The FITSPRO Podcast

You know the kind of testimony you read - either as a consumer or as the recipient - that just makes you go YES! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear! (the power of social proof!)

This can be the norm for your business if you help your clients out. YES, the way in which you ask for testimonies absolutely shapes the type of testimony you receive.

We want testimonies that do a few things:

* Meet the prospect where they are via the completed client taking them back to the beginning.

* Demonstrate CLEARLY the aha, takeaway, win, result etc. I am careful using the word “promise” here due to us not LEGALLY being able to promise an outcome.

* Generally is CONCISE.

* Authentic

WE have to ask the RIGHT questions to get all of this.

I am the queen of recieving long-winded testimonies - which are great for ME, but not for someone reading my sales page and wanting to get the bullet point takeaways from my services. 

With that… 

I find it interesting that a lot of coaches I work with and speak to find it awkward or strange to ask for feedback and testimonies from their clients. OR only use screenshots as testimonies and never get a formal testimony! WHAAAATTT ARE YOU DOING?!

There is so much more praise left on the table. And possibly great marketing material.

Today we’re going to go over different types of testimonies that you might receive in the online health and fitness space, how to use them; but more importantly, how to help clients give you the highest quality testimony that you are looking for from a marketing standpoint. 

The power of social proof

Low pressure marketing

Confidence for YOU & PROSPECT

When you have testimonies from clients, backing up your coaching approach, that gives you confidence in marketing your services. 

It can also provide confidence in prospects to invest their money with you.

…

Your motive vs a client’s motive is not the same. The prospect knows that.

Unless a current or past client is in an affiliate program of some kind, and they’re getting a kickback, most social proof is not from someone who is trying to sell you something. 

It’s from someone sharing their genuine experience, and likely some kind of transformation that they had in working with you. 

There are no strings attached for this person. 

And that’s why social proof is so vital for a brand. 

Because it can do a fair amount of the selling for you.  Or at least affirm the rest of your marketing. 

…

Other people have trusted your process and had success with it. And now potential prospects know that. Not because YOU told them, but because your clients did.

GAIN CREDIBILITY through “social PROOF” - YOU HAVE BACKING NOW.

You’ve gained credibility because people say that what you do works. And they’re using their own words to do that.

This is a massive reason people and brands will BETA test before launching something. Not only to improve the service or offer but to GET FEEDBACK that backs their marketing from consumers.

Let’s look at different types of social proof that you might receive as an online health and fitness professional.

To be clear, I am not a Physical Therapist. I am simply a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, I have a degree in Exercises Science. This is for educational purposes only. You need to consult with a physician, chiropractor, physical therapist, or some other medical professional to make decisions and your training on pain.

Today’s episode will hopefully bring to light some things you can focus on within your training that may help prevent injury specific to what we can control through weightlifting.

These are in my opinion just generally good practices if you are someone who lift weights and wants injury prevention. Or if you are a coach in the strength, and hypertrophy world.

Movement prep

* Specific to prepping the joints and muscles used that day. I.e. Bulgarian split squat rock backs before a squatting day, or shoulder cars, or prone wire raises before shoulder press day.

* If for a one on one client, these movements would be individualized based on assessment and strengthening, weak points.

* In a templated program, this could absolutely address general issues, we can says, or in balances, that we know people have. I.e. doing tibialis, taps or ankle dorsiflexion work before squat day, or scapular, pull ups or push-ups before benchpress. Generally people like ankle dorsiflexion, and also like control of their scapula.

By focusing on movement, prep and implementing this before, you’re lifting, you might be mitigating possible, weak points in the gaps that you have within muscular and balances as well as movement patterns.

RPE

* simply working at an appropriate rate of perceived exertion. Being sure that whatever load you are working at is not exceeding your capacity for a given movement. Meaning that you can complete all of the reps with proper form and little to no pausing.

Conservative Weight

* Always start conservative and build

* Don’t be afraid to drop weight if load, it does happen to exceed capacity

* Particularly helpful and coming back from injury or a rehab phase. But a general good rule of thumb.

Tempo

* I learned the phrase slower down, then up from active life during their immersion course. This goes in almost all of my programming unless there is a specific tempo.

* The intentional with tempo. Don’t just go through the movements.

* Can be fast, or slow. But generally we want to control eccentric.

Rest

* actually take it

* I thought here is avoiding working at challenging loads under fatigue. Particularly true with high central nervous system demand. So larger, compound movements, or explosive movements.

Managing Volume

* Not within one work out, but phase to phase or week to week.

