Every one of women’s hormone phases of a woman’s life provides a unique demand for exercise protocols that are most beneficial. Then you layer in the nuances true of her right now. If you find you’ve gained weight due to the pandemic or it came on during menopause and you haven’t learned that it’s just a sign what you’re doing now doesn’t work, that’s a nuance for you. If you’ve just learned you have osteoporosis and you don’t know what to do with that information, you could easily fall prey to programs that can all say they improve bone density but that may help only to a small extent.

If clients need better pelvic floor strength, they might be told Kegels or Pilates are the best way. They’re not for all. And that’s where the need-to-know exercise for women’s hormone phase of life comes in. You do need to know. 

You need to know your client’s personal priorities: 

Weight loss

Bone density

Muscle strength

Energy

Sleep support

Libido boost

Mood & Cognitive support

And from the answer to all of these 3 questions:

What stage she’s in

What conditions, injuries, or limitations she has

What priorities she has

…You choose exercise based on the best protocol for the combined collection of each of those. Let me walk you through why this is so important and clients can get derailed so very easily. Clients start doing something like this: that one woman described as “She’s a hormone specialist just like you” and realize anyone can talk about hormones. It’s always been part of exercise science, but until the last 10-15 years we didn’t understand how much every hormone phase of a woman’s life is unique. A trainer or program targeting everyone is designed for no one. 

Let’s Talk Fitness (& Health) Coaching Marketing

"A fitness or diet program that says “for women in menopause” with no science featuring women in menopause, is just good marketing."

There are fitness and health celebrities I just love. There are behaviors of the same celebrities I just hate. And this is one of those behaviors. 

Targeting midlife women with a weight loss program that was not specifically designed based on their hormone health, gut status, and signs & symptoms are just irresponsible use of celebrity. 

"It’s like the professional athletes our kids cherished using steroids or taking money to manipulate the game. At a time when women are vulnerable to feelings of low body confidence, exhaustion from insomnia, and betrayed by a body they can’t figure out any more any message that resonates with them and hits you at a time they feel all the frustration, is enough to make them take a risk. "

A big fitness icon who's sold millions in fitness programs is doing just that. 

Several fitness pros just entered midlife themselves. So, I get it. She’s experiencing menopause, she’s talking about it. That is a good thing. But slapping a marketing campaign on another diet program just to take advantage of midlife women is a crime. Her programs have always targeted women… of all ages. But as I checked out this new program she was offering, the only thing that had changed from 10 years ago was the marketing on the front side. 

So, let’s be realistic. If you’re paying attention and have been here, at Fitness Marketing Mastery or following Flipping 50 for a minute, you know that what works for mice, and men and young women will not work for women in midlife. So, programs targeted for 20 and 30 and 50 and 60 something women, were built with no one of them in mind. 

Every Women’s Hormone Phase is Different … but pros aren’t addressing it that way

Even two women in menopause differ. One may be a small-framed who wants to add muscle and bone density, even gain weight while another needs to focus on gaining muscle in order to lose weight, and still, another could be either one of these women with prior injuries. One has adrenal fatigue and one is fine but just new to exercise. A program and a trainer or health coach needs to be able to see the top priorities for a women’s hormone phase choose the most important variable and start there. 

Yes, it’s true, they have the same body parts. But every decade of life – simply as a good way of arranging it – needs to change slightly. Better than each decade, in every phase of hormone change exercise needs change. 

In pre-puberty:

Building bone density 

Building a lifetime of love for activity

Experiencing a variety of movement 

In puberty and young adulthood: 

Continued building of bone density

Optimizing peak muscle mass

Building body confidence 

Establish strength training habits & sound technique

Learning proper technique & injury prevention

Pre-natal:

Maintaining (even gaining) fitness for optimal fetal and maternal health

Avoiding too much heat early in pregnancy

Avoiding too much joint stress late pregnancy 

Offset changes in the center of gravity, upper and lower back stress

Pelvic floor integrity

Post-natal: 

Ensure gradual recovery from pregnancy for long term joint/ligament health

Optimize wellness in new mother

Continued support for back in recovery from birth with newborn

Begin the transition to strength and cardio activity post-partum

Peri-menopause:

• Identify lifestyle habits associated with the prevalence of menopause symptoms
• Bone density building strength training 
• Muscle mass maintenance and increase 
• Rest & recovery increase 

Menopause (late peri/early post):

• Muscle mass loss prevention
• Bone density loss prevention 
• Menopause symptoms reduction  
• Brain-boosting exercise connections

Post menopause:

• Weight and body composition optimization
• Gain or maintenance of strength
• Gain or maintenance of bone mineral density
• Mobility emphasis 
• Continued enjoyment of the activity
• Pelvic Floor Integrity 

Marketing without Science in Programming Seduces Them

It’s beyond time to stop false marketing --- but it’s not going to happen. You can help promote YOU, but not if you’re only saying the same thing as other trainers and coaches. Be different. Say the truth. Be willing to take on those who oppose what you say. 

