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Business of Group Fitness

Creative Ideas That Inspire

Located in Boston, The Club by George Foreman III offers

BOX-FIIT 360™.

Participants complete 36 minutes of ?circuits, visiting 12 individual stations. The class combines cardio, strength and boxing through a variety of training modalities, including suspension exercises, rowing, biking, kettlebells, boxing, jump rope and turf exercises. The workouts change weekly to provide members with new goals.

15 Group Fitness Predictions for 2016 and Beyond

Group fitness arouses nostalgia and feels like “home” for many exercisers, both avid and novice. As the backbone of the fitness industry, it has ebbed and flowed over the past three decades (and counting). People love exercising to music and sharing endorphins. In fact, fitness facility members are thriving on creative class options, demanding more varied opportunities and driving the industry forward. What can you, as a group fitness professional, do to meet the needs of a growing market?

Creative Ideas That Inspire

YogaFaith,

taught at Edge Fitness in Puyallup, Washington, is a faith-based yoga class that aims to integrate mind, body, spirit and soul. Classes focus on exhaling the chaos and clutter of everyday life to create space and wholeness. The donation-based classes include various styles of yoga and are open to all levels.

How to Deal With an Obsessed Member

“Linda,” a longtime member at your fitness facility, is a group exercise fanatic and has become a regular in your classes. Your friendship starts with a little chitchat. She loves your teaching style and engages you in small talk after class. As time goes on, your relationship grows. She shares stories about her family, brings in baked goods and is always nice enough to give you a small holiday gift.

New Versus Tried-and-True

Group fitness programmers face the same dilemma every new season: how to balance tried-and-true popular class formats with burgeoning trends to keep things fresh and dynamic. One goal is to retain current members as satisfied, repeat customers; the other goal is to attract new participants and build excitement. Both objectives are relevant to generating and sustaining business, and both demand equal attention. But other factors also come into play, such as available instructor talent; training/certification requirements; and potential investment in new equipment and license fees.

How to Help Employees Get Through Personal Crises

One Saturday afternoon, Bill Sonnemaker, MS, 2007 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, watched a newly hired personal trainer lead a group of new members on a tour of Atlanta-based Catalyst Fitness. Sonnemaker—the facility’s owner—noticed that throughout the tour the trainer was receiving text messages to his cell phone.

Once the tour was completed, the trainer checked the messages, which alerted him that an emergency had taken place. He responded to the text: “What’s wrong?”

Seven Reasons People Join a Fitness Facility, Part Two

Fitness facility owners and managers often focus on what they offer instead of why they offer it. In the first part of this series about why people decide to join a fitness facility, we explored the roles that inspiration, motivation and doctor’s orders play. In this second part, we’ll discuss four more guideposts.

A Best HIIT Protocol?

High-intensity interval training seems all the rage these days, as both anecdotal information and scientific evidence support its claims to be an efficient and effective form of exercise. However, many experts are concerned that deconditioned clients may think the programming is too tough. Is there a way to facilitate HIIT sessions that doesn’t leave novice exercisers feeling overwhelmed?
A new study says yes.

To Motivate or Terminate?

Your employees directly affect the success of your business. They work with your clients, sell your products and engage in frontline, day-to-day operations. Some employees are a pleasure to manage, and others—well, not so much. Working with an exemplary employee who is productive, independent, motivated and delightful is every manager’s dream. On the flip side, some employees are just bad hires and the decision to let them go is straightforward. Unfortunately, staff management isn’t that black and white.

Thinking of Opening a Studio?

Many fitness professionals dream of designing a studio that reflects their unique perspective and approach to health and fitness—a place where they can grow their business, their brand and their client base (and, of course, their paycheck!) on their own terms.

There’s a huge appeal to running your own space, especially if you’ve been working long enough to imagine how you might design a space specifically suited to your clients’ needs and your vision.

Building a Teaching Kitchen in a Studio

ave your clients ever asked:

“What should I cook for dinner?”

“How should I prepare it?”

“What if I have to cook a healthy

meal for my family?”

The Best Interview Questions You’re Not Asking

The search for top talent can be difficult and is often made no easier during the interview process. How do you choose questions that will elicit the information you need to select the right person for the job?

Top Traits of Great Business Leaders

Bosses. We’ve all had them. Good, bad, indifferent. What sets the good ones apart from the rest?

If you have difficulty relating to or mobilizing your staff, perhaps it’s time to do a little self-assessment and determine what leadership qualities you may be lacking.

“My favorite project manager always had my back,” recalls Susan Wall, a freelance instructional designer from Lisbon, New Hampshire. “He also trusted me to do my job, and he challenged and encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone.”

GROOMing Habits, Part Two

If you’ve ever struggled to fill open classes or you’ve ever wanted more qualified fitness pros on your staff, it’s time to get proactive and ensure that you have the team of your dreams. GROOMing Habits is designed to arm you with the tools to make it happen. In the first installment, we covered Groundwork and Recruitment. Now let’s explore the final components: Options, Opportunity, and Manage & Meet Expectations.

Lessons From the Trenches, Part Two: The Challenge of Leadership

Great leaders don’t just point the way; they also give clear directions. However, it’s not always a simple task to inspire and motivate even the most willing of followers. Once you’ve thrown your hat into the leadership ring, you’ll be faced with new challenges. In part two of this series, we’ll expand on finding the leader within, and we’ll explore the best ways to handle challenging situations.

Friendly Competition: We Can All Get Along

When Jack and Jenna Oliver opened Above the Bar, a CrossFit® facility in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 2 years ago, they knew it wouldn’t be an overnight success. However, they didn’t expect the competition to be so fierce. First, they had to deal with a Planet Fitness grand opening (with $10 monthly memberships); then, another CrossFit facility set up shop just a few miles away. Despite the competition, their box was so successful that they moved to a larger location—only to find out that a 24 Hour Fitness® was opening up less than a mile away!

Seven Reasons People Join a Fitness Facility, Part One

The daily responsibilities of owning and managing a fitness facility can be overwhelming. Along with all the usual details, like class scheduling and staff management, a primary concern is the danger of reduced revenue due to member turnover.

The Parkour Phenomenon

Parkour gyms have seen increased demand as the training protocol has been featured more and more in films and commercials. The increasing popularity of American Ninja Warrior also helps, observes Ryan Ford, cofounder of APEX Movement, which now has five locations.