The FM Blog

Farewell

2009-06-29T09:06:00.003-04:00

This is the last post on the FM Blog.

I hope you've enjoyed reading Ronale's, Anne's and my blog posts as much as we've enjoyed reading your intelligent, enlightening comments.

It's a cliche to say that all good things must come to an end, and as a writer I've been taught to avoid cliches like the sweaty, wild-eyed freak in the back of a Boot Camp class. But in this case, I just can't help myself.

Thanks to everyone who has read and commented over the years — and best of luck with your fitness businesses.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster

2009-06-22T08:09:00.006-04:00

It's time to admit that steroids are here to stay.

Whether we want them in the fitness industry or not, closing our eyes to steroid use is no longer an option. When fitness facility owners are arrested for selling steroids, guilty baseball players are popping up like Whack-a-Moles and documentaries are exposing the growing acceptance of steroids, it's time to re-assess our position.

Is it time to legalize steroids and put an age cap on them, like cigarettes and alcohol? Is it time to launch a full-scale initiative to wipe steroids out of the fitness industry completely?

I suspect the line between "supplements" and "steroids" is too blurred, at this point, to erase steroids completely. But I can't come up with any viable solutions for the problem, either.

Can you?

Restructuring for Redemption

2009-06-15T08:11:00.006-04:00

Bally Total Fitness owners are hoping a judge approves their restructuring plan and their deal with lenders to exit Chapter 11. But a large group of disgruntled former and current customers are probably hoping Bally's plan includes more than moving money around. Bally's members have a long list of complaints, and this is the company's chance to make a new name for itself.

First on the list ought to be a more customer-friendly cancellation process. I'm not saying Bally's ought to stop holding customers to their signed contracts, but they should improve their communication protocols so that members who want to quit are re-informed of what Bally's requires of them.

Second, the company should improve staff training. Bally's is a huge chain. Its employees' dismal customer service reflects on all fitness facilities, whether it's fair or not.

The web is overflowing with negative Bally's reviews, and the company has struggled financially. This is a golden opportunity for Bally's to clean up its reputation. I hope it's not wasted.

First Family Fitness

2009-06-08T08:13:00.010-04:00

The fitness industry has long used spokesmodels to hawk its product. Whether they're oiled-up hardbodies at trade shows or smiling, trim "afters" in commercials or ads, spokesmodels are historically effective marketing tools. They showcase the results of fitness in a way no words ever can.

But finding the perfect spokesmodel is no easy task. It takes more than a low BMI and muscle definition to get the job done. A spokesmodel has to connect with consumers and also project an image that makes them someone consumers aspire to be.

It's a tall order.

Luckily, thanks to the 2008 election, the fitness industry now has the ultimate spokesmodels: Barack and Michelle Obama. He is a basketball fiend and she has to-die-for arms that have inspired articles and fitness programs. They are riding a wave of immense popularity.

And the best part? They aren't charging us a dime.

Death of the Energizer Bunny

2009-06-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

The fitness industry suffered a bit of a blow last week. A recently released study shows that exercise doesn’t boost the body’s long-lasting calorie-burning power, after all.

This is bad, right?

The ability to prime the body to burn calories even after a person stops exercising has been the fitness industry’s answer to the consumer’s hunt for the “magic pill.” We’ve been selling exercise as the gift that keeps on giving, turning the fit body into a calorie-burning Energizer Bunny.

But, if this study is right, then we’ve been wrong.

How will this affect people’s perception of exercise? Will this one study change you sell your product? For me, anyway, this study seems to have raised more questions than it’s answered.

Tweet: Clubs and Social Networking

2009-05-25T20:45:00.005-04:00

I just want to start this post with the following link to a recent article on Bloomberg.com: Crunch Bankruptcy Shows the Limits of Pole Dancing.

OK. I'm done now.

On to a new topic. Specifically, social networking.

Facebook and Twitter are part of the general vernacular, and I’ve been thinking about how a fitness facility can harness them. Then I read an article that made me consider that the fitness club experience may be the anti Facebook and Twitter experience. Instead of virtually connecting to everyone you may be connected to, however tenuously, Form & Fitness owner Ben Quist, Mequon, Wis., says his fitness facility is the place people can actually connect.

Member Georgia Rapkin said, “You can't see anybody on Twitter. You need that human connection to inspire you toward new ideas or new ways to market your business." I’m not sure people who tweet incessantly are looking for human connection, exactly, but I do think she’s right. After all, I’ve never been inspired by someone’s updated Facebook status.

Making a fitness facility into a social networking venue is no easy task. Quist says his studio’s layout encourages interaction between members. A bustling front desk area with complimentary coffee may accomplish the same atmosphere in a more traditionally designed club.

Is your club a social networking space? Do you want it to be?

Fitness or Fetish?

2009-05-18T08:55:00.004-04:00

I’ve always thought “stripper fitness” was less of a trend and more of a gimmick. But the promoters of a recent event in Utah apparently disagree.

The first pole fitness competition in Utah took place in Davis County, and the resulting controversy served up a bit of media attention. Not surprisingly, the event promoters are claiming that not only is this a legitimate fitness activity, but they hope it will one day become an Olympic sport, much like gymnastics.

Really?

I think media-savvy promoters hijacked the word “fitness” to give this event legitimacy it does not deserve. And here’s why:

1. The event is officially called Pole Fetish 2009. Not "Pole Fitness," but "Pole Fetish." If the promoters were trying to keep the event out of the gutter, right off the bat it’s an epic fail.
2. The event is co-sponsored by Ogden Adult Dance & Fitness. If their services are for “adults only,” as is stated in the business’ name, it implies that it isn’t appropriate for children. And while all fitness pursuits are not safe for children due to muscle and bone development, we all know physical fitness is appropriate at any age.
3. The event rules state that, “Performers were required to keep on the same clothes from start to finish, as well as wear something that covered breasts and buttocks.” Last I checked, I don’t recall seeing similar rules in the sport to which the promoters keep trying to compare it. Shawn Johnston never got a .10-point deduction for tossing her leotard at the judges.

Maybe I’m a fitness purist. Maybe I’m being puritanical about the whole thing. But I stand by my belief that “fitness” and “fetish” are not interchangeable terms.

Abs Save the Day

2009-05-11T08:00:00.003-04:00

Usually, upon reading an article about a dishonorable fitness facility owner fleecing his clients, I’d write a blog post about it.

Same thing with reports of more clubs closing.

And the disturbing news that one of the most innovative fitness businesses in the industry has filed for bankruptcy protection.

But I’m sick of bad news, so I’m staying with the positive. Did you hear about the woman who’s life was saved in a horrific paragliding accident by … wait for it … her abs?

Peggy Williams, a bodacious-looking 47-year-old, spent weeks in the hospital but is alive not because of a helmet or body armor, but due to her fitness. The Telegraph reports that “experts said her life was saved by her high level of fitness, which meant her stomach muscles acted as a ‘girdle’ to protect her other vital organs.”

Yeah, man. Forget the bad news. For a brief moment, revel in this undeniable fact: Fitness is awesome.

Weird, Weirder, Weirdest

2009-05-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened at your fitness facility?

I mean really weird. Weirder than the time your boss got tired of the club’s name and held an Internet contest to change it. Weirder than the time a member died in the sauna and no one found him until the next morning. Weirder than the time a Hazmat team stormed the pool deck and carted lifeguards off to the hospital after a chemical leak. Even weirder than the time a member grunted so loud it made national news.

Garden Fitness, Monterey, Calif., may just have your story beat. One gorgeous California afternoon a member drove her BMW into the club’s swimming pool. Luckily, it was unoccupied at the time and the driver was unhurt. Damage to the clubs aquatic facility and its surrounding fence was unreported.

Beat that.

So, does Garden Fitness take the prize? Or do you have a story that makes a car in the pool look as normal as a club dedicated to the American Gladiators television show?

Spill it — what is the weirdest thing that has happened at your club?

Making It Easy

2009-04-27T08:30:00.006-04:00

When a member wants to cancel his or her membership due to financial hardship, does your club make it easy, or hard?

It seems like common sense: If a client is having trouble paying, give them a break and they’ll be more likely to return as customers when the going is good again.

So why are huge chains like LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness making it so tough for members to quit?

It’s easy to chalk it up to the impersonal “service” members get at big box clubs vs. the personal touch they get at small independent facilities — each client means more to them, so they work harder to keep not only their business, but their favor.

But is it really so black and white? I hate to think so.

Pick! Your! Spin!

2009-04-20T08:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the first-ever game of Pick Your Spin! Today’s topic is how to use the recent study on caffeine and muscle pain to your club’s advantage without falling victim to the undesirable effects of poorly chosen spin.

In today’s game we’re picking the perfect article to post on the bulletin board in hopes it inspires members to take a regular pre-workout trip to the coffee bar.

We’re generous folks at the FM Blog, so let’s start off with a “gimmie” to get things going. The actual study is out of play due to its snooze-inducing title: “Effect of Caffeine on Quadriceps Muscle Pain During Acute Cycling Exercise in Low Versus High Caffeine Consumers.” Sorry, scientists.

Now grab your wheel, players, and get ready to Pick! Your! Spin!

The losers: Surprisingly, some big names are big losers in our little contest. Scientific American is a reputable source, but its headline has the “p” word: Pain. Same with a number of other outlets. Do you really want to emphasize that working out can hurt? We didn’t think so.

The runner-up: The obscure Twirlit makes an impressive showing with its article titled “Better Workout? Drink Caffeine.” It’s unlikely that any of your members are regular Twirlit readers, but the headline doesn’t mention pain so its obscurity could be outweighed by its message.

The winner: The New York Times! Its headline — "It’s Time To Make A Coffee Run" — is pure spin magic. The source is respected and has instant name recognition. Print this article, blow it up and make sure your members see it.

Thanks for joining us in the FM Blog’s first game of Pick Your Spin. We hope you had fun and encourage you to play at home.

A New Idea

2009-04-13T08:00:00.004-04:00

I’ve never liked people who criticize someone without offering their own ideas for a solution. It’s counterproductive and, on some level, cowardly.

Last week I said believe Planet Fitness’ low-priced membership strategy may cause long-term harm to the industry. Whether I agree with it or not, it is a valid attempt by a successful business to find a solution for a problem every club is facing: getting more customers in an economic crisis. And, in the spirit of my statement above, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer another possible solution for clubs looking to lower prices without devaluing their services.

Here is my idea:*

Forget the “Pay as You Go” membership model. What about “Pay as you DON’T Go”?

Clubs want to build loyalty, right? You want your clients to build fitness into their routines, value the services they receive at the club, want to spend time there. Why not reward them for doing exactly that?

Say each club visit is worth $5. You establish an “ideal” visit rate of three times per week, averaging out to $60 per month. So, the member’s base fee is $15 per week. If they go once a week, knock $5 off their dues. Twice a week, knock off $10. Three times per week, and that week is free. Your members are saving money by working out at your club.

And while these sensible members are at your club, sell, sell, sell. Sell personal training sessions, sell smoothies, sell weight gloves, sell private Pilates lessons. Sell the heck out of everything you’ve got without being too aggressive or annoying.

If you employ this model, you’re obviously taking a risk. What if members do exactly what you want them to and come to the club like clockwork? Perhaps you could establish a base fee, and the $5 per visit is on top of that. What if members stop by on their way to the grocery store, swipe their card at the front desk and count it as a workout? Perhaps you could require members to swipe in and swipe out, with a minimum visit length of 20 minutes. Problems will pop up, but so will solutions.

Now’s your chance to tell me why you think this idea won’t work — or why it will. The comments are open.

*Whether you love it or hate it, I promise this is my own idea. I thought of it at my dining room table while nursing an epic Easter head cold. However, if another club has already come up with a similar idea, please let us know in the comments section.

The Dollar Dilemma

2009-04-06T08:00:00.005-04:00

Have you heard? Planet Fitness has ~~devalued the fitness industry~~ lowered its dues to an ~~offensive~~ amazing $1 sign-up fee and $10 monthly dues with no commitment requirements! Isn’t that ~~awful~~ great?

It’s not like I didn’t expect this. Businesses lower prices to compete. But even if this means Planet Fitness can keep its lights on for another month or so, what does it mean for the industry after the economy rights itself?

Will the fitness industry end up like the airline industry? Airfare wars have driven prices so low that I wonder how long it takes before somebody offers to pay me to fly, instead of the other way around.

A $10-per-month price-tag is ridiculous. I can’t see how this lowball strategy will help the industry in the long run.

What am I missing? How can this possibly be a good idea? I seek enlightenment in the FM Blog’s comments section …

Fighting the Urge

2009-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

On March 25, a four-year-old boy drowned in the Omni 41 Health & Fitness Connection, Schererville, Ind., pool. By any account, this was a tragic event. As a parent of a four-year-old myself, I can’t imagine the grief his parents must be suffering as they attempt to come to grips with what happened.

However, it appears these victims — the boy and those who grieve him — are not satisfactory. Some people are looking for even more victims.

A few articles were written about the drowning, and many news outlets allow comments on their stories. One commenter, posting in response to the Post-Tribune article about the boy’s death, demands that the identities of the four responsible supervisors and counselors be revealed. One can only imagine the commenter believes these people should be exposed so they can be publicly punished in some way, suffer more than the unimaginable guilt and regret they must already feel.

Like those calling for the greedy AIG employees’ heads, eager to inflict injury in the mistaken belief that it will in some way assuage the pain they feel themselves, this commenter is misguided. He is angry, and he hurts for this boy and for those who mourn him.

I can understand this feeling, this urge to pull others down into our black hole so we do not suffer alone. But now more than ever, while each of us struggles to manage our own challenges and unique wounds, we cannot afford to give in to it.

Operation: ReLaunch

2009-03-23T08:00:00.003-04:00

Have you heard about The Collective? The Michigan chain operation is a kind of blended facility that offers members access to workspaces, music and art classes and a 20,000-square-foot fitness center. I admire its scope. Building a community by adding a coffee bar in the front desk area is one thing; offering meeting rooms, wi-fi and other business-related amenities takes the concept to another level.

But with the economy tanking, The Collective is taking a hit. Struggling small businesses aren’t as willing to shell out extra money to hold a meeting in a unique location — if they have meetings on the books at all. But The Collective isn’t sitting back and waiting for things to get better. Instead, it’s initiated an interesting, four-pronged program called ReLaunch aimed at Michigan’s unemployed. It focuses not only on building up resumes, but also building confidence by way of a reduced $50 fee good for three months’ use of the fitness center, along with workshops designed to give participants the tools to get their careers — and their lives — back on track.

I like the message this program sends. It gives a life expectancy to members’ hard times: three months. It gives them a place to go to look for work that connects them with other people suffering similar hardships, and it gets them out of the house. It’s harder to be depressed about being unemployed when you don’t feel unemployed, and that’s probably the biggest favor this program does for people with an extra $50 in the couch cushions.

It’s a positive, feel-good program. For everyone’s sake, I hope it works.

Techno-Connect

2009-03-16T08:00:00.011-04:00

Natalia was a popular Body Pump instructor at a Los Angeles club. She was toned and fit, but hardly a candidate for the SI swimsuit edition. Her accent sometimes made it hard to understand exactly what she was saying, but her enthusiasm was crystal clear in any language. I never had a single personal conversation with Natalia, but I identified with her and never missed a class. When Natalia eventually left the club, so did I.

Finding an instructor like Natalia is like catching motivation in a bottle. Most likely, you have an instructor like that on your staff. If you’re lucky, you’ve got a whole group fitness schedule filled with Natalias. And, chances are, you’re wasting their talent.

The situation: MSNBC.com says more people are getting their workouts on the Internet. Enterprising personal trainers are putting their workouts online — like Gwyneth Paltrow’s trainer, who emails the Oscar-winner intense workouts while on tour with Madonna. (Let's ignore the fact that Ms. Paltrow aims to open her own NYC gym with the same personal trainer, shall we?) It’s time to harness that technology and make it work for your business, rather than against it.

The idea: Set up a members-only section of your club's website and post videos of your group exercises classes online. This should be an added value for members — the ability to maintain their relationship with the club, instructors and fellow exercisers even when they’re not able or willing to make it into the club.

For too long people have taken cracks at clubs for saying they don’t care if members actually use the club or not, so long as they pay their dues. This is a way to quash those critics and keep the club community strong. Best of all, it’s a way the fitness industry can make the most of a medium that too often isolates users even as it claims to connect them.

Hope for Sale

2009-03-09T08:00:00.004-04:00

As much as industry suppliers and health clubs claim they have the secret weapon to losing weight and increasing strength and stamina, the truth is there is no secret weapon. New research proves this point. It doesn’t matter how few carbs a person eats or how much protein they scarf down. Surprise! Losing weight is a whole lot simpler than that: It’s all about calories consumed vs. calories burned.

This is good and bad for fitness professionals. Drama is good. Secret weapons are sexy and clients pay more if they think you have the inside scoop on what will get them quickly and easily to their goal.

The bad news? There is no “quickly and easily” in fitness. Quick and easy are illusions. Fitness takes time, effort and dedication. But are those things sexy? Not even close.

Santa Claus and the secret fitness weapon are myths. But like kids at Christmas, fitness center members want to believe. Forget the research. Forget the facts. Maybe it’s time to accept that you’re not selling a healthy lifestyle at all. Maybe all you’re really selling is hope.

Empty Gesture

2009-03-02T08:00:00.006-05:00

Australian fitness trainer Paul “PJ” James is gaining weight. On purpose. So far, he’s put on more than 40 pounds eating junk foods he’s spent years warning clients away from, and by not exercising.

In a Herald Sun article, James says he’s packing on the pounds to better understand why his clients have such trouble losing weight.

I think he’s full of it.

People who have difficulty losing weight struggle with more than just sweating off an excess of body fat. They usually have other challenges to overcome, such as food addictions, lack of fitness expertise, psychological issues like guilt and anxiety, or physical limitations that make traditional exercise difficult.

James has none of these obstacles. He not only knows exactly how to lose weight, but also how to be fit enough to model underwear.

Let’s call this what it is: a gimmick. Whether or not he convinces any potential clients that he’s walked a mile in their shoes, he’s already a PR success both here and Down Under.

James obviously hasn’t convinced me that he’s throwing away his health in a selfless quest for empathy, but I’m not his target market. Has he convinced you? Is this something you or other personal trainers think is worth your time — and your waistline?

Finding the Silver Lining

2009-02-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

These days it’s hard to escape bad news. One story after another tells of clubs with padlocked doors, displaced exercisers and plummeting profits.

But there are some bright spots in the fitness landscape. Ed Ruane, owner of Life fitness facility in North Lawrence, N.Y., opened his heart and a collection box to the victims of a deadly local fire. He says the club will match dollar for dollar the money collected at the front desk.

Your business may be struggling, there are others who have it worse. Remembering that — and offering a hand to help — is the best way to see the silver lining in any dark could.

Crash Course

2009-02-16T08:00:00.004-05:00

For a crash course in the fitness business, check out "Value Added: Working Out the Business" by Thomas Heath of The Washington Post. David von Storch, founder and owner of three VIDA Fitness facilities in Washington, D.C., talks about everything from making the most of industry trade shows to investing money back in the club to getting “over the hump” and into soaring profits.

This industry has a lot of club owners with no shortage of enthusiasm and passion, but it’s too rarely applied in a way that makes financial sense. Much of what von Storch discusses isn’t revolutionary, but he’s applied it with such gusto that his success is energizing and inspiring. He’s absorbed every piece of information available, learned from past failures and created a fitness business that is going nowhere but up.

I thought the article was informative and von Storch’s approach to running a club was refreshingly simple. Your thoughts?

In the Spotlight

2009-02-09T08:00:00.007-05:00

The tax-exempt status of non-profit fitness centers is the subject of a long-standing debate in the fitness industry. It hasn’t always taken center stage but, thanks to the current economy, that seems to be changing.

Now, the spotlight is shining brightly on non-profit fitness centers as states and cities explore new ways to get desperately needed funds.

