IAmA Gym owner, AMA

What type of pokemon do you train?

Charizard is my fav And that stone snake thing, he's a bad ass

Onix.

Yeah, that one!

Blastoise tho, he's a little bitch

What is your thought on mudkips?

Looks like he's got a dong on his head, so if you're into that kind of thing, sure

Awh Yeah!

I could watch that for hours... brb

Reverse Gym Membership: Customer pays $520 up front at the beginning of the year. Gets paid $10 every week they work out. End of the year they either have $520, or you have money in your pocket.

You are welcome.

Ha! Nice

Here's the thing tho, if I do my job I don't make any money, and I kind of like my job.

If however, I want to make an ass load of cash and let people keep their ass load, I will follow this program

What are your thoughts on people curling in the squat rack? http://i.imgur.com/kVOKj.jpg

Here is what should be done with them:

1. Told never to curl in the rack, ever

2. Repeat 1, 3-7 times

3. Throw them into the pits of hell

Do you even lift?

Now that I got the cliche, retarded question out of the way, let's get into some good ones:

• what problem do you have to deal with that would surprise lots of people?

• Most disturbing/weird customer that you've ever had to deal with?

• Any stats on the bump from the new years resolution crowd?

• Why is joining a gym better than just working out at home, like doing pushups/sit-ups/running, etc?

• What distinguishes your gym from that of your competition?

Ah, got it. I've seen the meme, sometimes people throw that around for realz

Didn't see the other stuff..

1. Systems. A lot of people think that we just throw workouts together, but a gym is really all about executing systems

2. The weirdest ones are the gay guys who hit on me. I'm married, and really have nothing wrong with gay people, but I get hit on a "lot" One older guy would not give up.

3. I think the reason you join a gym is for the programing, accountability and the community. If you have a killer workout program and can motivate yourself at home, go for it.

4. You know that feeling when you're walking down the street and you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, and you say "Damn, I look good today!" We make those moments happen :) But really, we work as a team, we have a program design team instead of individual trainers writing programs about whatever they want. Simple exercises executed perfectly

If you want to put a space between lines on reddit, you need to press Enter twice. Here are your answers formatted in such a way (with the questions, just cause):

What problem do you have to deal with that would surprise lots of people?

Systems. A lot of people think that we just throw workouts together, but a gym is really all about executing systems.

Most disturbing/weird customer that you've ever had to deal with?

The weirdest ones are the gay guys who hit on me. I'm married, and really have nothing wrong with gay people, but I get hit on a "lot" One older guy would not give up.

Any stats on the bump from the new years resolution crowd?

....I don't think this one was answered....

Why is joining a gym better than just working out at home, like doing pushups/sit-ups/running, etc?

I think the reason you join a gym is for the programing, accountability and the community. If you have a killer workout program and can motivate yourself at home, go for it.

What distinguishes your gym from that of your competition?

You know that feeling when you're walking down the street and you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, and you say "Damn, I look good today!" We make those moments happen :) But really, we work as a team, we have a program design team instead of individual trainers writing programs about whatever they want. Simple exercises executed perfectly.

Thank you!

Reddit formatting (even with the formatting help at the bottom) is still new to me

Like 12 times a day... not really.. Are you referring to the aparant lack of weights in the gym? They are off in a pile during the build out We focus in on fat loss and prioritize strength training as our major mode.

You gotta door?

Sure, you want a picture?

How does one at 25 afford to open up a gym? The cost for equipment is crazy expensive even at used prices.

We started "very" small

we had a TRX, 1 15lbs kettle bell, a battle Rope and a used set of dumb bells

how expensive does it get with insurance an everything else you carry.

Out over head is around 3000-3500/month.

Insurance is only 200 annually of that

you got liability insurance for $200 annually?

That's what it was last time I checked. It'll probably go up soon tho

Forgive my ignorance but is it illegal to not have insurance? Couldn't you get people to sign a death waiver? :)

Not sure if it's illegal, but it's not smart to not have it. We do have people sign a waiver, but I would rather spend a little money up front and avoid lawsuit payouts

Oh and I lived with my parents for a year or so - we couldn't afford both rents

Is pain really weakness leaving the body? Really?

