Escape Your Limits & LIFTS

Today, we're speaking with an author, psychologist, and educator who is passionate about helping you understand the mind-body connection. Her TED Talk titled "How to Make Stress Your Friend," has amassed a staggering 25 million views. In her latest book, The Joy of Movement, she explores how just 20-minutes of physical exercise can be a powerful antidote to the afflictions of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The key takeaways from our conversation include why physical activity during the pandemic is absolutely essential and how it is strongly linked to mental health, the importance of collective joy, distinguishing dependence from harmful addiction, how movement and music fuel you for everything else that matters in your life, and the vital role of "hope molecules" in improving our levels of resilience Please welcome the mind-body visionary, Kelly McGonigal, to the Escape Your Limits podcast. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/-MzvWIX_q0s Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and a leading expert in the new field of "science-help." She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine into practical strategies for health, happiness, and personal success. Her latest book, The Joy of Movement, she explores why movement can and should be a source of joy. Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who is known for her work in the field of 'science help' which focuses on translating insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support health and well-being. Visit http://kellymcgonigal.com/ to find out more about this mind-body visionary. Episode highlights - You can't practice happiness without exercise. Just 20-minutes of continuous movement triggers a reliable change of brain chemistry to give you energy, reduce pain, decrease stress and anxiety, and increase optimism and hope. Movement changes people's lives. It's as important as eating and sleeping. Your capacity to release higher levels of adrenaline comes with your conditioning and fitness level. We can actually use stress as a catalyst for things like courage, social connection, and growth. Thinking about movement as a vehicle for experiencing joy in life, as opposed to something you have to get through in order to burn calories. Stress is energy that you can harness. Physical activity throughout this pandemic is strongly linked to mental health. It is essential. Now is the time to invest in a relationship with an activity that really brings out a side of you that is important. A harmful, destructive addition to exercise is when people never feel like they've done enough. They start to organize their entire lives around it to the point where it interferes with their job or their relationships. Moving your body is good for your mental health, your happiness, your meaning in life, and your relationships with others. Exercise and movement fuels you for everything else that matters in life. Different forms of movement release a lot of the same chemicals as substances that people use recreationally or abuse. Exercise is the only rewarding thing that upregulates chemicals in your body to make your brain more sensitive to joy. When you exercise, when you use your muscles, you are giving yourself medicine. And it is medicine you can't access any other way. Your muscles are this amazing pharmacy that are manufacturing and storing chemicals that have profound effects on your physical and mental health. Join Matthew Januszek in this fascinating and in-depth conversation with Kelly McGonigal.

"Anything that comes at the cost of your peace, is too great an expense." As a speaker, author, consultant, coach, and mentor, Herman Siu helps both individuals and businesses find positive growth. As a 6th generation Shaolin Temple Descendent, Herman shares his ancient wisdom and practices to help better every facet of a person's life. His mission is simply 'to inspire you to live an abundant life full of simple solutions' motivated by the belief that in order to change the world, we must change ourselves. In this episode, Herman discusses how rebelling and playing sport helped him learn leadership skills, the importance of being a producer not just a consumer, how we all need to process at an elite level in order to also perform to our potential and the steps we can all take to embrace the hurdles in life and find greater peace. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/yd8YJzdF5O4 Herman Siu is a 6th generation Shaolin Temple Descendent who shares his ancient wisdom and practices to help better every facet of your life. Through his deep knowledge of Chinese medicine and nutrition, he's healing clients and audiences worldwide, helping them to rediscover their creativity and potential from childhood, before we were tainted by society, television, politics and other cultural influences and offering powerful messages of mentorship and advice to anyone in search of positive growth. As a speaker, author, consultant, coach, and mentor, Herman Siu helps both individuals and businesses build their personal blueprint for continuous evolution and success. Herman's unique set of skills allows him to help his clients understand exactly what is holding them back, what their blind spots are, and what they can add to their strategy to get better results.Every day our world is bursting with new information, but people are starving for more guidance and wisdom than ever before. Herman's understanding of the link between the metaphysical world and today's digitally-driven society in the urban jungle puts him in the upper echelon of today's East-meets-West humanitarians. Through his mission, Herman dedicates his days to helping others unlock their true potential. Visit www.hermansiu.com to find out more Episode highlights - How curiosity can lead to greater understanding How sport can teach valuable leadership skills Understanding how important it is to feel a sense of purpose Understanding the link between emotions, food and eating How to become more of a 'producer' rather than just a consumer How to find and maintain balance between work, health and family life What small steps can be taken to start making meditation more of a regular routine Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Herman Siu…

What has Covid-19 taught us and how will its influence the industry moving forwards? In our first interview with Martin, back in June 2020, Martin was based in the UK, overseeing LifeFit Group's six brands, including Fitness First, Barry's Bootcamp, elbgym, Smile X, The Gym Society and New Moove. He talked about leading from the front in a crisis and the challenges of reopening facilities after lockdown 1.0. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Martin Seibold Today, as the world continues to deal with the effects of a global pandemic, Martin has moved back to his native Germany. In this episode, he talks very candidly about the challenges Covid has presented and its impact on business, plus how this current crisis will impact the industry moving forwards For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/LtJFPGiWLeI Martin was destined to map out a career in the fitness industry. He grew up in Germany, where, at a young age, he started working in a gym owned and managed by his parents. The gym became IHRSA's first facility member and was acquired by Fitness First as part of the brand's global growth strategy. Martin as appointed marketing manager and, within six years, the business had expanded to over 90 clubs. Martin's talents did not go unnoticed and in 2006, Fitness First's Founder, Mike Balfour asked Martin to relocate to the UK to head up the brand in the territory. Today, Martin is leading multi-brand strategies and teams around the world, implementing humble growth strategies for the long term success, not just of the Fitness First brand but for the entire LifeFit Group brand portfolio. The LifeFit Group unites multiple fitness brands from the boutique, high-value-low-price and premium segments under one roof, including Fitness First, Barry's Bootcamp, elbgym, Smile X, The Gym Society and New Moove. The Group is committed to inspire and support its customers to live their best lives through personal, fun and focused health and fitness experiences. For more information visit www.lifefit-group.com Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Martin Seibold… Episode highlights - How business leaders need to step outside of a situation, clear the diary and concentrate on a clear plan without interruptions Why it's important, as a leader, not to be sat in HQ but to be highly visible, out with the customers, the teams, the partners. How the German and the UK governments differed in their management of the pandemic. National versus regional lockdowns. Which is the favoured approach and why Should gyms be allowed to open? A single Fitness First Club in Germany recently won a lawsuit which declared the club should have been allowed to open. The brand attracted a lot of international attention for its actions It's important to get decision makers and influencers into facilities to see how they operate and the safety measures in place How the industry has been guilty of focusing on servicing the minority and how this has to change if we are to address some of the major global health issues affecting the population How we have to, as a population, focus more on creating positive lifestyle habits. How presenting our industry as part of the COVID solution openly in marketing and promotion is resonating with people and influencing behavioural change How do we turn the tide on inactivity? What population groups should we be targeting? How adjusting the environment can attract new segments of the population. The answer to growth lies in diversity of offer rather than trying to convert people into 'gym lovers', offer them an environment they will enjoy People enjoy human interaction and this is why coming out of the first lockdown, Fitness First saw such a healthy engagement amongst the membership. It also accounts for the fact that going into second lockdown there was no big spike in cancellations How being upfront and transparent has resulted in a retention of 75% of revenue during second lockdown How Smile X successfully plugged 'white spots' in urban areas across Germany The challenges of creating and monetizing a digital product Learn from the lessons and practices of other industries As a leader, it's important to preserve the business. This means making difficult decisions around staffing levels and cost management. This is one of the biggest challenges. The other challenge is how to keep staff engaged and motivated during times when they are not able to fulfil their day jobs. How this pandemic will affect the industry in terms of number of facilities and percentage of population engaged How the population's heightened awareness of the need to maintain personal health will be a main growth driver for the sector post Covid-19

How to optimize training outcomes through heart rate training Jesse N. Thomas MS CSCS, a self-confessed science geek, is one of the industry's leading heart rate training experts. Jesse has dedicated his life to helping athletes train for success. He has spent decades applying the vast array of knowledge gained from years of studying for multiple degrees in kinesiology and exercise physiology to helping coaches, instructors and athletes optimize training outcomes through the delivery of insight and education. In this episode, Jesse discusses the merits of heart rate training and the important role of the coach in teasing out optimal performance from individuals training in a group setting. He also explores how heart rate monitoring can flag negative training outcomes and the necessity of applying training strategies that drive a specific outcome. This is an episode not to miss for anyone looking to get the most out of their heart rate training For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – https://youtu.be/xr6qxyFnmRY Jesse N.Thomas MS, CSCS, has dedicated a lifetime to competitive sports. His coaching has helped high performance athletes all around the world to improve physical performance and increase mental strength. Jesse studied for and achieved multiple degrees in kinesiology and exercise physiology, applying education to teach the importance of energy management and seeing the bigger picture of performance. With years of experience developing master training teams around the world for globally recognised brands such as UFC, ICG and Life Fitness, he's now sharing this information in his book, The Ultimate Heart Rate Training Guide and has established himself as one of the world's leading authorities in Heart Rate training. Fitness Deconstructed is an exercise and fitness educational resource aimed at coaches, athletes, trainers and fitness minded individuals keen to enhance their understanding of Kinesiology and Exercise Physiology in order to optimize training practices. Jesse also works with a diverse portfolio of international fitness brands – from equipment manufacturers - including MyZone and Life Fitness to commercial fitness operators, developing product and equipment specific training programs delivered via written content, presentations and workshops. Through Fitness Deconstructed, Jesse has developed leadership and competencies of thousands of athletes, trainers and coaches around the world. Today, Jesse continues to fulfil his ambition to effect positive change through education and practical application. His passion is Heart Rate training and his book: 'The Ultimate Heart Rate Training Guide' is available now via Amazon. Visit www.fitnessdeconstructed.com to find out more about Jesse' coaching, education and content creation. Episode highlights - Why it was important to improve the accessibility and availability of heart rate training education Most commercial fitness operators could get more out of their heart rate training equipment and programming if coaches and instructors were better informed Training outcomes can be achieved in a multitude of different ways. Understanding cardiovascular dynamics and how the heart goes into cardiac remodeling when demand is placed on it will determine the effectiveness of the training application on the outcome. How controlling training variables and applying consistency will lead to the attainment of goals in the shortest possible time frame How heart rate monitoring can be a useful indicator of the effectiveness of recovery strategies. Varying intensity - the 'rollercoaster of diversity' is the key to performance success whether training for an event or training for life Why questions have been asked about the accuracy of Karvonen's 1950s heart rate training zone equations and what this has means now for the application of heart rate training zones in populations where a maximal heart rate test is not appropriate How training at an intensity as low as 68% maximum heart rate (in MyZone's Blue Zone) can still be classified as High Intensity Interval Training How the overtraining effect impacts heart rate How steady state and HIIT training effects the neurological capacity of the heart How the type of training undertaken translates into performance outcomes. Defining what you want the outcomes to be will determine the make up of your training regime. Individuals are the product of their training The importance of personalized warm up prescription to effective training If training for life, what is the ultimate mix of weight being shifted and time allocated to training How regular interval training differ from HIIT training How the ability of a coach to offer modifications impacts the effectiveness of training for individuals working out in a group setting The role of education in helping participants to train smarter Choosing the right heart rate monitor for your training requirements? Most cardio equipment has a fat burni

Long before Conor McGregor, today's guest was responsible for bringing mixed martial arts to the masses, inspiring an iconic era of growth for the UFC. Fighting in the first MMA event to break one million pay per views, he also coached the first ever series of the Ultimate Fighter show and has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Today you can see him on TV and the big screen in guest appearances and acting roles around the world, or most recently breaking up fights and de-escalating tension during Huntingdon Beach riots. Please welcome former UFC lightweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer, Chuck Liddell to the Escape Your Limits podcast. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – https://youtu.be/x8blHv2w3fU Chuck 'Iceman' Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion instantly recognised by his trademark Mohawk. He has an extensive striking background in Kenpo, Karate, and Kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Liddell had 23 fights in the UFC including two historic wins over Tito Ortiz and is widely credited with bringing MMA into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment. On July 10, 2009, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Liddell holds a BA (Hons) Degree in Business Accounting, from the California Polytechnic State University, is the father of five children and is married to Heidi Liddell. Chuck Liddell is one of the richest MMA fighters in the world, with an estimated net worth of $14 million. Since official retirement in 2020, Chuck has dabbled in reality TV, appearing in Dancing With The Stars, and continues to enjoy his passion for acting. To date, Chuck has appeared in 30 TV shows and films from 1981 – 2020. Visit www.chuckliddell.com to find out more about Chuck Liddell's story Episode highlights - Pre competition preparation. How being 'ice cool' before a fight helps to focus the mind How a determined mindset in the ring transfers to business and other aspects of life. The need to look for creative ways to achieve How to become proficient enough to compete at the top level. Select core skill elements to focus on and become a master of these. Once the foundations are in place, build on these Why skill evolution and continual learning is vital to success How adversity drives success. Turning a defeat into a driver for achievement in the future How much of today's fighting is about strategy and how much is raw skill execution How important is mindset? What role does mental attitude play in success? How being able to read fighters and know when the right time is to throw that killer punch Why it is important to train across multiple disciplines and pick out what works for you? Why John Hackleman, long term coach and friend, played no part in the final fight Hard core fans enjoy great fighters compete but showboats like Connor McGregor help to attract new 'casual fans', growing the sport and turning a fight more into a party or an event Is it more important to fight to win or fight to entertain the fans? Was a highly competitive mindset something you were born with? People who are really good at what they do work hard at what they do. Success has been the result of hard work, driven by a love of the sport The strong work ethic that has driven success in sport translates into other areas of life and business but it's not so easy Failure only happens when you give up. If you want to think like a winner, be a winner, keep moving. Pick a direction and keep going If you make a mistake you need to get over it quickly, get back to work. Mental toughness is an everyday thing. It can't be turned on and off. You have to focus on it. If you don't, it can slip. You've got to believe in yourself. Dealing with retirement was hard. The whole purpose in life disappeared. It's been really important to find new things to focus on UFC has changed. There is a lot more hype, more theatrical around the fights now. The main event should remain in the ring The story behind the mohawk How did a UFC Hall of Famer find the 'Dancing with The Stars' experience Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Chuck Liddell

An insight into the power of the mind to create positive, lasting change. Crystal Dwyer Hansen Dwyer Hansen is a Transformational Life Coach with a belief that all people have unlimited potential for greatness if they only understand how to tap into their own inner resources. Through her years coaching, and as a Wellness/Nutrition Expert, she has seen people experience profound and lasting transformations in relationships, careers, health and wellness. In this episode, Crystal discusses the importance of mindset in creating lasting change, loving the foods which love you back and the launch of her new book ASK! The Bridge from Your Dreams to Your Destiny. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/dG5Hd_S2HZQ Crystal Dwyer Hansen started her career in real estate and modelling, obsessed with helping people improve their lives and to be their best through whatever means she could. Wanting to better understand what it took to transform lives and improve both mindset and wellbeing for anyone, she made a huge pivot to study and research every opportunity she could. She graduated from one of the largest providers of holistic healthcare education in the country, earning certifications in transformational life coaching, and clinical hypnotherapy. Today, Crystal is an international speaker, researcher, author and entrepreneur with expertise in the field of human potential to help people use their minds proactively and evolve their consciousness to live a fulfilled, happy life. Crystal's personal coaching, speaking, CD and video programs, books, and articles have helped people all over the world. She is a Member of the International Coaching Federation, a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, the founder of Crystal Vision Life, Ltd, (crystalvisionlife.com) and Skinny Life™ a wellness company (skinnylife.com). She travels the world with her husband, best-selling author and entrepreneur Mark Victor Hansen, speaking, inspiring, and teaching leadership and together they have released a new, co-written book called ASK! The Bridge from Your Dreams to Your Destiny. Visit www.crystalvisionlife.com to find out more about Crystal's coaching, speaking opportunities and written work. Episode highlights ● Why it is important to continuously ask honest questions, of yourself and others, in order to increase understanding, reward and joy. ● Why people have such a roller-coaster cycle when trying to maintain weight loss programmes and how to learn to love the foods that love you back. ● How to learn to love yourself and not wrap your own identity around your weight. ● Why doing subconscious, deep-mind work can help when working towards a permanent change in your weight and your awareness. ● Why a singular state of being shouldn't negatively influence your personal identification. The importance of separating from this identity and how to start creating the new, positive persona and mindset. ● How negative messages that we receive through our lifetime can become self-defeating, how to go back and do a 'mind excavation' to identify where negative thinking started and how to stop this repeating by replacing it with a new thought process. ● How the idea of self-love and self-image are connected and the importance of appreciating your unique qualities. ● Why it is important not to compare yourself to others because the more you try to compete, the unhappier you will be. It's about making it your business to care for yourself. ● Why you should look at food like you're an artist - like you're discerning and picky about what you're going to fuel your body with. ● Why you need to stop thinking of exercise as pain and punishment and start asking yourself what activity you find fun. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Crystal Dwyer Hansen…

