[0:00:06]  Dori Nugent: Did you know that 35% of Americans start with digital classes before they go to an in person group fitness class? Did you know that strength classes are trending again along with shorter class formats? Curious to more trends in the world of group fitness? Well stay tuned as this episode from the Fitness Business Podcast is dedicated to trends in group X. TikTok has over 1.5 billion users. Yes, billion.

[0:00:48]  Dori Nugent: So using this platform to promote your business makes complete sense. But making a TikTok video can be scary. Well, have no fear. Keenya Kelly is here. Check out episode number 392 entitled TikTok and Gym Marketing. Keenya will help you get started along with encouraging you along the way. She offers a lot of great tips to help you get started. Plus, you’re going to want to follow her own TikTok as she teaches the basics of TikTok marketing.

[0:01:32]  Dori Nugent: Welcome fitness business podcast family. I am your host, dori nugent, and the wait is over. Jenn Kuehn, the vice president of instructor experience at Les Mills, is finally here. yay. If anyone knows what is trending in group fitness, Jenn knows. Get ready to learn about the three biggest changes in group fitness and she preaches to all group fitness directors to be bold, be confident, and do things differently when it comes to running your program.

[0:02:05]  Dori Nugent: Jenn’s episode will start in less than two minutes. First, we hear from our sponsor Keep Me. Want to sell more memberships, improve your retention and maximize your nonduced revenue? Then take a look at keep me. Keepme is a smart automation platform that’s helping fitness operators increase their revenue across the entire membership lifecycle with some pretty amazing results. Keepme customers have consistently achieved lead generation rates above 60%, increased their average length of membership by twelve months, improved their Nondo’s revenue by 35%, and saved 16 to 20 hours a month per team member.

[0:02:50]  Dori Nugent: We absolutely love this tool and we think you will too. To learn more, head to www dot keepme AI and book a demo today. Keep Me, we thank you for being a part of our family. Now, fbp family, make sure you go check out their website at www dot Keepme.ai

[0:03:14]  Dori Nugent: Get your pen ready now for Keepme’s Fitbizpiration.

[0:03:20]  Dori Nugent: Dan, I’d love for you to tell us your top three tips for getting our members into group fitness.

[0:03:26]  Jenn Kuehn: Again, no top three, I would say number one is create an experience. Create a place that members and clients want to come to that look forward to coming to make that investment in that space. Number two, develop your talent. How are you developing your talent? Talent is your biggest asset and your biggest investment. How are you investing in them? And again, that would be my number two. Number three, be bold, be confident, and take everything that you’re doing and market it can’t. People aren’t going to know what you’re doing unless you tell them. And so how are you doing in that? And what is the strategy between all three? Creating the experience, developing your talent and your marketing. With that three, you will find some success.

[0:04:11]  Dori Nugent: My friends, I’m sure you’re wondering who’s coming to the show next week. It’s mason Bendewald. Mason joins us to give us his expert advice when using video to tell a story. His episode is actually really interesting. If you use video to market your fitness business or yourself, or maybe you need help using videos to market your business or yourself, then you have to join me next week after today’s interview with Jenn. Mason will join me in our quickfire Five segment for a sneak peek.

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[0:05:37]  Dori Nugent: Are you ready to get started with today’s episode? Okay, let’s go. Please welcome vice President of Instructor Experience from Les Mills. Jenn Q. And Jenn, thank you so much for coming onto the Fitness business podcast today.

[0:05:52]  Jenn Kuehn: Thanks for having me. That sounds so formal. My old title.

[0:05:57]  Dori Nugent: Well, you’ve earned it.

[0:05:59]  Jenn Kuehn: Yes, I have.

[0:06:01]  Dori Nugent: Very prestigious title in the group fitness world. And I’ve been waiting all day to have you come on and talk group fitness with me because you got to love me.

[0:06:14]  Jenn Kuehn: Some group fitness, group fitness gurus we are.

[0:06:19]  Dori Nugent: And I know the FBP family, they’re sitting there already saying and we know. Dori you are Les Mills instructor?

