The advent of this little thing known as the internet has expanded our cultural lexicon in many charming ways.

For instance, why suffer archaic processes such as *searching* or *commenting* when one can simply *google* or *tweet*?

And asking for instructions on how to install kitchen cabinets?

So 1987.

Youtube it.

But now, the www has produced a particularly insidious type of illegitimate offspring…

The cybersquatter.

As Taylor Swift knows, a squatter’s life is hard.

Just ask her former guitar teacher, Ronnie Cremer.  He’s the miscreant who registered the domain ITaughtTaylorSwift.com, which (swiftly?) prompted a cease and desist letter from Ms. Swift’s legal team.  The letter alleged that the use of her name implied her endorsement of the site, and that it’s “highly likely to dilute, and to tarnish, the famous Taylor Swift trademark.”

Well, this only served to whip internet trolls into a buying frenzy of illicit Taylor Swift domains – leading her management to scoop up TaylorSwift.porn, TaylorSwift.adult and a bunch of others, ostensibly to stave off the barbarian hordes bearing down on the gates of her empire.

You go, T-Swift.

Way to out-squat the squatters.

I mean, what does it say about our society when we discriminate against the young, rich, and beautiful like this?

All joking aside, I admire Taylor Swift.

That’s why I’ve decided to rebrand one of my own most tested and proven bum-shaping moves, the dumbbell sumo squat, as the T-Swift Cybersquat.

And it possesses just the right je ne sais quoi, required in the formation of an exquisite derriere.

Full description and video at TaylorSwift.booty.

(Just kidding, Tay Tay.  Call off the Rottweiler’s.)

Here’s how you perform it to excellence in accentuating the bedonkadonk of thy backside…

*Stand with feet more than shoulder width apart, toes pointed out slightly

*Hold a dumbbell between your legs

*Squat down under control, with low back tightly arched, being conscious of pushing the hips back in a sitting motion

*If you find it a bit tricky, try stretching your hips/hamstrings, and start with a few sets of kickbacks to get the tushy humming before you tackle the TSC

Gluteus to the maximus, I say.

Anyway, use my special squat, but you must NEVER speak it aloud, lest with your words you tarnish its great name.

Happy Booty-Shaping,

Conor Kelly
(416) 826-4844

P.S. Reshape your entire body: reply to this email or call me at (416) 826-4844 to request your complimentary personal training consultation today.

Today we celebrate St. Patrick, patron Saint of the Irish.

But few people know his story…

Having grown up in the comfort and stability of the Roman empire, Patrick finds himself enslaved to an Irish King at the age of 16.  Forced to work as a shepherd, he spends years roaming the mountains and countryside, shivering from cold.

He’s naked, alone, and hungry.

He starts to pray.

He’s never believed in his parents’ God (the God of Rome), but the more he prays, the more a burgeoning faith blossoms within him, and provides a sense a peace that steadies him against his ordeal.

One night he has a dream.

A voice tells him to get up, that a ship is waiting for him…

…That he’s going home.

He begins the unlikely journey that would ultimately lead him to freedom.

Upon returning to his family, Patrick continues to be preoccupied by the land where he was once captive.  He hears the voices of the Irish, sees their faces.  They beckon him to return, beg him in fact, with tears in their eyes.  He seeks to be ordained by the church, and embraces the required study – no mean feat for a young man who lacks the years of formal education normally accorded to a Roman youth.  Upon receiving his commission, he returns to Ireland to become the first active missionary to operate outside the safety of Rome.

He intends to confer Christianity upon the rag tag rabble of carefree warriors who inhabit Ireland at the time.

However, they’re about as likely to impale him as to hear him speak.

How does he do it?

How does he convert these stubborn, war-making Game Of Thronespersonalities?

In two ways…

First, he earns their respect with his courage.

(Thanks to his ardent belief, power and self-mastery emanate from Patrick like heat from a flame.)

Second, he tells them a story.

He weaves a narrative in which the virtues of faithfulness, courage, and generosity can exist in a peaceful man.  He taps into their insecurities.  In the chaos that is Ancient Ireland, calamity awaits in every patch of thick brush, or beyond every steep hill.  Evil gods plot to torment humans for their own sick pleasure.  He introduces them to a God that loves them, and whereby all things created exist to serve His providence – a God under which even suffering molds his most cherished creations.

No one is more qualified than Patrick to speak on this.

Finally, he liberates them from the fear of death by the promise of everlasting life.

And he does it convincingly.

