IHRSA EUROPE UPDATE medical fi tness in italy fausto di giulio • marketing and management co-ordinator • italian fi tness federation I
n Italy, the importance of exercise has always been recognised by the healthcare system. Today, however
– with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and the explosion of other chronic conditions – the nation’s healthcare system is looking for ways to cut costs. Now is the time to truly unite the healthcare and fi tness industries. T e Italian Fitness Federation has
implemented two strategies to help these industries co-operate to produce a healthier population: fi rstly, the education of opinion leaders – namely physicians – and end users; and secondly, innovation of the core product – that is, the health club experience. We organised, alongside the Ministry
of Health, a physicians’ event – entitled ‘Active Doctors, Active Patients’ – designed to educate them about the world of fi tness. Physicians tried 16 diff erent activities such as Step, group cycling, SlowFIT, Zumba and so on. T e event proved a success in terms of physician satisfaction: the ministry has awarded attendees with medical ‘continuing education’ credits and has asked us to organise similar events across the country. Meanwhile, to educate end users – ie the general population – we launched an
amusing campaign. T e goal is to educate inactive people, encouraging them to adopt exercise as a lifelong habit, just like brushing one’s teeth. In terms of innovation,
we focused on what matters most: the core product. T at, aſt er all, is what people are going to experience when they come in to a health club having been referred by a physician. If we fail to off er the right product, all of our eff orts in co-operating with physicians will lead to a dangerous ‘boomerang’-type situation, whereby we demonstrate the inadequacy of the fi tness industry to the very audience we’re trying to win over. With the goal of creating an appealing
product that’s accessible to the masses, we defi ned a double strategy: ‘quality fi tness for all’ (ie a programme that’s safe and eff ective) and ‘focus on fun’ (to fi ght boredom). We created a personalised group training class in which 20 to 30 people who have, or who are at risk of, chronic or other health conditions can follow a personalised exercise plan, all working together with one trainer.
ask the experts...... phones in clubs
Should mobile phone usage be limited in health clubs? Mark Stevens, regional director for T e Houstonian Health Clubs and Spas, off ers his advice on this topic.
Calls, texts and emails are a way of life today. T ey cannot be eliminated, but they can be limited in terms of where people are allowed to take, and access, their mobile phones. Phones going off in a gym, with their
various ringtones, can be distracting. More importantly, attempting to
answer a call, write a text or send an email while exercising can be dangerous, both to the person using the phone and to others around them – for example if they should mis-step on a treadmill or other equipment.
22 Phone use while in the gym can be dangerous For privacy reasons, the use of
smartphones with cameras and video capabilities is highly discouraged in our changing rooms. We understand that parents, doctors and others
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
will occasionally need to take an emergency call. However, we ask that they move to a public area whenever they have to do so. A gym policy might read something
along the lines of: ‘For safety reasons and for the enjoyment of others around you, the use of mobile phones is not permitted in our fi tness areas or changing rooms. Calls may be taken in public areas such as hallways, lobby areas and the café. In the case of an emergency, if a call must be answered, please turn off the equipment in use and move to a public area to complete the call discreetly.’ Read more answers to this question
on the IHRSA website at www.ihrsa. org/industryleader
september 2011 © cybertrek 2011
NEWS
‘Active Doctors, Active Patients’ educates doctors about fi tness Several premium Italian clubs and
club chains now off er this revolutionary medical fi tness system, which also includes a personal training method and many profi t centre services: body evaluation, posture evaluation, etc. Alberto Gamba, owner of Sport Più,
a fi ve-strong club chain in the Bergamo area of Italy, says: “Medical fi tness is an incredible opportunity for the growth of our industry, but we should be ready before physicians start to refer hundreds of new customers to us. We should be sure that our product is safe, eff ective and fun. Inactive people will never adopt exercising if they believe they will be bored.”
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