[0:06:26]  Jenn Kuehn: We know. But yes, we’re all at one point in time a Les Mills instructor. Many of us in the fitness industry got our start in Les Mills. Many of us are still here and many of us are coming into the Les Mills family. So I feel like less Mills is a big part of the fitness family.

[0:06:43]  Dori Nugent: It is a big part of the fitness family. And shout out to Body step. Where are my steppers? Are any of my steppers out there right now? Because it is a dying art.

[0:06:54]  Jenn Kuehn: No. Ironically, it is an up and coming. I will share two things with you fit tips. One is if you can do body step, you are on the upper echelon of coordination and talent. And if you can do body step, you can pretty much do anything. So let’s just call that what it is. And our less most body step instructors or any body step instructor. You are amazing. Because I took one body Step class and it was not for me and I had to gracefully bow out. So let’s just give you honor and props because it’s not easy.

[0:07:31]  Dori Nugent: This is what I waited for all day long so that the Vice president of Instructor Experience from Les Mills would tell me that I’m amazing.

[0:07:39]  Jenn Kuehn: You are amazing with an age too. And also on that note, let me just share with that body Step is a program like Step is Coming back. We see a lot with tone. There’s a lot of changing in our fitness classes, in the demographic as we fitness has evolved in the past few years.

[0:08:00]  Dori Nugent: Listen, I always say stepping is old school and to the point where, when I originally got certified, part of my certification was I had to put a 32 count routine together and then I had to like repeat it in low impact, medium impact and high impact. So I was forced to learn how to put those step blocks together. Now, mind you, I was never the stepper that had like four benches out. Do you ever see that?

[0:08:34]  Jenn Kuehn: We see that a lot in different markets, right? So that’s a different level of step. I will share that. That is not how traditional where we see the step happening right now and we see that genre going. But it’s good to know that you have that accomplishment.

[0:08:52]  Dori Nugent: Wait, I am a one on one, I am a one step, one person instructor. That’s it. But bodystep, the songs and Body Step were just so uplifting and so fun. How could you not like body step?

[0:09:07]  Jenn Kuehn: But let’s just pause there because isn’t that what group fitness is? It is all about that experience and the music. And so put some good music and you start moving, you get yourself in a group setting and it’s go time and it’s just about that experience. So music is a big piece of it. So yeah, it is a big piece.

[0:09:26]  Dori Nugent: And I know I’m talking a little bit of the past and that is why you are here. You are going to bring us into not only the current status of group fitness, but also the forward thinking of group fitness. So your title today is what is really happening with group Fitness? And I’m going to get started with our first question today. Jenn, so I know that you lead the group, the Rex Round group for group fitness managers.

[0:09:55]  Dori Nugent: Plus we have just seen so many changes in the group fitness space between pretty much between 2020 and 21 last year, for many of the clubs it was a year rebuilding and others didn’t see the growth in group fitness like they were hoping to. What do you feel are the three biggest changes that you have seen?

[0:10:22]  Jenn Kuehn: I think that when we look at where we were and where we’re coming from and now where we’re headed in the future, a few things, and it’s one thing that we really talk about a lot on our Rex roundtable. So I need a group of group fitness directors, managers, leaders that oversee group fitness. And really it’s an opportunity for us to collaborate together and share best practices and talk about innovation.

[0:10:45]  Jenn Kuehn: And really innovation is a big piece to what we’re seeing. And successful companies and gyms that are out there, the ones that are really successful are the ones that are innovative and the ones that are trying new things and being bold and being brave. And on the Rex roundtable, we talked a lot about the rifle shot of like, what’s one thing that you’re going to do that’s different and bold and confident?

[0:11:05]  Jenn Kuehn: And one of my taglines is be bold, be confident, and be brave. And how are you doing that? Taking that, being bold, brave, and confident? And how are you applying that to what you’re doing in the group fitness world, one thing that we definitely see is that there is a huge emphasis on digital. And when we looked at it, my body, I don’t know if you saw this recent report, that mindbody came out that 35% of Americans started with a digital class before they went in person. And so we see that stat. We’ve known that stat during when we had that shutdown, people were all online.

