The Warm Up with Kyle Wood - Bootcamp Ideas

kyle-wood_1_02-20-2025_100517:
hey everyone.

Welcome back to the Warm Up.

My name is Kyle Wood and this is
a show for fitness professionals,

trainers, uh, group fitness trainers.

Just a way to help you get your mindset
in, in the right way before you start, uh,

before you start your day or your week.

So one thing I've learned 15 years
plus a business, is that how I feel.

Uh, often directly relates to
how much work I can get done

and how good that work is.

Uh, if I'm feeling tired down stewing
about something, uh, it's going to affect

the way that I can learn, that I can shop
for my clients, a shot for my family.

So learning how to manage
this stuff, I think is one of

the most important things I.

To being successful and sticking
with this for a long time and how

you feel and feelings is actually
what we're gonna talk about today.

I hesitated sharing this because, uh,
it's not like my best moment as a trainer.

Uh, it was saying that was really
challenging at the time, but I thought if

I can, I will share this as an episode.

Not because I think it'll apply
to all of you, but because there

might be one or two of you out there
who are going through something

similar, and this might really help.

Anyway, let's get on with the show.

So let's, let's go back, let's
go back in time to, uh, young

Kyle, training people in the park.

Um, at the, the time I was running two
classes per day, one in the morning, one

in the evening, and actually I think.

At this point I might have
been doing four classes.

So like two in the morning,
two in the evening, regardless.

Uh, one of our evening class times.

Uh, yeah, it was when I was doing two.

'cause it was an early, I feel like I'm
that cliche thing in the movie where it's

the old guy and he's like, it was 1972.

Oh 19, no, 1971.

It was, it's like, just
get on with the story.

So, uh, I was training
people in the park and a.

Uh, I had set up two classes in
the evening, so we were trying to

now fill two different time slots.

Uh, but my feeling was it's like a, I was
running hour classes before I switched to

45 minutes, so it was only about another
half an hour I was having to spend at

the park 'cause all the equipment was set
up and if I could even just get like a

few more clients, that was gonna make a
big difference at the end of the month.

So we're trying to fill
two different classes.

We had this earlier time slot and
we had this, this, a group of people

from a local business that was like
walking distance from the park.

Who wanted to all sign up and do that,
that five, sort of the one that started

between five and six, uh, 'cause they
could just come straight from work.

So, and it was five people,
five people wanted to join this

class that we just started.

So that was amazing.

So I was like, yes, please sign up.

Um, and I had eight in the class total.

So I had three, couple people, I think one
person had moved, uh, to an earlier time.

We had a couple of new people.

It was a fairly new group of clients.

And we got started, and I remember the
first session, there was this one person

who came from this local business who
just complained the whole way throughout.

And not just, not just like, you
know, clients complain and we just.

We get like a sadistic, like
thrill from it, we smile.

It wasn't like that.

It was just like outright
like, I'm not gonna do that.

What are you doing?

And I was just like, what?

Like what is this person's problem?

And I, I was kinda like,
okay, that was a bit weird.

But you know, like,
maybe she'll get into it.

She knows other people in the
class, so maybe once she gets

into it, she'll be all right.

Uh, but that wasn't the case, the
second session, oh, I'm not doing that.

That's stupid.

Why are we doing this?

Uh, what, you know, what is,
what's the point of this?

Like, oh, I hate this, I
hate this, I hate this.

This is dumb.

And I could just feel like the
energy of the group just over the

45 minutes would just go down,
down, down, down, like everyone was.

I was feeling it.

I was struggling to, to stay smiling and
keep the energy up, and keep the vibe up.

And, and it was also a bit like, I think,
I hope, like she obviously hates this.

Why does she keep coming?

But she kept coming for
the full, uh, six weeks.

So she came 12 sessions.

I don't think from memory, I don't
think from memory she missed a session.

Um, and yeah, I dreaded those sessions.

The session afterwards great.

There was like great people,
so it was kind of good.

I had that second one, but maybe it
wasn't good in a way because then

by the time I would leave the park.

The feeling wasn't as strong
and I was kind of like, okay.

Uh, but yeah, I do remember like coming
in, in the evenings, running that

first session was really hard work.

Uh, and just watching how it affected
everyone else in the group as well.

And it was, it was, um, you
know, it was kind of her.

And then she would kind of set
off one of her other coworkers who

would kind of like get in as well.

So then you've got these like
two people who are kind of.

Really bringing the mood down.

Uh, so I decided, um, I just, I
didn't end up doing anything about it.