Winchester, Va., is considering taxing hospital fitness centers.

The State of North Dakota tried to pass a bill that would allow levy property taxes on some nonprofit organizations, including YMCAs. The bill failed, but some lawmakers are still pushing to tax those businesses for police and fire protection.

Local governments are cutting or reducing funding. Bar Harbor, Maine, slashed taxpayer funding by $41,000 for the Mount Desert Island YMCA. Instead of getting $56,800 from the city, the YMCA will now receive $15,000.

Some will call this an overdue leveling of the playing field. Others will call it a devastating blow to communities and under-served populations. The debate will continue, and we can expect that scrutiny of some businesses’ tax-exempt status will only intensify.

We won’t all make it through to the other side of this recession. But those who do — for-profits and non-profits alike — will likely be faced with a new industry landscape. It's anyone's guess which fitness businesses will be in the spotlight then.

Same-Boat Marketing

2009-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

I’m going to be honest. “Same-boat marketing” is not a real term. I made it up. But even though you won’t see it bolded in any marketing textbooks, same-boat marketing is a technique all fitness clubs should use while the economy is in recession.

National Public Radio’s Morning Edition did a segment about marketing strategies in a recession. It highlighted companies that are focusing on building connections and bonds with consumers to boost sales. Most interesting was Hyundai, a savvy (and struggling) automaker that has thrown itself into the same boat as consumers with an innovative new program.

Hyundai Assurance allows consumers to finance or lease a new car with a simple promise: If consumers lose their income in the next year, they can return the car. No fees, no debt, no guilt. “We’re all in this together,” Hyundai’s ad says. “And we’ll all get through this together.”

It’s a great idea, and fitness facilities would do well to devise their own assurance programs. Let consumers buy a one-year membership at full price with the assurance that they can immediately cancel their membership without penalty if they lose their job within that year.

Buying anything is a risk in this economy, so share that risk with your consumers. Get in their boat and earn their trust. In the long run, you’ll earn their loyalty, too.

Advice to Potential Members Can Help You, Too

2009-01-26T07:16:00.000-05:00

As everyone knows, January is a big month for fitness centers. It is also a big month, it seems, for newspapers and blogs to give advice about joining one. The Internet is full of tips to consumers for what to look for when joining a fitness center. These tips can be used as guides for the facilities, too.

1. Have your membership contracts in order, and make sure they are legal in your state. Many sites advise consumers to read the fine print, and not to sign anything too quickly.

2. Hire and train great people. Consumers are being advised to see if staff members are friendly, approachable and well-trained/certified. Advertise your staff members’ credentials, and make sure they walk the fitness floor and talk to members.

3. Know your market. Do your members want childcare, group classes, a variety of equipment, or other programs and services? Potential members are being encouraged to check the facility out thoroughly, and ask lots of questions.

4. Don’t oversell. One of the most-common tips for potential members is to try out the facility during the time of day they will most likely use it. That way, they can tell if the locker room is too crowded, or they have to wait to use a machine.

5. Offer trial memberships. Hand out free weekly passes so potential members can get a feel for what your facility is really like.

6. Keep your facility clean. Almost every one of these sites tells consumers to check out the cleanliness of the facility, including looking for problems with the locker rooms and dust around the equipment.

It’s Business Hours. Do You Know What Your Employees Are Doing?

2009-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

A weight falls on Joe’s head when his trainer looks away. Mary falls off of the back of the treadmill when the belt skips. LuAnn falls on her tailbone in the locker room because the floor was wet. You’re liable, right? Yup, likely. If you’re going to be sued, it’s likely because a member got hurt.

But, what if it isn’t an injured member who is going to sue? What if it is a competing fitness center? What if it were your employees, right under your nose, day after day, who were saying things that caused your facility to be sued?

The situation goes like this: A prospective member comes through your doors, and she is directed to speak with a salesperson. The prospect says that she has been considering a number of fitness centers in the area, and has narrowed it down to either yours or a competitor’s down the street. To counter interest in your competitor, the salesperson informs the prospect that it’s probably not a good idea to consider the other facility, because it is in financial trouble and likely to soon go out of business. Bingo, the sale is yours! But, since the competitor isn’t really in any financial trouble, has there been any wrong doing in this situation? And, if so, who is liable? The stupid salesperson who said all those things, right? Nope.

You are liable for what your employees do. Always? No. But, in a situation like this, yes. It’s called vicarious liability, which is commonly applied to the employee/employer relationship, according to information on LegalMatch.com. There is also a legal doctrine referred to as “respondeat superior,” which is Latin for “let the superior answer,” which says that an employer is legally responsible for the actions of its employees if the employee is acting within the course and scope of employment. If that salesperson was carrying out company business, which he or she was, then that salesperson is acting on the employer’s behalf.

This situation, although not the exact details I describe above, is real. On Dec. 9, 2008, B&R Family Fitness in Feasterville, Pa. (in Bucks County), filed suit against California-based L.A. Fitness’ Huntington Valley location “for interfering with B&R’s prospective business relationships by disseminating falsehoods to potential B&R clients.” It all began when B&R heard rumors that L.A. Fitness, a neighboring fitness center, was spreading rumors about B&R going bankrupt and closing. B&R hired a private investigator to pose as a potential customer. The investigator claims within the lawsuit that “L.A. Fitness employees attempt to dissuade prospective B&R customers by telling them that B&R has declared bankruptcy, is close to declaring bankruptcy, or is otherwise having significant financial problems.”

But, B&R Family Fitness says it does not have any financial problems, and poses no risk to potential clients. In fact, the facility was voted in 2008 as a “Best in Bucks” Philadelphia Inquirer Readers’ Choice Awards winner. Even if B&R were to go out of business, the business is bonded, and members would be refunded for any time remaining on their membership contracts.

Management at this L.A. Fitness location may or may not have known about what their salepeople were saying. That doesn’t matter. And, L.A. Fitness is a big chain. Did corporate know? Is it corporate policy to train salespeople to defame the competition? Whether or not, it will all end up at the top; corporate will be held responsible if this case if found in the favor of B&R Family Fitness.

So, ask yourself: Do you know what your employees are doing right now? Do you really know?

Fitness Bytes

2009-01-12T08:00:00.003-05:00

At last week’s Macworld Expo — a can’t-be-missed extravaganza for that special brand of Apple-worshiping, iPhone-toting geek — a new product was unveiled that could take the brewing synergy between technology and fitness a crucial step forward.

According to the press release, “SMHEART LINK is a wireless bridge that enables any iPhone or iPod Touch to double as a heart monitor and cycling computer, collecting data generated by distributed fitness sensors, such as heart rate chest straps and cycling sensors on bikes, and sending it to the iPhone for easy display and tracking.”

Its website promises it will “revolutionize the fitness world.” This may seem over-the-top, but some major industry players are on board, including Spinning and New Leaf Fitness. So, it’s likely not a flash in the pan.

Will this product really “revolutionize the fitness world”? I don’t know. But, at the very least, I see a geek-friendly fitness chain on the horizon.

Federal Guidelines Encourage New Year’s Resolutions

2009-01-05T07:42:00.000-05:00

The federal government released a new set of exercise guidelines in October without much fanfare. However, since this is the week many members and potential members will be looking to follow through on their New Year’s Resolutions, it may be time to take another look at them.

The report, titled Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, says that adults gain health benefits from two-and-a-half hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity. They should also incorporate weight training at least two days per week. There are also guidelines for children, older adults, women during pregnancy, adults with disabilities and people with chronic medical conditions.

Those of us in the fitness industry sometimes live in a bubble, not remembering that everyone doesn’t read the health and fitness news in their paper, or subscribe to email notices with the keyword “exercise” in them. The fact that the U.S. government publishes exercise guidelines at all may be a surprise to many of your members and potential members, and may be something to mention in your advertising or when giving member tours.

Many new members are confused about what exercises they should do, how much and how often, and these guidelines are a great place to start. Why not create an incentive program using them, and reward members who reach these goals for a whole month? It doesn’t have to be much. You’d be surprised by what people will do for a free T-shirt or water bottle.

Can Our Industry Capitalize on the Recession?

2008-12-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Now that we’re officially in a recession, and scores of people are cutting back on their finances, the New Year is upon us. What does this mean for the fitness industry at a time when the greatest jump in membership sales typically occurs? We’ve always been able to count on those New Year’s resolutions!

But, over the Thanksgiving weekend, as I was watching the Fox News channel, it became ever more clear that those New Year’s resolutions may not pay off for our industry this year. While interviewing shoppers about their spending plans for the Christmas holidays and beyond, more than one individual mentioned their fitness center membership as one of the items that would be eliminated as their belts were tightened. The gym expense is considered by these people as “discretionary spending.” Even USA Today reported that cash-strapped customers have cut spending on spas and gyms.

This is not the first blog the FM staff has written about how our industry is going to hold up during what seems to be a never-ending economic downward spiral. And we are far from the only ones taking a look at this issue. Each day, a new story appears in some city paper about the problems our industry is, or in some cases, is not, facing. During Thanksgiving week alone, articles appeared with the following titles: Fitness Centers Work Out Deals; Fitness Clubs Fight Unhealthy Economy; Gyms Weather Economic Storm. And, those are just a few examples.

What’s interesting is that many noted industry experts have claimed, and are still claiming, that the fitness facility industry is recession-resistant. But, is this true? In the above-referenced articles, many facility owners are saying that they are not being affected by the recession, yet many others are saying they are.

Unfortunately, economists are saying this is one of the worst economies we have seen in a long, long time — long before fitness memberships were a part of the American family’s budget. So, with times as hard as they are, it’s logical to assume that we’ll hang on to many members, but we’ll also lose others, and we certainly may not gain many new ones.

To survive, then, our industry needs to respond in a variety of ways. Many are discounting their services, whether that is wise or not. Others are providing guarantees. See the article, Personal Fitness Training Franchise Introduces Bold New Fitness Goals Guarantee.

But, perhaps the most important response we should consider is how we can change consumers’ perceptions of “fitness.” The main thing that should be stressed in our marketing and communications to the public is that fitness is a “necessity,” rather than a “commodity.” As the writer of the article, Fitness Clubs Fight Unhealthy Economy, states, our services need to be “touted as stress-reducers, not indulgences,” and we need to highlight the economic benefits of “wellness.”

Where’s the Fitness Bailout?

2008-12-22T08:00:00.004-05:00

Ballys is bankrupt. Fitness centers are closing at an alarming rate. Layoffs are rampant. But if you’re holding out for a free pass on your debt from the government, you’ll be waiting a long time.

The only people who have the power to offer a fitness bailout is you — to your members, to the displaced members of facilities that have gone under and to the masses of stressed-out people convinced that gym memberships are “discretionary spending.”

It’s time to step up.

We recently posted about a fitness center that temporarily discounted or suspended membership fees to help defray the cost of fitness for those in economic agony. Most commentors to this blog said they thought it wasn’t a good idea, and that it devalued the service fitness facilities offer. Many suggested finding ways to add value to memberships in order to increase their attractiveness.

Unless “adding value” includes magically giving them back their jobs or buying their homes at their 2007 value, I’m not sure many people will see the light.

So, how else can you make a fitness membership necessary, not discretionary? As usual, I’m full of ideas.

• Buddy up with a local diner so members get 10 percent off each meal they eat there.
• Hire a job counselor to meet with members in the lobby area or a spare office.
• Put up a large bulletin board and dub it the Job Center. Encourage local businesses to post their openings, and be sure to broadcast success stories.
• Offer free coffee and toast in the mornings. It’s not much, but you’d be surprised how much a free breakfast — no matter how Spartan — is worth to people.

Unlike the other bailouts in the news these days, a fitness bailout you offer will most definitely be repaid. When the economy rights itself, when people aren’t struggling and worrying, they will remember your fitness center. They will remember how important it was during this dark period in their lives.

And, someday, they just might bail you out, too.

Better than a Snooze on the Bench Press

2008-12-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Often, being unusual gets you noticed. And, in a time when economic circumstances are causing people to cancel their gym memberships, facility owners need to get creative to ensure a constant cash flow. Take, for instance, The Marsh, “a center for balance and fitness” in Minnetonka, Minn. This 67,000-square-foot facility not only offers a fitness center, café, salon and massage services, it also offers its own hotel.

Called the Inn at The Marsh, the Inn has six rooms plus a lounge and conference room, and prices are quite reasonable for a high-end facility. (Marsh members pay $95 per night.) While a hotel may seem extreme, remember that YMCAs have been doing this for years.

Of course, most fitness centers can’t offer a hotel. There are countless variables that go into such a venture, including staff time, laundry facilities and a reservation system. But The Marsh makes it work since it is a large facility with other amenities already in place, such as conference rooms and a restaurant.

However, you could offer other unusual services and amenities that make your fitness center stand out. What about a car wash in your parking lot? Dry cleaning delivery? Dog walking while members work out? A fitness library? If you want to make your fitness center a hub for your members, one way to do that is to offer convenience — a place where they can not only get a great workout, but maybe where their in-laws can stay during the holidays, or where they can drop off their dry cleaning so they don’t have to make that extra trip.

Do you offer unusual services or amenities? Post your ideas!

Kids: Healthy or Unhealthy?

2008-12-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

Are kids today healthy or unhealthy? I guess it depends on how you look at it.

On November 25, The Press-Enterprise published two stories on the topic. The first praised Riverside, Calif., county’s students for scoring better than the state average on the 2008 California Physical Fitness Test. The annual test rates the percentage of children who score within the Healthy Fitness Zone, a measure of reasonable levels of fitness that can be achieved in six areas: aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength and flexibility, upper-body strength and endurance, and flexibility. Overall, said the article’s author, Riverside County fifth- and seventh-graders did slightly better than the state average.

The second story, however, criticized the county’s students for having made only small gains in physical fitness, with two in three children still not meeting fitness standards. This, despite the fact that some schools have made fitness a priority. One in particular, Eisenhower High School in Rialto, “rivals most fitness clubs in the variety and number of exercise classes it offers,” says the article’s authors.

The reality is that only one in three students in California meet the state’s basic physical fitness requirements, which is consistent with the national average. Healthy or unhealthy? No matter how it’s reported, the answer is definitely “unhealthy”!

What are we going to do about it? We need to ensure that kids get the information they need to make healthy choices, and that they are pushed into programs that improve their fitness levels. An example of this is an after-school program held at six elementary schools in Marion, Ga. Hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Marion, the program is available from the end of the school day until 6 or 7 p.m., depending on the school. Rather than “riding the bus home to do nothing,” the students get homework help and tips on nutritious eating and fitness.

This is an idea that all fitness centers could capitalize on. How about yours? It’s a matter of making our nation’s kids healthy.

What's In A Name?

2008-12-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. He is an undisputed literary genius, but I wouldn’t pay him a dime to name my fitness facility.

For fitness businesses, names are incredibly important. The potential success for a facility boasting the best equipment, the lowest membership fees and the choicest amenities would be greatly diminished if it were named, say, Sweaty Feet. Or, Possible Results. Or, Failed Resolutions.

Like I said, a name is important.

So important to one fitness center, in fact, that its owners didn’t trust themselves to name it when they were looking to re-brand. Instead, they posted on a popular naming site, and were rewarded with dozens of choices for just a few bucks.

Everyone loves to suggest names. Try getting pregnant; you’ll see what I’m talking about. Naming a fitness facility is no different. It can even be a way to get some cheap publicity while you’re in the construction process. What if a club held a local contest to help find its name? The winner could receive a free membership for a year, and the contest could help build anticipation for the grand opening.

I’d name a few of my favorite (awful) facility names, but I’d like to keep my job. Instead, I’ll share my favorite (awful) name for a hair salon: Curl Up and Dye. The name just makes you want to submit to the scissors of a cynical, possibly suicidal hairdresser, right?

Just for kicks, what are your favorite (awful) club names?

Learning from Our Past

2008-11-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

Pioneers and inventors have always amazed me. How did they come up with those ideas? What inspired them? Could I, in their situation, have done the same thing? Those of us in the fitness industry can certainly learn from our “founding fathers,” and gain inspiration from their hard work, creativity and commitment to the cause of “fitness” for the masses.

Ray Wilson is one of our pioneers, and he is still going strong. He recently started a new chain of clubs called Ray Wilson’s Healthy Exercise. And, true to form, this isn’t your typical health club chain. These facilities are geared toward “people of all ages who shy away from the traditional gym,” according to a recent news article. At 80 years old, Wilson is still looking ahead toward the future of our industry.

Wilson’s career can serve as an example to all fitness managers. Here is how he has continued to succeed for more than three decades and through varying financial climates:

1. Work hard: Wilson grew up in a large family of poor migrant farmers who all picked cotton to earn money. From that he gained a strong work ethic.

2. Go with your instincts: Wilson was one of the first to change the image of traditional gyms, transforming them into light, open areas that attracted more than just bodybuilders.

3. Listen to others: Wilson took advice from former astronaut James Lovell, who was also former chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, to include cardio training options in all of his future fitness centers.

4. Create smart partnerships: Wilson bought the rights to an exercise cycle in 1968, which he and business partner Augie Nieto perfected. This eventually became the Lifecycle, and the beginning of a fitness revolution.

5. Continue to reinvent your business: Wilson paid attention to trends and his market when opening new clubs. His original Family Fitness Centers became the model for modern chains, and all were eventually sold to 24 Hour Fitness. His new Healthy Exercise clubs may very well set new models for fitness centers geared toward the non-exerciser.

Free Personal Training?

2008-11-17T05:00:00.005-05:00

It’s never a popular time to suggest taking a cut in income, especially right now, during what most believe is a recession. But, here goes. I strongly believe that for fitness center operators to keep as many of their members as possible — especially those who lack the knowledge and the motivation to succeed in their health and fitness goals — fitness instruction (a.k.a., personal training) needs to be included in the membership price.

There are two compelling arguments for this. First, in an industry trade show seminar about selling personal training, the speaker, a facility owner, said, “Most of your members know they don’t know how to get real benefits from exercise, and those who think they know, don’t know either.” The point was that most members need personal training to succeed. However, since the majority of members don’t pay for personal training, mostly because they can’t afford it, they’re not reaping the fitness benefits of their membership. Typically, that means that they don’t stay members.

There is a strong perception by the public that fitness centers and their staff simply don’t care about them. All they care about is selling them the membership, and then the member is forgotten. In the majority of cases (no, not all), this really is the truth. But, as Carl Liebert, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, said in an industry trade show panel discussion titled “Fitness Business at a Crossroads,” the fitness industry’s membership numbers are never going to change until we earn the public’s trust: “It’s about earning people’s business; giving first, and then receiving.” It just seems logical to me that if we can show members that exercise really does work if they do it correctly, they will reward us by staying members and recruiting others.

Second, if you Google “free personal training” on the Internet, 27 million results turn up. Not all of these results actually offer free personal training, but a lot of them do. Free online fitness programming is exploding. How, then, when pinching pennies is a necessity for most people, are fitness center operators going to compete with that if they don’t offer something comparable? The online freebies may not be as good as the hands-on personal training you would get at an actual fitness facility, but tell that to the cash-strapped consumer, especially since it’s free.

There are fitness centers that have set the example for how offering free exercise instruction works. And, it’s paid off for them. A couple of these include two Anytime Fitness centers: one in Wabasha, Minn., and the other in Lake City, Minn, and West Virginia University Recreation Center.

Maybe this isn’t such a popular suggestion right now, but maybe it’s one solution that may get our industry through some tough economic times, and, in the long run, it may be one of the solutions to altering public perception.

In Defense of Checklists

2008-11-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

Fitness Management has published a lot of articles that deal with checklists. Equipment maintenance checklists, cleaning checklists, locker room checklists … the list goes on and on. I have to admit, after seven years, I’d gotten tired of them. Isn’t this common sense? I’d think. Don’t all fitness centers use checklists? Can’t we stop writing about them?

After reading a Fox News article about a dead man left overnight in a fitness facility’s steam room, I think it’s safe to say that the answer to these questions is a resounding NO.

