Food for Thought Friday - Are You Doing Your Clients a Disservice? Is your on-ramp program more assembly line than training tool? Many gyms put new clients through an on-ramp class and then shuffle them to group classes after the on-ramp program is over—regardless of that client's actual abilities. The trainer might not even know what the new client's abilities truly are. Here's why you should consider PT for newbies instead.
Nov 22, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Two-Brain Radio: Fat People on Mars In this quick and dirty episode of Two-Brain Radio, Chris Cooper tackles the goal of all of humanity: the pursuit of happiness. And to be happy, you've got to be healthy. That's where you come in. Fitness professionals are leading the pursuit of fitness—and therefore happiness. That's why our goal is to produce 1 million fitness entrepreneurs: to lead our species forward and produce more healthy, happy people. Links: Paying Attention to Mental Health With Colm...
Nov 21, 2019•7 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Two-Brain Radio: Reporting on Fitness With Niki Brazier In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Sean Woodland talks with CrossFit Games sideline reporter Niki Brazier. Niki has been involved with CrossFit media since 2013. Before that, she was a reporter, anchor and producer for a local TV station in Maine. Niki is one of the most experienced sideline reporters covering the Sport of Fitness right now. She talks about how she got involved with the media team back in 2013, some of the unique challenge...
Nov 20, 2019•35 min•Season 3Ep. 60
From Gas-Station Gym to 5,000 Square-Foot-Facility With Jonathan Watt Jonathan Watt opened Townie: A Fitness Community in an abandoned gas-station garage. He painted the walls, made a post on Facebook and showed up at 5:30 a.m. the next day, praying someone would show up. Someone did, and the gym soon expanded to the 5,000-square-foot facility it's in today. But when Jonathan found himself still wearing all the hats just before the birth of his first child, he knew he needed to "legitimize our b...
Nov 18, 2019•37 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Food for Thought Friday - How Often Are You Communicating Your Values, Mission or Vision? You know the values, mission and vision of your business. You're pretty sure your staff knows, too—but are you sure? Even if they do, is it something they think about often? To keep your vision at the forefront, make sure you're communicating it to your staff regularly.
Nov 15, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Two-Brain Coaching: The Second-Degree Course With Josh Martin Josh Martin is a Two-Brain Business mentor and the creator of Two-Brain Coaching, an international company dedicated to the development of fitness coaches. Two-Brain Coaching is method agnostic; that is, it teaches the principles of great coaching that can be applied to any methodology. In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Josh explains the five principles of Two-Brain Coaching, the difference between fixed and variable lesson plans an...
Nov 14, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 57
Two-Brain Radio: The Morning Chalk Up With Justin LoFranco In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Sean speaks with the founder of The Morning Chalk Up, Justin LoFranco. Justin started the daily newsletter in 2016, and over the last four years it has become part of every CrossFitter’s morning ritual—the newsletter now boasts 85 thousand subscribers worldwide. Sean and Justin talk about how his life working in the government helped prepare him for his current endeavor, how he was able to build the Mo...
Nov 13, 2019•40 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Two-Brain Radio: From $260 in Ads to $5,000 in Front-End Sales With Rachael O'Donnell In September 2017, Rachael O'Donnell took the leap: She quit her job as a clinical social worker and closed her private practice to open Grit and Grace CrossFit in Gorham, Maine. Her social-work experience added tremendous value to what she had to offer as a coach, employer and leader, but she lacked the business skills she needed for her business to truly thrive. She was also uncomfortable with sales and marke...
Nov 11, 2019•33 min•Season 3Ep. 55
Food for Thought Friday - What Nutrition Program Are You Running? Confused about the difference between Precision Nutrition and Healthy Steps Nutrition? Think of it like the CrossFit Level 1 Certificate Course and Two-Brain Business: One teaches you the foundations of the program and the other teaches you how to run a business.
Nov 08, 2019•3 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Two-Brain Radio: When You Have to Let a Staff Member Go Today we've got a short—but important—episode for you that addresses one of the most daunting tasks a gym owner can face: letting a staff member go. It's never fun or easy, but there are steps you can take to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible for all parties. Here, Greg Strauch shares what to tell your staff and clients as well as a checklist of important tasks to ensure a clean break. Links: https://foreverfierce.com/ Cont...
