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NEWSWIRE
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Trainer launches corporate boot camp |
By Brian Davidson, Managing Editor - 06.05.2008
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PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. - As more personal trainers adopt the boot-camp style training model, unable to resist the low startup cost, nonexistent overhead and high consumer demand, it's becoming increasingly difficult for all the "drill sergeants" out there to differentiate themselves.
Trainer Greg Justice thinks he's got the answer: He's bringing boot camp to the office.
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Justice, the founder of AYC Health & Fitness, a personal training business, has been piloting his corporate boot camp for the past six weeks at EPIQ Systems, a computer programming firm in Kansas City.
"I walked into their office, gave a 20-minute presentation about what I wanted to do, and walked out with 25 people signed up and a check for over $6,000," he said.
The response has been so positive, he's decided to package the program and sell it to trainers nationwide.
Justice's 12-week boot camp combines face-to-face training with online guidance and programming.
He goes to the EPIQ Systems headquarters once a week to train employees in high-intensity, 30-minute sessions, e-mails them daily with health and nutritional tips, and provides them with log-in access to a website where they can track workouts, print out training circuits, and have personalized meal plans designed by a registered dietician.
"A big drawback with the corporate clientele is that a lot of them won't sign up for a fitness class because they travel a lot and figure they'll end up missing half of them," Justice said. "With this system, traveling is not an issue because everything is right there on their computers."
Justice charged EPIQ Systems $249 per participating employee. As an incentive, he's requiring those who don't show a "marked improvement in health " by the end of 12 weeks to reimburse the company. He'll also award $500 to the employee who loses the highest percentage of body weight.
"It's been working out great," said Pricilla Simpson, a client services administrator at EPIQ. "After five weeks I'm already starting to see results."
Simpson said the greatest value the program has provided has been the bank of equipment-free exercises that she can do at home.
"I think after the 12 weeks is over, most of us will keep doing it on our own," she said. "I know I will."
Justice is waiting for the pilot program to end so he can gather feedback and fine-tune the system before he packages it to sell.
He hopes to have it on the market in the fall, with a price tag of around $500.
"We want to finish our first full cycle and then build it up locally," Justice said. "I've already had a half-dozen companies express interest, but I've been holding back the reins. I just want to make sure we have everything perfect before we move forward."
Justice will be presenting the finished product in February at the 2009 Fitness Business Summit in Palm Springs, Calif.
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