Sixty-six-year-old Thomas Dodge, a regular member of the Coeur d-Alene Tribal Wellness Center, Plummer, Idaho, apparently suffered a heart attack in the center’s steam room after swimming. A janitor didn’t find his body until the next morning, almost 10 hours after his death.

This is inexcusable on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start.

The fitness center was likely helpless to prevent the heart attack, but it could have made a painful situation somewhat easier for Dodge’s family if staff members had found the body in a timely manner. Now the facility has made national news for poor maintenance practices, and its steam room will undoubtedly be deserted. What member wants to contemplate having an emergency in the steam room, then being abandoned by inattentive staff?

“Tribal spokesman Marc Stewart said closing procedures at the center require a walk-through to make sure no one is in the building,” reports Fox News. “Center officials will decide whether to change procedures after an investigation.”

Might I offer a suggestion? How about using … a checklist?

No Time to Exercise? Tell that to the President

2008-11-03T07:34:00.000-05:00

With the election this week, it should be comforting to know that our current President, and both presidential candidates, set good examples of leading healthy lifestyles, even with their busy schedules and high-stress jobs.

President Bush regularly exercises six times per week, including doing cardio, resistance training and flexibility exercises. At the recent Club Industry National trade show in Chicago, the keynote speaker was Dr. Kenneth Cooper, who also happens to be Bush’s personal physician. Cooper said that, when he asked Bush about his personal stress level, Bush replied that it is “moderate” (not “high” or “extreme”). Bush attributes his ability to keep his stress level in check to his regular workout.

Senator John McCain likes to hike and swim, and says that his worst health habit is coffee drinking. Senator Barack Obama is a regular runner, and was recently “spied” on while performing a full-body resistance-training workout.

While I’m sure we’ve had great past U.S. presidents who weren’t in the best of shape (any history buffs want to contribute here?), a healthy president is a great example for the rest of the country. If the president has time to exercise, most of the rest of us have no excuse.

Surviving the Economy

2008-10-27T09:46:00.001-04:00

Every business today has been affected by the economic downturn. I doubt any fitness facility has been immune to members who have had to either put their memberships on hold or terminate them completely due to layoffs, pay cuts, etc. The question, then, is what is the right thing for the fitness industry to do to not only help their customers, but to also reduce their attrition rates?

Several solutions are being offered for how fitness facility operators are dealing with customers who are in a pinch. But, all of these solutions deal with the dreaded “discounting.” The notion to discount our products and services has been widely discouraged over the years, namely because, by discounting, we’re sending a message that our product is not worth what we’re asking. But, is that really relevant in today’s economic climate?

For many facilities, apparently not. According to an article published last week in The New York Times titled Staying Healthy in a Sick Economy, the author notes that consumers are especially in need of a healthy outlet during this stressful period. So, to help these consumers and, of course, to keep them on the rosters, fitness center operators are willing to bargain. A couple of examples include not charging members who quit a fee to rejoin when they’re able, and offering shorter, cheaper and shared training options. (See last week’s related blog, Survival of the Fittest.)

The issue is whether the fitness industry can portray itself as the savior by tightening its belt to serve the public, and then reemerge when the economy strengthens as a product to be valued, returning to previous pricing strategies.

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how many low-priced competitors decide to pounce on the market to lure cash-strapped customers into their facilities and away from the higher-priced ones. Look, for example, at a new line of fitness facilities named MiFit in the United Kingdom. Recognizing that people are struggling to pay the dues at most fitness centers, their new “low-cost fitness concept” provides memberships available only online at a rate of 9.95 pounds per month. According to the managing director of the corporation, MiFit fills “a gap in the market by providing premium fitness technology at a low cost.”

I guess only time will tell how the economy will affect our industry long-term. For now, facility operators will just have to do what they believe is necessary — for the good of their members and their fitness centers.

Survival of the Fittest

2008-10-20T08:20:00.002-04:00

When times are tough, only the strong survive. The global economic crisis is about as tough as it gets, and already some fitness businesses are struggling — and failing — to stay alive.

New business ventures are being put on hold because entrepreneurs can’t get the credit to fund them. Clubs are facing increasing attrition rates because members can’t afford their dues. And there’s nothing you can do about it.

Or, is there?

According to a recent article in the New York Times, some clubs are finding ways to help their members through the economic hardships, and hopefully ensuring their own survival.

TELOS Fitness Center, Dallas, Texas, now waives applicable fees for rejoining the club for longtime members who have quit and wish to return. “I’ll put a note in their file and we’ll let them pick up their membership without any fees,” Clarisa Duran, sales and marketing director, told the Times.

What are you doing for your members to help ease the burden brought on by lost jobs, lack of available credit, and Wall Street turmoil?

Trainer Certifications: The Government May Soon Step In

2008-10-13T08:03:00.000-04:00

While the debate rages on in the fitness industry about whether the government should step in to regulate/certify/license personal trainers, California may be one step closer to doing just that. In September, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that creates a statewide certification system for massage therapists.

Now, I know that massage therapists and personal trainers are two different things. However, the reasons cited for this new law for massage therapists can also be applied to personal trainers.

Senator Jenny Oropeza, a Democrat from Long Beach, says that therapists currently are regulated by a patchwork of local regulations that vary between cities and counties. While trainer certifications don’t vary by where they live and work, they do vary by what type of industry certification they have — if they have one at all — where they were educated and how much experience they have.

Oropeza went on to say that the legislation “will help identify legitimate therapists and make sure they have proper training.” Isn’t this exactly why many people argue that personal trainers need standardized testing and/or certification? So fitness centers and clients can identify who is legit?

The time is approaching when states will step in to regulate personal trainers. The industry needs to respond by either self-regulating, which is happening already to some extent, or by getting involved in the process of state regulations so that at least we have a say in what the eventual law will entail.

Green Power

2008-10-06T13:07:00.002-04:00

How responsible do you feel about going green in your facility? The heightened concern about environmental issues has prompted different reactions from people. But, recent surveys show that, despite the role you feel you should play, most people do feel that everyone needs to play a part. And, one fitness facility may be a leader in the green energy department.

One survey, the 2007 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey, found that most Americans are making personal efforts to reduce their impact on the environment through energy conservation (93 percent), recycling (89 percent), conserving water (86 percent), and telling friends and family about environmental issues (70 percent). In addition, 93 percent of Americans believe companies have a responsibility to preserve the environment.

So, how can your facility be one of those companies? We’ve reported on a number of green efforts made by facilities across the country in Fitness Management magazine. But, none so far has managed to top the creativity of the most recent green-ovation put to use at the Ridgefield Fitness Club in Ridgefield, Conn. Ridgefield is the first facility to have a new invention installed on its bikes that actually generates electricity, which is then put back onto the fitness center’s energy grid.

The invention was created by Jay Whelan, who owns the company The Green Revolution Inc. He came up with the idea to generate electricity using stationary cycles by attaching a black box. According to an article in The Ridgefield Press.com, “A group cycling class using 20 bikes has the potential to produce 3.6 megawatts of renewable energy a year. … That number of megawatts is enough to light 72 homes for a month and reduce carbon emissions by 5,000 pounds.”

While Whelan brought the technology to the Ridgefield Fitness Club first “to see how gym members feel about helping the environment during their cardio,” this invention could be the beginning of a green revolution. The company is already working on attachments for other cardio machines, including ellipticals and rowers. Which means that, if Americans really believe that it’s the responsibility of businesses to play a major role in energy conservation, this could be the industry’s ticket to being a positive role model for society.

How important do you feel your role is in the greening of our environment? Important enough to go with The Green Revolution?

As the World Tans

2008-09-29T08:35:00.003-04:00

Tanning is the most popular topic on the FM blog, even though there’s only been one post on the subject. It’s generated the most comments, most of which support tanning in fitness facilities.

Tanning enthusiasts have been getting some long-awaited public love lately, thanks to Project Runway contestant and admitted “tanorexic” Blayne, E!'s reality show Sunset Tan, and Republican Vice President nominee Sarah Palin, who installed a tanning bed in the Alaska governor’s mansion when she took that office.
*A brief aside: Why are people who tan in excess called “tanorexics”? Doesn’t that term imply that they deny themselves tanning, the way anorexics deny themselves food? Enlighten me in the comments, please.

I happen to agree with FM Senior Editor Anne McDonnell when she says tanning has no place in the fitness industry. But let’s be honest: As long as it’s a viable profit center, some fitness facilities will continue to offer it to members. Just like some will continue to sell dietary supplements, and hire sub-par personal trainers. Without strict and enforceable industry standards, it’s a buyer-beware market — especially for fitness center members.

If the McCain/Palin ticket is victorious in the polls this November, it will mark the first time that a woman takes that office. But there may be another milestone, as well: The White House’s first tanning bed.

Is that a boost for the tanning industry, or what?

No More Excuses

2008-09-22T08:05:00.000-04:00

I’m sure you’ve heard all of the reasons people give for being overweight: I have a thyroid problem, it’s my glands, I have big bones, it’s genetic. Well, now there are no more excuses (except the obvious ones of little exercise and poor diet). A new study found that “vigorous physical activity can help even people genetically prone to obesity keep the weight off.” The study found that those who had an obesity-related gene called FTO, but were very physically active, weighed about the same as others who did not carry the gene.

This doesn’t mean you now have the right to call your members liars or slackers, but it does give you more scientific evidence to back those claims you’ve been making for years: No matter what your genes say, exercise can and does help people keep their weight down.

Keep in mind that if your members really do have a medical condition that makes it difficult for them to keep the weight off, they will need to exercise more than the average person to do so. So, while some of your members may be lying about their “medical condition” in order to explain their weight, those who really have a medical condition will need a well-planned program, and lots of motivation, to help them reach their goals.

Fit to Lead

2008-09-15T09:00:00.003-04:00

Pummeling the presidential candidate you hope will lose? Sweet! Kudos to Washington Sports Clubs staff who came up with a creative way to sweep up its members in election fever! Known as VOTERobics, the circuit training classes are held to patriotic soundtracks, and include moves with coined terms such as “jumping Johns” and “bouncing Baracks.” Participants can even take a swing at their least-favorite candidate whose plastic masks have been attached to the top of a heavy bag.

Fitness should play a role in this election, both in what we’re doing in our facilities and out. Of course, it would be best if our industry could find some way to convince our politicians that more attention needs to be paid to the role of fitness in society, starting from the top. As the obesity problem continues to plague the United States, we need healthy role models now more than ever. Is it so unreasonable to expect, then, that our presidential candidates be fit? Especially as leaders who set an example for our nation’s children, and who serve in a job that is demanding and stressful?

This issue was recently talked about in the article, Health of candidates called a legitimate issue. Over the years, the landscape has been changing. It’s been a long time since we’ve had an obese president (William Howard Taft weighed more than 300 pounds), or one with a serious medical condition. These days, it is expected that candidates release their medical records and tout their fitness regimens to the media so they can prove their fitness for the job. After all, the public has to worry about enough without having to worry about our president-elect keeling over due to some illness caused by an unhealthy lifestyle.

In this election, the 25-year age difference between Obama and McCain clearly plays in Obama’s favor. But, both have strikes against them. McCain has his limitations due to his history of skin cancer and injuries he suffered as a prisoner of war. However, his doctor and campaign staff let it be known that he has a “strong heart” and he participates in light exercise. Obama was a smoker up until 2007, just a year ago, but he now sticks to a strict fitness regimen and is depicted as a jock. In short, they both want to be known as candidates who think fitness is important.

Fitness may not be a major issue in this election, but the fact that it’s being paid attention to more is a positive thing. I’m glad McCain and Obama are taking it seriously. Of course, I still wouldn’t mind taking a smack at … .

Off the Grid

2008-09-08T08:45:00.005-04:00

I read an article the other day about The Green Microgym in Portland, Ore. Owner Adam Boesel modified some exercise cycles so that they generate electricity. “Boesel has re-engineered a small motor to capture the pedal power from a trio of Spin bikes [to] generate electricity for the gym’s television and stereo system,” says KOAA.com.

I’m a big fan of modifying (also known as “hacking”) objects to fit a specific need. One of my favorite websites showcases people’s ingenious modifications of Ikea furniture. Repurposing is good for the pocketbook and the environment.

I think what Boesel has done is creative and innovative, and should be applauded. Short of ordering the four-person Team Dynamo, which harnesses the collective power of exercisers as they pedal and turn hand cranks — or investing in some of the other electricity-generating equipment options FM Senior Editor Anne McDonnell discussed in her earlier post about the subject — what other choice do fitness-center-owning inventors who want to get off the grid have but to hack their existing equipment?

This is a feel-good story meant to inspire other facility owners to think outside the box to achieve new levels of eco-consciousness. But I do have some questions.

What about the warranty? Once you modify a piece of fitness equipment, the warranty is null and void, right? And, if you’re not as scientifically and mechanically inclined as Boesel, there’s a good chance you’ll really break something.

What about insurance? How do insurance companies cover a facility with modified equipment? Will they even consider it?

As I said before, I admire Boesel’s initiative. But do I think it’s the ideal solution for most fitness center owners? Not even close.

Put Your Money Where Your Waist Is

2008-09-01T08:45:00.003-04:00

While some employers reward people for healthy behavior, others are beginning to take more drastic measures. With rising healthcare costs, and costs rising in many aspects of business, companies are trying to balance their budgets in ways employees may never have expected. Namely, charging them for being overweight.

Alabama, the second-fattest state in the U.S., is giving its more than 37,000 state employees one year to lose weight, or they will pay $25 per month for health insurance that otherwise is free. The state already charges workers who smoke.

While some people may think this is extreme, I – and I expect many in the fitness industry – think it is a fine solution to a problem that could otherwise get out of control. Since incentives such as free T-shirts or water bottles aren’t worth the effort to lose weight for many people, those types of small rewards only benefit people who are already fit, or who are already on their way to changing their behavior.

For people not already taking part in a fitness program, getting started can be the most difficult part. However, faced with a fee of up to $300 per year, maybe exercise doesn’t seem all that bad. And, as we all know, once they get started, there will be infinite rewards for these employees, in addition to not losing that $25.

Exercise in a Pill

2008-08-25T11:38:00.003-04:00

What would it mean for the fitness industry if exercise could be gotten from a pill? Well, we might just find out some time in the future. Two drugs are being developed by a group of researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego. The group is led by Dr. Ronald Evans, an expert on how hormones work in cells, and who has won the Lasker Award, which often tops the Nobel Prize.

The pills trick the muscles into thinking that they have been working out furiously. The first, Aicar, generates more high-endurance Type 1 muscle fibers (those that generate the cell’s energy and are resistant to fatigue) without any exercise. It is hoped that this drug will help people who are too frail to exercise, and those with health problems such as diabetes.

The second drug, GW1516, generates more Type 1 fibers during exercise, allowing exercisers to perform twice as long as they were previously able. Obviously, this one is of great interest to athletes, but it should be known that Evans has already devised a test to detect whether an athlete has taken the drug, and he has made it available to the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Could pharmaceutical exercise be a good thing for our industry? It will give people who take the drugs more energy. And, more energy usually translates into a desire to be more active. On the other hand, the drugs could be used as an excuse for not needing to be more active.

Either way, it’s something we need to start thinking about, as an “exercise pill” is most certainly on the horizon.

Pinching Pennies

2008-08-18T07:00:00.004-04:00

Everyone has heard about Barack Obama’s money-saving advice to Americans in this economic crisis: Keep your tires properly filled with air. Obama got a lot of flak for this. It’s a mundane and unglamorous solution, after all — hardly worthy of an election year sound bite. But pinching pennies is nothing if not mundane and unglamorous, and here are a few ideas that might help your fitness center. (Offer your ideas — or disagree with mine — in the comments.)

1. Reduce your personal training staff. Unless every session time is filled for every personal trainer at your facility, you can most likely afford to cut at least one position. Even if you have a commission-based arrangement with trainers, consider what you shell out when they’re in the building waiting for business: They use water and electricity, take up employees’ time chatting, wash their hands, fiddle on the computer. These are all little things, but, over time, they add up.
2. Eliminate your marketing budget. In this economic climate, keeping the members you have is a better bet than attracting new ones.
3. Keep membership fees constant. The temptation to slap a “sale” sign on the front door to lure potential members inside is strong, but don’t do it. It devalues the service you offer. And, there is no quicker way to alienate your tried-and-true members than by slashing the membership fee of Mr. Sweaty-Come-Lately.
4. Control the temperature manually. For the time being, take the thermostat off autopilot and experiment with keeping the temperature a bit higher than normal. In the winter, keep it a bit cooler. Honestly, there is no “perfect” temperature for a fitness facility (though you’d be surprised at the number of inquiries we get asking for a hard-and-fast number).
5. Eliminate paper. Come on, now. There are lots of ways to cut paper use in your fitness center. Why print out a gazillion copies of the new group exercise schedule every month when you can write it out on a large whiteboard? If members like to have a hard copy, keep the schedule updated on your website and send out a mass email each month.

I’m not saying that any of the above ideas are more sound-bite-friendly than Obama’s air pressure bit. But, at this point, I’d bet some facility owners would be willing to sacrifice a live chicken or two to keep costs down. Keeping enough air your tires, in comparison, isn’t really all that silly.

The Fitness Industry’s Reputation is Far From Good

2008-08-11T08:30:00.000-04:00

Despite great strides made in the industry toward better business practices, it is still plagued by a not-so-good reputation because of the bad behavior of dishonest facility owners.

One example is a criminal case that was brought against Club 24 in Santa Maria, Calif. Club 24’s owners, Wilson Marx and Frank Smith, are facing felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly deducting unauthorized fees from members’ credit cards and bank accounts.

Another fitness center also faces charges over member payments and fees. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett sued The East Hills Racquet and Fitness Club, operator of the Edgewood Tennis Fitness Club, because members didn’t get what they paid for. The facility closed abruptly in February, leading to complaints from members who already paid for memberships or tennis court time, but didn’t get refunds.

Yet another fitness center agreed to pay more than $32,000 in fines and restitution after the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office received complaints from people who purchased memberships before the facility’s ownership changed, but still had to pay new initiation fees. Planet Fitness, Lancaster, Pa., formerly Lancaster County Racquetball and Fitness Club, agreed to pay the fine to settle allegations that the fitness center failed to honor existing contracts after ownership was transferred.

These examples are not the only ones out there. Many fitness centers still make it quite difficult for members to quit, continuing to charge them for months because they didn’t go through the necessary “hoops.”

Illegal and sneaky (legal or not) business practices need to stop. People already find it difficult to join a fitness center. Knowing that it will also be difficult to leave, or that they will be charged “hidden fees,” will only add to their excuses to not join in the first place. These dishonest business owners hurt fitness centers everywhere, and contribute to the bad reputation that the industry suffers.

Variety Show

2008-08-05T11:39:00.001-04:00

I know that change comes in waves, but I’m getting tired of the same old group exercise choices. For the past 10 years, it’s been group cycling, group strength, mat Pilates, yoga, boot camp and Step. At least it has been at most fitness facilities, including the ones at which I have been a member. If there’s not going to be any fun in group exercise anymore, at least we could have some more variety.

Maybe the lack of variety these days is due to a lack of new products. Some interesting products have been developed, none of which I’ll name, but they were ones that you could just tell were going to be a fad, rather than the next new trend. The thing is, it’s not just up to the fitness industry suppliers to create products for use in group exercise classes. Our industry needs innovators in the fitness facility trenches, as well.

The good news is, we may be on the crest of a new wave. Recently, some interesting new products and programs have made it into the news, a few of which may just be worth a look:

This may be a little of a stretch, but with its success at the IDEA World Fitness Convention in Las Vegas last month, maybe not. The TRX Suspension Trainer, a 12-foot nylon strap with two buckles and a pair of loops for hands or feet, was developed by Randy Hetrick, a Navy SEAL-turned-entrepreneur. Apparently, the classes are offered in 5,000 fitness centers across the U.S. A video on YouTube shows a class in session, which will give you a good idea of what the product is and how it’s put to use in group exercise.

