by Fitness is in excellent shape. In recent years, the fitness industry has enjoyed unprecedented growth: U.S. health club earnings increased to $21.4 billion while membership totals hit 51.4 million according to IHRSA estimates for 2011.
Revenues within the industry saw a 5 percent revenue boost while membership numbers saw a 2.4% membership expansion from 26,830 in 2009 to 298890 in 2010, an overall 1 percent rise by number. 29960 health clubs experienced this change as of November 2010.
Fitness centers and health clubs remain highly volatile and competitive businesses.
“Seasonality plays a huge role,” according to John Byrnes, President of X Shadyside and Butler Health & Fitness clubs within Pittsburgh region. January, February and March tend to be our busiest months due to people keeping New Year’s resolutions while winter weather keeps many indoors for work outs.
Due to its proximity to Pittsburgh university campuses, X Shadyside sees an upswing in membership during August as college students return. Membership rates dip during summer due to people either being away on vacation or engaging in outdoor activities.
Growing Gym Membership
Based on IBISWorld’s Gym, Health & Fitness Clubs market study report, demand for fitness centers and fitness and health clubs should continue to rise over the coming five years due to an increasingly health conscious public who place greater importance on maintaining an active lifestyle and managing weight effectively.
Membership growth could cause clubs to expand their services while suppliers develop and produce innovative new products; and even more professionals could become interested in careers within fitness.
Meredith Poppler, Vice President of Industry Growth for IHRSA states: “Clubs with more members have more funds available to reinvest into new equipment and programs as well as hire additional trainers,” notes Poppler. If members invest in products and programs manufactured by manufacturers they have money put back into research and development of those pieces of equipment.
“With consumers returning to clubs in record numbers, this trend bodes well for our industry and we look forward to witnessing its positive ripple effects in terms of new programs, products, and services coming forth as a result of its expansion,” states Executive Vice President James Lehtinen.
Population-specific Programming
Fitness companies provide individual assistance, supervision and encouragement for levels of fitness. There can be various motivations why an individual may decide to join a gym rather than exercising from home; common examples include facilities, classes or socializing opportunities.
IHRSA has identified the top notable trends for health clubs in 2012 as population-specific training programs. Health clubs offer special senior-oriented classes led by trainers specifically certified for working with seniors; additionally there are youth programs targeting younger members which rose between 2007 and 2010 from 3.8 million members to over 6 million (the Institute of Healthcare Reimbursement
Association/International Healthcare and Recreation Society Association [IHRSA/IRSSA].
Centers and gyms that stand out are those which recognize their own identity without striving to please every customer.
Shadyside and Butler Health & Fitness provide the SilverSneakers(r) fitness program specifically targeted towards individuals eligible for Medicare or retired people in groups. This program combines exercise with health and wellness education for participants.
SilverSneakers(r) provides seniors with social environments they enjoy while being covered by insurance, according to Byrnes. “This program gives them something positive they’re excited to take part in – and their insurance pays for it all!”
Butler Health & Fitness also offers classes for children between 14-18. “With rising obesity levels among children, health clubs and fitness professionals are keen to filling this demand for programming targeted towards them,” according to Poppler. Until schools implement real physical education as part of their curriculum again, health clubs and fitness professionals will gladly fill this void.
Gym Technology
Modern fitness enthusiasts are keeping themselves motivated thanks to modern technologies. Interactive workout software integrated into gym equipment enables athletes to monitor speed, mileage, exercises performed per session and overall caloric expenditure – among many other metrics.
Technological developments have opened the doors of physical activity options to more individuals than ever.
“Gym technology has done amazing work to bring more people into exercise and fitness,” Poppler noted. He pointed to treadmills in particular – originally used by runners/walkers who couldn’t access outdoor treadmills due to weather or timing – but later expanded with elliptical machines for those unable to manage running on one alone.
Staying Strong
Fitness industry competition can be fierce. Large gym chains compete with smaller independent facilities while recreational activities and P90X classes at home add even further competition to an already fierce market.
Byrnes recognizes competition can be beneficial. “More people working out motivates us to provide our service the best way we can,” says Byrnes of his X Shadyside operation which recently underwent expansion with additional space, equipment and Planet Smoothie franchise expansion. To stay current in his field of endeavor, Byrnes notes it necessary “staying current is key,” the CEO states adding, “people also desire healthy eating options outside exercise so we opened Planet Smoothie as part of this expansion plan”.
Health club owners need to recognize what sets their establishment apart in a highly-competitive industry if they wish to remain relevant and stay ahead of competitors.
