NLP Jedi Mind Tricks For Fitness Trainers – Part 2

A Fitness Sales Guest Post by Adam Toohey

Here's where you can find Part One in this two part series

1. You cannot NOT communicate

Communication is made up of the following:-

7%                   Words
28%                 Tonality
55%                 Physiology

Think about that for a second; and as you do, think about the message you are sending to your clients, and to your prospects.

- How do you sit, when sitting across from a prospect?
- What are your eyes doing?
- Are you really present and listening to them, or are you off with the fairies?

I remember a crazy Ex of mine that had a habit of freaking out… like really losing it at the most ridiculous things.

Usually it involved members of her family, her brother as an example.

One time he ate the last 2 pieces of pineapple in the fridge and she flipped… totally tearing him to shreds about how he had no respect, no consideration, ignorant, you never learn, blah blah blah… and his response?

He flipped out too and began to belittle her in her quest to become super fit and healthy.

This pattern continued and one day instead of her brother copping it, it was me. Rather than freaking out, I simply smiled and walked away. (I was still sending a message; I was using that 55% of communication known as physiology)

Saying nothing is still a form of communication and as a result, sends a message to the person standing before you.

How they interpret that message is a whole different kettle of fish.

2. You have all the resources you need to achieve your desired outcomes

How often have you heard (or told yourself) the story that "If only I had THIS, THEN I would be able to do THIS… or "If only I had THAT… THEN my business would be booming"

It's all too common and can happen to the best of us.

This takes me back to a trainer I worked with in the early naughties - he was always comparing himself to the trainer/bodybuilder who had Titanic Triceps and was constantly booked up with clients. His line was "If only I was a Bodybuilder/had arms like that, THEN I would have enough clients"

From all reports the guy still has noodles for arms and keeps a second job to supplement what little he makes from PT.

Here's the thing about resources. They can be Internal Beliefs, Energy, Personal skills as well as people, possessions and money.

Ask yourself this question - Do I need more resources or do I need to be more resourceful?

3. Every behavior has a positive intent

This assumption applies to all behavior; good, bad or otherwise.

A friend of mine (smoker) once mentioned to me about the possibility of "giving up the ciggies" There I stood thinking "yeah, yeah I have heard that one before" and so as time went on she "tried" but unfortunately wasn't too successful; not long term success. At the time I figured she was just making excuses but then I came across NLP and something called The Secondary Gain

You see, my friend used to be a fellow KFC Manager and every chance she could get she would step outside in the dock area and light up. Now as we all do, she knew the dangers of smoking and quite frankly how disgusting it really is, yet she could not give it up (in her mind anyway)

The question lies in The Secondary Gain; and the secondary gain is the "positive intent" which in her case was the little smoke break allowed her to step out of the madness that existed behind the counter and have 3 minutes of peace to herself to clear her head before stepping back inside.

For her, this secondary gain was strong enough to overpower her will to quit.

4. People are much more than their behavior

My mum is a big wrestling fan; and by wrestling I mean the "Sports Entertainment" style. You know, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant etc. Oh let's not forget Bret "Hitman" Hart - her favorite. Now, can you guess who also became a fan?

I have to admit I still am.

And YES… I know it is "fake", I heard that countless times as a kid from my fellow school friends. However fake it may be, those members of the WWE have ridiculous schedules, on the road up to 300 days a year, no off season and suffer some crazy injuries. It's a tough gig no doubt.

Now, before the cat was let out of the bag, the fans new who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. In fact, after reading some of the autobiographies of former stars, people that went to see these guys and gals in action would very often spit, throw garbage and even threaten to kill the "bad guys"

At the time, they had no idea that the "bad guy" was in fact just a character and his real nature is nowhere near what is portrayed.

Here's the real kicker

People do this every single day of their lives. They demonstrate a side of them that isn't really who they are at the deepest level. (I learned this well before NLP with my family, forgiving them for their behaviors that really hurt me at the time. To forgive is to heal)

Maybe it's a friend of yours who turns to alcohol or decides to tear shreds off you for absolutely nothing at all.

Here's a secret - It's not you… AND it's not really who they are. It's the behavior they are projecting; it isn't who they really are at their core.

This can be one of the most difficult presuppositions to live by. If you are going to study and practice NLP effectively you must be able to master this presupposition.

You cannot help anyone if you are judging them. Your vision will always be clouded. Same goes if you react in a negative way towards their behavior.  It will only further strengthen the behavior they are projecting and condition it even more.

