Archive for April 2001
If You Build It, They Will Come: Starting a Pilates Program in Your Facility
I f Yo u B u i l d I t , T h e y W i l l C o m e :
Starting a Pilates Program i n Yo u r F a c i l i t y
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By Lindsay Merrithew and Moira Stott-Merrithew
ow that a U.S. District Court has ruled that Pilates is a generic term (see February 2001 IDEA Health & Fitness Source Industry Watch column for details), more and more fitness facilities are considering providing this popular form of exercis…
Read MorePreaching to the Converted
Turn on your television and there they are: the exercisers. Pick up a newspaper or magazine and you can read about “them” exercising—not to mention all the companies advertising fitness equipment. Get on the Internet or call a friend and you discuss exercise.With the massive media penetration and “top of mind awareness” fitness has achieved, it should come as a shock that in 10 years there has been virtually no growth in those of us actually exercising, rather than just talking about it.
Read MoreBoss Talk
I have a new boss. I don’t yet know exactly how he thinks or what he expects from me. Sound familiar? Even if the organizational structure at your facility has not changed recently, you may have wondered exactly how and what to communicate to your manager or boss.
Read MoreWhat Do Facilities Pay?
Every facility follows a business model, which impacts all costs,
including salary levels. When looking at these figures, keep in mind how costs are associated with revenue. For example, it is simpler to
associate the cost of a personal trainer with the revenue of a session fee than it is to associate the cost of a fitness instructor with the revenue of a membership fee, which allows access to an entire facility. These cost-revenue associations may impact compensation.
Getting the Classes and Times You Want
Q:What steps can I take to get the teaching schedule I want? The facilities where I teach don’t seem to have any formal system for determining who gets what class when. Hints to my directors haven’t gotten any real commitment or definitive answer. I don’t think politics drives these decisions. Maybe it’s simply random—or the luck of being in the right place at the right time. Any ideas for being proactive? What have other instructors done to improve their weekly teaching schedule in terms of class type, time and frequency?
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