Lessons from a business leader with a reputation as a disruptor. This week's guest on the Escape Your Limits podcast is a graduate from the University of Cambridge; he's held several roles in a number of top corporate institutions, most recently spearheading growth from 84 gyms to over 200 after overseeing a £600m company sale in his current role. We hope you enjoy this passionate, professional and honest interview with the CEO of PureGym, Humphrey Cobbold. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – hthttps://youtu.be/uYbjk5PckCs Humphrey Cobbold is CEO of PureGym and a serial disruptor in business, responsible for a dramatic shift in pricing structure and offering members more flexibility. He's an IRONMAN triathlete with a passion for both performance and recovery in and out of business. From building his breadth of experience in consultancy and other roles out of the fitness industry, he transitioned into a very different type of role as CEO of Wiggle where he took sales from £33m to £175m. Today he's dealing with the challenges of PureGym locations being closed down in over 500 sites around Europe, while also representing the fitness industry to the media in fighting continued closures even after sanitisation and hygiene standards have been exceeded. PureGym believes everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy a fit and healthy lifestyle. They have made it simple, affordable and convenient for everyone to achieve their personal health goals. With over 220 pieces of the latest gym equipment, personal trainers will also be on hand to provide you with advice and instruction to get the most out of your workout. Inside PureGym you will find a vibrant and spacious gym floor, excellent changing facilities, modern showers, and the brand's functional training zones. The team prides itself in maintaining the highest standards in every PureGym, while creating a fun and friendly atmosphere. Episode highlights - Hear the reaction of government decision makers as they toured gyms to get a better understanding of the fitness industry throughout the pandemic, and what percentage of them hadn't stepped foot in a gym for 20 years. What the PureGym team is doing to track transmission rates throughout the fitness industry and feed results back to governing bodies. Why governments and authorities don't really understand what the fitness industry does, and how we can impact and influence decision makers in each environment around the world. How you can make your own luck from persistent hard work, and what you can do if the worst happens on your career path. A resilience-focussed mindset is key to getting through hard times, even if it's day by day. What the difference is in a career path between trying to manage something that's inherently unmanageable or embracing opportunities as they arise. What are the four things that you're truly responsible for as a chief executive, and how you can overcome the pressure of a new role in the first few weeks of the job. How business strategies have changed in the past 25 years and what we can learn from the past to find sustainability, durability and success in the future. What the importance is in fitness facilities and wellbeing environments to inspire confidence in both members and teams, regardless of whether the brand is low cost or luxury. Why you need to understand where your strengths and weaknesses are, hire people better than you, and work together to complement each other as a team in every area of business. How you can take time to think by blocking out space in your diary for concentrated effort for planning, strategy, understanding and finding new ways of implementing what you've learned. What actionable changes can you make to your life to not only set yourself up in business, but support your wellbeing and family life in the most efficient way possible for true happiness. Why distraction from your business life and daily activity is just as important for recovery and performance over time. Find what you love to do in your spare time and do it regularly so that you're not always head-down and on the clock. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Humphrey Cobbold…

Forget what you think you know about protein and muscle. Dr Gabrielle Lyon is a medical doctor with a revolutionary approach to health, wellness and longevity called muscle-centric medicine. In this episode we break the stereotypes surrounding building muscle; we discuss good and bad protein choices, and we explore how to deal with obesity as a nation. This is a lesson in what we can all do to improve the long term health of ourselves and our community. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Dr Gabrielle Lyon studied nutritional science for seven years and has a doctorate in osteopathic medicine. She specialises in helping patients and clients take control of their body and mind, through an innovative approach called muscle-centric medicine. This shifts the focus from fat loss to muscle gain, for better metabolism, reduced risk of disease and better long-term health. Her knowledge and insight has helped everyone from entrepreneur Bedros Keuilian to elite military operators such as Navy SEALS to perform at their best. Muscle-Centric Medicine is the most revolutionary aspect of Dr. Lyon's methods. Her ground-breaking concepts eliminate unwanted body fat and build muscle, allowing for continued metabolism boosts and long-term wellness. The key is to eat the right kinds of protein, and enough of them, at each meal. This stimulates the body's natural muscle-building process, called "muscle protein synthesis". HIGHLIGHTS • What the science is behind brain activity, body composition, waistline and muscle mass. • Why we're failing at addressing obesity issues, and how nobody knows what the optimal muscle mass is for anyone. • Why progress in regards to muscle mass is all about improvement, as everyone has a different starting point to meet their physical, mental and longevity goals. • How your diet is affecting your glucose levels and muscle mass, and what this means in relation to your protein, carb and fat intake. • What effect concentrating on muscle first will have on cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and other issues, compared to concentrating on more stereotypical or traditional focus points. • How much protein you should be eating, where you should be getting it from, and why information you've heard already may not be reliable based on the balance of emotions and facts. • What difference stress and recovery makes on testosterone levels, and how sleep disruptors such as alcohol affect your whole body. • How modern medicine has a fundamental flaw that can be revolutionised by taking a different approach of prevention instead of treatment. • Why researchers and healthcare professionals need to be OK with being wrong, especially when it comes to forwarding education and insight about new approaches to longevity. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Gabrielle Lyon…

Understand the science and specificity to outspend the competition and win. On this week's Escape Your Limits podcast, CEO of Alloy Personal Training Rick Mayo talks about what it takes to build a global franchise and target a demographic that holds 70% of the nation's disposable income. A pioneer of personal training and former trainer for Madonna, he's internationally recognised as an expert in systems and scaling, helping millions of members around the world through a mantra of assessment, accountability and actualisation. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version - https://youtu.be/1d3YbuCIjhc Rick Mayo started out training people in their homes to pay his way through college, doing something he loved to do. He opened one of the first facilities dedicated to training, all one-on-one, and soon growing the business to a million dollars of PT a year. Through circumstances such as staff leaving to set up their own studios, Rick's income went from $83k a month down to $12k a month. That became the birth of a systemised process to training, from welcome, through memberships, to programming and across the whole experience. With more rapid growth, Rick began using his model in other gyms, and soon it was in 2000 clubs worldwide. Alloy Personal Training's mission statement is: Real people + alloy programs = real results. No one person is the same, nor is the journey toward a healthier, active lifestyle. So why should workouts be the same? Trainers tailor the Alloy programmes for all clients who walk through the doors — no matter their fitness level. From the first session with us, Alloy works to help clients reach their goals and become their best version of possible. On the franchise side... Alloy offers a combination of personal service, effective technology, 30 years of experience and a formula for incredible results for both members and fitness franchise owners. The numbers prove it. Alloy's revenue per member and retention rates are among the highest in the fitness industry today. For more visit alloypersonaltraining.com Episode highlights - How the studio within a larger gym model, or box within a box, started out. Also why creating a space and environment is key to member experience or maintaining revenue, but what's changed in recent years. What the differences are between price points and member experiences for large gyms and studio models, and what you need to focus on as an owner or operator. How operational commitment from general managers can support personal trainers to upsell members into coaching, even on a large scale. Why success is like weight loss in that you have to change your expectations or change your habits. It takes hard work to get better, and some people don't want to do that if they're happy where they're at. How a systemised approach to training, programming, service and experience gave Rick's business the rapid growth it needed to start interesting other gyms in using his model. And how this has created the opportunity to build his own franchise business off the back of it. What the formula to profitability is, and how you can use it to outspend your competition even in a saturated market. How you can look to the automotive market when it comes to marketing to an ageing demographic, as not many young people walk into a Porsche dealership. Why the ageing demographic offers greater lifetime value and will give your business much higher retention rates compared to the stereotypical clientele of a gym. How it's good advice if you have the assets to go digital, but it doesn't mean that it's a great idea for classes alone. The audience on the other end are going to hold you accountable. What you should be scaling to as a personal trainer or bootcamp operator to make more money off fewer people while they pay less. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Rick Mayo…

This is why fitness needs an experience upgrade at every level. On this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast we meet Rob Barker, president of Precor. As well as heading up of one of the world's largest fitness equipment companies, Rob is also an exec board member of Amer Sports, the £3b global leader in sporting goods. Rob's sharing real-time advice and information about driving the development of personalised health and fitness experiences that help people live the lives they desire. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – https://youtu.be/hW6g8zcDKhw Venturing into fitness as a career, Rob began in operations, running the equipment of YMCAs in the UK. He fell in love with the industry, wanting to make people healthier and happier. He progressed and started in the supply sector in 1995, as a London sales rep for Precor. In his own words, he's been trying to be the best version of himself ever since, rising through the ranks of the business until he became president. The Precor mission is to develop personalised health and fitness experiences that help people live the lives they desire. For over three decades, Precor has driven fitness forward with a passionate focus on ergonomic motion, proven science, and superior engineering. The business constantly studies and anticipates the needs of the people and organisations it serves, and continually redefines the levels of innovation, quality, and service necessary to deliver the very best fitness experiences – all with the goal of improving the ways people improve themselves. Precor equipment is chosen by health clubs, hotels and spas, universities, and individuals all over the world. Episode highlights - What power is in owning your own development, staying humble, and working every day to be the best in whatever it is you're doing at the time. Why happiness has to come before success, and why it's a choice that you can make regardless of your situation. Reference: Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work (TED Talk on positive psychology) https://bit.ly/2GE3fvU How you can energise yourself as a leader in the tough times even more than the enthusiasm you show during the good times. Why a lot of operators will pivot from facility-centric to consumer-centric, with an omni-channel approach that better suits how the world has changed. What results come from live tracking of over 120,000 connected pieces of cardio from all around the world in gyms, hotels and hospitality, with each machine getting an average of 23 minutes' workout time on it. How do these results compare to last year pre-COVID? Reference link: https://www.precor.com/en-us/preva-stats Why the fitness industry needs to be working together even more closely to get the message across about being a safe space, and what other countries have done to change the mind of policymakers. What positives have come from COVID and how the pandemic has given the fitness industry a real tail wind to ride on for future progress with a growth mindset. How habits pre-coronavirus have been broken and why we need to help reestablish new fitness habits for members of the future. What power digital has to create local familiarity across digital platforms, in addition to the digital advances that have already come into effect. What are going to be some of the key trends that we'll see, both from a manufacturer and operator's side, in the coming months. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Rob Barker…

Hard hitting home truths that will improve your life and expand your potential. David Meltzer is co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, an agency he co-founded with the NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Warren Moon. As an executive producer and main judge on Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, David provides insights for thousands of businesses each year to help them focus on their company growth. Host of The Playbook podcast, David also depicts the key principles to expanding your own potential in both business and life. This episode will have your head spinning with simple and practical advice. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/aHP_0_UGy0g In his early 20s, David Meltzer quickly rose to the top of his game in the business world, becoming a millionaire. David lectured around the globe and saw rapid success in every business project he touched. But something was missing, and in his 30s as a multimillionaire, he went on a rapid downward spiral that ended in bankruptcy. It was only then that David realised, in order to revive and thrive, he needed to 'codify' what had made him successful in the first place. Today, his entrepreneurial and philanthropic spirit has rewarded him with recognition as one of Marshall Goldsmith's top 100 business coaches in the world. David is also chairman of the Unstoppable Foundation, Variety magazine's sports humanitarian of the year, and host of the Top 5 podcast: The Playbook. Sports 1 Marketing is a global sports and entertainment marketing agency that leverages over $20 billion in relationship capital and over 38 years of business experience, bringing athletes, celebrities and businesses together to make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun. If you'd like to learn more about the free resources that David is offering anyone for business and life improvements, email him at [email protected] Episode highlights - How to deal with the worst of times, even to the point of losing $100m, a top golf course, ski mountain, 30 houses and a bunch of condos. It's all about the mindset and overcoming challenges. What the positive effect of building values, principles and key disciplines will bring in your life no matter what stage of success you're at. How to deal with bankruptcy and understand the enjoyment of the pursuit of your potential, regardless of what challenges face you. Why pain is just an indicator that you've got lessons to learn. It's not a stop sign. What your skills, knowledge and your desire is going to do for your journey to success. How to understand the mathematical equation to luck, and how attention plus intention will equal coincidence that will allow you to take advantage of great opportunities. Why you need to study every day what you have planned, what you don't have planned, what you're grateful for and what other areas you need to identify. What the timescales are you need to concentrate on for your health, family, research, and studying your calendar. How to improve efficiencies, practices and timekeeping to increase the amount of 'hours' you can achieve in the same time as anyone who's not weighting the balance of efficiency. Why it's important to understand faith as an object of energy, and how we can do better to "understand what surrounds what surrounds you" (sic) for a better perspective of the universe. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with David Meltzer…

Everyone needs honesty, and everyone needs recovery. Eric Leija is one of the fastest rising fitness influencers online with almost a million Instagram followers, his own online coaching business and a workout programme branded by Men's Health. In this episode, the celebrity fitness trainer who specialises in unconventional training talks about what it took to develop and launch a successful fitness app, Primal Fitness, in the middle of a pandemic, and how COVID put him out of action for weeks, even as an elite athlete. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/_X3-BfV2TgQ Eric Leija used to work in the ONNIT warehouse, packing supplements and shipping equipment off to customers. As the company started selling more kettlebells, steel maces and unconventional training equipment, they needed someone to show potential customers how to use it. Eric got certified and became one of the first coaches in the ONNIT gym. He soon became a head coach for kettlebell training and created a new approach for his growing audience with kettlebell flows. Backing from a Joe Rogan shout out on social media and hard work behind the scenes meant that Eric was able to launch his own business, teaching kettlebell and animal flow workshops of his own. With the guidance of Eric Leija, you will become proficient with tools below such as kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells, sandbags, the steel mace, steel clubs, or resistance training, mobility and durability in general, and other approaches that lead clients to live a stronger, healthier, and more optimal life. Visit ericleija.com to find out more about the Primal Swoledier's online courses, customised training programmes, personalised diet plans, and unconventional workouts. Episode highlights - How having a business based online has helped Eric transition activity to still be successful through lockdowns and pandemic challenges. Why workshops may not be a big generator of revenue, but is the best way to connect with the most valued members of your audience. When you need to focus on hard and heavy training, when you need to focus on foundational fitness, and why the social media highlight real isn't the full picture. How much time you should be spending creating content for social media, posting it on platforms and engaging with your community. Where there's still space in the digital fitness and app market, and what further growth is going to have on current operators in the industry. Why, even when someone is known for working with a particular bit of fitness equipment, any athlete's training regime is made up of so much more than solely what they specialise in. How to deal with burnout from business, physique issues, creating content and lack of sleep, and why that left even an athlete such as Eric suffering from coronavirus. What symptoms COVID can cause; the timeline of how they evolve over weeks, and how long it can take to recover. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Eric Leija…

Attract clients. Perfect your pricing. Retain members. Profit and prosper. This episode is a lesson in how to bring more clients into your business and keep them longer, all while improving profitability. It's an art form that our guest has developed into a science. With tips time-served by a client base of over 2000 thriving businesses, this strategy session can bring some impressive results. CEO of GymLaunch, Alex Hormozi, is making gym owners evolve their business to be better for their bottom line and members. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/8_qL5oB3BR4 Formerly a competing power lifter, Alex Hormozi didn't like the effect that the volume was having on his joints. He transitioned to more of a bodybuilding approach without feeling the need to get stage lean. Professionally, Alex has gone from sleeping on the floor of his gym to discovering financial freedom, teaching other gym owners his success secrets and transforming over 1500 gyms on four continents. As host of the Gym Secrets Podcast he's also helping gym owners get more profit per member, increase retention and engagement, all while retaining your own personal life. Alex is also host of the Gym Secrets Podcast. Subscribe at https://apple.co/3kHGF4g The Gym Launch model has now transformed thousands of gyms spanning four continents. Gym owners work endless hours and sacrifice themselves for their customers, and still, many go home empty-handed. Gym Launch is dedicated to solving this problem. For more information visit gymlaunch.com Episode highlights - How to build a consultative mind map of all the information that exists for success, and build a mentorship and educational community to leverage lessons that others have already learned. Why the fitness industry continues to talk about the same challenges, and what it's going to take to start moving conversations forward. How the virtuous or viscous circle of price can work for or against your business model through understanding value, profit and performance. What your choice of equipment and classes will do to your business, and how the smallest accessory can ruin your profit line. Why the passion in the fitness industry is often what kills the chances of a business' success. What fitness trends are going to outlast everything else, and what to base a gym around for longevity. Plus the key points to what makes a good operator. The five things you should be doing in order to retain members, and what to do if you're a struggling gym owner right now. Why exercise digital programming will better serve members and clients through convenience than any live digital workout on Zoom will do. How the difference between a good and bad operator is all in genuinely caring about your customers. Why dual motivation is so powerful in getting to the gym, particularly when you think about hanging out with your friends and going for a workout. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Alex Hormozi… For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast

