Melinda Hughes at the Strength Shoppe in Pasadena
Melinda Hughes is the owner of The Strength Shoppe, a high-intensity training facility in Pasadena, California. She is a certified Nutrition Consultant, a certified Power of 10 trainer, an American Council on Exercise (ACE) instructor, and she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Denison University, where she graduated from Denison magna cum laude with an Honors diploma.
In addition to helping hundreds of clients of all ages – some as young as 13, and others as old as 92! – get stronger, become healthier, and experience a higher quality of life, Melinda has also pursued other creative endeavours that being a successful business owner in the high-intensity training field has enabled her to do, such as starting a comedy channel on YouTube which has gotten over hundreds of thousands of views.
Contact Melinda Hughes:
- The Strength Shoppe (Official Website)
- The Strength Shoppe on Facebook
- The Strength Shoppe on Twitter
- The Strength Shoppe on YouTube
- Melinda Hughes on Linkedin
- Melinda’s Comedy Channel
- Email: info [@] thestrengthshoppe [.] com
In this episode, we cover:
- The mindset and attitudes you need to start and sustain a successful HIT businesses
- Melinda’s unique approach to business and how it gives her an edge in the HIT field
- How to get good clients and new referrals (and how to keep them coming back)
- How to market high-intensity training to people who normally wouldn’t think of doing strength training
- … and much more!
Download How to Attract Great Personal Trainers PDF
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
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This episode is brought to you by the Resistance Exercise Conference – The science and application of strength training for health and human performance.
Would you like to:
- Learn from the top strength training researchers?
- Network and connect with other exercise professionals from all over the world?
- Join a welcome reception on Friday night to build relationships with other strength training professionals?
- Experience an early morning workout from an expert trainer to kick start your Saturday?
- And get inspired, rejuvenated and focused on your strength training business?
I certainly do and that is why I am attending and interviewing all of the speakers at the event.
The resistance exercise conference will be held on the 9th and 10th of March 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at The Commons Hotel.
To get 10% off your entry fee, head on over to ResistanceExerciseConference.com, click the registration button and enter corporatewarrior10 in the promo code field in PayPal.
I’m very excited about this and have wanted to attend for years. Sign up now at ResistanceExerciseConference.com, get 10% off with promo code corporatewarrior10 and I look forward to meeting you in person!
This episode is brought to you by ARXFit.com, ARX are the most innovative, efficient and effective all-in-one exercise machines I have ever seen. I was really impressed with my ARX workout. The intensity and adaptive resistance were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I love how the machine enables you to increase the negative load to fatigue target muscles more quickly and I love how the workouts are effortlessly quantified. The software tracks maximum force output, rate of work, total amount of work done and more in front of you on-screen, allowing you to compete with your pervious performance, to give you and your clients real-time motivation. As well as being utilised by many HIT trainers to deliver highly effective and efficient workouts to their clients, ARX comes highly recommended by world-class trainers and brands including Bulletproof, Tony Robbins, and Ben Greenfield Fitness. To find out more about ARX and get $1,000 OFF software licensing fees, please go to ARXfit.com and mention Corporate Warrior in the how did you hear about us field.
To subscribe via email and get my FREE eBook with 6 podcast transcripts with guests like Dr. Doug McGuff, Drew Baye, and Skyler Tanner – Click here
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was the most notable experience you’ve had with a HIT trainer or facility? Please let me know in the comments at the bottom of this post.