Nov 07, 2019•16 min•Season 3Ep. 53
Two-Brain Radio: Incorporating Strongman Movements Into CrossFit With Rob Orlando In this episode, Sean talks with four-time CrossFit Games competitor and strongman subject-matter expert Rob Orlando. Rob has competed at the CrossFit Games three times as an individual and once as a master. He also runs the Hybrid Athletics Strongman Course. Rob talks about his days as a competitor, why he decided to incorporate strongman movements into CrossFit workouts and what possessed him to do the benchmark ...
Nov 06, 2019•44 min•Season 3Ep. 52
Two-Brain Radio: From Backyard Boot Camp to Profitable Multi-Gym Business James Mawson, owner of Tribe Mvmnt in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia, began in 2010 by training one person in his backyard, his only piece of equipment a large rock. But he got results, and one client turned into five—which soon turned into more than 50. Six months after opening a brick-and-mortar gym, he had nearly 100 clients. But growth eventually stagnated, and James knew he needed to make a change. So he joined Two-B...
Nov 04, 2019•51 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Food for Thought Friday - What to Do When a Staff Member Messes Up Everyone makes mistakes. But how should you handle it if an employee makes the same mistake over and over? The answer: Have a plan in place. Here, Greg Strauch shares his.
Nov 01, 2019•3 min•Season 3Ep. 50
Why Two Croatian Gym Owners Invested a Year's Salary in the Incubator Igor Jelcic and Dino Molnar both own CrossFit gyms in Croatia, where the cost of the Incubator translates to roughly an entire year's salary for the average Croatian. Both Igor and Dino experienced some tough times in the early days of their businesses. Igor's gym, 20350 Athletics, was on the brink of total failure, and while Dino had new members joining CrossFit Rijeka each month, he had trouble keeping them around. Each of t...
Oct 31, 2019•38 min•Season 3Ep. 49
Two-Brain Radio: Bridging Functional and Aesthetic Fitness With Dave Lipson In this episode, Sean Woodland speaks with the co-founder of Thundrbro, Dave Lipson. Dave is a former CrossFit Seminar Staff member and CrossFit Games competitor. He's also husband to 2014 Fittest Woman on Earth, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, and the co-founder of Thundrbro: A training and lifestyle brand whose mission is to make the world a better place through physical training, mental toughness with a winning mindset, and ...
Oct 30, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 48
Two-Brain Radio: Expanding Beyond CrossFit With John Bartholomeo John Bartholomeo is the owner of Mohawk Valley Wellness in Marcy, New York. Mohawk Valley Wellness originally began as CrossFit Mohawk Valley eight years ago. For most of that time, the gym enjoyed steady growth due to word-of-mouth referrals. But when John decided to expand and offer programs in addition to CrossFit, he struggled to get people in the door. Today, after just four months of mentorship with Two-Brain, John has totall...
Oct 28, 2019•39 min•Season 3Ep. 47
Food for Thought Friday - Where Do You Draw The Line? Which is a better business decision: to lump all your specialty classes into your unlimited group rate or to charge for them separately? Though the former might seem like a great package when it comes to marketing, what it actually does is diminish the value of those services. At the same time, if you ever decide to stop offering a specialty class, your members will feel like they're now paying more for less....
Oct 25, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Two-Brain Radio: Playing the Infinite Game In this special episode of Two-Brain Radio, you're going to get some serious gold from Two-Brain Business Founder Chris Cooper. Today's topic is all about what's between your ears as an entrepreneur. Is your definition of success finite or infinite? Are you worried there aren't enough clients for you and for the gym down the street? Are you confident enough in your own brand and your own story that you don't worry about what the competition is doing? Ch...
Oct 24, 2019•23 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Two-Brain Radio: Mastering Endurance Training With Chris Hinshaw In today’s episode of Two-Brain Radio, Sean speaks with the man known in the CrossFit world as the endurance authority—Chris Hinshaw. Chris is a 10-time Ironman competitor and second-place finisher at the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships. He is the founder of aerobiccapacity.com and is widely considered to be one of the top endurance coaches in the world. Chris has coached 30 CrossFit Games champions and 43 CrossFit Games podiu...
Oct 23, 2019•46 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Staying on Top of Your Game With Kevin Wood Kevin Wood opened CrossFit Moncton 11 years ago in New Brunswick, Canada, making him one of Canada's most long-standing affiliate owners. When he affiliated in 2008, the aesthetic of CrossFit was a lot different: wall balls made of sand-filled basketballs and grungy gyms instead of shiny equipment and bright, colorful spaces. Though Kevin's goal has remained the same over the years—to make people fit and healthy—he's had to adjust his mindset and opera...