Stress, recovery, repeat. This week on the Escape Your Limits podcast we discuss a very different vision for the future of the fitness industry. Today's guest has consulted with some of the biggest brands in fitness, sharing his passion for movement with audiences from the likes of Equinox, Microsoft and Nike. This conversation with Michol Dalcourt, CEO of the Institute of Motion, will challenge your thinking and open your mind to many of the great opportunities that still exist within the fitness space. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/zsboE_hhkxw As CEO of the Institute of Motion, inventor of the ViPR PRO, and co-founder of PTA Global, Michol Dalcourt has spoken at hundreds of conferences on becoming unbreakable. He is a fitness visionary and shares his insight on the future of fitness for both bodies and business in his second appearance on the Escape Your Limits podcast. The Institute of Motion is an applied health and human performance company. For over 20 years, the IoM has continued to provide innovative solutions in the arenas of health care, fitness and human performance through programming, coaching and education. The mission is to help people improve their health so they can do whatever it is they love most. The IoM team get fired up about helping others enjoy the benefits of healthy choices, because we know health is what makes everything possible. For more information visit instituteofmotion.com Episode highlights - How to implement lifestyle changes that will build your resilience in order to become unbreakable at any stage in life. Why fitness doesn't necessarily equal health, and why some of the fittest people on the planet may not be leading a particularly healthy lifestyle. What certain responses are the result of chemicals and processes within the body, and how you can leverage these to get bigger, stronger and faster, but also knowing what the cost to your body may be. Why there's no binary good and bad, but health and human performance that is engineered for the individual. How celebrities such as Tom Brady, LeBron James, Serena Williams and Roger Federer are trying to build capacity, balancing out the systems of the body. What are the different types of training that will bring longevity and recovery to your body, and why cardio is not the killer of gains that people think. Business model evolutions and ancillary revenue stream ideas that will offer longevity to your fitness offering long after HIIT training and current trends pass. What the difference is between personal training and health coaching, and how fitness is likely to make way for lifestyle and behaviour change. How recovery days in the gym may not look to others like you're doing much, but will leave you feeling bulletproof when you leave. Why the fitness industry's experience has to be at the global table when it comes to longevity for populations around the world. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Michol Dalcourt…

How to build a community and keep it. This week's Escape Your Limits podcast guest started out from humble beginnings in a family that depended on welfare and food stamps. Today he's earning millions of dollars, following a core belief system of mind, body and action. Starting as a personal trainer in fitness, Dean Aguilar is now the founder of two real estate companies selling over $300m in real estate, as well as being the CEO of Digital Muse, an award-winning marketing agency. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version - https://youtu.be/ceqDJAoBOm4 Dean's family immigrated to the US from Argentina (mother) and Pakistan (father) in 1972. From the age of 13, he began bagging groceries for $3/hr. At the age of 15 he fell in love with fitness and began sharpening his sales skills by selling personal training to clients at a local gym. Dean excelled so quickly, by age 21 he was running an entire fitness facility with 61 employees. Today, whether heading up his real estate agency, his media agency, consulting, undertaking speaking engagements or any other business activity, Dean Aguilar knows the importance of online and social media. It's many of these insights he's sharing in this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast. Contact Dean for more information at instagram.com/realdeanaguilar Dean Aguilar is CEO of Digital Muse Media, an award-winning, full-service digital marketing agency. His work has been featured in Forbes and Buzzfeed, and the agency was named the fastest-growing brand agency of 2019. If you're looking for some of the latest strategies for growing your business and your personal brand, building a growing virtual community, and discovering trends in the digital marketing space, Dean is the man to contact. Episode highlights - What's causing people to truly appreciate how social media is a truly giant presence in our lives, and how platforms can be leveraged especially during tough times when gaining attention is vital. How you can position yourself to deal with impending uncertainty, and why you should often prepare for the worst in business. Why it's important to stay humble and be prepared to take a step backwards if you need to. Lose the ego and it will benefit your business. What parallels and predictions you can draw from school situations and child attendance, with gym member activity and comfort in coming back to a regular routine. How you can offer the best service and build a real community through digital channels in ways to satisfy members, offering value and longevity in times where your audience can't be physically social. What effect the relationship between bricks and mortar and digital is going to be across difference sectors over the coming months. Why 'pay to play' social media doesn't have to be about selling, and how it's more about connecting and being seen . What social media strategies you can leverage to draw new audiences to your business, and what you can do to keep that attention. Why it's important to be authentic and how trying to be someone else will not serve you well in the long term, whether it's personally or professionally. What you can do to block out space and make time for social media activity and shooting videos as part of your personal brand. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Dean Aguilar…

How to ask the right questions for success. This week's Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson from positivity power couple Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of best-seller Chicken Soup for the Soul, and his wife Crystal Dwyer Hansen. Together they're sharing important messages from their new book: Ask! The Bridge From Your Dreams To Your Destiny. Through understanding how to pivot and perform when faced with any challenge, these are the questions to ask to wake up opportunity during adversity. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video - https://youtu.be/8W35XFkzbSs Inspirational speakers, authors and motivational specialists, Mark Hansen and Crystal Dwyer Hansen are passionate about positivity. Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Mark Victor Hansen has sold over 500 million copies and also holds the Guinness World Record for having the most books in the New York Times best selling list at the same time. Crystal Dwyer Hansen is an international speaker, researcher, corporate consultant, author, and entrepreneur. Internationally-renowned as an expert in human potential, she has invested years of experience and insight into health and wellness. Mark Victor Hansen has worked his way into a worldwide spotlight as a sought-after keynote speaker, and entrepreneurial marketing maven, creating a stream of successful people who have created massive success for themselves through his unique teachings and wisdom. For more information visit markvictorhansen.com Through her years spent as a Transformational Life Coach, and Wellness/Nutrition Expert, Crystal Dwyer Hansen has seen people experience profound and lasting transformation in relationships, career, health & wellness, by tapping into their own inner resources. For more information visit crystalvisionlife.com Episode highlights - What difference the ability to ask will have on your opportunities, business and resulting success. How anyone's success story isn't a one way deal, and is a journey of up and down that can, at times, look like the end of opportunity. Mark and Crystal explain how they have both overcome low points. What tough questions should you be asking yourself in order to get out of challenging situations and get to where you want to be. How you can put down your baggage, let it go and start your life anew every day. What you can do when facing rejection, and what are the factors to indicate you're on the right path. Why it's everyone's duty, responsibility and obligation to fulfill their destiny, become rich and be as healthy and happy as they can. What you can do to pivot and reinvent yourself if you're facing the worst situation you've lived through. The only way is up, but you've got to ask the right questions. What the most common things are that hold people back from their potential, and how to overcome them. Why we're all master askers when we're born, wanting to know who, what, when, where and why about everything. And why we lose that initiative as we age. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Mark Hansen and Crystal Dwyer Hansen…

How to make strategic decisions when dealing with uncertainty. Chris Clawson is passionate about fitness being seen by the world to help with longevity and wellbeing, long after the pandemic passes. In this Escape Your Limits interview, he explains why the fitness industry needs better representation for public perception change, how to thrive in a climate of adversity, and why he rejoined Life Fitness as CEO shortly after parting ways with the company. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – https://youtu.be/g7vjKusw5UI

Behind the scenes with leadership lessons from a pioneer of fitness in Asia. Sincere and reflective, this Escape Your Limits podcast interview with Simon Flint is the kind of honesty that we need in fitness today. Simon is the CEO of Evolution Wellness, a six-brand total port folio making $300m in revenue across 175 sites in six countries. He's leading his 7000 employees with compassion, communication and a camaraderie that will see the companies gyms and studios coming back stronger than ever. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – https://youtu.be/-EbxHtqhulU Simon Flint was born in the UK to hard working parents that instilled a mindset in him of continual growth and progress. He moved to south east Asia in 1994 and has put the hours in that's led to his 26-year veteran career, leading Asia's health and fitness industry. Today as the CEO of Evolution Wellness, created from a $500m merger by the Fitness First Asia and Celebrity Fitness brands, his six-brand total port folio has been making $300m in revenue across 175 sites in six countries, with 7000 employees. Established in 2017, Evolution Wellness is comprised of six brands: Celebrity Fitness, CHi Fitness, FIRE Fitness, Fitness First Asia, Fivelements, and GoFit. The brand reaches as far across Asia as Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The vision is to build a comprehensive wellness ecosystem, and the company is focused on leveraging combined industry knowledge and the team's global experience to extend reach across the vibrant Asian fitness and wellness scene. Episode highlights - How to cope with closures in multiple markets, and then deal with the organisation of some markets opening again, some staying closed, and some closing again after reopening. What can change optimism into pessimism during dark times, and how to manage a business effectively with a realistic mix of both outlooks. How different government approaches can affect business through standards of practice, communication and ministerial level access. Why each member's needs different affects how a gym can react with space concerns and workout offerings if one aspect such as group exercise is prohibited due to COVID restrictions. What the contrast is between trainers leading classes in person or instructing others through digital platforms, and why some may thrive on one medium over the other. How a leadership team and perform at peak capacity during challenging climates through staying resilient and nurturing the team dynamic. What both landlords and gyms can do to help each other and work together for mutual benefit in the future. Why access to senior management and being able to communicate information is vital to the understanding, empathy and mental health of staff and teams throughout an entire business. What trends are set to take over from HIIT workouts and the popular modalities of recent years, and what members are most looking to get back when the pandemic passes. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Simon Flint…

Post-pandemic plans and predictions from a CEO who's seen success all around the world. An experienced and successful multi-brand professional at a global level, Ty Menzies has spent over 15 years forging growth in the fitness industry and founding multiple companies of his own. Today as CEO of Lift Brands, Ty oversees a port folio of five operations: Snap Fitness 24/7, 9Round Kickboxing, YogaFit Studios, Steele Fitness and FitnessOnDemand. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/fYP63YmI_6k Lift Brands is a collection of fitness-minded businesses that share a similar goal: creating comfortable, welcoming services that foster good health and wellness. From individual personalised workouts to group fitness training, each company has its own unique specialty. For both users and owners, Snap Fitness 24/7, 9Round Kickboxing, YogaFit Studios, Steele Fitness and FitnessOnDemand serve as the foundations for a better life. Episode highlights - • Why lots of conversations with lots of people is the key piece to any puzzle in business, particularly around times of the pandemic and restricted access to job inductions, for example. • What happens now that we're out of crisis management and into a triage stage to see how you can move your business forward. • Why the member experience should take precedence when it comes to development in the coming months, and what you can do to enhance it. • How to balance the rules and regulations around the world regarding COVID, and what you can do to work with franchisees in order to maintain safety measures for members. • Why franchisee businesses today are more about the one, two or three-location operators instead of what it just to be with six, seven and eight-location franchisees. • Why it's never been more important to work with every element of fitness in educating the general public about wellbeing. • What the relationship is going to be between bricks and mortar gyms with digital initiatives, and how they'll complement each other long term. • What the different franchise options are at low or high level, for single locations or multi-site operators across the Lift Brands portfolio. • How the fitness industry is going to change over the next 12 months. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Ty Menzies…

Authenticity is key to long term success. A DJ, TV presenter and radio host who found fame on the BAFTA award-winning Made In Chelsea, Ashley James is a regular face in the British media. An articulate social commentator, activist and empowerment coach, she's using her platform for good, campaigning for body positivity, mental health and honesty on social media. This is a lesson in how to stay true to yourself, no matter what others think. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/n-PdgfT-bz8 Ashley James always wanted to be a presenter but didn't realise it was an option for years. Her first mini break can after hustling for a radio job, doing teas and coffees for her local station when she was 16. She went to university and did a graduate scheme with Abercrombie and Fitch. After moving to London and working various jobs, Ashley struggled with money but got her break with her first reality TV appearance on Made In Chelsea in 2012. She also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. Ashley had been swept up in the world of a celebrity, but soon realised that it wasn't fame that would make her happy. She's since been working hard to follow her passions and show authenticity throughout her personal and professional life. A campaigner for mental health, body positivity and social media honesty, Ashley has appeared on both BBC News and Sky News to discuss topical issues and draw on her own past battles with self-harm, bullying and body dysmorphia. She's DJ'd internationally in Cannes, Ibiza, Marbella, Dubai and Thailand and at the Reading, Isle of Wight, Wireless, Citadel and Mighty Hoopla festivals in the UK. She's even shared the decks with Groove Armada! For more information visit ashleylouisejames.com Episode highlights - Why you shouldn't take negative feedback to heart, but continue to pursue your dreams and passions while taking constructive criticism on board. How changes in opinions surrounding lockdown affected social media activity for influencers and personalities that may have had fear of posting about certain topics. What the beauty is in owning your mistakes and why putting your hands up to something you don't fully understand is often the best way to overcome getting caught out. How to navigate clickbait online, and how to cope when clickbait articles are written about you or your business. Why you need to unfollow and mute people on social media, even if you like them in real life. How to deal with the challenges around body positivity and mindset, and what lifestyle changes will shift old habits or cyclical behaviour. Why it's important to be authentic online, especially when posting images, and why editing photos in certain ways only furthers the damage that our culture of snapshot social media can cause. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Ashley Louise James…

Evergreen business innovation tips from a world leader in sport technology. Whether it's a traditional school education or learning on the job, a growth mindset is key to personal development and discovering your strengths. This Escape Your Limits podcast guest has not only gone from student to teacher, but has educated himself on building a business along the way. This episode is a lesson in what it's like on the frontline of fitness at Loughborough University, with Mike Caine, professor of sports technology. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Watch the full episode on YouTube – https://youtu.be/fM9c3zqbeS4 Before becoming a professor, Mike Caine was a student of Loughborough University and decided to return later in life as an academic. Studying maths, physics, and chemistry, he started falling in love with one particular field doing a degree in human biology. Mike followed his first-class degree with a scholarship to study for a PhD in sports science, while also starting his own company and embracing opportunities of taking a product to market. During his study, he also launched a business, bringing a class one medical device to market that helped people to improve their breathing. From then on, Mike has embraced life as a professional at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, sport and fitness. Progressive Sports Technologies operates from space in the Advanced Technology Innovation Centre at Loughborough University. Maintaining a small but highly skilled research and development team, they are primed to support unique project requirements through validation, research, and development support to the international sporting goods market and its related industries. Offering both tactical and strategic support, Progressive is an on-demand R&D service to suit requirements, fast. When you need extra resource to successfully deliver your project Progressive is there to assist. Episode highlights - How to find your way through all the opportunities out there, developing your understanding through learning and discovering your passion for a career, post-education. Why you'll need to find your balance between working long days and ensuring that you make time for family and your own hobbies as well as business. Why making money is often not the focus for product development, when there's a chance to make a huge difference in people's lives, especially in the medical sector. How surrounding yourself with the right kind of support, whether that's through colleague, family or friends, will empower you to learn and ultimately succeed in your chosen passion. What different paths you'll take if you're open to trying something you may not have previously thought of, whether it's in a professional sense or anything else in life. What the most important attributes to success are, whether you're an entrepreneur or employee. How important building the right team is, and why complementary skills and interests will build momentum more quickly while also leaving you more fulfilled. Why it's OK to fail and be open about it in order to recognise both your strengths and weaknesses. What's wrong with the current state of education and university access, and what can be done to improve it so that more people can learn, progress and succeed. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Professor Mike Caine…

