Running a Gym Archives - Whole Life Challenge

3 Things to Know Before You Run a Nutrition Challenge

Taryn Haggerstone — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Are you a coach or trainer considering running a nutrition challenge for your clients? Before you do, there are some things you should take into consideration to increase your clients’ success rates and keep them safe.

1. Research, and Preparation Pay Off

There are a lot of nutrition and lifestyle challenges out there right now and before diving in headfirst it is important to do your research:

Get to know the basics of the challenge.

…

The post 3 Things to Know Before You Run a Nutrition Challenge appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

Have You Fallen Into the Smart Coach Trap?

Karen Katzenbach — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 09:00:54 +0000

Reading Time: 5 minutes

I’ve always considered myself a smart person. I did well in school, was on the honor roll, took advanced classes. I still spend a lot of time working on getting smarter: taking courses, reading scientific studies, learning from other professionals. I want to be the smartest coach around — except when I’m actually coaching someone.

I’ve learned over the years that I’m the most effective for my clients when I’m not the smart coach but the good coach.…

The post Have You Fallen Into the Smart Coach Trap? appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

How the Whole Life Challenge Makes You a Better Coach

Andy Petranek — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 10:00:20 +0000

Reading Time: 7 minutes

I come from a community of gym owners who are go-getter, type-A, do-it-yourselfers. We gladly trade hours of our own time for measly dollars saved because the work is fun and satisfying. We look at problems that stop many people in their tracks and find a way over, around, or through — all by ourselves. We have an innate sense that if something needs doing, it’s best done by us.…

The post How the Whole Life Challenge Makes You a Better Coach appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

Gym Owners: What You Need to Know to Overcome a Growth Plateau

Adam Stanecki — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 09:00:36 +0000

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Time and again, I have seen gyms get to a certain size and then plateau. For CrossFit and CrossFit-style gyms, this is around the eighty- to 100-member mark. For the longest time I wondered what was causing this.

At first I though this phenomenon was caused by a lack of systems. When all businesses get to a certain size, the difficulties they encounter start to change.…

The post Gym Owners: What You Need to Know to Overcome a Growth Plateau appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Gym Programming

Taryn Haggerstone — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 10:00:06 +0000

Reading Time: 7 minutes

In the early days of CrossFit, many people and gyms trained simply by following the CrossFit main site programming. As the time went on, though, more and more people took an interest in the programming behind their results. Now, there are thousands of different programs available.

Many of the successful and well-known gyms have made their programs available online for free, like The Outlaw Way, Competitors Training, CrossFit Invictus, and OPEX Fitness.…

The post The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Gym Programming appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

The Gym Owner’s Guide to Optimal Well-Being

Adam Stanecki — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 10:00:15 +0000

Reading Time: 5 minutes

You own a gym. You focus most of your time and efforts helping other people get fit and healthy. It’s not a bad way to make a living. In fact, one might say it’s quite an honorable profession.

But somehow, even though you own a gym, it’s easy to let your own well-being take a backseat. It’s like the proverbial mechanic not attending to her car.…

The post The Gym Owner’s Guide to Optimal Well-Being appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

Why Partner with Whole Life Challenge? Cash and the Second-Order Effect

Jon Gilson — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 08:00:27 +0000

Reading Time: 4 minutes

At the Whole Life Challenge, we engage in revenue sharing. When our Partners sign up to lead a Team, they receive a portion of every dollar we collect from their Team Members.

This has the obvious benefit of immediately incentivizing all parties: when our Partners engage as many people as possible, it allows us to create an exceptional Challenge environment for the Players while keeping the lights on at Whole Life headquarters.…

The post Why Partner with Whole Life Challenge? Cash and the Second-Order Effect appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

How the WLC Is More Than Just Another Nutrition Challenge

Andy Petranek — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 01:04:05 +0000

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I know what it’s like to be the busy owner of a busy business, hesitating to add something new to my plate for fear it will “upset the balance” I’ve worked so hard to create.