I, there's a part of me that really
wanted to pull her aside or give

her a call or send her a message.

But yeah, I was in my early twenties here.

Having conversations with people like
that might lead to conflict or that,

that were like hard conversations
was definitely not in my wheelhouse.

I'd never.

Being prepared for anything
like that in my life.

Uh, so, so yeah, I just didn't
end up doing it and I was like,

just, we'll just get to the end.

We'll just tough it out.

And we finished the six weeks, put
out enrollment for the next six weeks.

Not one single person from that eight
signed up to the bootcamp again, every

other time slot signed up, boosted.

Fantastic.

But that one time slot
just killed the time slot.

Like obviously everyone else in the
class had been having a miserable time.

I had been so caught up in how she
was making me feel and how hard it was

for me that I probably didn't really
think too much about what impact

that was having for other clients
and what they were going through.

So luckily, um, it was a.

It must have been spring or autumn.

We were doing plenty of marketing
in the background, getting out in

the community, things like that.

Uh, 'cause we were trying to grow these
new time slots and amazingly eight

new people signed up for the next.

So overall didn't cause an issue.

But what if, what if I had addressed that?

And even if this one client had
left, or if I'd even fired her, which

I'll talk about now in hindsight,
how I would've tried to manage her.

What if that had happened and, you
know, everyone else had signed up.

I would've had like 15 people in a class.

That's, that's like
thousands of dollars there.

Um, potentially there was a couple
of clients in that class who

left, who did come back later.

That's the power of newsletters.

I hope to talk about that more on the
podcast, like newsletters and keeping in

touch with clients, um, to bring people
back and keep that relationship going.

So I did end up getting a
couple of those clients back.

But yeah, that was a real blow and it was
a real eye-opener 'cause it was, 'cause

I kind of thought I'll just bury my head
in the sand on this, not do anything.

And the problem will kind of go away.

And I guess it did, but it was quite
damaging to the bootcamp in the process.

Luckily she wasn't coming to my
6:00 AM class, which had like

20 people in it because that
would've really, uh, really hurt.

So yeah, that's.

So, yeah.

So let's talk about, you know, how
do you manage clients like this?

Like you might have a client with
something a little bit different, and

I'm gonna talk about another client,
um, who I did address the problem with.

Um, and, and we had a kind of good
result, um, and how I managed that.

Uh, but with this client, like in
hindsight and obviously now older,

having gone through more experiences in
life and feeling more comfortable, I.

To maybe have that hard conversation.

I would've addressed it with her.

I would've asked her.

It was difficult because I had
another class straight after, so

I couldn't just say, Hey, can you,
can we have a chat after class?

Or something like that.

Um, and I think Kyle, at the time,
you know, if I called her on the phone

or something like that, I would've
been like, what's your problem?

What?

Like, you're bringing everyone down.

Um, but now knowing what I
know, I think what I would've

said is, Hey, can we catch up?

Can I give you, can I give you a call?

Or maybe one of the nights that we
didn't have bootcamp, and just be

like, Hey, what, like what are you
wanting to get out of bootcamp?

Like, you seem like you're
not enjoying the classes.

Is there anything I can do
to make the classes better?

And when we come at people like that
with curiosity, it stops them from being.

It diffuses some of their defensiveness.

So I just came to her and said, Hey, look,
which was also valid, your behavior's

not okay in these classes or even, Hey,
like, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have

to ask you to stop coming to classes.

Then of course she's just gonna
be defensive straight away.

But I.

If I had come to her and said,
Hey, like, what do you like?

She signed up for a reason.

She kept coming to the classes
for a reason, even though she

seemed to be miserable, which
is dragging everyone down.

She, she seemed there was some
reason that she would come.

Maybe it was just peer pressure from
the rest of the people in the group.

I don't know.

Uh, but yeah, just like, Hey,
what's, um, what's going on?

Like, what, what's.

Why, why are you here?

And by finding that out, like
maybe she's like, oh, I'm doing it

'cause everyone else is doing it.

And it's like, oh, well is there,
is there any reason that you in

particular thought this might be good?

Um, you know, have you done
exercise classes before that you

did, like getting some feedback?

'cause there's no reason I can't
add some stuff in that she likes.

'cause sometimes with people like this.

It's the classic like,
hurt people, hurt people.

Like sometimes with people like
this, they just want to be seen.

They just want to have
someone acknowledge them.

And maybe even having that phone call
would've been enough and I wouldn't

have had to change anything with
the classes, but simply asking her,

letting her know, Hey, I see you, um,
that, you know, would've improved or

built a bit of rapport that I could
have stirred her up, you know, used

a bit of, a bit of Australian humor.