Through sheer persistence, he frees them from their turbulent past, and ushers them into modernity as champions of culture.  He forgoes anger and resentment, and fills his heart with love and compassion for his former captors.  He devotes the latter half of his life to the island where he endured unthinkable hardships.  And against impossible odds, he converts most of Ireland…those *barbarians* whom many of his contemporaries would just as soon forget.  He spreads peace in an epoch of war, and shines a beacon on the better parts of their nature.

He inspires hope at a dark moment in history.

No matter what you may think of Christians or saints, it’s a remarkable achievement by one of the era’s great men.

He changed the world…by way of Ireland.

That is why we celebrate in his name.

And that is why, on this day especially, ‘tis grand to be Irish.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day,

Conor Kelly

P.S. This post is inspired by Thomas Cahill’s How The Irish Saved Civilization, whose account is much more detailed and utterly brilliant.  I highly recommend it.

In the 70’s, the Bulgarian Olympic Weightlifting team was one of the most dominant sporting forces on the planet.

They racked up medal counts that would make even the most hardened communist dictator blush.

(Or *turn red*, get it?  Uh?  Uh?  Ah whatever…)

In the totalitarian machinery of the former Eastern Bloc – and under massive investment by the state – science ruled the day.

After carefully selecting and segmenting their athletes into their respective sports, scientists studied all aspects of the participants training, diet, and supplementation, with the goal of gleaning every drop of their full potential.

They were extremely intentional in testing anything they could think of…

This even extended to flooding the weight room with scantily clad Bulgarian hotties, to see how it would affect the male lifters.

Guess what?

It helped.

(I know…shocker.)

The men lifted heavier weights, and trained harder under the ladies’ motivating influence.

The point is, progress is rarely achieved in any field – or in life – without a great deal of intention.

Unless you’re intentional about every segment of your day, you’ll fail to overcome the unconscious habits that are hardwired into your brain (and may not be supporting your success).

Here are a few things you can be intentional about…

*Packing your belongings with snacks and meals for the day, based on your schedule

*What menu items you’ll order at your lunch meeting

*How you want to feel throughout your workday (e.g. Decide “I’m going to feel great today…” Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you’s tried it!)

*How you’re going to nurture your own wellbeing (e.g. workout, read a book, have coffee with a friend, get a massage or spa treatment)

*Who you plan to be in your interactions with everyone you meet (What kindness can you do?  What compliment can give?)

*What you’re going to do to break up the routine

That last one is a winner.

Take a different route home, buy your coffee at another coffee shop, talk to a stranger, wake up at an earlier or later time…Anything that heightens your awareness in the moment and breaks the spell of the robot-like repetition that characterizes most daily regimens.

(Brain science corner: new experiences physically reshape your brain – it’s called neuroplasticity.  Continually repeated situations create deep grooves in your mind and trigger the same combinations of neurons to fire together, leading to the same predictable behavioral responses.  When you’re in the habit of introducing new stuff, it can be easier to form new associations and increase your ability to steer yourself to desirable action.)

When you give up the hypnosis of habit, you gain the power to choose freely in the present, as opposed to surreptitiously living out your past subconscious programming.

Only then are you truly in the driver’s seat – in your fitness program, and in life.

Don’t fight me on this.

You know I’m right…

Be more intentional about being intentional.

And bring on the Bulgarian gym bunnies…

Happy Intending,

Conor Kelly

P.S. Come see me present my latest talk, ‘LEAN FOR LIFE: How To Achieve & MAINTAIN Your Healthiest & Best Body’, next Tuesday, March 15th

in Liberty Village.

Click here to go to the registration page.

Remember when we used to get all our information from books?

My, how times have changed.

And while I stand by my belief that we’re living in the most exciting age in history, it’s important to consider how the tech revolution might be affecting you – especially in the larger context of fifty thousand years of human evolution.

The problem is what I call *Instagram crack.*

It’s the modern era dominion of the image or video over the written word.

And it violates a principle of neuroscience known as integration.

Integration says that our brains have evolved to operate best when the right and left hemispheres are allowed to function as they’re intended – and in harmony with each other.

What does this have to do with your fitness program?

I’ll explain…

You see, awareness of the body, images, emotions, and autobiographical recall are the domain of the right brain.  Logic, words, lists and sequences, on the other hand, pertain more to the workings of the left brain.

The preeminence of the visual means a lot of images, be they online, or in Men’s Health – or worse, Cosmo [shudder] – bypass your rational thinking and plant themselves directly in your experiential memory.

This goes way deeper than body-image issues.

