| Letters | > SEPTEMBER 2011
CLUB BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
18 Clubs’ Q1 Results 38 September 11, 2001 43 Net-Worth Network 50 IHRSA’s 9th Summit 55 A Savings Strategy
The Next Tipping Point? ® HealthCity
CEO RENE MOOS HAS CREATED EUROPE’S LARGEST CLUB CHAIN
Ascendant
I wanted to commend CBI’s editorial team on the great job it does with the magazine each month. It’s so informative and helpful, and I always enjoy reading it. The recent article by Lilly Prince, IHRSA’s public policy communications coordinator (see “A Healthier America,” September CBI, pg. 50), was especially interesting to me as I truly believe that one of the next tipping points will be the alliance between the medical community and the fitness/wellness community. I encour- age all of CBI’s readers to visit
claremontclub.com/magazine and read the article written by Linda Johnson about our Living Well after Cancer program. Please feel free to share it with the people you love. I believe it will inspire you.
I also urge IHRSA to bring more medical wellness presenters like Dr. Bob Sallis to the conventions as keynote speakers. He’s setting the protocols worldwide on Exercise as Medicine.—| Mike Alpert | President/CEO | The Claremont Club | Claremont, CA
9/11 Career Change
> Thank you for the retrospective article on 9/11. That tragedy has affected all of us in some way. Your words encapsulate exactly how people feel and your excerpt from November 2011 was right-on. After the attacks, my wife and I both left Fortune 20 compa-
nies to distribute an exciting new product called Proskins Slim. Our company holds a patent on a microencapsulation process that binds caffeine, retinol, vitamin E, aloe, and ceramides to our high-quality compression apparel. Thank you again for the article, and we’ll be looking forward
to the IHRSA convention and trade show in Los Angeles. —| Casey Schultz | Distributor | Proskins | Mansfield Woodhouse | Notts, U.K.
Reconsidering and Rebranding Exercise
>The recent IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report showed growth in 2010. This isn’t just good news for health clubs; it’s also good news for business, healthcare, and government. Everyone is invested in getting individuals to be more physically
active. The research showing the “mind,” “body,” and “bottom- line” benefits of regular physical activity is indisputable. Despite 30-plus years of promoting exercise, however, population
levels have virtually remained the same. It’s no wonder that everyone is searching for the “holy grail” of exercise participation. Luckily, there’s a growing body of international research on exercise moti- vation illuminating how we can better “sell” exercise to engage individuals and motivate ongoing participation and retention. We’ve been taught to think that “intrinsic motivation,” or enjoying
the act of exercise, trumps everything else as a means to achieving long-term success. Yet, the latest research shows that the highest- quality exercise motivation is not intrinsic—it’s something else. It turns out that having exercise feel “important” influences
4 Club Business Internat ional | DECEMBER 2011 |
ihrsa.org
participation more than if it feels good, intrinsically, to do. The research clearly shows that the reasons why individuals initiate exercise influence whether they develop low-quality or high- quality motivation, and ultimately whether individuals stay motivated. This new research has important implications for optimal exercise messaging and marketing. Whether exercise feels important to do is directly related to
why individuals decide to start exercising. Research shows that certain reasons are better than others. The reasons that exer- cise marketing has primarily focused on, such as “weight loss,” “shape,” and “better health” appear to be nonoptimal for producing high-quality motivation and lasting interest, especially among women. But we can better “hook” the sedentary and inactive (the majority
of our population) to reconsider exercise as a priority that can fit into their busy lives. It is possible, even easy, to influence and persuade people to change their reasons for exercising. Our marketing simply needs to resocialize individuals on how to perceive and approach exercise. In fact, clubs can enhance retention rates by helping members, after they join, change their reasons for exercising to ones that are more likely to promote optimal motivation. When we change our messaging and rebrand exercise as
something that enhances the most compelling aspects of daily living (more energy, less stress, improved mood, being a patient parent, etc.), inactive individuals will discover new, more compelling reasons to give regular physical activity another chance. These reasons for exercise deliver immediate feedback, thus making exercise benefits immediately relevant and noticeable, and will better promote ongoing interest and motivation. To read a recently published study about rebranding exercise, log on to:
ijbnpa.org/content/8/1/94/abstract. —|
Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH | Researcher | Institute for Research on Women and Gender | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI
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