21 Bootcamp Lessons for Personal Trainers

The first time I did a group training bootcamp was back in 2001 or 2002…and not surprisingly, I’ve gotten a lot better over the years. Today, I want to celebrate my 35th birthday by giving you 21 tips to help you have the greatest bootcamps ever…so here we go:

#1 – You have to bring the ENERGY.

#2 – Watch your client’s form like a hawk.

#3 – Give your clients structured workouts. Not just random workouts where you jump from one exercise to another without a plan.

#4 – Create an amazing social support group.

#5 – Follow up with your campers during the day and week by email, Facebook, or text message.

#6 – Get all clients to pay in advance to AVOID billing hassles and uncomfortable situations.

#7 – Incorporate a transformation contest into your camps to maximize their results and participation.

#8 – Recognize and reward your campers as much as possible.

#9 – Just say NO to any type of long, slow cardio (including a jogging warm-up) in your bootcamp. People don’t want to pay $20 for something they hate and can do on their own.

#10 - Specialize. Be the “best bootcamp for moms”, the “toughest bootcamp in town”, the “Beginner Bootcamp Boss”, or something that sets you apart from all other bootcamps in town.

#11 - Give all bootcampers a nutrition BONUS.

#12 - Never stop learning and improving your bootcamps.

#13 - Run your bootcamps like a business, NOT a hobby. Get serious!

#14 - Be a role model. Show up on time. Be prepared. Lead by example.

#15 - Ignore the temptation to rely on “gadgets” and “gimmicks” in your bootcamps. If you can’t create an amazing bootcamp with only bodyweight exercises, you need to work on your skills.

#16 - Find a permanent location, preferably indoors. This avoids all the hassles of training outside (i.e. bad weather, humidity, etc.)

#17 – Train safe. Yes, you need to push folks, but you also have to remember that they have jobs and families that are more important than being able to do crazy exercises. And again, watch their form like a hawk.

#18 – Run a holistic bootcamp. Don’t just bring them in, crush them with a tough workout, and send them on their way. Show your clients how to eat right, reduce their stress, and avoid injury. Make their entire life better.

#19 - Inspire your clients to change their lifestyle. Bring the energy and be the best role model you can  be.

#20 - Never, ever, ever give up. This goes for you when you’re first getting started building your bootcamps…or when another big bootcamp company comes to town to compete with you…and it’s also a message you need to remind your campers everyday, that no matter how tough things are, YOU and your bootcamp are always there for them as social support. Stay strong!

#21 – Learn from other bootcamp experts – such as Steve Hochman, Leanne Ellington, Bedros Keuilian, and Chris McCombs on how to create the world’s best bootcamp and get more clients. Just one of those workouts will PAY BACK your investment 10x’s, I guarantee it. Plus, you’re only investing $2 per workout…less than the amount you probably spend at Starbucks or on your cellphone bill each day.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my bootcamp life lessons.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TTBootcamps Workouts

Incoming boot camp search terms:

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10 Step Guide to Becoming a Successful Personal Trainer

Is personal training still a good career? How do you get started in the industry? What certifications are the best? All of that and much, much more in this 10 step guide to becoming a successful personal trainer….

First, you have to care about people, not money. If you care about people and you’re passionate about exercise, health, and nutrition, then personal training should be a great career fit for you.

However, it’s not rainbows and lollipops.

Most trainers barely eek out a living. If you already have a job, the best thing to do would be to volunteer to train a few friends at all times of the day (you’ll need to enjoy training someone at 6am and 7pm on the same day if you want to have a full time job in the industry). It’s not a 9-5 gig, but if you love it, you’ll live with that, right?

What about the economy? Will personal training remain a viable career in the new economy?

The good news is that fitness bootcamps have become more popular and that gives you the opportunity to help more people while making an equal or greater income than regular one on one training.

Other bright sides: Depending on where you live, there is likely to remain a desire for one-on-one training from upper income individuals. Obviously if you live in Hoboken, NJ, the demand will be greater than if you live in Detroit, MI.

