I've been really thinking about my business model lately, especially after my good friend Craig Ballantyne interviewed me for his OSP Newletter recently.
Craig asked me why I've chosen to work on several genre of products rather than just staying with one in particular like he's done with his Turbulence Training up til recently.
In the interview I replied that I enjoy working on many, many things and that I tend to follow my passions when I create products.
This is 100% true, of course, but, well, there's a bit more I didn't mention (Hey Craig, I wasn't holding out, I just kind of forgot buddy!)
One of the reasons I work in numerous genre is that my mentors Bob Proctor and Joe Vitale (You'll know them both from The Secret) told me that the truly wealthy never kept all their eggs in one basket. They operate what Bob calls MSI strategies or Multiple Sources Of Income.
Bob once told me that he owned between 5 and 10% of over 1000 companies meaning that if one company goes bust or a competitor steals all their business, he's never going to be in a position where he's badly effected by the loss. After all, in his case this will be .1%, right?
So last night I got to thinking about this again and I did a little math on what I've got going on right now and, seriously, I was shocked!
I've over 30 sources of income.
No, they're not all bringing me in thousands of dollars a week or even a month.
Many are only bringing in $50 a month.
Hardly seems worth it right?
Well, you could think that way and blow it off as 'just $50' or you could look at it another way.
I do NOTHING for that $50.
I send out no emails, don't send traffic to it, don't pay for google adwords but nonetheless, every month I get $50 or more in my bank account.
And I'm getting $50 or more from 12 sources. All 100% passive.
That's $600 a month.
$7200 a year.
I know, it'll hardly buy me the mansion, the yacht and the helicopter I have my eye on but nonetheless, it's $7200 a year sitting on the table and up for grabs, so I might as well grab it right?
But if I can grab 12 sources for free couldn't I grab 120? Or 1200? Or More?
Sure I can.
In fact, that's just what I'm going to do! By the end of 2008 I'm going to have 100 or more $50 plus sources of passive income netting me $60,000 a year for nothing (once I set them up).
100 sources of income sounds like a lot of work doesn't it? But did you know that many of the things you ALREADY DO online could be making you money while you sleep?
As in, you don't have to do anything EXTRA to monetize the work that you're doing for free right now.
Take http://www.metacafe.com/ for example.
Did you know that if you were to load your youtube videos here and place it into their Producer Rewards program that you could be earning cash from them instead of just putting them out for free?
Granted, it's not a lot of money (they pay $100 for 20,000 views and $1000 for 200,000) but that's not the point. The point is that there's money on the table if you look for it. And it doesn't require any more work on your behalf.
Right now, the leading producer has earned over $108,000 this year from people viewing his stuff.
Not bad huh?
And you can monetize the same video over and over again with other pay per view video sites like http://www.break.com/who'll pay you cash if your video gets played enough.
And here's a bonus to doing this even if you don't make as much money as you'd like...
Instead of your video living solely on youtube, you've now got it in 3, 4, 5 or more sites which means more traffic, more backlinks and more potential revenue off your main sales items.
This is a HUGE area and one which I've recently spent a lot of time exploring.
I'm by no means the master in this ... yet, but I'm going to share a stack of this with you over the coming weeks so stay tuned.
Dax Moy
http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/
P.S - You can get paid for articles, videos, audios and stacks more that I'll be telling you about. You'll be stunned!
Wednesday 25 June 2008
Tuesday 17 June 2008
Thomas Edison's Success Formula For Personal Trainers
I used to think that in order to become successful that I had to create unique ideas that no-one, not another soul on the planet had had and then do my best to market them before others had their own 'unique' ideas that were the same as mine (think about that for a second)
I used to think that if someone took one of my ideas and used it to make money then they were somehow stealing something from me and weakening my position so that my own success would falter and that if I did the same with theirs that this somehow made ME a thief.
I used to think "I can't do that, it's already been done... I've missed the boat on this" and quit projects that I'd been passionate about because someone 'beat' me to bringing it to market.
I used to.
But not anymore.
Now I realise that no idea is truly unique but that each of us has a unique way of applying (or failing to apply) our ideas to our lives. Because of this, there is more than enough room for
EVERY idea any of us ever have.
If this wan't the case then there would only ever be one of any type of commodity or item in the world.
One type of car.
One type of TV.
One type of washing machine.
One type of [Insert what YOU do here]
But there's not is there?
There are hundreds, if not thousands of each of these things.
Why not one more?
Now I realise that every person who came before me and everyone who follows gets an equal share of all the information and ideas of all the generations who precede them. It doesn't make sense NOT to use it.
You wouldn't dismiss reading because someone else 'invented' it would you?
You wouldn't rid your home of electricity because someone else beat you to it?
You wouldn't pass up medical help because you had no hand in the founding of medical knowledge, right?
So what if what you want to do is already in existence? If you want to do it, and do it your way then do it!
Life isn't school.
There's no teacher who's going to mark you down for copying the kid next to you.
Copy all you want.... then improve.
Now I realise that Thomas Edison's formula for success is the fastest, surest way to guarantee that you get what you want from life.
"...start where the last man left off."
See, you really don't have to re-invent the wheel. In fact, that's just not smart. It's wasteful.
But...
You CAN paint the wheel the colour your want it.
You CAN use different materials.
You CAN make it bigger or smaller, wider or narrower.
You CAN.
