Last year at IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association) annual event, I partnered with one of the most exciting groups in our industry! I want to share with you about the Industry Leadership Council. My friend Meredith Poppler can help you learn more if you would like to join us! The picture below is of Meredith and I last year right after I joined this exciting group of people in the fitness industry.

Here are my top three reasons for being a part of the ILC.

The ILC Experience offers up an opportunity to be involved on a very granular level and participate in events you might not otherwise be able to attend. A few highlights I am looking forward to is time with the keynote speakers and networking in a more intimate environment. The trade show floor can be so busy and bustling that it can be difficult to really connect with your industry peers. The ILC experience offers up a more intimate environment to connect and meet new people.

Secondly, but not more importantly is the causes that the ILC group has taken on, most specifically the PHIT act.

The PHIT Act, which stands for Introduction to Get PHIT Personal Health Investment Today, is federal legislation that would allow any American to use pre-tax accounts like Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) to pay for qualified fitness expenses. Currently, the IRS code only allows these accounts to be utilized for medical expenses.

Why is PHIT Important? "64% of American adults and 34% of American children suffer from overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity. These rising rates of obesity and Americans’ proclivity for inactivity are resulting in double digit annual increases in healthcare costs to the government and business". -http://www.ihrsa.org/phit

Another reason that the ILC group is so wonderful to be a part of is it can help you to identify a path around being at the show and what could be valuable as a professional in attendance. Conference and trade show settings can be so daunting if you are not sure how to best use your time, you can end up not having a clear direction and wasting your time wandering about. The ILC group offers a "path" providing an experiences like none other. Intimate roundtables with the keynote speakers and meetings keeping you informed about pressing industry news. They can also point you to some of the best education sessions to attend like my friend and colleague Bryan O'Rourke 's session, he will be presenting Thursday at 3:30pm, Poised for Expansion: The Future of the Industry - 300% Globally in 10 Years?, Room 403-B LACC, I hope to see you there!

What an exciting time to be a part of our industry, see you next week at IHRSA!

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Lindsey Rainwater, also known as Lindsey RainH2O, is a sought-after business consultant, leadership coach, writer and presenter to the fitness and wellness industry. For more information about Rainwater, follow her on Twitter@LindseyRainH2O

A little over a year ago I was on a flight returning to Denver, tenaciously typing out a 12 month, bi-weekly content calendar with the intention of posting four times a month in 2015. I remember thoughtfully planning what I wanted to cover, how I wanted the posts to flow and when I wanted to post.  I picked the Hashtag "#TotallyTrendyTuesday" to use as a way of categorizing all of the trends and topics to support leadership in the fitness and wellness space. And I created #WakeUpWednesday to bundle my posts focused on tools for leaders choosing to explore ways to be more emotionally intelligent and AWAKEN their lives.  Today I celebrate that completion. For the past twelve months I have followed that calendar, stayed consistent and published what I said I was going to! I want to thank two people specifically: Bryan O'Rourke for his inspiration for blogging in the first place. In 2011 he taught me to blog and I began writing; without him I never would have done this! And Amy Schmittauer: she helped me envision a content calendar and demonstrated that it is possible to stick to a plan and execute content week after week.  I feel excited about what 2016 has in store and the content I will be creating.  The new calendar is well under way - stay tuned! 

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Lindsey Rainwater is a consultant and coach to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Totally Trendy Tuesday, VLOG addition! Watch the Video below to learn about my tips for Health Club operators around wearables and community enhancement! 

Would love your thoughts!

cheers,

Lindsey

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Over the past decade consumer choices have changed tremendously around how to join a Health Club.  In the old days, health club memberships were sold in small closing offices with big contracts, often scary closing pitches and a no way out clause.  Thank goodness those days are over, the softer and friendlier "month to month" agreements are now in place, but now an even more progressive consumer controlled way of joining clubs has come along. 

Check out ClassPass, if you have not already heard of this show stopper of a platform, check it out! 

"For $79, you'll have your pick of classes to choose from, including cycling, yoga, Pilates, barre, strength training, bootcamp, dance, and so much more. Plus, we’re adding new studios and classes each and every week.  

Commitment not your thing? Cancel anytime". -ClassPass

I am not the only one talking about the platform, visionary Bryan O'Rourke had this to say.

"Technology is creating a tsunami of business model innovation and Class Pass is but one example. Competitors in the health club and fitness space should prepare for the opportunities and threats that are arising because significant change is upon us all. We have certainly entered a new era". -Bryan O'Rourke 

I could not agree more with what Bryan is saying here! the traditional health club membership model is changing significantly. As consumers are more and more empowered to have what they want when they want it, as an industry we are going to continue to see consumers create the reality of the market. 

What do you think, how will classpass and membership models like this impact our industry?

Reply here, send me your thoughts! 

And! take a moment to complete the survey bellow.

Cheers,

Lindsey

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o 

The VLOG Fun continues! 

Totally Trendy Tuesday, Twitter is Your Friend!

Learn quick tips about how to use Twitter to easily retain and transition your members from Spring to Summer.  

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coach  to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o