Get on the train! The BODYPUMP^TM Express is the fastest way in the universe to get in shape. You may already know about the strength, endurance, and toning benefits of this stellar format from Les Mills International, but there is another reason to talk about the express option.

With holidays approaching, we often find that members forsake their time in class to buy another gift or attend another party. That is exactly the situation the short (30 minute) form of BODYPUMP^TM was created to correct. You absolutely will not achieve identical benefits in the 30 minute class, but this abbreviated session may be just the fix for the holiday crunch.

Most of us can carve out 30 minutes during lunch, early in the morning or after dinner, even during the busiest time of year. Doing so may just save you from everything from a bad mood to a soft tummy! In this shorter, Les Mills approved format, you will still warm up and work your legs, chest, back, and abs. These muscle groups are key to the maintenance of posture, overall tone, and functional strength. Whenever you can, you should still attend the original BODYPUMP^TM class for the additional benefit of arm toning, stabilizer development, and more calories burned!

If you facility is not currently offering the short form of BODYPUMP^TM, inquire about the possibility. Your instructor team may simply not be aware of the need to program this relatively new option. Also, understand that not all schedules have the flexibility to accommodate a 30 minute class.

Remember, this option is not intended to replace the original hour-long class, but to supplement it. The express option is perfect for you if you are: 1) new to the program and need to build up endurance. 2) short on time and only have 30 minutes to commit. 3) in need of a short strength/endurance session to combine with a cardio class/workout. 4) love BODYPUMP^TM but can only get to one or two full classes a week.

We encourage you to see where you might find 30 minutes to try the express format of our beloved BODYPUMP^TM. Take advantage of the extra benefits fitting it in might hold for you. STAND STRONG!

You may not be through the holidays yet, but you can’t wait until then to plan the 1st quarter. Most of us know that nearly HALF of the annual earnings/membership sales of a health club occur during the first quarter. It is therefore imperative that we get January RIGHT!

New Year’s resolutions are not the only things new in January. Members expect some new equipment, new programs, and/or new instructors to help them on their fitness journeys. The most cost effective way to keep things “new” is to offer a great new experience in your group fitness room. Les Mills licensees understand the value of keeping current with choreography, music and enthusiasm. What better time than the New Year to introduce an entirely new experience to add to your existing Les Mills menu? Remember, in order to license, train staff, and schedule a launch, you must have your team in training a minimum of 8 weeks in advance of the proposed launch date. This means that if you want a new program on that all important first quarter schedule, NOW is the time to act!

You may be wondering which program should be your next. Each club is different and there is no iron clad “right” way to roll out new programs. There are, however, things to do in order to determine what will work for your facility. Asking the membership where they see weaknesses in your program via survey is an excellent place to start. If that is too time or labor intensive for you, perhaps you should look at what ISN’T on your schedule. You may also look at the classes which are LEAST attended…replace failing classes with a proven, pre-choreographed class that is regularly updated. Finally, you may also want to look at what you can add with the shortest learning curve and least out of pocket expense. Below there are a number of scenarios and options you may wish to consider. Start NOW to define where your club will be in January…TURN IT UP!

BODYPUMP^TM: typically the gateway or 1st program offered by a given facility. This class is broadly appealing to men, women, teens, and seniors. It is also the most recognizable brand and seems to provide the most immediate visible results for members.

If you need to serve people who are extremely fit, BODYATTACK^TM is the program to go to next. This class boasts a sensational 600+ calorie blast! It is also a reasonably priced 2-day certification for instructors. The licensing fee is minimal to clubs who already have other programs and members see results in their cardio fitness very quickly.

If you are experiencing a lack of interest in your martial arts based classes or have stopped offering them altogether, your club needs BODYCOMBAT^TM . This incredible experience is authentic and blasts calories. Kicking and punching accomplish all over toning while also challenging moderately fit members cardiovascularly.

If your club does not have the budget for traditional Pilates or yoga instructors, investigate BODYFLOW^TM. This blended class features elements of tai chi, yoga, and Pilates to an amazing sound track. The training is replete with essential exercises and poses to master. This is one of Les Mills best loved formats.

Does your club need a quality dance based cardio program? BODYJAM^TM appeals to students, housewives, teenagers and brings a new energy to your fitness program. Each new release updates both soundtrack and choreography to reflect the most current dance trends. This program can bring new life to your group fitness room and with the new and improved format is really two classes in one! Training is only 2 days and the night club atmosphere makes for an excellent launch party!

RPM^TM is Les Mills indoor cycling ride in the fast lane. If your cycling program needs new life, this is where your club needs to invest for January. Loads of calories blasted away, incredible sing along music, and guaranteed results are the bases of this format. If your club has never offered a cycle class, now is the time. The training is two days only, and this is a class guaranteed to boost your club’s bottom line!

For the club that may be step challenged, meaning your step offerings are stale and need a good re-charge, BODYSTEP^TM is your solution. Exceptional choreography, three levels of intensity, and wonderful music are the cornerstones of the success of BODYSTEP^TM in clubs all over the world.

