If you are passionate about fitness and find that you are told by peers and instructors that you should “teach”, this handout is for you. There are a number of things people may see in you that cause them to picture you as a class leader. Beyond that, it is important for you to assess for yourself if you have the internal drive, desire, and determination to actually become an instructor.

Below is a list of questions that you should be able to answer in the affirmative before you take any step toward the group fitness stage. You may find that you are more capable than you think, OR that you are ALMOST ready. Either way, if you have an interest, go to your group fitness manager and have the conversation. He or she will be able to guide you toward the next step appropriate for you. 
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Ed McTiernan and Gail Owen of Powerhouse Gym in Utica, New York, USA have transformed their club with Group Fitness (GF) in just five short months. They explain how what was once a big drain on club resources has become a vital competitive advantage to the facility.

Tell us some performance stats for your club to set the scene…

We have been in business since 1991 and right now it's getting tough out there. Since 2004, we've been experiencing more competition from low cost operators such as Planet Fitness. Today, we have three clubs in the area who charge $20 or less a month within two miles of our facility.

Having said that, we have 1,200 loyal members and since bringing BODYPUMP® to Utica in February 2008, we quickly became confident about expanding our GF space from one small 900 ft² (86 m²) room and invested in a new "mega studio" of 2,000 ft² (185 m²). With so many bookings for our four-class BODYPUMP launch, we decided to negotiate a lease for extra space next door immediately, which would allow us to create a truly unique GF environment in the area. This has been a great success.
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In the Midwest, many have grown accustomed to being a little “behind the times”. Everyone assumes that the latest trends in food, fashion, and even fitness begin on the coasts (L.A and New York) and make their way in…eventually landing in the Midwest. Les Mills Midwest (LMMW) encourages you to fight the sterotype! Here we are doing autoship more smoothly and more timely than any other agency in the country! Instructors on autoship in the Midwest receive their releases first, before instructors anywhere else in the USA…and most places in the world!

We would like to publicly appreciate the efforts of our own Shawn Hamilton who has made this possible. He and his autoship team, pack, and ship the releases each and every quarter. We are especially grateful to him since when we first started, we were a bit behind the rest of the country. Shawn says,"My current procedures implemented, allow LMMW to get over 2600 music kits shipped out in less then 3 business days. Prior to myself managing this project it was taking staff up to three weeks to complete". We admit that we made rookie mistakes and are proud to have overcome them!

Those in the Les Mills Midwest (LMMW) tribe know how much we love a creative launch. We just had to share how the team at The Workout Company in Normal, Illinois used the Heroes campaign developed by LMI to create an awesome in-house campaign of their own. Eileen Kilborn and her team shared tons of pictures with us and REALLY had a good time with this incredible, costumed launch.

Each class had it’s own superhero: BODYCOMBAT™ =Wolverine, BODYPUMP™ =Ironman; BODYSTEP™ =Supergirl; BODYFLOW™ =Catwoman; RPM™ =Flash; and BODYJAM™ = Wonderwoman.

To add to the excitement, Eileen says, “Grace, our club manager and Les Mills instructor, ran through BODYJAM™  launch in the Wonder Woman costume!”
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Instructors who have been with Les Mills International (LMI) for a little while understand the excitement generated by the quarterlies. Six times a year we gather the best and brightest from across the region and the nation to deliver a life changing performance in each of the eight amazing formats. This new release demo party makes for good times, great ideas, and renewed enthusiasm for our much beloved programs. We want to make them EVEN BETTER!

If you had a favorite presenter from a quarterly last year or know someone who is new to the national trainer team this year, let us know! Send your requests to editor@mw.lesmillsusa.com and we will take notice. We want to offer you the very best our region and country has to offer in the way of presenter teams, and we want you to let us know who you think those pros might be.

LES MILLS WEBINAR
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
12 noon, 1 EST

Experience this featured presentation from the October 2008 CLUB INDUSTRY CONVENTION in Chicago.

This live webinar is lead by SAL PELLEGRINO who is a favorite presenter for IHRSA, Club Industry, Club Industry Institute and the JCC National Convention.  A former six-year Club Owner for a Chain of Nautilus health clubs, Sal was the East Coast Sales Manager for Stair Master, and a National Accounts Manager for Precor for over two decades. Sal is currently US National Sales Director for Les Mills International.

What do you do if a big player comes to town and is a potential threat to your business?

Faced with new competition? Even worse, it’s one of the large national or regional chains coming to your market – at a lower cost!  Don’t panic! Instead, act on your strengths, remember what made you successful in the first place and constantly build from there.  Learn from the case studies of six individual club owners who have experienced a major competitor enter their markets during the last year.  Review each situation - some of the owners were caught by surprise, some did nothing (a wait and see strategy), some were proactive and upgraded their facilities in preparation of the competitor’s arrival.  Examine their defense strategies and get insight into what they would have done differently.

Sal will give you an action plan to combat competition by:

• Re-investing in your business
• Staying on top of your game for the new year
  
• Mastering community outreach
• Developing a fun, go-to environment
• Strengthening your brand
  
• Expanding member satisfaction
• Understanding your competitor's weaknesses
• Capitalizing on your strengths