So, if it feels like success has been eluding you and that your 'unique' ideas never seem to go anywhere or that others 'beat you to it' before you get the rewards, then try Edison's approach.
Start where the last person left off and add your signature to an existing success.
Try it today!
P.S - It's always easier to improve on someone elses idea than start from scratch. That doesn't mean that the improvement isn't just as valuable (or more so) than the 'original' idea. The idea you improve upon may change millions of lives whilst the one you insist upon being original may never see the light of day... worth thinking about!
My MAGIC Hundred, Look Great Naked Challenge, Scientific Advertising, Kinetic Chain Assessement Course and even my Mentoring programs are ALL ideas that came from the work of those before me and have made me pretty wealthy by most people's standards whilst at the same time improving the lives of everyone who uses them...
Thursday 5 June 2008
Why You're Still Struggling In Your Fitness Business
This is nothing new.
You've heard this before.
You've heard 'guru' after guru tell you that you should do this one thing in order to reach that elusive six figures.
You listened, you nodded in all the right places and then you went right back to doing the things you've always done and, surprise, surprise, continued to get the results you've always gotten...
...and you wonder why things aren't getting better!
What am I talking about?
I'm talking about making the transition from technician to leader.
I'm talking about going from trainer to entrepreneur.
I'm talking about being responsible for earning all your income yourself to having other people and other things earn money FOR you.
The trouble is, whilst many people are talking about this in a general kind of way very few are telling trainers EXACTLY what they mean by going from technician to leader... and those that do are charging a lot of money to share the 'secret' that makes this transition possible.
Let's put an end to that today shall we?
Let's look at a few MUST HAVE's necessary in making your transition...
1. Telephone script - Unless you have a 'company way' of answering the telephone and taking enquiries you don't have a reproducable business.
2. Consultation script - Unless you have a 'company way' of running a consultation then you don't have a business.
3. Sales script - Unless you have a 'company way' of making the sales process reproduceable then you don't have a business.
4. Assessment script - Unless you have a 'company way' of assessing new clients you don't have a business
5. Programming script - Unless you have a 'company way' of programming your clients then you don't have a business
6. Nutrition script - Unless you have a 'company way' of advising on nutrition and diet then you don't have a business
7. Coaching script - Unless you have a 'company way' setting goals and targets with your clients then you don't have a business
8. Training Script - Unless you have a 'company way' of running each session from how you warm up to how you stretch to how you apply resistance and cardio training then you don't have a business
But that's not all!
Do you have a script for answering email enquiries, a script for how you and your staff should dress, how they should be paid?
Do you have a script for your marketing targeting the various media, how often you should advertise, how often you should press release, how often you should distribute flyers? Do you know IN ADVANCE which ads you're going to run and when?
Chances are, as you read through the list above you'll have none or very few of the items checked off.
THAT'S why you don't have a six-figure fitness business and that's why six figures are eluding you!
See, you can have the best certifications, the best knowledge base, the best 1 on 1 working relationships with your clients but if you don't have AT LEAST the list above (and there's a bunch more) running well then you don't have a business at all.
You have a job that is 100% dependent upon your physical presence and is unlikely to ever turn into anything more than a personal income.
So please, if you're even slightly serious about making a difference to your clients, your business, your income and you life, then dedicate 1 hour a day for the next 2 weeks and make a commitment to creating your scripts.
Put 'em all in a three ring binder and before you know it, you'll have a company operations manual and the START of a great business.
On the flip side, don't do it and you're stuck in the exact same spot you are right now.
Your choice!
Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com
P.S - I don't know ANYONE who's doing really well for themselves who doesn't have scripts for running their business... I know lots of struggling people who don't though!
You've heard this before.
You've heard 'guru' after guru tell you that you should do this one thing in order to reach that elusive six figures.
You listened, you nodded in all the right places and then you went right back to doing the things you've always done and, surprise, surprise, continued to get the results you've always gotten...
...and you wonder why things aren't getting better!
What am I talking about?
I'm talking about making the transition from technician to leader.
I'm talking about going from trainer to entrepreneur.
I'm talking about being responsible for earning all your income yourself to having other people and other things earn money FOR you.
The trouble is, whilst many people are talking about this in a general kind of way very few are telling trainers EXACTLY what they mean by going from technician to leader... and those that do are charging a lot of money to share the 'secret' that makes this transition possible.
Let's put an end to that today shall we?
Let's look at a few MUST HAVE's necessary in making your transition...
1. Telephone script - Unless you have a 'company way' of answering the telephone and taking enquiries you don't have a reproducable business.
2. Consultation script - Unless you have a 'company way' of running a consultation then you don't have a business.
3. Sales script - Unless you have a 'company way' of making the sales process reproduceable then you don't have a business.
4. Assessment script - Unless you have a 'company way' of assessing new clients you don't have a business
5. Programming script - Unless you have a 'company way' of programming your clients then you don't have a business
6. Nutrition script - Unless you have a 'company way' of advising on nutrition and diet then you don't have a business
7. Coaching script - Unless you have a 'company way' setting goals and targets with your clients then you don't have a business
8. Training Script - Unless you have a 'company way' of running each session from how you warm up to how you stretch to how you apply resistance and cardio training then you don't have a business
But that's not all!
Do you have a script for answering email enquiries, a script for how you and your staff should dress, how they should be paid?
Do you have a script for your marketing targeting the various media, how often you should advertise, how often you should press release, how often you should distribute flyers? Do you know IN ADVANCE which ads you're going to run and when?