* No big jumps, mainly via increasing volume.

Sleep/Recovery

* Prioritize this

* Where you actually experience the anabolic effective working out

* Most systems in the body are working to bring you back to homeostasis.

* If you feel like shit, start your work out as is and see how you feel. If muscles are cramping, or your fatigue, in quicker than usual, back off.

I think it goes without saying that using proper form is...

Most professionals that I work with in the online space for the face of their brand. They are a personal brand. Meaning that they have to cultivate a brand based around themselves, their ideal, client, and the problems that they solve or their area of focus. 

Your brand started before it was a brand. Especially in that it is a personal brand, parts of your life are going to be integrated into it. 

I touched on this with your brand story and Becoming an Authority in Your Niche in Episode 222.

There is a reason that you work for yourself, and the reason that you have the philosophies that you do. Today’s episode is about identifying the journey that got you to where you are, being able to articulate that, and then continuing to establish your brand.

Let’s be clear in that all of this is applies to all personal brand copy and content in free form - email, social, search based platforms.

Compelling - aka CONNECTIVE 

* without the human piece, you have a weak personal brand

* Messaging people want to consume, is helpful and keeps them coming back. Your story is STICKY.

What does your brand focus on from a problem perspective?

* what do you give people?

* What tips do you provide?

* What do you make easier or more doable for your consumers?

What does your brand stand for? Aka what do you also stand for in the confines of your industry and area of focus?

* what’s a go and what’s a no? Identify both.

We do this heavily inside the social media module of FitsPRO foundations

* your code of conduct

CLARITY is compelling

* Think of brands you follow or buy from

* Documentaries you watch

* There’s a clear story line. Clear messaging. And it lands with you.

Your personal brand will grow and evolve over time. More than a non-personal brand. Be okay with that.

* you’ll add experiences and clarity.

* The HUMAN piece is where the change will likely happen

* You’ll rack up new stories and build upon old ones

TELL YOUR STORY. See what happens.

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If you find value here, on The FitsPRO Podcast, then pretty please head over to iTunes, subscribe, rate and review the show. It means the world to me when you spread my message to more humans.

Cats out the bag! If you missed it, go watch my NOVEL of a video on Youtube announcing bebe 2. I walk you through the how, timeline, reaction, feels, navigating postpartum while being prenatal again, compare pregnancy one with round two and so much more!

I don’t believe I ever made a definitive podcast episode in my first pregnancy about how I planned maternity leave. So, I wanted to be sure and do that this time because it’s very much so the same.

Being self employed means no paid leave. And being a personal brand means that if you want to take time off from being LIVE as the face of your biz, then A LOT. And I mean A LOT of prep work has to happen before that season.

Postpartum with bebe 1 I took 10-ish weeks 80% off of work. No calls, no creation unless I wanted to.

But podcasts, emails and content was still being published because I prepped it all ahead of time.

I think I had 6-8 weeks of IG fully made, and some rough notes/outline for the rest of maternity leave.

Launches took place during that time as well. So I can straight up tell you from my 2023 year map that I launched both Pure PROgramming and Built By Annie in February and March, which was still during my maternity leave.

That’s kind of my point - it looked like business was running as usual because it was. It was simply all put into place MONTHS in advance.

Emails were scheduled by my assistant, she kept Built By Annie going, I’d terminated all 1:1 fitness, and took 12 weeks off of calls with 1:1 business clients, pre-recorded all podcasts through March 2023, and my assistant formatted and scheduled those. All I had to do was look at my schedule for content and be sure that got published on the gram.

Stories were my day to day, as usual, aside from launches. In which case I referenced my launch map for what to post on which days leading up to, and during launches. This is no different than a usual launch. Most content is created, and we leave some room for improv. 

I will say that I used plain text on white space FAR more during maternity leave than face to camera video. Worked just as well as face to camera. Sometimes I actually think it’s easier to consume that way.

All of this is pretty much my same plan for bebe 2!

But I want to take you behind the scenes of HOW I prep for all of this content to live while I settle in to being a mum of two, almost under one!

The maternity timeline planning started in August. Bebe is due Dec 27 2023. Maternity leave will be after my scheduled C-Section through the end of March 2024.

A BIG NOTE TO REMEMBER is that I work ahead in business. So really, in March, I will have to begin drafting and recording podcasts, writing Youtube scripts, creating IG content etc.

Which is all in my year plan google sheet. 

Working backwards is the name of the game.