The secrets of a humble but passionate path to success. Martin Seibold is a resilient business leader who has overcome many obstacles in fitness. Today he's overseeing LifeFit Group's six brands, including Fitness First, Barry's Bootcamp, elbgym, Smile X and The Gym Society. Passionate about the fitness experience and the atmosphere of the gym, in this episode Martin teaches us how to lead in times of crisis, lessons from the rise and fall of one of the biggest fitness brands in Europe, and the highs and lows of reopening after COVID-19. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/BaQfYlW4Lm8 Martin Seibold started out working in the family-owned gym of his parents. The facility was the first member of IHRSA in Germany, bought by Fitness First which took on the staff and achieved incredible growth both nationally and around the world.Martin's passion for fitness had been sparked. He joined as marketing manager and, within six years, the business has expanded to over 90 gyms. Martin has been living in the UK since 2006 when Fitness First founder, Mike Balfour, asked him to move, following eight years of success with the brand in Germany. Today, Martin is leading multi-brand strategies and teams around the world in implementing humble growth strategies for the long term success of the LifeFit Group. The LifeFit Group unites multiple fitness brands from the boutique, high-value-low-price and premium segments under one roof, including Fitness First, Barry's Bootcamp, elbgym, Smile X and The Gym Society. The Group is committed to inspire and support its customers to live their best lives through personal, fun and focused health and fitness experiences. For more information visit www.lifefit-group.com Episode highlights - What lessons Martin has learned as a business leader responsible for incredible expansion, and what he'd change if he could do it again. Why looking after people and partners, both internally and externally, is the only way to achieve long-term survival. Expansion isn't the only goal and it's easy to forget how important relationships are to success. How you can diversify your offering in the right places to ensure that the customer has exactly what they want in the right location, and ensuring a sustainable business. Why you need to assign specific teams to specific responsibilities, and not spread your resource over too many different skillset needs. How important it is to take interest in what your teams are doing in order to get the best out of them and support them. What merging cultures, strategies and teams together is like in practice when a business is acquired. Why buy-outs can be awful for members, leading to a worse service offering in the short term at least, but how it can also be used for good. What multi-brand strategies can do to provide flexibility in an offering, and how you can decide which responsibilities are based centrally and which need to be carried out by local teams. Why it's important to celebrate mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, but being open and honest, or even laughing about them, means that you can learn from them to ensure that a problem doesn't get bigger. How you can manage and forecast in uncertain times, and what benefits there are to ensuring there's trust between operators and investors when it comes to a business model. Why this is not the time for cutting percentages here and there, but making substantial changes to how you work and the structure of everything that you do. How long will it take to get back to pre-COVID revenue levels after the pandemic passes. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Martin Seibold…

Using AI, this is how to stop someone cancelling their gym membership, before they even realise they want to. Through integrated artificial intelligence and machine learning using years of data, Ian Mullane explains how every fitness operator can stop guessing about gym member activity and actively predict what's going to happen. This episode was recorded before the pandemic. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/w5g2arKz57c Ian Mullane has a background in financial engineering and financial software. Not the traditional fitness professional, he's ditched the field of the hedge fund field of corporate life to turn his expertise to another sector. A passion for boxing was keeping him in shape. With some other likeminded enthusiasts, he wanted to open a 20,000 square-foot boxing club in a disused grandstand in the old Singapore Turf Club. His wife had different ideas, which turned out to be much more lucrative, and Ian was left with a 1000 square-foot to play with. Here, Vanda boxing club raised over $3m for charities through white collar boxing events, in one of the first boutiques in the city. Today, Ian is overcoming traditional challenges of attrition and growth using data sets to explore predicability on whether or not members will stay or leave. Through this AI and machine learning expertise, he's able to help operators around the world drive revenue. A revenue acceleration platform for the fitness industry, Keepme.ai is all about smarter member retention using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The platform identifies members who are close to cancelling and win them back before they even plan to leave. Through SaaS expertise, Ian and his team exist to help health and fitness businesses retain more members. Regardless of whether customers are big box or boutique, pay as you go or contractual, Keepme.ai equips them with the ability to accurately target and engage members, implement behavioural science approaches, and allows operators to truly understand the people they serve. For more information visit keepme.ai Episode highlights - What the simple explanations are behind AI and machine learning. Why bringing a huge number of decision trees together with the right algorithm will bring high levels of accuracy in probability for any data set. What the difference is in accuracy between statistical modeling and machine learning predictions. What the importance is for revenue in segmenting data and providing the correct results for each member depending on what they need. How far machine learning and predictive algorithms have moved on in recent years, and what the future holds for people with accurate data sets. Why "dirty data" in the fitness industry will provide challenges for some operators, but what off-the-shelf tools can be used to overcome this. How looking forward and being able to predict what's likely to happen is going to leave you at a better competitive standpoint than people only looking at historical data. The importance of having an API on any software that you purchase, for future developments even if you don't think you need the function now. How you can integrate your predictions with other sources such as purchase data to better understand everything about a member and supplement information. How you can understand what members you will keep and lose, and what members you should be focussing your marketing on to improve retention rates. Why better business isn't always about the upsell, and how downselling members at the right time will keep them in your business for the long term. What partners such as Myzone can do to indicate when you need to intervene and interact with members to avoid their interest dropping off, leading to a member leaving. How Google, Facebook, Amazon and other giants are going to make greater steps into fitness using data and machine learning than many traditional fitness businesses in future. What you can do to predict your own health or apply preventative measures based on data from fitness trackers, accessories and apps. How the offer weighs up for communities between the connected home environment of fitness compared to bricks and mortar. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Ian Mullane…

This is how to take control, turning negativity into positivity for good. Jessie Pavelka is an internationally-recognised health and wellbeing expert, known for his expertise in extreme weight loss. He hosts Obese: A Year To Save My Life and was a trainer on NBC's The Biggest Loser. In addition to his work helping people and businesses change lives, he's the ambassador for Cancer Research UK's Race For Life and England Athletic's Run Together initiative. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version - https://youtu.be/ZAS3Cq5e-44 Jessie Pavelka started out as a trainer in the early 2000s. He immediately knew that he wanted to be an independent changing lives instead of working directly for gym chains. It didn't take long before his focus shifted to extreme weight loss with his business partner to help clients better understand their needs making changes beyond the physical alone. Jessie also understood the importance of platform, and continued his journey as a fitness model to develop his personal brand and profile around his passion. In 2008 he got his first break on TV, adding production values and broadcasting experience to his list of abilities. During the coronavirus uncertainties, Jessie Pavelka has been teaching his clients all about control, consistency and connection to cope with everything that's happening in the world. His pathway to a better understanding revolves around the physical, mental, emotional and social needs of us all to feel more grounded and in control. In his business Jessie Pavelka believes that everybody can find true health through the four elements of: Eat, Sweat, Think, Connect. By disrupting your normal, Pavelka can help you achieve more than you dreamed possible. Pavelka Wellness is a wellbeing partner for a range of organisations, including technology giants Cisco Systems, helping employees become more resilient and healthier in a fast moving, dynamic world. Visit https://pavelka.co.uk and https://pavelkawellness.com Episode highlights - How lockdown and the issues around the COVID pandemic have been both challenging and opportunistic, and how anyone can react positively to both elements for a better business. What the uncertainty of the coming months has meant for the majority of people who are looking for finish lines, and why you need to embrace 'different' as much as you can. Why it's important to confide in people in your close circle to let them know how you feel during difficult times, but also to better understand yourself through their support. How you can understand your connection to yourself, connection to your team, and connecting to something greater than you. Identify what they mean to you in your own life, and use that to do better in every relationship. Why building your personal brand and profile in addition to following your professional passion is vital to not just personal development but long term business opportunities as well. How to manage the conflicting values between making work about genuinely helping people and also building yourself as a professional personality. In particular, why the modern world of influencers can fall foul of achieving this. What you can do to as someone struggling with weight or an entrepreneur struggling with burnout to understand the overall value of behaviour, both positive and negative. How you can understand your baseline; the standard of living that you start off with every single day. This is how you stop making things too complex, slow down, simplify and define how you want to live your life at a base level. How to shift mindset from reactive to proactive in business, and what you can do to improve your employees' mindset in addition to holding your own company accountable. Why giving employees creative space for reflection in some level of solitude is much more important than preventing them from breaking up the day and clock-watching. How you can show the human side of your business by not only looking after your people, but also understanding your customers' genuine needs and challenges, too. What you can use to help other people if you've already had a transformation of your own. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Jessie Pavelka…

This is how to make LinkedIn generate more revenue for your business. In this episode, Shay Rowbottom explains everything from content creation, missed opportunities in video, revenue generation and the LinkedIn secrets to growth on the social media platform that isn't as B2B as you think. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version - https://youtu.be/0J8frpTL8u4 Shay Rowbottom started out as a musician trying to make it in the entertainment industry. She dropped out of college at 20 to focus on making art and performing, while holding down a waitressing job. At the time, she was very naive to business and social media. Looking for an alternative pathway to success, Shay made the best decision that she had at the time, even though it sounds counterproductive... She gave up on her dreams. Instead of music, Shay began working on video content as a freelancer for a very profitable blog and Facebook page, making money from Google ads. Here, she gained valuable experience and started to hone her newfound craft. She grew her company, gaining clients, learning the science of social media and licensing videos for an expanding group of entrepreneurs. Today, Shay has founded and sold a start-up, before pivoting completely to LinkedIn and inspiring audiences and other entrepreneurs to optimise every bit of content for the biggest effect. Shay Rowbottom Marketing is about more than just viral videos on LinkedIn. Her team offer DIY programmes and online bootcamps to improve your LinkedIn activity, with coaching sessions that will help you transform your business and close more deals. Alternatively, SRM will take more of an agency role and run an entrepreneur's LinkedIn profile for them, which is ideal for busy professionals. For more LinkedInformation or to schedule a call, visit shayrowbottom.com Episode highlights - Why content strategies from many social media platforms are more effective than you think when applied to LinkedIn, even if you think they're too informal in the traditional business world. How LinkedIn is a cleaner feed to grow and cultivate meaningful business relationships as well as develop personally, compared to other social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook. What content specifics, styles and treatments work in the newsfeed best when it comes to video on social media. What regrets Shay has about turning fully introverted to focus on her business, and how her hard work has paid off to give her more freedom today. Why if you're seeking approval from someone about the business decisions you make as an entrepreneur, you should probably cut your relationship with them in order to grow unrestricted. • How you can address your confidence issues and discover your feeling of value that you can provide to help others. What benefits LinkedIn offers for organic content with little competition, at levels that are unheard of on other social media platforms. • Why your LinkedIn presence needs to be seen as a constant source for good, adding value to an audience instead of being a grab for instant return on investment. What talking about your vulnerabilities and insecurities will do to your engagement and your business, even if you feel it may be to your detriment. What will make your LinkedIn Sales Navigator and direct outreach spend more effective, and what is just going to annoy your potential leads and prospects. How you can make subtle changes to your social media activity to get the best engagement and business opportunities from your activities. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Shay Rowbottom…

This is how to stop negativity in its tracks and keep progressing. In this episode, Jerzy Gregorek teaches the art of embracing delayed gratification and accepting the hard choices that will make your life better in the long run by far. A multiple world record holder, he came to LA in 1986 as a political refugee from Poland. Today Jerzy is helping celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs and everyone in between turn back the clock and become more youthful through mindful exercise and nutrition. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video episode – https://youtu.be/mR4ez4CCS3o Jerzy travelled to LA in 1986 as a political refugee from Poland. He's won five world weightlifting championships, founded the UCLA weightlifting team, and leads as head coach with his wife. Today he's helping people turn back the clock and become more youthful through a set of standards, teaching the understanding of how to make hard choices that benefit longevity and a positive lifestyle. The Happy Body is a nutrition and training programme by Jerzy and Aniela Gregorek. With mindfulness and movement at its core, it helps people break free of diets, fitness fashions and contradictory advice. The goal is to remove the feeling of powerlessness and depression that many fitness concerns cause, and empower you to engineer your own weight loss within precise timeframes. The 30-minute routine a day will leave you less stressed, injury free, and with a happy body for the long term. Visit www.thehappybody.com for more information. Episode highlights - Why it's important to be in the present moment and connect with what you're doing. How you can stay positive, even under the pressures of challenging climates and stressful schedules. What you can do to have patience, deal with irritations, control yourself and override impulses that lead to negative outcomes. Which ways you can make the present moment work for you in order to adapt and make things better. How transparency is the difference-maker in fitness, and why without it a business or entrepreneurial venture is just based on entertainment. What having standards for yourself, such as your ideal body weight, will do for your lifestyle and progression towards goals. • Why time is needed to achieve certain results, and why if you don't appreciate the time it takes, you'll never achieve the goal. Patience is key to progress. How to set yourself up on the journey to becoming better, and how to engage with life so that you're able to move and motivate yourself at any age. • What microprogressions and improvements you can make to keep yourself in the unknown and continually escape your limits. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Jerzy Gregorek…

It's about helping people think differently to help themselves. In this episode, Tanni Grey-Thompson talks sport, politics, business, family inspiration and how we can make the most of opportunities in fitness post-COVID. A global ambassador of sport, Tanni is most famous for her world records, London marathon wins and Paralympic gold medals. However, it's her work in UK government that's inspiring change at the highest level to improve lives and raise the bar of how good we can all become in business and every day life. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video episode – https://youtu.be/nXoZianX7J4 Born with spina bifida and paralysed from a very young age of around six years old, Tanni grew up surrounded by a supportive family that always challenged her to try new things and explore the world. At 13, she found her love for wheelchair racing and went on to reap success after success in marathons, world record attempts, and multiple Paralympic Games. Today' Tanni is an ex-athlete, proud Welsh woman, a mum, a wife, a Parliamentarian and an inspiration to many around the world. Tanni has continued to be involved in sport and physical activity. She is chair of ukactive, and a board member of institutions including London Marathon, the Sportsaid Foundation, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and Join In. In 2010 Tanni became an Independent Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, taking the title Baroness Grey-Thompson of Eaglescliffe in the County of Durham. As a working peer, Tanni uses her experience and knowledge during debates in the House and she has spoken on a range of issues including disability rights and welfare reform in addition to sport. Episode highlights - • How we can take the positive aspects of working from home in how we continue to work after the pandemic lockdowns are lifted. • Why having an athletic mindset will enable to challenge yourself all the time and be better in other areas of life such as business. • Why doing the boring stuff, whether it's training, working or writing speeches, will enable you to make the most of your time to make a difference, when competing, selling or speaking in public. • What mindset you can take to appreciate the value of time in reaching your goals and working towards whatever your success metric for the future is. • Why everyone should try new things before they decide if they want to pursue them or not, making decisions from an informed position. • How even if you get stereotyped or stuck in one image from a previous success, there are more parts to what you can do and what you can achieve that people need to see instead of sticking with a single perception. • What you can do to prepare your children for the world and inspire them to make a difference, even under challenging circumstances such as living with a disability. • Why evaluation is key for any win, loss, success or failure. This will enable you to see where you made the most impact or where you may have missed an opportunity. • What societal challenges Tanni Grey-Thompson has faced as a disabled women and how she's overcome these challenges, or changed attitudes to educate ignorance. • Why fitness isn't taken seriously on a nationwide level and what the COVID-19 pandemic has done to highlight the need to embrace physical activity at all levels. • Why we like to think we're a nation of sports lovers but we're actually a nation of people who like watching big sports events. • How physical activity is more than just about gyms and leisure centres. • What we can all do as industries and communities in changing the mindsets of people when it comes to fitness and physical activity. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Tanni Grey-Thompson…

