Did you read the New York Times February 22nd article, Everything You Knew About Good Abs May Be Wrong?
For those of you who crawl the web searching for such things, a similar piece was in UK's The Daily Mail. I think this is the link for that.
We have clients who bring these types of articles into the studio and expect us to give an opinion, explain it further and to take a stand or comment generally. Fortunately, we love doing that and so far, we've been spot on with the do's and dont's of everything we've been confronted with that's appeared in the mainstream press.
It took two readings of the NYT piece for me to clearly identify exactly what they were saying and how it applies to the way we teach at my studio. I had my teachers read the article, I prepared a list of talking points to help organize the way they talk to clients about it and I have been tantalizing our mat group with bits and pieces of the article, promising to fill them in on the whole thing as soon as I have an open hour after class ends and we can all stay put on the mat and hash it out.
It's always good to bring the news about Pilates generally and specifically about Powerhouse muscles into the studio. Most clients appreciate their teachers staying up on such things. I read the daily paper at my breakfast table and within arm's reach I've got highlighters and pens, scissors and envelopes so as I read something relevant to a particular client, I can capture it and get it on its way to them without adding extra work to my schedule later in the day. I make sure to send along any mention of studies or new treatments that might be relevant and appropriate to their health issues or interests.
Because I'm such a sports fan and read the sports page every day anyway, I make sure I know the basics about clients' favorite teams and will clip and send little tid bits about that to them, as well.
Using the news as an enhancement to your service is easy since most of us read the paper every day anyway; simply expand your purpose in reading it. Letting your clients know you're thinking of them outside the session makes everyone feel good.
Back to this NYT piece. At this late date, you won't be able to see it online unless you subscribe to the Times or pay for the article. I'm going to summarize it for you to give you the gist of it.
Continue reading "In The News" »