Yup, it's science

Gnarliest gym related injury?

Nothing too bad at our place (not like we're immune, but just haven't seen it here).

I saw someone go down for a heart attack when I was working at a gym in LA, and they died.

I had a lady pass out and I was close enough that I caught her. She started having a seizure, but before I could put her in a safe place on the ground she drooled all over me, so that was gross.

My favorite was when the power went out at one of the places I used to work and the treadmills all turned off (this was before they all had safeties) and a row of runners over ended over the front of their treadmills.

That last one would have been awesome to see. Like a better version of Ok Go

I was standing right by them. Tried not to laugh... fail

Judging from the pictures, it looks like you own something along the lines of a specialty gym like for 1 on 1 training. My question is how many helicopter parents send their high school kids there so they can be better at football?

That's right on. We only do small groups (3 to 20) and semi privates (1 to 3).

We get very few high school athletes now, I worked with them when I was in school and got burnt out. We focus in on working professionals mostly. They're a lot more fun I think

Is the New Years rush really a thing? I've heard stories from a friend who works at Gold's Gym but I'm not really sure how much of that is statistically true and how much is just the edge of the bell curve.

Not at our gym. I used to work for the bigger box gyms and they get hit really hard because they offer insane incentives (20 for the first 6 months and stuff like that). We get hit hardest when school starts and in February

I guess they offer things like "20 for the first 6 months" because they pretty much know most of them wont last anywhere near the 6 months they paid for?

exactly right

and in February

Because stores are beginning to stock bathing suits? Or some other reason for February rush?

Because people who started up at a big box in January are starting to get frustrated with their results (lack of them). It's some weird psychological thing

How much do you pull in annually?

How many members do you have?

We just moved our gym, and lost quite a few members - we're around 45 members (we're mostly a personal training gym).

Annually, the gym nets around 80 or so

Under what corporate form did you organize your gyms? Guessing probably an LLC, but I am always interested to hear about the nuts and bolts of how small businesses get started. As a related question, are the gyms two separate entities, or do they operate under the same organized entity?

We formed under a sole prop initially and reformed to an LLC, not sure if I would recommend doing it that way but the initial investment to form a company was daunting for me

Gyms are under the same ownership (me) and same LLC.

Interesting stuff. How did you determine where to first open your gym? I'd imagine that gyms are in pretty direct competition with each other and that location therefore matters a great deal.

Thanks!

for us it was where we could afford rent. We seriously lucked out in our current build out, one of our members owns the building and is giving us a crazy deal.

We tend to fight with one another with a smile on our face, because you can't get into a bitching war with another gym because no one wants to workout with an ass hole and that's what those kinds of fights turn in to. The thing is that gyms have something like a 3% penetration rate, so there is plenty of business we just need to get more people in

This is a great story, man. So many people today look to follow a predetermined career path to be successful -- currently in my last year of law school, I'm absolutely guilty of it. Most of my buddies took a similar route in their respective fields, but one is in the process of starting his own business (as you've done), and it's fascinating to talk with him about it. While there's no "right" way of doing things, I'm always more impressed to hear stories about people taking the leap and building something from the ground up like that.

Thanks man.

This is just one path, and I think that most are good (I actually thought about law for a while). I think that a lot of what is good about america is in the entrepreneurs

I'm trying to do what you've done and open my own gym. I'm working on my athletic trainer degree and want to open a crossfit/obstacle race training facility. I'm 25 my goal is to own my own spot by 35. Any tips you can throw my way?

Sure,

Hire a coach! I've had a coach since I opened and it's really helped.

Start small and start now - we operate by the "Ready, Fire, Aim" Principle. I've seen countless people get caught up in the planning stage and never start.

If you take the step the plan to land will show up.

Also, don't try and create your ideal gym in the first go. It won't happen.

Do what you can with what you have and grow from there. What you want and what your clients want will change over time

Awesome. Thanks for the quick response and good advice. Good luck and thanks for doing this.

No problem! This is really fun :)

Are you familiar with Planet Fitness? Basically, they seem to ditch normal gym things like free weights and bars, do not allow exertion or grunting, and feed their clients pizza and bagels for free on a monthly basis.

