Clients, Did You Know? 💡 

You Are Leaving Serious Money on the Table Because of a Lack of Retail Products

Why should your gym members purchase their fitness retail products from other suppliers? This could be a huge untapped revenue source for your gym with just a little bit of planning. 

The Health & Fitness Association’s (HFA) 2025 Benchmarking Report states that non-dues revenue (including retail sales) produces nearly 30 percent of fitness club earnings overall in the United States. Now ask yourself: Is your gym creating 30 percent of the revenue coming in each month from your Point of Sale (POS) items?

You can create POS categories and items with just a few clicks through your Gym Insight dashboard. Get to your Home Menu, click on settings, and then select Point of Sale from the list on the left side. Customize how you want your Point of Sale to look! 

A few of the most common retail items that can produce a high profit margin for your gym are protein shakes, vitamins, energy supplements, branded apparel, shaker bottles, snacks, and earbuds. Coming soon, you can use Gym Insight’s POS system to track what sells the fastest and what seems to be sitting on the shelves. Then,  based on the numbers, adjust which retail products you offer accordingly. 

To stay up to date on the newest features, log in to your Gym Insight dashboard and click the question mark icon at the lower left and read about the “Feature Announcements”. This is where you can uncover the latest updates and enhancements to the software. 

Science Corner 

Harvard Study Shows Exercise Variety Is Possibly the Key to a Longer Life

The old classic saying is “Variety is the spice of life.” And the latest research proves it keeps us living longer, too, in regard to how we work out. 

A Harvard study published in January 2026 revealed that people who varied their exercise routine (walking, biking, lifting weights, aerobics, etc…) had a 19 percent lower risk of premature death when compared to the people who strictly did the same training routine every time. 

The research study followed 110,000 adults over the span of 30 years to collect this data. With such a large group of participants and for that many years, as most of these types of studies have smaller groups and shorter time lengths, perhaps the information gained should be reasonably viewed.

How many gym-goers follow “the same routine every day” mindset? Most of us seem to be pretty guilty about doing the same exercise program for far too long. It’s to the point where I can recall the exact order of my exercises for all of my workouts better than my wife’s birthday. 

Perhaps a seniors exercise class, stressing mixing up a variety of exercise types, could be the new class your gym needs. Call it something like Longevity Lift or Forever Fit (you’re welcome). Post this research study around the gym and see if anyone is interested. Give it a couple of months to grow, and you could have a hit on your hands. 

Gym Life 🏋️

Everybody Loves a Rocky Comeback

Ryan McStockard is a lot like other gym owners out there. He purchased his gym, Fit2Live, in Michigan in 2014. In the beginning, it was viewed more as a hobby turned business, but McStockard had a desire in him to become a full entrepreneur. His gym was making money during those first six years, but nothing substantial. And by the time the pandemic hit in 2020, he had several months where there was no money coming in. 

Like several struggling gym owners, he had to either close the doors for good or reinvent his place of fitness. But like the saying goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” There are opportunities and possibilities out there that you are unaware of simply because you are ignorant of them and what they can offer. 

McStockard dove into gym mentorship. Mentors helped him focus on different income avenues for his gym that he hadn’t been concentrating on as much previously. 

He turned his attention to high-value services. Personal training, fitness classes, client journey, and retention were now all focal points. As of last year, big group training is now responsible for 54 percent of the gym’s revenue. Personal training makes up another 32 percent of the earnings. His nutrition program brings in another 4 percent. 

Most importantly, his clients continue to be clients month after month. The members keep coming back, on average, for a total of 42 months. 

McStockard now earns over $16,000 per month in profit. 

If you would like to hear more about his story, check out this video on YouTube to learn more. 

Pro Tips 📋

2026 Reality Check: Retention > Acquisition

Why are you chasing down people in hopes of signing up new memberships when your current members are becoming disenfranchised and taking their business elsewhere? Make your current members happy first and focus your attention on them.

Depending upon the source, it costs five to ten times more money to bring in new members than just keeping your current ones satisfied. Let them know they are appreciated. Ask for their advice and opinions in person. Don’t just put out a Comment box that will be collecting dust. Amazing things happen when you get to know your members!

Go back and look up the memberships of those who have left your gym in the last six months. They liked you enough to become members in the first place. Contact them and ask why they left. Do it through a personalized text, email, or phone call. You might just get many of them back.

If you prioritize “keeping” versus “chasing”, your loyal members will bring in new clientele just from word of mouth! 

Feedback Loop 🗣️ 

The Gym Owner’s Newsletter —Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

It may be too late to spray paint all of your weight plates green, but don’t sweat it! We hope you enjoyed our monthly round-up and found perhaps a few new ideas to try at your gym. Let us know what we can do for you!

Contact: 1-855-367-4967 / 855-FOR-GYMS

March 17, 2026 Ed. 28

Gym Management Software

Lawrence Fagan, President, Gym Insight