ROBIN COPE MD British Military Fitness
S
ome operators are offering an outdoor solution and are doing very well at it – Virgin Active,
for example, offered Virgin ‘Outdoor Active’. However I think for most, outdoor exercise just isn’t part of the core business strategy. There are probably a whole host of
reasons why operators aren’t looking beyond the four walls of the traditional health club, from the risk involved in taking members outside the club to the permission needed by external organisations to train in the outdoor environment. There’s a lot of red tape involved in setting up an outdoor exercise business and it does require a great deal of attention, time and resource to maintain the highest levels of safety and quality for all involved. It might also be the case that operators don’t recognise the ROI potential. Do I think there’s an opportunity
for them? Yes, but I don’t think this can be easily achieved without creating
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new and innovative partnerships with brands and companies that specialise in outdoor fi tness. I think that is where the opportunity lies for operators, but they have to be willing to think outside the box – outside the four walls of their club. At the moment we all co-exist
without stepping on each other’s toes, but I think there has to come a time when clubs must and will need to diversify and evolve. We welcome this competition. Our members aren’t always ‘gyms aren’t for me’ people, and in fact many of them have memberships of commercial gyms too. They simply like what we offer and like the diversity we can bring to their fi tness and training programme. The BMF model is very different from
that of the commercial operator and I think it’s proving advantageous for the company and our growing client base. Our sessions rely on team work, interaction and being fully engaged for
BMF sessions rely on team work, interaction and being fully engaged for the entire session
the entire session. Members quickly make new friends and strike up positive relationships with the instructors and other members alike. This is very different from a traditional club where members typically work out in isolation, on individual machines – it’s no wonder members can struggle with motivation.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 43
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