For example: On Dec 1-7 Paige and I are recording 16 youtube videos that will take me through maternity leave (if you missed my youtube BTS podcast, this also provides two reels per week for me for IG content - huge win).

That means I need to draft 16 in depth, linked and formatted scripts. I can do four per week in November, or spread those out in October and Nov (this is more realistic).

I make notes for, record and edit one podcast per week. And I’ll need to have Jan - March or April ALL DONE in December. Last maternity leave I was literally recording and editing podcasts the...

When people say you don’t need a niche, I ask how that’s going?

I’ll wait.

Anytime we talk niches, I feel like the question comes up: Is online health and fitness coaching “saturated?”

* Does that matter?

* Just an excuse to say you won’t stand out

* Don’t buy into that conversation

I always push back with - even if the industry IS saturated...does that mean no more coaches should enter? No other professionals needed, we're good. No. How silly is that?

Instead of focusing on the saturation level of the industry, focus on YOU and what sets you apart.

“Standing out” and “rising above the noise” is not as hard as you might be making it out to be in your head

Here’s how you can become the go to person (in your audiences mind) for your area of focus (some people call this your “expertise” but few humans are TRUE experts if we’re being honest).

If you don't have my Know Your Niche Content Guide, get it here!

1 | BE YOU (take time to figure out what that means)

* how you speak

* what makes your brand human? What’s your vibe?

* core values being clear

2 | Know your philosophy and WHY ( + your brand story)

* Coaching approach (your actual methods and beliefs in health and fitness and how those effect/apply to your audience).

* Where did you come from? What’s the backstory?

* “My story” was not what I thought it had to be. That WAS my super power. That IS what set me apart.

3 | Who you want to work with / what problems you want to solve 

* Two approaches to your ideal client (client based and problem based)

* Being sure to speak to ONE PERSON

* Taking time to define this and commit to working on your messaging, rep by rep, post by post, email by email.

THEN you need to repeat that shit ALL THE TIME with CLARITY and authority. Don’t beat around the bush. Simplify simplify simplify. If someone can’t apply or understand what you’re saying, then you’re unable to build authority, credibility and therefore trust - which we NEED as a business that needs to make money.

It (all of the above - YOU, your philosophy and your niche) should permeate your content:

* content you create to provide bite size help for your audience

* content you create to entertain (the fun side)

* content you share in client case studies (your philosophy and approach - gain credibility)

Get clear on the three main points we covered today and see what your confidence does from a brand voice standpoint. I hope for you, that it increases.

In strength training, you’re training skills. You’re entering into a practice with asymmetries, past injuries, weak points and more. Whether you were an athlete or have never played a sport in your life, very people have perfectly balanced muscular and joint function.

To be clear, that is not the end goal of training. And you’re not failing if your body is not yet in perfect balance.

BUT - a massive use and benefit of strength training can be to improve weaknesses. And that, as a byproduct, also improves our strengths. 

Aka why strength training is the GOAT in my opinion for longevity in a physically functional life.

So how do you go about improving movement patterns and gaining strength in areas we have weakness? Just keep going? Add more weight? More reps? That's what we answer today.

I share my process below - what to focus on if you're a trainee or a trainer.

Find the leaks

Both of these are most easily identified through simply videoing lifts. And typically they'll become more prominent as load increases. We lose efficiency and it shows through the movement, in one way or another.

* Energy leaks where you break position

This happens when you see an area of the body "give" during a movement. Think knees caving in (valgus) coming out of the hole in the squat. Or elbows flaring out during bench press. There is a weak part of the mechanics within the movement.

The point here is to identify the weak point - where is it happening? And what is actually happening during the energy leak?

* Sticking points where your velocity slows

You'll be able to see this in video. Velocity slowing as volume increases is normal. That should happen through the WHOLE concentric phase. A sticking point typically manifests when the load increases and velocity slows through a specific portion of the concentric phase - think half way up from the squat, or at the start of a pull up for many people.

This differs from an energy leak as form doesn't break. The movement simply SLOWS and then picks back up.

Break the skill down into parts & train the parts

Once you've identified the actual weakness, you'll need to TRAIN in that specific position and portion of the movement where either the energy leak or the sticking point happens.

We can gain strength in 15 degrees in either direction of an isometric contraction at a given joint angle. Ie: You have a sticking point half way up in the pull up. So, you add in isometric holds at or just before that 90 degree position. And then reap the gains in 15 degrees above and below that point.

In general you're going to ADD capacity before load. That comes through adding time under tension holding the proper position (energy leak) and then "powering out" of said position if working past a sticking point.