Chances are, as you read through the list above you'll have none or very few of the items checked off.
THAT'S why you don't have a six-figure fitness business and that's why six figures are eluding you!
See, you can have the best certifications, the best knowledge base, the best 1 on 1 working relationships with your clients but if you don't have AT LEAST the list above (and there's a bunch more) running well then you don't have a business at all.
You have a job that is 100% dependent upon your physical presence and is unlikely to ever turn into anything more than a personal income.
So please, if you're even slightly serious about making a difference to your clients, your business, your income and you life, then dedicate 1 hour a day for the next 2 weeks and make a commitment to creating your scripts.
Put 'em all in a three ring binder and before you know it, you'll have a company operations manual and the START of a great business.
On the flip side, don't do it and you're stuck in the exact same spot you are right now.
Your choice!
Dax Moy
www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com
P.S - I don't know ANYONE who's doing really well for themselves who doesn't have scripts for running their business... I know lots of struggling people who don't though!
Sunday 1 June 2008
Alwyn Cosgrove Interviews Dax Moy
I just dug out this interview that I did with Alwyn Cosgrove earlier this year. Thought my readers might like it : )
Dax Moy UK’s Number One Fitness Trainer
By Alwyn Cosgrove
I met Dax about a year ago at a fitness seminar in CT. Since then I think we’ve spoken via email or phone every couple of days. This guy’s the real deal. His real life clients include athletes, military and the winner of the UK version of American Idol (who he helped take off 140lbs of bodyfat in only a few months).
I have to admit to being embarrassed that I hadn’t heard of Dax prior to this event as he really is that good. Even for an Englishman : ) Then I realized that most of you still haven’t heard of him.
I decided to put that straight…
AC: Thank you for the interview. Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about your current coaching commitments?
Dax: It's a pretty mixed bag really.
I spend around 20 hours a week coaching my own clients who are a pretty eclectic mix of Actors and Athletes, Pop stars, Polar explorers and Soldiers to stay at home mums.
At first glance they're your typical trainer-fodder, but with a difference.
They're all VERY serious about getting into great shape, not just aesthetically but in every way that counts and so I have 50 year old mums able to DB bench press 30kg plus (each hand).
The rest of my week is spent between my writing for various publications and running live learning seminars for fitness professionals.
I'd say I have a pretty decent integration of many different areas that makes my week not only great fun but highly productive.
I can't stand being stuck in a rut and variety is really important to me.
AC: Can you tell the reader about any educational or previous career background?
Dax: Well, I left school at 16 to join the Parachute Regiment and went on to serve with several different units over the course of my career so I guess you could say I've always been physically active but my career in coaching began in 1998 with a basic certificate from the YMCA.
Within a year of certifying I was working in the UK's first medical exercise program helping people with chronic disease and disability to incorporate functional movement back into their lives (this was before 'functional training' became a buzzword).
During that time I worked with hundreds of people who'd been written off as being beyond help, (people with MS, Parkinsons, Strokes, Neuropathies etc) and found that not only could they improve when the right stimulus was applied, but that they could improve hugely.
The trick was getting the right stimulus : )
Sometimes it was 'just' good old strength training with simple progressive overload but at other times the overload principle failed to work at all and I would have to look at other systems of neurological 'rewiring' to get them working again. As you can appreciate, the Y didn't really help me that much there...
I studied pretty much everyone from within the fitness and conditioning world along with physical therapists, osteopaths, chiropractors and other therapists to get to grips with not only what worked but more importantly, why things got broken in the first place. In my travels I went through phases of blind guru-worshipping of the popular 'in' guys and boy-scout badge collecting from all of the popular certifying agencies and can say that my certifications are (according to the agencies themselves) among the best in the world.
Yet, despite all the formal education, my best coaches were the patients themselves.
They didn't buy into bullshit theories. They didn't tell me what would or wouldn't work. They simply accepted my eccentric little experiments at face value and then showed me whether or not they worked.
If they didn't, we'd go back to the drawing board. If they did, then we'd try and figure out why so that we could do it some more.
From my perspective, these guys were way better than working with athletes. Rather than improving a 40-yard dash they were going from zero to very low function all the way up to getting out of wheelchairs or off of their crutches after years of being dependent on them.
I went on to become senior consultant of the program.
AC: Amazing stuff – and how long have you been training people? What is your training background?
Dax: Well, it's pretty varied.
I started boxing when I was 12 and did pretty well at that, going on to win several amateur titles over the next few years. I boxed in the Marines and also studied Jiu Justu, Aikido and several other forms of martial arts.
During my time I've played around with bodybuilding style of training as well as powerlifting and weightlifting and found that my ability to get strong quickly outdoes my ability to grow very big. That said, at 6'1" and 220 I'm not exactly a small guy but I'm certainly no Arnold Schwarzenneger.
In truth, I prefer training that allows me to stay strong and (relatively) well muscled without losing my agility and speed (I'm still pretty fast and box more like a middleweight) so I use KB's, O-rings and olympic lifts more than anything else these days.
AC: Can you describe a typical training session consist of for your clients?
Dax: Well, they're pretty varied as you can imagine, but they all start with unloaded mobility exercises to waken up the neurological system and prime the body for the loading it's about to take. This may include certain inhibitory or facilitatory techniques where necessary to allow for the best possible neural drive as well as proprioceptive awareness by the joints and muscles.
