Many gym owners are focusing on the Gen Z crowd and older adults as their best bet to increase revenue. And this isn’t wrong, as the data shows these two groups are consistently purchasing memberships at a high rate. But there is one group of people who have virtually untapped potential for exponentially increasing your profit. A group often forgotten about: the anti-gym crowd.

Gymtimidation

Only about thirty percent of people in the United States exercise at fitness facilities. While a percentage of the population just do not like working out or care about being physically fit, the larger part avoids traditional gyms for a variety of worrisome reasons. 

• Judgment
• Embarrassment
• Fear
• Intimidation
• Self-Consciousness

These anti-gym people are not lazy or uninterested in becoming healthier. They are overwhelmed in one way or another in taking that first step to start training in a gym around others. Their struggle is real, as mental health can be just as crippling as physical health.

In the past, I used to have extra time on my hands and train people in my home commercial gym. There were always people interested. Almost all of them had never set foot in a commercial gym because of fear of the unknown. And these were educated professionals who were all successful in their careers. But they couldn’t conquer the gymtimidation that was playing havoc in their minds. 

For gym owners, this group represents the largest growth opportunity available. However, attracting this crowd that could yield immense profits will require outside-the-box thinking and deliberate changes.

How to Start

Enticing the anti-gym pack to give your fitness facility a chance will require more than hanging up “No Judgment Zone” signs on your walls. Besides, if they aren’t entering your gym, they aren’t seeing these signs. Most of these people have already decided gyms aren’t for them, whether because of past embarrassing experiences, intimidating atmospheres, or the feeling that fitness culture simply doesn’t work for them. Surface-level messaging won’t cut through that resistance. 

Strategies to Focus On

The correct approach to tap the anti-gym crowd can be like walking a tightrope. After all, you don’t want to alienate your faithful members in the process by making severe changes. Consider these possible solutions and determine if something similar might work in your gym. 

• Women are cited as the ones who have the highest rates of discomfort. Designing a separate room just for women to train could be a money maker as long as you market it appropriately and make the general public aware. 

• Some gyms will have an hour or two of downtime during the day where not as many people are around. Use this time as an opportunity for free “beginners’ training” and invite the anti-gym people to learn how to use the machines, the free weights, and the whole facility in a more relaxed atmosphere. 

• Film virtual tours of the gym and frequently post these videos on social media. If an anti-gym adult can view the layout in advance, there will be significantly less anxiety.

• As a veteran gym-goer, there is nothing worse than walking into a new gym and immediately being ignored at the front desk. Train the staff to greet new faces warmly, provide them with a quick tour without delay, and introduce them to a couple of the nicest members who will ease their apprehension. 

• Widely promote monthly memberships on social media. The anti-gym crowd may be apprehensive about signing up for a whole year, but a month could be doable. 

• Consider promoting small affinity groups through meet-and-greets (people with similar interests). New parents, retired teachers, seniors, beginners, and any other subgroup you can place people in that could allow for less discomfort. 

• Open house nights while sipping on coffee with zero pressure. A relaxed atmosphere for people who have never tried out the gym before.  

• Peer mentoring works. Take a veteran member and offer their services to help calm the fears of an anti-gym adult. You could even post profiles of these veteran members on your social media!

• Host a book club or game night in your facility. They may come to hang out with their organization, but they may view enough of the gym to make them want to come back on their own. 

• Create an “I Used to Hate the Gym” humorous storytelling campaign. Members can share their own trepidation before joining your gym. A man that I used to train once confided in me that he stepped foot into a weight room for the first time ever and then proceeded to do bicep curls in the squat rack… and then enough people became angry with him that he didn’t go back in there for three years. He laughs about it now, but at the time, he was traumatized.

The Best of Both Worlds

Attracting the anti-gym crowd is not about diluting your gym into something unrecognizable. It’s about removing the barriers that are keeping people from accessing the benefits of your gym. The opportunity for large growth is there if you can try opening your doors to people who are only seeing obstacles. A welcoming atmosphere could be the major change your gym needs to become wildly successful.

Gym Insight

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