Train the actual skill under less load, with more control

The goal here being to NOT break position or to keep speed consistent depending on what form of weakness you're training.

Train weak points often 

Like any other area of the body, if you want to make gains, we need to CHALLENGE the movement and the tension placed on said movement from a muscular standpoint.

I say these drills or adaptions (adding 1 and 1/4 squats, or isometric holds in pull ups) take the place of your normal prescription. You can then add in extra work (say clamshells or abduction...

My business has generally increased revenue on a trend for the past five to six years. This year (2023) that won't be the case. And today, I want to share WHY. Because this is not simply happening to me, I am CHOOSING it.

For some context I'll dive into:

* No monetary goal this year 

* Monetary goal in 2-5 years - decisions this year help set that up.

* Big life change NEEDED SPACE

* Just wanted to see life with baby 

* Investing in new strategies 

* YouTube

* Big web project for maximizing profit and client experience

My current focus is alignment of life and biz which led to dropping all 1:1 services (fitness, power hours and biz). Yes, these are my most expensive offers and I let them all go.

It's a trade of less money (for a season) in order to have MORE TIME to generate more PASSIVE income down the road.

We also discuss profit vs revenue and how that $80k loss last year from FB ads plays a roll in comparing this year to last.

And what would an episode on making less money be if we didn't talk about comparison. I am HELLA focused on not getting caught up on revenue comparisons or any comparison at all other than alignment.

BIG THOUGHT / TAKEAWAY after chatting for months with fellow multi 6 and 7 figure colleagues:

In entrepreneurship, security comes through continual growth. This is the feeling - the thought. Versus someone who finds security in the SAME income for YEARS via a 9-5. If you're generating the same revenue month after month in your biz, you've built a sustainable business and yet, it perpetuates the feeling that without constant growth, it's all going to fall apart, your clients are going leave and it will all come crumbling down.

Tell me I am wrong. Entrepreneurship is weird like that. Please know that though this feeling is common, it's not rooted in truth. So, I'll ask...

Even if you’re doing less or the same, what other factors are at play? 

I’m currently working less than I ever have, lifting the most consistently I have in literal YEARS, am full on raising a child, and making damn near the same amount as I was previously. Within $80k of that number annually. That’s a win. And it took a lot of processing to see that.

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If you find value here, on The FitsPRO Podcast, then pretty please head over to iTunes, subscribe, rate and review the show. It means the world to me when you spread my message to more humans.

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After working with gen pop, college athletes and online clients, I believe there are four main types of plateaus that take place within long term strength and hypertrophy training:

* Mental

* Seasonal

* Actual Physical performance

* Muscle growth 

We're diving into all four of these plateaus and what you can possibly implement as a coach or trainee to work through them.

Mental:

I bring this up first because I think this can initiate other types of plateaus we experience in training AND can be a result of, or byproduct of other plateaus.

This is when you’re just out of it, not feeling it, in a “funk” - maybe motivation to train is lower, efficacy is lower, perhaps you even have a negative connotation with training when it’s normally something you enjoy.

Seasonal:

Sometimes there are cycles we see once we’re training for the long haul. It could be summer for you, or maybe the fall. Finals season - some time of the year that tends to bring upon inconsistency or a lull in your training. And it throws you for a loop every time. You plateau - physically, mentally, etc.

The earlier you can get in front of this the better off you’ll be.

* change up expectations (lower frequency or intensity) but keep modality the same

* take on something new that you enjoy

* Accept a maintenance phase but be intentional

* Actually choose a new goal to work towards so you have a joyful and purposeful focus during this time.

Actual Physical performance

Strength or power output comes to mind for me. This could be with one exercise or across the board. I am thinking more across the board. Overall plateau in your performance. 

First off - this IS a sign of overtraining (not taking enough deload weeks and going from supercompensation and over-reaching to actual over-training) and/or under-recovering.

* consider a deload week or two (lower the intensity and volume by 30%. Meaning complete 70% of the work you normally do - weight and volume. Let your body TAKE A BREAK.

* You may even need a COMPLETE break from the gym. Yes, do less. Much less. Your body will not lose gains. In fact it might just THANK YOU.

Point of these approaches is to come back REFRESHED & RE-ENERGIZED (your mind and your body).

If it’s not a reload we need, you can look back at programming. If you’ve been doing the SAME THING (variations, sets and reps, weight etc) it might be a good time to switch things up a bit more than you normally would. 

* Try new exercise variations or take a season to drive up work capacity (if you’ve been working near maximal loads for a hot minute).

