The KIPS Podcast with Tyler Valencia

Running a fitness bootcamp can be a lucrative, rewarding, and time-efficient business avenue. Operating a business, though, comes with administrative duties. These tasks are often new skills that need to be developed and can often take away from our passion as fitness instructors, which is teaching health & fitness. In episode 101 of the KIPS Podcast, host Tyler Valencia, Ph. D. (c), pulls fro...

Every profession has its intricacies. These complexities require experience to navigate, and within them lies an opportunity for growth. Whether you are a group fitness instructor looking to build a community, a personal trainer trying to improve your sales skills, or an aqua instructor learning how to teach to an audience, each career path has its unique qualities that develop over time. But how...

A new year brings new opportunities for growth within the health, fitness, and wellness industry. If you’re a group exercise instructor, personal trainer, health coach, or wellness coach, a new year is a time to develop new skills to expand your business. A platform that can help you in more than one way is YouTube. Considered by host Tyler Valencia, Ph. D. (c), as one of the last platforms that a...

Throughout your time as a fitness instructor, opportunities will arise that you may not be ready for or might be the “most qualified” for. Should you pass on these career opportunities or take on the challenge? This could be taking on a new class format as a group exercise instructor, training a new sports team as a personal trainer, or accepting a new client in a demographic you haven’t worked wi...

When the general public thinks about professionalism within the fitness industry, they typically recall a stereotypical depiction from a comedy sketch or movie. We chuckle for those who work in the health & fitness industry because sometimes there’s some truth to it, but we know that a professional outward appearance is a portrayal we want to be known for to the public. In this episode of the...

With the new year right around the corner, retooling your business ideas is always a good route for a fitness instructor. One of the most underutilized tools for growing your client list is small-group training (SGT). In an SGT session, you can build community, create a fun environment for your clients, and showcase your knowledge in exercise programming. In episode 96 of the KIPS Podcast, we have...

One of the more challenging scenarios when working as a group exercise instructor is taking over an existing class. This is often met with frustration and opposition when it should be a fun and exciting time for the fitness instructor. How can we act more professionally to win over upset members and allow you to implement the class routine you had planned out? In this episode of the KIPS Podcast,...

As 2023 starts to wind down, what resources are you utilizing to prep for one of the busiest times of the year in the health, wellness, & fitness industry? Preparing your training or business can set you up for a bump to start the new year and potentially set you up with new clients. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, host Tyler Valencia gives a roundup of all the content released in August...

The unknown of YouTube can be unsettling, but it's also part of what makes it such a unique platform. One of the biggest unknowns of running any business is how your audience will find you. This puzzle is something that YouTube helps a business owner with and can ultimately help you grow your business to a global audience. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, host Tyler Valencia shares demogra...

Mentorship can be a powerful tool for growth within the health, fitness, and wellness industry. Working in this profession can be an all-day grind, and learning from those who are still pursuing their passion can be motivating and helpful. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, David Jack speaks from experience about how mentorship has helped him in his career and shares how mentoring others has imp...

YouTube is a journey that can provide options for health, wellness, and fitness professionals across the globe. It’s a journey that takes an investment in time and one that may not pay off as quickly as some hope, but it is one that KIPS President, Tyler Valencia, PhD(c), believes all professionals should start. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, Tyler shares his top five tips for fitness profes...

One of the most challenging situations as a health, wellness, or fitness professional is conversing with a client experiencing grief or loss. You feel emotionally unsure about what to say, but you deeply care about your client’s health and wellness. Over the years, different types of yoga practice have emerged, bringing unique benefits to mental and physical health. In this episode of the KIPS Pod...

As a health, wellness, or fitness professional, marketing your services via social media is necessary. Throughout the years, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have moved towards short-form videos called Reels or Shorts (YouTube). These short-form videos can be very powerful in engaging your audience, and if you're creating content that people enjoy, each platform will or...

If you’re unsure of where to start with creating Reels for Instagram or Facebook, Instagram just made it easier to create content that trends. Like every other social media platform, Instagram and Facebook want people to spend more time on their platforms. Under the Reels tab, when creating content, you’ll find “template” options that showcase trending templates, original audio, and options recomm...

Online has become a viable option for health & fitness professionals looking to generate extra income and grow their audience. With online workouts, personal trainers or group exercise instructors can teach a global audience that appreciates exercising from home. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, guest Kelly Favret shares her experiences from teaching cycling at a studio to now operating he...

You just got certified within the health & fitness industry as a personal trainer or group exercise instructor, but what do you do now? How do you get hired? Where should you start? These are all questions that entry-level professionals have because this is not addressed in certification education. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, host Tyler Valencia talks about three different areas for entry...

Host Tyler Valencia, Ph. D. (c), starts this episode by discussing whether adding affiliate marketing to your revenue streams can be profitable as a health, wellness, or fitness professional. Many individuals try selling supplements to their clients through an MLM company; some try clothing or fitness equipment. In Tyler’s opinion, whether you should add this revenue stream comes down to if you ha...

Education within the fitness industry has evolved over the last ten years and will continue to grow as this young industry expands. This is a topic that is largely discussed on the KIPS Podcast because of its importance to the career of health & fitness professionals, and how it can improve the quality of instruction for clients. In this episode, returning guest Vincent Metzo, MA, CSCS shares his...

With such a big emphasis placed on Reels, learning how to create more entertaining and engaging content will only help you grow your audience. Reels have become a source of entertainment for individuals that use Instagram and Facebook, and as a health, wellness, or fitness professional you can use them to engage your audience. Prior to the last year, business owners believed they needed to push th...

*Episode disclaimer* Please note that this episode features sensitive topics such as rape and trauma. Trauma is not a topic typically seen in entry-level certifications for health & fitness professionals but is an underlying issue that can impede the work you are trying to perform. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, guest Angie Nyx shares her work with trauma, PTSD, and military personnel, and h...

On social media, showcasing what’s important to you is a good strategy for content development and letting potential customers know more about your personality. In recent years, social media has gotten a bad reputation but in 2023 customers want to know how authentic their instructors and coaches are. Having a mindset that focuses on the good of social media can help eliminate the negative stigma...

This episode in the KIPS Podcast is an update to the Social Media Strategy 2023 episode published earlier in the year. In this episode, host Tyler Valencia shares some tips that he’s been using over the last month to improve his social media presence. One of the biggest tips from the strategy episode earlier in the year was to eliminate social media platforms where your demographics aren’t present...

Music is a very important part of a group fitness class. Music motivates your participants and can help you build your following depending on where you’re instructing. But how do you select your music? Do the contents of each song really matter? In this episode, Kristi Taylor discusses all that goes into building a playlist, how to use a playlist depending on the gym’s demographics, and how to fin...

When a client or potential client approaches you about content they saw on social media, how do you handle it? Do you immediately discount it, or do you address it in a manner that focuses on the client’s current goals. Social media fitness trends can have positive or negative side effects, and is a topic that we will continue to address as professionals in our field of work. In this roundup episo...

When you start looking into affiliate marketing and ways to expand your health, wellness, or fitness business, you typically start with brands related to your field of choice. But as you will come to see, there are many ways to expand your client list, business, revenue, or even audience, outside of the field you’re working in. In this episode of the KIPS Podcast, returning guest Sean Sewell share...