Personal Training: fundamental to the Future of Health and Fitness

The fitness industry is going through a revolution. Technological advances in fitness streaming, apps, and member support have developed at a rapid pace. Clubs have been shut down, re-opened, locked down again, and some businesses have already gone for good. 

Yet more people are interested in health and fitness than ever before. Existing fitness fans quickly adopted apps and livestreaming to tide them over or replace their club experience. However, inexperienced people need more support. While some will look to apps alone, many people will need proper encouragement and motivation if they are to make significant lifestyle changes.

THE FUTURE OF HEALTH AND FITNESS

The fitness industry is facing a revolution, rather than an evolution. There are going to be some clear winners, several casualties, and lots of change. 

In recent years, forward thinking clubs have been moving towards ‘wellness’ models, incorporating health (physical and mental) and nutrition into their service. The current pandemic has highlighted the need for more inclusive offerings, truly supporting people’s health, rather than just fitness or strength. 

Clubs that focus on the already active may survive, but those who expand their thinking have an opportunity to thrive.

Know Your Numbers - Gym Owner Monthly Article Nov 2020

An old saying goes “If you want to improve something, you have to measure it”. Yet very few fitness businesses really know their numbers. This is an industry-wide issue, not just related to independent gym owners. Systems and dashboards help some clubs, but you need to define your key performance indicators (KPIs) and use them to know your business better and drive it forwards. 

There is a wealth of data available to businesses today, which is why the ‘key’ in KPIs is important. These are 5-10 key metrics that allow you to understand the state of your business. Some will be a combination of other figures, and you may need to drill-down into the detail, but these key metrics give you a performance headline. 

These numbers are absolutely critical to running your club, showing what is working, and what, where, or who you need to pay more attention to. Without accurate numbers, you’re driving blind, basing decisions on guesswork and intuition.

Progression: Lessons from Grading during Lockdown, and how to boost member engagement

A couple of experiences through lockdown made me think about gym member journeys. Not inductions, messages or re-engagement calls, but progression.

I do taekwondo with my son, and during lockdown, we tried to keep up with weekly sessions over facebook and zoom. It was challenging keeping a 7-year-old engaged, to be honest. Personally, I thought it was great that we were training with the best instructor (the business owner), but as soon as we could return to outdoor sessions in the summer, it was clear that the kids enjoyed their regular ‘Sabum’ (teacher). 

However, colour belt gradings continued over zoom. Some of the black-belt assistant teachers were unhappy that the gradings were easier and thought students weren’t getting the same experience. But the most important thing for engagement and retention is that students are progressing through their grades, and not stagnating. They’ve got something to work towards, and a target date and motivation to do it.

The Hybrid Fitness Model - Gym Owner Monthly Article October 2020

The future of the fitness industry is a combination of in-club and online experiences. This hybrid model has been forced on many businesses and members during lockdown. As clubs re-open, we are all adapting to new needs and uncertain about what is in store next. Health and fitness are high on many people’s agenda, but not everyone is willing or able to visit a gym.

What is Hybrid?

Hybrid is a combination of two different things. It is also a buzzword, covering everything from cars to bikes, golf clubs to genetics. It sounds cool, which is another reason why it is generating a lot of discussion in our industry right now. Hybrid fitness has been developing for years, the pandemic has simply accelerated things.

Get your members ‘Covid-Fit’ with Tanita (guest post 3/3)

This is the third guest post in a series from Simon Wilkison at Tanita

Following the great news that fitness facilities in England can reopen from the 25th July, it got me thinking about the vital role we play, as an industry in helping the country not only recover from the pandemic but also what we can do to minimise the effects of outbreaks in the future. 

Then like magic I came across this article by Dr Jenny Harries, the Deputy ChiefMedical Officer for the UK encouraging Brits to ‘get fit and lose weight this summer, in preparation for the predicted return of COVID-19 in the winter months.’ There are some eye opening statistics contained within this article including, ‘Research from the University of Liverpool has shown that being obese increases the risk of dying from SARS-CoV-2 by 38 per cent’ and ‘Data from the NHS also indicates that 75 per cent of people who have been hospitalised with COVID-19 were overweight or obese’. What is clearer than ever, is the message to the public is ‘get healthy’ and what a great message that is for us in the fitness industry!