I learned the importance of this with my neurological patients and saw marked differences in their performance when I tried to apply load to their muscles without it. Often they simply couldn't move the joint at all yet with just a tiny bit of work on my part they were lifting not only the limb but extra load besides.
I then go on to IMT or Integrated Movement Training which I guess you could say is a second-stage warmup.
This is neurologically based again, having its roots in PNF therapy but with a high performance twist that I've added.
Basically, the IMT takes us through frontal, saggital and transverse planes with progressive movement at every joint in the body. This provides another facilitatory response through the use of the diagonal and spiral patterns that make up functional movement patterns. Basically, it's a wake up to the body saying 'The work's comin'!'
From that point onward, the workout becomes totally individual and based on the needs of the person beside me but it's always based on the one and only system PROVEN to bring about results.
Progressive overload.
I may progress the overload through time under tension, speed or amplitude of motion, load, volume or other means and that may incorporate O-rings, barbells, bands, chains, K-bells or free weights or body weight.
The truth is, I'm not a massive follower of any single training toy and so I'm happy to use everything and anything within my sessions regardless of whether it's 'in' or 'out'.
I just want to know if the client or athlete can first of all, tolerate the overload I'm placing upon them and second of all, increase that overload within the bounds of time I'm measuring their goal by.
Of course, third in that sequence is 'will this overload method get them to their goal?' : )
AC: To summarize some of what you’ve learned - What are your three best general training tips?
Dax:
1. Begin with the end in mind.
People often ask me what' s better, machine weights? free weights? Kettlebells? Sandbags? Bodyweight?
I don't really know what to say to that kind of question because it's so dependent upon what the training goal is. If it's hypertrophy then I think that machines will do a better job because of the reduced input from the stabilisers, if it's raw strength then free weights because you can load more onto the bar and if it's olympic gymnastics then bodyweight because relative strength is the most important.
The fact that these questions are still being asked by qualified coaches tells me that we're still too caught up in the toys of the industry and trying to base our training around THEM rather than thinking about what effect the training is supposed to produce and then selecting the right tools for the job.
Think about it; a great sculptor doesn't spend hours selecting his chisel and THEN start chipping away at the stone, he decides what he wants to come out of the stone and picks the right chisel from his toolbox for the job at hand.
Training isn't any different... or shouldn't be.
2. Keep it simple.
Conditioning is really simple (despite the Guru's claiming it's not) and comes down to progressive overload and little else. So progressively overload! 'Nuff said!
3. Suspend disbelief
People spend too much time bad mouthing everyone else’s theories and instead of finding out what works, they find out 1001 reasons why it won't. More great theories and philosophies are thrown away because of this than any other reason.
Everybody wants to prove everybody else wrong, probably because they're shit-scared that if someone else is right then THEY must be wrong.
Whenever I feel myself falling into that crap I always remember that little ditty (I learned it from you actually)
“Methods there are many, principles but few, methods often change, principles never do”.
Sums it up don't you think?
AC: Whoever thought that up is a genius!
Dax: The principle is progressive overload but the methods are many. Why not try 'em for yourself and if it doesn't work, don't use it.
By the way, suspending disbelief doesn't mean that you have to become gullible and fall for every bit of pseudo-science out there. It just means that you should explore the possibilities...
AC: And the three biggest mistakes?
Dax: The opposite! : )
1. Don't set a clear training goal and spend months on the wrong program with little return on investment.
2. Make it really complex so that you forget how you're controlling your progressions.
3. Disbelieve everybody that's not one of your favorite strength coaches and justify your disbelief by saying that 'they're pussies and never trained anyone special'
AC: Do you train males and females differently?
Dax: Not so's you'd notice.
Actually, that's not true.
I'd say I train females to get hypertrophy gains from their programs sooner than I do with men because, in general, they're lacking in any real muscle mass and simply need more.
Once built though, no, I focus on the individual biomotor abilities of my clients and on helping them achieve the goals they ask for help with. If its strength then they lift heavy same as the guys...
AC: I know you study the field a lot. Who do you go to for training advice?.
Dax: Anybody and everybody.
I like Bruce Lee's approach which is to study it all and discard what doesn't work.
With that in mind, I tend to look for people who're getting results and either ask 'em directly or study their work. You and Mike Boyle have approaches that resonate most with me at the moment though but there are lots.
AC: Who else in the field has influenced or helped you?
Dax: Like I said, I've been guilty of hero-worship of the most obscene kind : ) but I owe a lot to so many people (even those who're responsible for showing me how NOT to do it). I won't say who belongs in which group but the list would include:
You
Gary Gray
Juan Carlos Santana
Paul Chek
Charles Poliquin
Charles Staley
Mark Comerford
Mel Siff
Mike Boyle
AC: What are the best tips you learned OUTSIDE of training that you can pass on to the t-nation readers?
Dax:
1. Strive to UNDERSTAND before you open your mouth and preach - too many people love to hear their own voices
2. Seek for the simplicity on the far side of complexity rather than the complexity on the far side of simplicity - the simple answer is usually the right one.
3. Believe in yourself - You can't get others (including your athletes) to believe in you if YOU don't believe in you.
4. Speak the truth - even when it's hard.
AC: And what Dax Moy tips could you add of your own?.
Dax: Live with passion.
