Keeping your gym members motivated
Running a gym is one of the most extraordinary businesses.
People who walk through the doors are looking to achieve great things. Your gym members want to improve their fitness, increase the weights they lift, recover from injury, and find supportive and motivational people.
From time to time, though, there are members who get a little bit disillusioned with their progress, people who plateau and can’t seem to move past it – or their injury has shaken their confidence. So what can you do to keep your gym members motivated?
Engage
Don’t be the guy in the office, be the guy that helps people load their weights on the bar. Take an interest in the people who buy a membership from you. Don’t pounce on new people straight away – let them get into their stride, and then make a point of learning who they are and what their goals are.
Your members should feel like they are part of the team and belong there.
Feedback
If you hear some complaints about specific people or the gym equipment – take action. You must be seen to make changes that improve the experience of the people who are paying for membership.
Equipment
Old gym equipment or equipment that isn’t being used takes up space and could be replaced with new gear. Work with a specialist to get a gym design that matches the largest portion of your membership. Your gym should offer all of the latest cutting-edge equipment options, as well as the classics.
Celebration
While some gym members won’t want to have anything tracked, others will be keen to see their weekly gains or losses. Both of these can be celebrated when they hit milestones.
You could also offer rewards and discounts when members reach their 100th gym session or do the first ten sessions with a personal trainer. Make the act of showing up as important as the action that takes place in the gym.
Challenges
Most of the time, people in the gym have a competitive nature. Often the only person they are trying to outdo is themselves, but the drive to be the best can be a lot of fun.
Track things like the most mile run, the heaviest weights lifted, and other fun activities that mean you members can take part in a challenge and keep increasing their fitness levels.
You can also use a challenge like this to raise money for charity. A combine lifted weight, or miles ran.
Challenges are one of the best ways to see an increase in motivation and team spirit. It is often the idea of letting the team down to see people step up, even when they want to quit.
Join in
Consider joining your members for class if you aren’t teaching the class yourself. It’s a terrific opportunity to learn more about them, and they might take up a few helpful behaviours from you. This also allows you to get a firsthand look at your class offerings and instructors.
Joining classes that you wouldn’t usually do can motivate the people taking the class to do even better. Weightlifters aren’t going to be as light on their feet and supple as some yoga students and vice versa. It can be exciting to mix it up and get a clear overview of how your classes are function.
And it can be pretty entertaining too!
Sharp focus
There are many elements that can be taken into your gym to make it more beneficial for the members. You can consider running weekly focus sessions and having specialist trainers come in to host.
Targeting specific muscle groups for an intense week or running nutrition classes for new gym-goers. Have a chat with your members, and try sending out a membership questionnaire to see what people feel like they would benefit from.
Run sharp focus weeks to help your members learn more and implement it.
Socials
People who work out a lot at the gym usually have outside lives with partners and families. Host a family day if you have space in the car park. Invite families and friends for food and some relaxation. This only usually works if most of the members are on speaking terms and for smaller community-based gyms.
Also, within the social tag, you can make a point of encouraging your members to take to social media with a selfie station. You can even offer to take photos. Make sure you have your own gym social media and ask permission to post goals and gains on your own feed.
These tips will work for your members, but what about your staff? Can an employee reward system increase happiness and motivation?