Tanita – helping you come back stronger (guest post pt2)

This is the second in a series of guest posts by Simon Wilkinson at Tanita

Why Tanita Body Composition Analysis? 

Successful fitness businesses all have something in common; they put the member at the centre of everything they do. There are a number of ways in which this can be done but one that is utilised by successful operators at a multinational level all the way down to single PT’s operating out of studios, is professional body composition analysis. 

There are many benefits of utilising professional body composition, too many for a short blog so we will focus now on two: the levels of engagement it helps to create with members, the knock on effect this has on retention and secondly the levels of personalisation you can offer across the whole business. 

Health Over Aesthetics - Tanita guest post pt 1

This is the first guest post in a series from Simon Wilkison at Tanita

All signs are pointing towards the general public becoming more health conscious than at any other time. Many industry experts are predicting a surge in potential new clients for PT’s as people look to become more informed on improving their health and the role of body composition in health and immunity couldn’t be more directly linked.

In a society more health aware than ever following the Covid:19 pandemic, boosting their immune system will be high on many people's agenda. Awakening the public to the role body composition plays in this will be a key element to the success of your training and nutrition plans, adding great value to your packages. Many of the negative effects fat has on health are well known, in relation to this 'there is compelling evidence that both overnutrition and undernutrition negatively interfere with the immune system'
*Fat: A matter of disturbance for the immune system Alessandro Federico, Elena D’Aiuto, Francesco Borriello, Giusi Barra, Antonietta Gerarda Gravina, Marco Romano, and Raffaele De Palma.
However, less highly regarded is the role of muscle mass, a healthy muscle mass ‘plays a key role in the prevention of many common illnesses, conditions and diseases’
*The underappreciated role of muscle in health and disease, Robert R Wolfe.

Hybrid Member Journeys

In this extract from a recent webinar, Guy talks about how the traditional member journey evolved as the fitness industry accelerated online fitness during lockdown, and where it must develop to include hybrids of in-club and virtual fitness experiences.

There are many examples of hybrid journeys, we talk about Metabolic Balance and Exercise Referral here. Others include summer/winter split memberships, bootcamps, running/cycling clubs, relaxation, and meal prep.
Please leave questions or comments below.

How to Develop a Successful Customer Feedback Strategy

Here's the Elevate session that Guy chaired earlier this month with Andy Glover (Places Leisure), David Hopkins (Proinsight Mystery Shopping), Paul Roberts (MyCustomerLens) and Lucy Findlay (Elevate)

It was a great session with lots of learning for all.

Why is feedback so important? Andy talked about immediacy, expectations, prioritisation, and mindset at Places, and discussed their brilliant response rate to member surveys.

David explained how compliance and brand are as important as the process for a lot of Proinsight clients.

Paul said that succesful companies are now listening more, not only to customers, but to staff, prospects, and ex-members.

With emotions driving more behaviour, its more important than ever to be close to your key stakeholders - members and staff.

Feel free to add any more questions you have in the comments...

PT WITH ME IS GREAT BECAUSE…

Imagine if all your clients had to complete a tiebreaker in a quiz or competition. How would they complete the above phrase? How do they see you? Why do they train with you? And does what you sell match what they are buying?

Good listening is one of the most important skills if you are going to be an excellent personal trainer. You need to listen to your clients’ needs, which are constantly changing. Let’s explore how you can learn more from them, and use this feedback to help your business to grow and evolve.

Understand your market and your clients

ADD VALUE AS STANDARD

This September is going to be make or break for many fitness businesses. It is time to deliver value to your members, and this starts with removing the concept of free. 

Through lockdown, there has been a lot of free fitness. Many memberships were frozen or suspended. Clubs offered fitness for free through apps and online portals. Members and non-members alike have been following workouts and classes on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube.

