What is a reasonable fee for an hour fitness class?
I live in a very small resort town. In the summer when there is a big population of out of town residents/visitors my class size triples and these clients do not balk at $10 per class. In the off season (Oct-Apr) I am lucky to have 1-4 people per class. Very few will pay the $10. I tried a lower rate of $4 per class and had a few more people but lost money overall. I am going to try an “off season” promotion to see if I can boost attendance.
It usually depends on a couple of factors such as the market/competition and the cost for you to teach the class (which it will determine the amount of profit you ill make). By cost I mean equipment, rent fee, travel time, etc. If cost is not an issue, then the first factor comes into play because you want to be as competitive as possible if you are going to stay in business and have full classes.
The fee is so very locale specific that it’s difficult for someone not in your area to give you an adequate answer. In addition to basing your pricing on where you’re located, other factors such as your experience level could effect the amount charged. Lastly, I’m not sure how others price for group exercise, but I start with the amount that I need to make for the class, then calculate the minimum number of participants for the class (which gives me a basic idea of how much per person), and then designate a maximum number of participants. With that method you COULD price classes something like this: 3-6 participants $X per person; 7-10 participants $Y per person, and so on (sort of a sliding scale).
I hope that this helps.
The answer to your question depends a lot on a couple of factors: they type of group class that’s involved, and the degree to which the instructor is an ‘active participant.’ For example, I train teams and small groups of athletes. Depending on the actual session involved (e.g. is it a weight training session, or something like a plyometric or speed training session) my active involvement varies. If I were to try to actively participate in several plyometric training sessions in a week, I might find myself injured, whereas if I’m merely supervising and/or demonstrating a weight training session, I may be able to do several of those in a week.
So, take a look at what type of group sessions you’re talking about and see where that answer leads you.
Good luck, and stay healthy!
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
[email protected]cfitness.com
I agree with everyone else, you have to go with the market.
My prices in Berkeley are competitive but I probably could raise them..
Do your research, you don’t want to be the “cheapest”.
Another way to look at it is to determine how much money you need to make at a minimum and go from there
I have a set amount I need to make, if I don’t get enough people, the people who are there pay more!