How to double down on long-term success through boutique fitness. In this episode, Barbara Chancey teaches us how there's more to fitness than repeating what's worked in the past. Discover the secrets of how to create an exciting and captivating fitness atmosphere, designed through the eyes of the instructor. Since founding Barbara Chancey Design Group, she has innovated with passionate design and operational excellence in more then 200 successful studios across six continents. This is how the fitness industry gets stronger after a pandemic. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video Version – https://youtu.be/8O8qfSQtTJg Founder of her eponymous design group, Barbara Chancey has been creating extraordinary fitness spaces for over a decade, bringing philosophy, branding and vision to life. With hundreds of clients in highly competitive markets, she's worked all around the world, helping boutiques, start-ups and redesign projects for commercial or residential opportunities. With her expertise in concept development and the design work itself, but also operational needs such as instructor training, equipment and amenities, there are few people better suited to explaining how we can recover stronger from a pandemic through full-scale understanding of the boutique business. Based in Dallas, Texas, the Barbara Chancey Design Group creates some of the world's most beautiful and successful boutique fitness studios. Through concept to completion work on business plans, pitch decks, floor plans, instructor training, operations, and design excellence, CDG specialises in gyms and boutiques, as well as expanding into luxury residential and exploring boutique hotels for fitness opportunities. For more information visit the Barbara Chancey Design Group website or email [email protected] Episode highlights - How a revolution in boutique spin studios was started from Barbara doubling down on her own ability and taking advantage of opportunity. What aspects of design had to be changed in order to motivate members and give them something they didn't realise they needed, long before the boom of brands such as SoulCycle came onto the scene. Why keeping the instructor happy keeps members happy, and what operators need to provide in order to improve classes and keep them selling out. How a studio is only as good as its worst instructor's worst playlist. Bring the creativity, bring the variety and you'll get the right attention. What themes instructors can run throughout their classes, and how they can make each session relevant and timely for engaging workouts. How lighting effects, magic and creativity mean that instructors can't wait to get up and teach, while members and clients can't wait to come back. Every single detail matters. What the key differences are between an inspirational studio, a competitive studio, a rebellious studio or any other niche approach to member attraction. How a gym, and particularly a boutique studio is taking its place as a community, a religion, and a passion that it needs to live up to every single time for members. Where the inspiration for incredible showmanship and lighting comes from, and how working with partners in other industries such as musicians on a world tour can massively impact the excitement. What pitfalls of service offerings you can avoid, and how you can protect your facility against as many pandemic risks as possible. Why it's important to train instructors for the day that it's not going to work, and how every good instructor can overcome any problem without any blame. How to price your business offering if it's a service by how much passion your client has and how easy it is to work with them, rather than entirely on how much money you get through affiliations and back-room deals. Why being remembered for your kindness can be so much more valuable for your business over the long term. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Barbara Chancey…

Your food isn't as healthy as you think it is. Here's why. In this episode, Eugene Trufkin leads a deep dive into the detriment of modern diets. He teaches us what we need to be doing to improve or boost our immune system, and reveals what you should be eating and where you should be buying it from. Misinformation and labelling scams are rife within the food industry. Author of The Anti Factory Farm Shopping Guide, Eugene explains the pitfalls behind chicken, beef, fish, and how their diets through the production process are affecting your own. It's not just meat either, as we also learn about how fruit and vegetables can impact our health negatively. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/VEt_Zz__wMs Eugene Trufkin was born and raised on an off-grid bio-dynamic farm in the Ukraine. He came to the US thinking that all food was sustainably sourced and manufactured before being enlightened by a seminar from Paul Chek. From that moment, Eugene starting questioning how all food was being produced compared to the sustainable and nutritious upbringing that he'd known. Today, Eugene is a trainer, author and entrepreneur, dedicated to helping people interested in attaining six-pack abs, eating a well balanced diet, and pursuing an anti-sedentary lifestyle. Through Trufkin Athletics, Eugene is dedicated to people interested in attaining six-pack abs, traveling, eating a well balanced diet, and pursuing an anti-sedentary lifestyle. There is more to fitness than fat loss pills and gym memberships. If this interests you, his website is for you. Eugene prides himself on leading by example. Everything you see him doing, you could easily do as well. Eugene has always wanted the most out of life, and his goal is to show you, through personal experience, that it's 100% possible. Visit http://www.trufkinathletics.com for more information. Episode highlights - Why it's almost impossible to source high-quality food in the US, and in many communities around the world due to misinformation and blurred lines of quality during production. How "free range" does not mean that chickens and hens have space to roam and live a healthy lifestyle that's beneficial to both animal and the nutrition of people consuming the meat after production. Why ethics and morality doesn't even have to come into the discussion surrounding raising animals for the meat industry, as many methods use marketing spin to hide the negative impact of production on the quality of food for the consumer. What "vegetarian fed" means on chicken meat packaging, and why they should be fed an omnivore diet to ensure that the resulting meat isn't causing inflammation concerns for anyone eating it. Why genetically modified corn and soy is often used as feed because 80% of a meat farming operation is the cost of food for the animals. How there are many underlying concerns in mindset or other aspects of life affect diets and cause a person to have obesity or other physical concerns. What foods cause nutrient deficiency due to low nutritional profiles leading to empty calories. Why farmers are not necessarily to blame for meat industry misinformation, and how they're scammed by companies and often put them out of business. How you're spending way more on NOT eating an organic and healthy diet, backed by statistics. What materials are not legally allowed to be used in food due to health guidelines and legislation, but can be fed to animals that will eventually end up as food, therefore affecting its nutritional profile. How it's not just meat that is affected by poisonous chemicals and nutritionally detrimental approaches; the fruit and vegetable market also has just as many pitfalls. What mindset and mental or lifestyle challenges create incentives for people to seek out food as a source of unconditional love, and why these "story gaps" lead to unhealthy lifestyles, stress responses, and weight gain. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Eugene Trufkin…

How to succeed in the next generation of hybrid athleticism. In this episode, we learn how coronavirus is impacting the fitness industry, how to create an online fitness business, and how to stay strong and resilient both mentally and physically. Kris Gethin is a successful fitness entrepreneur who's global ventures include a health club chain, a sports and nutrition business, and an online training company. He's the perfect fitness professional to lead a new wave of nutrition for the benefit of a better mindset, better bodies and longevity for the years to come. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version - https://youtu.be/IhMiRnAaUZc Was grew up in Wales, racing motorcross until a back injury put an end to his career. He was introduced to resistance training after he went through rehab, and discovered the benefits of taking the stress away from his spine and putting it onto his muscles. With a newfound passion for wellbeing, Kris studied international health and sports therapy to educate himself on the way to becoming a fitness professional. He worked on cruise liners as a massage therapist and personal trainer before setting up his own PT business in Australia. Since then, Kris has travelled the world, setting up partnerships with fitness institutions such as Bodybuilding.com and starting businesses such as his chain of gym academies and his nutrition company Kaged Muscle. [DETAIL OF GUEST'S BUSINESS AND WHAT MAKES THEM UNIQUE] Kaged Muscle is proud to be a supplement line of deep integrity. It sources the purest, most potent raw materials, performing rigorous laboratory and real-world testing. KM also adheres to third-party quality assurance practices, with an unwavering commitment to quality and safety. This is the foundation upon which Kaged Muscle was built. For more information visit https://www.kagedmuscle.com Kris Gethin Gyms is a fitness destination that provides customised and individual-centered fitness services to keep you equally motivated in and out of the gym. For more information visit https://www.gethingyms.com [EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS – FOUR OR FIVE BULLET POINTS (TIMINGS?)] How bodybuilding has led Kris on a journey of understanding, education and a sense of urgency through militant discipline. What morning routine leads to a successful business or how you can embrace circadian rhythms and human natural history to achieve whatever you need throughout the day. Why meditations, mindfulness and biohacking can complement your fitness routine and what effects these will have on your movement goals. How knowledge without experience is not useful to anyone, and why Kris Gethin will try any approach himself before recommending it to others. What effects lights and other sensory effects have on your cortisol levels, and how the outside world will bring you a lot more spiritual and mental growth. How the coronavirus lockdowns have affected gym chains and fitness academy in India, and what the differences are in the safety measures in place. What the benefits are of Facebook groups and online communities are during lockdown and why you need to ensure these are in place for your business moving forward. Why clients, members and communities have to spend more time these days filtering through content and courses that are being sold by people will little experience or qualifications in fitness. Why fast food restaurants have been open during the pandemic lockdowns but not gyms, and how the argument behind this can be reversed through proper education in fitness. What the benefits are of having a home gym set up, and how fitness is going to balance itself out again in the coming weeks. Why people think it's normal to harm themselves with the food that they eat instead of healing themselves with it, and what we can do to change that. How we can use our platforms to extract and promote more testimonials from people that have overcome difficulties to implement healthy living and long term fitness. How you can eat less but still retain more muscle, reduce inflammation and perform better. Why cardio will help you recover to build more muscle and succeed as a bodybuilder, even to the point of being able to retain muscle while still training for an IRONMAN triathlon. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Kris Gethin…

Someone may have obesity, but they're not obese. This episode is a lesson in language, understanding and mindset. Discover why you should be thinking about more than just getting back to normal after coronavirus; what the next big opportunity is for health and fitness and why most business will miss it, and why the fitness industry has not been delivering on its promises. A writer, consultant, presenter and billed as one of the 100 most influential people in health and fitness, Dr Michael Mantell has been at the forefront of wellbeing for over four decades. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/gS9TFba8Iec Escape Your Limits homepage – https://escapefitness.com/podcast Dr Michael Mantell is the co-founder Plus Size Certified. In addition to also being a writer, author, presenter and thought leader, since Dr Mantell earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, he has served as chief psychologist for San Diego Children's Hospital, created the nationally recognised Psychological Services programme for the San Diego Police Department, served on the faculty of UCSD Medical School, taught at the School of Public Administration at USC and served as the senior fitness consultant for behavioural sciences for the American Council on Exercise, where he helped author the Health Coach certification and the Behaviour Change certification. He is also a member of the Science Advisory Board of the International Council on Active Ageing. Plus Size Certified is an evidence-based, behavioural science-anchored, consulting and educational organisation. A business that does not support or promote any lifestyle, but rather instead helps to create environments that are accepting of all individuals, no matter their size. The Plus Size Certified Programme is a certification awarded to a business, building, professional service, or similar entity that wishes to support the physical and psychological wellbeing of persons living with obesity and overweight. The programme is based on standards created by Plus Size Certified, through a consolidation of medical, government and health research data. From making adaptable changes to a physical environment's fixtures and fittings, to anti-stigma and anti-bias training, our experts at Plus Size Certified will help ensure that a business becomes and maintains a safe haven for every individual of any size. For more information visit https://www.plussizecertified.org/ Episode highlights: The real actionable points to overcoming low frustration tolerances to the COVID climate, and how you can free yourself from negative thoughts to get through it. Understand your own self worth through physical, emotional, mental and spiritual capacity and how you can embrace your life as a corporate athlete or just grow to be a better person and grow. The difference between training and coaching, and which is more beneficial to growth and understanding in wellbeing. Why it's better to say that people have obesity, rather than that people are obese. Diet and exercise doesn't work on its own. We have to work on what people think. How there is no such thing as motivation and why progress is more about taking away the blocks to progress. Why the term "personal trainer" diminishes the experience and knowledge that most fitness professionals have, and what the better alternative is. Why it's important to be inclusive of everyone, especially in healthcare facilities and gyms, to remove bias and stigma so that a facility is inviting people in instead of making them feel unwelcome. What would happen if gyms became the aftercare centres for surgeries, and how this would truly embrace fitness as both recovery and prevention for long term conditions. Why someone can have obesity and be fit, or conversely be thin and by unfit. How a healthy lifestyle and self acceptance is much more important. What you can do as a fitness professional in order to promote holistic healthcare and really make a difference on a local level through the experience in yourself / your staff at your facility or in your business. How to create these integrated healthcare opportunities for yourself in order to create a real preventative approach. If you want to know why more effective long-term healthcare initiatives have not been put in place, follow the money. Cure is more lucrative for governments than prevention. We have to work as an industry to change this for as many people as possible. What will bring success from gym leaders thinking in the long term and how clubs can become more fully-functioning to touch the lives of more people. Why the next version of the gym is going to be about education and training, socialisation, camaraderie, preventative health and no longer just about lifting weights. How faith is anchored in trust and hope, and why this can lead you to a life of no limits. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Dr Michael Mantell…

Meet the man at Gold's Gym making the tough choices to grow stronger. President and CEO of Gold's Gym, Adam Zeitsiff, gives a sincere and open account of what's behind the brand that recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Having closed multiple locations for good as part of the restructure, and with some of the first gyms to reopen in locations after coronavirus closures, Gold's is now at the forefront of how we get out of the coronavirus climate and grow stronger on the other side. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video - https://youtu.be/fo32P_36zTs In his role as President and CEO of Gold's Gym International, Adam Zeitsiff maintains operating responsibility for the iconic, global industry-leader in health and fitness, including overseeing franchise growth and operations, along with the brand's portfolio of 130 corporately owned gyms with a team of 6000 employees. Gold's Gym is an iconic brand of fitness. With both company owned and franchise gyms, the brand has been active in 29 countries for over 55 years. From its beginning as a small gym in Venice, California, Gold's Gym has grown into a global icon with more than 700 locations serving three million people across six continents each day. Featuring personalised transformation plans, state-of-the-art equipment, certified personal trainers, a diverse group exercise programme and a supportive, motivating environment, Gold's Gym goal is to deliver the most dynamic fitness experience in the industry. Episode highlights - How COVID-19 can dramatically alter growth plans and lead a business to restructure dramatically in order to survive. What challenges pre-coronavirus had taken effect with Gold's Gym that had caused the brand to look to its future plans, and how the pandemic accelerated its response. What effects low cost fitness spaces had on Gold's Gym, and what pricing adjustments the business made to compete with that sector of the market. Which Gold's Gym around the world was the first to open after the coronavirus, and what they've been able to teach other franchises in other countries about how to implement safety methods and give confidence back to members. How important it is to look after your team and partners during a pandemic, no matter how many employees you have to put on furlough. What common factors there are across states and internationally, and how you can implement these trends in your fitness locations for maximum member benefit. What changes you can make to your gym of fitness studio in equipment, machine placement, staff codes of conduct, and the training on conversations your trainers and employees should be having with members. Why the pandemic has accelerated the use of digital and physical fitness initiatives for a hybrid offering that's here to stay. What lessons you can learn from years of app development to combine digital user experience with bricks and mortar fitness. How important home fitness is going to be after the coronavirus, but why it's not going to replace gym memberships but complement them. Why fitness is its own preventative medicine in order to help members in every aspect of their lives rather than just for aesthetics. How long it will take Gold's Gym to recover from the current climate and what the brand's future plans are to grow and diversify. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Adam Zeitsiff…

How to be adaptable to new market conditions in fitness after the pandemic. On this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, we meet Herman Rutgers, co-founder and ambassador of EuropeActive. With a who's who of the fitness industry on his job experience list, including positions at FIBO, IHRSA, Life Fitness and SATS (part of Health and Fitness Nordic), there's nobody better suited to preparing us for life after the coronavirus. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/bKp-9wJ0laA Escape Your Limits homepage – https://escapefitness.com/podcast Herman Rutgers is the co-founder and currently Ambassador of EuropeActive. He's also an international ambassador for Reed Exhibitions, consulting to support the global growth of FIBO, and has held influential or top level positions in an exhaustive list of fitness industry companies, both on the supplier and operator side. For two decades his own company, Global Growth Partners, has consulted and provided support, from corporate strategy to marketing and sales. Global Growth Partners (GGP) is a full service boutique investment banking firm providing hands-on strategic advisory services including mergers and acquisitions (buy-side and sell-side), capital-raising services (senior debt, minority and majority common equity and hybrid forms of capital such as mezzanine financing and preferred equity), business valuations and consulting to middle market companies and entrepreneurs across all industries. With a rich global network and expansive reach, GGP delivers boutique investment banking advisory and consulting services on a bespoke, individual level. For more visit globalgrowthpartners.com Episode highlights - How coronavirus has affected businesses and sectors differently in countries around the world, and what we can learn from different approaches and results. Why in many cases the lockdowns in place were started in order to protect the hospitals, due to high demand from people that got ill. Why it's more sensible in the case of the pandemic to be cautious and open a week too late instead of risking opening a week too early. How a membership system will protect the fitness industry compared with other sectors such as restaurants or retail, but there will still be casualties in business. What areas of the fitness industry is going to be hardest hit by the financial effects of the coronavirus, and how many are likely to close after the lockdowns are lifted from statistics in countries around the world. How the coronavirus could reinforce fitness as a healthcare system to raise the sector's position with governments for the future. Why changing behaviour, in any sense, is always about three things: the mind, the mouth and the muscle. Why we still need to find a way to appeal to the majority of populations that don't like to exercise, and why even fitness success stories such as Peloton are preaching to the converted. How partnerships will be key to moving forward for anyone in fitness to engage more people that are currently not self motivated or exercising. What Google, Facebook, Apple and other tech companies are planning for the future of fitness and wellness offerings. What the past 10 years can tell us about predicting trends for the future and which companies – both supplier and operator – will be still be around. How digital solutions can make or break a company depending on size of the company, development capability, quality of white labelled off-the-shelf solutions, or pricing plan. Will members and customers stop going to gyms now that they've experienced home fitness through digital offerings? What does the future hold for trade shows now that so many events and exhibitions have been cancelled and we're facing months without attendance, and how social distancing will be implemented for visitor safety. How camaraderie has grown since we've been locked down around the world, and why this will only go to strengthen the industry when we're facing business as normal again post-pandemic. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Herman Rutgers…