[0:11:43]  Jenn Kuehn: Now they transitioned into that. The other thing that we’ve seen is mckinsey and company came out with a recent study as well that consumers truly want a blended approach. So there’s always going to be that hybrid 60 40 approach of online and in person. But nothing is replacing in person. Nothing is better than that one to one connection, as you mentioned in that step, the music being there. However, there is that need for that omnichannel. So when we look at what we see coming up and really three big pillars, one is that omnichannel is how what’s your digital offering to complement your in club experience?

[0:12:25]  Jenn Kuehn: And so that’s a really big thing. Another thing that in the successful clubs that have that omnichannel, those are the ones that are winning. The other piece that we’re seeing is VR. Virtual reality is a big piece. And again, that’s an investment. So when you look at where you want to go, what’s the investment that you’re willing to take? And a lot of times, even in our regular everyday life, we continue to do the same thing, same.

[0:12:51]  Jenn Kuehn: And we wonder why we’re not getting a different result. And there’s that old saying, continue to insanity, continue to do what you’re doing. Most of us are doing that, and we’re not willing to make the investment. And truly, you have to invest in the business that you want to create moving forward. And that comes in omnichannel, that comes in VR, and that also comes in your instructors and your talent. And so the other piece that we’re really seeing is the companies that are investing in their instructor, instructor development instructor, onboarding instructor, recruiting and instructors, meaning personal trainers and group exercise. That’s really where that success sits.

[0:13:31]  Jenn Kuehn: And so those are probably three of the big areas that we’re seeing. And also, how are you changing your programming to meet the needs of the members and the members that you want to attract? Same isn’t going to work today. And that’s the first question we asked on our Rex roundtables, is, what did you do differently this month? And we meet once a month and it’s like, what did you do differently? How have you challenged yourself? And then also, how do we challenge each other?

[0:13:57]  Dori Nugent: Well, you can make the head of the Group Fitness one of the Group fitness. Rex roundtables is literally like peanut butter and jelly. What a beautiful match. And I wish I could have been on your round table. So anybody out there listening, I’m telling you, the best thing that you can do is sign up for Rex roundtables. It is absolutely amazing organization. So sorry. I just love Rex roundtables.

[0:14:24]  Jenn Kuehn: And one more thing. I just have to really just call out to the team and our group is that it’s collaboration. It’s talking. A lot of times when I was in the Group Fitness world as a Senior National Director overseeing 40 some clubs in nine states, I didn’t have somebody that I could connect with and bounce ideas off and go through almost like a coach. And it goes back to what I shared earlier about development. Right. We want to develop our instructors, but also, how are you and if you’re listening to this, I challenge you. How are you developing yourself today to be maybe a better leader, a better owner, a better manager, wherever you are, a better person, a better mother, better daughter? How are you developing yourself?

[0:15:08]  Jenn Kuehn: And the Rex roundtable is an opportunity for us to do that on a professional level. We have a lot of fun. Yeah, you have to have fun. If you’re not having fun in life, you need to pivot. You need to have a conversation. Reach out to me. Let’s dive into this. You need to have more fun. I wish.

[0:15:27]  Dori Nugent: When I first started as a Group Fitness director, I thought, I know what I was doing. It was a brand new club, privately owned, high end club. Basically, they were like, you’re going to be the Group Fitness director. I’m like, okay. And the manager at the time was like, don’t worry, I’ll help you. And he literally got fired about a month into it. And I was like, for me, because I wasn’t aware of Rex Round tables, for me, it was ursa. That’s when I learned about ursa. And I started going to the conference and I was like, oh my gosh, this is, like, amazing, because it was just a plethora of information with all of the sessions.

[0:16:09]  Dori Nugent: Plus, when I was in the sessions, a lot of them were workshop style. So I got to actually talk to other group fitness directors that had way more experience than I did. And for me, ursula was my lifesaver, my life raft. But I wish I would have known about Rex roundtables.

