Clients, Did You Know? 💡 

The Health Insurance-Funded Gold Rush: Getting Paid for Gym Memberships

Put aside the traditional marketing of social media posts, local ads, and billboards for a minute and focus on the underused pipeline of health insurance-funded memberships. Gym owners are now gaining countless new members through health insurance companies at essentially no cost. The new members will pay little to nothing out of pocket and will be indebted to your gym for helping them realize the huge savings. And with the immense savings, the retention rates are high. Get started on this simple process now and watch your profits grow monthly.  

Science Corner 

Latest Research: No Need to Train to Failure For Great Muscle Growth

How many of you have tortured yourselves with eyes popping out of your head to get that last strenuous rep completed? One torn pec, three hernia surgeries, torn groin, torn abdomen, and a torn UCL later, I have learned my lesson. Now, the science is showing all of us that trying to max out is not necessary for huge muscle growth. 

The first major update in the last 17 years, the 2026 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Resistance Training Guidelines says to abandon rigid percentage-based loading and turn to keeping a rep or two in reserve. By not trying to get that last rep or two completed, you will be reducing fatigue and the high chance of injury, and yet it will still provide 90 to 95 percent maximum hypertrophy gains. The possibility of getting hurt while trying to chase that last max rep is not worth the small benefit. 

The ACSM is still recommending training each muscle group twice a week for good gains, but not overdoing it in the process. As a gym owner, sharing these findings with members and trainers could keep your gym full with fewer people on the sidelines because of injury.

Gym Life 🏋️

College Heights Fitness

Jessie Laflamme is the owner of College Heights Fitness in Prince George, British Columbia. A 24/7, 9,000-square-foot garage gym with 500 members and three employees, Laflamme has owned it since 2016. He purchased College Heights Fitness after working there and realizing it was up for sale. 

Laflamme had always been into fitness, and after having experience as a certified trainer, taking courses on fitness, and earning a business degree, he felt it was the right move to take the next step and become a gym owner. 

“(I didn’t have a gym) mentor, but I did read every book on fitness and gym business I could get my hands on,” Laflamme said. When comparing his gym to a movie, he chose the John Wick series. “I purchased an old gym with old equipment. We are a little beat down, but we are suited up and on a mission.”

College Heights Fitness’ revenue is 99 percent membership-driven. If he had unlimited funds, Laflamme said he would do a complete overhaul of all the equipment, with focus being placed on strength curve machines. He said he recently pulled the trigger on a giant treadmill for the gym, but still doesn’t have the staff to run or market it. And if his members ever had a comedy roast in his honor, they would tell him to go ahead and get rid of that giant treadmill. (I think we have all been there! Purchases that we think are gold, and they sometimes spectacularly fail for one reason or another.)

Laflamme states that Gym Insight software has been invaluable to College Heights Fitness, as before their old software would sometimes accidentally allow people to enter the fitness facility without paying. “The initial switch was more than paid for by the members who then had to start paying. Gym Insight has been a great asset in that the team (at Gym Insight) is always willing to listen and adapt the software to feedback given. We have had many big chains come to town, and I am confident that if it weren’t for the software, we would be closed.”

Pro Tips 📋

Use Social Media to Promote Your Brand

The days of taking out ads in newspapers and putting a “spot” on the radio to promote your business are over. But that is not bad news. Both of those marketing ideas cost money. Social media is free. And if used correctly, you can create a community where people “follow” your gym, plus it will improve retention and bring in new members. 

Consider your social media accounts to be your digital storefront. Pick from platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, and create content for them on a consistent basis. People get excited to see short videos and pictures of body transformations, workout tips, and community content. And if you use actual gym members for your content, they will most likely share it on their social media as well. It won’t be long before you gain more followers and, in turn, more people coming through the door. 

If you still aren’t sure, consider that posting four times a week to each platform will only take a few minutes here and there. If even one of these posts leads someone to discover your gym and sign up, you are already in the black. You spent a little bit of your time, and you profited from it. Be unique with your posts. Make them stand out from other gyms and you will reap the rewards. 

Feedback Loop 🗣️ 

The Gym Owner’s Newsletter — Thank you, Moms!

We hope you gym owners enjoyed Mother’s Day and spoiled all the ones in your life! If you have experienced a gym success story you would like to share, just reach out! We would love to hear it.

Thanks for taking the time to read our monthly round-up. Let us know what we can do for you!

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

May 19, 2026 Ed. 30

Gym Management Software

Lawrence Fagan, President, Gym Insight