It’s a stealth assault on your very humanity.

One consequence is that most people’s expectations of a given diet, workout program, or supplement are…how shall I put this?

A bit coo coo for cocoa puffs.

(Exhibit A: people sometimes bring me magazine photos as examples of what they want to look like.  In one instance, I told the guy flat out, “you will never look like that.  The second you accept it and move on, your life will immediately improve.”  He didn’t agree, and guess what?  He still doesn’t look like the picture, and he’s even more miserable about it!)

This is also why ab machines in TV infomercials sell so well, by the way.  Your logic says “that can’t be right”, but the other part of you says “crack, baby!  Craaaack!!”

The point is, it’s hard to inspire right-thinking in health and exercise habits when you’re fighting an unseen opponent.

And Instagram crack, like other forms of crack, presents a dilemma.

The dilemma is it feels good.  Real good.

It instantly gratifies.  BOOM!  Straight to reward center of the brain.  No need to arduously decode a bunch of words, or sequences of words.  No effort.  It’s easy.

Why should you care?

Because the integrated brain is proactive vs. reactive.   It discerns opportunities to do well instead of obstacles to happiness.  This applies no less to how you are in relation to your fitness program.  With integration there’s flow.  It doesn’t feel like a grind.

In fact, it’s natural to succeed.

To protect yourself from the Instagram crack lurking on every open tab in your web browser, el numero uno is education.  The more informed you are about your health, the less susceptible you’ll be to the litany of crack-peddlers currently stalking popular media like the internet, television, and magazines.

Read books (I’ll recommend a few).

Attend workshops (I’ve got several coming up).

Then consciously apply the filter of education to whatever eye-candy presents itself.

Let it pass through your logical brain.  Does this make sense to me?  Analyze more.  Be more deliberate about how you take in information.  As a general way of being, it makes it easier to stay healthy, both mentally and physically.

I’ve got lots more to share about the brain – and specifically how to use what we know about this powerful tool to live a healthier, happier, and more complete life.

This, and more,  I’ll divulge in a soothing morphine drip over the coming weeks and months.

And if one email was enough to get you hooked on my own brand of narcotic…then by all means, call or text me for your complimentary personal training consultation (416.826.4844).

I am a benevolent dealer… a kind dealer – I sell only integration.

To Your Brain,

Conor Kelly

Well…technically it is.

But not in the sense we usually mean by “four-letter word.”

And personal trainers can’t really count anyway.

Allow me to ‘splain ma-self with two quick stories…

He stayed healthy just a little longer

A great man – and client of mine – recently passed away at the age of 72. A few months back, he excused himself from our training sessions by telling me he’d had some bad health news. When his wife contacted me last month to inform me of his passing, I was shocked to discover he had terminal leukemia – and that he knew of his condition before we started training together.

He never told me, hinted, or even slightly let on that he was ill.

He was given 3-6 months and lasted eighteen. And when, at his memorial, his wife thanked me for my efforts, and my role in keeping him on an exercise program that extended his life just that much more, it drove home for me once again the incredible significance of the responsibility we take on as personal trainers, and health practitioners.

From broke to high-performer in 90 days

The second is a brief anecdote from my own life.

At the beginning of February 2008, I made the leap from being a club trainer to becoming an independent personal trainer. I had 3 clients, no savings, and no real idea about how to build a business. By the end of the month I was in a financial Gulag. As March 1st loomed, with rent and other things due (not to mention groceries), I had less-than-no money and was surviving off of credit – which was also quickly running out.

Fear wrapped its icy tentacles around my heart.

The tension was so much I barely slept or ate. I envisioned all sorts of nightmare scenarios, like my girlfriend dumping me for being a loser, and me ending up homeless and alone.

To add insult to injury, I got a referral from a former client, a sale I desperately needed…

And I screwed it up.

I wasn’t sure what to convey, my presentation was disorganized, and I lost the sale.

I needed a new approach. So I maxed out my credit card to pay for my first sales training course (I’ve had many since), and devoted myself to studying every detail of that material, and implementing it.

Then, I met a guy at a local networking event who figured out I was a personal trainer, and requested a consultation. Even though I was a nervous wreck, I stuck to the plan, and closed a $2,400 sale.

Rent…check.

Groceries…check.

Fear…well, still there. But things were looking up.

In March of the same year, I visited a couple in their home. It was a co-worker of a client looking for a personal trainer for both he and his wife. They’d never met me before, yet I walked out of their house 45-minutes later with a cheque in my hand for $7,000! I’ll never forget phoning my girlfriend to tell her, and her screaming into the phone like we’d won the lottery.

