TALKBACK Everyone’s talking about . . .
Gyms for all? T
here are still vast swathes of the population who are not walking through the doors of health clubs. Are
we not meeting their needs? Or is it because they are put off by the media’s representation of the sector? Never has it been more timely to
provide a service that caters for all. The obesity crisis refl ects how important it is to bring the sedentary population into exercise, while the Paralympics were a great leveller, proving that having a disability does not preclude someone from participating. Elderly people and children, meanwhile – often insuffi ciently catered for – are in as
Phillip Mills Les Mills International • CEO
“T
he new HIT trend is bringing some valuable things to our
traditional club industry. It’s attracting a new, younger market to fitness: people who are not long out of school or university and who have stopped playing sport, but who are not attracted by the traditional club stereotype. Typically delivered in a format which
feels like traditional sports team training, HIT creates bonding and is likely to increase retention. It gets good results and is highly motivating. From a club point of view, people are prepared to pay much more than for traditional memberships. Personally, I’ve found it difficult to attract people to low
intensity workouts: even the deconditioned don’t stay for long. People seem to respond far better to ‘intimidating’ campaigns that the PC line of thinking in our industry counsels against. By all means use sensible induction processes, like booking
people into introductory workouts and suggesting they do half classes for the first few weeks. Creating a separate area of the club for HIT workouts is also good practice for many reasons. But I’d suggest that, rather than trying to tone down this great opportunity, we jump on the wave and ride it.
”
Kath Hudson • Journalist • Health Club Management
Is the health and fitness industry truly responding to everyone’s needs? Or are we providing an offering which in practice means the fit get fitter, while the fat get fatter?
much need of interesting opportunities to participate in activity as anyone else. So is the sector providing these
opportunities, or are we too elitist? With hardcore workouts such as HIT and CrossFit grabbing the headlines, are we putting off the overweight 40-somethings who haven’t done any exercise since school? (see HCM NovDec 12, p3). Is the trade-off at least that HIT workouts succeed in attracting a younger audience, getting people into the habit of staying fi t even though they no longer play team sport? Will this help prevent another sedentary generation? How can we ensure clubs appeal to the super-motivated gym goers as well
as those who are just setting out on the path to a healthier lifestyle? Does segregating the hardcore crew from the newbies work? Or is it more motivating and aspirational to have everyone in together? Helen Tite, who runs The Core fi tness studio in Cornwall, mixes cancer patients, people with disabilities and people of all abilities in her GRAVITY classes, and says the psychological impact for special populations taking part in a regular class can not be underestimated. Are we in fact already offering the
right mix of activities – do we simply need to get the message out there more effectively? We ask the experts...
HOW CAN GYMS CATER FOR AN INCREASINGLY DIVERSE AUDIENCE? EMAIL US:
HEALTHCLUB@LEISUREMEDIA.COM
Mark Jones Technogym • Business manager for health, medical and sport
for 10 years, I don’t think gyms are reaching out well enough to the people who don’t exercise. I believe outreach is key to engaging
“W
with non-exercisers. As a starting point, I would recommend finding out what health initiatives the PCTs and health
boards are running in the area and linking in with them. Also, to communicate the message that health clubs are for
everyone, gyms need to strike up relationships with the local press. We’re too used to hearing the same stories, such as everyone joining in January and leaving in March, or about the latest intimidating workout. We must feed the media positive stories: find champions in your club to use as case studies, based on real issues like weight loss and reduction in disease risk. Once people have found the courage to walk through the
doors, the induction is all-important. Staff attitude is vital to make all members feel welcome. On the gym floor, they need to focus their attention on those who need encouragement. To make gyms a lifestyle choice, we need to be constantly aware of members’ aspirations and stay abreast of their goals.
” 36 Take part in the Health Club Management reader survey:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/NQDN2R6 January 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
ith market penetration teetering around 12 per cent
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