[0:16:25]  Jenn Kuehn: Yeah. And I also encourage individuals to have one misogy. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of what a misogy is, but it’s one big thing that you do for yourself once a year. And so it’s something that it is something specifically for you. So for myself, last year, my misogy was I became a meditation instructor and got my 100 hours certification. So I challenge people of like, what’s the big thing that you’re going to do for yourself to help develop yourself into becoming the best version of yourself?

[0:16:55]  Jenn Kuehn: And to your point, Rex roundtable is a great opportunity for that. Also, here at Les Mills, I mean, we just so much information that we provide our club partners and our instructors. So that’s another great piece for us.

[0:17:07]  Dori Nugent: All right, Jim, well, let me get back on the group fitness train here for a second.

[0:17:11]  Jenn Kuehn: I can have a train.

[0:17:14]  Dori Nugent: All right, what are some industry benchmarks around group fitness participation that you could share with our Fbp family?

[0:17:24]  Jenn Kuehn: We’re seeing participation and again, we see some clubs that are crushing it and doing really well, and then we see ones that are continuing to struggle. I will say that Group X utilization is better than pre coded in most of our clubs. And again, you’re always going to have different organizations that are doing different things, but again, it goes back into that investment in doing things differently. The ones that have come out and are doing things differently are seeing a more engaged demographic from their members and then also the ones that are expanding their portfolio with class offerings when they’ve got a diversified schedule that fits in that mind body, that strength, that cardio, that mobility.

[0:18:08]  Jenn Kuehn: Having a schedule with class offerings that’s diversified to meet members is really what is important and one of the things that we’re seeing. But utilization is back. And if your club is struggling with utilization, I would encourage to take a look at the schedule, take a look at your instructors, and also take a look at the experience, meaning the room that you’ve created or the room that is there.

[0:18:33]  Jenn Kuehn: And members, instructors want an experience. And so what we really see is that investment in equipment, whether it be our less mild smart tech bars or whatever the equipment is, when was the last time you refreshed it? When was the last time that you invested in the new mic set or the stereo? Or if you’re looking at the omni channel, what is that? How do you maximize the space that you’re asking or inviting your clients and members into?

[0:19:01]  Jenn Kuehn: And that’s also where we see virtual. It’s just a big opportunity for clubs that are utilizing the space in downtime from classes. So in our left mills, the virtual platform is where we’re seeing a lot of success.

[0:19:15]  Dori Nugent: So back in September, October, November, December, we did a series. It was one episode a month. It was the first episode of the month with Dr. Sarah marion. And she was amazing. She amazing. Amazing. I was so obsessed with that series. It was so cool. She broke it down each episode on The Generation. And one of the biggest takeaways that I took was that this younger generations, millennials and the Gen zers are all about the experience.

[0:19:47]  Dori Nugent: They just want the experience, not only as they are present, but also for Instagram and snapchat and all that other.

[0:19:54]  Jenn Kuehn: All the other don’t forget TikTok.

[0:19:56]  Dori Nugent: TikTok. Right.

[0:19:57]  Jenn Kuehn: They’re not fittock right.

[0:20:00]  Dori Nugent: And she just said that. That was huge retention for those two generations, was the experience. They want to have the experience. So it’s interesting that you brought that up.

[0:20:10]  Jenn Kuehn: Yeah. And we see a lot of the clubs and the organizations that are investing in that experience are the ones that are winning. And again, they’re playing the long game. They’re not playing the short game of, hey, what is this going to cost me this month? They’re leaking. Hey, listen, this has been an investment. It’s an investment in my people, it’s an investment in my instructor. It’s an investment in the big picture.

[0:20:29]  Jenn Kuehn: And so there it goes, back to challenging yourself of what’s the investment that you’re making in your business for the long game.

[0:20:38]  Dori Nugent: I don’t know if you saw this or not, but Jim worthington’s Club, the newtown Athletic Club, did you see their yoga studio?

[0:20:46]  Jenn Kuehn: They are one of the ones that are one that many of us admire look up to. Yes.