By the end of May, I’d already racked up more than $40,000 worth of sales. To put that in perspective, I’d earned more in a 90-day period than what had been my average annual income for the previous five years!

Not long after that, I had my first $40,000 month, and eventually, my first $30,000 week.

I’ve had a $16,000 sale from one client, and $13,000 in a single cheque.

Yes, for personal training.

I’ve never since doubted the value of investing in myself.

I took a risk, and it completely changed my life.

The real meaning of selling

I heard it again, just the other day:

“I hate selling. I always feel like I’m trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t want.”

As someone formerly very resistant to selling, I get it.

But it’s way off base. It stems from a confusion about what selling really is. It’s this:

Selling = helping.

If you care about people, you should want to get really good at it.

I think back now over the last few years and the hundreds of success stories we’ve had, and I wonder what would have happened to them if hadn’t made the effort to learn how to communicate my value, and help those clients understand how my solution could solve their problems.

So many people positively impacted, in their health, and their quality of life – all because I stepped out of my comfort zone and learned to SELL. In my opinion, you can’t possibly do anything better, for yourself, and for the people you serve, than to master this essential skill.

If you really believe in what you do, then you have a responsibility to connect people with services that make their lives better.

Sales is a calling.

It’s a universal imperative.

Thou. Shalt. Sell.

It’s in the Bible.

Alright, so maybe you won’t find it in those exact words.

But what it represents, is treating others the way you would want to be treated.

Imagine the situation reversed. If you had a problem, and someone with knowledge of your problem was able to identify a need, and lay out a clear path for remedying it, would you want them to share it with you? And if it cost as much or less than what it was worth to you to fix this particular problem, would you pay that amount?

Would you pay me $100 for a glass of water?

No?

What if your hair was on fire?

The answer is, if you had (1) money or a credit card with available credit, (2) belief that the solution can work, and (3) the pain being caused by the problem was big enough, you would without question.

If you understand the above, you can sell.

And you can transform lives for the better.

The dreaded “fitness assessment”

Unfortunately, our industry doesn’t have the greatest track record.

Most health clubs use a very negative approach when it comes to selling personal training. It’s about making the person feel inadequate in some way. Asking a 50-year old woman who’s never worked out in her life to do squats on a Bosu ball, then pointing out how weak her stabilizers are when she shakes is horses**t. Pardon my French. But it infuriates me when I see things like that.

In fairness, these places close a lot of business.

But when you look deeper, it’s only because of the volume of members. Their batting percentage ain’t nothin’ special.

That’s because this style of selling puts people on the defensive.

Selling is a trust-based process. If you don’t engender trust, you can’t gain good will. Without good will, you will never be in a position to lead that person – at least not in a way that elevates them to a new place in their lives.

The “hard-sell” is out.

Sure you can brow beat someone into signing a contract, but (a) a lot of those deals get cancelled or refunded, and (b) if you have to convince someone to train with you, they probably won’t comply much with the program anyway.

That’s not a client you want.

Why learning to sell makes you a better professional

What I discovered about learning to sell the right way – with compassion – is that it makes you a better trainer. It teaches you effective communication, helps you better understand the needs of your client, and empowers you to get your ideas across with more authority.

Think about it. Once the initial sale is on paper, the selling’s not done. You’ve still gotta sell them on why they should do what you tell them too. You’ve got to keep them engaged and motivated. And the biggest idea you need to sell them on? Why they can confidently EXPECT to reach their goals, especially when they’ve never done it before.

I’ve found that my intake process with a new client sets up the tone of the relationship. It clarifies the expectations of both parties, and demonstrates the value of what you’re doing. It helps you get to know your client better, and reveals exactly what buttons to push to keep them excited about a result or an outcome that, typically, takes time.

Every master was once a disaster

Remember your first day in the gym? We’re you at least a little bit intimidated? Did you have much of a clue about what to do?

The point is, with very few exceptions, anyone who’s ever gotten great at anything sucked at it – at least a little – in the beginning. Maybe they sucked a lot.

Just because you think you’re not good at selling doesn’t mean you can’t be great at it. And just because you don’t think you like it, doesn’t mean you can’t learn to love it.

I sucked.

I hated it.

I got so nervous my hands would shake.

But I got over it.

How?

By learning a bit about it, I did a bit better, and it ignited my drive to excel even more.