Upper-body cycles have been making a showing at trade shows in the past year or so. So, it’s not surprising that Johnny G (inventor of Spinning) developed a group exercise class around his Krankcycle called Kranking. On the Krankcycles, the foot pedals have been replaced with hand cranks. Kranking was recently introduced to the Roanoke Athletic Clubs in Virginia. Maybe we’ll see a two-part class evolving — half group cycling, half cranking — for the ultimate all-body workout? I just haven’t figured out the space issue yet.

And, here’s an innovative twist on the traditional Step class. At the Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York, a new class called Climb-Max transforms the flat Step into a 45-degree angled platform, around which 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training are performed. Tell me there are more programs like this!

It would be nice to see more fitness facilities offering innovative group exercise schedules. Maybe not to the level of that offered at Crunch, but at least a few new classes that would re-energize participants.

Good Riddance to Bad Personal Trainers

2008-07-28T09:00:00.004-04:00

Jay Cardiello is a personal trainer, and he’s proud of his profession. He’s not, however, proud of some of the jokers who are in it.

In the May archives of Cardiello’s blog, he describes his one-man investigation into the world of personal training. What Cardiello discovered isn’t news — bad personal trainers are in it for the “easy” money, the power trip and the free club membership. But, he says, the real blame lies with the fitness center managers who hire these idiots.

Fitness center managers look at personal training as a profit center, and, according to Cardiello, therein lies the problem. They expect their personal trainers to sell, sell, sell at the expense of actually helping people. But, common sense says that if a good personal trainer attracts lots of clients, making sales is a valid way to judge his or her capability. Right?

Not so, says Cardiello. Bad personal trainers often exploit their clients’ lack of expertise about health and fitness, and bully them into believing that they’re under expert care. When he went “undercover” at a large chain, Cardiello found that one popular (but under-educated and un-interested) trainer was careless and even dangerous with his clients.

Ignorant exercisers often believe that pain = gain when it comes to building muscle and cardiovascular stamina. But, anyone can prescribe exercises that inflict agony (and often injury) with little to no physical benefit. It takes a caring professional to get results safely.

Cardiello lists other reasons for the bad personal trainer epidemic, such as poor pay and unfair standards for receiving health benefits. He says the pay doesn’t inspire commitment, and neither does the fitness facility’s focus on selling rather than serving.

Maybe he’s right. Until fitness centers start setting some standards for who they hire to train their members, the profession will continue to be a haven for confused, lazy wannabes who would rather be somewhere else (unless they’re currently taking advantage of their free club memberships).

Take a look at your fitness center. How do your personal trainers rate, not in sales, but in service and expertise?

Striptease Exercise too Sexy for Tennessee

2008-07-21T08:04:00.000-04:00

From gun stores to smoke shops to adult video stores, city governments have banned certain types of stores ever since someone first realized that this stuff sells. Based on moral grounds or to “protect the children,” some of these laws are there for a good reason, and have helped to “clean up” neighborhoods that were going downhill.

However, some cities take these laws too far. One of the best examples of this is in Bartlett, Tenn., where the city won’t allow an exercise studio to open because code enforcement says it’s an “adult business.”

Eccentric Studio planned to offer "Strip to Fit” classes, which use stripper poles and striptease dancing techniques. But the city of Bartlett did not approve of the studio, and issued a stop work order on the business.

Studio owner Rachael Vint rightly says that her facility is not a sexually oriented business. No men would be allowed, and women would remain clothed at all times.

Striptease exercises classes are growing in popularity across the U.S., and anyone who is unsure about what it is can surely find this type of class in a near-by fitness center or on DVD. The powers that be in Bartlett took their “moral ground” too far, and are hurting Bartlett citizens by denying them what could be a successful business — both financially and in the way it could help women get fit.

When Vint tried to explain her business to the city, mayor Keith MacDonald told her that it would take a court order for her to be able to open.

This whole thing seems like a joke to me. I don’t know anything about Bartlett, but I’m sure its citizens wouldn’t object to a small fitness studio opening — even one that offers a new type of exercise that includes stripping-type moves. Heck, many traditional group exercise classes could be thought of as provocative! (In fact, in some places, they are.)

So, as the common argument goes, where will this stop? Will the city of Bartlett outlaw all fitness centers that have “suggestive” classes? Will children be barred from fitness facilities? Bartlett leaders need to get off their “moral” high horse and allow its women the option of getting a great workout — even one that involves holding onto a pole.

Compensation vs. Recognition

2008-07-14T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today, July 14, 2008, is the official deadline for entries to the 15th annual Nova7 Facility Awards competition. While, each year, the number of entries rises and declines, no doubt due to a variety of factors, I sometimes wonder if facility operators really recognize the importance of this type of award for their facility’s employees.

So, my question for you is, what do you believe motivates your employees more: compensation or recognition? My guess is that the majority of your responses will be split somewhere near the middle. This dissension seems to be caused by a disconnect between what managers think employees want, and what employees really want: cash or other tangibles, such as trophies/plaques and public expressions of gratitude.

The debate between compensation vs. recognition has been ongoing. While many companies realize the need to recognize employees for a job well done, many others take the easy way out by throwing money at employees instead. But, money isn’t everything, especially when it comes to job motivation. That said, everyone has to have a sufficient amount of money to meet their needs. But, rewarding someone by bribing them with cash is hardly an incentive to make them want to excel at their jobs.

The reality is that money pays the bills and buys extras, but it doesn’t make people feel good about themselves. And, everyone wants, or rather needs, to feel good about themselves. Feeling good about their accomplishments is what makes employees want to excel, and then continue to excel.

An online Maritz Poll survey, conducted in October 2005 of 1,002 randomly selected, full-time employed adults (502 men and 500 women) ages 18 to 65-plus from throughout the United States, found that employees who were completely satisfied with their company’s recognition programs were significantly more satisfied with their jobs, more likely to remain with the company and more likely to recommend their workplace to others. Specifically, 55 percent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the quality of their company’s recognition efforts affects their job performance. Yet, at the same time, only 10 percent of them strongly agreed that they are completely satisfied with their company’s employee recognition efforts.

According to a MotivationNetwork article, “Webster defines compensation as ‘that which is given or received as an equivalent for services, debt, want, loss, suffering, etc.’ Clearly, compensation is linked to security and safety, for no one feels safe unless sufficiently compensated to meet their needs. Recognition, on the other hand, is defined as ‘acknowledgment and approval, gratitude, etc.’ Recognition appeals to the higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, especially social and self-esteem needs.”

Establishing recognition programs can often be time-consuming, especially for independently owned facilities whose owners/managers are already wearing umpteen hats. That’s why I initially asked whether facility operators really understand the importance of such awards programs as the Nova7 Facility Awards. This, and other industry awards, such as the IDEA Health and Fitness Awards and the ICAA Active Aging Awards are meant to take the burden off of you, while, at the same time, provide a service to you. You’re off the hook for developing your own recognition programs, and your employees are recognized not just within your facility, but nationally among the entire industry with trophies and plaques, and, even more importantly, with words of praise in industry publications.

If you didn’t get your staff involved in entering one or more of these awards programs this year, I strongly encourage you to do so in the coming years.

Full Disclosure

2008-07-07T07:00:00.002-04:00

Brianna Godfrey was miffed when the personal trainer she’d hired at Gold’s Gym was replaced with no explanation. Wilfredo Rivera was, by her account, a true professional. “He was very motivating, very encouraging, he knew what he was talking about — really a good guy,” Godfrey told a KUTV reporter.

She was even more miffed when she found out why her trainer went missing. Rivera didn’t call in sick or quit. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and rape.

This news was upsetting, to say the least, but what upset her most was that she didn’t hear the truth from Gold’s Gym. Instead, she found out her trainer was a wanted criminal — captured thanks to a nationwide manhunt called “Operation Falcon” — from a story on the local news.

Perhaps Gold’s Gym management hoped that by keeping its mouth shut about the circumstances of Rivera’s absence, they’d avoid the fallout. Instead, the club lost a customer and its reputation.

It’s possible that management was embarrassed. Indeed, they should have been. Not only was one of its personal trainers arrested for a violent crime, but he had previously served time in a federal prison for drug and weapons charges.

Gold’s Gym had the chance to prove itself as a forthcoming, up-front business when Rivera was arrested. Management could have stepped up and been honest about the circumstances of his disappearance, and reassured members that the charges weren’t brought by another member. Instead, management kept its mouth shut, leaving Godfrey feeling confused and betrayed.

And why’s that? Apparently, Gold’s doesn’t hire its trainers. Instead, it contracts them through a separate agency called Professional Fitness . “A spokesperson for Gold’s Gym said he was assured background checks were being performed, and that every trainer had come up clean,” reported KUTV. “Now he says they are evaluating if they will continue their relationship with Professional Fitness.”

Um … evaluating? Is that a joke? How about terminating its relationship with Professional Fitness? That seems a more appropriate response to the situation.

But then, I think we can all agree that there was nothing appropriate about how Gold’s handled any of this.

Everyone makes mistakes; but, informing your membership when an employee has been arrested on suspicion of committing a violent crime? That’s a no-brainer.

The Brain Needs Exercise, Too

2008-06-30T08:46:00.000-04:00

Members come into your facility every day to work out their bodies. They are trying to lose weight, gain muscle, lower their chances of disease, improve their time in a race and more. However, a small but growing number of members may also be coming into your fitness center to work out their brain.

Studies have found that exercise can improve brain function and memory. One study found that a simple, hour-long exercise program twice a week had a positive effect on the ability of Alzheimer’s patients to perform daily activities. Another found that schools that push fitness and nutrition among students have seen standardized test scores rise by as much as 50 percent over two years.

Exercises specific to the brain can also help improve memory, or at least slow its decline. Puzzles, games and educational activities can help people’s minds stay sharp. An article published by ABC News says that the brain is particularly stimulated by multi-tasking, such as playing a game and socializing at the same time. It also thrives on trying new things — even something as simple as taking a different route to work or switching around your exercise routine.

With more older adults becoming members of fitness centers, the time may be right to offer “mind exercises” to your members. In addition to the exercise options you already offer, why not offer special classes or activities for the brain? You could offer weekly or monthly seminars on a variety of topics (not necessarily fitness- or health-related, since learning of any type helps to stimulate the brain), daily or weekly brain teasers or puzzles (members turn them in for a prize drawing), a word-of-the-day posted in the locker rooms, or classes on your group schedule that combine exercise with memory activities or learning.

Ideas abound for how you can encourage members to exercise their brains. Your older members will especially appreciate these types of offerings, and you can solidify your role as a whole-body fitness center, or even just one that likes to have fun and engage its members with puzzles and games.

Fitness Engineering

2008-06-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

With all of the controversy over
genetic engineering, there’s some good news for those who are against it. It appears that scientists may not actually need to alter genes to rid us of the myriad diseases that plague our society. Instead, all individuals have to do is eat right and exercise, and the disease-preventing genes will actually increase, while the disease-promoting genes shut down.

Sound too good to be true? Not according to a recent
study conducted at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif. The study involved 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided to undergo three months of major lifestyle change in lieu of conventional medical treatment such as surgery or hormone therapy.

This study could have an exciting implication for the fitness industry — especially at a time when it’s reported that fitness facility memberships declined in 2007 for the first time in 10 years — primarily due to people cutting back on expenses due to high gasoline and grocery prices. The implication of this study, however, is that people can’t afford not to be a member of a fitness facility. This is a do-or-die situation — especially for those with bad genes.

The new marketing approach for the industry could be something like, “Wish you could just scrap those genes your parents’ burdened you with? We’re trained to help you genetically alter your chances of getting sick. Sign up now for our program of fitness engineering.”

People are worried about falling victim to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and a host of others. A marketing approach that focuses on wellness with research to back it up is a whole lot better than the focus on appearance.

All the Rage

2008-06-16T08:43:00.006-04:00

I hate to revisit a contentious topic, but I’ll do it anyway. Remember all the hoopla about grunting? Depending on which side of the workout bench they were on, people focused on any number of issues: member rights, club rights, membership agreements, women in the workplace and appropriate behavior on the fitness floor. They discussed all aspects of grunting — whether or not an exerciser has the right to grunt, whether or not it helps a workout — and ended up splitting the equivalent of a whole head of hairs.

But, I’ll wager no one thought to take it one step further and consider what would have happened if a manager hadn’t stepped in to diffuse the situation.

Whether or not you agree with how Planet Fitness Manager Carol Palazzolo handled that particular grunting scenario, a recent situation (and subsequent lawsuit) demonstrates what might have happened if she’d stayed on the sidelines and let Albert Argibay grunt himself silly in the free weight area.

Someone might have gotten mad. In fact, he may have even felt a spot of rage. What kind of rage, you ask? Well, it hasn’t been named yet, but it will be.

The thing is, I don’t want a new “rage phrase” coined in a fitness center. “Spin rage” is bad enough (thank you, NY Daily News). I can think of more that would be equally bad. Can you imagine yoga rage, occurring when the instructor holds the Downward-Facing Dog just a few seconds too long? Or treadmill rage, occurring when a wannabe marathoner goes way over the 20-minute limit? How about Swiss ball rage, occurring when an exerciser bounces excessively high in an attempt to touch the ceiling?

Sadly, none of those are more ridiculous than the event that inspired “Spin rage,” wherein a man repeatedly shouted the dubiously self-motivating, “You go, girl!” accompanied by some enthusiastic grunting. It was just too much for Christopher Carter, who felt the need to remove Stuart Sugarman from his group cycle and slam him into a wall. You go, girl … er, guy.

So, thank you, Carol Palazzolo. I know it was a tricky situation, and you got a lot of flak for the choices you made that day in the weight room. But thank you for postponing, at least temporarily, a seemingly inevitable new rage phrase.

Side note: Guess what. You now need padded group cycling walls. Look for them at the next trade show.

No Need for Separation of Church and Fitness

2008-06-09T08:45:00.000-04:00

When it comes to encouraging people to exercise, the fitness industry can use all the help it can get – maybe even from a higher power. A 2003 Harris Interactive survey found that 90 percent of adults in the U.S. believe in God. That’s A LOT of people! By comparison, only 10 percent of people in the U.S. belong to fitness centers. Maybe the fitness industry could get a boost from religion.

According to an article in the Montgomery Advertiser, many fitness pros and enthusiasts are taking the Biblical principle, “your body is a temple,” to heart. In addition to church-hosted group exercise classes and diet support groups, community fitness centers that offer faith-based fitness programs are beginning to pop up.

One example is Holy Spirit Gym in Costa Mesa, Calif. The fitness center is open to everyone, but features Bible scripture on the wall, and Christian music over the sound system.

Another facility, Fit 4 Christ, in Montgomery, Ala., plays Christian and gospel music, and offers weekend spiritual programs, prayer partners, and daily devotionals and Bible study. “People are finally identifying the connection between being physically fit and being spiritually in tune, and they’re inspired to do something,” says owner Antonio King.

While these examples are Christian-based, there are also facilities that cater to Muslim women, the JCC caters to the Jewish community, and many yoga and mind/body studios have a new-age/spiritual approach.

Of course, most fitness centers wouldn’t succeed with a religious-based theme, but some could and do. With so many believers out there, and so many untapped potential members, maybe this is one approach that could get more people into fitness centers. For those who haven’t responded to other types of motivation, maybe God is the answer. For fitness centers looking to fill a niche in their community, maybe God is also the answer.

Woman Power

2008-06-02T10:11:00.002-04:00

Women rule! Don’t take offense, guys. It’s just that, since the new millennium, this truth has been emerging, and it just can’t be ignored any longer — especially by business owners.

I remember not too many years ago when we reported in the pages of FM that the number of female members in fitness facilities had finally caught up with that of men. In fact, the latest statistics published by IHRSA show that women make up 57 percent of U.S. health club members. Women are just a lot more serious than men about fitness. The National Sporting Goods Association’s 2007 sports participation survey shows that women constitute a majority of participants in four of six fitness activities: yoga, 85 percent; aerobic exercising, 71 percent; exercise walking, 63 percent; working out at a club, 55 percent; and exercising with equipment, 51 percent.

But, I’m not giving you these numbers to brag about my gender. Really. I’m doing it because, as a facility operator/professional, this knowledge can and will improve your business. If you put it to use.

At the IHRSA trade show and convention in 2001, Tom Peters, an influential guru of management, spoke about the importance of this emerging trend in the fitness business industry. And, he pointed out that while more than half of fitness center members are women, a lot less than that are on fitness center management teams. The problem with that, he said, is that men and women are completely different: They have different exercise regimen needs, and they purchase services differently. As such, it’s not possible for men to create the “perfect” fitness facility experience for women.

That’s a problem, because while Business Week, in an article titled I Am Woman, Hear Me Shop, reported that while “women earn less money than their counterparts, … they make more than 80 percent of buying decisions in all homes.” It’s critical, says the article, that business owners understand women’s needs and dissatisfactions and, in turn, change the way they design, position and sell their products.

With that said, ask yourself, “How have I responded to an increase in the number of women members in my facility?” If you’re drawing a blank, that means you’ve obviously not given it much thought. As such, you haven’t done anything, and you’re losing business.

Even if you have made some changes, it will still help to understand some fundamental differences between the sexes, as pointed out on the Entrepreneurial Connection website’s SuccessSkills Archives article collection titled
How to Market to Women.

• First, women are social beings. They see their membership not just as a quest to become healthy, but as a way to connect with others.

• Second, a woman’s decision-making style, especially when purchasing, is to thoroughly investigate, especially on the web. And, she doesn’t respond well to pressure to close the sale. Therefore, answer questions, but don’t push.

• Third, the details matter. Women notice things that men tend to merely disregard, such as poor attention by the staff at the front desk, unpleasant odors in the locker room, weights not placed in their proper place, etc.

• Fourth, women are stressed. Between their roles as workers, wives and mothers, they juggle more in life than their male counterparts. The fitness facility should be a place where the products work well and are easy to operate, and customer service should come with a human touch. Research shows that, to reduce their stress, women are willing to “pay more for delivery of groceries, meals and dry cleaning, and for service providers such as financial counselors, personal trainers and dog groomers.”

I love statistics. They let us know where things really stand. But, you actually have to use these statistics to your benefit. If you do, you’ll likely be at the receiving end of one of women’s greatest qualities: They’re the most loyal of customers, and they will spread the positive word about your business to all of their friends. If not, expect the opposite. Tom Peters made a point of saying that he’d spoken with a member of a New York stock brokering firm who shared that their average male customer recommended him as a broker to 2.6 people, while the average woman customer recommended him to 21!

Dream Members

2008-05-27T08:57:00.002-04:00

What is a dream member? Cynical types would say it’s the member who joins, pays dues on time and never shows up at the club. Of course, those cynics don’t realize that that doesn’t describe a dream member at all. Think about it: The only way members will yap about a fitness center’s awesomeness is if they show up, work out and get fit. Otherwise, they’ll just complain about what a waste of time a gym membership is. And that’s the stuff of nightmares, not dreams.

Dream members are active, invested members of the fitness center. They care about the facility, its staff and other members. They want more than to secure their own health — dream members want the club to be healthy, too.

Take the two Canadian members who sprinted down a would-be car thief outside their fitness facility. One member heard a car alarm blasting in the parking lot and spotted a suspicious man. When the man bolted, the member ran after him. Another member joined the pursuit. The two chased the suspect until they caught him, then held him until police arrived.

Sounds like someone deserves a comp on a month’s worth of membership dues.

An Oak Park, Ill., exerciser owes his life to a few dream members. When Richard Prescott collapsed at Fitness Formula, eight members and Manager Jeff Long started CPR, called 911 and used an automatic external defibrillator before paramedics arrived. Let’s hear it for David Muzic, Amy Mozina, Max Vanmany, Joe DiCianni, Lisa Gregorich, Kristen Stafford, Dave Harrat and Chris Jaeger.

They’ve earned a few free personal training sessions, wouldn’t you say?

You’ve probably got a few dream members at your fitness center, too, but you just don’t know it yet. And that’s probably a good thing, since they seem to come out in emergencies — and it’s best for everyone to avoid those.