Too many people forget why they got into this profession and end up spending all their time mired in the B.S and arguing with others about the stupidest things.
Skip that!
Develop a “fashion for passion” and spend most of your time talking about the things you love and doing the things you love with the people who love to talk about and do the same things as you.
Hardly rocket science but it works : )
AC: Finally -- In a nutshell - What is the Dax Moy training philosophy?
Dax: My system is called The POWER Principles but it can be summarised like this:
Remove the negatives if you want to increase the positive.
Coaches are hypnotized into thinking that the only way to improve performance is by pushing forward harder but this is wrong.
Think of a car with the park brake on. You push the gas harder you'll only run out of fuel quicker right?
Remove the negative and take off the brake and with no more energy (less even) the car will go further and faster.
Removing the negative psychological factors, the negative biomechanical factors, the negative nutritional factors etc will do more for improving the performance of most athletes than another set of squats, bench presses or sprints ever will.
AC: I think there’s an article there...
Thanks Dax. Where can people read more about your theories and programs?
My websites are at www.fitsystemtraining.com and www.daxmoy-pts.co.uk and www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com
Dax Moy UK’s Number One Fitness Trainer
By Alwyn Cosgrove
I met Dax about a year ago at a fitness seminar in CT. Since then I think we’ve spoken via email or phone every couple of days. This guy’s the real deal. His real life clients include athletes, military and the winner of the UK version of American Idol (who he helped take off 140lbs of bodyfat in only a few months).
I have to admit to being embarrassed that I hadn’t heard of Dax prior to this event as he really is that good. Even for an Englishman : ) Then I realized that most of you still haven’t heard of him.
I decided to put that straight…
AC: Thank you for the interview. Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about your current coaching commitments?
Dax: It's a pretty mixed bag really.
I spend around 20 hours a week coaching my own clients who are a pretty eclectic mix of Actors and Athletes, Pop stars, Polar explorers and Soldiers to stay at home mums.
At first glance they're your typical trainer-fodder, but with a difference.
They're all VERY serious about getting into great shape, not just aesthetically but in every way that counts and so I have 50 year old mums able to DB bench press 30kg plus (each hand).
The rest of my week is spent between my writing for various publications and running live learning seminars for fitness professionals.
I'd say I have a pretty decent integration of many different areas that makes my week not only great fun but highly productive.
I can't stand being stuck in a rut and variety is really important to me.
AC: Can you tell the reader about any educational or previous career background?
Dax: Well, I left school at 16 to join the Parachute Regiment and went on to serve with several different units over the course of my career so I guess you could say I've always been physically active but my career in coaching began in 1998 with a basic certificate from the YMCA.
Within a year of certifying I was working in the UK's first medical exercise program helping people with chronic disease and disability to incorporate functional movement back into their lives (this was before 'functional training' became a buzzword).
During that time I worked with hundreds of people who'd been written off as being beyond help, (people with MS, Parkinsons, Strokes, Neuropathies etc) and found that not only could they improve when the right stimulus was applied, but that they could improve hugely.
The trick was getting the right stimulus : )
Sometimes it was 'just' good old strength training with simple progressive overload but at other times the overload principle failed to work at all and I would have to look at other systems of neurological 'rewiring' to get them working again. As you can appreciate, the Y didn't really help me that much there...
I studied pretty much everyone from within the fitness and conditioning world along with physical therapists, osteopaths, chiropractors and other therapists to get to grips with not only what worked but more importantly, why things got broken in the first place. In my travels I went through phases of blind guru-worshipping of the popular 'in' guys and boy-scout badge collecting from all of the popular certifying agencies and can say that my certifications are (according to the agencies themselves) among the best in the world.
Yet, despite all the formal education, my best coaches were the patients themselves.
They didn't buy into bullshit theories. They didn't tell me what would or wouldn't work. They simply accepted my eccentric little experiments at face value and then showed me whether or not they worked.
If they didn't, we'd go back to the drawing board. If they did, then we'd try and figure out why so that we could do it some more.
From my perspective, these guys were way better than working with athletes. Rather than improving a 40-yard dash they were going from zero to very low function all the way up to getting out of wheelchairs or off of their crutches after years of being dependent on them.
I went on to become senior consultant of the program.
AC: Amazing stuff – and how long have you been training people? What is your training background?
Dax: Well, it's pretty varied.
I started boxing when I was 12 and did pretty well at that, going on to win several amateur titles over the next few years. I boxed in the Marines and also studied Jiu Justu, Aikido and several other forms of martial arts.
During my time I've played around with bodybuilding style of training as well as powerlifting and weightlifting and found that my ability to get strong quickly outdoes my ability to grow very big. That said, at 6'1" and 220 I'm not exactly a small guy but I'm certainly no Arnold Schwarzenneger.
In truth, I prefer training that allows me to stay strong and (relatively) well muscled without losing my agility and speed (I'm still pretty fast and box more like a middleweight) so I use KB's, O-rings and olympic lifts more than anything else these days.
AC: Can you describe a typical training session consist of for your clients?
Dax: Well, they're pretty varied as you can imagine, but they all start with unloaded mobility exercises to waken up the neurological system and prime the body for the loading it's about to take. This may include certain inhibitory or facilitatory techniques where necessary to allow for the best possible neural drive as well as proprioceptive awareness by the joints and muscles.
I learned the importance of this with my neurological patients and saw marked differences in their performance when I tried to apply load to their muscles without it. Often they simply couldn't move the joint at all yet with just a tiny bit of work on my part they were lifting not only the limb but extra load besides.