Now I love selling. It’s a passion. Every part of the process is delicious and fun to me. And I’ve fully internalized that the more I sell, not only am I making things better for my family, but I’m enriching my clients lives too.

It’s win-win.

Closing The Deal November 14th @Body Pump Inc

Closing The Deal is a new workshop I’ve created to help less experienced trainers benefit from the knowledge I received from my various mentors, and the experience I acquired in-the-trenches, selling for my life.

You can amplify your passion for the industry, refine your craft as a personal trainer, and drastically change your current financial circumstances.

You can engender so much certainty around selling that confidence just absolutely oozes out of your every pore, and you convert nearly 100% of genuinely interested prospects to paying clients.

You can enhance your enthusiasm for meeting new people, and educating them about what you do, and how you can help.

But most of all, you can reach the top of your game and truly excel as a personal trainer.

F**k being good. Be GREAT. That’s what I say.

If what I’ve said resonates at all, you’ll want to be at my Closing The Deal workshop on November 14th.

I guarantee you’ll love it.

I’ll be an open book.

I’ll hold nothing back, because I believe I can help you, and I believe in what you do. We need MORE personal trainers helping MORE clients to be better physically, and therefore live fuller, more meaningful lives.

Details are below. Hope to see you there!

To Your Success,

Conor Kelly

CLOSING THE DEAL: Sales Secrets From A Top Fitness Industry Producer

Saturday November 14th, 1pm-3pm @Body Pump Inc., 9 Saint Nicholas St.

When you come to the workshop, here’s what you’ll discover…

• The #1 ingredient in successful selling – and why most personal trainers get this wrong.

•A crucial step most trainers miss that makes stratospheric closing percentages (90%-100%) not only possible, but likely

• The best way to add $$$ to your bottom line and stability to your income by closing big packages of training sessions, and how you can get your prospect excited to sign up for the year or longer

• The ‘trick’ to putting together an effective close, and overcoming any of your prospect’s objections (HINT: it’s not a trick at all…and it’s something you do instinctively anyway)

• Mastering the intro session: how to engage your prospect, raise their belief, and make them willing and eager to buy from you.

• How to get your prospect to tell you EXACTLY – in their own words – how to sell them (this is completely ethical and, in fact, the basis of true professionalism)

• And much more…

Cost: $50

Attendance: limited to 10 serious fitness professionals

Reserve your spot today by emailing Conor at conorkel@gmail.com

See you there!

RE-PUBLISHED FROM FEB 2015

So I admit it, I cheated.

And I don’t even feel guilty about it, either.

(In fact, I regret not cheating more.)

My workout plan calls for 25 minutes a day, and on Saturday, I pushed it to 45 minutes.

I know, I know…dammit Conor! I wish I had more discipline. But I couldn’t control myself! I just had to have me some more of that sweet, sweet exercise, baby.

What’s wrong with me?

Notwithstanding the obvious, I think it has something to do with a phenomenon I recently described to a colleague, which I call *CRITICAL MASS*. In nuclear physics, this term refers to the amount of material needed to sustain a nuclear reaction.

In fitness terminology, I use it to describe the moment when your workout program becomes self-sustaining.

Sort of.

You see, I’m four weeks into my workout comeback. (Bicep tear.)

And I’ve experienced critical mass before.

When you first start an exercise program, there’s a lot of friction involved with getting yourself going. Frankly, it’s a bit of a grind. Both your mind and body are better adapted to sitting on the couch, or in front of a computer. There’s a touch of self-persuasion that creeps in every time you act even a tad industrious. You gotta talk yourself past the devil sitting on one shoulder, pulling out every stop to trick you into staying in your comfort zone.

If you manage to silence this rascal, and take action often enough — and for long enough — your forward momentum eventually becomes greater than the resistance keeping you mired in the quicksand of the status quo.

You’re less tired, you can do more — and you start feeling like you want to.

When critical mass really kicks in, you almost don’t want to stop.

It’s a high.

And it feels incredible.

When you’re there, motivation is a non-issue, Amigo.

The faster you reach critical mass, the sooner your goals become a foregone conclusion.

Trouble is, most people don’t have the knowledge, or the drive to sustain themselves long enough to hit that crucial turning point.

They fall flat.

And quit.

So what is the fastest — really the ONLY way — to become more enthusiastic about something?

Learn how to do it well.

If motivation is an issue for you, do your body a ‘solid’, and give me call:

(416) 826-4844

Sometimes I’m good…

But when I’m bad, I’m even better.

Yours In Great Health,

Conor Kelly
(416) 826-4844