A Book to Replace Personal Trainers?

2008-05-19T08:40:00.001-04:00

There are countless websites, books and DVDs that purport to offer consumers exercise programs that they can do on their own. One recently published book is even titled Dump Your Trainer. Its marketing slogan says the book is a “simple and fun guide to weight loss and fitness without wasting your money on … personal trainers.” What the slogan should be is, “buy this book, use it once or twice, then realize that you need a trainer to motivate you to work out, to answer your questions about form, frequency, etc., and to change your program every few months to prevent boredom and fitness plateaus.”

Personal trainers can’t be replaced by a book, DVD or website. Even seasoned exercisers can benefit from working with a trainer now and then. Take, for instance, professional athletes — almost all of whom have coaches.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but only because fitness centers need to do a better job of promoting why personal training — with a real person — is worth it. Since cost seems to be a main reason why people buy books on training instead of buying actual training sessions, you could outline the cost-savings of working with a real trainer: Save money on clothes by stopping a lifetime of weight fluctuations, save money on healthcare costs associated with being overweight, etc. Be creative, and put a dollar amount on the savings. For example, “Stop buying self-help books and save $24.99 per month.” Or, “You’ll save on that $40 co-pay with fewer doctor visits.”

Personal training is much more than a list of exercises. Motivation, personal relationships and individualized attention are just a few of the benefits of working with a trainer. Emphasize these benefits in your facility, and speak directly to those consumers who think they can save money by buying something that may help them in the short-term, but will do little to promote a lifetime of regular exercise.

National Tie-Ins for Facility Promotions

2008-05-12T10:56:00.003-04:00

Today is May 12th, National Family Fitness Day. May 12 is also Fibromyalgia Awareness Day and National Women’s Checkup Day. And, May 12 falls during Food Allergy Awareness Week, National Alcohol- and Other Drug-Abuse Week, National Women’s Health Week, National Stuttering Awareness Week and National Neuropathy Week. If you’re laughing, that wasn’t my intent, although it is kind of funny.

My point in sharing this, however, is to show you just how many events around which you can hold a promotion in your fitness center. Just go to the National Health Information Center’s 2008 National Health Observances web page to see the hundreds of events, all of which are related to health, or, specifically to fitness.

Your facility is probably no stranger to exercise incentive programs. Most fitness centers run anywhere from one to a host of events, and we report on them in our N7 Rest of the Best department (previously our Best Ideas department) every month in Fitness Management’s print edition, which you can view in the article archives section of our website. A lot of these programs we report on are really creative. So, if you’re not yet running these types of programs, or if you’re worried about not being creative enough to come up with an idea of your own, don’t worry. With all of the national “days” and “weeks” to choose from, the main idea has already been created for you.

I found today’s event particularly interesting. Today, children at Boys & Girls Clubs in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Seattle will participate in a free, after-school National Family Fitness Day, the main activity of which is playing DanceDanceRevolution Universe 2 on Xbox 360. This inaugural event is a partnership between Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America “to promote healthy and active lifestyles for children and families.” The goal is to get at least 500 participants to expend a total of 18,000 calories while playing the game. This is a great tie-in with the recent rise in child obesity and the use of technology in fitness centers.

In case you missed this one, don’t worry. The NHIC’s list is not exhaustive. A quick Google search turns up many more, including yet another National Family Fitness Day scheduled for September 27 and sponsored by the Health Information Resource Center. What are you waiting for?

Insurance ≠ Healthcare

2008-05-05T08:04:00.002-04:00

When I think of healthcare — the actual act of caring for my health — I think of good nutrition, exercise and a measure of happiness. I don’t think of surgery, medicine or x-rays. Which leads me to ask an important question, especially in light of the upcoming presidential election:

Since when does health insurance equal healthcare?

Healthcare is a big issue with Clinton, Obama and McCain, and it’s one area where they all manage to disagree (to varying degrees). However, one aspect they all do agree on is the way to achieve a healthy America: through better health insurance. But while health insurance is important, it’s not the only way to secure better health for Americans. I’ll argue it’s not even the best way to get — and keep — Americans healthy.

But try telling that to politicians — especially those in this election. Once the Democrats cleared out of Pennsylvania, John McCain (Rep.) came for a visit. He told a group of about 300 Lehigh Valley Hosptial-Cedar Crest doctors and nurses all about his ideas for health insurance, which included this statement:

''I would like to see everything from insurance companies rewarding clients for wellness and fitness to employers rewarding their employees if they join a health club.”

Well, that would be terrific. But I don’t think it would do much to help Americans care for their health. For it to be a motivating factor to exercise, then all Americans would have to have health insurance, and they don’t. They’d all have to have easy access to a fitness center, and they don’t. The truth is, the health insurance industry would be far less stressed if there were fewer illnesses brought on by obesity and poor fitness.

All the health insurance in the world isn’t going to get America any fitter.

So what is the solution, if not through health insurance? Government-subsidized fitness centers? A magnetic strip on the back of a Health ID Card that tracks gym visits and reports the data to the Bureau of Exercise and Fitness Activity? Yearly visits from dreaded Fitness Auditors? My ideas seem a bit too Brave New World, so I’m curious — if you were on the candidates’ speed dial, what would you tell them? How would you help them get America to care for its health?

Exercise-Powered Electricity: Really Not that Crazy

2008-04-28T08:08:00.000-04:00

Remember the Flintstone cars that were powered by their legs? Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Not literally, of course, but the idea that modern machines can be powered by human energy. If that were possible, think about all of the energy that is expended in your facility in one day. Not by the equipment, but by your members.

Since Earth Day was celebrated this month, and since rising energy costs are on most everyone’s minds, I think the time is ripe for a radical idea: Harness the energy of humans exercising to supply electricity.

This idea actually isn’t that crazy. There is currently a cycle stand on the market that has a battery pack that saves the energy created from cycling into a battery. Currently, most indoor cycles use human energy to power the electronics on the actual cycle. This could be taken one step further, so that any extra energy is stored, or used to power other things in the fitness center (maybe the treadmill next to the cycle?).

For treadmills, strength training and even group exercise, willing participants could have a device attached to them (maybe on their wrists and ankles – I’m making this up, here) that would store the energy created by movement – like those flashlights that are powered by shaking them. This power could be stored in some sort of battery to be used later.

I know it’s a bit of a leap to go from a shakable flashlight to powering a treadmill, but the technology is out there. Someday, fitness centers will be completely powered by the physical energy created by their members. And you heard it here first!

Bally’s to be “Speared”?

2008-04-21T10:14:00.001-04:00

Now I think I’ve seen it all. As if Bally’s hasn’t had enough problems, a recent blog on iVillage reports that the company is considering making Britney Spears its next spokesperson.

Is this a joke? I can’t think of a worse spokesperson for a fitness facility chain than Spears. With all of her boozing, drug use, lack of morals and just plain loser of a persona, is this the kind of image Bally’s wants to associate itself with? And, don’t they realize that by Bally’s associating with Spears, it translates to Spears being associated with the fitness industry as a whole?

I get the reasoning behind health club operators wanting to associate their brand with a celebrity, but while Spears’ name may be big, it’s big for all the wrong reasons. If Bally’s execs think that she’s really going to make a turnaround just because she’s working out every day, they better not count on it. And, even if she did, her reputation is what it is, even if a bunch of foolish young people do consider her an “idol.”

Maybe this is all a bunch of hype with no truth to it, and let’s hope so. Because this could be another “spear” in the back, not just for Bally’s, but for our industry, as well.

A Fitness Fortune

2008-04-14T10:11:00.004-04:00

A wise person once said, “Personal trainers are like surgeons. How they’re educated matters not as much as how they operate.”

Okay, it was me. I said that. I am, on occasion, wise, and I was speaking from experience when I uttered the above sentiment. Sure, it’s the kind of thing you’d read in a Fitness Fortune Cookie, if there were such a thing as Fitness Fortune Cookies. But it’s also true.

My wise thought occurred to me while reading an article about fitness trends in 2008. “Many people have had experiences with bad personal trainers," said Dr. Thompson. But Thompson says more and more gyms are demanding certified instructors, so this presents a win-win for both client and club.

I’d agree that certification is a win-win for all parties involved, but it’s not the only game worth playing. A personal trainer’s bedside manner, if you will, is just as big a factor in his or her professional success as the degrees on the wall.

Brow-beating, red-faced trainers make good television (see: Sgt. Harvey E. Walden IV of Celebrity Fit Club, and the Biggest Loser trainers), but in real life no one wants to pay someone to yell at them. Those people you see on the screen? The ones taking all that abuse? They’re getting money for that, not the other way around.

On the flipside, a lackadaisical, gum-chewing trainer more interested in his hangnail than the sorry state of my abs is not someone I want to pay, either. Nor is the trainer who smirks when I proffer my weekly food log, barely able to conceal her disbelief in my calorie intake estimates.

Certification is definitely the first step toward elevating the status of personal trainers in a fitness facility. But in an industry where technology has an ever-increasing presence, the small moments of interpersonal interaction members get in a club must be more meaningful. Personal trainers are the keys for clubs that want to go high tech with a human touch. Certification in important, but it’s not the only thing that matters.

Technology: The Latest Fitness Craze

2008-04-07T08:04:00.001-04:00

I’ve gone to many trade shows over the years, and seen many fitness companies and products come and go. Manufacturers are always looking for the next big thing (remember when the elliptical trainer came out?), and facility owners are always looking for the latest and greatest product to get members in and then keep them coming back.

More than a few times, I have seen products at trade shows and thought, “This product will never make it. What were they thinking!?” (To refresh your memory on some of these, read Top 20 Product Trends from the Past 20 Years.)

Despite past mistakes, I think manufacturers and fitness centers (by way of their wallets) got it right this time. Instead of trying to come up with some new-fangled cardio machine, most of the major manufacturers have focused, instead, on making improvements to their existing lines. The major addition I saw at a recent trade show was in technology. Cardio machines now feature personal viewing screens, plug into iPods, and can track workouts with a USB stick or the Nike+ system. Now, these are things that members will actually use!

A recent article about the newest fitness equipment says, “The future of exercise is here — and it’s heavy on the techno. Fitness equipment is catching up with tech-savvy, gadget-loving exercisers.”

Members can now keep better track of their workouts, or simply have more distractions from their painful miles on the treadmill with movies, music and television right on their console. “Watching a bank of communal televisions is so five minutes ago,” says the article. Technology and fitness manufacturers have finally caught up to the ideal of a totally personal and individualized exercise experience.

Of course, there will always be the dreamers who come up with some strange gadget that they think will be the next best thing. And, more power to them! They always make trade shows more interesting for everyone.

Some Perspective on Dues Value

2008-03-31T10:51:00.002-04:00

Fitness facility operators are pretty smart when it comes to membership dues pricing. At least when compared to most members who sign up for club memberships.

Our industry has talked for years about how to make people understand the “value” of their memberships. It’s said that the industry has underpriced its services, which has led to the perception that a membership is really not worth that much. But, are memberships really worth the average $50 or $60 a month being charged?

In recent years, there has been more and more talk about charging users on a pay-as-you-go basis. Most facilities offer the option of paying $10 for a visit, without signing up for a membership. Others are starting to offer some or all of their services as pay-as-you-go only. But, wouldn’t it seem logical that fitness facilities would make much more money by charging people that $10 usage fee for every workout?

Not so. According to a paper published in 2002 by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, when people purchase a membership, they actually believe they will go to the club more often than they do. So, they assume that the monthly rate they are paying is a good deal. But what the researchers found was that most members only use the gym an average of 4.8 times per month. If the monthly membership dues are $60 a month, that means that the average member is paying about $17 per visit. That’s $7 more than the $10 daily use fee.

Another study performed in the Boston area and reported on in January in the Chicago Tribune turned up the same findings. Researchers looked at 8,000 fitness center memberships over a three-year period, and found that most people never make it to the gym three times a week (like they thought they would); instead, they only work out about one time per week. These researchers also figured it to be about $17 per visit, and concluded that 80 percent of the people studied would have been better off paying the $10 daily fee instead of purchasing a membership.

Fitness center operators know this. Read my blog entry The Big Fat Truth About Health Clubs. So why, then, at all of the industry trade show seminars on customer service, are the speakers always recommending that staff get on the phone and call members who aren’t coming in? Health club operators know that that would be foolish. Even an article in the Financial Times this past January highlights why fitness center dues structures rely on those members who sign up and never use the facility. They don’t want to remind these members that their money is being wasted.

So, the whole argument about value is really not true. As the UC Berkeley researchers conclude, most health club members either make “time-inconsistent choices” or they have “limited cognitive abilities.” Pretty smart on the part of club owners, huh?

Murphy’s Law

2008-03-24T11:14:00.004-04:00

Some of our readers don’t like it when FM columnist Rob Bishop gets exasperated by the fitness industry. Those readers should probably skip this blog post.

Thanks to Murphy’s Law, it’s difficult to understand why fitness facilities offer amenities. Why bother going above and beyond when there is so much potential for it to blow up in your face?

Senior Editor Anne McDonnell and I puzzled over this question at the Athletic Business Conference in Orlando, Fla. Some readers stopped at our booth and commented on her article about towel service, and we said it was tough to find the upside to offering that amenity. It seemed like lots of work for little to no return. The readers confessed that the only reason their fitness center had a towel service was because members expected it. And, every good club strives to meet — even exceed — their members’ expectations. Right?

I would like to put it out there that some expectations are, perhaps, better left unmet. Why? Because of Murphy’s Law.

You opened a daycare center? Some kid will bite another kid and you’ll get sued. You invested in a snack bar? One of your members will get food poisoning. You forked over a ton for a fancy locker room? It’ll still get robbed.

Stopping an amenity once you’ve started offering it is a difficult proposition, and not one I’d care to advise any fitness facility on how to do. But I would suggest that, before you start thinking about all of the new extras you can give members, think twice. Three times. Maybe even four.

And then forget about it altogether.

Exercise for Cash

2008-03-17T09:03:00.000-04:00

Need motivation to exercise and eat right? How about cash? The British government is offering just that with a new program it is launching.

A health adviser to the government explains that children in the U.K. will receive taxpayer-funded financial bonuses into their state savings accounts if they maintain a healthy lifestyle. The payments into the Child Trust Funds would leave healthy teenagers with more cash than their less-fit peers when the tax-free policies mature on their 18th birthdays. Children who get immunized, walk or cycle to class, and take other healthy steps will get bonuses to their so-called “baby bonds.”

The idea came from Julian le Grand, chairman of Health England. Grand also said that healthy eating at school could be rewarded by linking swipe cards to the program. Exercise among young people could also be monitored, perhaps through pedometers or devices attached to bicycles, he said.

It’s about time, right? Fitness centers do all they can to motivate members, but most classes, programs, etc., only go so far. What if insurance companies actually paid people to work out, or at least made their insurance coverage much cheaper? The idea isn’t new, but the British government has finally made a serious gesture in that direction.

Fitness centers would definitely benefit from a plan such as this, since working out in a facility would be easier to track then, say, wearing a pedometer.

But a similar program in the U.S. isn’t going to materialize on its own. Facility owners, healthcare providers and all healthy-minded people need to work to make it happen.

We all know that most people need motivation to exercise and eat right. Maybe money will finally be what tips the scales in the right direction.

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Child's Play

2008-03-10T07:32:00.000-04:00

With the Centers for Disease Control estimating that between six and 19 percent of children are overweight, and an additional 15 percent at risk for becoming obese, I think we need to ask ourselves: What can the fitness industry really do to make a difference?

I guess the first thing we have to understand is, “What is the problem?” Why are so many kids fat? Of course, discussion about this has been going on for years; the biggest culprits appear to be junk food, entertainment options that cause kids to sit for hours and hours, and school funds cuts, which have resulted in the elimination of physical education programs.

It’s been a while, but I do remember being a kid. My friends and I had junk food and ate it, albeit our junk was more in the form of sugar rather than in fat; in fact, our almost daily outing after school was to the local drugstore to purchase our favorite candy, and then proceed to eat it -- all. And, at meals, our parents made us eat everything on our plates. As for entertainment, we didn’t have all of the options that kids have now, but we did have music and television, and even “back then,” those were distractions from being outdoors with our friends -- or, in other words, being active. And those P.E. programs? They were no incentive to exercise at all. Almost every kid I knew hated P.E.; it was punishment. Yet, still, the percentage of children back then who were obese comes nowhere close to what that percentage is today.

So, why are kids so fat today? Well, many say that kids just don’t partake in as much of the good, old-fashioned fun that children used to crave. The kind that happens after school and on weekends when kids and their friends get together and roughhouse, grab the bikes and head to another friend’s to get a pick-up game together, or head down to the river, lake or beach to check out the scene. It’s not that these options don’t exist anymore. I still see kids in my neighborhood outside riding their skateboards, chasing each other around, playing basketball, etc. It’s just that, I believe, there seems to be a different perception of what is “fun.” The newer entertainment options have made good, old-fashioned fun seem sort of “hum-drum.”

The question is whether the new facilities geared specifically toward kids’ fitness that are springing up across the country are what this population needs to stave off the obesity crisis. The facilities I am talking about include those such as Volt Fitness and Intelligent Sports’ Youth Fitness Centers.

Volt Fitness is a new video arcade/gym concept in Glen Rock, N.J., which was created by a pediatrician and former fitness director, and combines circuit training machines with video games. They’re marketing the concept to pre-teens and teens who pay $10 to $15 an hour to “work up a sweat while playing video games that require them to ride an exercise bike, work out on a rowing machine or engage in a simulated boxing match.” The idea, apparently, is “to get the kids moving so that they will have a change in mind-set -- a paradigm shift in how they view exercise.”

Intelligent Sports’ Youth Fitness Centers in Upland, Calif., provides youth and family fitness equipment and programs “to allow kids to grow athletically and intellectually, and to fight childhood obesity.” The facilities, which are membership-based, are designed for kids and include exercise equipment that is interactive with several popular video game titles from PlayStation and Xbox.

Interesting concept for a whole new type of fitness facility market, but is it just a new business model that will attract only active youth? Or, could it succeed in having an effect on the child obesity epidemic?

Controversy: Is It Worth It?

2008-03-03T08:26:00.003-05:00

I’m not Catholic, but even I have an issue or two with the Equinox Fitness Club ad that’s gotten Boston’s Catholic population’s rosaries in a twist.

The ad ran in Boston magazine, and is pictured left. Three attractive nuns are sketching a chiseled, nude man, while another presses her body against a metalwork door and watches.

Forgive me, but what does this have to do with fitness?

The company told the Boston television station WCVB that, “Our ad campaigns are based on personal motivation and fantasy and, throughout history, the body has been considered a form of art.”

Um … could they repeat that, please? In English? I’m still not clear what this ad has to do with fitness.

It seems obvious that Equinox was hoping to ruffle feathers, get some free press and maybe even attract a fallen angel or two wanting to lose a few pounds. But, for the company to pretend that the ad serves any purpose other than provocation is, quite frankly, insincere.

Of course, this begs the question: Is there anything wrong with that? People in Boston are talking about Equinox — and there’s only one Equinox facility in the city, so it stands to reason that its profile has most definitely been raised. And isn’t that the purpose of marketing, after all?

Perhaps. But, is it worth it? I don’t have any numbers handy, but it’s my understanding that Boston is a pretty Catholic town. Why risk alienating such a large population of potential members? C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts is fired up about the ad, saying it is “exploiting and mocking and sexualizing Catholic religious imagery.”

For their part, the local nuns have risen above the situation. “It is crass, but there are a lot of crass things that I don’t pay attention to,” Sister Martha Moss told WCVB. Sister Kathryn Hermes added, “We know that these things come and go, and the best thing is to let them go.”

It’s too bad Doyle can’t count to 10 and realize his reaction plays right into Equinox’ publicity-seeking hands. See, if everyone followed the nuns’ examples and ignored the ad, then Equinox’ attempt to get free press would go straight to … well, you know.

