Tempo, also known as time under tension, is a programming tool that allows the coach to specifically alter and target specific results in an athlete’s program. Coaches who master tempo can use it to work the athlete’s position, mechanics, movement progression, metabolism, control, and absolute strength. It is critical to your success as a coach that you understand how to use tempo.

Functional movement patterns compose all our daily movements. They are the primal foundation for movement in the human body. There are seven total movement patterns: squat, lunge, bend, core, push, pull, and locomotion. 

However, to safely perform metabolic conditioning it must be progressed over time. Going straight into max-effort environments without a proper build in conditioning and skillsets will ultimately lead to burnout for any individual. Metabolic conditioning needs to be strategically implemented to allow a client to learn and adapt through the experiences of their training. 

If you want to survive and then thrive online, you need to provide more than just any training program. With the entertainment factor of in-person coaching removed, you now need to create stronger personal relationships, connect them to lifestyle and nutritional habits, and deliver personalized programs that are clearly connected to your clients’ unique goals and environments.

My name is Erwin Regidor, and I’ve been a fitness coach since 2010. That’s when I left my career in banking behind and, in just a few years, I was the program director and head coach of one of the first CrossFit gyms in Shanghai and mainland China. I spent the next four years evolving in this role and growing the business, but something was still missing—I felt unfulfilled.

My name is Robin Steyvers, and in March of 2020 I was working in three different gyms for 10-12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, just to make a living in my home city in Belgium. In desperate need of a break, my girlfriend and I decided to take a one week trip to Morocco. The word COVID was only beginning to appear in the news, but a bit of research showed no cases in Morocco, so we set off.

This reaction often follows the suggestion to make clients more self-sufficient and hence, less dependent on a coach. Yes, if clients can do more by themselves, maybe they will need you less. On the other hand, if, as a result of increased knowledge, your client has less “trivial” questions, you will have more time for other tasks. In turn, you could devote the additional time to providing higher-value services to that client and growing your business. 

Henry Torano has been involved in fitness since he was a teenager, and although at the time he never thought coaching would be his career, he eventually opened a CrossFit facility and is now, at the age of 40, is the owner of OPEX San Juan, in Puerto Rico.

“What I think you want to pay attention to is you want to understand what your trade-offs are in both. So, if I’m going to take out a loan, I probably am going to try to have a loan that doesn’t change in interest rate. Now, obviously, there are some exotic products where you can have ARMS adjustable rates. That’s generally in a mortgage. But, you can also have rates that might change in a business loan.

The biggest obstacle any gym owner faces is economic longevity. Without a plan for continued income growth and scalability, your business will inevitably fail.

Coaching is a profession. Unfortunately, it isn’t treated or paid in a manner that conveys that fact. This is largely due to the cultural stigma surrounding the profession and the proliferation of gym owners who don’t understand the value of loyal coaches.

Not only is the fitness industry incredibly competitive, it’s also very filled with hundreds of different competitors. The only way to combat this and rise to the top is to develop a unique service. But to sell a unique service you need to determine what makes you unique you first need to understand that you are competing with hundreds of other gyms!  Funny how that works.

“My mom didn’t have the best lifestyle, and I thought about all the people I have lost in my life because of drugs and alcohol, and it spurred me on to want to help people. I had just gotten into lockdown and I was like, ‘You need to do something,’” Sara said.

One of the main reasons fitness coaches—be it group class coaches or personal trainers—leave the industry is because they quickly realize that it’s next to impossible to earn a professional wage. Or at least, not without burning out in the process.

Professional coach is undoubtedly a buzzword that has caught on in a big way. But what exactly does it mean to be a professional? Does it just mean you’re able to make a professional wage?

This blog was written by OPEX Ambassador and CCP Coach, Brandon Wilton, from South Bend, Indiana. Brandon is the Founder and CEO of CrossFit South Bend, where he empowers and guides his community to lasting success in their fitness and health journey. Follow Brandon on Instagram here.

But if you’re a small gym owner, January isn’t always the best time for attracting those long-term minded clients we value so much. And contrary to what many small gym owners have tried, running a 6-week transformation challenge is probably the worst thing you can do, not just for the business and the coach, but also for the client.

He also has three on-floor coaches he’s currently developing to become OPEX Coach Certificate Program (CCP) coaches. One of them is currently going through the CCP and will soon be starting to build his own book of clients, El Fateh explained.

Eric was kind enough to highlight me on his show within his Elite Insiders Business Group. He wanted to talk about what coaches and trainers need to know in order to grow a quality remote coaching business. Let’s just say that we spit some truth! I hope you enjoy the read and the video.