My friend and successful personal trainer studio owner Alwyn Cosgrove says that both the low-priced big box gyms and the high-end private personal training studios are doing well right now, but the guys in the middle are not.

Corporate fitness programs also seem to be a positive opportunity going forward as companies work to decrease their health insurance costs (among the many benefits of having healthy, fit, employees).

But there’s also the reality of the the down side. I’m not optimistic the general US economy is going to get better anytime soon…nor the economy in Europe…although Canada and Australia should fare better and Asia probably holds the greatest opportunity. The South American market is maturing, but will be years before it is like that of Canada or Australia.

That said, marketing expert Dan Kennedy likes to say, “all weather is local“…meaning no matter what the average American unemployment rate, there is always going to be areas where there are a lot of people with above average incomes and interest in one-on-one personal training…I guess it all depends on where you live – or on your flexibility in traveling for this career.

And if you’re just getting started, your options are like most other industries…you will need to “apprentice” somewhere when you start out…and this could mean working in a private studio or a big box gym.

Like everything in life, your success depends on the connections you make. In order to make the right connections, you will need to invest in your education by traveling to seminars or in an internship. These types of investments are usually worth every penny and more.

While still in University (which cost a large fortune), I spent a smaller fortune traveling to strength training seminars. But again, it was worth every penny.

With that general advice out of the way, let’s get into…

The 10 Step Plan for Success in the Fitness Industry

Here’s what I would do if I had to do it all over again…

1) I would get a certification from ACE, ACSM, NSCA, NASM, Can-Fit Pro (if canadian), CPTN (if Canadian), ISSA, or CHEK.

2) I’d get insurance (you should be able to do this without a certification – but I’m not 100% sure).

3) I would start training everyone and anyone I could for free (friends, family, work mates)

If you take the 6am-7pm personal training test (mentioned above) and pass it with passion, then keep going. If not, admit the fitness industry is not for you, and just stay passionate about fitness as a hobby, and re-commit yourself to your current job or continue to look for something else on the side.

I’m one of those optimists who believe that we all should be able to find a vocation in life that we love and are passionate about.

Also, one exercise I suggest you do – even before you start all of this – is to ask yourself:

• “What is my purpose/higher calling here on earth?”
• “What did my higher power put me here on this earth to do?”
• “Who was I put here to serve?” (this helps you determine your “niche market”)
• “What skill/ability do I have that NO ONE else in the world can do better?”
• “What do I want my legacy to be?”

This will guide you through the rest of the steps…

4) As soon as possible, I’d start finding paying clients through referrals.

(NOTE: I’d be doing all of this as a “side gig” while sticking to real job. Yes, it’s going to cause burning the candle at both ends…but these transitions always do).

I’d also develop a business based around group training (semi-private groups or large bootcamps) as soon as possible.

5) I’d start connecting with all local experts/veterans of the fitness industry. Find a mentor. You might have to knock on 20 doors till you find the right person, but it will be worth it.

6) I’d start attending seminars as soon as possible. Be strategic about your attendance…make a list of questions to ask and people to meet and don’t leave until each objective is crossed off. The most successful trainers are often the ones who leave with the most resources. And never, ever stop learning. If you do, you’re done. You’ve lost your passion and it’s time for you to move on.

7) I’d continue to network, build relationships, help others, and grow “the pie bigger” rather than trying to increase only my slice of the pie. Help as many people as you can.

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Zigler

Each day I’d spend time focusing on my gratitude for the opportunity to work my dream job (if the earlier line of questioning has determined this is it). I’d focus on being happy and ignoring the negativity that fills the world. I’d take the energy that other people spend on fighting the negativity and I’d direct it into even more passion towards helping others, learning more, and becoming better at what I do.

People are attracted to passionate people.

Remember the Crocodile Hunter (RIP). Crikey, he made people care about snakes and spiders. If he can do that, then you and I can make people care about feeling amazing and reaching their full potential through nutrition and exercise.