BODYVIVE^TM is also a terrific option to attract new markets. Well conditioned athletes can get a recovery workout at their own pace as the deconditioned push themselves to better fitness. Strength, cardio, flexibility, and balance are all addressed in 55 minutes. AWESOME!

Whichever program you choose to add next, be sure to plan ahead for launch and bring as much attention to the new offering as possible. Give participants something new while boosting the over all appeal of the club and get the whole area talking about what’s going on in your facility! Use the New Year as an opportunity to create a profit center in your group fitness room…but start TODAY!

The economy isn’t the only thing that is weak right now. Have you looked at the physical education classes in your school district? Many small towns don’t even have the budget to hire licensed educators in this area. Some use grad students and/or volunteers to conduct class and even coach sports teams. Hasn’t anyone noticed that we are in the middle of an obesity epidemic? There is a solution.

In the Midwest we are fortunate to have had some successful, creative instructors begin addressing the issues aforementioned by getting proactive. There are a number of private and government grants that can be accessed to improve public school physical education. The proven nature of BODYPUMP^TM and other peer reviewed programs from Les Mills makes it the perfect program for which to obtain a grant.

Grant searches on the internet yield a HOST of websites. Navigating this terrain is not easy. Going directly to the school board or recreation department for assistance might be a better place to start. These grants will typically cover equipment, licensing, and reasonable instructor pay. Writing for the grant also will have very specific guidelines and will require a LOT of information. Be sure to provide everything in the format required or your proposal may not even be reviewed.

School teachers and administrators as well as non-profit administrators may be able to assist you in the grant writing process. You will likely find tremendous support for your efforts. Many, it seems, would support such a program, but either do not know where to start or how to provide this valuable service. As a fitness professional you are in a unique position to both do what you love and contribute to the youth of your community.

Many grants are outcome based, so be prepared for oversight and a LOT of report and record keeping. Allow sufficient time to implement the program and know that you will not be able to do it alone. Three key people are necessary: 1—driver: organized, responsible and able to communicate effectively; 2—coordinator: organized and schedule oriented; able to create a coordinated effort among team members and affiliate schools/facilities; 3—implementer: creative, inspired, and motivating; able to keep all team members and participants moving forward and excited. Of course instructors, parents, teachers, and students are all important to your success.

Below you will find a few links that may prove beneficial to you in your search for grant money to begin a better physical fitness program in your local schools. Also find the story of a Kansas City Pilot that we hope will inspire you! It is our belief that fitness instructors hold the solution to the current battle against overweight in our country. Welcome to the front lines!

U.S Dept. of Education Carol M. White Physical Education Program

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Helen Heitmann Funds Research Project

The Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health & Sports and the Michigan Fitness Foundation

American Council for Fitness and Nutrition

PE4Life

ACFN, PE4life, ADAF Launch Healthy Schools Partnership Pilot.

The Healthy Schools Partnership between the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN), PE4life and the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF) this week launched a pilot program in four Kansas City-area schools.

The pilot will help address the childhood obesity epidemic by incorporating nutrition education into PE4life's proven model of getting kids active and instilling in them the lifetime benefit of health and wellness. Through the existing PE4life model, students are inspired to become active and aware of healthy living through novel physical education programs that offer a variety of fun sports and fitness activities. To deliver the program's educational components, seven nutrition coaches and registered dietitians are working side-by-side with the school's physical education teachers to communicate energy balance messaging to the students. Using nutrition coaches in schools is unique to the program, and is designed to model many of the premier fitness centers in the nation.

"The Healthy Schools Partnership provides an opportunity to make a substantial reduction in childhood obesity rates by developing a replicable approach to providing comprehensive, measurable and sustainable healthy lifestyle education initiatives in the nation's schools" said Dr. Susan Finn, ACFN CEO. "We believe that the future educational model should embrace the concept of energy balance and teach the two subjects, food intake and energy expenditure, together."

ACFN was instrumental in bringing the organizations together for this pilot, which provides a comprehensive program incorporating the U.S. Department of Agriculture MyPyramid and focuses on teaching the concept of balancing food intake with energy expenditure. The content of the pilot's nutrition curriculum is focused on teaching the importance of calories and energy balance, and its delivery fits seamlessly into PE4life's proven model, without taking away from activity time.

"The American Dietetic Association Foundation is thrilled to help incorporate the nutrition education part of the equation into these schools," said Mary Beth Whalen, executive director of the ADAF. "We have long supported the idea of teaching children the importance of healthy lifestyles through the ADAF's Healthy Weight for Kids program, and we are excited that seven ADA members will be participating in the Healthy Schools Partnership pilot. Registered dietitians are a valuable resource and their roles in the pilot will be critical to the overall success of the program."

