We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Flynn Endres. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.

Alright, Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you ever experienced a times when your entire field felt like it was taking a U-Turn?

One of the biggest changes in fitness has been the switch to online training! Some trainers were already dabbling in it, but the pandemic solidified its place in fitness training.

I’d already been doing online programming, so I was ready for the shift. I started with professionally-filmed YouTube videos in 2013, and in 2018 I founded an online team fitness game called Get Fit Done. When the lockdown was announced in March of 2020, I pivoted immediately to Zoom sessions with clients because I already knew how to be online.

Many trainers weren’t so quick to pivot, which meant I was one of the few fortunate people whose business grew stronger during the pandemic. I acquired clients whose trainers refused to go online; I acquired clients in 5 different time zones because location was no longer a factor.

And now, even though I do see some clients in person, most of my clients still train via Zoom or my new Goal Getters program! Online training is here to stay, and I’m all over it!

Laura, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have over 30 years of experience working in fitness, as a volleyball and track coach, group fitness instructor, personal trainer, corporate educator, public speaker and entrepreneur. I have a BS in Education and Health Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and I’ve held certifications in personal training, senior fitness, Pilates, and online personal training.

I got my first job as a group fitness instructor at Bally’s Vic Tanny in Madison, WI, because I walked in and asked for a job! Later, I took a coaching position for junior high girls’ volleyball and track and field. And I got my first job as a personal trainer when I was taking a group exercise class at the local gym and the trainer came up to me and said I looked like I knew what I was doing, so would I consider coming on board. So I did!

The problems I solve as a PT are also what sets me apart. You know how you see most trainers putting their clients through scary, too-hard workouts, pushing them to exhaustion? I’m not that trainer.

Early on in my career I had clients with critical health concerns – Progressive MS, amputation, Parkinson’s Disease. “The usual” wasn’t going to work for any of these people. I began to study how to create safe programming, how to hone in on each client’s highly-unique needs, and how to support their doctors’ and physical therapists’ programming.

Because I was unexpectedly thrown into that, I began to create my own signature style of programming, that includes exercises for balance, mobility, prehab, and what I call accessory exercises that work smaller muscle groups and build an underlying foundation of strength, endurance, and mobility.

I could have easily turned away these higher-risk clients, but I chose instead to rise to the challenge. I knew I’d study as much as necessary, and I’d pivot away from the typical styles of exercise, and I knew they’d be better off with someone like me whose focus is on safe and appropriate exercise over all else, than some trainer who was all about aesthetics or who wouldn’t have a clue how to veer from the usual style of “squats + burpees + whatever leaves clients in a puddle on the floor.” I feel great pride in serving my clients this way. And the proof is in the referrals. “She’s good! And she’s SAFE!” means I haven’t had to go looking for new clients in over 4 years.

The other thing I’m proud of is my online team fitness game (which is currently paused for an overhaul). There is no shortage of challenges out there, from 30-day squat challenges to steps challenges to full-body workout programs designed to last 6 weeks. But what I created is different!

Yes, you exercise, but it’s super unique! There’s the fact that it’s a GAME, with points, penalties, and bonus points! And participants play on teams, so there’s team spirit which leans on positive peer pressure to stay the path. And one of my absolute favorite parts is that the required daily check-ins for accountability are called “Trash Talk!”  I encourage players to be as ridiculous as possible, because laughing is good for you!

And while we’re busy playing the game, and laughing and cheering each other on, a beautiful side effect occurs…. We get fit done!

Every job I’ve ever held – from waitressing to teaching to public speaking to personal training, has been in service to others. I absolutely love being able to help people get healthy and fit!

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

The ability to read people; their body language, what they say and don’t say, how they carry themselves, how they handle challenges. It’s something I’ve always been good at, and it has been so key to my success. My clients don’t always know it, but I have so many ways of assessing their skills. Not just “can they do a push-up” but things like “will they push themselves?” and “do they have confidence in trying new exercises?” and “what style do they need from me?”

Here’s an example.

I might tell two different clients that I want them to do as many squats as they can in 45 seconds. Client #1 goes for it and pushes herself, and gets to a rep count I’m hoping for and expecting. (I am pretty darn good at knowing exactly what my client can do, well before she knows.)

Client #2, on the other hand, holds back. She might do it and own it, with words like, “Ugh, you know I hate squats. 45 seconds is a long time! I don’t think I can do it,” or she might think she’s hiding it and simply go slow, pause a long time between reps, or in other ways hold back.

Here’s what I now know: I can use timed intervals with Client #1, but I need to use rep count assignments with Client #2.

I don’t even have to say anything about that with Client #2. I simply use the cues I got to inform how I’ll program her workouts going forward.

I know the second my client walks in if he’s tired, upset, nervous, confident, happy, or any other emotion. I can tell when I should push them anyway and when I should hold back a little. I know when it’s the right day to push a boundary, and when it’s a day I should pivot away from the planned focus and instead work on something else entirely because it’s what’s needed in that moment.

I believe it’s critical to develop your soft skills, and to really put the personal in personal training. Otherwise you’re just another “gym jock” spending too much time worrying about six-pack abs and instagram-worthy exercises.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I haven’t read all of the book, “Tools Of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers” by Tim Ferris because I can’t get more than a few pages before I’m inspired to apply what I just read to my business, a client’s program, or my own health regimen! If you want to become great, learn from the greats. And this book is full of brilliant advice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wegetfitdone.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wegetfitdone/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeGetFitDone
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraflynnendres/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetFitDoneWorkouts

Image Credits
photographer Jean Mari B via https://www.snappr.com/photographers/jean-marie-b