Poppler suggests that gyms and centers that thrive are those which know who they are without trying to please everyone; these gyms and centers reinvest in their physical plant, equipment and staff while not competing on price alone; ultimately providing their members with services which help meet wellness goals.”
Problems in the Fitness Industry You Can Help Solve
Fitness business owners now face more responsibilities than just providing members with space to exercise. Their role, as advocates for fitness and health, often places them under great strain – from prioritizing both mental and physical fitness training programs for members to creating inclusive work environments – making the role one of advocacy rather than provision. You should understand all major challenges you are up against within your fitness-related business in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed or overloaded.
Motivating clients and providing adequate training for staff may seem like an impossible feat to overcome, yet that doesn’t have to be the case!
In this piece we’ll look at five major challenges faced by gym owners today and how you can address these obstacles. Read on to discover more:
- Misinformation
- One-Way Approach
- Information Overload
- Elitist Attitudes
- Lack of Member Support
Misinformation
There’s an abundance of useful health and fitness information online; however, much of it can be hard to interpret effectively. Many who rely on internet searches have difficulty distinguishing what’s beneficial from what isn’t; every day Amazon lists at least three books related to popular diets or fitness trends within its top ten books list that could serve as valuable guides – which sources do you rely on and which advice would most suit you?
Solution: Educate & Inform
As the owner of a fitness company, your responsibility as a fitness business owner lies with providing your customers with accurate information that’s current.
Spend ample time during sessions or classes ensuring students understand exactly what is expected of them when performing certain activities or responsibilities, keeping in mind some individuals may come into your gym with little understanding of health and fitness concepts. It’s crucial that they start off from basics – ask the necessary questions that will enable you to understand exactly what information they require as well as ways you can assist in getting them there.
Just because your participants want an education doesn’t mean that you have to lecture them directly; creating educational materials doesn’t need to take the same time and effort either – small things like posters explaining proper exercise methods for specific exercises may make a big difference! Q&A meetings once weekly on-site or via the internet offer participants the chance to ask any question that arises – regular emails or infographics might even come in handy during these discussions!
One-Way Approach
Social media provides an incredible way for individuals with similar passions and hobbies to connect. No matter the hobby, there is likely an entire community dedicated to supporting it!
Social media platforms may create the unintended side effect of isolating individuals. Forums and communities easily devolve into echo chambers which perpetuate one viewpoint over another – something especially prominent within fitness, health and health circles.
Trainers and companies tout this approach as being essential in reaching one’s fitness goals, from paleo through keto and high intensity interval workout to spin classes.
As a fitness professional, you understand the reality is that different health/nutrition/training programs each come with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. One such disadvantage could include sticking solely to one philosophy in regards to training or health; no single approach works equally for every single person at any one given point in time – there simply is no “one-size-fits-all” workout regimen!
Solution: Approach Members as Individuals
From your sales process through customer journey – remember that every member is an individual with individual objectives, lives and motivations.
Your group members needn’t all be sold on your program for it to work effectively for everyone; simply share how amazing the exercises are with those outside your group who may benefit from powerlifting! When discussing powerlifting exercises that work well with one client and not others. If members of your group find your program captivating enough they might spread its name among their network without necessarily trying to sell everyone on it individually.
Inform people of the various programs available and tailor strategies accordingly in order to meet each client’s requirements. Pay close attention to both customers and staff alike if you own or operate a fitness-related business; your involvement could result in blind spots being exposed; take your time in getting honest feedback from both them on how training sessions go and your approach as soon as possible.
Acing this aspect of your company is paramount to its success and survival.
Information Overload
Daniel Levitin’s The Organized Mind: Keeping Your Head Straight in an Era of Information Overload asserts it to be true that we’ve produced more information recently than in all human history combined before now. While additional knowledge might seem beneficial at first, its abundance leads to too many options and thus inaction; therein lies its inherent paradox.
What should you say when dealing with clients who consistently switch their daily habits every few weeks and do not show sustained improvements? How should they receive that message from you?
As they’re continually exposed to new ways of accomplishing results, some individuals find it challenging to keep pace with them all and meet their objectives.
Consider these examples of common inquiries you receive from clients: “Which method works better: full body or body part split?”, and “Should I opt for six small meals or intermittent fasting in order to lose fat faster?,” as well as, “How about getting a pump?,” and, finally “Are carbs after 6 pm okay?”.
Do it yourself. Put together all your experiences and knowledge before searching Google “best workout routines”, taking note of any promising or conflicting information found within search results. How can this situation be remedied?