Obesity: A Matter of National Security

2008-02-25T07:04:00.001-05:00

We all know that obesity in the U.S. is contributing to a host of medical problems and rising healthcare costs. However, what most fitness professionals don’t realize is that obesity can also affect our nation’s security.

Speaking at a press conference at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona warned that America’s obesity epidemic is a national security problem, as the more than 9 million overweight and obese children in the country threaten to shrink the pool of eligible service men and women. Carmona said that obesity “undermines the strength of our nation.”

The rapidly growing population of overweight, obese and physically unfit children is starting to affect the military, Carmona said. Obesity is one of the most common reasons service men and women cannot fully perform their duties. Carmona called obesity “the terror within.”

These are strong words, but they shouldn’t stop there. If obesity is affecting the military, it must also be affecting the police, emergency medical personnel, firefighters and the many first responders that every community relies on. People may be sick of hearing about the “obesity epidemic,” but it could very well affect you directly if you need medical assistance in the future and you don’t get it in time because your community lacks enough qualified people to fill those jobs.

Currently, we can see what effect the shortage of military personnel is having on our troops in the Middle East (i.e., repeat tours of duty). Imagine, then, what the future military will look like if it is stretched even thinner because young men and women are too overweight to qualify for service.

The list of problems associated with obesity goes on and on. And, the longer we let it go on, the worse things will become. The problem with overweight children may currently be a problem for their parents and healthcare professionals, but it will soon become a problem for everyone.

AEDs: A No-Brainer, Except at the Large Chains

2008-02-18T07:04:00.000-05:00

I must be either overly naive or overly trusting. With the possibility of having a heart attack increasing exponentially after the age of 45, and the number of older adult members in health clubs increasing each year, I just assumed that all fitness facilities now have AEDs. Especially in light of the recent laws passed that 1) require AEDs in most public places, including fitness facilities (knowing that exercise increases the risk of cardiac arrest by a multiple of 20), and 2) release individuals who employ the use of AEDs to assist heart attack victims from liability. But, apparently, my risk of having a heart attack is of no concern to certain health club chain operators. Namely: Bally Total Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness.

At least that’s what the family members of Gary Fowler and Richard Eng found out. The sister of Gary Fowler was kind enough to email me about the ruling in the lawsuit on behalf of Fowler against Bally Total Fitness, which she thought might be of interest to the readers of our magazine and blog. And, no doubt, it will be (if you aren’t already in the know), especially because you won’t want to find your own facility in such a predicament.

First, let’s look at the facts about heart attacks. According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, the majority (or 53 percent) of fitness center members are over the age of 35 (20 percent are over the age of 55). The results of several large studies have concluded that the major risk factor for having a heart attack is age. In fact, if you look at the website Health and Age, you’ll find a chart that shows the results of a 26-year follow-up Framingham Heart Study, which details the sharp increase of heart attack risk after the age of 44. It’s pretty staggering.

And, Bally Total Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness executives know this. But, they have failed to show they care. In November 2005, Fowler collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest and died while exercising at a Bally club in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Md. There was no AED on the premises, despite the fact that a Montgomery County ordinance in effect at the time required the installation of AEDs in health clubs. Bally’s attorneys, however, argued that, due to a Home Rule amendment in the town of Gaithersburg, the ordinance did not apply. The judge, James Eagan, disagreed:

“This Court cannot discern any logical reason why Bally would not employ AEDs at its Gaithersburg facilities, considering it was already obligated to deploy AEDs throughout the rest of Montgomery County. Such action on the part of Bally smacks of indifference to the welfare of its patrons. … There is no denying the fact that Bally knew with 100 percent certainty that dozens of its members would suffer heart attacks and die each year, and, instead of pursuing a relatively cheap and easy solution to the problem through the deployment of AEDs at its health facilities, Bally chose to consciously disregard this known risk. That strikes this Court as the very definition of gross negligence.”

And, to show just how blatantly negligent Bally’s decision to not employ AEDs is, a story on Gazette.Net reports that, “This is the sixth case against Bally for failure to have AEDs, and, in at least four of them, Bally settled for confidential amounts.” What I find even more sad is the fact that, according to the report on the Weinberg and Garber website, attorneys for Fowler, “employees did not immediately begin CPR when responding to Mr. Fowler’s collapse; instead, club members, realizing that staff would not do so, performed CPR.”

Weinberg and Garber also acted as co-counsel in the case filed on behalf of Richard Eng, a member of 24 Hour Fitness in the San Francisco area, who suffered cardiac arrest and, due to lack of prompt response, is severely brain damaged and now requires around-the-clock medical care. 24 Hour Fitness failed to have an AED on the premises. And, Weinberg and Garber report that this is despite management’s “knowledge that 20 to 40 of its members were dying of cardiac arrest each year.” What’s worse is that “24 Hour Fitness actually refused an offer, as part of an American Heart Association program, of free AEDs and training in 2001 at its northwest clubs,” says Weinberg and Garber. “The admitted reason: It might have been a basis to argue that all of its clubs should be similarly equipped.” And, even though 24 Hour Fitness requires CPR training of employees, it does not require that employees so trained actually use CPR to help a stricken member.

Again, I may be naive or overly trusting, but I believe, per my conversations with fitness center operators, that most facilities do have AEDs on their premises. But, as a member of a large fitness club chain, if I suffer a heart attack while working out, I won’t hold my breath waiting for help from the staff. Of course, I won’t have to.

Big, Black Boxes of Sin

2008-02-11T09:14:00.001-05:00

I don’t know about your members, but I go to the gym for one reason: to watch hot chicks and smokin’ guys shake their stuff. There, I said it. I don’t run for an hour on the treadmill for my health; I do it so I can get an eyeful of scantily clad women lip-syncing to top 40 hits, or bumping and grinding next to a shirtless, scowling rap star. Don’t call the cops just yet — I’m not doing anything illegal. I’m just watching the videos playing on the TVs scattered throughout the club. Those big, black boxes of sin are chock full of sex, I tell you. SEX!

OK, so the previous paragraph is not entirely true. I don’t actually go to the gym to watch music videos. I do run on the treadmill for my health, but I’ve only clocked an hour once and that nearly killed me. But there is a group of concerned — no, HORRIFIED — students in Utah who are doing whatever they possibly can to get that filth off two area Gold’s Gym closed-circuit televisions.

I promise you, this time I’m not kidding.

Five “organizations that fight pornography in the community are upset with the videos at the gym and say they have collected nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition calling on Gold’s Gym to quit showing the videos,” reports KSL5. Dallen Johnson told the KSL5 reporter, “I’ve had to leave, honestly! There have been four times I’ve run out of the cardio cinema because of racy and inappropriate things being shown, things I personally view as pornography.” You know, there are certain shoe displays so alluring that I view them as pornography, but I’m not demanding that the stores take them down. I just want a discount.

Jesse Yaffe says the injustice goes even further. Not only does Gold’s broadcast porn, but apparently those sadists force him to watch it. “Once you are a member here, you basically don’t have the choice anymore,” Yaffe told the reporter. “You’re forced to watch indecent material because it seems everywhere you go there’s a TV.” And you thought your members wanted entertainment options!

Gold’s Gym officials in Utah, bless their hearts, are taking the time to listen to the students’ complaints. “Gold’s says music helps to energize people who are there to exercise, and say they don’t want anyone to be offended at the gym during their workout experience,” reports KSL5.

However, it seems the offenses don’t stop at lascivious videos. The students have demanded that Gold’s install blinds on the group exercise room because the exercisers’ “dancing” is “very provocative.” Unless the cocktail-loving ladies from Flirty Girls Fitness have stumbled into a Gold’s by mistake after a wild night of pole dancing, I fail to see how group exercise could be so provocative it should be behind closed doors.

Don’t get me wrong. Some people prefer a more modest environment to work out in, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Heck, we’ve written about facilities that cater to those people. But it’s my opinion that Gold’s should stay strong. A club should not change to accommodate the few — nor should it do so in a manner that suggests all of its other locations are doing something wrong or indecent. If the students are unhappy there, then Gold’s should refund their money and send them on their way.

And I’m not kidding about that, either.

‘Biggest Loser’ Results Unattainable for Most

2008-02-04T07:06:00.000-05:00

If ever there were a television show that would make you feel good about yourself, it’s The Biggest Loser. Unlike the usual stick-thin actors who are on TV, participants on this show are obese, and are shown struggling with their weight just like most “normal” people. The show also highlights the dangers of being overweight, and may inspire viewers at home to get on the exercise bandwagon.

However, the benefits of the show, at least for viewers, stop there. With Season Five in full swing, there are many copy-cat competitions being held around the country in fitness centers, corporations and among friends. And, although everyone agrees that losing weight is difficult, not many people know what really goes on behind the scenes of The Biggest Loser. What they don’t know can hurt them.

What viewers don’t know, according to an article published in the New York Times, is that contestants on the show work out up to five hours per day. They spend an hour or two on resistance training, an hour on a high-intensity cardiovascular exercise, and up to three hours walking on the treadmill, using the elliptical trainer or riding a stationary bike. Combine that with a low-calorie diet (1,100 to 1,500 calories a day for the women, and 1,500 to 2,300 calories a day for the men), and they are bound to lose weight. Lots of it.

Viewers at home may become discouraged when they see contestants losing up to 30 pounds per week, while they are only losing 2 pounds. Says the article, “If you’re losing 2 pounds a week and you’re watching The Biggest Loser, you probably think your diet is going horribly. If you lose 2 pounds a week and you’re not watching the show, you probably think your diet is going great.”

The show, which offers a feel-good story about fat people changing their lives, can actually be quite depressing for some viewers who are also trying to lose weight.

If you offer a Biggest Loser-type promotion at your fitness center, make sure you point out the differences between reality TV and actual reality. If members have unrealistic expectations, that could lead to drop-out if those aren’t met — or, worse, unsafe practices to try and lose those unwanted pounds.

Today’s “B” Session: Club Service (Still) Sucks

2008-01-28T11:20:00.000-05:00

I cancelled my gym membership today. It shouldn’t have taken me so long to take this step, as I’ve been thinking of cancelling for more than a year. But, I kept thinking “things” at my club would get better.

I’d been a member of this facility since I first moved to the area, almost six years ago. When I joined, it was a small facility located within a physical therapy clinic. Because of its size, the facility had a kind of local appeal to it, and I got to know the owner, the fitness director and a couple of the trainers. A few years later, the owner decided to build a new 20,000-square-foot facility next door. The original fitness director and trainers went their own way, and new faces were hired. With the new facility, there was more opportunity to provide additional types of programming, such as aquatics, racquetball and group exercise, and, I must admit, I was excited. I run outdoors and have my own weights at home, so I only use the facility for two reasons: 1) when the weather is intolerable, and 2) to participate in group exercise and maybe swim a few laps now and then. With this new facility, I would definitely be spending more time there.

But, to my dismay, rather than working out at the new facility more, I began to go less. First, it was about familiarity. I didn’t seem to know anyone anymore, and none of the staff seemed to care who I was. And, I wasn’t the only one. On two different occasions while running on the treadmill (due to inclement weather), I had to provide assistance to people who were clearly at a loss about how to operate the equipment. One woman stared at the console so long that I jumped onto the side rails, took of my headphones and asked her how I could help. She just wanted to know whether she should use the pre-programmed options, and how. Another woman tried and tried, unsuccessfully, to figure out how to turn the personal television screen on until, once again, I removed my headphones and told her how to do it. Where were all the employees? And, why didn’t these people get any sort of orientation on how to use the equipment?

I could get over the staff issues, however, if it meant I could participate in some fun group exercise classes. Unfortunately, the facility failed to hire any real group exercise instructors, and instead relied on personal trainers to fill the void. We all know that personal trainers do not make great group exercise instructors. And, to top it off, their most exciting classes are weight training and boot camp. There are no fun dance classes that offer high-energy excitement, which is what I want — and, I discovered in conversation with other participants, that’s what many of them want, as well. (See my blog, “Where Did the Fun Go in Group Exercise?”) So, I emailed the fitness director to voice my concern, and even made some suggestions, including attaching some of the articles we’ve published in the magazine. Can you believe that I wasn’t even given the courtesy of a reply?

For the past eight months, I’ve used the facility exactly three times — twice due to inclement weather and another time to try another group exercise class, which was disappointing. At $39 a month, I’ve calculated that I paid $104 for each of those visits. Those are some expensive workouts!

So, you may be asking, what am I going to do now in the event of inclement weather? Well, I’m joining a chain fitness facility (I won’t mention which one) that just opened last month. It may be 10.1 miles from my home versus 4.3, but I’ve been told by a couple of friends that the facility offers some really fun and exciting group exercise classes taught by real group exercise instructors. Heck, I figure if I’m going to be ignored anyway, which I surely will at a large chain, then at least I’ll get some good workouts in for my dues! And, guess what, it’s cheaper, too!

What I can’t get over is the fact that I would have expected this kind of poor customer service from a large chain, but, given the history of the facility I just quit, I didn’t expect to be treated the way I was there. If you’re an operator or fitness professional at a locally owned fitness center, you need to ask yourself whether you have members who feel like I do, and if you do, I suggest you take a long, hard look at how you can improve your customer service, your staff and your programs.

Do You Negotiate?

2008-01-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

It’s a famous plot device in nail-biting hostage movies: A stone-jawed president says, “We do not negotiate with terrorists!” — leaving the hero to figure out how the heck to get those hostages back (one of whom, naturally, is his wife/girlfriend/child) without giving an inch. In the movies, things usually work out, thanks to lots of explosives and a studio system that requires happy endings. But, in real life, no-negotiation policies don’t always end happily.

So, do you negotiate? On your membership prices, I mean. To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that this was a possibility until I read a blog entry by a woman looking for advice on how to find a good deal on a fitness center membership. Her readers advised her to negotiate the membership fee, and claimed the only type of facility that won’t bite is YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs.

Reading this, I couldn’t help but feel foolish. I’d compared membership fees before, and I always seem to get the short end of the stick. Some self-satisfied schmuck on the treadmill next to me pays half of what I do a month, making me resent him, the club and my own lousy business sense. I dread going to car dealerships for the same reason — playing hardball with a salesman is not my idea of a good time — and I don’t want to feel the same way as a fitness facility prospect. And, by the way, the enlightening blogger has a book deal, so you can bet she’ll reveal her own gym search experience in print before too long.

Interestingly, with two large chains and a YMCA competing for her business, the blogger chose the Y — and for reasons that had little to do with the membership fees. It was about the way she felt in the facility, and how she perceived the Y’s commitment to identifying and meeting its members’ needs.

So, maybe negotiating on price isn’t the answer. Maybe fitness centers can afford to play the role of stone-jawed president and focus on building an atmosphere that members want to pay to experience. And, you don’t want your members to feel like I did for not negotiating a better deal for their own memberships.

Consumer Reports Takes on the Fitness Industry

2008-01-14T07:32:00.000-05:00

If you read my blog entry from a few weeks ago about the Better Business Bureau, you may see a pattern: how outsiders view the fitness industry. Now, the ultimate in consumer guides has, for the first time, rated fitness centers. Consumer Reports recently released its guide for consumers (your potential members) on the types of facilities that rate the best, and what to look for when deciding where to join.

The ratings are based on responses from more than 10,000 ConsumerReports.org subscribers who answered an online survey. Responders rated fitness centers on classes, crowds, locker rooms, billing issues and more. In addition, Consumer Reports sent 12 mystery shoppers to branches of the major chains in nine states. (To view the entire report, you must be a Consumer Reports subscriber.)

Results found that members don’t need a big, fancy facility to be happy. Responders gave higher marks to YMCAs/JCCs, community centers and corporate fitness centers than to most of the big chains that were rated. Yoga, Pilates and dance studios also outscored most of the chains.

In addition to the type of facility members preferred, they were asked about membership fees. Among respondents with paid memberships, 16 percent had a problem with their contract or fees, such as an unexpected dues hike or inability to suspend their membership temporarily. And, many members had difficulty canceling a membership. Thirty-eight percent of respondents who had canceled their membership in one of the big chains had at least one problem, such as receiving bills after cancellation, or excessive time and effort to cancel.

Should you care about this report? Absolutely! Even if you are not one of the big chains reviewed (Bally’s, Life Time Fitness, Curves, Gold’s Gym, 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness and Town Sports International), your category of facility is most likely included (independent, YMCA, corporate, etc.). Also, the guide gives tips to potential members on what to look for in a facility, including staff, cleanliness, value, equipment and programs.

Now, in addition to cars and vacuum cleaners, Consumer Reports helps customers make informed buying decisions about fitness centers. The industry should take guides such as this to heart, and find out what current and potential members want and need in a fitness facility. According to this report, it’s not all about brand or having the best equipment. Members are happy with great service, a good value and fair business practices.

It’s Not My (Weight) Problem

2008-01-07T11:02:00.000-05:00

This is the week of New Year’s resolutions. Hoards of people who want to lose weight will join a fitness center, determined to achieve their weight-loss goals. The problem is, these people are only a fraction of those who really need to make that New Year’s resolution. Because most people who need to lose weight refuse to believe they are overweight; they are in denial. The tragedy about this is it’s not just adults who are in denial about their own weight; these adults are also in denial about their children’s weight — a problem that is destined to cause a ripple effect among generations to come, exacerbating the U.S. obesity epidemic.

What can fitness professionals do about this? Well, one can only help those who are willing to help themselves, right? But, perhaps more individuals would be willing if we had more segments of society making sure that these people own up to the fact that they are, indeed, overweight.

According to a recent study by the National Consumers League (NCL) reported on by Medical News Today, there is a “startling disconnect between the way people perceive their weight, and their actual weight category based on the body mass index.” The NCL study of 1,978 U.S. adults reports that “52 percent of respondents referred to themselves as overweight, and only 12 percent as obese, severely obese or morbidly obese. But, based on actual BMI calculations using self-reported height and weight information among the 96 percent of respondents, … 35 percent are actually overweight, whereas 34 percent are actually obese, severely obese or morbidly obese. Among respondents who are obese according to BMI, 82 percent consider themselves to be simply overweight.”

Another survey reported on by MSNBC on December 24, found that many people in the U.S. whose children are obese do not see them that way. The survey of 2,060 adults, which collected children’s height and weight from their parents and then used that to calculate BMI, found that, among parents with an obese, or extremely overweight, child ages six to 11, 43 percent said their child was “about the right weight,” 37 percent responded “slightly overweight” and 13 percent said “very overweight.” Yet, based on what the parents reported, 15 percent of the children ages six to 11, and 10 percent of the children ages 12 to 17, were obese.

Unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control, while there are an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults who are overweight (33 percent) or obese (33 percent), the Medical News Today article reports that the NCL study showed that only 12 percent of U.S. adults say they have ever been told by a doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional that they are obese. In addition, it points out that individuals’ denial about their weight may also be a result of the social stigma associated with being obese: “Most U.S. adults (61 percent) report … that obesity is considered taboo in society today, and half attribute the condition to a ‘lack of will power.’” Parents’ lack of forthrightness about their kids’ weight can also be attributed to this problem. “Because of the social stigma, it’s not something that parents are willing to admit to readily,” says Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

While the social stigma associated with obesity is clearly an issue, this cannot be made an excuse to ignore the problem. It’s one thing to hurt ourselves, but to hurt our children, too?

As an industry, we can be a part of helping these individuals. By understanding the denial about weight, perhaps fitness professionals can implement some awareness programs alongside the New Year’s resolutions programs planned this year. Even a marketing campaign discussing this trend of denial and how fitness facilities can help — no stigma attached — might help bring some of those who really need to make a New Year’s resolution into your facility this year.

Calling All Gladiators

2007-12-31T08:48:00.000-05:00

Happy (almost) New Year! The good news is that your fitness center is likely packed to the gills with resolution-wielding exercisers. The bad news? The Writer’s Guild of America is striking, which means that your favorite television shows are on indefinite hiatus until a deal is hammered out between studio bigwigs and Guild leaders. What does this have to do with the fitness industry, you ask? More than you think.

