Creating a reliable bootcamp business seems simple enough yet when it’s not reliably growing it’s really hard to identify why it’s not working.
Ever hear the saying ‘you can’t read the label from inside the jar’?
It’s easy to make mistakes while trying to work things out because you’re inside the jar (aka your business).
Mistakes like the head in the sand approach where people should just join because I know my training is good. The knee jerk ‘more marketing approach’ where we look for more clients outside of our business instead of focusing on the one’s we already have. The mistake of not trying to build community in our bootcamps by offering more than just training to our clients. The mistake of not showing you care. And finally the mistake of mischarging what we are worth and sabotaging our business.
I danced around these mistakes for a long time. Probably because for me the solutions to those problems were the hard work. The work that would require me to put myself out there and maybe just maybe fail.
When in reality this was the important work that was going to allow me to work smarter and get the bootcamp business I desired. A reliable, fun bootcamp with a great group of people.
To stop my business from acting like a leaky cup I knew I had to start doing things differently. Over the next few months I tried and noted the impact of dozens of different tweaks.

One really simple thing I did that had one of the biggest impacts was I improved my ‘Game Face’.
Your Game Face is the attitude and energy that you bring to your session. Most people are like emotional vampires. They will absorb the emotion from the people around them. If you hang around glum people, you will start feeling glum. Hang around a group of positive people, life starts looking pretty awesome.
Game Face is not about going over the top and having serious conversations with your clients about going all the way down on their tricep pushdowns. It’s not about ignoring things that aren’t working and being stubborn. Game Face, in the way I’m talking about it, is about bringing that inner energy and lightness to each and every one of your sessions.
Game Face is about bringing that inner energy and lightness to each and every one of your sessions.
After reading about this on another site I decided to test it out. Sure enough, when I brought my Game Face consistently to my sessions my attendance went up. Instead of 14 out of 20 showing up, I had 18 out of 20.
Not only that but I was actually enjoying my early 6am sessions a lot more.
Occasionally I would find myself slipping back into not using the Game Face technique. So I would make an effort for 2 weeks to really bring it to each session.
Of course, attendance would go up again, me and my clients would enjoy the sessions more and when it came to paying for the next month there was no problems.
So I started telling the other trainers I worked with about it.
They told me about how they started enjoying training their clients more again. They told me how their clients were working harder during their sessions.
How to bring your Game Face:
Step 1: Give yourself time and space to get psyched.
Before you leave the house, get psyched up. You can do this by your favourite means: coffee, a shower, a quick workout, a pump up playlist, etc.
If you run your sessions early in the morning that will mean going to bed early and then getting up early enough to give yourself space to get psyched.
I used to get up an hour and 15 minutes before my first session. Shower, have breakfast and a cup of tea and then listen to some tunes in the car on the way to the park.

Step 2: Get to your location early. Like really early.
You should be ready to go 15 minutes before your session starts.
You may get away with jumping out of the car at 6:00am on the dot now, but that’s not part of getting your Game Face on. So we are going to stop that now.
Being ready means all equipment is set up and you are standing there ready to go.
No, you do not need to be annoyingly chirpy or overenthusiastic. No one wants that at 6:00am, just be ready for your clients and energized.
Step 3: Use the extra time.
Now as your clients arrive, instead of running around setting stuff up you can be relaxed and use this time to get to know them better.
It’s also a great time to do something else important. Attendance. Only by tracking attendance can you really know if your business is growing or not.

Now your know how to get on your Game Face you’re ready to try it out at one of your own sessions. Awesome!
But getting your Game Face on is just foundation of have a bootcamp that grows instead of shrinking or staying the same.
There are many other aspects like how to find new clients, how to position your bootcamp as different and how to keep looking after yourself through all this change.
And there are more things you can do to hold on to those clients do you have.
If you are interested in small daily actions you can take down this path then you’re in luck. Game Face is just one day of a 31 day course I’m running through the month of January. The course opens tomorrow (December 30th) and is perfect for anyone who is looking for real actions they can take to improve their bootcamp without trawling through the internet and business books.
But for now I’d like to challenge you to do just ONE THING in the next 3 minutes.
If you run a bootcamp (or are planning on starting one) post a comment below telling me how you would get your Game Face on before starting your bootcamp session.
Speak to you tomorrow. Until then I look forward to reading your comments.
Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.
I put my game face on, by waking up early before anyone in my house, sitting quietly and calming my mind.
Coffee and a big smile
It is challenging at times but I get my game Face on by playing music on my way in. Definitely having a preplanned work out written out. I also make sure that I am there in advance.
I put on my game face by heading out for an early walk before turning up to class being set up early and ready to chat to clients as they arrive
Play any prodigy track, they get me so energised and bouncy and overflowing with motivation
Have the music pumping as the campers start turning up! Big smile and a little chat with as many as possible. Although I do still have the odd session running round like a blue arsed fly when they arrive 😂😂
I pray when I leave my house and am driving to the workout. Once done and I’m at ease, I jam some hype music and get energized!!
Great email Kyle! And so true. I used to hate 5.30am sessions- but now I love them. And that’s because ive planned the session in 4 week blocks, I get up earlier and have my coffee I also listen to music on the way to the session. It’s at their house so I don’t need to set up. But the biggest change is my attitude- and they are so thankful and happy because I am. They have also started coming to more sessions because they like me and what I do.
i go over the client names and figure out strengths and weaknesses work on both eg if they can only do 5 push ups do 3 sets of 3 have a pushup challenge secretly disguised as a game put a happy person with a glum one . new person has mentors
Drive through coffee at 4:45am and on my way to my location I start to visualise my planned session and all it’s moving parts. This energises me before I even get out of the car.
I get up 1 1/2 hours before. I always have everything planned out the evening before and packed away. I have my favorite breakfast and lots of caffeine while I check email and read through social media. I arrive early, set up and make sure I mentally go through everything. I like to be prepared for all scenarios.
I have a fitness studio and run five 30-minute sessions every morning starting at 5:10 a.m – I get up at 3:30 so I can be showered, get a cup of coffee and arrive about 15 minutes before my clients start arriving. Everything is set up the night before. My clients vary in age and fitness levels so I be sure to have modifications in mind. Having a plan and not looking like I just woke up makes all the difference!!