I have been sharing my workouts with co-workers and friends since 2007 and have been sharing with the world via this website since 2010. The pleasure has definitely been mine. I’ll give a bit of history, and then I’ll throw some tips at those who may be on the cusp of sharing with others.
History:
I’ve written an in-depth post on Kemme Fitness’ history here. The short version is I began to create my own Functional Fitness workouts in 2007 and was using them in the gym at my work. Co-workers saw the crazy stuff I was doing, became interested and asked to join me. We’ve had a cult of about a dozen folks for several years now. They completely run Kemme Fitness workouts when I’m not there. Some of them are even training newbies.
My good friend, Jason Robillard, had began creating his incredibly huge on-line presence with Barefoot Running University and he encouraged me to start my own blog. I launched KemmeFitness.com in 2010 and have been adding content ever since. I have well over 400 posts, including hundreds of workouts and ramblings such as this post. Don’t forget our books such as The Low Cost Gym and Functional Fitness Defined. The beginning of 2012 marked the creation of our 12 week Functional Fitness programs. 2013 will hopefully be filled with Angry Ronin’s K-Fit app’s success.
Tips for sharing:
The first tip is one Jason gave me – don’t be greedy. I often joke about how I share all of these resources and make no money, however, this philosophy served him well (he was able to become self-sufficient and self-reliable and quit his day job). Besides, I’ve seen those sites with advertisements everywhere. The owner only makes a minimal profit, yet users have to scroll down endlessly at times to find the actual content….that is after they wait forever for the page to download due to the intense size of the advertising data at the top of the page.
The second tip is to make sure you pay total attention to form. Most Functional Fitness programs utilize a lot of bodyweight, so bad form typically doesn’t cause too many injuries. However, if your program relies heavily on barbells such as Crossfit, you better know what you are doing and what you are sharing with others. The bottom line is, although you are only sharing and not making official recommendations, you still ethically have to the responsibility to keep people safe.
Back to form for the third tip. Even with bodyweight exercises, good form gets carried over into other more complex movements, some with weight, so having good form will keep folks moving forward in a safe manner. Also, even if you aren’t concerned about injury, good form typically gives you good results. If you Push-ups has a saggy back, you probably aren’t going to pull a muscle. However, having a straight alignment will force you to develop your core strength, so good form is more important than more repetitions. If you can’t do 10 perfect push-ups, don’t do the last 5 in poor form. Stop at 5 when your form gives out.
The fourth tip is to make it fun. I’ve gone so far as to make little awards up with various levels of achievement. I wrote a nice post about it here. I tease folks, some times even punch them, and give tons of encouragement. Not sure why I punch them other than it pleases me!
If you are using Kemme Fitness resources, you should have everything you need to share with others. Get them used to using the website if they need help with looking up exercises. Have them read the User Guide if need be. It will take a lot of pressure off of you.
Why share with others? The benefits totally outweigh any investment on your part. Working out in groups is a riot. Helping others turn their lives around and learn how to exercise properly is even better. And besides, you might not have a choice. If you are working out where other folks can see you, I will guarantee people will become interested. So be prepared and have fun sharing.