The average UK club 12-month member retention was around 51% pre-lockdown. In other words, 51% of members typically stay for 12 months or longer. But member retention rates for free online fitness are significantly worse. Joe Wicks lost 50% of his viewers in just one month. Some say it was a fad, but so is joining a gym for many people. 

How can you boost the number of members coming back to your fitness business?

How many of your members have returned in the first month of reopening? Clubs we have spoken with range from 20% to 80% of members back. The lower figures are sometimes low because they are based on pre-lockdown total membership, and the top end are often based on optimistic feelings (or visits, rather than memberships).

Who has not returned yet?

Where we have accurate measures, the return rate after one month of reopening is around 50%. This immediately creates a segment of members who have not yet returned, who we need to campaign to get back into the club. One email will not suffice, but we will come back to these members in a moment, because there’s not so much an elephant in the room, as an elephant who’s NOT in the room…

Getting back with your Ex… members

As gyms in the UK start to re-open, it might seem too soon to start thinking about ex-member campaigns. But as your loyal members return, and you start to measure your capacity, it is likely that you will need to get some ex-members back too, to boost your revenue. 

We’re going to explore when you should be getting in touch with members who have cancelled, how and what you need to say to them, and how to balance this message to ensure you keep your regular members happy.

Gym Owner Monthly - The Big Interview with Guy Griffiths

Gym Owner Monthly, August 2020, Guy Griffiths talks data, motivation, bridging the gap between exercise and technology, and recovery in the Big Interview

How did you get into the fitness industry?

My mission is to help operators to support their members’ health and wellbeing. 

After 12 years as a consultant and ultimately as director of sales and marketing for a banking software firm, I was looking for something more meaningful. I wanted to help people to be healthier and fitter, rather than help banks to make more money. I had always been a regular gym member, and knew retention was an issue, but that exercise data was under-used.

I talked to staff at the clubs where I was a member, and other clubs around London, and built connections with a few suppliers. I networked relentlessly online and at events like the FIA (ukactive) conferences, LIW (Leisure Industry Week), and SIBEC. I supported and presented at the IOU (Independent Operators Unite) events at LIW.

Without the experience or biases of working from the ground up, I think from a member’s perspective, often questioning the status quo. When the answer is “because we’ve always done it like that”, it is usually time for change.

Re-opening Reality Check - How many members are coming back?

I'm an optimist, but also a realist. There's a lot of talk about 80-90% of members returning to health clubs when we re-open, but this is mindless optimism.

The video below explains how it's more likely to be 20% in the first month, and for the member engagement campaigns we've sent, and conversations with partners in other countries, this is a much more realistic estimate.

Health, Not Fitness

Now the UK fitness industry finally has a date that we can come out of lockdown, it’s a good time to reflect on the past few weeks, months, and even years. 

There’s been a lot of rhetoric, debate, and disbelief that it’s taken so long for the UK government to allow gyms to re-open (in England, at least). Particularly when pubs opened before gyms. As the fitness industry, we see ourselves as part of the solution, but it shows that we are in our own bubble. 

If we’re talking about fitness, people have managed without gyms and leisure centres over the last few months. There are many other ways of keeping fit, as many fitness enthusiasts and newcomers have found. [There are other ways of enjoying a pint or glass of wine, but let’s leave that for now]. Gym memberships only cater for 15% of the population, and unless we change our message, mission, or purpose, this is unlikely to change.

Inductions – This time it IS about health and safety (and retention) - Gym Owner Monthly Article

It will soon be time to welcome many of your members back to your club. This presents you with a huge opportunity to make a fresh start with all members, regardless of their experience or expectations. First impressions matter, and this time around they matter more than ever.

Inductions are a cornerstone of good member retention that I often talk and write about. Articles in GOM Feb20 and Oct19 both reference onboarding and inductions, but not as mandatory health and safety appointments. As we re-open, we can use the health and safety argument to ensure all members get this key interaction. To be clear, this is not a 45-minute one-on-one appointment, more of a fast-start speech that you deliver to all members.