Adding something new or different always feels like it could cause the whole stack to come crashing down. Of course, the right addition to the mix could relieve some of the strain, allow me to set aside some tasks, and offer me some much needed relief (while still getting things done).…

The post How the WLC Is More Than Just Another Nutrition Challenge appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

Going Low-Tech to Boost Events in the Box: Leveraging Social Proof

Andy Petranek — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 07:35:51 +0000

Reading Time: 3 minutes

You have a half-dozen social media tools for reaching your members: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, your email list, the “power tools” of reaching far and wide.

It would be tempting to think that leveraging these tools is your best shot for throwing a successful event (but it’s not).

In a world dominated by social media, your best tool for getting your members to participate in special events is still a pen and piece of paper. …

The post Going Low-Tech to Boost Events in the Box: Leveraging Social Proof appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

The CrossFit Open Is Over – Now What?

Andy Petranek — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 07:17:03 +0000

Reading Time: 2 minutes

You just finished up the CrossFit Games Open, along with over 250,000 people around the world. It’s a great time to consider getting something new and fresh for your community on your schedule. The Whole Life Challenge.

Check out the site. Then take the 17 minutes you’ll need to register your official team. The upside for you and your community is huge.…

The post The CrossFit Open Is Over – Now What? appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

The Lousy Excuse of “Not Enough Time”

Andy Petranek — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 01:19:29 +0000

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Each week, we are all entrusted with an irreplaceable fund of hours…168, to be exact. How you spend these hours is entirely up to you. You can putter around, watching hours and hours of Law & Order reruns. Or you can set about to change your community, or maybe even the entire world.

It just depends on how you choose to spend your fund of hours.…

The post The Lousy Excuse of “Not Enough Time” appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

The Video That Makes Me Cry… Every Single Time

Andy Petranek — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 04:46:39 +0000

Reading Time: 2 minutes

About ten years ago, I had a client, Hannah, who was 25 or so at the time. As we were going through the initial intake, she told me that she felt tired all of the time. No matter what time she went to bed, she felt exhausted. Everyday chores, like getting off the couch to go to the grocery store, felt overwhelming.…

The post The Video That Makes Me Cry… Every Single Time appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

A Challenge, a Proposal, and a Diabetic

Andy Petranek — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:56:23 +0000

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Note: Heather McKearnan is the program director and co-owner of Undisputed Fitness, which is a CrossFit affiliate in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is the story she tells about her affiliate’s experience with the Whole Life Challenge.

Undisputed Fitness (CrossFit Santa Fe) adds three or four new members to its client list each time it participates in a Whole Life Challenge, but that’s hardly important considering everything else that happens.…

The post A Challenge, a Proposal, and a Diabetic appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

Because YOU Say So: How to Build a Bigger, Stickier Community

Andy Petranek — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 21:58:07 +0000

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Let’s say you hired the Rolling Stones to play at your wedding. Imagine people’s reactions…

“The Rolling Stones? As in Mick Jagger?” they would ask in disbelief.

“Hell yes, I hired Mick Jagger!” you would say. “After all, it’s the most important day of my life. Hey, you’re coming, right? You better be there!”

The RSVP’s would come rolling in.…

The post Because YOU Say So: How to Build a Bigger, Stickier Community appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

The Story of the 3-Foot Toss

Andy Petranek — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 05:47:29 +0000

The way people make change is ass-backwards.

They set giant goals. They want to go bigger, stronger, faster—and they want to do it now.

Goals have to be aggressive and ambitious, they think. They have to scare you. They have to be so burly that if you don’t push yourself 110 percent all the time, you will not succeed.

This is the trademark of most CrossFit programs.…

The post The Story of the 3-Foot Toss appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.

When Being a Trainer Just Isn’t Enough

Andy Petranek — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:00:32 +0000

My clients talk to me about their sex lives.

They talk to me about their energy levels and their sleep patterns and their careers. Some of them are stressed about their finances and their relationships. And, of course, they all have their share of physical limitations or aches and pain.

All of this impacts their overall well-being.

Twenty years ago, back when I was just “personal trainer Andy,” my training was entirely based on what happened inside the gym.…

The post When Being a Trainer Just Isn’t Enough appeared first on Whole Life Challenge.