9) I’d follow passionate people in other industries through Facebook and Twitter. Follow Gary Vaynerchuck (read his book, “Crush It”), Carrie Wilkerson, and your favorite music stars and actors (positive people only). Watch how they interact with people and make their followers happy. Learn from them and do the same for the people who look up to you.

10) Believe in yourself. Whether it is losing fat or building the career of your dreams, everyone success story I’ve met KNEW that without a doubt they were going to be a success. They ALL believed in themselves. You must do that too.

So think back to when you were doing something that you KNEW was going to happen (could have been when you KNEW that you were going to get your spouse to marry you, or when you KNEW that your team was going to win your high school football championship or when you KNEW that you were going to ace that final exam)…that’s the feeling that you must have now.

You MUST have that feeling, you must have confidence, you must have passion, and you must have that helping mindset (others call it an “abundance mentality”). Those are the “gotta haves” that only you can build in yourself…the fitness info is easy to teach (it’s not rocket science)…the technical skills should never be an issue…its the “inner game” that is up to you.

That’s it. The 10 steps to becoming a successful personal trainer.

Your friend,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TTBootcamps Workouts

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7 Traits of Successful Bootcamp Owners

Disclaimer: I admit, I first wrote this article about the “7 traits of successful online business owners”…but these apply to bootcamp
owners as well.

I think you’ll agree…

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I’ve studied and interviewed a lot of experts over the last 12 years that I’ve been building my business and I’ve found 7 main reasons why other people are so successful:

1) They are confident

This is the underlying foundation of every success story…and on the other hand, a lack of confidence is a common factor in every
struggling biz owner that I meet. I know it’s harsh, but it’s true.

The most confident bootcamp owners who are out there talking up their camps to everyone are the ones with the most clients.

2) They have a driving desire to help others & create amazing content

Every top success story is a go-giver…they realize that to achieve their goals, they must help others succeed too…that’s why you see
the top bootcamp owners giving away such great information.

Plus, bootcamp owners who hold client appreciation functions and who get involved with local charities are the big success stories.

3) They never settle for the status quo.

No matter how big their bootcamps or current location, the top success stories are always looking ahead to the next project and
working to do even better. They are not complacent and realize that they might have to completely re-invent their business in order to grow to the next level.

4) They are lifelong students of self-improvement.

The top 5% of people I’ve ever met have always been the same folks who invest in every resource that is made available. They turn over every rock to find the information they need. That’s the mark of a lifelong student and ultimate success story.

5) They are positive people who attract other amazing people into their life

Successful people draw other successful people to them…this is the law of attraction that I believe in…and it goes back to being confident, being a go-giver, and never settling. Those are the types of people other successful people want to be around.

6) Successful people are entertaining.

They tell amazing stories and let you get to know them, even if it is just through emails and online video. So that’s why you need to
include your personal story in your bootcamp marketing (like my friend Leanne Ellington does).

7) They deliver amazing value to their clients.

Your clients want to be inspired, motivated, encouraged, and shown exactly what to do in order to reach their dreams. And that’s exactly what all top success stories do for their audience. They give, give, give, and it’s always amazing content delivering the highest value for their fans.

Listen, everyone wants to be told exactly what to do…we are all looking for the Blueprint to Success in life…and we want to be told by an expert who has complete confidence in what they are saying.

Doing that is the mark of a top success story…they spell out every action and don’t let any alternative ideas enter the reader’s mind.

So take a look at those 7 reasons why people are mega-success stories and identify where you are strong and where you need improvement.

All of these factors are under YOUR CONTROL to change.

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Bootcamp Workouts

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25 Bodyweight Exercise Ideas for Bootcamps

When doing bootcamp workouts, you have to have a LOT of variety, or else your campers will get bored and another “bright shiny fitness object” like Zumba or spinning will grab their attention and they’ll be gone from your classes for good..