How do you feel about this? For me, it's great business but immoral. They are maximizing their space for mostly cardio machines only (with some weight machines thrown in) while feeding clients unhealthy food to get them to stay heavy.

Their model is in direct opposition to what we believe to be effective (as far as fat loss goes).

I appreciate the fact that they want to make a more comfortable training space, but not at the sake of client results

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Thanks!

My theory is this, give me whatever equipment as you want, but leave me at least 8 feet to train in. That 8ft in non negotiable.

Have you ever had to "take care" of someone in the gym? Like they got angry at something and started causing a scene.

I had to ask a group of high schoolers to leave once. Not a big deal really. I've gotten a lot of phone abuse though

Why phone abuse?

people get mean on the phone, membership rates, mis billings, trainers being dumb, etc.

Bummer. What are your numbers in the big 3 btw?

Haven't tested in a while. Dead is around 350, squat is 200+ (didn't have racks), and bench is a good question

Thoughts on Crossfit?

Not sure, I haven't really tried it. I think that there are good boxes and bad boxes just like there are good trainers and bad trainers.

What it comes down to is program design, not workout design. Bad Crossfit boxes design workouts, good ones design programs.

Overall I think it can be effective for those to like to throw up

I've seen you say this a few times. What's the difference between a workout and a program? They are the same in my head.

A workout is what you're doing that day

The program is made up of workouts and looks for the results over the long haul.

ex: program: phase 1 is 4-6 weeks long, consisting of an A/B split, 15 reps per exercise in the strength section, 10 reps in the power development. the goal of this phase is to... etc.

Phase 2 is 4-6 weeks, consisting of an A/B split, 10 reps per strength exercise, combination exercises used to achieve more neuro muscular coordintiation, power on day B, etc.

A workout.. Workout A:

Warm-up

Core Work:

Plank 2x 30

TRX anti Rotation Press 2x10ea

Power Development:

High Hang Pull 1-3 x 5

Strength:

1A Dead lift 1-3 x 15 rest 60s

1B Push-up 1-3 x 15 rest 0

1C Hip Flexor Stretch 1-3 x 20s ea rest 0

etc...

Does that make more sense? The program is the road map, the workout is the miles driven

Can I get quite strong from body wieght only? (plus weighted vest). I do a SHIT ton of pullups and pushups and dips, along with body control excercises. Am I going to cap off at somepoint? My goal is to become as strong as this guy (Tim Shieff)

That's pretty bad ass!

You can get strong with body weight, you need to be more creative though. I think you can get there faster with external loading too (ie weights)

Do you know why most mainstream gyms are anti chalk?

it's hard to clean. Get's stuck in funky places. People pretend they're Lebron James

We allow it

What kind of ratio do you have of people who have gym memberships and people who actually turn up?

We're around 90% for members who show 2x/week. We're a smaller more customized gym (read: more expensive) so people tend to use their membership

Industry standard tho is in the 30% range last I checked

At my gym my roommate and I always notice new people signing up. We assume that they can continue to sell memberships because lots of the members rarely use their membership. Our question to you is this:

Is there a number of members at which point you will have to stop allowing people to join, or will you let people join no matter what?

That's a really good question. Our answer to that is if it becomes unsafe to train then we cannot ethically allow anyone else to join. With our space we have estimated we will hit that number at around 400 members

1) Do you have a problem with people complaining about the music or just walking up and trying to change it?

2) How often do people come up to you asking for steroids or some sort of "boost" (prohormones or anything like that)? How many of these people look like new lifters that haven't done a bit of research or are even ready for the stuff?

Rarely, I am the DJ master! Also I allow people to email us songs to add to our playlist 2. Never, that's not our market.

How do you feel about the pre/post-workout shakes and powders that most gyms sell? And where did you learn about these products/why are you qualified to advise your customers in the extremely complex effects of some of these products?

I think postworkout BCAA drinks are awesome (or a good smoothie), but the preworkout stuff is mostly shit. A good cup of coffee will do you better.

I'm certified through Precision Nutrition, and since nutritional supplements get so complicated I base our recommendation criteria on the following:

1. Does someone I trust in the industry use it?

2. Does the company follow best practices?

3. Does it work?

4. What's in it? Do I know how those things work? Can I find out?

5. What's it taste like?

For someone who is starting their own crossfit gym what recommendations do you have for acquiring new members?