5. The mind and body are interlinked and affect each other

Scientists have proven that the link between the mind and body is indeed very real. What you do with your mind affects your body and what you do with your body certainly affects your mind. When you get depressed or feel defeated you say certain things in your head and you hold your body a certain way as is true if you are feeling determined or elated.

Try it on if you will - Remember a time when you felt sad (you need to do this to experience it)

- Where were you when you were sad?
- How was your posture?
- Were your eyes up or down?
- Were your shoulders up and back or stooped and towards the ground?
- What were you saying to yourself?
- What words did you use?

This also has a dramatic effect on your clients' lives for example when they "Binge" - it can almost always be attributed to what is going on with them emotionally at that very point. Chances are they don't even realize what they are eating (or how much) because they are too focused on being sad or frustrated in that moment.

6. Having choice is better than not having choice

"I have no choice. I have to do this!"

Have you ever said that to yourself? Maybe you have heard someone else say it; not only say it but really believe it in their body and their spirit. The truth is you always have a choice in every situation that you experience in life, business or otherwise. That's not to say you can control every situation that comes along because we all know that isn't possible. What is though is how you respond as we previously discussed.

Be aware of where you are making your choices from. Now, what do I mean by that?

Back when I was about 10 years old I remember the latest, greatest, whiz bang fan dangle super game console the "Super Nintendo" had recently been released and I was DYING to have one. I was told that I might get one for Christmas and a few months before hand I heard on the Tele (Aussie for TV) that stock was running out and they may be sold out before Xmas. Well…. Didn't I have a FIT!!! Mum was hit with a relentless sales pitch which included something along the lines of "We Have NO CHOICE" and so after draining every ounce of energy out of her I closed the deal and FINALLY had my grubby hands on the SNES.

Soon after Christmas the stores advertising was at its peak "January Sale: get the SNES now $50 off and an extra controller. Needless to say my mum wasn't too impressed and at the time I was far too distracted to catch on to the sneaky marketing tactics that totally had me hung like Ned Kelly only a couple of months before hand.

Isn't funny that sometimes even though we age we still feel like we have no choice or that we may miss out only to find out later on how wrong we were?

7. Modeling successful performance leads to excellence

This presupposition is really what NLP is based on; that being modeling. This is the type of modeling you won't see on any catwalk. You do see it every day however. It is how you learned as a child; some might call it imitating. A word we often use for someone we want to model is mentor.

The premise of modeling is to take someone who is outstanding (at whatever it is they are outstanding in) and model exactly what they do; paying close attention to how he/she operates and what he/she does when being outstanding. How they breathe, their behavior, their values, their beliefs, their rules etc.

In order to model someone successfully we need to know everything that is going on within them when they are at this level known as outstanding. Drs Richard Bandler and John Grinder (NLP Founders) ultimately used this method to create almost all of what we call NLP.

Take Chris McCombs for example. Here's a guy who has dominated a niche and created a pretty darn amazing life for himself and his family. There are thousands of trainers on his list and yet only a small percent of people have been able to hop aboard that same train.

Why?

They haven't modeled effectively; all the information on this blog is useless unless you use it in the way Chris tells you to use it… and he does that for a reason, because it works/has worked.

In order to really get to the same level you need to model the behavior, the values, the rules, the musts, the beliefs or simply follow the exact recipe for success that he lays out in the Market Annihilator for example.

So what can you do right now with all of this info?

Answer these following questions; not just in your head but write your answers out on a piece of paper and get a good look at what's really going on. (Replace You with I)

1. What might you be communicating unintentionally?

2. Think of something you are striving to achieve and note the resources you already have, being sure to list your personal qualities that serve you well.

3. Write down a "bad behavior" you have, and ask "What is the positive intent"?

4. What judgments do you make/have you made about other people?

5. Go back and do the exercise for the "mind and body interlinked" presupposition.

6. If you feel limited in your choices in any area of your life, write what areas they are and then ask yourself "What are my options/choices really" and "What other choices could I make if I wanted to"

7. Who has special qualities you can model? What about them you can model?

One final thought about NLP Presuppositions; they are just that, presuppositions.

They are not the be all and end all, but they are convenient beliefs and assumptions that can have a dramatically positive effect on your life and the lives of those around you.

I'd love to hear your comments below…

Adam is an NLP Practitioner/Coach and is owner and operator of Toronto Fit Body Bootcamp

If you'd like help building your fitness training business to the six or even seven-figure level, then I highly recommend Chris's Coaching and Mentorship Program…

Click Here to Learn More About Chris's McCombs Coaching and Mentorship Program for Fitness Trainers and Studio Owners