Simple strategies to save money and inspire sales. Even if your physical business is on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, you should be doubling down on your digital presence. Dennis Yu, founder and CEO of BlitzMetrics, is offering valuable content strategies, sales techniques and an unmissable offer for the Escape Your Limits community – a free processes playbook from years of experience. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video version – https://youtu.be/p7sFkD-QIE0 Escape Your Limits homepage – https://escapefitness.com/podcast Dennis Yu is unique as a marketing expert, thanks to his engineer background. He helped build analytics function at Yahoo two decades ago, and implements a data and process-driven way to be able to drive marketing for businesses of all sizes in many different sectors. Over the years, Dennis and his team have been behind successful systems using Google, Facebook and analytics platforms for Nike, Jack Daniels, Golden State Warriors and many iconic brands. The playbook of strategy, analytics and processes from Dennis and is team is an easy reference for digital marketing that's effective for multi-national business and single operator gym owners alike. Email [email protected] with subject line "WE LOVE MATTHEW" to get your copy, or to enquire about any training opportunities. BlitzMetrics is a digital marketing agency that partners with schools to train young adults on how to drive sales through social media and digital opportunities. Everything that Blitz does is governed by process, meaning that new students can come on board knowing nothing, and learn how to generate leads and revenue for multinational companies. BlitzMetrics is trusted by and has worked with Rosetta Stone, Wall Street Journal, Golden State Warriors, Social Media Examiner, Escape Fitness and businesses of all sizes around the world. Episode highlights - How digital marketing should have an actionable playbook that anyone can follow, through processes and data-driven insights on any platform. Why now is the perfect time to transfer any advertising spend to digital to take advantage of how many people are at home engaging on social platforms. Why the cost of clicks or impressions on Goolge have dropped significantly, and why you should spend time identifying how you get take a different approach to marketing, even if your business is currently closed. What you can do to create moments that share insights of you as a person, and how these posts will get so much more interest online. The importance of structure in your marketing efforts for awareness, consideration, and conversion to drive sales, and what any business owner should be doing themselves towards this. How you can create tremendous loyalty and get people wanting to connect and message you through great content. How to share 15-second videos throughout your day that let people see the real personality behind your business. Why you should be creating content independently of social media platform, and then repurpose it for anywhere and everywhere. Also why you should reply with video instead of text. The importance of 'why,' 'how,' and 'what' content that will lead conversions and can house content that's been repurposed or created specifically for each stage. How you can simply let algorithms on social media platforms figure out when to get your content in front of people, rather than you having to decide on when you post what. How intelligent are the machines and systems behind social media, and where we're headed in the future. What the benefits are of building engagement through live broadcasts on Instagram, Facebook or even LinkedIn. Also how this will even notify other users on platforms when you start recording. How you can get free help with a checklist and processes for SEO, PPC, videography, content and advertising that will help your business grow. What's behind the social media censorship of posts and certain content, and how governments such as the USA, UK, Germany around the world are holding platforms accountable in different ways. Who's really the arbiter of what is fake news? How we're at the beginning of the end with how we know the world today, and what role social media will play in driving the next global superpowers of the future. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Dennis Yu…

What is the data on coronavirus telling us? Nothing. This episode will tell you why. Ian Mullane, CEO of Keepme.ai, leads us on a comprehensive conversation around pandemic data, its reliability depending on how it's gathered, and the widespread misinformation that's a result of changing metrics around the world. Through his years of insight identifying trends and quantifying risk, Ian tells us what the effect of the coronavirus on the fitness industry is going to be, and why we all need to be prepared. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/h31nYHa0aBw Escape Your Limits homepage – https://escapefitness.com/podcast For two decades, Ian Mullane worked with some of the biggest names in fintech, such as Thomson Financial and SS&C Technologies. Leaving his career as COO for Sundgard's Asia Pacific business, Ian has since founded and grown a number of businesses, including Locowise.com and Vanda.fit. A revenue acceleration platform for the fitness industry, Keepme.ai is all about smarter member retention using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The platform identifies members who are close to cancelling and win them back before they even plan to leave. Through SaaS expertise, Ian and his team exist to help health and fitness businesses retain more members. Regardless of whether customers are big box or boutique, pay as you go or contractual, Keepme.ai equips them with the ability to accurately target and engage members, implement behavioural science approaches, and allows operators to truly understand the people they serve. Episode highlights - How the pandemic is proving to be a catalyst to many factors for change in the fitness industry, and how it will expose many businesses or consolidate other areas. Why the numbers surrounding coronavirus are not reliable, and what effect the 24-hour news cycle has on our education surrounding COVID-19 and our confidence. What the likelihood is of further lockdowns around the world, and what effect this is going to have on business. What risk is likely as businesses open and communities increase contact, and what the fitness industry need to consider when social distancing measures are relaxed. How there are some products in our industry will face challenges in hygiene when the pandemic passes, with new levels of standards being implemented post-coronavirus. What rules and regulations the fitness industry is facing in areas of the world such as China that are now reopening following coronavirus closures, and how we can learn and predict how we need to act in the west. Why your cash flow forecast has to be the most diligent document that you have as a business, and why it has to be more accurate than you've ever considered before. Projections for the percentage many clubs and operators are going to lose in the way of members and cashflow, from a reasonable timeline and how it will affect your business after lockdown. How much of an impact home workouts such as Peloton will have on the future of bricks and mortar fitness, as more people create habits of exercising at home. What opportunities are going to present themselves in mergers and acquisitions following dynamic changes from coronavirus activity, and why some gyms and chains that get caught out will surprise us. How huge companies such as Google, Apple and Netflix are going to bring to the fitness industry, and how they could make a massive difference with little effect on their own balance sheets. Why this is the biggest opportunity that any business has to plan forward, once they are over any issues concerning cash flow. How you can get a bigger share of voice with your marketing efforts now, as many businesses have cut down their ad spend and even slowed post activity due to resource and budget restrictions. How machine learning and artificial intelligence can create models from the data around coronavirus activity to discover how members are likely to react around future black swan events. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Ian Mullane…

Teach yourself to live by an 11 out of 10 mindset, in under an hour. This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in how to max out your productivity and create community after coronavirus from a high performance business coach – the world's most disciplined man, Craig Ballantyne. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/BwrHIHURR98 Craig Ballantyne grew up on a farm in Canada with dreams of being a strength and conditioning coach in the NHL. He studied for his Masters degree in exercise physiology and used that knowledge to develop himself as a regular contributor to publications such as Men's Health and Men's Fitness. Not content with just contributing to other publications, he created his own series of workout programming – Turbulence Training and Home Workout Revolution. Today, Craig is a high-level business coach, gym owner, author and expert in how to max out your productivity to get the best that you can from life. Craig Ballantyne is not only the author of Unstoppable and The Perfect Day Formula, he's also the creator of The Perfect Life Workshop global and has founded a multiple seven-figure fitness Empire. His track record shows he's a master of productivity. Empowering clients such as Joe Polish, Shanda Sumpter, Sharran Srivatsaa, Joel Marion, Jason Capital, and Bedros Keuilian to build the lives of their dreams, he's taught them how to start making "Empire Money" while working far less than the average business owner. The people who work with Craig are driven. Relentless. And, often, gifted with more potential than they realise. For more information visit beunstoppablebook.com or perfectweekformula.com, email [email protected] or message Craig on Instagram @realcraigballantyne Episode highlights - • Why you don't have to be wild and a risk-taker to be an entrepreneur, and how not all entrepreneurial aspirations start with the stereotypical lemonade stand during childhood. • How leaders and figureheads are showing their true colours during hard times, and how some people are being shown up as not being leaders after all. • What the best streaming platforms are for fitness classes, meditation, nutrition classes and other sessions when it comes to online learning and building a community. • When it's likely that people will feel safe in gyms from social distancing and fears of infection, and what operators can do in the meantime for their own benefit, their staff and their members. • Why we all need to build a film factory to use across the whole of social media in intelligent and engaging way. • What the seven words are that will bring you the biggest success when creating, planning, and implementing a content plan. • Why coronavirus and the pandemic has been the biggest teacher that your business is stronger as a team, even though it's important that individuals are also working in the foreground too. • How you can boost your confidence on video and get much better at public speaking, learning to use it as a performance and business tool even if you don't enjoy it. • The one strategy that you can use to get great on video, inspiring confidence and a willingness to grow in just one month. • Why understanding the freedom paradox will help you eliminate negativity and embrace discipline for progress in anything. • How discipline isn't about harsh rules and blunt decisions, it's more about subtraction of the temptations in your life that block productivity. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Craig Ballantyne…

How can your business get stronger after the coronavirus? This episode reveals how to embrace transparency and customer support, deal with coronavirus timeline predictions and prepare to come out stronger together post-pandemic, as a business and a community. With UFC GYM facilities around the world in countries affected by the coronavirus such as China, USA, the UK, president Adam Sedlack has followed the pandemic throughout its development. Hear about business leader decisions from the heart of UFC GYM, or how to weigh up variables and franchisee responsibilities to understand how you can change, pivot and adapt to any potential adversity as fitness facilities reopen. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/7duQLoi2wc8 Through loyalty and dedication, Adam Sedlack has risen up the ranks of the industry through mentorship opportunities under the likes of Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley to become a better version of himself within the fitness world. Not only did this give him the skills and understanding of what it takes to be successful and, more importantly, what members need, but it also forged the relationships that have led to his current achievement. Today, as president of UFC GYM, Adam helps people train different to discover the benefits of a mental and physical approach that surpasses anything else in the fight game. UFC GYM facilities are places where people can train like an athlete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Between those walls and in the Octagon, it's all about integrity, character, discipline and dedication. UFC GYM's signature model has a core of classes that make each location offering great, including boxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, conditioning, and daily ultimate training (DUT) to teach a safe way for members to become functionally fit. This approach with the right content and UFC DNA enables franchisees to better execute what UFC GYM is all about. On top of this, a boutique model within the gyms allow consistency in brand communication across the business, whether for employees or franchisees. Episode highlights - • Why empathy is going to be key in overcoming pandemic challenges, personal anxieties, and getting back to normal with working together for future growth. • How authenticity and sincerity for the consumer is the only way we can make progress professionally and personally during lockdown and obstacles around the world. • What the conflict and inconsistency of how we get back to normal around the world is the most frustrating thing for businesses in the coronavirus pandemic, even though the regulation and mandates were the right call to start with. • Why businesses that focus their message on using the coronavirus recovery specifically to boost sales often comes off as bad taste. • How people will react better the more transparent you are with your information and actions, even if it's a decision that brings them more of a challenge. • What different vehicles you can use to take a look at your cash flow as a franchisee and weigh up team options against unemployment benefits or business decisions. • What questions you should be asking to prepare yourself for the variables that are imminent after the coronavirus pandemic has passed. • Why you should trust your senior leaders around you in your team to do the right thing and emerge in a better position, even if this is a forced change to your business model. • How business models will have to alter and change, or how some businesses will be exposed during the global COVID-19 challenges and have to adapt to whatever comes next. • What's going to happen as we get back to normality in regards to sharing space, sweating and working out in close confines to each other. • The importance of emotional intelligence in truly serving the customer and your staff, and how this break period can let you plan on how to better service customers both in and out of gyms. • How online workouts are increasing the size of fitness communities around the world, building relationships that will hopefully continue on post-pandemic. • What you can do to enrich your life throughout lockdown with family, digital connections with friends, and making the most of this experience to take advantage of the opportunities that you don't normally get.

What's the difference between the coronavirus and other, widely-accepted opportunistic diseases? Paul Chek returns to the Escape Your Limits podcast with positivity to bring changes in improving health at a global level. Hear about what you can do to get the best sleep, nutrition, breathing patterns and mindset to overcome as many challenges and threats as possible, and why we should use technology to help each other. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/oZUE9UHIkPg Paul Chek is a world-renowned expert in the fields of corrective and high-performance exercise kinesiology, stress management and holistic wellness. For over 30 years, Paul's unique, integrated approach to treatment and education has changed the lives of many of his clients, his students and their clients. Paul is the founder of the CHECK Institute and the P~P~S Success Mastery Coaching Program. As well as being a prolific author of books, articles and blog posts, he is also the host of the Living 4D with Paul Chek podcast, a no-holds-barred exploration of what life is for and why we are all here. The CHEK (Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology) Institute, based in California, offers fitness and healthcare professionals a uniquely integrated and holistic approach to health, fitness and wellbeing. These methods are truly holistic, viewing the body as a system of systems – a fully integrated unit where physical, hormonal, mental, emotional and spiritual components must be considered. For more information visit chekinstitute.com and chekiva.com Episode highlights - What's unique about the coronavirus and how belief of threat drives further risk of your immune system not coping with some effects of infection. How stress reactions can lead to further ill health, weather it's coping mechanisms such as eating more, smoking, drinking or losing sleep. What environmental effects and introduction of chemicals or toxins cause immune systems to weaken when trying to defend people and animals from pathogens that were previously not a threat. How organic certification is often deceptive as the qualifications for many known brands is created in-house, using parent companies of the same bodies that undertake research and publish studies to further their own message. Why people choose unhealthy foods as a go-to for many lifestyle choices, but will often choose the healthier option if it's put in front of them. How can we prepare ourselves for what's going on with the coronavirus around the world, and what will inspire change at a global level. Why sleeping could be your best defence against the coronavirus or any other health worry. How most people are the active ingredient in their own injury when it comes to the basic needs of looking after their own human body. What elements are working against your health in governments around the world, as part of a corporate agenda in the bigger picture. Why it's important to understand and practice centering breaths, and how you may not have been breathing properly for years. How hard you should be training and why, if you're not looking after yourself or you're overtraining, you could be more susceptible to illness. What workouts and Chinese medicine insights you can be using for the best health if isolated at home. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Paul Chek…

A message of positivity and constructive advice from the creator of the Tae Bo workout, this is one of the most important episodes of the Escape Your Limits podcast for helping people during this time. Billy Blanks has the faith to overcome a global challenge. His experience has given him the power of motivating through fitness as a one-on-one session, group exercise class or home workout, as well as educating others on how to communicate through a camera. Through perseverance, positivity and dedication to a higher power, he's been blessed with the ability to overcome obstacles, master martial arts, and even his first videos sold over 115 million copies. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Watch the full episode on YouTube Billy Blanks has grew up with 15 brothers and sisters. He was a shy kid with dyslexia and unable to play sports. Billy was put into special education and ended up joining a gang as a young child in the days of fist fights, before guns and knives. Against social pressures of his peers, 11-year-old Billy started karate and discovered a new passion for martial arts and movement. By 13 he had his black belt. Before his 18th birthday he'd made the United States karate team, travelling around the world where he won 36 international gold medals. He'd found his route to success and new that if he put his mind behind his body, he could help a lot of people. He combined karate, boxing, and calisthenics into a workout for a revolutionary new movement that smashed gender stereotypes and taught people to control their body with their mind. The first Tae Bo workout sold four million copies in the first week, and went on to sell 115 million. Tae Bo is one of the original full body workouts. For more than 20 years it has been helping people discover the power within themselves to achieve anything they set their mind to. If you've got the will, Tae Bo Fitness is the way! For more information visit www.taebo.com Episode highlights - How not to let doubt come into your life, and why these negative emotions will only lead to further negative outcomes. If fear and doubt take up room in your thoughts and in your heart, there's less room for love. Why faith has fuelled Billy's success and driven him to continuously grow, both personally and professionally. How it's so much more important for operators and personal trainers to talk to their clients before and after a workout. From a business perspective, training is much more about the communication than the physical activity. Why "the enemy" comes in thoughts, ideas and perceptions of your mind. You have to change that. You must look and act like your positive mind and will, not your body or fear. How discipline and focus is a driver for true development, operating from the inside out instead of concentrating on physicality. How Billy went on to use his experiences in martial arts, boxing and ballet to show people how to take your mind and will to control your body. Ways of developing a programme with movement to music from scratch for cardio and mindset benefit, and how to scale it. The importance of being in the right place at the right time, and staying disciplined to take advantage of any opportunity. Why faith is suggestive and can't make you do anything, but your mindset is key to changing whatever you want to change in your life. How it's so important to be able to communicate through a camera, and show your passion to inspire motivation. Why the word "if" is the difference-maker that many people ignore. If you're disciplined, motivated and focussed, your life will change for the better. But only if you make the change. How to stay strong during the coronavirus and stay focussed to overcome any obstacle. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Billy Blanks…

