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 gym, I never saw anyone use it. This owner’s decision though, illustrates the challenges with [...]
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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 that EPA registration number lists coronavirus as a target pathogen, search the regularly updated EPA.gov websitefor approved products. The listings provide the EPA registration [...]
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Remember when fitness was an exploding rocket, taking off like a firebrand in everyone’s consciousness? The future seemed endless with new innovations blending technology and health, fun and funky athletic trends, and a swath of boutique and health club options catering to every age, income, and preference. The future will be “virtual, gamified, and totally immersive,”claimed a January 2020 Fast Company article. Then came the COVID-19 shutdown and gym attendance petered out, to the point where an estimated 70% of health club members have not returned to their local gyms. Many turned to exercise at their home — a story you’ve read a few times by now. So [...]
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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 and money. Baby Boomers (56-76 years old) This is the generation of “go big or [...]
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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 meetsone’s need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Exercisers are less likely to continue a fitness program if theyare compelled by other people or by external forces such as fear of disease. Actions that are [...]
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Does it make sense for your gym to expand into medical fitness services? The answer is — it depends. On one hand, your health club benefits from a growing base of business built off of referrals from the medical community, but, on the flip side, you can expect a large upfront investment requiring time, money, and space. You would be jumping into a growing trend led, in part, by the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine®initiative launched in 2007. This powerful move by a leading organization is an attempt to reset the conversation on the importance of sustaining long-term health through exercise and fitness. For most of us in the fitness community the idea of using physical training to recover [...]
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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 groups — training and non-training. Of the 3,016 people who returned to be [...]
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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 take advantage of your advantage. As Zig Ziglar [...]
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When I first hit the gym in the 1990s it was a Jamie Lee Curtis video fantasy: muscle-bound men clustered around weight benches, ladies in leggings and cotton t-back leotards, body builders day-jobbing as personal trainers. Bally’s even kept a separate weight room just for women. It was all about the look and if you couldn’t keep up, you didn’t show up twice. Today’s gyms are way different. I don’t have to tell you the range of options available to everyone of any age, skill-level or interest. It has grown into a $34-billion-a-year industry in the United States, encompassing more than 38,000 clubs and studios. First To Shut Down It’s [...]
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If scientists are correct, COVID-19 is here to stay. According to Dr. Gregory Poland, director of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, respiratory viruses and their accompanying hospital stays are expected to be a seasonal threat to individuals across the world. Even now, an emerging virus from China, the H1N1 influenza virus, looms in our future. For gyms, fitness studios, and health clubs, navigating this tricky territory is job number one, as their business model relies on individuals congregating in a social, highly physical, generally closed environment. To keep members safe, gym owners must implement social distancing measures that, in and of themselves, absorb precious resources and restrict financial growth. It’s a tough road [...]
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Taking control of your gym’s business during the ongoing economic crisis caused by COVID-19 is not simple. It’s always been expensive to acquire new members–estimates suggest it costs 3x as much to lure a new client in the door as to keep the one you have. But in today’s uncertain environment, retaining and expanding your client base is both critical and complex. So how can you maximize every relationship? By understanding customers’ concerns, clearing up misunderstandings quickly, and using real-time information to make informed updates to your business model. Nothing does this quicker than a survey. Surveys allow gyms to take the pulse of current, prospective and past customers while deepening relationships and stimulating active change, all through a few minutes-long interaction. [...]
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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 weeks a brand new business vertical emerged–off-site virtual fitness and remote training. Local gyms went head-to-head with national competitors. Now, it’s time for your digital vertical to turn a profit because, demand suggests, [...]
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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 it as an unnecessary financial burden. In today’s market, providing guests with a clean, sanitized facility staffed by well-trained, empathic employees is a core competency. It is a value-added benefit that, at first [...]
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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 best choice? All three have distinct benefits and [...]
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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 to keep [...]
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