A Little Appreciation Can Go A Long Way

The economy thing has many people mind boggled and has given some a false sense of world turmoil. For me however, I see an abundance of opportunity.

Today I was running some errands with my dad when I mentioned the holiday party that I throw every year, and this year is no different. When I told him what I had planned he looked extremely surprised and almost disappointed. Not disappointed in the fact that the party is going to be ridiculous but the fact that I am going to spare no expense and utilize quite a bit of man power to transform the studio from a gym into a winter wonderland.

His response was typical of a media prone individual who is consumed with the negativity of this economy; he said why would you do a thing like that when cash is tight for everyone in the world? My response was simple. I said because my members need to know that I'm planning on being around for a long time in this business and I can only do that with their support.

I also know that my competitors won't do for their members what I'm doing for mine and perhaps the word will get out that The BAR truly is the best place to get in shape. Maybe I'll get lucky and get the interest of a few people that want to cross over to the dark side with us.

The bottom line is this: The only way business owners are going to stay in business is to go the extra mile for what they believe in. Those who aren't willing to work will fail and those of us who put in countless hours and do whatever it takes to keep people happy will prosper. I see nothing but opportunity right now and I plan on capturing it.

This holiday party on December 5th is going to be the talk of Ahwatukee when I'm done with it and I can't wait to see every one's face when they walk through the door that night. You don't want to miss it!

For those of you who are going through tough times right now, my advice is this: Get off your butt and get something done about it. If you want to succeed in life, go get what you want and don't wait for someone to hand it to you because right now handouts are few and far between.
Keep on truckin' and create a new path of success.. I'll be there paving a way myself.

Who Knows What to Think!

So the title of my blog is "What is he thinking." Do you really want to know and can you handle what's about to hit you? Here you go: Well, for once I think I've hit the jackpot when it comes to fitness. For the last three years Tracie and I have gone to a fitness business seminar and brought a couple of trainers with us each time. This past week we went to a customer service seminar that has to do with fitness. I like to think that we already have a special place with great customer service but as I found out, we still have a lot to learn.

I've put together a team of people that are part of my board of advisers. Basically, these people are either members, past members or just people that I have developed a relationship with and will give me honest answers to ideas that I want to implement into our existing programs.

Thomas Plummer was the seminar I went to and his ideas are what would be considered to be ahead of the curve in the fitness business. The basic premise behind his ideas is simple: People want to have more fun and are tired of the same old body builder type workouts!

You know what's funny? He's right. For years since we've been in business, members have expressed the fact that they want to either look like an athlete or workout like an athlete. Let me ask you, do you want to look like Schwarzenegger or Brad Pitt. When I was in high school, I wanted to look like Arnold but I think Brad Pitt would be more fitting for both me and my wife. Besides, when Arnold is a big saggy mess of muscle, Pitt will still look like a million bucks.

You know how Pitt does it? He works out like an athlete. What does that mean? How about lots of kettle bells, up downs, rotations, throwing weight balls around the gym and all kinds of other unorthodox exercise techniques. One particular website that I like to get ideas from is www.artofstrength.com. The guy who runs this site is the Tennessee Titans strength coach. He completely changed the way the team trains and the coach of the Titans attributes their success to the fact that they are the most in shape group of guys in the league.

I've watched some of the video's this guy put together and I have really been inspired to incorporate his techniques into our existing programs. What does this mean for you? How about more fun and a stronger body? To me, this all makes sense. Know one in this gym wants to look like a bodybuilder nor should they train like one. We'll still do curls and bench press but it might be with our own body weight and with a twisted trunk during the press. How confused are you now?

Don't worry, your workouts are still going to rock and you'll love it even more when you walk through the door. I want this place to be number one, not only in Arizona (which we are) but all over the country. Innovation is key to continued growth of a company and we are going to break out the innovation hammer and start building. Get ready for a crazy time and for the best workouts you've ever had...