by Chris Cooper
Great programming won’t get you new clients. But mediocre programming will lose clients.
The true measure of good programming is its ability to bring clients back the next day.
That means novelty. It means making the workout feel like a “game”. It means recognizing constant progress. It means solving the problems that clients cared about. And it means individualized coaching in a collaborative group.
It doesn’t mean “winning the workout” or moving from 5800th to 5600th on a worldwide leaderboard. In fact, a lot of gym owners now realize that the clients who care more about winning than about personal progress aren’t their ideal clients.
With the goal of adherence and retention in mind, gym owners are programming differently now.
My goal with Two-Brain Programming was to provide retention-focused programming to Two-Brain Business gyms for free.
First, I knew it would save them $150-$200 per month.
Second, I wanted to buy the gym owner time to work on the business instead of spending hours on programming every week.
Third, I wanted to save them from years of trial and error as they tried to figure it out themselves.
Fourth, I wanted to provide a holistic coaching model (which we call SEMM, for Sleep / Eat / Move Manage).
Fifth, I wanted to give gyms a model that could easily translate to at-home workouts without losing their clients.
Sixth, I wanted to help them prep their coaches to deliver with excellence, consistently. That meant both lesson plans AND client avatars.
No one in the market was doing all of these. Most programming streams are doing one or two. And none are helping coaches talk to their clients about WHY this workout matters to THEM–the most important part!
Let’s face it: coaching isn’t about how many thrusters you write on a spreadsheet. Coaching is about getting clients to show up and do thrusters to the best of their ability. Two-Brain Programming is for businesses focused on coaching. If you’re a client-centric microgym, this is for you.
This is client-centric programming. It is not “make the best CrossFitter” programming. There are many services out there making better CrossFitters. They’re getting cheaper and cheaper (I think crossfit Home Office is even giving it away for free now.)
The first tier of TBP – gym programming with the most common client avatars – is free for Two-Brain Business gyms in the Growth Stage of mentorship. (It’s also available for non-TBB gyms, because the demand is high for client-centric programming.) The second and third tier cost a bit because we pay the hosting platforms (like Wodify and SugarWOD) and the coaches who develop the programming.
There are other good alternatives out there. I really like Level Method Programming if you use the Level Method in your gym. And my friend Jason Brown is still doing great work at BoxProgramming.com if you prefer more strength-biased workouts.
Maybe you love programming. That’s great. I’d do this: use the free tier of Two-Brain Programming for 3 months. Reinvest the time you’d spend programming into growing your business. After three months, decide whether to continue or go back to writing programming yourself. Talk to your mentor about the value of your time, and take the next step to raise your EHR and NOB.
Me? I prefer to just check programming off my to-do list and focus on higher-value work.
