DAN SUMMERSON national fitness manager Leisure Connection
A
s great as it is to train outside, we find our members prefer the comfort of the gym
environment to work out. They have multi-media at their fingertips, where they can catch up on their favourite soaps or the day’s news. And if you train inside, you can’t use the weather as an excuse not to have a workout. Many members also take the time
to enjoy our range of facilities. They might have a workout in the gym and then go for a quick dip in the pool, then on for a sauna and steam and fi nish with a cappuccino. Things as simple as changing facilities and hairdryers are still very important for our customers and members, as many of them head straight to the offi ce after a morning workout. Training outside relies on a clean and
dog mess-free environment, which can’t always be guaranteed! Some of our gyms aren’t in locations that naturally lend themselves to a fantastic outdoor environment, so it doesn’t make sense to offer it. We hold regular customer
forums and focus groups, so if members said they wanted outdoor activities we would certainly look at it, but there would need to be a solid business case to introduce this. People know what to expect with our gym membership – they can train indoors, have a swim and enjoy our classes. Offering bootcamp classes or sessions outdoors might dilute our offering and confuse potential members. We do deliver the odd class outside,
but it very much depends on the trainer. Many of them have concerns regarding insurance and, although the majority of them will be covered, they are sceptical because of the blame culture we live in. I believe people who say ‘gyms aren’t
for me’ are simply members of the wrong gym. As an industry, we offer fantastic and innovative classes and state-of-the-art equipment. Members who claim they are bored with their workouts need to speak to the fi tness staff and personal trainers, and perhaps staff also need to try to engage more with their members.
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JON WILLIAMS GM The Marlow Club
O
ur contacts in the US told us that, as an industry, they were struggling to retain members
who wanted something different from their fitness programme and were taking advantage of the growing number of bootcamps and outdoor training classes. At The Marlow Club we saw this as
an opportunity, as no operators seemed to be offering outdoor fi tness. However, we didn’t feel comfortable taking our members away from the safety of the club. It would also cost money and take up time in terms of red tape and working with external organisations, particularly the public sector. So we took the decision to invest
capital in developing our club within our four walls, transforming what used to be a sun terrace into an outdoor fi tness area, which links on to the side of our gym. This space, which measures about 30m x 30m, will have a wooden structure and plenty of greenery – plants, ivy and artifi cial
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grass – to give our members a sense of training outdoors without in fact leaving our site. There will be a mat area and plenty of equipment that can be used in circuit classes such as kettlebells, TRX suspension trainers, tyres, bungee ropes and hurdles – popular equipment that our members know how to use. We believe this will make a huge
difference to our members and our attrition levels. We do notice a drop in members in the summer months, and many look to suspend their membership over the summer. We hope this will offer a solution to those wanting to make the most of the great outdoors. As an industry we need to consider
the seasonality of our country. For nearly fi ve months of the year it’s dark at peak training times, which adds to the health and safety and risk issues surrounding outdoor exercise.
healthclub@leisuremedia.com rebecca douglas
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programme in partnership with Pete Cohen
0845 260 9339
WWW.NORDICWALKING.CO.UK
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