[0:20:55]  Dori Nugent: So everybody out there, if you haven’t seen the newtown Athletic Club yoga studio, it’s crazy. It’s amazing.

[0:21:06]  Jenn Kuehn: People want to go there. They eat like a really cool I’ve seen some really beautiful yoga studios, strength studios. We do this amazing conquer studio for Les Mills. Again, how do you create that experience? If you want to go, that’s where I want to be to work out. People don’t want to be in a dingy basement or with equipment that doesn’t work or with on a bicycle that’s falling apart or it’s rusty. You have to invest.

[0:21:31]  Jenn Kuehn: And that’s really, truly what that experience is. So if you’re challenged with getting people in, those are three areas that I would definitely encourage you to reflect on and dive into and dig into.

[0:21:45]  Dori Nugent: What’s your opinion when it comes to small and large group training, like paid classes versus group fitness? Do you think clubs distinguish that enough? And then I also want you to answer in a sense of, do you think the eyes of the members understand the difference?

[0:22:07]  Jenn Kuehn: So I think the first part of is there a distinguish between small group and large group. And we’ll go back to what I see in a lot of the market and the industry is is it a check the box. Are you getting behind it? And truly it is a differentiator is this experience different? Small group relative to group x or group fitness the group fitness studio and the ones that have really differentiated it, then those are the ones that are really the members know, oh, this happens in here and this happens in there.

[0:22:42]  Jenn Kuehn: It goes back to. Also, if you look at that room and a member was walking by, would they know what it is versus what they know? What the large group is? And I think a lot of times we see in the industry it’s a check the box. We have small group training. It’s there. And then there’s Group Fitness, which is there as well. But I think that there is a huge opportunity to distinguish but it goes back into that investment not only in the facility, the instructors and then also on the marketing side. So there is a huge opportunity to evaluate that. And if it’s not working, what’s the why behind it?

[0:23:23]  Jenn Kuehn: So I think that’s a big piece. And then the follow up. You were asking what was the second part to that is just the confusion.

[0:23:30]  Dori Nugent: Do you feel as if members are confused by the two group fitness and, like, paid for small group training or large group training that’s paid for?

[0:23:40]  Jenn Kuehn: I don’t think in my experience, it’s not that they’re confused. There’s a lack of value in that small group. And so why do I do that versus that? And so I think it goes back to really knowing who you are as a company and what that stands for. So that small group, what is it and what is that mission stated behind it? And how is it different from the large group? And how do you get members into both? And again, the ones that are successful have a clear distinction between small group and then large group.

[0:24:19]  Jenn Kuehn: And a lot of times also, the really successful ones have instructors that are teaching in both formats. So you’re able to pull members back and forth. But there is a unique experience here in small group that has a higher value and the member sees that value and then they have a different value in that group X or that group Fitness. Rather, we got to get away from Group X. I mean, we need a new name other than Group X. So if anybody out there can help us create a new name let’s ship group fitness. Group X. We need a new name over there.

[0:24:54]  Dori Nugent: All right, well, let me know what.

[0:24:55]  Jenn Kuehn: That new name is.

[0:24:56]  Dori Nugent: Yes.

[0:24:56]  Jenn Kuehn: So I make sure that I’m part.

[0:24:59]  Dori Nugent: Of the solution and not a problem. So for the last two years, we have done countless episodes on virtual fitness. Right, you’ve done it all. How to set up. Make sure you have the right equipment organizing it how you get people to log on to your site. So I want to talk about virtual fitness and do members still want that?

[0:25:32]  Jenn Kuehn: Yes. And I was just texting with a former member of one of my clubs and I asked him, I used to teach spin classes. And I said, Are you still taking spin? And he said, not in person, only virtual. And we have at that the lesson was virtual. So where it goes to this is if you look at people love being with an instructor, nothing motivates them like an instructor. The camaraderie, the group, all of that, whether it be a small group or whether it be in large group.

