Farewell

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?