Show Notes
Click the link below to listen from the exact time stamp on Overcast:
- Why is The Strength Shoppe spelled the way it’s spelled? [5:44]
- Melinda talks about her mentor and how she got into High-Intensity Training [6:57]
- What inspired Melinda to start her own business? [8:04]
- On having confidence, taking risks, and starting a business during a recession [9:13]
- On having The Law of Attraction mindset (and one amazing experience that it resulted in) [10:58]
- On having a positive mindset in business and reframing challenges and obstacles as opportunities [18:50]
- What sets The Strength Shoppe apart from other fitness businesses, and why doesn’t Melinda offer free consultations [20:19]
- How does Melinda get new clients? [26:19]
- On the importance of location in starting a high-intensity training business [28:52]
- On the freedom of having your own business and how Melinda approaches creating experiences for her clients [32:08]
- Melinda’s approach to coaching people toward momentary muscle failure [40:27]
- On the critical factor of the mind-body connection in helping clients succeed in their health and fitness goals [44:33]
- Melinda talks about her target market, who can benefit the most from high-intensity training, and the general makeup of The Strength Shoppe’s demographic [51:38]
- On how to market high-intensity strength training to women effectively [55:27]
- Melinda talks about how The Strength Shoppe’s colorways and branding came about [58:18]
- How has The Strength Shoppe’s way of serving and coaching its clientele changed over the years? [1:00:41]
- Melinda talks about the non-monetary benefits of owning your own training facility [1:06:43]
- Melinda talks about her creative pursuits apart from being a business owner, the importance of understanding yourself as a person, comedy, and the genius of Aziz Ansari [1:13:12]
- On social media, its impact on business, and Melinda’s thoughts on the different social media platforms [1:23:25]
Selected Links from the Episode
- Meet Melinda Hughes of The Strength Shoppe in Pasadena and Echo Park
- Pure Strength
- Survivorship Bias
- Law of Attraction
- The Strength Shoppe (video)
- Body by Science by Dr. Doug McGuff and John Little (Amazon US / Amazon UK)
- Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers ( Amazon US / Amazon UK )
- Kieser Training
- MedX Exercise Equipment
- Pilates
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- Paleo f(x)
- Ancestral Health Symposium
- Skyler Tanner’s Smart Strength
- Melinda Hughes’ Lame Lines (Blurred Lines Parody video)
- Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden
- Buffer
- Hootsuite
People Mentioned
- Melissa Gunn
- Jay Vincent (Listen to previous episodes with Jay here: part 1, part 2, and part 3)
- Fred Hahn (Listen to my interview with Fred here)
- Derek Sivers
- Skyler Tanner (Listen to previous episodes with Skyler here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5)
- Aziz Ansari
- Sarah Silverman
- Donald Trump
John Briggs — 2 Powerful Tools You Need To Use To Grow Your Strength Studio’s Revenue FASTER (And How To Turn Your Business Around Even if You’re Losing Money Now)
316 – How to use ‘Bring A Friend Week’ to get at least 10 New Clients
311 – How to Get New Clients, Produce Great Trainers, and Price Your 1-on-1 Workouts with Luke Carlson
Really liked this episode. Cheers Melinda, your attitude is truly awesome!
I have a question, regarding the actual training, that was not the focus of the interview, but since you have a very big experience now, I’d like to ask. Some gusets here, have mentioned, who themselves or that they had clients, who did not get well along with superslow and they seemed to move away to other tempos and/or techniques in their HIT training. What is your opinion on that? Have you had cilents, who did not progress well with superslow and if so, what was you fix with them.
Thank you!
Thank you, Kamen! In my experience, superslow works for everyone. We vary the frequency of the workouts (how often someone comes for a session) as well as the intensity of the workout, depending on the individual level of the client. The slow tempo works the muscle deeply and thoroughly. And it’s safe! We never speed it up. We use techniques (i.e. forced negatives, positive assists, different seat settings) to help clients overcome plateaus in training. Typically we only stray from standard superslow protocol for clients who need a lighter “physical therapy” approach. Usually we incorporate static holds for those who struggle with dynamic movement due to injuries or medical conditions– but if you’ve ever done a static hold, you know it doesn’t really feel like you are getting off easy!! Sometimes we add negative push-ups or negative pull-ups (the negative portion is the only part performed) to a routine when advanced clients want to feel so sore they can’t wash their own hair. Masochists!
This was a great episode, Lawrence. Melinda was a real breath of fresh air both in attitude and in content. I’d love to hear her in a part two maybe focusing more on exercise protocols, genuinely interested in hearing how material familiar to me can be communicated differently. I find important concepts are best delivered by strong “non dry” personalities but different audiences are receptive to different speakers if that makes sense?
Thank you Andrew. Yes makes complete sense. Melinda has a unique communication style. Certainly will consider asking Melinda for a Part 2 in the future.
Cool, certain people would switch straight off as soon as Doug or Drew for example start going into the nut’s and bolts of a workout whereas someone like Melinda would better hold their attention.
Strange but might be true. I can sit and listen to Doug and Drew for hours, but there is evidence online of people that aren’t as receptive to their style. Maybe some like Melinda resonates with that type of person.