[0:26:05]  Jenn Kuehn: But our timetables and our life is ever changing. And so we go to convenience now. And from a club perspective, how are you maximizing the real estate? You’ve got this, for example, say, cycling studio, you have two, maybe three, let’s say three classes a day. How are you leveraging that studio to add more value to your members, to get them into the studio? Virtual is the way to go. And if you haven’t looked at that, how do you maximize that what I call the real estate? How are you maximizing that? And virtual is a beautiful and a brilliant way to do that.

[0:26:41]  Jenn Kuehn: So I would challenge anybody to really that omni channel, it’s a hybrid, it’s a blended approach that is really where it’s at. And we learned so much from that virtual space and it’s continued still here to stay. So we see it as a great option and we see some virtual classes that get we brought on a new partner. They’re running Virtual 1015 individuals in these classes. So I would not poopoo it and I would definitely open yourself up to what are you doing differently? As I shared before, what’s that rifle shot that we talked about in the Rex roundtable, what are you doing differently to do that? So, yeah, definitely virtual.

[0:27:22]  Jenn Kuehn: It’s here to stay, and that hybrid is here to stay as well. So adapt and definitely innovate with the industry.

[0:27:32]  Dori Nugent: All right, let’s talk about instructors. I can’t really talk about the whole group fitness topic without talking about the instructors. What sort of instructors do members want?

[0:27:44]  Jenn Kuehn: They want somebody that they can relate to, somebody that’s aspirational somebody that’s motivational, and they want somebody that they can connect with. And it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, is how are you developing the clubs that are developing those instructors are really the ones that are leading the way. The instructors are your huge asset. And the game changer to bringing in members and members will go wherever these instructors are. And when they can’t go there, they’re going to do the virtual as an option. So it’s really that connection aspirational motivational, somebody that moves really well.

[0:28:27]  Jenn Kuehn: And there’s this X factor and this magnetic presence. Some are born with it and then some can be coached. And that’s the important call out is not everybody has the X factor, but how are you developing the X factor in your instructors or in your trainers or in your team or in your front desk staff or whoever that is in business? You want that person to have that X factor and can they be coached and are you coaching it?

[0:28:57]  Dori Nugent: So I’m going to expand on that point that you just said right there. What are your tips for leading your group fitness team? What tips do you have out there for the group fitness directors that are listening?

[0:29:10]  Jenn Kuehn: You have to have a strategy, have a strategy on how are you going to go about it. So I can give you all the tips in the world, but you really need to have first to have a strategy on what’s the areas of opportunity where your gaps are and then how are we going to fill in the gaps. And one area that I definitely see is mentorship. So if an instructor goes through a training, how are you mentoring that instructor to get them certified?

[0:29:33]  Jenn Kuehn: How are you mentoring and developing instructors to that next level? And if you’re asking an instructor to do providing an instructor a runway to be able to develop, that’s where success sits. So I would say number one creek development plans and mentorships for your teams, whether it be trainers, instructors, developing that talent to that next level because it’s such an investment. We invest so much in our people. It’s a people business. You can have the nicest equipment and the nicest audio and the nicest and the best parking spot, and the best thought is, but it comes down to people. And so how are you developing your people would be my number one tip for you. And then also evolving, how are you evolving and innovating the programming for your instructors so that they become multi dimensional?

[0:30:21]  Jenn Kuehn: Not just I teach this, how do we get them to teach other things and coach them to that?

[0:30:27]  Dori Nugent: I had an instructor, she was phenomenal. She was like a professional ballerina, right?

[0:30:33]  Jenn Kuehn: Looked apart, moved.

[0:30:35]  Dori Nugent: I mean, you know, just to me, I hired her. I’m like, this girl is going to hit it out of the park. But I love that she’s a professional ballerina. Couldn’t fill a class. And I couldn’t figure it out. I’m just like, what is it? She’s more talented than any of us trying to teach, right? I hired her as a bar instructor. It was just like the personality, like, she just couldn’t I don’t know. She was good at doing it, beautiful at doing it, arm positioning, and she was very good at explaining it.

[0:31:12]  Jenn Kuehn: But.

[0:31:14]  Dori Nugent: I just go back to there’s a personality that has to be there. And as much as I tried to teach her, I just couldn’t.