When, um, she started acting out or
saying stuff like, go along with it.

She's like, oh, this is the worst.

Oh, this is the worst.

You know, just like making
it fun and, and then bringing

the mood up for everyone else.

Making it okay for everyone
else to kind of be a bit silly

about it and have a laugh.

Um, so yeah, that's one way and
that's now, that's probably the

first thing I'd try is like,
and I'm not saying that's easy.

I could probably have to psych
myself up to have that conversation.

Um, but yeah, I'd have that conversation
if she wasn't willing to talk to me

outside of class, then we might be
thinking, okay, like, here's your

money for the remaining classes.

Like, I'm gonna ask
you to, to stop coming.

And obviously that's easier said
than done two, but hey, I lost seven

clients because of this one client.

There might have been other reasons,
but I'm assuming I lost seven

clients because of this one client.

So you are running a business.

Uh, if you've got someone coming
at and damaging a business, you.

Within your rights to
ask them to stop coming.

Um, the other thing I could
have done is spoke to the rest

of the group without her there.

So I could have said, Hey, with the rest
of the group, like, how, how are everyone,

everyone feeling about, about this client?

Like, do you, like I know, um,
she seems to really struggle.

You know, let's, let's
talk about it nicely.

We don't feel like.

Hey, she hates the classes and
she's dragging everyone's mood down.

I get it.

Maybe that's your personality
where you'd be able to do that.

I wouldn't be able to do that.

I'd be like, I'd have to, you know,
wrap it up in a pretty bow and

say, Hey, you know, it seems like
she struggles with the classes.

Is everyone else okay?

Like, is it bothering?

And then if someone spoke up at that, if
they're all like, yeah, yeah, it's fine.

At least I've addressed it
and they know I'm aware.

Um, and maybe even saying,
Hey, I've spoken to her.

Um.

Or I'm gonna speak to her one-on-one.

And it's not about starting like a gossip
session about this person, it's just

about just letting again, the rest of the
clients know, Hey, I see what's happening.

I see that it's a bit of a mood killer.

Um, and I just want to check in with all
of you guys that you're going, all right.

Yeah.

So that's the other way
I would've dealt with it.

And that way did work with another client.

I had, uh, I had a client, big guy.

Um.

He ran his own business and would often
he ran, he would come to our 6:00 AM

classes, but he would often work, have
been working all night and come to

our 6:00 AM classes without any sleep.

And I, you know, and at the time I was
like, I suspected it, but now looking

back it's like, yeah, definitely.

Like there was things.

And I'm not sure about
the legality around this.

So, um, there was, he seemed like maybe
he was taking more than caffeine to stay

awake if, if I put it nicely and I don't
wanna share too much 'cause I don't wanna

be like, if there's like an ex client or
something to this or something like that.

But anyway, so, but he would come then to
the sessions, like very, uh, high strung.

And during this time he even had
like outside of class, had the heart.

Episode.

Uh, so I was very conscious of that.

He was coming to class.

He was, there was a couple of
nights a week, he wasn't sleeping.

Um, and he was very like, you
know, whatever was, he was taking

to stay awake and then like, just
cortisol and stuff like that.

'cause his body was going through a lot.

And if we were doing boxing
or something like that, like.

Uh, with boxing, you know, we mix
it up, we'd get different partners

and I'm always like, you've gotta
adjust your punches to the pad holder.

Like, if you are with a, a,
someone who's not very strong,

you've got to do like, focus maybe
more on speed and softer punches.

Um, not following through as
much, but he would be so agitated

that he would just, and the good
thing is he was very personable.

He got along with everyone in the
class, so he already had a lot of.

Goodwill and rapport in the class.

But I know particularly with boxing,
um, I had quite a few clients come

up to me and say, Hey, I can't be
with him when box, 'cause like my

arms are gonna get, get knocked off.

'cause he's just going way too hard.

Like, especially doing like
hooks and things like that.

Um, and I would, and then I was aware
and then I'd watched these clients sort

of like cowering behind their pads.

And so I started off by speaking to him.

I said, Hey look, can you, you
know, make sure you ease back.

But I guess just the mind space he was
in when he was coming to class like

that, um, he, he wasn't able to do that.

Uh, so I was, I started pairing
him up with some of the other

stronger guys in the class.

And then, and I spoke to them and I
said, Hey look, I'm gonna have you

pair up with this client and you just
let me know, like if it's an issue.

Um, and then I think, you know, they
ended up enjoying it 'cause it was,

they felt like they could really.

