Leadership & Management
Leading Authentically
Leadership in the fitness industry has always been demanding, but the current landscape has raised the stakes. Rising operational costs, pressures from stakeholders, evolving client expectations, and an industry-wide staffing…
IDEA Career Success Workshop: Finding Your Professional Niche as a Fitness Leader
The fitness industry offers an extraordinary number of career pathways. As a fitness professional, you can coach clients one-on-one, lead group experiences, mentor new instructors, manage teams, open a studio,…
IDEA Career Success Workshop: Pathways to Leadership in Fitness
Every fitness professional begins their journey with a passion for helping people move, feel, and live better. But as your skills deepen and your career grows, something important happens. Your…
Fitness Management Career Paths in 2025
For many fitness professionals, the natural career progression eventually leads beyond the training floor or group exercise studio and into leadership roles. While coaching clients and leading classes provide valuable…
Mentorship in Action: Introducing IDEA’s Fitness Mentor Network
The fitness industry is ever-evolving, presenting new challenges and opportunities for growth. Professionals in this field must stay ahead by continuously learning and adapting to changes in training techniques, coaching…
Lessons From Kenyan Runners
To get faster and chase their dreams, Kenyan runners have specific training habits which can benefit your fitness business and career.
The Major Roles of the Modern Group Fitness Manager
A look at the key reasons that motivate facilities to offer classes without a group fitness manage, and why this ends up costing more.
Billy Blanks: A Celebration of Creativity and Character
Billy Blanks was born with an anomaly in his hip joints that left him clumsy and subject to taunts. He found strength—both physically and of character—in karate, and he went on to a successful career as a martial arts champion, bodyguard and movie star. That in itself is a pretty amazing story. But in Blanks’ case, that’s just the preface . . .
Hiring Checklist: Find the Best Talent
There’s a checklist for every task, it seems, even if it’s purely mental. However, when it comes to hiring the best group fitness talent, it’s important to formalize a checklist…
Fitness Business Collaboration Beyond Brand
Could we all learn to embrace fitness business collaboration to improve the quality of knowledge and programming for everyone?
With Gyms Open, Are Clients Ready?
With many gyms open again—some after long closures—IDEA put three questions to five fitness pros from around the country: Are you now operating at full capacity? How are clients adapting as…
How To Create a Workout Community
As we return to the group exercise studio, it’s good to remember how a workout community not only brings us together, but helps us thrive.
Return to Work: Prepare Your Staff
Are you ready to return to work? Don’t reopen without carefully considering the needs of your staff. They are your customers too!
How to Name Your Group Fitness Class
A group fitness class title is a calling card; it attracts participants by previewing or hinting at the class experience.
Group Exercise Instructors Make an Impact
Group exercise instructors, take heart: Your leadership skills significantly influence participants’ attendance and effort. Australian researchers conducted a study to examine how an instructor’s ability to create a sense of community and group identity among class members affected both effort and attendance. The study examined 249 participants and instructors across a variety of group formats.
What’s Your 2020 Vision?
Do you have a 2020 vision?
Do you have a clear view of what you’re going to do in the new year to grow your business even more?
As 2019 closes, it’s important to take stock. What can you improve to ensure a higher-quality customer experience and more revenue in 2020?
Let’s take a look at four areas that impact your business going ahead so you set yourself up to succeed.
Increasing Employee Diversity and Inclusion
As the health and fitness industry continues to evolve and grow, staff diversity and inclusion efforts are becoming increasingly important. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mandates that job applicants and employees cannot be discriminated against “because of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information” (EEOC n.d.). However, making a conscious effort to diversify goes above and beyond following the law.
Discover what diversity means and what you should consider as you put together a diverse staff.
Three Ways to Keep Your Clients
You know the work it takes to get a new customer in the door. You’re spending money on marketing, time making sure your website listings are right, and energy on promotions and intro offers to get the word out. It’s not easy. But remember—it costs less to keep an existing client than it does to acquire a new one. Getting them to return again and again will help you keep your lights on and your business bustling! With that in mind, let’s look at three actions you can take to retain your clients.
Virtual Group Fitness Classes
Exercising in front of a television, computer screen or mobile device is nothing new. Since the advent of VHS tapes, fitness programs have offered users an opportunity to get their sweat on whenever they choose in the comfort of their home. Over the past several years, however, fitness facilities have leveraged new technology to offer virtual classes on-site in hopes of luring exercisers out of their living rooms and into the group exercise room.
Is a Franchise the Right Fit for You?
A number of tried-and-proven options to attract new members and clients can help you grow your business without reinventing the wheel. You can join a franchise system, license the rights to an established brand or invest in instructor training to build a specialty business. Each option has an opportunity cost (what you might lose if you don’t choose the particular option), as well as benefits that you might gain. Among these choices, franchise systems offer many advantages.