[0:31:22]  Jenn Kuehn: Well, and there are some people that you can definitely coach and develop that sometimes you’re born. With it. And those that aren’t can be coached and developed. But it also goes back to having fun. Your members are coming there, your clients are coming there to have fun. Is the instructor having fun? Are they enjoying what they’re doing? I think that’s one of the beautiful things about fitness is that we get to inspire others, we get to motivate others.

[0:31:45]  Jenn Kuehn: And so asking your instructors, are they having fun? Is that the place that they want to be? Because your energy is contagious. And so that vibe and the energy that you’re giving off, what is that to your members? And maybe the ballet ballerina girl didn’t have the energy, wasn’t able to turn it on or light the fire. Or maybe her fire was just a different maybe it was a solo stove, I don’t know. But it was a bit different.

[0:32:11]  Dori Nugent: I thought maybe that you always hear these, like, dark stories of the behind the scenes of the ballerina world in Black Swan. I was like, I think she was scarred.

[0:32:26]  Jenn Kuehn: Yeah. And, you know, I will say about the instructors, it’s such a big piece because we know that members come to group classes. They’re the ones that come more often, they’re the ones that stay the longest, and they’re the ones that refer the most people to your club. So how are you investing in that? Whether it be through your programming or less mills programming, with your virtual, whether it be with your instructors, the experience, I mean, it is a recipe of success. And you need a little bit of everything. You just can’t have one thing.

[0:32:56]  Jenn Kuehn: So that would be my other tip, is really looking at what’s your holistic approach?

[0:33:03]  Dori Nugent: All right, Jenn, listen, I just looked at the clock we blew past, but we are having such a good time. I have a feeling that all of our FBP family listening today, they’re having a good time too, and they’re relating and they’re laughing, and they totally get it. So I just want to get through one more chunk, and I want to talk about schedules, because, again, when you talk about group fitness, there’s just certain things you have to talk about.

[0:33:29]  Dori Nugent: They’re the same old pain points that we all have. So many clubs have had obviously changes to their member traffic flow right over the last couple of years. How have schedules adjusted or adapted? Just give us a little advice on that.

[0:33:48]  Jenn Kuehn: The ones that have adapted their schedule and they’re doing it differently are the ones that are winning. So I will share. 430 classes are a big thing right now. And looking at you would think, Wait, 430, because we have this hybrid approach of work now where I have many clients that literally will schedule a 430 meeting in their calendar. Well, 430 is actually my body combat class at the club. So just being creative and then also what you’re putting on these classes. And so for my group family out there is.

[0:34:26]  Jenn Kuehn: How are you? Put on a pop up class. Try out some pop up class. And a pop up class is not once a week, just one time. You need to put a pop up class, put it on for four weeks, try a different format, try a different time, and then promote it and market it through your club, through your marketing, Lexmill’s Marketing Studio, or and through your instructors. So it’s one thing to put the class on, it’s one thing to put a different class on. It’s another thing to market it to through social media, through TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. So to answer your question, really look at different times, things that you wouldn’t think. Look at the traffic tables coming into the club. So when are people coming in? And then be bold, as I mentioned earlier, be bold and confident.

[0:35:10]  Jenn Kuehn: Take that rifle shot and put on a different class. And then dm me and let me know how it goes.

[0:35:25]  Dori Nugent: My group fitness followers. Oh, my goodness. Wasn’t that so great? Jenn was bringing it today. As a former group fitness director, I loved when she asked the question, what’s your digital offering to complement your in club offering? Great advice. I’m going to assume that you probably have a follow up question or maybe even two for Jenn. So head to our show notes for her contact info. The show notes can be [email protected].

[0:35:57]  Dori Nugent: Don’t forget, hit that subscribe button for the show notes so I can email them directly to you. Each and every week in 30, I’ll introduce you to our quickfire Five guest, Mason Bendelwald. Looking for a gym wipe that is gentle on fitness equipment but tough on eliminating germs? Look no further. Vapor Fresh Gym Wipes are specifically designed to be safe on all gym equipment, and the fact that they are the only plant based disinfectant wipe on the market makes them the top choice.

