisbee around – these are all fun activities that will burn of excess calories and help you stay slim and active.

2. Make better food choices

If you know you’re going to indulge, make better decisions and practise portion control. If you know there’s a big ice cream waiting for you at the beach, plan the rest of the day’s meals and reduce your carbohydrates slightly to allow for the sugar intake.

Practise moderation. Allow yourself one unhealthy or  cheat a day but only if you stay active that day. Make better choices: instead of waffles, eat protein pancakes. Instead of a milkshake, drink a protein smoothie.

3. Stay hydrated –

– Especially if you are planning on spending your days in the sun and if you are going to be active in the heat. Take a bottle of water with you everywhere, and try to get in at least 2 – 3 litres of water a day.

4. Don’t skip meals

When you do, you’re more likely to reach for the unhealthy stuff. Plan your day’s meals and stick to them as much as possible.

5. Don’t skip the protein

Use supplements to ensure you get in enough protein if you can’t have a meal.

6. Rest

This is extremely important for your body and especially your mind. If you are planning on being active, make sure you get in enough sleep every night for optimal health and recovery.

7. Relax

Going on holiday is meant to be a relaxing experience. It is an opportunity to rejuvenate your mind and body. Don’t go away just to rush around like you would every other day of the year. Take time to relax and let your mind rest. Do yoga, meditate, go for walks, read a book, colour – these are all great ways to switch off your mind.

Do as much as you can this holiday to look after yourself and rest so that you are rejuvenated and ready to take on the new year. The above tips will help you make better decisions that will help you stay active, slim and healthy, and keep those unwanted cms and kilograms at bay.

Follow me on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/justmariska_/ – as I share my vacation workouts every day from the 15th of December.

The post How to stay in shape, active and healthy on holiday appeared first on Trifocus Fitness Academy.