This is a special episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast in response to the impact that the coronavirus is having on the fitness industry. Both consumer and commercial audiences are searching out gym advice during closures from COVID-19. We hear important advice from Al Noshirvani, founder of Motionsoft, about remodeling your business, ensuring member retention wherever possible, staff and pay issues, and how we can come through these pandemic challenges together. Watch and listen for how to cope with everything during these challenging times, including staff, billing, cash flow, members, marketing and administration. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Watch the full episode on YouTube Al Noshirvani founded Motionsoft – a membership management software and billing company – in 2004. In addition to being a fitness industry software specialist, he's also a gym owner. Al heads up three health and fitness clubs in the Washington DC Metropolitan area in the high-value low-price space. All of this means that he's primed to offer the best advice for other gym operators, senior leadership teams and directors in fitness facilities so that we, as an industry, can continue to be the voice of wellness for members, even when the doors to the gym are shut. Motionsoft is a leading provider of software and financial services for the health, fitness and wellness industry. Motionsoft's award winning club management software and membership management solutions have helped organizations like Equinox Fitness, CRUNCH, The Bay Club Co, US Fitness, the Steve Nash Clubs and thousands of other gyms and fitness facilities around the world. Since its inception Al has completed five acquisitions and grown Motionsoft to become one of the largest software and full service transaction and accounts receivable software companies in the fitness industry. Episode highlights - How the coronavirus effect within fitness started out as a pause in business of about two weeks, but has quickly escalated to at least two to three months or longer. What the challenge is of open-ended closure calls from governments around the world, and how it's hard to plan without a timeline. Why, despite challenges and difficulties, your members will appreciate every bit of help that you can offer during this worldwide threat. What are the practical things to think about immediately to ride out the coronavirus pandemic as effectively as possible? Why your decision whether to bill members or not over the closure period will make a huge difference to other decisions come the time to open. Why it's vital that you speak to your technology partners to see what business effects can be improved and how these will benefit members regardless of when your gym is opening again. What government benefits are on the way to help the fitness industry and how it may be information overload, but there's a lot to consider to get us through this. How there are plenty of things you may not have thought about in terms of knock-on effects, what these are, and what you can do about them to survive this period. Why administration excellence is key during the coronavirus closures. What the difference is between short-term challenges and encouraging member loyalty, compared with long-term disruption from COVID-19 and the unavoidable effect on cash flow. How your marketing, messaging and social activity will be the difference between staying strong during closures and being forgotten about as member behaviours change. What your staffing decisions will mean for your future, and why you need to be careful about the wording or organisation of redundancies, lay offs and furlows. What support there is to business in the fitness industry and why you should look out for initiatives such as relief funding, small business loans or deferral opportunities around the world. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Al Noshirvani…

As CEO of Gymbox, Marc Diaper knows what it takes to keep evolving and staying ahead of the curve in fitness, whether that's through stats breakdown, sticking to brand values or simply staying patient. A series of boutiques under one roof, Gymbox plays host to everything from DJs and music created specifically for the brand, or partnerships and tie-ins with icons such as Gymshark or Brazilian jiu-jitsu originating from the Gracie family direct. It's the fitness space that's a fully inclusive experience for workouts where anything goes. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Watch the full episode on YouTube Marc Diaper believes in being the hardest worker in the room. He works hard because he's always hungry for further success. On top of this, his mindset benefits the mindset of his staff because he still knows how to stay humble. Marc's first job was in a sports shop. His meticulous detail was drilled into him by his boss and accidental mentor. Following a stint at Southampton Football Club, a sports degree at university and a year of travel, Marc came back and gained his qualifications in nutrition and sports therapy. He started in the fitness industry as a fitness instructor and personal trainer for LA Fitness. Through hard work and the right attitude, he was on path to success faster than anyone else. In 2009 he started his own consultancy business, before continuing trend for success when he joined Gymbox as sales director. Six years later he'd risen the ranks through managing director to CEO, where he's inspiring others in Gymbox, a business that motivates a membership, stimulates a city and inspires an industry. Gymbox is for the ravers, the first timers, the masochists, the street dancers, the gurus, the people who aren't satisfied with easy; where enough is never enough. Gymbox is not purely a gym. It's the experience that you will want to re-live no matter where, no matter when! Everything Gymbox does, from the designs of gym interiors, to the people hired, and the classes, has to inspire and excite, energise and ignite. Gymbox believes in creating workouts that get raved about and venues that get talked about, so forever and always, anything goes. Episode highlights - How important disruption is in creating a brand and ensuring you stay in the forefront of people's minds, especially at the start of a business. Why the whole team, and often customers, can influence your marketing activity and how collaboration is key to progressing in a way that makes sense for every interest. What the demographic difference is to your venture and how that will change depending on the life choices of your customers, especially in boutique markets targeted towards younger generations. How your programming will benefit from regular investment to stay ahead of the curve and give your members the best experiences, from holistic to sadistic. Why all clubs and locations under one brand should be as good as each other, giving any member the same level of quality no matter where they visit. How to grow and build your talent in-house, and protect yourself from competitors that might pay more. How you can maintain your position in the market financially as a mid-premium product when most other alternatives have been wiped out by low-cost operators. Why it's important to develop and evolve your environment between space for product and room for dwell time or letting members relax. How brand partnerships benefit both parties and are often more useful to generate awareness rather than leads, but why they're so important in the right circumstances. What benefit defining brand values will bring to your staff and your business direction. You need to live and breathe them. What the values are behind Gymbox – such as "don't be a dick" – and how these values drive the brand, the staff, performance and progress. What's next for the future of Gymbox? Find out how the brand is looking to evolve and come into your home, so long as it's a fully immersive experience. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Marc Diaper…

Pete Holman is an inventor and entrepreneur, and the brains behind the Nautilus Glute Drive and the TRX Rip Trainer. But this episode is more than just about innovation. Pete gives us a deep dive into the spiritual, mental and physical influences that benefit short and long term strategies in business to set your intention while still keeping your health and relationships in check. Through Pete's experience, discover the links between physical goals and business execution, and how mindset is key in both creating innovative products and scaling to a multi-million dollar venture. Watch the full episode on YouTube Pete Holman was originally planning to follow in his parents' footsteps as a psychologist until he was put off by the intensity of what negative behaviour humans are capable of. Instead, he decided to go down the path of physical therapy. Developing a love affair with movement, motivation and mindset, he found his skillset suited to martial arts, quickly becoming US National Taekwondo Champion in addition to studying and training. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a Master's of Science degree in Physical Therapy in 1997 and went on to work at the renowned Aspen Sports Medicine clinic prior to opening up his own private practice in 2001. His client list has included Fortune 500 business owners from Jones Apparel, Progressive Insurance and Fiji water, as well as Hollywood stars including Ed Bradley and Kevin Costner. Today Pete is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, international presenter, author and fitness product inventor living in Aspen Colorado. Pete Holman is available for speaking engagements and training sessions for instructors, coaches, athletes and staff. He specialises in rehabilitative medicine, core performance and foundational movement assessment. Confidence and cutting edge concepts are born from 30 years of hard earned experience and training. For more information visit https://www.ph1performance.com/ Episode highlights - How keeping life varied is both liberating and stressful in its openness of opportunity and many paths to follow. Why having a side-project, whether part of the passion or completely separate, can be incredibly useful to your progression in your original career. The importance of processes, whether in sports, business, relationships or hobbies, and how following them will ensure progress on the road to success. How education in any form is paramount to success, but it doesn't necessarily have to involve traditional routes of learning. Why you can't force acceleration and how you have to allow time for education and understanding to take place and implement itself correctly. How inventing a sustainable and effective product often comes from trying to solve a problem, and looking to resolve that issue as efficiently as possible. What challenges come with inventing a new product as an entrepreneur and forging a new relationship with a larger business when it comes to selling the product, rights, and working together for future success. How to handle the financial burn rate when launching new products and coping with every business essential. Why sometimes you have to ignore your ego and back out of a venture if there are parameters that you can't fulfill. Through failure is how we grow. How your work ethic is imperative to your success, but why you also need to take time for yourself in order to preserve both your physical and mental health. What you can do to link mindset between body and business, for progressing both to the success levels that you intend to hit. Why planning your time out with achievable and audacious goals will ensure that your attention is focused, while allowing you to tick off achievements. A timeline on projects mean that hard work and planning goes from arduous task to almost like ticking items off a shopping/grocery list. How training to compete often ends in injury, even with professional sports such as the NFL. What's going to happen when the pendulum swings back away from technology, in favour more of community and experiential workout facilities that take you away from distractions at home. What the challenges are of complicated digital products when it comes to educating trainers around the country or internationally, and how you can talk to both newbie and experienced fitpros with the same message. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Pete Holman…

OK Boomer… Time to get fit! The Baby Boomers, ageing fitness, over 55s, the grey pound… Call it what you like, there's a sector of the fitness industry full of people that are underappreciated and underserviced. In this special episode of the Escape Your Limits, live from ukactive's Sweat 2020, we explore how to grow the industry, grow our engagement and grow old healthily. With so many opportunities within fitness – what are we missing? How can we provide the best fitness experience for us all as we age? Join Joan Murphy of FRAME and Kenny Butler of ukactive in conversation with Matthew Januszek to find out. For more information visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Watch the full episode on YouTube Joan Murphy is co-founder and CEO of FRAME. Energetic and enthusiastic about all things fitness, she has previously represented her home country of New Zealand in sports such as pole vault and track cycling. Today she's using a finance and marketing background to understand juggling a business, motivating both staff and class attendees, along with being a mum of two. Kenny Butler is head of health and wellbeing development at ukactive. From a physiotherapist background, he's improved the wellbeing of individuals, and today is working to better the health of the national by getting more people, more active, more often. FRAME is a studio in London offering fitness, Pilates, yoga, barre and dance classes, plus personal training. In true boutique style, there's also an activewear shop full of the best from the big brands alongside niche finds, and a cafe where you can order smoothies, juices and healthy food to eat in or take away. You'll find FRAME in King's Cross, Shoreditch, Victoria, Hammersmith, Fitzrovia and Farringdon. The team at ukactive strives to get more people, more active, more often. Its a long-standing vision to improve the health of the nation through promoting active lifestyles. Working between the fitness industry and government, ukactive provide a supportive, professional and innovative platform for its partners to help the fitness sector thrive. Episode highlights - How the marketing needs to change within the fitness industry to accommodate a huge section of the market with the largest percentage of spend – the over 55s. Why it's more important to focus on independence and mobility than exercise and sport when it comes to customers, members and clients in the ageing fitness sector. What's changed with perceptions of age, and how the age of 60 is very different now to what it was two decades ago. How boutiques have made fitness accessible for people that didn't want to do PE, but why we need the same generational shift for older members who want to stay active without necessarily taking on a HIIT class. The pressure that social media puts on both businesses to appeal to their target demographic, but also to anyone else who wants to work out while potentially not falling into that perceived market. How programming is going to be key for ensuring that workouts are at the right level for the audience – especially with ageing members. What issues there are with the career progression of personal trainers, and how we need more older personal trainers to appeal to the baby boomer market. What the global challenge is for healthy ageing as a result of people being inactive. How the effect of long-term conditions can be alleviated by fitness at an older age, taking a lot of pressure off institutions such as the NHS. Why ageing and loss of fitness is often confused, and how being physically, mentally and emotionally active often helps the ageing process. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Joan Murphy and Kenny Butler

Sarah Anne Stewart has started a movement of meditation and mindfulness. Empowering clients with the responsibility to change their behaviour, Sarah is holistically bringing self-love, self-worth, and self-confidence to a whole community. Overcoming everything from eating disorders and body shaming to breast implant illness and mental health concerns, this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a lesson in being honest with yourself and open with audiences to share experience for the biggest benefits around the world. Watch the full episode on YouTube Sarah Anne Stewart grew up in a very holistic environment from a young age, long before it was adopted en masse. Despite being around positive affirmations every day and knowing how to eat healthily, a budding modeling career resulted in Sarah developing a series of eating disorders that lasted 10 years that drastically affected her life. During her childhood, Sarah's father had overcome cancer, in part through adopting a vegan lifestyle. She took inspiration from these memories and experiences to leave the modeling industry and study nutrition. However, the societal and cultural conditioning patterns still remained, causing anxiety and stress. Sarah embraced meditation to learn more about herself and how to overcome her wellbeing conditions through mindfulness. Whether you or your clients and members are searching to end a battle with endless dieting, silence the body shaming, release food anxiety, or to have the body confidence to step into the dream life – Sarah Anne Stewart has been there. She is living proof that things can change for anyone, for the better, and quickly! Sarah is building a community and a movement based on self-love, self-worth, self-confidence and understanding behaviour and triggers to empower anyone for longevity and mental wellbeing. For more information visit https://sarahannestewart.com/ Episode highlights How meditation and not being afraid of your own thoughts will help you heal and better understand yourself. Why many people suffer from issues surrounding self-validation and the need for other people to like you. Ask yourself why you're holding your own image and abilities in relation to the way that you appear to others. Why we often go into careers that are driven by wounding patterns from our childhood. What's going to make the difference when it comes to improving your own or clients' self-love, self-worth, self-confidence. How you can better understand what's going on in your client's mind, and why it's so important to really think about who you want to serve and then genuinely serving them. Why you may never be ready, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't start your journey in whatever sector or lifestyle you're in. Don't let imposter syndrome stop you from discovering your own story and improving what you do, while you're doing it. How to undertake your own research and why it's so important to understanding who you're talking to with any business or movement venture for sustainable change. Why marketing is short term – shifts in trends and visual approaches will go away, whereas mindset and looking after yourself will change cultures and attitudes portrayed in the media for the long term. What you can do to change behaviour and understand why there's nobody else who can help you make a change as effectively as yourself. How you can look at your social circle to see what's influencing the relationships and whether you're in a place that truly holds integrity with yourself and how you want to live. Why it's important to listen to your body and its internal wisdom. This is more than just about muscle aches, but also anxiety and understanding how any emotion is your body telling you, more often than not, to rest or to take a step back for better perspective. How 'closing is caring' if you're genuinely passionate and believe that what you're selling would help someone. Ways that you can service the dreams, desires, fears and frustrations of clients in order to solve their problem and get rid of their struggles. How your past has value and acts as your stories to benefit yourself and others. However, you have to make sure you share those stories at the right time so that you don't trigger yourself back into the problem. Why being in the room with people you see as so much more developed in their career will bring you inspiration to succeed even more, and saying yes is the only way to pushing yourself into self-worth and self-esteem throughout your life. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Sarah Anne Stewart…

Ultimate Performance by name and nature, in this episode Nick Mitchell explains how his business is leading the field in not just traditional personal training, but app development, nutrition tracking, team management and growth plans that benefit clients by raising the standard of trainers in fitness. With worldwide coverage, Ultimate Performance is pioneering personal training based on results, operating in Australia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Mumbai, UAE, Spain, The Netherlands, US and the UK. In this episode Nick directs his straight-talking attitude to tackle some huge industry issues that many operators and thought leaders won't acknowledge. Watch the full episode on YouTube. Nick Mitchell has had a passion for good physique from a young age. The catalyst forming his opinion of what a man should look like was Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover of a Dungeons and Dragons publication – a gift from his dad. It may come as no surprise that Nick's been a bodybuilder, competing in the '90s. However, he also trained as a lawyer/barrister before pivoting into investment banking. Furthering his former career, he started his own business in headhunting for the financial service sector. Nick sold the company as his heart wasn't in it, and left his career to found Ultimate Performance in 2009. Since then he's been continually building the business, where personal trainers can hone their craft. He's created an environment of positive accountability that delivers results through marketing with authenticity and employing the best of the best. Episode highlights - How Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired Nick's career of not only personal achievement but professional success around the world in fitness. What fuelled the progress of Ultimate Performance as a future dream from an early age, and how you can avoid compromising with yourself in order to follow your vision. How the fitness industry in Los Angeles is a more mature industry than anywhere else in the world, with different protagonists and motivation. Why you might question everything you're doing if you're not following your authentic passion in any career or venture. How social media is fooling so many people in trying to live another man's dream instead of having an honest conversation with themselves about what they really want. How your mindset will change as your entrepreneurial career develops, leading to you moving the goalposts for further growth. Why personal training is such a tough job to do properly, from the fickle nature of career development to how much attention a PT has to pay to every single client at any given moment. How to avoid the stereotype pitfalls of the end of a PT career by finding an environment where you can grow. Why the best employees need opportunities for managing, mentoring, writing, education, presenting, commercial activity and other outcome potential through an evolved business around the world if they want it. How it is critical to success to bring people through the ranks instead of hiring externally and getting new people into the business. What the benefits of technology are when it comes to running a business from anywhere in the world. How the personalities, approaches and mentalities of personal training teams not only differ around the world, but also around specific countries in different cities. Which emerging markets are going to see the biggest growth for world-class personal trainers, and what attributes are going to lead to this success? What studies the Ultimate Performance team are undertaking to change the industry for the better, from working with research fellows to using the company's own big data for exhaustive results and new insights. Why if you want to be a vegan then you have to supplement, and how this diet or lifestyle choice affects your body compared to other nutritional decisions. What can be done through sharing research, knowledge and big data to help national obesity epidemics and work done through institutions such as the NHS. Why there's a subtle difference between fat shaming and not celebrating obesity, and how the biggest results from personal training follow a client's wake up call. How the only person that can hold you down is yourself, and why you're the source of your own success through hard work and self-belief. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Nick Mitchell of Ultimate Performance…

