Choosing the right club management software is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as an owner. Whether you run a single-location Muay Thai studio or a multi-site full-service gym, controlling costs, managing employees, and tracking clients are the cornerstones to your success. If you don’t know how much money you’re spending – or making – then your very job is at risk. Ironically, many fitness companies who sign-up with well-known, heavily-advertised gym software products are forced into that very position. Like a wrestler flat on the mat, they concede control of their business to a third party by [...]
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Recovery fitness is the phrase of the day for health clubs, boutique gyms, and personal trainers. The equipment used by athletes today ranges from foam rollers to cryotherapy tanks and every idea in between. The rage reminds me of a former health club catering to professional and elite level athletes. There, next to the pull-up bars and heavy ropes, was an automated massage table. Each time I considered it, the sheer idea of lying in full view and receiving an electronic massage in the center of a busy gym just shamed me into paralysis. During my eight years attending that [...]
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By this time, most everyone knows the basics of keeping their gyms and health clubs COVID-19 clean. Since we've figured out the basics, now is good time to consider the chemicals, techniques and emerging technologies that may make the difference in keeping your gym healthy and safe. Disinfectants When choosing cleaning products for your gym, consider that every product approved against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) includes an EPA registration number on its label. Although the CDC tracks coronavirus cases, it is the EPA which regulates chemicals and is the go-to source for correct cleaning information. Does that chemical work? To determine if [...]
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Everyone, it seems. From teens to octogenarians, we're all pumping iron and taking classes to stay in shape. Thanks to medicine and technology, we are both living longer and more aware of how habits impact our health. And because of that, gyms are no longer the realm of young, beautiful adults. Today, your gym can attract everyone from a 16-year-old high school athlete to an 76-year-old retiree, and chances are, it will.However, just because everyone's exercising, doesn't mean we are all the same. There are many key generational differences and understanding them will help you refine services without wasting time [...]
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What does it take for a person to show up at the gym after they've paid their dues? What is the difference between the individual who exercises regularly and the one who drops the ball? Scientific research suggests it may all boil down to competency and support. People need to feel good at what they're doing and know others are in the game with them. Recent psychology research on motivation calls this the self-determination theory (SDT). How interested a person is in continuing something is driven by how well an activity meets one's need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Exercisers [...]
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Health clubs are in a pickle right now. Not only are they struggling under a load of new regulations and expectations, but they must figure out how to lure clients back into the gym -where the money is made. Just how can gyms rebuild faith in their brand, their facility, their people? Is there a roadmap to follow? Here are the facts In truth, gyms are not petri dishes of disease. Early non-peer reviewed research shows minimal transmission of COVID-19 at gyms when proper distancing and hygiene methods are in place. The Oslo-based study randomized 3,764 people split into two [...]
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What if every gym employee approached their job like a salesperson? How would that affect your health club's businessevery day? Would it help or hurt customer retention? Why would you even want to train employees in basic sales techniques? Wouldn't that become annoying? Probably not. See, sales is not just about selling something. It's an attitude. Employees are a core component of any marketing strategy.They reflect the composition of your gym, your target market.They are the face of who you are as a business and you hired them because of their skills, personality, and ability to relate to customers. So [...]
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In many ways, the COVID-19 gym shut-down accelerated an already intense competition in the virtual health and fitness marketplace. Companies such as Peloton and Mirror were already bringing high-end, high-quality workouts into individuals' homes, while club-staple Les Mills' expansion into the on-demand arena created another at-home avenueencompassing classes and training programs. Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar gym shops shut down, forcing owners to pivot and change business models within weeks. Their one option? Jump into the digital fray-which is exactly what they did-giving away free classes, offering free trials, and supercharging their online community with ad hoc Zoom classes and YouTube videos. Within [...]
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The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a long shadow on the question of how to maintain a clean and sanitized gym while running a successful, profitable business. The increased vigilance required by staff, the infrastructure investments, the heightened customer awareness coupled with suppressed demand all combine to swell both costs and risks. Today's gym owner walks a fine line between keeping his or her business open and losing it all to an uncertain market. However, for gym owners, their single greatest decision could be to see this pandemic as an opportunity-a chance to grow and change for the better-rather than view [...]
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It's not always easy to know which equipment you need to stock in your gym right off the bat. Some gyms operate under strict financial constraints, while others have smaller indoor spaces than they'd ideally like. In a perfect world, of course, you would be able to start with the most essential equipment and then expand to include more as your business also expands. But where do you start? What are the essentials? And if you have to choose between a high-quality barbell cage, smith machine, or leg press machine to fill out your "lower body" equipment section, what's the [...]
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When you've been "the boss" for a long time, it can be hard to remember what it felt like working for someone else. You get used to making the decisions, holding the power, and choosing the direction in which you want your company to go. When the future of your gym business lies on your shoulders, you feel that weight every single day. Especially now, with COVID-19 fresh in everyone's minds and the futures of independent businesses everywhere hanging in the balance, you're probably feeling the stress of holding everything together. You might feel like you are the glue trying [...]
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As a gym owner, you have likely been concerned with keeping the fears of your paying members at bay in the post-COVID-19 world. You probably have spent the mandatory lockdown coming up with ways to maneuver your business through the crisis and putting plans in place for your grand reopening strategy once the stay at home orders are lifted. But what about your employees? Many workers are facing huge numbers of uncertainties surrounding their jobs, as well as worrying about their own health and that of their families. Now is the time to plan how you will address your employees' [...]
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What benefits does partnering with a physical therapist bring to your gym members? As the collective age of United States citizens continues to rise, so does the rate of exercise-related injuries. For many people trying to stay in shape, effectively rehabilitating an injury now means that they must see both a physical therapist and a personal trainer, often at different facilities with no communication between them, and hope that the information they receive is consistent, safe, and helpful. This is why, immediately, it seems obvious that bringing a physical therapist into your gym space would be of huge benefitto your [...]
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It's not always easy to strike a balance between managing your employees closely and letting them take initiative. Depending on your management style, you might feel it's more in your nature to micromanage your employees' tasks and ensure everyone is getting the job done according to your standards. Or, if you lean toward the other end of that spectrum, you might enjoy taking your hands off the reins and allowing your workers the slack to largely manage themselves. In most cases, the "right" approach falls somewhere in the gray area between those two extremes. Only you know how your employees [...]
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The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (also known simply as "coronavirus") and the resulting COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every industry worldwide. Gyms, classified as "nonessential businesses," have been ordered to close until the pandemic wanes and health officials deem that it is safe for the public to return to normal daily activities in public. As a gym owner, you are no doubt feeling the strain of this unplanned closure during the normally busy spring months. Thankfully, there are many things you can do with this time to not only lessen the impact of this crisis on your business, but also to [...]
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