If you've been working in the fitness industry for a while, you've probably had a few different jobs in that time.

In my youth I worked the reception desk at a gym where I would plan workouts and my my future bootcamp on paper between people checking in.

I find there is always a natural life cycle to these things. Think of all the fitness fads that soar to unbelievable popularity only to take a back seat to the next big thing.

And so it might be that you find yourself right now at the end of one of those life cycles. The thing that you use to do, that used to work well and be popular, just doesn't seem to be working anymore.

Or maybe it's still going well, the numbers are good, but you're just feeling a bit bored. The challenge has gone and you'd like to pursue something new.

In those moments, it might be time to pivot.

It's not about burning everything down, but instead it's about taking the skills and resources you already have and using them to create something new.

If you fall in one of those 2 categories, well, you're in luck because today I'm newsletter-ing about how to pivot.

How To Try New Things And Pivot As A Fitness Coach

Reading time: 4 minutes | Topic: Career

The Warm Up

What aspect of the fitness industry is really calling to you?

Perhaps there is a specific training style? Maybe you want to get more into nutrition? Or maybe run a retreat?

How will you get from where you are now to there?

The Many Paths of a FitPro

I the nearly 15 years I've been in the fitness industry I've:

worked behind reception at a gym,
PT'd at a local fitness studio,
run my own bootcamp
contracted for a mum and bubs type class
trained people at a super high-end PT studio (funnily enough, this paid the worst), and
partnered with another business to run a bootcamp.

And now I run an online resource for trainers like you.

Some of those changes have just flowed from one to the other and others came about with a little bit more flailing about.

Those ones, the flailing ones, required more determination and a plan.

3 Steps To Pivoting Your Fitness Career

If you feel like it's time for a change, here are 3 steps to get you there:

1. Acknowledge that it's scary

Change is hard.

We know that. We see our clients struggling to change every week.

So the first thing to do is stop resisting the fear and instead try to accept that things are going to feel a bit shaky underfoot. As my pal Jenny Blake says in her book on pivoting, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One:

“You can learn to enjoy calculated risk and uncertainty in exchange for adventure, flexibility, freedom, and opportunity.”

It's only be accepting that we can then move forward to what we really want.

2. Give yourself permission

Once you've been able to look past the fear and the voice saying, 'It will never work, everyone will laugh at you!' another voice will pop up that says something like, 'Who do you think you are?'

To get past that step we really need to give ourselves permission to try out this move we want to make.

Last year I ran an intensive with 3 trainers and one of them recently was sharing how she'd finally started the semi-private coaching sessions she'd be wanting to do for years. She's loving these so much that she's now considering letting go of her bootcamps.

She'd had the tools and knowhow to start these coaching sessions YEARS ago. But the thing that finally made them happen was permission.

3. Take action and test out your idea

Now it's time for action.

We all know that thinking about exercising isn't really the same thing as actually working out (as much as some of our clients would like it to be).

In the same way, if you want this change to happen you need to take action.

But, should you blow up your entire business or career?

No, of course not.

You just want to test it out with a chill, low-commitment one-time offer. Then you can cast it out into the ocean and see if there are any biters.

You can also find out if this is the actual pivot you want to make before you invest too many resources into it.

Of course, these are easy steps for me to write, but really challenging steps for anyone to carry out.

Read on to The Finisher for some help making your pivot.

The Finisher

Sometimes change is forced upon us. A lack of clients, the venue we're using becomes unavailable, etc.

But you also don't have to wait for something bad to happen to change. If you're ready for the next thing, you can take action now.

Sometimes you just need some permission. So write it down on a piece of paper, 'I [your name] give myself permission to [the thing you want to do]'

There you go, your very own permission slip.

Or, I'll happily give you permission too. And help you refine your next move in my new program, Group Flow.

In Group Flow I'll show you how to take your idea and turn it into a fitness cohort that people will LOVE. It's the perfect way to test out your pivot, without over-committing and while getting paid.

Check out the Group Flow program details (it's pretty good)

Or if you don't want to hear anymore about Group Flow, use this link to turn off my emails about it. You'll then just go back to getting my weekly edition of The Friday Finisher.

From the readers...

Here's what a couple of trainer's who've signed up for Group Flow next week are saying:

I'm so excited for this. I’ve had several ideas cohorts sitting in my asana ‘ideas and projects’ template for almost 12 months but haven’t take action on setting them up. I can’t wait to implement them with this program. Have joined 😀

I’ve also enjoyed the couple of courses I’ve done with you previously so I’ve signed up for this one too as I’m looking to take my groups in a slightly different direction next years so will be good to get me kickstarted!

I love that they both already have ideas for things they want to create. Group Flow is all about creating the momentum and giving you the guidance to put them into action!

That said, even if you don't have an idea of what you want to do next, we'll go through that in class #1 (which next Tuesday).

Don't wait to grab your spot (and did I mention there's a discount?)

Here's what's happening on Bootcamp Ideas in November:

🏫 Continued Education: As mentioned above, my new program Group Flow is out. Unlike other courses that you buy and then they just sit there uncompleted, Group Flow is all about taking action. In just 2 week's we'll get your fitness cohort planned out and ready to go!

🛠️ BootCraft: This month on BootCraft I've done something new! It's a completely done-for-you plan for the month of December with suggested hand-picked workouts and notes of what to focus on each week. I hope it's arrived just in time to help you navigate this crazy time of year.

📱 Socials: The month I mentioned my next marketing experiment would be on YouTube. Well, my first video is up! It's a workout idea called Mini Circuits. Give it a good watch and leave me a comment or a thumbs up if it's helpful😊

🔍 Blast From the Past: Hill Hunter

Fitness Trainer Joke of the week:

Did you hear about the pig who knows karate?

He's a master of the pork chop.

And with that, have a great weekend!

Kyle Wood
Certified PT and Pivoting Guide at Bootcamp Ideas
kyle@bootcampideas.com | bootcampideas.com

Kyle Wood | Bootcamp Ideas

The 3 most important steps to PIVOTING your fitness career