This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is a branding and marketing special, with Amanda McVey of Upgrade Labs in partnership with ukactive and Sweat 2020. Sweat 2020 will reveal business tips and success stories – equally as applicable for start-ups and established brands alike – from entrepreneurs pioneering fitness in urban spaces around the world. Please join us on the 20th February at 85 Brick Lane, London E1 6QR to discover emerging opportunities in the ever-changing and challenging landscape of boutique fitness. For a special member rate on tickets, visit https://www2.ukactive.com/escape-fitness-sweat-2020 What is Sweat 2020? Sweat is an event held in London on the 20th of February attended by hundreds of influential entrepreneurs and operators from the health and fitness sector. If you've never been before then it's a great networking opportunity to discover new ideas and insights from thought leaders initiating the latest fitness trends, business strategies and success stories. This year, the agenda will be centered around: Reinventing space and the importance of programming Reinvestment, sustainability and growth How to ensure tech can give operators the maximum return PLUS a special panel discussion on the baby boomer market hosted by Matthew Januszek and a select panel of guests, which will be recorded live and released as an episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast at a later date Take advantage of our specially negotiated member rate on tickets at https://www2.ukactive.com/escape-fitness-sweat-2020 Highlights Why it's important to target individuals on the leading edge in order to forge your own entrepreneurial path in any fitness sector. Seek to be above average and believe there's another way towards health than tradition. How your marketing message needs to change in order to suit an ageing demographic and appeal to a huge sector of the health and wellbeing What you can do to motivate clients and consumers to take action from your marketing, and how stories can inspire lifestyle change in anyone. Why the baby boomer market needs to be all about efficiency. They understand the benefits of fitness and recovery to longevity, but are busy with family, careers, and other responsibilities that take up time. How you can design programming to give members and clients transformative results through clever use of time that makes any time spent on looking after yourself more effective. What you can do to listen to customers and base marketing messages on exactly what you hear from who's walking through your door. Why consumer behaviour around purchasing can be more surprising than what you expect when you start out on your business journey. What tech platforms and outlets work for the ageing population interested in fitness, or the time-poor baby boomers that may not traditionally adopt social media and digital opportunities. How campaigns and PR work compare with organic growth in different sectors, and which you should concentrate on for brand awareness or conversions.

Sharran Srivatsaa has gone from fighting with a raccoon in a dumpster for food, to scaling a real estate business for 10x success and billions of dollars. This is the ultimate story of struggling against all odds and overcoming a lot of obstacles. Within this Escape Your Limits interview we break down some of the key business strategies, skills and habits that Sharran's used in several of his companies. They're just as relevant to large-scale businesses and start-ups alike, from following a process and goal setting to advice on how to find a mentor and what the best routes to success are for your skills. Watch the full episode on YouTube Sharran Srivatsaa arrived in the USA from India with just $100 in his pocket. After a hard struggle, he forged an impressive entrepreneurial career starting several businesses, advising and building multiple companies. Even more importantly, Sharran has grown one company from $300 million to over $3 billion in revenue in fewer than five years. Sharran Srivatsaa is the CEO of Kingston Lane, a push-button technology execution platform for real estate. Sharran is a serial entrepreneur, sought after keynote speaker, and a respected thought-leadership resource for publications such as the Wall Street Journal, SUCCESS magazine, Huffington Post and Forbes. One of the central components of the 'Kingston Lane Machine' is lifetime nurture for leads because this allows a consistent cadence of value added communication across channels that warms clients up and, as a result, makes future interactions more joyful and stress-free. Imagine your leads being nurtured for life… and you only talk to them when they are ready and you literally have to do nothing and let the machine handle the cadence of communication. Episode highlights - Why many think that scaling any venture is set-up by design, but is often a necessity to discover the best direction for business development. How raising standards can be applicable to anyone in any life set-up, even just from starting your day earlier to raise efficiency. Deciding on your minimum standard and sticking to it is the only option to finding a way to succeed. How you can short circuit the business belief system using a why, how, what framework. What Sharran Srivatsaa's formula is to 10X a business and why doing fewer things will lead to doing great things. It's all about the singularity of focus. How to back yourself for a big reward if you're at the point of putting everything on the line with any company. Why building your sales team is going to be the primary driver in building your business and improving growth rates. Why holding employees accountable will drive each one's singularity of focus. For example reporting daily on how many appointments you had and how many you have booked. How can you combat a creative approach if you're not an operator-type entrepreneur, in order to put processes in place for definite growth delivery? Why you need some level of support system in place to put employees in their right position. This will prevent frustration and ensure better productivity through enjoyment of work and fulfillment. How tennis got Sharran out of India and started him on an education journey that started with him having no money, fighting a raccoon for food in a dumpster, to incredible wealth and opportunity, without even being a money motivated person. How to overcome missed opportunities, failure and mistakes through learning as you progress and surrounding yourself with great advisors. Find or build your support system, whether it's a mentorship, being mentored, or working within a mastermind group. Why you can break any business down into three pieces: traffic, systems and skills, and what these mean to your success. Why understanding your cost per lead is the most important to converting opportunity into revenue, and what "break even cost per lead" will do to improving your growth mindset. How many clients does it take you to get one sale? Then, work out how much you can spend on average to generate leads. Why daily calls may be the answer to progress in your business, as long as you respect the time restraints of when a meeting is booked. What goal setting will do for your life, and how it's all about being precise and targeted on what you can achieve. Your goals have to change you. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Sharran Srivatsaa

This episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast is an inspirational story for athletes, entrepreneurs and the public alike. With a never-say-quit attitude, Amanda McVey, VP of Upgrade Labs, is revealing the secrets of longevity and wellbeing through application of technology and pioneering research. Part of the Bulletproof family, Upgrade Labs at the Beverly Hilton is where you'll discover the world's first human upgrade centre, from the birthplace of biohacking and Bulletproof Coffee. Watch the full episode on YouTube. Amanda McVey used to work on Wall Street; she's always had a start-up mentality and spent a lot of time in the finance space. In addition to her professional life, she was working out a lot of evenings and weekends but was also a dancer. Movement has always been part of her life. She had everything you're 'supposed' to want – great job, great location, big salary – but wasn't happy. Following an a-ha moment, she pivoted her career and moved to Equinox on minimum wage. She'd realised that happiness isn't about chasing pay checks. Following long-term experience as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor with Crunch and Equinox, Amanda got into boutique fitness and developed her career to the point of helping build facilities herself. She oversaw the global master trainer team at POUND Rockout Workout – the world's only cardio jam session inspired by drumming. Travelling around expos, Amanda soon realised how much technology was going to influence the future of fitness before discovering Dave Asprey and finding a new hunger for further career progression. Amanda McVey has always been somebody who follows her gut and isn't afraid to make her own template for her future success, through a fearless application of passion and a need for moving forward. Upgrade Labs is the brainchild of Bulletproof Founder and "father of biohacking", Dave Asprey. With more than 15 different technologies in two signature locations dedicated to improving mental and physical performance and recovery, Upgrade Labs is the first to offer state-of-the-art biohacking equipment to the public. Facilities include an atmospheric cell trainer, full-body detox massage and lymphatic drainage tech, adaptive resistance machines, cryotherapy, brain training, light therapy techniques and more innovative wellbeing treatments. Episode highlights - How the general public now has access to the technology that was previously only available to the 1% for improvements in health and wellbeing. Why high-tech 'earthing' through pulsed electro magnetic field therapy will give you more energy, remove inflammation and make you feel recovered with every use. How you can supercharge your mitochondria through red light therapy for increased energy and youth restoration. Why you may not even like treatments like cryotherapy, but including them in your routine will bring big benefits for your body. Where biohacking came from, and how it helped Davey Asprey on his own journey before realising he could use a computer hacking approach for his own health benefits, and to pioneer a new sector. Hear the origin story of Bulletproof Coffee. How to remove 'brain fog' that comes through poor nutrition and other fatiguing influences. Why starting out with an unconventional business model disrupted a market before it had even been fully established, and how the biggest opportunities arise from passion and understanding of potential. What is biohacking and how it's a challenge to find specifics that make you better. Why your cells may be incredibly complex, but they're also very simple when it comes to basic needs of water, oxygen, light and other elements that allow them to thrive. How Upgrade Labs is split into three groups… The future of fitness, with facilities billed as a workout in 60 minutes that can replace a week's worth of exercise, recovery and beauty, or self-health, brain and cognition therapies. What further progressions can be implemented to pull in data through technologies and use machine learning to offer huge benefits for members with both workout and recovery facilities. How a cold HIIT workout combined with compression will send a signal to your brain through lactic acid build up that initiates the release of multiple hormones to benefit your body. What the challengers are with building a brand that leads the market, and how you need to be educators instead of piggybacking on other trends. How the role of a trainer is going to shift in the future with the onset of recovery technology and new innovative approaches to fitness. What goes on at the Upgrade XP conference and how experts on human biohacking, behaviour and brain activity from around the world come to and educate and learn together. Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Amanda McVey…

The third and final part of our CES special from Las Vegas sees Matthew Januszek speaking to three icons bridging the gap between contemporary fitness and the technology of the future. Hear how thought leader Emma Barry, Emmett Williams of Myzone, and David Shaw of Growth Fitness Design see the years to come. Discover what you'll be seeing more of, such as clothing sensors and even Bluetooth digestibles that you swallow for recording bodily metrics. And how will the industry use all this big data collected? We have the key info to lead a happier and healthier life but we don't know how to implement the knowledge – that's the difference. Watch the full episode on YouTube. Emma Barry is a global fitness authority that consults to the fastest-growing segments in the sector: boutique studios, budget clubs, digital workouts and fit-tech start-ups. A founding member of group fitness programming juggernaut Les Mills International, former Director of Programming for Equinox, Emma has held senior roles in group fitness programming, product development, global training, people and culture. Emmett Williams is group president and a founding partner in the global wearable technology brand Myzone – a hardware, cloud-ware, and software mix that drives exercise adherence for the end user, and customer engagement metrics for the network partner. David Shaw has been involved with tech for years, through a military background having worked on infrared, night vision, thermal imagers, computer and laser systems. Today, he's CXO of Growth Fitness Marketing & Design, a boutique firm specialising in creating the next generation hospitality, multi housing, and corporate fitness center guest workout experience. Episode highlights - How everyone gathering so much data is a huge trend, but there are still many key players and consumers alike that don't really know what to do with it once they have it. Why you need to acknowledge that you're going to lose audience attention once they leave your facility if you don't have a digital offering, but the gamble is in not setting budget to keep their attention may mean you lose them forever in the long term. Why behavioural change is so important and how fitness not only has a big share of global wallet for the industry, but how all what so many companies are doing is still not shifting the needle on true health. How technology has changed over the years and how companies are applying it to benefit commercial fitness spaces or the service that operators can offer. The fitness giants that have lead the technological trend at CES, why they're no longer attending and who has taken their place. Why the sleep and recovery trends are on the rise through wearables and measurement of numerous different metrics. How proper sleep hygiene not only recovers the brain and the body depending on the type of rest, but has been found to be causal to lower health risks such as dementia and Alzheimer's. What the developments are going to be between traditional fitness and the tech industry, and which sector will be influencing the other in the years to come when it comes to commercial and consumer fitness. How companies and club operators need to follow up their data initiatives of benefiting the consumer/customer, by implementing a regression analysis with other data to correlate information and then predict future behaviour. How wearables and sensors have become smaller, more integrated in clothing, needing less power but still detecting more. Why CES may not be the first thought for gym owners and operators when it comes to show attendance, but how it leads innovation and unveils niches that will trickle down into any aspect of the industry in the years to come. How VR and AR is going to influence the fitness industry, and how the tech even affects perceived exertion during a workout. Why tech companies are concentrating more on the consumer rather than appealing to the trade.

Part two of our CES special from Las Vegas sees Matthew Januszek speaking to some of the most innovative and exciting exhibitors that are leading change in the fitness tech space. The entrepreneurs in this episode explain all about the pioneering technology that's helping with measuring fat, monitoring bodily metrics, embracing sexual wellbeing, improving mindfulness, embracing mindfulness and bringing effective strength training to your home. Watch the full episode on YouTube Crowdfunded through Indeigogo, Bello is a device for measuring belly fat to find out what's inside our bodies using light variations. The scanner sends data to an app displaying your fat percentage and the amount of subcutaneous fat compared with visceral fat. From this data, the app will also give you recommendations on what kind of exercise to undertake and what kind of foods to eat. The HEALBE GoBe2 smart band is the first consumer tech product to track calorie intake without any manual log in, using impedance sensors to monitor diet at a cellular level. It uses four sensors measuring calorie intake and hydration, heart rate, emotional tension and stress level, and movement or activity. Algorithms collate everything into useful information for the user and big data for the company Ti Chang, co-founder of Crave, is an industrial designer currently working on sex toys and products for women for pleasure; it's the company's first year at CES following relaxed event legislation coming into effect. Her products not only have a practical application, but convey an element of luxury and act as conversation pieces that are vital to removing stigma, getting people talking about what had previously been seen as taboo. You'd never think that killing jellyfish could help improve your sleep, but Guirec Le Lous, founder of Urgonight, says this is the key to concentrating the mind through tech. His headset and app encourages daytime brain training with a feedback device to help you gain better sleep at night through neuro feedback. Find your way to a meditative state that brings better sleep – everyone has a different approach and technique to training their brain. Core is a mental wellness and a fitness-inspired approach to breath training and meditation. CEO, Sarah McDevitt, embraces bio feedback and trackable stats from a physical product and app combination that syncs audio, vibration and instruction to improve concentration and mindfulness. Billed as "The world's most intelligent gym and personal trainer," Tonal is revolutionising the way people work out, combining electricity and magnets to bring all the benefits of serious strength training into the home. Ashley Hennings, director of PR, talks to Matthew about how AI is bringing personalised pacing and weights to workouts, taking the guesswork and intimidation out of lifting. Tonal monitors multiple metrics as its algorithm learns your specific progression journey. Episode highlights - Why most smart scales use bio impedance analysis (BIA) technology and how your levels of hydration will greatly change your results, rather than using light to identify fat stores. How being able to track abdominal fat in particular can better combat chronic diseases and inflammation, and why this type of fat is a better indicator of health and wellbeing than fat anywhere else on the body. How your diet and macros change your blood, and how tech can detect this sending over 100 signals per second to register differences in blood sugar and glucose with up to 90% accuracy. What effect smart technology's integration with bigger partners such as Apple Health and Google Fit will have on your own analysis and understanding of your body and exercise habits. How to promote products in an incredibly stigmatised market without falling foul of the expected stereotypes. The journey that CES has been on as a consumer exhibition and why this is the first year that elements of sex tech for women have been allowed on the show floor. Why shame and stigma have no place in the world of pleasure. Conversely, why pleasure is not a luxury. It should be a human necessity like eating and sleeping. How to use meditation for recovery. We're living in a state of elevated sympathetic nervous system. Creating an environment of parasympathetic nervous system through tech can lead to improved tissue repair, digestion and other 'rest and digest' states of wellbeing. Why we all need to realise how connected mental and physical wellness are, and how you can improve memory, decision-making, empathy and self-awareness for big business leader benefits. Why meditation is a very simple concept that's still incredibly challenging. How mental wellness is a journey for everyone, and not just about struggles and illnesses. How AI and machine learning can have a long-term benefit of influencing 'real' studies, and why this will change the game of how we source information about ways that people really work out. Why it's not the tech itself that is for