As you know, there’s a huge range of bodyweight exercises in the TT Bootcamps Workouts, but if you’ve gone through all of them already and can’t wait until “TT Bootcamps 2K10″ comes out, then here’s a laundry list of exercises to help you change up your programs.

Well, here are more than 25 alternative bodyweight exercises for you.

Situation #1 – You need a REPLACEMENT FOR PUSH UPS…so why not try:

- close-grip pushups (use 3/4 range of motion for maximum triceps work)
- decline pushup
- elevated pushups
- off-set pushups (& walking off-set pushups – totally cool move)
- pushups with your feet on the ball
- pushups with your hands on the ball
- spiderman pushups
- decline close-grip pushups
- decline spiderman pushups
- pike pushups

Situation #2 – You need some NEW LOWER BODY EXERCISES, so try:

- 1 & 1/2 rep Bulgarian split squats (advanced)
- split squats with your front foot elevated 4-6 inches
- 1-leg deadlifts
- 1-leg squats sitting back onto a bench
- 1-leg squats standing on the bench and dropping one foot off the side
- deep step-ups (drop your hips low before doing a step-up)
- reaching lunges

Situation #3 – You DON’T HAVE DUMBBELLS but you want to do something for the UPPER BACK, so you can do:

Using the smith machine, you can do…
- inverted rows
- underhand inverted rows
- inverted rows with your feet on the ball
- inverted rows holding the ends of a towel hung over the bar (advanced grip strength there!)

Using the pullup bar, you can do…
- eccentric pull-ups
- regular pull-ups
- sternum pull-ups
- chinups
- side to side pull-ups

Whew!

That should add some variety to your bootcamps until I can get the TT Bootcamps 2K10 manual done for you.

Your friend,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TTBootcamps Workouts

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Winter Olympics Bootcamp Workout

Have you been checking out the Winter Olympics?

I was looking at all of the events and it gave me this crazy idea to create a “Winter Olympics Bootcamp Workout“.

You can do this with your clients and I bet they’ll love it. You can even “team them up” into different countries and give out gold medals and awards.

Here’s how it goes:

We start with the Moguls Warmup.

I chose the moguls for warm-up,  because that’s where the skiers do all those crazy moves and look really mobile.

Jumping Jacks
Duck Unders (step to the side squat down and duck under as you move)
Stickups
Seal Jumps (like jumping jacks, but cross your arms in front of you)
Pushups (tell your clients they all wiped out and have to do pushups)

Next, we move into the first event – The Ski Jump
10 second hold in the bottom of squat and then do a vertical jump
Repeat 3 times, then move to…

The Downhill Ski Race
1 Long Jump
10 Squats
1 Long Jump
6 Walking Diagonal Lunges per side
Long Jump
20-30 second squat hold
Repeat 3 times.

Give out a gold, silver, and bronze to the people who made it the furthest.

Gold medal awards and water break

Next up, we move to Speed Skating Strength Training
Skater Jumps or Lateral Lunges (depending on fitness level)
Pushups (another wipe-out…so do pushups to practice getting up)
Lunge Jumps or Reverse Lunges (depending on fitness level)

Take another water break if you need to…award some medals if you want, and then move to more strength training, this time courtesy of a weird sport…Curling.

The Curling Strength Circuit
Lunges (because the lunge low when they throw the rock)
Spiderman Climbs (again, because it helps get in that low position)
Close-grip Pushups

Now here are two optional exercises you can add in…

Sweeping (this is a bit of trick…but let’s say your gym needs a cleanup, you can give everyone a broom to cleanup, and tell them its just part of the curling circuit!)

Curls (curlers love to drink beer, so your campers can do dumbbell or band curls to practice for post-game beverages)

Take another water break.

Optional: Hockey Strength Circuit (Uses db or kb)

If you have access to equipment and your campers like heavier resistance training, you can do the following exercises:

Split squat (to build strong skating muscles)
1-Arm Standing Shoulder Press (to practice raising your stick in the air after you score a goal)
Row (to strengthen your upper body & grip for hockey fights)

Figure Skating Bodyweight Strength Circuit

Now we combine bodyweight exercises for strength and finesse…

Reaching Lunge
1-Leg RDL
Pushup or Dip or Overhead Press
1-Arm Band Row

Take another water break.