Clients who should be working with qualified trainers and coaches like you: 

Fall for programs promoted by midlife women who look good but don’t use those same principles 

Fall for programs based on the celebrity’s creativity instead of evidence-based science used to build them

Find a one-size-fits-all approach – even for programs designed based on hormone balance – without flexibility for unique joints and energy needs 

Why Not YOU? Coaching a Women’s Hormone Phase

Are you taking a stand? Are you willing to say the unpopular thing? Are you willing to share the facts? Take the heat if you go against the dogma? That’s what it takes to stand out against a crowd. Once you have the knowledge then you have the confidence to apply it and to have a stronger voice. 

I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below the show notes at Fitnessmarketingmastery-dot-com/ women’s hormone phase

Resources Mentioned in the show: 

Flipping 50 Menopause Fitness Specialist

And something you may also want if you are qualified but they just aren’t coming…. 

Marketing to Women Copywriting Course 

If you want to attract more fitness clients you’ve got to get their attention. Talking about more sleep, drinking more water, and walking are probably not enough. Not unless you do something silly and out of the ordinary. If you’re a little shy or more reserved, then here’s a smaller step for you to take. 

Surprise or shock by agreeing with on something they would have sworn you’d never say.

Tell them Quick Fixes Do Work

            A good night’s sleep leads to better concentration and better cognitive health. Cortisol improves and cravings decrease. So, something as simple as going to bed an hour earlier can change things dramatically. 

            According to webmd.com dehydration leads to higher heart rate and low blood pressure and drinking water can even things out in 15-20 minutes

            Petting a dog reduces cortisol levels. (They never met my dog). According to hopkinsmedicine.org it does so my increasing the feel-good hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin and cortisol can’t both be elevated. Other things that kick up oxytocin are hugging, cuddling, and you guessed it, going all the way. 

      According to uchealth.org, breathing in and out deeply slows the heartrate, decreases or stabilizes blood pressure, and reduces cortisol. That’s a great opportunity to tell someone about why they may not have lost weight the last time they tried. If cortisol is high, it’s like a road block. Even if you’ve got a Ferarri under there it’s not getting through a roadblock. That’s an opening for an opportunity about your yoga session, your meditation, or before following the meal plan you made them… or just being reminded of breathing in and out during a training session… with you.

One more way to attract more fitness clients this year….

Prove Diets Do Work

            You can find someone within arm’s length who has lost weight from a diet. You can also find statistics online to prove the diet industry is worth $71 billion dollars (cnbc.com). The weight loss works. The problem is… the weight or regain works better. 

And that’s how you get their attention… and then go on for the teachable moment. You get into the science and share information, with a little humor, and a little science. Just bit by bit creating these openings where new people may be attracted because you share things in a new way. 

It’s great to have a voice, and it’s great to break from it sometimes too. 

If you want to learn more about hormones and exercise, weight control, and midlife women, check out the Flipping 50 Menopause Fitness Specialist. Take your business from doing fine to finally providing you freedom and lifestyle you love. 

There you have it.... easy ways to attract more fitness clients this year.

 Want to Be the Women’s Hormone Balancing Expert? 

Get details for the Flipping 50 Menopause Fitness Specialist

Including: 

• 2.5 ACE CEU credits 1.8 NASM credits (and more) 
• 8 of my Signature Course Modules
• 8 Exclusive Coaching modules & transcript
• 20+ Client-ready customizable worksheets (advanced) 
• Additional Bone health, Adrenal Fatigue, and Hormones & Exercise for Trainers sessions
• Plus Exclusive Expert Interviews & Fasting in Midlife (advanced) 

Details here:

Wonder if you should be an employee or entrepreneur? There are a lot of reasons why I became an entrepreneur. The entire first two weeks of this year it would be very easy to say I’ve done nearly none of them.

Why I think most of us go into business.

I’ve spent the majority of my time doing things I’m not good at. I’ve been procrastinating doing them, which amplifies the negative impact of them.