At what point did you realize that you needed to relocate somewhere with more space?

Depends on what kind of pricing model you're going for, not sure how CF works. We start with referrals, then we do the free stuff (facebook, email blasts, etc) then website SEO stuff, and finish off with mailers

I would do a New Year New You competition, who can lose the most body fat.

For us the move was obvious, we couldn't do the things we wanted to do, workouts were becoming dangerous, and our new member numbers weren't as high.

what goes through your & your staffs mind when they see a heavily over-weight person walking into your gym for the first time? Do you see it as a challenge or waste of time? whats your experience with such?

We see them as a motivated person, how much mental strength does it take to walk through those doors? I would be embarrassed and scared shitless. Most of our very heavy clients have seen great results

Smith Machines: Ok and safe or never use? Thanks for doing the AMA and best of luck with the business!

I'd rather not use one, it's kind of the worst of both worlds. A machine you actually have to load plus fixed joints. They also allow you to do squats that destroy your knees.

They're great for assisted push ups, and inverted rows though

Where's your gym at?

Concord, CA

TRX and Kettlebell training related question. Is a combination of these something I can do daily? What are your thoughts on working out sore? Thanks.

Ok so now we're getting into tricksy stuff, which I like. There's a lot of debate on this, but this is what we believe.

Train for strength 2-3 times/week on non consecutive days (ie Monday Wednesday Saturday), and if you have more time to train do metabolic work (20 seconds of hard work followed by 40 seconds of rest).

Let's get specific. If you train heavy swings on Monday , with heavy TRX rows, and some TRX push ups, all for 15 reps, then on tuesday I would drop the load (maybe body weight) and go for time.

I have no questions (they've been answered) but I just wanted to say that this is an interesting and very informative AMA. Thanks

Thanks for the love! This has been really fun and cool for me too, my virginal Reddit posting experience

If you dont already, check up on charles poliquin and nick mitchell for great knowledge.

Whats your number one pet peve working in a gym?

Your favourite exercise and body part to train?

Favourite clean meal?

Favourite meal when having a day off?

Whats the most bullshit comment anyone has said to you on health and fitness?

If you were a pigeon who would you poop on?

I love Poliquin, best at strength and conditioning.

1. I hate it when the weights aren't racked correctly. I will stay late until that happens.
2. I love deadlifts, I have oddly long arms that make them easier for me.
3. Recently Cauliflower pizza has been awesome (the cauliflower is the crust)
4. I like pork way too much, so that, cooked, and in sauce with a beer
5. Oh man, "How much do you bench?" is one of my least favorite questions. I think it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of exercise physiology and program design.
6. Anyone at the IRS, they can go cut themselves

Great replies thank you, the pizza crust sounds very interesting I may look that up.

Best exercise and or stretch to bring back shoulders?

Bring back as in from injury or like to make them bigger?

Last week I saw a woman doing squats with one foot on a medicine ball. as I was leaving she was doing jumping jacks in front of a deck of cards and occasionally flipped one over.

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen anyone doing at your gym.

She could have been doing a "deck of cards" workout--Google that

Very true

Oh wow, that is good (card jacks? Or maybe she was literally jumping over jacks?)

My favorites are people dancing and treadmills, they crack me up.

Is business booming with the New Year Resolutionaries?

We're just about to launch our "New Year New You" so we're doing pretty well. Not like at a big gym, but that's ok for us, too many new clients and it's not as much fun

How often does it happpen that people throw up?

Rare. I hate puke, it's seriously nasty, so we avoid making it come out of people

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Ok so here is my advice for your bulking:

1. Go to total body workouts instead of body part splits. I know that bodybuilders all use splits, but for the general population total body is really the best thing. You could do a push/pull if you want to get creative

2. As far as the shakes go... I would prefer you eat as much whole food as possible then supplement with the shakes. Fake food is never better than real food. If you feel like you need more calories go for the milk

3. I would check with a doctor and get cleared to make sure that you haven't done something serious to your back. Once that's good and done check to see if you can have a Functional Movement screen done on you to check for movement pattern deficiencies (Functionalmovement.com) start slow and train around pain, not through it.