[0:36:31]  Dori Nugent: Vaporfresh wipes come in two convenient sizes. The smaller canister is perfect for home gyms and boutique studios, and the jumbo refill roll fits perfectly into the dispensers. Vapor fresh wipes. 100% happiness guarantee.

[0:36:52]  Hapana: Quickfire five, sponsored by hapana.

[0:36:55]  Dori Nugent: Let’s take a few minutes to get to know my upcoming guest, Mason Bendewald. In our quickfire Five segment today, I have a fitness talent expert and owner of Mega, mace Mason Bendewald. Mason, thank you so much for coming on to the quickfire Five.

[0:37:12]  Mason Bendewald: I’m excited to be here.

[0:37:14]  Dori Nugent: We want to know what is your top guilty pleasure?

[0:37:18]  Mason Bendewald: Oh, gosh. I mean, it has to be chocolate. It’s got to be one of the number one things so that even if it’s just a little piece, got to have some every day.

[0:37:27]  Dori Nugent: I think a lot of our listeners can relate. Good answer. All right. What is a habit or an action you do to be productive?

[0:37:35]  Mason Bendewald: I’d have to say meditating. It is one of the easiest ways to just calm the nervous system and clear the mind. And it’s a reset that leaves you with just a lot of energy and more clarity in your day. It works.

[0:37:51]  Jenn Kuehn: It does work.

[0:37:52]  Dori Nugent: What is an activity you do that calms you?

[0:37:57]  Mason Bendewald: Well, obviously meditating, but then I’ve picked up I have found the fever of pickleball, and it is amazing. Boy, that makes my day feel that much greater because I’ve been outside, I’ve been with friends, community, and it’s guilty pleasure for sure.

[0:38:16]  Dori Nugent: I am dying to jump on that.

[0:38:18]  Mason Bendewald: You got it?

[0:38:19]  Jenn Kuehn: Yes.

[0:38:20]  Dori Nugent: All right. Now, how about a book that you could recommend to all of our svp family out there?

[0:38:27]  Mason Bendewald: I’d be remiss if I didn’t. I got to plug my wife’s book. She’s a writer. But another guilty pleasure if you’re into fiction, stealing venice, available on Amazon. But if we’re going to get into, like, business, being more productive, there’s a couple, but I would say one, and it’s strange, but this all goes into business is David Box Automatic millionaire in Real Estate. I find that a really easy read.

[0:38:55]  Mason Bendewald: And for anybody who’s thinking about real estate as part of building their wealth in business, it’s a great book. Some really basic stuff to kick you off.

[0:39:05]  Dori Nugent: All right. Good suggestion. We haven’t had that one before. I like it. I like it. All right, it’s time to hand the mic over to you. You’ve got 30 seconds to pitch your episode for next week.

[0:39:16]  Mason Bendewald: I’m Mason Bendewaldd. I produce and directed P 90 X. I was the chief production officer for Daily Burn, and I’ve helped hundreds of trainers become masterful in front of the camera, learning everything from just a great introduction to incredible storytelling so that you can connect better with your clients and win lifelong fans. And of course, if you’re entertaining them and people show up, they get results and they start coming back, and they share that with other friends.

[0:39:46]  Mason Bendewald: And you, my friend, get famous and make a lot more money.

[0:40:00]  Dori Nugent: We all know that video marketing is important to your business. Mason delivers some great ideas about capturing your story and getting it out there to build your business. Join myself and Mason next week on the Fitness Business podcast. Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. Or even better yet, let us do the work for you and subscribe to the show at fitnessbusinesspodcast.com. Well, that wraps up another amazing episode here at the Fitness Business Podcast.

[0:40:32]  Dori Nugent: Thank you to our founding partner, Active Management. Our partners Keepm, Myzone,  Issa as well as Hapana. I’d also like to thank our advertisers Rex, Roundtables,  MX Metrics and Vapor Fresh. We believe what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone. monuments folk woven into the lives of others.

END OF EPISODE