I then go on to IMT or Integrated Movement Training which I guess you could say is a second-stage warmup.
This is neurologically based again, having its roots in PNF therapy but with a high performance twist that I've added.
Basically, the IMT takes us through frontal, saggital and transverse planes with progressive movement at every joint in the body. This provides another facilitatory response through the use of the diagonal and spiral patterns that make up functional movement patterns. Basically, it's a wake up to the body saying 'The work's comin'!'
From that point onward, the workout becomes totally individual and based on the needs of the person beside me but it's always based on the one and only system PROVEN to bring about results.
Progressive overload.
I may progress the overload through time under tension, speed or amplitude of motion, load, volume or other means and that may incorporate O-rings, barbells, bands, chains, K-bells or free weights or body weight.
The truth is, I'm not a massive follower of any single training toy and so I'm happy to use everything and anything within my sessions regardless of whether it's 'in' or 'out'.
I just want to know if the client or athlete can first of all, tolerate the overload I'm placing upon them and second of all, increase that overload within the bounds of time I'm measuring their goal by.
Of course, third in that sequence is 'will this overload method get them to their goal?' : )
AC: To summarize some of what you’ve learned - What are your three best general training tips?
Dax:
1. Begin with the end in mind.
People often ask me what' s better, machine weights? free weights? Kettlebells? Sandbags? Bodyweight?
I don't really know what to say to that kind of question because it's so dependent upon what the training goal is. If it's hypertrophy then I think that machines will do a better job because of the reduced input from the stabilisers, if it's raw strength then free weights because you can load more onto the bar and if it's olympic gymnastics then bodyweight because relative strength is the most important.
The fact that these questions are still being asked by qualified coaches tells me that we're still too caught up in the toys of the industry and trying to base our training around THEM rather than thinking about what effect the training is supposed to produce and then selecting the right tools for the job.
Think about it; a great sculptor doesn't spend hours selecting his chisel and THEN start chipping away at the stone, he decides what he wants to come out of the stone and picks the right chisel from his toolbox for the job at hand.
Training isn't any different... or shouldn't be.
2. Keep it simple.
Conditioning is really simple (despite the Guru's claiming it's not) and comes down to progressive overload and little else. So progressively overload! 'Nuff said!
3. Suspend disbelief
People spend too much time bad mouthing everyone else’s theories and instead of finding out what works, they find out 1001 reasons why it won't. More great theories and philosophies are thrown away because of this than any other reason.
Everybody wants to prove everybody else wrong, probably because they're shit-scared that if someone else is right then THEY must be wrong.
Whenever I feel myself falling into that crap I always remember that little ditty (I learned it from you actually)
“Methods there are many, principles but few, methods often change, principles never do”.
Sums it up don't you think?
AC: Whoever thought that up is a genius!
Dax: The principle is progressive overload but the methods are many. Why not try 'em for yourself and if it doesn't work, don't use it.
By the way, suspending disbelief doesn't mean that you have to become gullible and fall for every bit of pseudo-science out there. It just means that you should explore the possibilities...
AC: And the three biggest mistakes?
Dax: The opposite! : )
1. Don't set a clear training goal and spend months on the wrong program with little return on investment.
2. Make it really complex so that you forget how you're controlling your progressions.
3. Disbelieve everybody that's not one of your favorite strength coaches and justify your disbelief by saying that 'they're pussies and never trained anyone special'
AC: Do you train males and females differently?
Dax: Not so's you'd notice.
Actually, that's not true.
I'd say I train females to get hypertrophy gains from their programs sooner than I do with men because, in general, they're lacking in any real muscle mass and simply need more.
Once built though, no, I focus on the individual biomotor abilities of my clients and on helping them achieve the goals they ask for help with. If its strength then they lift heavy same as the guys...
AC: I know you study the field a lot. Who do you go to for training advice?.
Dax: Anybody and everybody.
I like Bruce Lee's approach which is to study it all and discard what doesn't work.
With that in mind, I tend to look for people who're getting results and either ask 'em directly or study their work. You and Mike Boyle have approaches that resonate most with me at the moment though but there are lots.
AC: Who else in the field has influenced or helped you?
Dax: Like I said, I've been guilty of hero-worship of the most obscene kind : ) but I owe a lot to so many people (even those who're responsible for showing me how NOT to do it). I won't say who belongs in which group but the list would include:
You
Gary Gray
Juan Carlos Santana
Paul Chek
Charles Poliquin
Charles Staley
Mark Comerford
Mel Siff
Mike Boyle
AC: What are the best tips you learned OUTSIDE of training that you can pass on to the t-nation readers?
Dax:
1. Strive to UNDERSTAND before you open your mouth and preach - too many people love to hear their own voices
2. Seek for the simplicity on the far side of complexity rather than the complexity on the far side of simplicity - the simple answer is usually the right one.
3. Believe in yourself - You can't get others (including your athletes) to believe in you if YOU don't believe in you.
4. Speak the truth - even when it's hard.
AC: And what Dax Moy tips could you add of your own?.
Dax: Live with passion.
Too many people forget why they got into this profession and end up spending all their time mired in the B.S and arguing with others about the stupidest things.
Skip that!
Develop a “fashion for passion” and spend most of your time talking about the things you love and doing the things you love with the people who love to talk about and do the same things as you.