In addition to drawing resources from successful program models, the Partnership developed several unique components to reinforce the pilot's lessons, including "The Filling Station" interactive kiosk, posters and information cards. "The Filling Station" kiosk, developed through collaboration with software developer Immersion Media, is an interactive application integrated into physical education classes to deliver program information to students through a question and answer format that is aligned with weekly nutrition topics.

The Partnership commissioned syndicated cartoonist Jerry Craft, creator of the Mama's Boyz series, to develop illustrations for "The Filling Station", as well as the other informative materials that support the program's lessons.

"We have seen a great amount of success so far with our PE4life program in Kansas City, and we are eager to build on our foundation there by adding nutrition education to four pilot schools," said Anne Flannery, PE4life CEO. "Offering our students a nutrition component will help them understand the importance of balancing activity with a healthy diet. This is an important lesson and we are excited to help communicate this message through the Healthy Schools Partnership."

The schools participating in the pilot include Blue Valley West High School of the Blue Valley School District and the following schools from the Kansas City, Missouri School District: Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Pitcher Academy and Woodland Elementary School. More than 1,000 students in 5th through 9th grades will take part in this 12-week pilot during the fall 2007.

Here at Les Mills Midwest, we love to celebrate with clubs who are really embracing the culture of Les Mills. For anyone who has been struggling with the addition of RPM^TM to their array of offerings, we present Jay Soppe and West Family YMCA in Davenport, Iowa as a case study in getting it right! The unique approach this facility has taken to the program has yielded significant results in both revenue and member retention which is up 7% in just 10 months! Total memberships are up 5% for the year to date.

JAY: “We charge $27 a session for RPM^TM and $18 for a Freestyle Cycling Class session, this is for an 8-10 week session so RPM^TM comes out to about 3$ per class, freestyle about $2. (RPM^TM participants receive an RPM^TM t-shirt…great way to give a perceived benefit while advertising!) We purchased 11 indoor cycles, after 3 years of effort trying to get them. We started out with 9 freestyle classes with success due to the novelty of the bikes, as revenue started to decrease by about 10% each session we were approached by Annie Schaefer who was at another branch in our association. She was a certified RPM^TM instructor and showed us what a class of RPM^TM looked like, we did a sample ride and the 8 of us from our branch were instantly hooked on the “koolaid”. We sent 2 instructors, myself included, to get certified. And we launched RPM^TM in December of 07. Since that time we have generated over $14,000 in revenue just from RPM^TM alone, which runs 10 classes per week at 90% attendance. We have a 15 person line outside our YMCA at 4:45 am every signup day to make sure they get in to the RPM^TM class they want. Our launch parties are 90% attended, and each launch party results in an average of 4 more members added to our RPM^TM rosters. Or roughly $125 in added revenue per member. We have seen our member retention increase from 61% to 68% in 10 months due to this and other factors.”

While Les Mills Midwest does not always specifically recommend up-charging for new programs, it is a valid means by which to recover the cost of licensing this program, cycle maintenance, and quarterly re-launch. If your club has never offered a cycling class before, then members will likely appreciate the addition and not be put off by the minimal fee. This strategy works particularly well in clubs with space challenges and/or limited cycling capacity. It has worked beautifully for Jay and his team and is a great option if your club is concerned about “affording” this valuable cross training program.

We needed to know more about this awesome club so we asked some specific questions. You may be interested in what kind of atmosphere is conducive to this approach. You might be surprised that this center is like many in mid-sized towns all across the U.S.

LMMW: Whom do you serve in RPM^TM?
JAY: Anyone really from 14-85, we have had 80+ year olds in class. We have a class offered just for Teens Monday after school as we are connected to the high school. Our YMCA is located in Davenport Iowa, population of 110,000 if you include surrounding communities. We are connected to Davenport West High School and share our gymnasium and pool with the high school.

LMMW: Tell me about the West Family YMCA.
JAY: We are part of an association that has 8 branches including childcare and camp. We don't have as much space or as many amenities as our other branches so what we lack in that area we try to make up with stellar customer service and superior staff and programs. We serve a mostly urban population but some rural as we can serve smaller towns just past our western city limit. Our Median family income on the west side is $42,000, while our neighbors to the North, Bettendorf, have about $68,000 median income, and due to our association standards we have to charge the same prices, making it difficult for our members sometimes financially.

LMMW: With all those challenges, how do you advertise your events?
JAY: We advertise our Launch parties through posters, billboards, flyers, and instructor invitations. We also set out healthy foods at our parties and give out free water, sports drinks, etc. We have drawings where we put numbers into a hat, and whichever number we select the person on that bike gets a prize like a free session of RPM^TM, or gift certificate to a cycling store to buy cycling shoes or shorts.

All of those ideas are AWESOME and PROVEN. Jay Soppe is the Director of Program Services at the West Family YMCA, a branch of the Scott County Family Y. Give aways and member satisfaction generate excitement and create positive word of mouth advertising. No other means of advertising is more effective! Congratulations to all the team in Davenport. Keep ridin’ like you stole it!