Solution: Ask and Listen
Listening and asking questions rather than selling helps clients better comprehend their requirements and reduces information overload. Encourage clients to ask themselves three times why before taking action on any course of action or adopting something into their everyday routine.
This will enable them to realize that, typically, many of the tasks you believe to be crucial may not actually be that essential after all.
Are You Really Committed To Stop Eating at 6 p.m? Or Training Every Week for 6 Days? By exploring “Why”, one can put their beliefs about what’s appropriate in check and delve deeper into identifying causes for any problems encountered.
Regular exercise that gradually becomes harder and longer over time combined with a diet creating a calories deficit can bring significant long-term gains to participants. Sometimes it pays off to reduce tasks altogether for maximum efficiency; members need to understand that drastic changes tend to backfire but steady incremental steps provide strength.
Remind participants that time is their biggest barrier in increasing fitness levels. People usually want instant results; but changing one’s outlook to view fitness goals as something to reach within six months or one year could increase chances of reaching fitness targets more successfully.
Understanding why can be the key to finding calm in an otherwise chaotic landscape of information. By asking “why,” one can effectively escape an abundance of data that otherwise overwhelms.
4. Elitist Attitudes
Fitness should be accessible to all. Unfortunately, however, many gyms have earned themselves an unfavorable reputation when it comes to newcomers just starting out in fitness. Coupled with “one-way fitness methods”, there has become an increasing tendency towards fitness snobbery – creating the illusion of superiority morally but doing no real good for anyone else in terms of actual results or moral standing.
Attitudes like these discourage novice fitness practitioners from entering the industry. You don’t want potential customers to feel discouraged from coming in because they feel as though they don’t meet requirements of being sufficient or advanced enough.
Solution: Build a Community
At some point in their fitness journeys, all individuals will begin the arduous trek toward fitness. According to recent research by The Latent View, one key reason individuals visit gyms is due to having fun groups of people around them; therefore it makes perfect sense that fitness businesses create such environments for new members who join. Newcomers need to feel welcomed as being integral members of a vibrant fitness-related business community.
Establishing an environment of community within your gym lies in building relationships between members, as well as helping them form connections among themselves. Achieve this objective is more than simply running fitness classes – what other services or products could enhance clients’ experiences outside fitness?
Your studio could host events that go beyond fitness to provide members with something fun to look forward to each week, like hosting its own “TGIF” class and celebration on Friday afternoon, inviting members from your membership base back after class, setting aside room for dancing and providing refreshments as part of your offering.
An idea might appear small at first glance; but you would be amazed at its power to transform lives. Katie Daniel of Ambition Fitness found that just adding a cafe in their reception area became an incentive for members to meet before and after classes – thus helping her turn Ambition Fitness into the ideal franchise business in less than one year!
5. Lack of Member Support
People typically join an exercise facility because of a specific goal in mind – be that getting fit during summer, weight loss or simply improving overall fitness levels; whatever it may be they sign up with this intent in mind.
Reasons that motivate employees to leave usually stem from dissatisfaction: not meeting expectations or becoming demotivated due to forgotten goals; perhaps hard work was put forth but without results they desired; these all could all contribute to dissatisfaction that leads them down a different path than they anticipated.
As soon as a client becomes less enthusiastic and their progress decreases, membership could soon follow suit. At all points in their exercise journey they require support; otherwise they might turn elsewhere for help reaching their goals – something nobody wants!
Solution: Staff Support and Group Training
Your employees must keep clients motivated by constantly reminding them why they began with you and pushing clients towards reaching their objectives and not let clients forget why. If a client isn’t experiencing what was anticipated then having an in-house trainer in their space to identify where it went wrong before devising solutions may help keep clients moving in a productive direction.
Educational groups bring many advantages beyond simply finding great people; training can create a supportive atmosphere where members can support both themselves and one another.
Boot camps and classes help break down barriers to exercise for newcomers by breaking up large classes into manageable parts, with IHRSA research showing class members had 56 percent lower likelihood of quitting than individuals who used free weights or exercise equipment independently.
Take it one step further by creating your own Facebook group where there will be live questions and answers, encouraging fitness instructors to interact with posts as well as comments within this space.
In Summary
Every business, fitness professionals included, faces its own set of unique obstacles. Clients need solutions too and if yours can provide this key service then immediate improvements in retention rates of members should follow quickly.
Are your members or staff struggling to manage their needs on the existing platform for business? Our team of specialists can assist in creating an improved and more streamlined experience for all involved with your fitness enterprise.