Sliding Sports Circuit
Bobsled Push (For this, you’ll need a “prowler sled” or a punching bag or weight plate that can be pushed across the floor to simulate the start of the bobsled race)

Then you’ll follow that with a:
Stability Ball Plank or Plank (to simulate holding your body in the luge position)

And then flip to the side for:
Side Planks

Next up, the plain ol’ weird Biathlon (a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting). We’ll modify it so that we do:

Shuttle Sprints (in place of the skiing)
Plank (to simulate the shooting position)

And if possible, add in some type of skill component to simulate the shooting…perhaps you train folks in a gym where there are basketball nets…so have them shoot free throws…or bring in a Supersoaker…no wait, bad idea. But I’m sure you can come up with something.

Water break, cool down, awarding of more medals, and closing ceremonies.

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I’m sure your campers will have a blast with that. It’s a great workout, and you’ll probably have some even better ideas than that.

Let me know what other events you come up with,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TTBootcamp Workouts

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Bootcamp Marketing to Do Everyday

One of my Turbulence Training assistants has been slowly and steadily building a bootcamp business from scratch.

And I’m very proud of her.

She did this after being laid off from her job…and she wasn’t even a trainer.

But she got certified.

Started a camp in her basement.

And just keeps going and going and going.

She’s like the Energizer Bunny.

And everyday she’s doing ONE THING to move her business ahead.

So you need to do that too.

That could mean:

• Sending a press release
• Faxing a potential business partner
• Emailing a TV reporter
• Submitting an article to a magazine
• Writing an article for ezinearticles.com
• Talking to a joint venture partner or local business
• Setting up a referral program
• Recruiting human billboards
• Etc.

So simply make that ONE THING a daily priority.

Commit to this rule:

Your day isn’t done until you’ve promoted your bootcamp and you, somehow, someway.

Every day you do one thing to move your business along.

It doesn’t matter how tired you are from teaching bootcamps all day, just promise me, you won’t “clock out” until you’ve done ONE THING to move your business along.

Personally, each day I have an excel spreadsheet of tasks that I must check off before it is “play time”.

This includes, posting to 4 blogs, submitting an article to a specific website, contacting a potential affiliate, contacting a potential business partner, reviewing my website statistics, and sending an email to someone thanking them for all their efforts.

It doesn’t matter if I’m at home or on the road, I get this done – EVERY DAY.

Heck, I even did all of these things while I was in Miami this weekend for the SuperBowl.

I never stop. Can’t stop. Because you know the competition isn’t taking any time off. Not in this industry.

And not in your city either, where a new bootcamp pops up everyday, right?

But don’t worry.

Be consistent, and you’ll rise to the top.

Keep the ball rolling, and soon you’ll have a bootcamp business as big as you want it to be.

Stay strong,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TTBootcamp Workouts

PS – And don’t worry about your bootcamp workouts…

…I’ve got you covered.

Click here to get the TT Bootcamp workouts you can use anytime:

=> http://www.TTBootcamps.com

Let me take care of your workouts while you take care of getting more people into your bootcamps.

How to Get Your YouTube Videos Watched More Often

Before I give you these tips, I want to say that I have NO IDEA whether or not these tips will increase SALES on your website. All I know is that they will help increase the number the views that each of your videos get on YouTube.

1. Put more action and less teaching in your videos.
2. Add “hard rock” tracks (essentially making your workout clip a music video.

You can get royalty free music at www.freeplaymusic.com – and there are some decent riffs on there.

Here are more tips from Andrew Locke, one of the Internet’s top video experts and owner of the Internet TV Show, www.HelpMyBusiness.com.