* Get specific - you’re plateaued. Work your weaknesses and sticking points with whatever lifts you’re currently doing.

Muscle growth 

Along the same lines as physical performance.

Nutrition is going to be a factor to evaluate here as well, though that’s not my area of expertise.

* Take a deload (count on feeling deflated - you’ll be carrying less water in your muscles. don’t worry, it will come back upon lifting. You haven’t loss muscle with taking a week or two off).

I say that I wish I started YouTube 5-7 years ago. But fact remains, it would not have been the best use of my time in that season.

Like many people, I started my business because I was DEPENDENT on it generating revenue for me. Youtube was no promise of that. And IG was a much quicker route to the income I wanted.

Guess what…still is.

Yes, I believe that with all the social apps that have come and gone, or even stuck around, IG is the place to be if you have an online service based biz and want to build brand awareness, relationship and make that money.

Without further ado, 5 reasons why Instagram is still the best platform for starting your biz:

Reason 1:

High frequency posting  - reps for you, brand awareness, messaging, trial and error with little downside, exposure to trying different approaches and seeing what sticks or doesn’t (youtube - you try one thing on one video and have to wait weeks or months to do it again for more data)

Reason 2:

Daily exposure to audience

Builds trust, and likeabiliity. Possibly expedites trust.

means you can do direct or DM sales much more frequently because it’s sandwiched with normal day to day free BTS and goodies.

Reason 3:

Consumers are prepped to buy

Swipe up, click the link, link in bio, sponsored posts. People are primed to purchase and find products and services they want to invest in on Instagram.

Someone commented on a post the other day and said she’s mentioned/launched 1:1 twice and no one has signed up.

I have SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

What does “launching” look like? What is her offer? What are the details? What is the actual sell? What is the onboarding process? Do they have to apply? etc

If you don’t know these things and can’t articulate them confidently, you won’t have sales. And if that’s you, join FitsPRO Foundations.

Reason 4:

Kind of a piggy back off number 1 but it exposes you, as the creator to different forms/mediums of content. You can find your groove and how YOU best convey your message.

It’s rare that on one social app you have text, graphics, photos, short and long form video, live video, real time video etc.

Instead of viewing that as overwhelming, view it as an opportunity to try and see. I follow people who have built entire businesses on twitter or swipe graphics and have literally NEVER posted a video. 

Now - they are VERY clear with their messaging and its highly shareable content. Which brings me to number 5.

Reason 5:

Ability to either go viral or be shared organically at high volumes AND frequency. Good luck going viral on Pinterest or YouTube. And even if you do on TikTok, let me know what it does for your actual sale numbers…nada.

Once you have systems in place, you have a much better chance of getting those new followers onto a mailing list or even into an offer. Might not be RIGHT AWAY, but in 3-9 months time.

It’s the best way to organically grow the top of your funnel for most health and fitness pros in the online space. Period.

I know it's August, but it might as well be fall. What I want you to get from this episode is the clarity you need an order to follow the program that makes the most sense for you come September, October November through the new year. Aka your fall fitness goals.

The season is one of my personal favorites to train during. It’s always a chaotic season. And training can give you something to focus on, and bring you into the new year feeling really great about your past decisions, and where you’re at. 

I always tend to get my strongest in the fall. It’s just what happens in the type of training that I choose to do during that time. So the season just has a special place in my heart. 

I like to encourage people to push through the fall. To really own this time of year and whatever it is that you want from your health and fitness. 

If that’s you, then this episode is going to serve you well. I want to go over some possible goals and types of training so you could explore from September through the new year. And how you can reach those goals and enjoy the focus that you have, the autonomy that you have through the next four or five months. 

In this episode I dive deep into the possible goals listed below and what it ACTUALLY looks like to go after these in your training.

* Strength

* Skill(s)

* Something new

* Something you’ve enjoyed in the past 

* Adding in cardio to your normal strength training

* Hitting a given load on certain lifts

* Adding reps each month to certain exercises

* Lifting 4 days per week (choose a frequency and stick with it no matter the intensity).

Just remember that the goal has to have a strong why, and you need to understand why you are going after the goal. We need a clear goal, and a clear why. And then a process we can enjoy. You know that I am all about the process. But the process only exists based on a clear goal. That is why I wanted to talk about this episode. 

Leave the FitsPRO Podcast a review

If you find value here, on The FitsPRO Podcast, then pretty please head over to iTunes, subscribe, rate and review the show. It means the world to me when you spread my message to more humans.

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