TV has long been a source of ideas for fitness programming. (’Fess up: How many of you have held a Biggest Loser- or Survivor-themed competitions at your facility?) Popular reality shows based on competition are perfect for time-crunched managers to make their own. Now, thanks to the writer’s strike, studios are relying even more on the reality formula to fill empty slots in their program schedule. They’re even dragging out some old favorites, like American Gladiators. The new and improved version of the program, hosted by Laila Ali and Hulk Hogan, debuts Sunday, January 6, on NBC. I’ll wait while you set your TiVo.

If you’re starting to mull ways to bastardize the American Gladiators formula for your fitness center, I’m sad to say that you’re too late. Someone has beaten you to it. The Tribune Chronicle reports that, in May, the American Gladiators Sports-Fitness Training facility will open in Niles, Ohio. I imagine it will be a place where members can act out their long-dormant fantasies of wearing helmets and spandex, and going head to head with muscle-bound opponents.

I find it hard to imagine there is anyone out there yearning to be an American Gladiator — save a few adult males with memories of Saturday mornings watching long-haired dudes with names like Blaze and Firestorm beat the living daylights out of hapless weekend warriors. To be completely honest, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to participate in these kinds of activities sober, but that probably says more about me than anything.

Still, John Ferraro Sr., who is heading the project along with his two sons, assures skeptics that, “It will be fantastic.” The fitness center will offer exercise facilities on three levels. Fitness challenge competitions will be staged between members, and with representatives of other facilities, according to the article.

The Ferraros say they plan to franchise their idea, and believe that people all across the U.S. are chomping at the bit for the kind of campy competition the TV show embraces. “People ask me, why here?” Ferraro told the Tribune Chronicle. “People here are no different than they are in Beverly Hills.” Really? I used to live in Los Angeles, and I have a hard time picturing the gaunt, moneyed shopoholics who haunt Rodeo Drive forgoing their private Pilates sessions for a round of sweaty jousting.

Maybe I’m jaded. Maybe the recent faltering of fitness franchises has hardened my journalist’s heart, and I fail to appreciate the secret desires of the American public to act out their adolescent fantasies. Maybe the next big fitness franchise idea really is found in old TV favorites. I have to wonder if my husband wouldn’t get in line for the chance to wear a leather Speedo and raise a massive sword by a replica of Grayskull Castle.

It might be fun for a day, but is play-acting the way people would choose to get their daily dose of exercise? I suppose anything is possible … but I doubt it.

Don’t Ruin Your –or the Industry’s - Reputation

2007-12-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

January is a big month for most fitness centers — a busy time when people join with the best of intentions. During these critical first few months of the year, don’t blow it for everyone else in the industry by using hard sell tactics or ignoring members once they hand over their money.

It is no secret that the fitness industry doesn’t have the best reputation among consumers. People can feel ignored, confused or embarrassed as new members, or cheated when they have a problem with their membership. Remember that Friends episode when Ross tried to quit his gym and they wouldn’t let him? The industry’s reputation precedes you.

The Better Business Bureau ranks consumer complaints by category. The category “Health Clubs” was in the top-25 of U.S. businesses that had the most complaints in 2006 — out of almost 4,000. (In Canada, Health Clubs ranked No. 7!) Health Clubs was also one of the categories that received the most requests from consumers who were looking for reputable companies (in the top 100 of categories requested). Again, people are weary about joining (and they’re doing their homework).

With so many new people coming into your fitness center this January, make them feel welcome not only into your facility, but to the fitness industry as a whole. Get to know new members, ask them how their workouts are going, create a clean and welcoming environment, take complaints seriously, and be up-front and professional about your membership contracts, initiation fees and dues.

People don’t like to feel like they were tricked into doing something, or to find out that someone else got a better deal for the same products and services. Fitness centers, like used car dealerships, have the reputation for “hard selling,” and then leaving the customer out in the cold after the deal is made. We all need to help change this image. When the new year comes around, let’s make new members feel welcome and wanted, and not just one more sucker who helps pay your monthly utility bill.

Are Trends on Track?

2007-12-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

Each year in November and December, organizations begin to publish their trends and predictions for the new year. This year is no exception, and, most recently, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) released its 20 upcoming fitness trends for fitness professionals to prepare for 2008. Where did these trends come from? ACSM surveyed health and fitness professionals around the world, and received nearly 500 responses. These fitness experts identified the leading trends that occurred in 2007 in commercial, corporate, clinical and community fitness programs, which will set the stage for what fitness professionals will deal with in 2008. The trends were then ranked, from highest to lowest, in order of importance.

Perhaps the most interesting finding was that ACSM says there is a “new” trend to blend both diet and exercise. Is this really a 2007 trend? This issue has been talked about for years: You can’t be successful in losing weight and maintaining that weight loss unless you combine exercise with good nutrition.

Perhaps the reason fitness professionals believe this is going to be “the big issue” they will deal with in their facilities in 2008 is related to a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report is based on “a comprehensive survey by the federal government that includes physical examinations” among 4,400 adults ages 20 and older in 2005 and 2006. It shows that “obesity rates in U.S. women seem to be staying level, and the rate in men may be hitting a plateau now.”

Why the change? The researchers say that increased exercise is one possibility. The survey found that “about half of men and women reported getting regular physical activity in 2005, an increase from the rates reported in 2001.” Researchers also believe that adults are reducing consumption of high-calorie and fatty foods. If these results are real, that’s great for our profession and the nation.

The ACSM survey identified as the No. 1 trend the issue of obesity in children and the trend toward program development to combat this. However, the CDC’s childhood obesity rates for 2005-2006 have not yet been released, although the results for 2003-2004 showed they were rising.

Here is a list of the top 10 trends predicted by ACSM:
1. Children and obesity
2. Special fitness programs for older adults
3. Educated and experienced fitness professionals
4. Functional fitness
5. Core training
6. Strength training
7. Personal training
8. Mind/body exercise
9. Exercise and weight loss
10. Outcome measurements

I’m curious to know where these trends fall into what readers of this blog have in store for 2008. Are they on target? And are you seeing more of a trend toward diet programs combined with exercise programs in your facilities?

Are You Selling Steroids?

2007-12-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

If a member asked you that question, you’d probably laugh. “Of course not!” you’d say. “Our pro shop sells supplements, not steroids.”

But what if they had the Dec. 5, 2007, edition of USA Today in their hands, which reports about a study showing that “13 of the 52 supplements (25 percent) purchased at various U.S. retailers contained small amounts of steroids, and six (11.5 percent) had banned stimulants”? Well, then you might do something else.

Supplements are a tricky business. In my opinion, getting into the supplement game just isn’t worth it for a fitness facility. Why compete with the corner drug store, where it can sell supplements for much less to a lot more people? Why preach the long, hard road of exercise while simultaneously hawking quick-fix aids like protein powders and “energy” drinks? Sticking to one message is the safer bet.

But there are many fitness centers out there that sell supplements. And, if you’re one of them, you probably want to look a little more closely at your products. Are they FDA approved? Most supplements aren’t.

The researchers didn’t release the names of the supplements tested, and only allowed that they are “best-selling brands.” That doesn’t do much for concerned retailers/fitness center managers who want to clear their shelves of tainted supplements. How exactly can you stand behind your supplements when confronted by that member angrily waiving a newspaper? And how can you continue to dabble in supplement sales when they are, thanks to being largely unregulated, essentially indefensible?

Are You Charity-Minded?

2007-12-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

With the holiday season in full swing, fitness centers have moved into charity mode with food and toy drives for those in need. The spirit of the season motivates many to give, but what about when the season is over? Does your fitness center think about charities year-round, or are you too focused on profit?

To give fitness centers a larger purpose, Patricia Laus and The Atlantic Club , Manasquan and Red Bank, N.J., created Clubs for the Cure. The organization is challenging every fitness center in the U.S. to hold a fundraising event between January 1 and March 7, 2008, to support Augie’s Quest to cure ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). The goal is to raise $3 million for Augie’s Quest by March 7.

Fundraising and charity drives not only raise money for a good cause, but they also motivate your members to exercise (as with races, group exercise challenges or other “active” events), and give your facility great publicity and a reputation as a charity-minded organization. No amount of “New Year’s Resolution” ads in your local paper can give you the type of publicity that comes with sponsoring a news-worthy event for an important cause.

So what are you waiting for? Make your own New Year’s Resolution to make your fitness center more charity-minded. It will benefit others, and may have the added bonus of helping your facility, too.

Just Say No to Dues Taxes!

2007-11-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

How can government justify taxing health club membership dues, and what are you doing to help put a stop to this? Especially at a time when the obesity epidemic is causing a national healthcare crisis! Federal officials have estimated that treating obesity-related illnesses costs about $93 billion a year, and that was from a report in 2004.

It’s not like government hasn’t recognized the importance of this issue and taken numerous others steps to raise awareness and provide incentives for people to take better care of their health. In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that obesity, caused by a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition habits, would overcome tobacco as the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2006, the Health and Human Services secretary announced plans to develop physical activity guidelines, and in 2007, members of the advisory committee who will develop them were announced.

Other industries have also played a role in raising awareness and helping to curb the trend. The media has published countless studies on the benefits of fitness to combat obesity, which is a major cause of death. And, in the past several years, insurance companies have begun offering premium discounts to individuals who work out at fitness facilities. The company that has been most in the news lately is Medica Insurance Company. In 2003, Medica Insurance Company started offering $20-per-month incentive payments to members of fully insured plans who exercised at Life Time fitness centers at least eight times per month. It now also has agreements with most YMCAs and YWCAs in the Minnesota area, and, most recently, it added Curves fitness centers to its plan.

Currently, 25 states (almost half) impose a tax on fitness center dues. (You can view a summary of these on IHRSA’s website.) Yet, in 2004, the IRS approved tax deductions for obese Americans for doctor-approved weight-loss expenses, which include stomach-stapling surgery, approved weight-loss drugs and nutritional counseling. What kind of a mixed message is this?

For now, a few changes have been seen. On November 7, the Michigan Senate repealed its newly imposed sales tax on health club services. Then, in mid-November, the Maryland sales tax bill deleted health clubs after more than 14,000 emails, petition signatures, postcards and phone calls in protest.

This issue should be at the top of the fitness industry’s list to nip in the bud before it’s too late. It’s time for every fitness facility operator to do their part in making a major impact on reversing the tax on fitness center dues. Keep informed, write to your legislators and help be a part of fixing this national healthcare crisis — not just on a business level, but on a national level.

The Bandwagon Effect

2007-11-19T08:10:00.000-05:00

It sounded like a good idea.

Curves for Women franchises were springing up like dandelions all over the country. It was no surprise that the “what’s good for the gander is good for the goose” mentality was close behind. Enter Cuts Fitness for Men.

The franchise was an unabashed disciple — some would say copycat — of the Curves’ formula for success. Still, despite a strong push for a ride on the single-sex bandwagon, the concept so popular with women failed when applied to men. “Cuts Fitness for Men advertised their franchise opportunity aggressively, promoted its story continuously through the press and strategic alliance partners, then seemed to go silent all at once,” say the folks at FranchisePick.com. The Cuts Fitness for Men website now simply hawks a Cuts book, as if the whole thing never happened.

So, was the Cuts story a fireworks-like flameout after a spectacular start? Or did the franchise ever get off the ground in the first place?

FranchisePick.com reports that “an April 2006 Cuts Fitness press release boasted that the men-only 30-minute fitness company … had more than 100 franchises open in five countries, more than 200 franchises sold, and expected to sell 250 more franchises in 2006.” The media bought the hype, and proclaimed Cuts Fitness for Men as a hot franchise investment. Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Cuts Fitness No. 17 in its Top 20 New Franchises list, No. 65 in its Fastest Growing Franchises list and No. 300 in its 2006 Franchise 500. “The hype continued through mid-2006, when the company press releases slowed and stopped mentioning the number of units,” says FranchsePick.com. “In September 2006, in an otherwise positive article, the New York Times reported that “67 Cuts for Men clubs have either closed or never opened.”

There’s a lesson in here somewhere. Actually, there are a few of them. The most obvious is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to attracting niche markets. Bandwagons are like any other vehicle: The more weight they take on, the slower they move. But consider the marketing angle. Was Cuts Fitness for Men a victim of its own hype? Its PR was making promises franchisees couldn’t deliver, and a relentless forward surge didn’t allow room for a slow-down or slide-back in its business plan. The end result seems, in hindsight, inevitable.

How strong is the temptation to cash in on someone else’s popular idea? Has your fitness center ever fallen victim to the bandwagon effect? Take it from Cuts Fitness for Men: Sometimes the safest place for a business is on solid ground, waving at the bandwagon as it goes by. Don’t worry too much about missing it; another will be along shortly.

What’s Next? Paw-sonal Trainers?

2007-11-12T11:17:00.000-05:00

With the ever-present photos of celebrities and their dogs, and warnings that pets are becoming just as overweight as their owners, it is no secret that pets are big news – and big bucks.

While fitness centers are usually no place for pets, some are offering classes for humans and their canine companions, and some manufacturers are using their products to benefit pets, especially those requiring rehabilitation.

Pet Pavilion in London, U.K., offers yoga for dogs and their humans. Running Paws Athletic Club in New York City offers play time, indoor and outdoor running, and training and agility classes for dogs. Good Dog Aquatic Fitness in North Andover, Mass., offers physical therapy for older or injured dogs. Another facility, Next Step Animal Rehabilitation & Fitness at the Mid-Atlantic Animal Specialty Hospital in Huntingtown, Md., installed a SwimEx 400-OT aquatic therapy pool to aid in dog rehabilitation.

Obviously, most fitness centers aren’t going to run out and buy a therapy pool to treat dogs. However, the recent surge in products and services for pets does have a place at some fitness facilities. For example, you could offer an outdoor walking class for members (and non-members) and their dogs. Or, you could sponsor a fundraising event that benefits a local humane society or animal organization. You could offer a doggie day care - maybe one that includes “working out” the dogs. This could especially work if you are in a market where your members don’t have young children at home. Finally, you could even offer some type of doggie yoga class.

All of these programs could be fun – and great money-makers for your facility. In any case, you could establish a unique market niche, and attract animal lovers who may not otherwise become members.

Learning a Valuable Lesson in the Fitness Center

2007-11-05T10:18:00.000-05:00

Just when your members thought it was safe to go to the gym, it is reported that a series of larcenies at fitness centers in the Ballston and Clarendon areas of Arlington, Va., is being investigated. According to a news release sent out Aug. 9, 2007, from the Arlington County Police Department, at least 10 incidents of stolen wallets and/or credit cards in locker rooms have been reported since June 20. In most cases, those items were taken from unlocked lockers, and the culprits quickly used the credit cards to make expensive purchases after stealing them.

While this string of thefts seems to be limited to the Arlington vicinity, theft in fitness centers is nothing new, and it occurs in facilities everywhere. In January 2004, our publication reported on an FBI investigation into locker room crime in an editorial titled Locker Room Crime Alert. In this operation, the thieves made it a point to not disturb any contents of lockers so that members were unaware that their belongings had been tampered with. All they would take is one credit card from each wallet, and only if that wallet contained multiple credit cards. They would then use the credit cards at casinos to make multiple cash withdrawals until the credit line on the card was reached. This string of crimes began in the early 1990s, and occurred in states all across the U.S., even those that didn’t have casinos.

While one of the perpetrators has been arrested in the Arlington investigation, the others are still up to no good. And, I am unaware of what happened with the FBI investigation, or how many other types of operations are now going on. Therefore, it’s up to fitness center management to let their members know that they need to be extra cautious about their valuables when in the facility. First of all, it would be wise for staff to suggest to members that they not bring any valuables to the fitness center. If that’s not possible, then provide a safe place for them to lock up their valuables near the front desk where they will be supervised by staff members at all times. Or, better yet, encourage members to keep their valuables on them, if possible. If they do store their valuables in lockers, by all means be sure to tell members to lock them!

Other tips for helping your members to avoid getting ripped off in your facility can be found in a recent article in FM titled Locker-Room Crime: The Aftermath.

Making Sense of Staph

2007-10-29T07:55:00.000-04:00

At a recent industry trade show, the FM booth had a prime location: right next to Gojo Industries. People flocked to the booth next door with hands outstretched, eager for a product sample. Guess what were they were selling? No, not beer, though the product does give off a faint whiff of alcohol. Gojo Industries sells hand sanitizer and related accessories.

It’s no wonder fitness facilities are enamored with hand sanitizers. The recent drug-resistant staphylococcus aureus outbreak — and subsequent media freak-out — has shoved fitness centers into the same dark corner as school locker rooms and hospitals. Suddenly, working out in a fitness center — where people, God forbid, sweat — is now perceived as potentially dangerous to their health. Therefore, facility managers are eager to show proactivity and awareness of their members’ concerns — and complimentary hand sanitizers are an easy and relatively inexpensive way to accomplish this.

Unfortunately, the industry’s lack of regulation continues to haunt it. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “There aren’t any state-mandated regulations or routine inspections of [fitness] facilities, except for those with pools, spas and hot tubs. … And they’re not required to report staph infections, because most infections are very mild and result in skin irritation.”

Still, no matter how mild a rash may be, if a member thinks they got it at your facility, you’re in trouble.

It’s likely that your facility has measures in place to combat infections of all kinds — and it’s also likely that most of them rely on members doing most of the work. You probably have signs endorsing frequent hand washing, towel requirements or services, and available disinfectant sprays. But, what should members expect from you? What are you doing to show members that you take the staph outbreak — and every disease concern — as seriously as they do?

For more information about Staphylococcus aureus, visit the CDC
website.

The Fitness Industry Is No Friend to the Environment

2007-10-22T08:12:00.000-04:00

Fitness centers are loud and bright and crammed with equipment that requires electricity. They have pools and showers and hot tubs that require water and heat. They are big boxes with high ceilings that require more air conditioning in the summer than most types of businesses. They have members using water bottles and reading papers and magazines that get thrown away, instead of being recycled. They are, in other words, no friend to the environment.

Are we ignorant about how to “go green”? Do we not care? Is it too much of an effort? A recent industry trade show boasted about 130 seminars for facility owners and managers, but not one of them had anything to do with the “green” craze that is happening in other industries. But, maybe the show organizers actually got it right. One of the keynote addresses, “Healthy People, Healthy Planet,” was about how living healthy (eating organic, walking more, riding your bike to work, etc.) can actually be healthy for the environment, too. This keynote, unfortunately, had a dismal turnout, which makes me think that the fitness industry just isn’t ready to deal with this important issue.

The politics of “global warming” may have turned some people off, but I think that the industry may actually be just too concerned with profits to care about the environment. However, the facts go against this type of thinking. Establishing environmentally friendly practices at your fitness center can actually save you money. Low-energy lighting, solar electricity, low-energy equipment, low-flow showers and toilets, a paperless office, double-paned windows, etc., can all save your facility money in the long run.

There are many resources out there for fitness centers that want to do more. The Environmental Protection Agency offers tips on energy efficiency and renewable energy, water conservation, environmentally preferable building materials, waste reduction and more. The U.S. Green Building Council offers tools and information you need to design, build and operate a green building. And Green Building Solutions gives tips on everything in a building from plumbing to flooring to roofing. In addition, an article in Fitness Management gives specific tips for fitness centers wishing to go green.

The resources are there. Now all the industry needs is motivation, or, possibly, a more sympathetic attitude about what is happening to our planet.

The "Big Fat" Truth About Health Clubs

2007-10-15T13:25:00.000-04:00

If knowledge is power, and I believe it is, then fitness facility operators will want to know that their secrets are out. A new book titled, “The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie,” by Craig Pepin-Donat singles out the fitness industry to show consumers how they have been leading lifestyles of doom by not having the facts about addiction, supplements, diets and health clubs. Yes, health clubs. Pepin-Donat devotes an entire chapter to spelling out the techniques fitness center salespeople use to get consumers to purchase memberships, why they and management couldn’t really care less whether consumers come to the club once they buy, and how much more money, in addition to the monthly dues, it really is going to cost members to accomplish their goals.

