Personal Fitness Professional - January/February 2009 - (Page 29)

Owner, MBC Fitness Essentials, Inc., Westmont, Illinois President, Andrea Metcalf, Inc., Chicago, Illinois CERTIFICATIONS NASM PES, CPT; ACE Group Exercise; Polestar Pilates; Reebok Core EDUCATION DePaul University: Exercise Science Bachelor of Science; K-12 Physical Education and Health Teaching Certiﬁcation CONTACT INFO am@andreametcalf.com email: 630.670.4700 phone: www.andreametcalf.com website: company, chain fitness facility. She was finally able to open her own studio, which she says didn’t happen without challenges. Metcalf mentions that the early days at her studio, MBC Fitness (which employed only herself and another trainer) were often slow, and group classes with only one person in the class weren’t uncommon. But Metcalf ’s vision persisted: “I just worked harder,” she says. Metcalf believed she could deliver a ﬁtness experience — unrivaled by the big box gyms — that connects the mind and body, empowering clients to create a sustainable wellness routine in a positive environment. A Look at Now Six years, 25 trainers and 150 members later, it worked. Now, however, Metcalf is reducing time spent training one-on-one to focus on reaching a bigger audience through the media. One of her goals is to double the connection rate of people she inﬂuences as a ﬁtness professional. One of the tactics used to achieve her goals was to appear regularly in print as well as television. To do so, Metcalf identiﬁed a handful of magazines with which she would like to work, and she booked a trip to New York. Before she left, Metcalf called all the editors on her list and asked for a brief meeting, and several took her up on her oﬀer. Metcalf left the big apple with the role of ﬁtness contributor to MORE magazine, a consumer publication aimed at women over 40. From that relationship, she also leveraged exposure on Meredith Publishing Corporation’s Better.tv. Metcalf still keeps one foot in the one-on-one training world, if for nothing more than her love for her clients and desire to see results in person. “I’ll never be able to give up one-on-one training entirely,” she says. Her oldest, and maybe dearest, client is 95, and she says it would be impossible to turn that client over to another trainer. “Personality and caring are more important to me than knowledge [when you’re impacting the lives of others],” she says. Metcalf is optimistic about the future of the ﬁtness industry, although she believes the Surgeon General-recommended 30 minutes a day of exercise isn’t doing the trick. “That’s so intimidating for people,” she says. Her message now is how a little movement goes a long way. She believes that a less compartmentalized life, where people incorporate exercise back into the ﬂow of their lives, 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night, is where the answer lies. And that’s where she thinks ﬁtness professionals can make the biggest diﬀerence in the future. “We’re such a huge cog in the wheel of preventive health care,” says Metcalf. She says that future opportunities will continue to develop in online coaching and corporate gyms. She believes that trainers may take a more advisory role with some clients and help them streamline their workouts so that their 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there is functional and intensity appropriate. But most of all, this single mother of three teenagers proves that what you dream you can achieve within the ﬁtness world. With persistence and a belief in your message, Metcalf says, “You make your own success.” ● JAN-FEB2009 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM 29 http://www.andreametcalf.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - January/February 2009

Personal Fitness Professional - January/February 2009 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Ready to Rock the Podium What It Takes to Change Fitness Marketing Makeover Be Better Top Club Building a Base of Special Populations The Balancing Act Take Action! Nutrition Solutions Datebook Journey to Success New on the Market The Four P's Exercising Your Influence No More Pain in the Back!

Personal Fitness Professional - January/February 2009

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