And still, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I Still Have to Say No

In the beginning, I had tons of time, and no revenue. That was uncomfortable for someone who was used to taking action and seeing results. So, it was discipline that made me say no to opportunities.  More often I said yes. Not necessarily for the right reasons. I went to get the ego hit that comes from being asked to present to a room of your own peers or to author this or that for them. But did I consciously think whether or not it was the best investment of time money and energy? Then, not really. I probably did blow up the credibility benefit of doing it and used the media exposure to my advantage. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether that was productive or not.

And now, I’ve grown to the extent that I have to say “no” to things I actually really do want to do. I recently had the opportunity to author a chapter for NASM, and I love them and the work they do, but I’m having to base my time spend on what is best for the company I run. I’ve been asked to do an adult education course for my alma mater’s Retired Alumni but again, I have to consider what I won’t be doing with that time and energy.

I’ve recently been invited to present at prestigious conferences I used to love presenting for and again, I have to say no.

These might be things that you’d say recharge your batteries and you love and at one time I would have too. But I realize that the writing for someone else, the traveling and expense of that and time away puts a crunch not just on me but on everyone else in my team too if I’m not accessible.

A Tough Decision

There are things I’ll say yes to because being out in front of more people is good for me, but others I need to say no to not just for the time and energy spent preparing but for the steal from what would normally be recovery time.

I share this with you because if you’re a personal trainer starting out … or already out on her own you may be wondering – especially in this climate with gyms not doing so well and online training really not requiring a gym to do it – if you’re best suited for an employee or being an entrepreneur.

Having been both during my 38 years yet literally from the beginning, always having something independent, I can weigh in. I’m also tapping into others who’ve managed, owned, hired, trained and fired and watched employees quit, leave and go it alone.

For a look at who thrived, survived, moved on to becoming an employee again… stay tuned.

Failing on your Way to Deciding Employee or Entrepreneur ?

First of all, I want to say something before we start. Having tried it and failed to reach the success you wanted is still a win. Along the way it’s our failures that teach us far more than the successes do.

If you go the entrepreneur route, I would absolutely make sure that you have someone who will keep you accountable. If you have a spouse and a reason there’s no sweat, it’s a disadvantage.

Trust me, I know this. For 4 or 5 years while supported by my husband my business was a loss. That’s not only a red flag for the IRS but it’s not really a business. If it were paying your bills, or if you were going to ask for a loan or seek investors, no one in their right mind would say yes to that. So don’t fool yourself if your partner (or parent) is gifting you money and so you look on the outside as if you’re a business with revenue, expenses and a profit margin, while inside your books show something else.

It’s not just me. I’ve seen it happen all too often with other fitness professionals too. They’ve been given the money to start. They’ve been bailed out by investors when it wasn’t working. They’ve not been willing to quit the day job to really do it. Without that pressure… which if you’re listening and that feels like a bad thing, you don’t have a reason to do make it work.

How Prepared Are You?

Here’s how willing and – maybe naïve – I was. It was going to work. So, I quit my job, barely worked for 14 months, and truthfully 3 more, while I was figuring it out. There was never – well that’s probably not fully true… I remember looking at jobs at universities and considering applying to teach – but there was never a time when I thought, this won’t work. I sold my house, dipped into retirement funds, whatever it took I was willing to do.

When you have that fall back, and it’s not a formal relationship where you’d pay it back with or without interest, it’s going to hold you back. Your business plan should be strong enough that you can make it work. If you wouldn’t be comfortable asking for a loan, and showing how you’re going to use it, really take a good look at whether you’ll get ahead or just further in debt – even if just emotionally if you don’t make changes.

No matter what you want to do, there’s a way to scale it. But some plans just aren’t scalable and you need to think about that. Then there’s the fact, nothing is guaranteed. I wouldn’t want to have a brick and mortar business in 2020 or 2021 and wouldn’t invest in one now. It’s improving but there’s still a lot of doubt. But that doesn’t make an online business a no-brainer.

So, to answer are you an fitness employee or entrepreneur, answer these 11 questions

• Do you like to have specific hours and be able to arrive and leave work at a specific time?
• Do you like to have a dependable paycheck that’s the predictable every time?
• Do you prefer to have your pay reflect what you did, your effort, and how successful it was?
• Do you like to grow and constantly learn new things that challenge you?
• Do you like to make the decisions or prefer to have them made for you?
• Do you want to have someone to consult, mentor, and lead you?
• Do you like freedom to do your job when you work best as long as you get the job done?
• Do you have a creative, problem-solving mindset that everything is figure-outable?
• Do you have the desire or ability to lead and mentor others?
• Do you take personal responsibility for your work? Are you self-initiated?
• Do you prefer to work with a team or work as an individual or leader on the vision?