Why is the induction more important than ever? 

Ask The Expert (The Collective) Ep 19 - Retention Special

This week, Guy Griffiths joined Paul Bedford in a Retention Special, hosted by Alina Cooper on The Collective.

Member retention is on everyone's agenda at the moment - will people return to our clubs, and when? Paul and Guy discuss the opportunities thrown up by the COVID pandemic to improve health club member retention, from inductions to digital engagement.
What does the future look like for retention, and do they think there will be more of a focus going forward?

The Collective is a group of fitness industry people who come together to share, collaborate and grow.. This is the first double bill "Ask the Expert" session on the Collective. Click here to join and learn more.

Personal Trainers... Improve Client Retention: Stop Selling Sessions - PT Monthly Article

One of the most common retention problems for PTs is keeping members beyond the initial block of sessions, whether it is 3, 5, or 10. This month, we’re looking at different models for retention, along with ways of adding value to your PT offering.

The Covid pandemic has highlighted a lot of successful and some more problematic business models. Many businesses have been setting up or switching to subscription services, long before lockdown. Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify are obvious examples, but others include food (Abel&Cole, HelloFresh), drink (VirginWine, Beer52), razors (Harrys, DollarShaveClub), and toilet roll (WhoGivesACrap, BumBoo). Convenience is the number one selling point, but all these have an important back story, secondary mission or value, often about sustainability, environmental, or experience. Note that they all put value before price.

Selling a block of 10 sessions is out-dated, not only because the consumer is more accustomed to subscription, but also because you must keep selling every 5-10 weeks. And selling is rarely a PT’s strongest skill, or favourite part of the job. What’s more, it gives the client an easy ‘out’, particularly if they’ve not got value from the latter sessions.

Experience Recovery Conversation with Guy Griffiths and David Monkhouse of Leisure Net

Guy in conversation with David Monkhouse on the Leisure Net Experience Recovery Series.

Guy and David discuss lockdown exercise, gym membership cancellations and communicating with members as clubs start to think about re-opening.

Reducing the Second Wave - Gym Owner Monthly Article

We all hope to avoid a second wave of Covid-19 infections. A bigger worry for many gym owners and operators is the second wave of membership cancellations as we get closer to re-opening.

Communication is key to maintaining member engagement. Let’s talk about what happened as we entered lockdown, how you should be learning from lockdown messaging, and how to communicate your re-opening and flatten the second wave of membership cancellations.

Adapting Your Customer Journeys - Technogym Talks webinar - on catch-up

Guy Griffiths, founder of gym retention business GGFit presented the latest Technogym talks webinar on Monday 18th May. Scroll down to watch the whole session.

He has worked closely with Technogym since 2009, helping clubs to get the most out of the mywellness system, and use data to motivate staff and members.

Many fitness facilities and health clubs are reviewing their member journeys at the moment. It is important to consider adapting your traditional in-club processes, as well as developing digital membership journeys.

Digital or Die - Gym Owner Monthly Article

The fitness industry has dived in at the deep end of the digital world during lockdown. We were slowly evolving with online offerings and programming apps. Now we must accelerate our adoption of technology to stay in touch with and retain members. If you are waiting for things to get ‘back to normal’, you will be left behind.

It’s critical that you get on the digital fitness bandwagon right now, not only to help your members and your business to get through lockdown, but to come out the other side fit and fighting, and prepared for the next phase of the fitness industry.

Rising to the Challenge - Letter to HCM May 2020

The fitness industry is in a state of shock due to COVID-19. Two-thirds of the world’s gyms are closed, and 230 million members are unable to visit their clubs. But we are resourceful and resilient, and will fight to stay in business. 

You need a plan, and it needs to be flexible, to adapt as the situation changes.

