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Submitted by Melissa Vidito on
All year we’ve seen these cats come in and out of our studios. They have delicately balanced on this challenging pendulum of being “good”, being “normal”, being “lazy”, and being “driven”. Now it is December and really, let’s be honest, they think all bets are off. The extrinsically motivated humans of the world are overwhelmed by the parties, baking requirements, family gatherings, and corporate festivities. Our brains are programmed to eat well or not eat well by WHAT WE EAT. Our bodies are programmed to feel well or not feel well by HOW ACTIVE or INACTIVE WE ARE. If you start eating sugar or drinking booze more frequently - your brain chemically decides to depend on those things more frequently to feel good. If you start slacking in the gym, your body wants to be less active and chill out more than exercise. Right? Agree or disagree in the comments if you need to.
So…the essential & easy group ex happy holiday motivation tricks will accomplish two tasks:
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Help clients stay on track and
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Keep them motivated
Top 5 Here we go!
5) Use Social Media to Inspire.
Social Media holds a wealth of motivational inspiration to get through the holiday season and stay on track. Set up a private facebook group specifically for this month and post 1x daily at 9:30 pm or later. Many folks are winding down the day, kids are in bed, Facebook scrolling is at an all day high. So share some positivity so they hit the ground running the next day before they close their peepers.
4) Distribute Pocket Pennies for Reminders.
Now this takes a smidge of effort on your part - but if you have a nine year old daughter who likes to craft, delegate the job to her. Pull out your jar of change, grab the shiniest pennies you can find, draw a heart or Christmas tree on each penny with a sharpie marker. Next time you go to class give each participant a penny for their pocket. They can take you with them everywhere they go. Each time they put their hand in their pocket they reconnect to the GOAL or PLAN. Or they simply think of you and your smiling face and it reminds them to MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES!
3) Give them the 
Fitness for the Family.pdf.
This is fairly self-explanatory: print calendar, make copies, distribute. Encourage them to complete each activity with their family or friends and stay active. Some groups like competition; you could make it a game. Ask each person to mark a big X on the days they complete and the participant with the most X’s wins a prize come January 1. You have to gauge how many winners you will have and then decide what the best prize is. I recommend a water bottle or workout towel. Something that remains in line with the goal; not a gift card to Starbucks that will likely lead to the purchase of a 700 calorie drink.
2) Hold them accountable to attend class.
When you see your members or clients in the halls at the gym or out and about in the world, ask them, “When is your next fitness class?” “What time will I see you at the gym tomorrow?” Send them a text message and encourage them to get moving. Sometimes simply reaching out and encouraging them to stay active is all they need to hear. People do not want to let you down, but they need to know the expectation. If you fail to set the expectation, how will they know what you expect? Tell them. “I will see you tomorrow at my Pilates class.” Then they think, “Oh geez… I better get to Melissa’s Pilates class because she is expecting to see me.”
1) Remember, it’s just a few days in a sea of many.
When you look at the reality of how many days in this month are potentially presenting challenges - it is far fewer than we think. By nature, I feel like people throw their hands up in the air (like they just don’t care) when they are faced with several events of too much consumption. But the reality is in a month of 31 days there are 20 days, give or take, that you can choose THE RIGHT choice. So when your clients feel like they have failed themselves - be encouraging about all the days they didn’t fail. Remind them to pick themselves back up the next day or, heck even the next meal, and get back on track.
Hey guys, motivation during the holidays is ROUGH. For you, me, them. #everyone. So I vote we try our hardest as group fitness instructors to make it better for them. Implement the essential & easy group ex happy holiday motivation tricks TODAY!
In Good Health,
MV