As an entrepreneur…

You’re never “off.”

If you’re not insanely driven or pressure isn’t good for you…. you will probably be happier as employee.

I will tell you that any employee with an entrepreneurial spirit will do better today. If you find employers who hire for jobs they want done, with the description of success, and you’re the kind of person who wants the freedom to problem-solve and handle things with guidelines and a set of values… along with latitude, you will still do better. You’ll find positions that you like doing and that feel like you control to some extent what you make or how you are able to experience your job.

I’m moving more to hiring the people who have the skills, beyond mine, and defining success, not a job description. When someone doesn’t get the job done or needs constant reminding when they’ve got a task already assigned to them, they aren’t long term.

As an entrepreneur…

You’re always free. You’re free to do the work when you work best. You’re free to take the afternoon or the week. You’re free to make the decisions in the morning and implement them in the afternoon. You’re free to be inspired and put ideas into action. You’re free to decide the direction of your business, who you serve, and how you serve them.

As an employee…

You’re always (or almost) safe. You’re secure. You’re certain what you’ll earn and when it will come.

I can personally tell you that just before I was leaving my position I had a few conversations with my boss about changing the way I was paid. Because they’d never considered the program would grow to this level and my commission override was growing right along with it. And I said, “Don’t do that. If I don’t have a reason to run hard, it won’t be so fun for me.” That was knowing that slower months of revenue would still have meant a consistent income. I was like, “No! If you want me to perform best you won’t do that.”

I like knowing that what I do gets a result. I’m in control.

My son his first couple years out of college was looking for the right fit. As he tried a couple positions, I suggested he considered his own business. He was like, “No way, why would I want that kind of responsibility!?” and then we discussed management because he was outperforming everyone in his first 5 months on a job, including those who had been there for 12. Again, “No, way I just want to do my own thing.”

Until… a couple years later. He’s considering both. I say that for you… you may think you’d never want that, until you do. So, if being an employee and learning the ropes from others is most appealing to you now, there are jobs. And later, you may want to revisit when you have a bigger skill set, more ideas about what works and doesn’t or what you’re not able to do in your current situation that you could working for yourself.

We work a significant part of our lives. It’s important to have purpose in what you do every day. 

How would you like to give a great interview? Or first, get more media opportunities? Book more podcasts? In order to stand out and get your message out to more people you want to make the most of every conversation.

When you land a minute on the news or the paper calls to interview you for an article, you want to make the most of it.

Here are 11 Steps to a Great Interview

1. Start with an introduction that intrigues

2. Share 3 takeaways

            Make sure you are not there to talk about your book or program but to give tips and actionable items

3. Talk in sound-bytes (and pause)

            Remember it’s a conversation not a monologue

4. Answer thoroughly

            No “yes” or “no” answers, say a bit more to explain

5. Tell stories or use analogies

            Your story, a client story, like withdrawing money from the bank …

6. Practice tonality (up not down)

            Be better than boring

7. Put authority in your voice

            If you’re too soft or too slow no one believes you know what you’re talking about

8. Be clear: If you confuse you lose

            A short easy answer – you can always elaborate if asked

9. Make it easy for the interviewer

10. Provide the talking points or the questions as aske

            Ask questions, do research in advance

            Who is the audience? What is their problem?

11. Make it news

(your book or program is not news)

Don’t Wait to Be Asked

You can create your own opportunities to give a great interview. You don’t need to wait around for it to happen. Call the local radio and tv stations and let them know you’ve got tips on how to use exercise for boosting immunity. Suggest 5 moves someone can do at home. For core, hips, lower back, stretches… the content you come up with is endless.

The key is, make it news, and make it entertaining. If any other fitness pro (who could overcome stage fright) could do it, it’s not got a good enough angle.

Content that Makes a Great Interview

Use brand new released studies, or seasonal and timely information. Think ahead. Sure, it may be January, but what is going to be news next month? Heart health? Or if you’re hearing this in October, it’s time to talk about holiday weight gain and tips to make those traditional meals healthier or avoid holiday weight gain. News stations already have today and tomorrow filled.

They’re looking for content for 3-4 weeks from now, that’s unique they can begin teasing and adding to other content now.

Another episode you may like:

How to write a Bio