1. Keep the video to less than 60 seconds.
2. Make the first 10 seconds as INTERESTING as possible.
3. Use an attention grabbing headline
4. Create a video that is not a blatant ad
5. Make it cute, funny, shocking or controversial
6. Provide compelling content. Be original, not boring.
7. Tell your list to go and watch it!
8. Embed the video on your site and blog
9. Tell your affiliates to embed the video on their sites and blogs

And make sure to use your city and fitness keywords in the title. You should be able to dominate youtube and even Google search with video.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Creator, www.TTBootcamps.com

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5 Ways to Get More Done & More From Meetings

I was very impressed on Saturday morning at Joel Marion’s Transformation Domination seminar.

A young and enthusiastic trainer from Belgium named Glenn, who had previously contacted me through Facebook, tracked me down, introduced himself and proceeded to ask me 12 questions – all of which he had written down in a small journal he was carrying with him.

Talk about coming PREPARED.

And that was impressive.

He was making the most of his opportunity. Most people don’t do any preparation at all, but Glenn did, and I bet he got the most out of the weekend.

In addition to writing down specific questions you want to ask to specific experts, here are 4 other ways to be prepared…

1) Plan out your day

If your workday ends at 5pm, spend from 4:50-5:00pm planning out the next day. Write down what you are going to be doing at 8, 9, 10, 11, etc…in 15-30 minute intervals.

Doing this for a few weeks will make you exponentially more productive.

2) Have your daily to do list prioritized

Put the most important tasks at the top of the list and don’t move on to the next task until you’ve crossed the most important task off
of your list.

3) Be prepared when you go to meetings or when you make a phone call so that you get right to the point and don’t waste 5-10 minutes in idle chit-chat.

Say Hi, find out how the person is, and then get right to business.

Believe me, the person on the other end will appreciate it just as much because they are busy too.

4) When you go to a seminar, make a list of people to meet.

Let’s go back and look at what Glenn did…not only did he have a list of questions to ask a few experts, but he also had a list of all the people he wanted to meet.

He knew what info he wanted to get and he didn’t rest until he met everyone and asked all of his questions – after all, he tracked me down 3 times to ask follow up questions as well.

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It’s one thing to go to a seminar or meeting, but it’s a skill to get all of the information you need from the experts you want to talk to.

So again, hats off to Glenn, and I hope that you got a few ideas on how to make meetings/seminars more productive as well as how to get more done everyday.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TTBootcamps.com

How to Use Holidays to Promote Your Bootcamp

One thing you always need to be doing is finding ways to call attention to your business and products.

It’s a busy marketing world, and you need to be creative in order to find a reason why your prospects should choose you over your competitors.

Fortunately, the calendar provides us DOZENS of opportunities each year to hold special promotions for our prospects and customers.

Really, there is a never any reason to miss an opportunity to promote your bootcamp. All you need to do is to create your own fame with any traditional holiday, as well as special events related to your industry.

Here’s a list of all the major holidays, plus additional times of the year when you can ADD MORE VALUE to your bootcamp to create a higher-value experience, or use as a good reason why to contact new prospects or past customers and get them back into your camps.

1) New Year’s Resolutions/“Fitness Season” 3-day promotions

Okay, doing a promo for New Year’s goes without saying since we are in the fitness industry, but I’m still surprised how few promotions I see at this time. People are “red hot” for fitness at this time of year, and you need to do everything you can to stand out among the hundreds of fitness choices consumers have at this time.

In particular, combining your New Year’s promotion with a Transformation Contest kick-off is the smartest thing you can do – so use a 21-day Rapid Fat Loss plan to get folks into your camp and hooked on your workouts.

If you currently don’t have a transformation contest running, then take an hour and write out the rules, pick the prizes, and get people involved. I’m kicking myself for not doing these sooner!

2) Every Monday

While on the topic of New Year’s resolutions, I just wanted to add that contacting your prospect list or Facebook fanpage or running an ad in your local paper on Monday’s will often give you the best results in terms of sales.

Why?