Hardly rocket science but it works : )
AC: Finally -- In a nutshell - What is the Dax Moy training philosophy?
Dax: My system is called The POWER Principles but it can be summarised like this:
Remove the negatives if you want to increase the positive.
Coaches are hypnotized into thinking that the only way to improve performance is by pushing forward harder but this is wrong.
Think of a car with the park brake on. You push the gas harder you'll only run out of fuel quicker right?
Remove the negative and take off the brake and with no more energy (less even) the car will go further and faster.
Removing the negative psychological factors, the negative biomechanical factors, the negative nutritional factors etc will do more for improving the performance of most athletes than another set of squats, bench presses or sprints ever will.
AC: I think there’s an article there...
Thanks Dax. Where can people read more about your theories and programs?
My websites are at www.fitsystemtraining.com and www.daxmoy-pts.co.uk and www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com
The One Course That Every SERIOUS Fitness Professional Should Attend
This isn't a marketing-based post today telling you
how to generate more leads or more income but
nonetheless It's still a pretty important one if you're
serious about getting to the top of your game and
getting results faster for your clients.
And that, of course, is what being a personal trainer
Is all about, right?
And hey, if you're looking to get extremely busy,
charge top-dollar and make stacks more money
then learning to speed up the time it takes to get
fantastic results for your clients makes great sense
too.
So, I guess this IS a mail that will teach you how
to generate more leads and income! : )
So here's the deal...
Imagine if you could spend one hour or less with a
client and know, without a doubt, every single
postural, muscular, skeletal and neurological dysfunction that they
were suffering from...
Imagine that, almost like performing a CSI investigation, you could
look INSIDE your clients and know WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT which
muscles, joints and nerves were holding up your clients results....
Imagine that, as a result of this knowledge, you could use advanced
neurological techniques that were safe and easy to apply yet
produced INSTANT RESULTS in muscular tone and recruitment, even in
muscles that have been stubbornly dormant for months, years or even
decades...
Would you be interested?
Think about it.
With this knowledge you could help your clients and athletes
rehabilitate from persistent and even chronic injuries faster than
you'd ever believe possible (Even 'untreatable' syndromes like
'frozen shoulder')
You could help your fat loss clients engage heaps more muscle in
every workout and, as a result, lose fat faster than ever before
(my clients regularly lose 30, 40 or even 50lbs faster than most
trainers can get theirs to lose 10!)
You could improve the performance of any athlete or serious weekend
warrior helping them to run further or faster, jump higher, lift
heavier, punch harder than they have in years (I've trained elite
level athletes, world record holder polar explorers and even
Gladiators from the TV show to do all this and more).
And yes, you'd get paid more!
In fact, everyone I've taught these skills to has gone on to AT
LEAST double their incomes as a result with many, many of them
tripling or even quadrupling what they put in the bank.
And it's all because of the assessment protocols I teach during my
Kinetic Chain Assessment Specialist Course.
And that's why I'm writing you today.
I wanted to let you know that on the 18th and 19th of July in
London I'll be offering the first of my new curriculum KCA courses
to a select group of fitness professionals who are serious about
taking their knowledge, skills and abilities to a new level.
During those 2 days we'll be covering some pretty intense subject
matter including a bunch of neurological laws that most fitness
professionals have never even heard of and most lecturers either
ignore or don't understand well enough to use practically with real
people.
By the end of these 2 days you'll know more about the theory and
practice of assessment than most physical therapists and
chiropractors and, more importantly, you'll know how to APPLY what
you've learned to generate rapid results for your clients.
(That's not just sales talk, the program has had doctors, physios,
chiro's and even neurologists go through the program and come out
the other side with more practical knowledge about how to speed up
their patients results than they ever believed possible)
So, by now you may be interested in the program and consider
checking it out over at www.fitsystemtraining.com/kinetic.htm but
before you do, let me just tell you what the KCA program is NOT.
It's NOT a 'posture assessment' program - Yes, you'll learn how to
assess posture the KCA way but posture assessment alone won't help
your clients.
It's NOT a functional movement screen - You'll learn how to assess
functional movement for sure but a simple 'pass' or 'fail' result
doesn't help you get your results faster either.
It's NOT a 'theory only' course - sure, there's a ton of theory
you've got to learn in order to understand the neurological
dysfunctions you're observing but theory alone won't make you a
better coach.
It's NOT a 'Do this' type of course where you're shown a bunch of
tests and given the answers - As you'll see when you get here, the
exact same postural deviation can be caused by numerous neural,
muscular or skeletal factors and so a 'stretch this and strengthen
this' approach simply won't make things better.
In fact, often times you may be making things worse!
In short, this course will teach you not only the HOW of Kinetic
Chain Assessment but also the WHY, meaning that you can take away
what you learn and immediately apply it to your clients and
athletes the very next day and start seeing improvements pretty
much right away.
But here's the thing.
I'm only allowing 25 people into the program this time around (I
prefer to keep my KCA certifications small in order to keep the
quality of instruction high) so if you're serious about joining
then you need to take action right away.
Also, to 'sweeten the pot' I've added an 'Early-Bird' bonus
allowing all applicants who register before 10th June to save an
extra £100 ($200) off the full price. Quite a considerable saving.