But, believe it or not, this is not a bad thing that Pepin-Donat has done. This book is actually good for both consumers and for our industry. Pepin-Donat’s goal is clearly to help the consumer to understand how to lose weight and get in shape, and he does not discourage fitness center memberships. In fact, he encourages them. But, he warns that fitness centers have to earn consumers’ business. “There is nothing wrong with a salesperson trying to help you make a decision to purchase their product or service,” he says. “The only thing you need to be concerned with is how they do it. If the salesperson comes across as being overly aggressive and negative in any way, walk out. If the company cannot at least train their sales force to be professional and courteous, they haven’t earned the right to get your business.”

The mess fitness facilities have made of customer service needs to be cleaned up. Pepin-Donat provides some good, solid facts about how facility operators run their businesses. And, it’s not all negative toward fitness centers. He gives some good explanations for why facility managers do the things they do, for their business’ sake. The key is that by making consumers aware of this, and why, perhaps consumers can get past the obstacles of joining a facility. For instance, he explains why salespeople have the attitudes they do (“Unfortunately, many fitness salespeople do not care about you or your goals.”), and why most facility managers don’t make it a practice to communicate regularly with their members outside of the facility or to get inactive, paying members back to the club to work out (“most clubs avoid sending direct-mail communication to their current member base because there is always the fear of awakening the sleeping giant of members who are not using the club.”).

Consumers need to exercise to lose weight, and Pepin-Donat has clearly painted a picture that one of the best ways for them to do that is in a fitness facility. He is quite frank about what consumers should look for in a facility, making a comparison of the equipment and amenities in a Curves vs. a “quality fitness club,” and, in a separate chapter, decrying the quality of some home fitness equipment and the gimmicks companies use to sell it. But, as he says, “In order to get results from joining a fitness center, you have to use it consistently, and most club joiners never come close.” Because of this, he makes no bones about what it takes to make a commitment to succeed. “If you don’t really know what you are doing and have limited or no fitness experience, joining a club without assistance and guidance can turn out to be a total waste of time and money.” This is where personal training comes in. Pepin-Donat spells out just how much more expensive getting fit at a fitness center can be, and, if consumers are going to buck up for the extra cost, what they really should look for.

Most of you know that the truth told about fitness centers in “The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie” comes from a credible source. Pepin-Donat is known as a seasoned operator in the health/fitness industry, having operated more than 450 fitness centers in 11 countries. He left his last job in the industry prior to publishing this book, saying, “There is no way I could convey this information while being employed within the health and fitness industry. I would be fired.” And, when warned about alienating an industry he has worked in for more than 25 years, he says, “Why would anyone be threatened or alienated by the truth? The answer is that the truth can hurt the profits of companies that rely on the insecurity and vulnerability of consumers.”

Consumers who read this book will likely not be turned off about fitness facilities. And, those fitness center operators who read this book and are turned off — well, I guess you know why. Either way, this truth could just help you to make some changes in your business where possible. But, more importantly, it may empower you to know that the next person walking through your door may know more about your business than you once thought. You could use that to your advantage — or not.

Threading the Needle

2007-10-08T07:49:00.000-04:00

Who is your target market? Is it everyone within a 15-mile radius of your fitness center? Well, you might want to re-think that approach to selling fitness. The trend now is “threading the needle” when it comes to identifying a target market — the more defined and specific, the better.

Just ask Nike, the fitness apparel giant with a global reach and market research dollars out the wazoo. The company is not looking to find broader markets; instead, it’s going smaller. Nike, Beaverton, Ore., designed a shoe specifically for American Indians, called the Air Native N7. And, no, N7 doesn’t stand for Fitness Management’s Nova7 Awards. An article in The London Free Press says, “The N7 name is a reference to the seventh generation theory, used by some tribes to look to the three generations preceding them for wisdom and the three generations ahead for their legacy.”

Nike didn’t just slap on a new name and call it a day. “The Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look,” says the article. Nike designers and researchers examined the feet of more than 200 people from more than 70 tribes and found that the average shoe width of American Indians was three width sizes larger than the standard Nike shoe. As a result, the Air Native is wider and has a larger toe box. The shoe has fewer seams to prevent irritation, and a thicker sock liner for comfort.

Fitness centers can take this approach to market their facilities to a specific group. Balance Fitness caters to Muslim and other women concerned with modesty in the New Haven, Conn., area. Windows are covered with thick curtains, and women are encouraged to exercise in whatever clothing they prefer. This can range from capris and T-shirts to scarves, pants and long shirts.
Business is good, says Owner Mubarakah Ibrahim. Threading the needle has worked for her, and Nike thinks it can work for them. Would it work for your facility?

Competing with the Home Market

2007-10-01T08:05:00.000-04:00

Do you know who your competition is? Because now, more than ever, it may not be just be the fitness center across town. It may also be the homes of every potential member in your market. According to the National Association of Home Builders, a Washington D.C.-based industry trade group, about one-third of new and potential homebuyers cite a home exercise room as either essential or desirable.

People who want a private workout whenever they choose are bringing the fitness center into their homes. Real estate developers and builders say homeowners increasingly are choosing to build in-home gyms as a must-have amenity. “The home gym is one of the top amenities that homeowners want to incorporate into their homes,” says Gabe Pasquale, vice president and chief marketing officer of WCI Communities’ Northeast region, Valhalla, N.Y.

In 2006, 25.7 million Americans said they worked out in a home gym. That is almost a 30 percent increase from 19.8 million in 2000, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, Washington, D.C.

Convenience is the big motivator for these homeowners, but there may be some who are uncomfortable working out in front of other people, or those who simply don’t like the atmosphere of the facility near them: loud music, the “pick-up” crowd, dirty or cluttered, bad customer service, etc.

You obviously can’t offer the convenience of a home gym, so you need to give these potential members something else: a non-intimidating, social atmosphere that offers motivation and results. Emphasize the benefits of commercial-quality equipment, your many entertainment options, results-based programming, experienced trainers, etc. The things they can’t get at home.

Another idea is to create exercise programs that allow members to work out at home a couple times a week, but then encourages them to come into your facility to work with a trainer, participate in a class or use a certain piece of equipment. It could be like home-schooling for fitness: a group of these home-exercisers come in a couple times per week and work out together. You could even offer some sort of discount, or give away T-shirts with the group’s motto.

Knowing your competition is an important part of your sales and marketing program. If your competition is people’s home gyms, don’t think that you can’t compete with that. There are many advantages to working out in a fitness center - you simply need to emphasize your strengths.

Overweight and Obese as Victims?

2007-09-24T08:20:00.000-04:00

Two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are either obese or overweight. This is according to the fourth annual report from Trust for America’s Health, titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America.” Just last month, the report was featured in an online article on CNN, calling for a national strategy to combat the obesity crisis. Why? Because, people can’t be expected to handle this problem on their own. It’s not their fault!

Looking at the numbers, maybe we’ve come to a point where federal intervention is necessary. In 1991, only four states had obesity rates above 15 percent. Today, 32 states have obesity rates above 60 percent. The question is, what will federal intervention be, and what would it mean for the health/fitness industry and for society as a whole?

In the CNN article, Jeffrey Levi, who is co-author of the F as in Fat report, says that a national plan needs to be put in place, much like the federal government’s plan in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. “People can’t exercise personal responsibility in a vacuum,” he says. Levi cites such examples as government being responsible for ensuring that schools have physical education programs and nutritious meals for children, and local zoning boards providing things like sidewalks to ensure that people have a “place” to exercise.

I agree that physical education should never have been pulled from schools, and we’ve all seen what’s being served in cafeterias. But, giving kids a healthy start is one thing; bailing out obese adults is quite another. If the federal government is left to take charge of the obesity epidemic, we need to ensure that a national plan is aimed at changing lifestyles while instilling personal responsibility at the same time. Overweight and obese adults aren’t victims here, as could be interpreted by Levi’s statement that our society has “created an environment that doesn't make it possible for people to exercise that personal responsibility.” I don’t buy that at all. In fact, I think even if offered free workout facilities and a personal nutritionist, the majority of adults still wouldn’t work out or stop eating junk.

So, what are we really talking about if the government is to be responsible for implementing a national plan? Is it going to come down to subsidized fitness facilities and fitness facility memberships? Because we’ve all seen how well other government subsidized programs have helped to fix problems! That’s just scary.

The dialog has started, so fitness facility operators and professionals, to be sure, should have a pivotal voice. In my opinion, the government’s role should merely be to put national objectives in place, and provide healthy lifestyle incentives, such as tax and insurance rebates. The foremost national objective should be to publicize how much of a detriment obesity is to our society. The CNN article cites a Duke University study that found “184 lost work days per 100 obese full-time employees, versus 14 lost work days per 100 normal-weight full-time employees.” And, it says, the average obese worker has up to 21 percent higher healthcare costs.

Our industry’s role, on the other hand, should be to coordinate efforts with local governments and other organizations, and to make it clear that options are available to individuals in their efforts to be fit and to maintain a healthy weight. Trust me, if being obese felt as awful as having the flu, I’d bet overweight and obese individuals would be exercising their butts off and making a lot healthier food choices to get well.

Let’s not be fooled here. It will always come down to personal responsibility. The effects of a national anti-obesity effort, if approached responsibly by our government, could be good for our industry and all of society, provided we keep personal responsibility at the forefront.

What Fitness Professors Should Know

2007-09-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

There’s a mess over at Mesa Community College, Mesa, Ariz., and it’s all about certification. Fifteen part-time fitness professors were fired because they lacked any sort of fitness certification, according to Mesa administration — though the professors claim it’s their age that’s the problem, not their education.

The article says Ann Stine, chairwoman of the school's exercise science department, said, “the department is improving exercise science instruction by making sure fitness teachers have kept up with medicine’s ever-changing body of knowledge. [We] also want them to be trained to help students with complex diseases, such as diabetes.” Sounds good to me. So, what’s the problem?

To bring about this change, a policy requiring professors to earn a personal training certification from one of three companies accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies was implemented. None of the fired professors earned a certification, and were subsequently fired.

It seems cut-and-dry, but college officials aren’t exactly backing Stine. One of the fired professors, 80-year-old Theo Heap, claimed he didn’t pursue certification because Stine didn’t make clear which certifications they should obtain, and the college agreed with him.

But, in my opinion, a professor of fitness ought to know which certifications are accredited and widely respected — no matter how old he is. Heap shouldn’t need anyone to hold his hand and lead him to the best certifying bodies. He should have been doing that for his students. If he was so uncertain about the lay of the fitness certification land, he has no place teaching budding fitness professionals.

There is undoubtedly more to the story, and I’ll leave it to the Mesa officials (and, likely, more than a few lawyers) to sort out that mess. But, making high-quality education a priority is a step every school should take, and stand behind.

Michael Moore’s Personal “Sicko”

2007-09-10T08:05:00.000-04:00

Regardless of what you think of his documentary Sicko, or of your political leanings, Michael Moore is a living, breathing example of one way to ease the burden on our nation’s healthcare system: People can take responsibility for their own health and lose weight, which would tackle many health problems at its root.

Two fitness professionals agree. Jim Labadie and Ryan Lee, health advocates in Florida, are challenging the admittedly overweight Moore to live a healthier lifestyle. They created the Michael Moore Health Challenge, and state, “This is about Michael Moore exercising regularly and improving his diet so he can become a better role model for preventative care.”

Being obese can cause a list of health problems, according to WebMD, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea and stroke. And, these problems cost the U.S. healthcare system billions (yes, that’s billions) of dollars each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity and its associated health problems have a “significant economic impact on the U.S. healthcare system.”

A study on the costs attributed to obesity found that medical expenses for overweight and obese people accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998, and may have reached as high as $92.6 billion in 2002 dollars.

Michael Moore may have made some good points in his documentary, but the one thing he can achieve right now is control over his own health, and set an example for others who are overweight. Says Jason C. Brown, founder of CrossFit Philly, a training program and studio in Mt. Airy, Pa., “He’s a billboard for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and all those bad things associated with obesity. He’s preaching about healthcare costs, and he’s directly affecting it.”

When the Greater Good Doesn’t Prevail

2007-09-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Every so often, a law put into effect for good reason ends up undermining the greater good. This was certainly the case when a court ruled that a Santa Rosa, Calif.,-based women’s-only fitness center, Body Central, violated state law by excluding men. And, when owner Shannon Hartnett failed to comply with her settlement agreement, reached in 2004 with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), to eliminate all advertising that portrayed Body Central as a women’s-only fitness center, as well as provide separate shower and locker facilities for men within two years, the DFEH filed yet another lawsuit in 2006.

To provide some background.… In 1995, the California Supreme Court ruled that private clubs operating as businesses are required to follow state laws against discrimination. California’s law (the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code section 51(b)) stipulates that businesses have to provide “full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges or services,” and cannot discriminate on the basis of “sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability or medical condition.”

The original lawsuit against Body Central occurred when a man, Phillip Kottle, filed a complaint in 2003 with the DFEH, saying that he was refused membership at the facility on the basis of his sex. California is not the only state in which this has happened. Other states, namely Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wisconsin, have had similar lawsuits, and now have laws allowing same-sex fitness facilities.

In most instances, there is no question that California’s law is a good one, protecting the rights of its citizens. But in the case of Body Central, the law stands to undermine the efforts made to encourage healthy lifestyles. There are many women who would prefer to only work out with women, and many men who would prefer to only work out with men — simply because they feel more comfortable, perhaps due to a weight issue, or perhaps because they would rather leave the sexual social atmosphere out of their workouts. I’m not saying that all men are eyeing women in the gym or vice-versa. But, let’s be truthful, it does happen.

I realize that the DFEH is required to act on all complaints that it deems violate state law, but it’s hard to understand how Body Central could be so unfairly singled out. There are hundreds of women-only fitness facilities in California, not to mention the recent growth of men-only fitness facilities, that have not had suits filed against them. Yet, they are also in direct violation of California’s or, perhaps, another state’s law.

If our industry is going to help the population get fit and, in the process, reduce the burden on healthcare costs caused by obesity and sedentary lifestyles, operators of single-sex facilities might be well-advised to be proactive about this issue, rather than waiting for the DFEH to come knocking on their doors. There is certainly a greater good to be gained by allowing these facilities to exist than to ban them.

Attention Fitness Center Managers!

2007-08-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

Ahem. I have an annoucement.

Attention fitness center managers! Your services are no longer needed. Please proceed in an orderly fashion toward the exit, and best of luck in your future professional pursuits.

If this announcement doesn’t fill you with joy — if, in fact, it makes you just the slightest bit angry — don’t shoot the messenger. I only realized fitness center managers were on their way out the door after reading an article about a new kind of manager — the non-human kind — making its debut in one of the largest chains in the business. 24 Hour Fitness, San Ramon, Calif., purchased RetailAction, a software application manufactured by Reflexis Systems Inc., Dedham, Mass., that promises to “boost operational productivity and consistently execute its corporate strategy in all of its more than 375 clubs in 14 states.”

24 Hour Fitness also believes its new, automated managers will actually help make members happier and more satisfied. “We are confident that integrating labor scheduling, task management and compliance management will enhance customer experience significantly at our clubs,” says Dan Benning, senior vice president of operations for 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide.

In light of the renewed focus on making fitness centers a hub of social activity that extends beyond sets and reps, am I alone in thinking that this is a strange step for an industry leader to take? How can a bunch of fitness center employees working at the beck and call of a computer effectively serve the needs of a notoriously unpredicatable group of fitness center members? Call me crazy, or just old-fashioned, but I have a hard time imagining a workforce happy to be micromanaged by a computer chip.

Will ‘Roid Rage’ Happen at Your Facility?

2007-08-20T11:06:00.001-04:00

With two recent deaths in the pro wrestling world related to steroid use, and the scandals in baseball and the Tour de France, the fitness industry should get a wake-up call. Although most fitness center members don’t use steroids, human growth hormone or testosterone, some do — especially athletes and serious weightlifters. Even child athletes have been known to use steroids to increase athletic performance. Some estimates suggest as many as 7 percent of high school students have used steroids.

This number should shock you, especially if you work with child athletes. And, a quick search on the Internet reveals that it is surprisingly easy to buy steroids without a prescription.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the major side effects from abusing anabolic steroids can include liver tumors and cancer, jaundice, fluid retention, high blood pressure, increases in LDL (bad cholesterol) and decreases in HDL (good cholesterol). Other side-effects include kidney tumors, severe acne and trembling. In addition, there are some gender-specific side effects. For men, shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts and increased risk for prostate cancer. For women, growth of facial hair, male-pattern baldness, changes in or cessation of the menstrual cycle, and a deepened voice. For adolescents, growth can be halted prematurely. This means that adolescents risk remaining short for the remainder of their lives if they take anabolic steroids before the typical adolescent growth spurt. Scientific research also shows that aggression and other psychiatric side effects may result, including extreme mood swings and manic-like symptoms leading to violence.

While these symptoms and statistics may seem out there for the mainstream fitness industry, I assure you they are not. I know at least one woman at my fitness center has taken some sort of male hormone in her life. (Either that, or she is a post-op sex-change patient.)

So what are fitness professionals to do? To start, your facility should have clear and posted rules about selling steroids while on your property. You can also post warning signs in your locker room about the dangers of taking anything for enhanced athletic performance. Your trainers should also know the signs of steroid abuse, and warn clients about taking them. The last thing your facility needs is a member harming themselves or others because of “roid rage.”

Let the Fun Begin! If It’s Practical...

2007-08-13T14:26:00.000-04:00

The idea of making fitness fun has been talked about for years. Many companies have taken note of the trend, and in the past several years, many entertainment products have been brought to the market and featured in FM. Playstations and Xboxes were added to some cardio equipment in the past several years. And, products like Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution, Cateye’s Game Bike and Cybex’s Trazer were introduced. But, while these products are great, most are single stations which make them impractical — providing a workout to one member at a time vs. to a group. Could that be changing?

Recently, Nintendo joined the ranks of those companies that are offering fitness entertainment products. An MSNBC article, Tired of spin classes? Try Wii workout station, published July 24, featured a Canadian health club, Studio 55, in Vancouver, B.C., which now has a Wii workout station. “Clients at the health club are encouraged to use the Wii as part of circuit training, warm-up or cool-down, with the system set up in a 400-square-foot theater room with a large projection screen,” says the MSNBC article.

Now, Ninento is developing a new system called Wii Fit, which the company plans to release in 2008. Wii Fit is a video game that allows individuals to perform different forms of activities, from yoga to aerobics. From the looks of it, facilities could house this system in a group exercise setting, and allow members to follow along.

As people become more in tune to being entertained during their workouts, fitness facility operators need to bring these types of products to their members, just to stay competitive. But, manufacturers will need to start looking at how these types of products can be most cost-effective and practical for fitness facilities. So, for those of you who have wanted to add the entertainment element to your menu of exercise options, the future could be promising, and practical.

Dangerous Trash

2007-08-06T12:30:00.000-04:00

Do you like to dig in the trash? Me neither, but if you had some time on your hands, lived in North Texas and didn’t mind the smell, you could have found enough personal information to steal the identities of dozens of people. If you’re in to that sort of thing.

And you’d owe it all to one company: Life Time Fitness Inc.

Life Time Fitness in Fort Worth, Texas, was hit with a lawsuit after investigators found more than 100 records with customers' personal information that were dumped in publicly accessible trash bins in six different North Texas locations.

It seems Life Time Fitness discarded the personal information of people who had discontinued their memberships by simply tossing them in the trash. Nothing was shredded. Nothing was blacked out. No effort was made to protect (or respect) the sensitive information contained on those discarded documents.

Now Life Time Fitness says it intends to work with the Texas Attorney General's office to ensure that members' sensitive personal information is properly protected. Sounds like too little, too late, to me.

What is your club’s process for discarding (or, better yet, destroying) personal information? Identity theft isn’t just the subject of a techno thriller coming to a theater near you. It’s a real concern for people who put their personal information into your hands — whether or not they’re still paying dues.