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Intelligent Motion

If you are one of the fortunate ones who has participated in a live, hands-on workshop with PTA Global Co-Founder, Ian O'Dwyer, you know all about his crazy antics (i.e. the Tazmanian Push-up) and off-the-wall phrases... such as, "...happier than a dog with two tails..." or the infamous "SENSATIONAL!"

Ian O'Dwyer

What you may not realize however, is that these so called "antics" are part of a much more complex and detailed aspect of PTA Global's philosophy. In fact, one that Ian himself coined...  'Intelligent Motion'.  


Anyone who has studied the human body, it complexities and subtleties - how the tissues respond to stress - knows the absolute importance of motion to the health of the system as a whole. Most call this the S.A.I.D. Principle and believe that they know all about it as if it is a person they have been dating for years now... If you are one of this 'most' crowd, you won't need to read any further.


In PTA Global fashion, let's define our terms - Intelligent Motion - to get to the heart of the issue at hand and see what we find:

Intelligent: 

Able to vary your state or action in response to varying situations, varying requirements, and past experience.

Not what you were expecting...? Feel free to read that definition again because it is very compelling and provides deep insight as to why Intelligent Motion is so necessary and powerful for the body. It comes from the Latin word intelligere, which means to "perceive". I know you already know this, but for those that may not, perception is the interpretation of a stimulus or stimuli.


Knowing this and looking at this definition, so many things come to mind. For example, the first part, "Able to vary your state or action" how it refers to both the psychological AND physical, intimately linking the two together. When you add the rest "in response to varying situationss, varying requirements, and past experience" it sounds a lot like sensorimotor integration doesn't it? ...how sensory feedback comes into the central nervous system, is interpreted and then results in a motor response... 


Yet it also sounds a lot like how our brain functions to process any stressor / situation - taking what its presented and comparing it to past experiences. In essence, the crux behind behavioral change. 


Think about what we have learned lately regarding fascia... how it has on average about 9-10 times more proprioceptive capabilities than muscle and how it can gather and store information (emotional and 'motional') as well as promote a response and all independently of the central nervous system. How manipulation of one area can dramatically influence another.

Motion:

The transition from one position to another.

'Transition' by definition is a change from one state or position to another. Moving from what was - the past - to what is. 


Now partner the definition of 'intelligent' with 'motion'... go ahead I'll wait...


What did you come up with? 




Here is what we see at PTA Global... 

Intelligent Motion: 

The ability to change your state from what was to what can be in response to varying situations based upon who you currently are. 

It is motion that meets the client where they need to be met... motion that makes the complex simple because it asks the body, it doesn't tell the body. It is motion that a leader would use to evoke rather than provoke a response. Intelligent Motion is simply motion with a client-centered purpose. 


So here's the cool part... Intelligent Motion ... it's dictated by the client. If you are not asking your client the right questions - daily - chances are you are not providing them with Intelligent Motion. 




If your motion isn't intelligent...


meaning able to change you and/or your clients' state of wellbeing from what it was to what they want it to be in response to the multitude of varying situations that they face daily all based specifically on who they are and what fears, like and dislikes they currently have...

Then what is it?

Thank you Ian for your passion, your foresight and your antics. You are truly "Intelligent!"

Meet the Client Where They Need to be Met

Having spoke with numerous club chains around the world, it is no secret that one of the primary reasons people leave a gym or stop training with a Fitness Professional is they feel that 'their needs weren't met." In other words, they didn't get the service that best matched who they were, what they wanted and how they wanted it.


Over the years, PTA Global has had the distinct pleasure of learning from and sharing with industry expert, phenomenal trainer and good friend, Annette Lang. Annette's experience and understanding of our industry has laid a solid foundation for how PTA Global views and addresses the industry as whole. She has, on more than one occasion, stated that we as an industry need to "meet the client where they need to be met."

Annette Lang

If you want to succeed ethically, morally and/or financially in this industry, this is the philosophy that will get you there. If you are able to meet the client at their level, on their terms and with what they are asking for, you will succeed - period! Now that we got that out of the way, the trick is doing it.


As we discussed in our initial post, a "Leader in Professional Fitness Development" means that we are here to 'serve others by providing guidance and a means to derive performance driven solutions for the challenges they face.' Performance driven solutions don't happen by chance. If they are to be reproducible and consistent, they will require some form of structured guidance or what we call "structured freedom."


Meeting someone where they are right now in their life and matching their experience with us to that place, requires knowledge, skill and application. Furthermore, it necessitates that we 'know' them at a sub-superficial level. How does this happen, you ask? You just did it! You ask! We must ask questions that allow them to volunteer the necessary information. 


Be careful now... it's not just about asking questions. It's about asking the right question AND THEN responding correctly.


Enter PTA Global's Program Design Questionnaire (PDQ) found in the PTA Global Personal Training Certification Course and the PTA Global Bridging Course. Masterminded by PTA Global Co-founder Bobby Cappuccio and built with the support of decades of research, the PDQ was specifically developed to provide a simple, reproducible process for structuring and delivering a high degree of intimate communication between us and potential clients. 


The brilliance of the PDQ lies in its ability to practically and concisely allow you to use proven Motivational Interviewing techniques with intelligently laid out open-ended questions and timely positioned confidence scales.

One of the main purposes of the PDQ is to provide us with the ability to immediately establish trust and rapport with a client or potential client. It does this by showing us how to systematically walk someone through a series of questions that reveal their goal, preferred style of training, level of ability and the motivation behind their goal.

Two immensely important aspects of the PDQ that are highlighted above - the person's 'style of training' and their 'motivation' - are specifically mapped to the industry's needs and the philosophy of "meet the client where they need to be met." By asking the client "how" they would prefer to train and "why" they are here to train will provide an overwhelming abundance of personalized client-centered treasures. 

When used, you will successfully provide the client with the experience they were looking for and in a way that specifically matched how they wanted it done. Or, simply put you were able to "meet the client where they needed to be met."

In less than 10 minutes this proven performance driven solution can remove one of the top reasons why someone would leave your club or stop training with you. Not convinced...

Here is a quote from Marco Ferdinandi, Regional Director of Fitness Operations for Pure Fitness in Hong Kong & Singapore:

"Going beyond just our education needs, PTA Global has been a major influence in our operating procedures, training philosophy, sales process and member interaction.  We rolled out our first PTA Global courses in 2009 and since then have consistently seen our key metrics improve.  Our penetration rates at point of sale are up 20 percentage points in that time, our active client penetration is above 30%, and our revenues directly from Personal Training are up 20% each year and continue to grow.   

Our Personal Trainers have seen their productivity improve as well.   The average Personal Trainer is training over 30 sessions per week and working with 35 – 40 clients in any given month.   Regardless of their experience and level, our team is able to deliver a consistently excellent member experience with PTA Global’s systems in place.   For example, by implementing a simple visual presentation built on PTA Global science, our new club opening team in Singapore was able to convert 50% of the new members we met with into personal training clients during our presale."

Thank you Annette Lang for your authenticity. Thank you Bobby Cappuccio for your brilliance... and thank you Pure Fitness for your belief.

Got 10 minutes... Make it happen!