So, if the KCA skillset is something that you want, something that
you need and something that you recognise as being a practical,
activity-driven way to increase your income in the next few months
then you need to get on over to
www.fitsystemtraining.com/kinetic.htm ASAP and register as I
genuinely don't know if I'll be running another program this year.
Get on over there now {!firstname} and check it out for yourself.
To your success
Dax Moy
P.S - The KCA has been the major reason why I'm able to charge £130
($260) an hour and to become the highest paid personal trainer in
the UK. I'm certain that once you have this skillset you too will
experience a dramatic rise in YOUR income too.
www.fitsystemtraining.com/kinetic.htm
how to generate more leads or more income but
nonetheless It's still a pretty important one if you're
serious about getting to the top of your game and
getting results faster for your clients.
And that, of course, is what being a personal trainer
Is all about, right?
And hey, if you're looking to get extremely busy,
charge top-dollar and make stacks more money
then learning to speed up the time it takes to get
fantastic results for your clients makes great sense
too.
So, I guess this IS a mail that will teach you how
to generate more leads and income! : )
So here's the deal...
Imagine if you could spend one hour or less with a
client and know, without a doubt, every single
postural, muscular, skeletal and neurological dysfunction that they
were suffering from...
Imagine that, almost like performing a CSI investigation, you could
look INSIDE your clients and know WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT which
muscles, joints and nerves were holding up your clients results....
Imagine that, as a result of this knowledge, you could use advanced
neurological techniques that were safe and easy to apply yet
produced INSTANT RESULTS in muscular tone and recruitment, even in
muscles that have been stubbornly dormant for months, years or even
decades...
Would you be interested?
Think about it.
With this knowledge you could help your clients and athletes
rehabilitate from persistent and even chronic injuries faster than
you'd ever believe possible (Even 'untreatable' syndromes like
'frozen shoulder')
You could help your fat loss clients engage heaps more muscle in
every workout and, as a result, lose fat faster than ever before
(my clients regularly lose 30, 40 or even 50lbs faster than most
trainers can get theirs to lose 10!)
You could improve the performance of any athlete or serious weekend
warrior helping them to run further or faster, jump higher, lift
heavier, punch harder than they have in years (I've trained elite
level athletes, world record holder polar explorers and even
Gladiators from the TV show to do all this and more).
And yes, you'd get paid more!
In fact, everyone I've taught these skills to has gone on to AT
LEAST double their incomes as a result with many, many of them
tripling or even quadrupling what they put in the bank.
And it's all because of the assessment protocols I teach during my
Kinetic Chain Assessment Specialist Course.
And that's why I'm writing you today.
I wanted to let you know that on the 18th and 19th of July in
London I'll be offering the first of my new curriculum KCA courses
to a select group of fitness professionals who are serious about
taking their knowledge, skills and abilities to a new level.
During those 2 days we'll be covering some pretty intense subject
matter including a bunch of neurological laws that most fitness
professionals have never even heard of and most lecturers either
ignore or don't understand well enough to use practically with real
people.
By the end of these 2 days you'll know more about the theory and
practice of assessment than most physical therapists and
chiropractors and, more importantly, you'll know how to APPLY what
you've learned to generate rapid results for your clients.
(That's not just sales talk, the program has had doctors, physios,
chiro's and even neurologists go through the program and come out
the other side with more practical knowledge about how to speed up
their patients results than they ever believed possible)
So, by now you may be interested in the program and consider
checking it out over at www.fitsystemtraining.com/kinetic.htm but
before you do, let me just tell you what the KCA program is NOT.
It's NOT a 'posture assessment' program - Yes, you'll learn how to
assess posture the KCA way but posture assessment alone won't help
your clients.
It's NOT a functional movement screen - You'll learn how to assess
functional movement for sure but a simple 'pass' or 'fail' result
doesn't help you get your results faster either.
It's NOT a 'theory only' course - sure, there's a ton of theory
you've got to learn in order to understand the neurological
dysfunctions you're observing but theory alone won't make you a
better coach.
It's NOT a 'Do this' type of course where you're shown a bunch of
tests and given the answers - As you'll see when you get here, the
exact same postural deviation can be caused by numerous neural,
muscular or skeletal factors and so a 'stretch this and strengthen
this' approach simply won't make things better.
In fact, often times you may be making things worse!
In short, this course will teach you not only the HOW of Kinetic
Chain Assessment but also the WHY, meaning that you can take away
what you learn and immediately apply it to your clients and
athletes the very next day and start seeing improvements pretty
much right away.
But here's the thing.
I'm only allowing 25 people into the program this time around (I
prefer to keep my KCA certifications small in order to keep the
quality of instruction high) so if you're serious about joining
then you need to take action right away.
Also, to 'sweeten the pot' I've added an 'Early-Bird' bonus
allowing all applicants who register before 10th June to save an
extra £100 ($200) off the full price. Quite a considerable saving.
So, if the KCA skillset is something that you want, something that
you need and something that you recognise as being a practical,
activity-driven way to increase your income in the next few months
then you need to get on over to
www.fitsystemtraining.com/kinetic.htm ASAP and register as I
genuinely don't know if I'll be running another program this year.
Get on over there now {!firstname} and check it out for yourself.
To your success
Dax Moy
P.S - The KCA has been the major reason why I'm able to charge £130
($260) an hour and to become the highest paid personal trainer in
the UK. I'm certain that once you have this skillset you too will
experience a dramatic rise in YOUR income too.
www.fitsystemtraining.com/kinetic.htm
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