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.

Variety Show

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.

Striptease Exercise too Sexy for Tennessee

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.

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

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.

Where Did the Fun Go in Group Exercise?

With all the talk about how having fun is so important when it comes to motivating individuals to work out, what happened to fun?

This issue of fun in fitness facilities really started to gnaw at me when I read an article in my local paper titled “Kick Up Your Heels.” The article talked about how dance classes are the “latest craze” at fitness facilities, specifically mentioning a Cowboy Boogie class offered at the Fontana (Calif.) 24 Hour Fitness facility, as well as belly dancing, salsa and stripper-inspired pole dancing classes at other locations. Well, guess what? Dancing while exercising isn't new.

The dance exercise craze began with Jazzercise more than 30 years ago, and it soon carried over into commercial health clubs in the form of aerobics classes that were choreographed to the hottest new dance songs. That was when exercise was fun! At least, for me. During the late-80s through mid-90s, the fitness center I belonged to offered some great classes that focused on choreographed steps, to great music, that were progressively expanded upon in each class. The more I got the steps down, the more excited I was to go to class each week to show off my stuff. I even remember when Michael Jackson’s newest album, Dangerous, was set to be released, and the instructor had us all salivating for the new choreography he had planned.

But, soon, "dance-exercise" got phased out by “group exercise,” which replaced "fun" classes with “special needs” classes. For instance, group strength classes were introduced to emphasize the equal importance of strength and cardio training. Mind/body programming was introduced for the older adult, deconditioned exerciser or those who just preferred passive exercise. Group cycling was introduced for the athlete. But, did group exercise have to be broadened at the expense of dance-exercise? These days, the most exciting classes I can find at my fitness facility are mat Pilates, group cycling and boot camp. They’re great workouts! But let’s face it, no one looks like they’re having fun. In fact, I see a lot of necks craning toward the clock.

I’m glad to see that some fitness facilities are going back to group fitness' roots by re-introducing fun in their classes with dance steps and choreography. Certain facilities, like Crunch, never stopped. Now, other facilities and suppliers are looking at the similarities between adult’s and children’s needs when it comes to exercise and fun. There are few kids who you can convince to go for a run on a daily basis to keep in shape. But, give them a game that gets their hearts pumping, like Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution, or a bike that offers virtual reality courses, like Cateye’s Game Bike, and exercise suddenly becomes fun. Guess what? Adults like Dance Dance Revolution and Game Bike, too!

Remember Billy Blanks’ Tae Bo? His group martial arts program was introduced when dance exercise was in the first stages of dying out. Now, Billy Blanks is back, and he’s focusing on fun with his new Cardioke program, a mix of cardio hop with group karaoke — designed for all ages, young and old alike. Now, that looks like fun.

I bet there are more fun programming ideas out there that my facility and others could implement. Let's hear about them!