Oct 21, 2019•42 min•Season 3Ep. 43
Food for Thought Friday - Should You Charge Your Coaches for a Membership? Do your coaches pay for a membership? Trade for one? Do they get paid to coach and get a free membership? However you structure it, make sure you're trading dollar for dollar to ensure the value of your product—and their work—is appropriately measured.
Oct 18, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Two-Brain Radio: Buying a Dying Gym With Bo Buser Bo Buser figured it would take a few years of coaching and networking after graduating from business school before he'd be able to open his own CrossFit gym—so when he got the opportunity to buy one just three months after graduation, he eagerly took the plunge. He had the capital to buy the gym in cash, the green light from his advisor and legal counsel overseeing the purchase agreement. But once he took the gym over and got a closer look at the...
Oct 17, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 41
Two-Brain Radio: Life During and After Competition With Lindsey Valenzuela In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Sean talks with four-time CrossFit Games athlete Lindsey Valenzuela. She finished second overall at the CrossFit Games in 2013 and is a member of the group of athletes who trained in Southern California 10 years ago known as the Valley Girls. Lindsey also owns CrossFit Automo in Moorpark, California. While Lindsey was competing, she was one of the most powerful athletes in the women’s f...
Oct 16, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 40
Two-Brain Radio: Success in a Saturated Market With Amy Milyard Amy Milyard is the owner of Stoic CrossFit in Fruita, Colorado. Though five CrossFit gyms share the small market there, a combination of trust and communication has allowed all to co-exist in harmony. Stoic CrossFit isn't the first CrossFit gym Amy has owned. From 2010 to 2013, she and her husband owned what she called a hobby CrossFit gym in Fruita before selling and moving away. This time, gym ownership is a business, not a hobby,...
Oct 14, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 39
Food for Thought Friday - Do You Have to Work for Your Business? Just because you own a gym doesn't mean you have to spend the rest of your days running it. If that's what you want to do, great! But if your entrepreneurial spirit is urging you to try something new; if you want to travel the world and not have to worry about your business back home; if you just want to spend more time with family and less time in the gym—all it takes is getting the right systems and people in place. If you want t...
Oct 11, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Two-Brain Radio: Meet the Dalai Lama, Open a CrossFit Gym—With Brandon Evans Brandon Evans is the owner of Heart and Hustle Fitness in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, but that's not what he and Greg Strauch talk about on this episode of Two-Brain Radio. Rather, Brandon shares the strange and powerful journey that eventually led him to gym ownership. You'll learn about the three months he spent milking cows in New Zealand. You'll hear about his experience trekking through the jungle to illegally cross...
Oct 10, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 37
Two-Brain Radio: Training WWE Superstars With Josh Gallegos Josh Gallegos has been involved in CrossFit for 10 years. You are probably most familiar with him as one of the floor announcers you hear at competitions like the CrossFit Games. But Josh is also the coach for some of the biggest names in the WWE. He does programming for the likes of Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Cesaro and Bayley just to name a few. Josh talks about how he first got involved with training WWE Superstars, his passion for c...
Oct 09, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 36
Two-Brain Radio: Taking Control of Your Business With Natalie Marcom When Natalie Marcom opened Nakoma CrossFit in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, she knew fitness. She had lost a significant amount of weight with CrossFit herself and felt right at home coaching people. Running a business? Not so much. For a long time, she just "white-knuckled it." She knew she needed some guidance to grow her business and make it sustainable for the long haul, but she was skeptical about Two-Brain mentorship at firs...
Oct 07, 2019•29 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Food For Thought Friday: Are Your Members Telling You What They Want? You wouldn't tell your doctor what to prescribe you or what kind of treatment you need. So why would you expect your clients to do the same? Listen to a prospective client's goals first, before assuming what they need. Then, simply prescribe them the next step.
Oct 04, 2019•2 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Two-Brain Radio: Launching a Podcast With Jared Byczko Jared Byczko is the co-owner of NapTown Fitness in Indianapolis, Indiana. He's also the co-founder and host of the Drink Culture Podcast. At first just a side project and creative outlet for Jared, the podcast originally focused on the whiskey and craft beer industries. Today, the podcast tells the stories of local "entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and creators who are shaping the culture of Indianapolis." In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, ...
Oct 03, 2019•37 min•Season 3Ep. 33