You know, go hard as well with him.

Um, and yeah, so, so, but I had that
conversation with the client and with some

of the other clients who were impacted
and we were able to work out a solution.

And it was one that, as a, again,
as a trainer, like I debated, should

I be sending this client home?

Um, because, uh, you know,
obviously like we need to.

Way up risk.

Like is this client a risk to his
own health and to those around him?

Um, ultimately mainly because
of the rapport he'd built in the

class with the other clients.

Uh, I think if he was being overly
aggressive with other clients, I would've

said, no, you know, you gotta go home.

But I kept checking in with him.

We would, we would talk regularly
and it was a particularly

challenging time in his life and I.

I met his, his wife at one of the
other things and spoke to her, and

ultimately it was myself and I had
an assistant trainer and we were just

aware and we just, we just monitored
him and, and managed him in the class.

Uh, and we decided that it was a
good thing for him to be there.

And sometimes he didn't make it.

Sometimes I think he knew it was
no good and he wouldn't make it.

But, um, we would kind of
see how he was doing in the

morning and then try and like.

You know, manage that
with the other clients.

Uh, and like I said, never, never
aggressive, never, um, anything like that,

but just obviously in a head space where
he didn't understand his own limitations

and was pushing himself really hard.

So that's another client.

Um, and hopefully with the
internet, like never comes out.

But yeah, this is something that.

That I wanted to share with you, like
both of these stories are difficult 'cause

they were difficult situations to manage.

Uh, and I handled each one differently.

And I really just wanted to
share this as an idea for you

of, of what maybe you could do.

And also to encourage you as
the show is about warming up.

Like maybe this will warm you up and
get you in the head space to be able to

manage a client who, or talk to a client
or talk to your class about a client.

Who's being disruptive.

And before I go, I want to talk about
one more type of client so that you,

that can be disruptive to your class.

And this is the long term client.

This is a client who may have been
training with you since you've started.

Uh, and this is the client who refers
to your classes as their classes.

My class, I go to my class.

This is my class.

You know, the times that they
go to are their class and

they start taking possession.

Of, of what you do.

They're also the type of client
who when you change something up,

they're like, oh, I didn't like that.

They'll quickly tell you, which
is nice, you know, they're giving

you feedback, but what can happen?

Um, and usually it's not just one
long-term client, it's usually

like two or three or even more.

They start to dictate what
your business should be.

So they've decided what you
offer is what they love.

They want it to stay the same.

They don't want change.

And they're going to tell you about it.

If you do try and change things, uh,
they're gonna tell you they don't like it.

They're gonna tell you they
can't come to the class.

Um, I had one trainer who was
losing money on a class because,

because of these clients who
were like, we want to be indoors.

So they were spending money for an
indoor space that was costing more than

what they were making from the class.

Because the other thing that often
happens is these groups of clients

have been around for a long time, is.

Often without meaning to,
they can become a bit cliquey.

They can become a bit of a clique.

So someone else joins the
class and you know, feels like

they're doing their class.

They feel like, oh, I'm in, I'm
in these other clients' class.

I'm just like the outsider.

So that's another type of client you
need to be wary of because they're

positive, they're great supporters of you.

But if you notice that you are
starting to make decisions.

On your business, your classes that are
based on a small group of clients rather

than the vision of what you actually
want to create from your business.

That's a bit of a warning sign.

That's a bit of a sign that,
oh, maybe I need to have a bit

of a chat to these clients.

Um, or which might just be like, Hey,
I'm gonna be trying some new stuff.

Um, we're gonna do it for a month,
and then at the end of the month,

you let me know what you think.

I want you to hold off.

Hold off any feedback or like reservations
that you have and let's try it for a month

or three months or something like that.

So that's my recommendation
with those types of clients.

'cause they also can be
business, business killers.

They'll take over a class,
dictate what everyone's doing.

And the only way I've seen trainers
get out of this, and I've seen multiple

trainers get stuck in this, including
some trainers really close to me, is

you just have to make the changes.

You cannot, there's no way to
keep those clients in happy in

the way that they think they're
gonna be happy and grow the class.

You're gonna have to change, they're
gonna have to get outta their comfort

zone along with you and change.

So that's it for today's, uh, episode.

I hope this is helpful.

Like I said, it might not be for everyone.

You might be like, oh, I've
never experienced this before.

I've got amazing clients.

But if you're one of the two few
people out there who's like, oh,

I've experienced something similar.

I hope this is really helpful
and um, I will see you on the

next episode of the warmup.

Have a great week.