Tag Archives: leadership

Leading the Fitness Movement

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Who are you?  Are you a personal trainer?  A nutritionist? A fitness instructor? The owner of a fitness business?  A speaker? Consultant?  Writer? Educator?

You might be one of these thing or all of these things but in a market that has become saturated with health and fitness professionals of all sorts it’s more important than ever to distinguish yourself from everyone else.  Don’t X-out just yet this is not another “Find your USP” article I promise.

I’m not going to preach from a pedestal because I can’t.  I’m right there with you; living in relative obscurity—in the big scheme of things.  A guy just going about his business training and educating people on fitness (and hopefully entertaining them too) through multiple mediums and on multiple levels.  But training and educating is not enough.  At least not enough to get me out of bed at the ass crack of dawn in a positive mental state.

What gets me juiced (not in a needle in the butt kind of way) is seeing myself as a leader in a fitness movement.  One that has the potential to impact millions of lives.  When I think about the fact that only 26% of the population weight trains I’m like, “Shit!…There’s a lot of people out there who need some help finding their way!” and I’m just the overzealous, enthusiastic, encouraging, No BS, weight training aficionado to lead them down the path of kick-ass, result producing, time-effective workouts.

Most of us would agree that, that type of outlook and approach would dramatically affect how we operate day to day.  Being a personal trainer, nutritionist, fitness professional, etc. is great, but being a Fitness Leader has a reverberating impact. The only difference between a fitness professional and Fitness Leader is that leaders do what they do with a bigger vision and purpose in mind. (No greater example of a leader with tremendous vision and purpose exists than the recently deceased Nelson Mandela.)

Don’t just be, don’t just do…lead.  

Fit to Lead

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I’ve heard countless definitions of leadership and descriptions of what makes a good leader and most of them, in some way shape or form refer to influencing, motivating and inspiring others to realize their full potential, accomplish a task, or work towards a common goal.  We find leaders in all areas of our lives.  They occupy the boardroom, work place, classroom, home, church, synagogue, and every other place we look for guidance or direction.

However one of the most overlooked aspects of being a great leader and the part which pertains to all of us is that great leaders demonstrate the ability to lead themselves.  They set an example as well as the standard.  The results you achieve through exercise and nutrition and your ability to remain disciplined about your fitness is a good measure of your ability to lead yourself.

Certainly there are many ways and other arenas in which you can demonstrate leadership but few have as big an impact on your personal well-being and those around you like fitness.  When people see you living a higher standard it inspires them to do the same.  If you’re a parent you know exactly what I mean.  Kids don’t listen they observe.  And whatever it is they see you doing is what they will adopt as their own behavior.

Whether you realize it or not–to some degree–you have the same type of influence on those around you; be it co-workers, friends, or family.  Show that you are fit to lead by leading yourself to be fit.