Health Club Management Magazine May 2020

Surviving COVID 19 in the Fitness Industry with Guy Griffiths | Conversations with ClubRight

We joined Wayne Heath on the ClubRight podcast last week to discuss surviving and thriving in the fitness industry

Amongst other things, we talk about

• taking payments or not, and giving members a choice
• turning cancellations into feedback opportunities
• key communications for the industry at the moment
• email, follow up with calls, sms, post
• re-opening process and plans
• what should your systems do to help you out of lockdown
• working harder to retain digital members, learning about them
• new business models

Find out more about ClubRight here.

Managing Member Payments in Lockdown - Webinar

Our latest 20 minute webinar talks about the different options for taking member payments while your physical club is closed.

We also discuss what happens in month 2, how to manage payments once clubs re-open, and reference Eric B & Rakim.

Who you gonna call? Gym Owner Monthly Article

The phone has become such a vital part of our lives, we sometimes need reminding where it started. Your members might have an app (or several) that track their fitness, enable them to book classes, stay in touch with their PT, or receive a reminder about their next appointment. But did you know you can also make and receive phone calls?

Despite privacy concerns and worries over app addiction, the fitness industry is racing along on the wave of social media and internet, particularly for sales and marketing, but also for member engagement. In September 2017, the average person scrolled through 300 feet of social feed per day [socialmediaweek], which is the same size as the Statue of Liberty. (The article talks about engagement in a faster flowing social stream). I’m a big fan of technology, and have published some compelling case studies showing the positive effect of apps and software on member retention. But I want to show you that we shouldn’t forget the old methods too.

Fitness Business Survival & Minimising Cancellations

The global fitness industry has taken a massive hit from COVID-19. But health and fitness are now trending keywords, and everyone is talking about being more active, from Boris Johnson to Joe Wicks. If you’re ready, being a gym owner or personal trainer is about to become the new astronaut - one of the best jobs ever!

Gyms have had to close their doors, but the transition to online digital solutions is incredible. The industry was slowly heading in this direction, but now our hand has been forced, and we’re adapting quickly to change. At the same time as adopting tech solutions, we also need to keep a positive mindset, be more kind, and talk more.

Membership sales focus is out of the window. Now is the time to work harder than ever on your member retention. Here are 3 tips for fitness business survival and coming out the other side fighting fit with as many members as possible.

EGYM Webinar - Member Retention in Times of Crisis

This is a version of the webinar comissioned by eGym broadcast on 25th and 31st March. We discuss keeping members engaged through digital and traditional channels, with apps, challenges, and phone calls, email and sms. Also maintaining staff engagement - do they need a sense of purpose, or want to help with club comms. Finally, how to manage membership subscriptions, and minimise cancellations.

How to adapt your fitness challenges during Coronavirus

A lot of club-based fitness challenges aren’t feasible right now. Whether you’re in a country on lock-down, or your club is still open but practicing social distancing, you can’t reward members for attending the club or encourage them to visit more if they don’t want to. 

Here’s a handful of challenges that you can still set your members. Some will depend on your business model, systems and software. But you can adapt a lot of these, and as always, simplest is best.

Minimising Membership Cancellations at Gyms and Health Clubs

Health Clubs and Gyms across the world are facing tough times right now. Here's a bunch of ideas and pointers that might help you to minimise membership losses and make the best of a bad situation.

Before they try to cancel...

• Tell them what you're doing at the club, other options you have for remote training/support/exercise (see below)
• Any PTs to offer calls to their clients and any other members for an at-home programme, or general support chat, and book a weekly/fortnightly follow-up
• Be proactive - reach out and appeal to your members goodwill. {e.g. Many of our members have asked how they can help us at this challenging time - if you buy a PT pack now, we'll give you extra credits (e.g. buy 10 sessions get 12)}

Handling Membership Cancellations

To help support clubs, particularly independent gyms and studios, I recorded a 10 minute version of an adapted version of the leavers section of our Retention Bootcamp. 

I hope it helps you to show your members that you care, get some good feedback from processing leavers better, and possibly turn a few cancellations around.

LetsMove Challenge postponed to 5 October

Technogym have taken the difficult decision to postpone their Let's Move for a Better World campaign due to the restrictions in place around the world.