I'm looking for a good program that mixes cardio with strength training. I am a bit too lackadaisical to create one from scratch, so my question is do you have known program I can find with built in schedules, reps, etc, that you see used at your gym? Basically I'm wiling to stick to a particular program and not jump around, but I'd like one for starters that has step by step instruction.

Pick up any of the New Rules of Lifting books (Alwyn Cosgrove and Lou schuler). Those books are as close to training with us as you can get. They just came out with a new one, NROL supercharged.

Note: I am one of Alwyn's business coaching members, I don't get a kick back from sales, but I think full discloser is always a good thing

Hey!

I just joined a gym where i live, and wants to get rid of some "extra me" around the stomach area :P Its not very much, but i would like to get rid anyway. How should i excercice to achieve that goal? And is an extremely tight diet needed?

Hey!

I don't think a "tight diet" is usually effective (too hard and most people say screw it after week 3). Instead focus on eating protein and vegetables, minimizing grain intake, eat slowly, and stop when you are 80% full.

For strength training I would get either one of the New Rules of Lifting books or The Female Body Break Through (not sure why, but I have a feeling you're a woman, yes?). Look for the last name Cosgrove and they'll come up. (I put this below but I am affiliated with the Cosgroves, I don't get money from them, but I do work with them. I also think their books are the best on the market)

What's your ratio of Power Racks to Smith Machines?

My particular gym has 6 Smith Machines and 1 Power Rack. It's fun waiting around for a half hour to do squats!

2 to 0, no smith

And we share here, all of our members are on custom programs, and we teach them to work well with one another.

ie if I am dead lifting 300 and you are benching 155 I will help you get ready in between my sets and vice versa

If I could go to your gym instead, I would. Good on you for offering free weights as opposed to Smiths.

Thanks!

Do you try to make it as difficult as possible to cancel a membership? cough golds cough

Nope,

All over our memberships are annual (well most, we have 2 short terms) we have two reasons to cancel. 1 medical, and 2 move more than 15 miles away. Everyone else is expected to honor their contract

So once the year is up, you don't need an act of God to stop billing the card?

No, we send a renewal letter. If they don't want to continue they do nothing, if they do want to continue they have to sign a new contract. We want to earn their business

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I had one lady who trained with us. She was only mid age 50/60, but she looked 80. She had nasty teeth, badbreath, and was a close talker. She also loved debating me on our training program. She would ask questions like "do you know what the fruit is with the highest fiber?" and, let's be honest, I didn't care about the fruit with the most fiber, but she loved that.

1. What are your top three favorite exercises?

2. I recently with a friend did 3 months of the Strong Lifts program and loved it. What is your favorite program you've used?

3. Do the protein shakes/muscle gain powders actually help you build muscle?

4. How much ya benchin?

Thanks for the AMA! Sweet gym

Thanks! We just opened this one, super excited about the space!

1. 3 favorites, Deadlifts, lunges, and a tie for push-ups and pull ups
2. Favorite program... Well I like ours but we don't sell that one so that doesn't help you :D I really like what Dan John has done with his stuff. He is really innovative and fun.
3. Only if you actually lift heavy weights. I wouldn't bother unless you're really stuck
4. Like 1400lbs

I'm guessing this is in LA? Any website I can check out?

Which part are you referring to?

What do you notice about the most successful workouts / routines? Least successful? (if this applies, talking about long term members going from fat to skinny or skinny to muscular)

The most successful have a good plan. I know that sounds like I'm being facetious, but really. Good results start with a specific goal in mind, then a program, then phases, then workouts, then reps and sets, then exercise selection. Most people do it backwards. They pick exercises they like, or "good" exercises and base their programs off of that.

Our most successful clients are consistent and trust the programming. Most people have workout ADD. It's like, Eric Cressey said I should do this! So I do that for a week or two, then Roman says I should do that! 2 weeks go by, repeat ad infinitum

Is it anything like in the movie Dodgeball? (Either Gym)

not really, I mean we do have the guys who like to drink their own peepee, but we're a lot smaller than those kinds of gyms.