Because every Monday is like a mini-New Year’s Day, where readers return from the weekend vowing to eat better and exercise. Therefore, they flock to fitness programs to get started.

3) The SuperBowl

Why not create a fun week of pre-Superbowl promotions, focusing on Superbowl Challenge workouts, a nutrition day where you give away healthy recipes for the big day, and workouts where you divide your campers into teams – named of course for the two teams in the Superbowl.

There are so many ways you can tie into the game – even for a women’s only camp – that will get folks talking about your bootcamp.

And that’s what you should be trying to accomplish everyday…Tying your business in with current events is an easy way to keep your communications with your readers fresh, interesting, welcome, and effective.

And it’s not hard – all of your communications with your list should be like having a conversation with a friend. Did you happen to have at least 1 conversation with a friend about the Superbowl? Sure, even if you talked about how much you dislike the “big day” and all the overeating, you could have simply made your promotion about that.

4) Valentine’s Day

With a surname like Ballantyne, I’d be a fool not to do some type of Valentine’s Day promo. Heck, even Ryan Lee used my name in his Valentine’s Day promotion. Yet aside from Ryan and myself, everyone can still use the biggest, sappiest holiday of the year to promote their bootcamp.

My friend and Online SuperProfits Mastermind Member, Rommel Acda, runs an ANTI-Valentine’s day bootcamp at his gym for all of the single women…and they love it.

Now tell me, you don’t think you could get some amazing PR if you did something like that? It would be awesome…and probably one of the most intense workouts ever!

5) Spring Break

Everyone wants to lose fat for Spring Break, so you could in fact start mentioning this in your materials as early as January 1st. Fortunately, Spring Break week occurs at different times for different areas of the country, as well as different levels of school, so you can get a lot of mileage out of these types of promos.

Find out when the kids of all of your campers celebrate Spring Break and then start a countdown to Spring Break Transformation Contest.

Or you could run a special Spring Break bootcamp for high-schoolers during their week off to make some extra cash for your very own Spring Break getaway.

Those are just 5 killer ways to promote your bootcamp while tying into holidays and water cooler talk…but I’ve got another 10 ways for you to plan to take advantage of other holidays – coming soon!

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, TT Bootcamps

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Abs 300 Workout for Your Bootcamps

The other night I finished up filming on my TT for Abs DVD’s, and one of the programs we did was the “TT Abs 300″ workouts.

There were several versions, but I wanted to share the Beginner version with you, because it uses minimal equipment and could be done in most bootcamps.

Plus, every camper loves abs, right – but NOT crunches, and so this program gives you a lot of different and original ways to train the torso without risking their low back.

You’ll look like a super-hero trainer when you bring in this program or your own variation of it.

Oh, and one other thing, most bootcampers also love a challenge or competition style workout, as I’ve talked about so many times in the past.

So you can time this workout, or have teams race through it, or do all sorts of things that will bring even more energy and workout addiction to your bootcamp – therefore making it even better than all of the other camps in your area.

This will increase client retention and dramatically boost client referrals.

Everyone wins with the TT Abs 300 beginner workout.

Beginner “TT Abs 300 Workout”
- Go through the circuit TWO times resting as much as needed between exercises.

• Cross Crawl – 10 reps per side
• Plank – 20 second hold
• Prisoner Squat – 10 reps
• Side Plank – 15 second hold per side
• Mountain Climber – 10 reps per side
• [Beginner} Inverted Row - 10 reps
• Stability Ball Rollout - 5 reps
• 1-Leg Hip Extension - 10 reps per side
• Spiderman Climb - 5 reps per side
• Chop - 10 reps per side
• [Kneeling] Pushup – 15 reps
• Bird Dog – 5 reps per side
• Stability Ball Leg Curl – 10 reps
• Plank with Arms on Ball – 10 second hold

Even your most fit campers will be surprised how hard it is by the mid-way point.

Let me know your favorite challenge style workout in the comments section below!

To your success,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TT Bootcamps

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