Let's Move is more than just a fitness challenge, it is a movement in the fight against inactivity, a community engagement campaign with clubs at the heart of the community. 2020 will be the 7th year of LetsMove, with over 500,000 people expected to take part in 1,600+ clubs across 46 countries, so we support and respect their decision to delay Let's Move until 5th October 2020.

Is Customer Service Dead? - Gym Owner Monthly Article

When people ask what I do, I usually say that I help gyms to get their members to stick around. “Ah, that’s a big problem” they say, “what’s the secret?” Customer Service is my quick answer, at which point they often tell me a horror story of bad customer service, sometimes at a gym, other times completely unrelated to fitness.

Studies show that a satisfied customer will tell 2-3 people about their experience. A dissatisfied member will share their story with 8-10 people, and some will push that number to twenty.

With the advent of low-cost gyms, customer service has all but died across the fitness industry.

Are you experienced? - Gym Owner Monthly Article

Since the advent of low-cost clubs, it has become customary to ask new joiners if they are experienced. Aside from building rapport, a big factor for this question is to see if the member needs a welcome session (induction). Whether the member is joining online or in-club, you might think it removes a barrier to joining, but it puts lot of new members at risk!

You know from all the research that members stay longer if they have a welcome session. Yet lots of clubs look for excuses not to deliver one. If you want to get your members to stick around longer, you need to eliminate these excuses, and sell the welcome session to as many members as possible. Let's translate a couple of objections:

mywellness challenge club: Love Group-X

Getting new (and existing or returning) members into the habit of visiting fitness classes is a great idea for February. There may be a few members who attend classes daily, but spot prizes, or a prize draw entry for everyone who does well can boost participation.

Be aware that this challenge only works if your members book classes through the mywellness app. If you use your front of house system instead, then you’ll have to re-think this one.

Retention Bootcamp for Independent Operators

Join Guy Griffiths, founder of GGfit for a one-day Retention Bootcamp to build on your sales successes from the new year rush!

Taking place on Thursday 27th February 2020 at The Village Hotel Basingstoke, RG21 4EQ. Registration and welcome coffees from 9:30 with an anticipated finish time of 4pm. There are only 16 places available, and tickets are going fast!

click here to book now

mywellness challenge club: Hi-Five Challenge Series

The Hi-Five series of challenges is designed to get your new members into the habit of joining and enjoying challenges. But existing members can join too.

It's a series of 5 challenges, where you must complete the first to join the second, and so on. You use mywellness groups to automatically invite members, so the challenges are otherwise hidden from view. The 'prize' for each challenge is entry to the next challenge, but if you have the budget to buy prizes for completion of all five challenges, a branded t-shirt would be a good idea.

New Member Challenges - Gym Owner Monthly Article

Gym challenges are a great way of boosting member engagement, giving members something to aim for and a sense of achievement, and giving instructors a (much needed) excuse to talk to members.

However, many fitness challenges are too challenging. They only motivate the kind of people who are already motivated. You don’t need to work hard for these members, it’s the quieter ones, or new members that need the boost. As fitness professionals we think it’s our job to push all members to the limit, but that will put many off (see my October 19 Gym Owner Monthly article about onboarding). You need to aim low to motivate the members that need it. 

Simple, Inclusive and Varied

The best challenges are simple, inclusive and varied. Sometimes, it’s worth dropping the word challenge, as this itself puts off some members. Events that allow you to “Donate your moves”, or “Join the 5% club” can be more appealing to the masses. Getting new members into the habit of joining challenges is a great way to build a connection.

mywellness challenge club: New Year Calorie Burner

If you already ran a calorie burner (pre-tox) in December, you might want to try something more varied for January, such as count of workouts. However, this is an old favourite, and always does well for all members, whether new or experienced.

Set a relatively easy target, and plenty of time to complete. You want lots of members to take part in the first challenge of the year, to get them in the habit, and get a massive total of calories burned across the whole club for the end of challenge announcement!