I used to see this woman at my gym who was clearly anorexic and possibly bulimic. She would be on a stationary bike for hours at a time in a full sweatsuit. It always pained me to watch her and I always was surprised to see her the next time I was at the gym since I used to get the most morbid feeling that she would have been hospitalized or worse. She has been found passed out before in the locker room and she was still allowed to work out as much as she wants.

Bartenders can cut people off when they feel they have had enough, can't gym owners/employees?

Have you seen stuff like that and what did or would you do?

thanks

Ouch!

I have seen that, but again not at our gym. I asked the management what we could do and they lamely answered "well she paid for the membership..."

Since everyone here has a coach I think it would be a respectful conversation with the individual in a private situation.

If I was working out somewhere else and saw it I would call social services or something

Yeah, I asked the management (YMCA) before and I was informed that they "couldn't" legally do anything. They had spoken to her before but there was a line they couldn't cross. Shit was f'd up.

That's a line of bull, they control their own gym, not the member

Are there certain goals that people come to you with that are absolutely ridiculous?

Do you ever judge people by the goals that they set?

What's the most common goal people at your gym have?

Thanks for the AMA!

1. I don't anyones goals are really ridiculous, per se, maybe misguided.

2. I try not to, your goals are your business

3. Look better, Feel better, and move better. They may not say it in those words but when we break it down that's the #1

How does it feel to keep losing battles against 10 year olds?

Like getting kicked in the nardz

Would you ever play in a national dodge ball tournament to save your gym and if so, who would be on your team?

Yes, is that even a real question? probably some of these people

What's a gym going to look like in 20 years time? Will everything be like a virtual reality game? What fads have you seen come and go and what will stick?

I think that we are going to move towards living movements and away from machines.

I think that the big boxes will either have adapted or be out of business.

Gyms will be focused on primary movements (Squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling, twisting, single leg stance, and bending)

Fads - Circle jerk machine (shake weight), crunches, aerobics for fat loss. Machine exercises. Those all need to go

Thanks for replying. So aerobics is no good for fat loss? What's the reason for this?

Yeah, we don't like aerobic for fat loss. Our hierarchy is as follows:

1. Eat clean

2. Refer to point 1

3. Do things that build muscle, elevate metabolism, and burn calories (1- 3 hours/week)

4. Do things that elevate metabolism and burn calories (hours 3 - 8)

5. Do things that burn calories (8+ hours)

Aerobics falls into point 5

What pokemon type do you use. What your highest level

over 9000

I've been having this fantasy lately. Since you own a gym do you use it as a pick-up? Like, hey girl it's one in the morning want to go do some "glute workouts?"

Ha! I should try that some time...

I'm recovering from a broken back. I used to be a gym buff and used P90x, particularly their ab exercises. Do you have any suggestions of ab exercises that will give me a 6-pack without putting a strain on my lower back? I've noticed that crunches eventually result in pain. (I'm a girl, if that changes your recommendations.)

Woh! that's intense.

We are a "crunch-less" gym, so I hope I can help! Planking is your base level of ab work, from there we move on to anti-rotation (single arm plank, the single arm and single leg plank etc.). Renegade rows (google) or if you have a trx our options open up more. Farmers walks and waiters carries are also good options if you have access to heavy weights

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If they are they are douches. Don't let them get you you, seriously, they will be fat and ass holes later in life, you're going to be fit and awesome because you actually care and you're doing workouts that don't just work the mirror muscles (chest and biceps). Our gym has a strict "No judgement, No excuses, Just results" policy

I couldn't help but notice the "THC" in your username. Do you use "it"? If so, do you ever use "it" before workouts? I have before and generally it helps me concentrate and get motivated, but occasionally I'll get a bit nauseous

Naw, I don't. It's from an old gamer name I used when I was 7 and I never let it go

Would you rather lift one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses?

You asked Lou Shuler this too, huh?

It depends on the day.

Horse sized duck would be on a strength day, duck sized horses would do for metabolic. I think the duck sized horses

What type of pokemon do you train? Okay serious question: How much does the rate of mnew memberships actually increase after new year's?

We don't increase current members rates, ever. If they are lotal to us we are loyal to them. We raise rates around 10% annually

Do you even lift?

Na brah