Category: Blog

Video Games and Exercise

Video Games and Exercise

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A friend of mine recently told me about a deal she cut with her twelve-year-old for the summer: He’s allowed to play video games for an hour a day, provided he spend at least two hours running around outside first. She was starting to get worried about how much time he spent indoors in a sedentary position.

Of course, she’s not alone. For decades, parents have been worried about their kids sitting around too much, and the problem seems to grow worse each year. And this issue affects adults too! After my friend told me about the deal she made with her son, she admitted that she’d privately made a deal with herself as well: She’s allowed to watch television at night (and, she sheepishly said, to play her own video games) only if she’s managed to take 10,000 steps during the day.

But what if she could take her 10,000 steps while playing video games? I wouldn’t advocate this for her son — I want him to get outside and learn the joys of real-life play before he gets bogged down in all the grown-up responsibilities that make it such a challenge for his mother, for all of us, to get the exercise we need. But new developments in video games designed for the purpose of enhancing workouts could help us feel like we’re getting in both the exercise we need and the kind of entertainment-relaxation we want.

Blue Goji is a company aiming to produce video games for workouts. Established by the creators of the popular video game Guitar Hero, Blue Goji has spent several years devising games that can safely be used on the treadmill or elliptical, and that track exercisers’ heart rates and other data. The idea, the creators have explained, is to provide distraction from the workout so that exercisers don’t even pay attention to the pain and boredom and discomfort they might be feeling. Television monitors attached to exercise machines — or just stands that hold magazines while you run — have long served this purpose.  Through interactivity and the incentive of having something to win, video games might do so as well, perhaps even more effectively.  Also, video games are potentially more addictive — this time, in a good way.  If you start a workout game, you might be highly motivated to get back to the workout so that you can continue playing the game.

The Wii console has melded physical activity and video game play for a long time, but Blue Goji’s product is made exclusively for use on gym equipment. Other companies are working on similar products, and also on other types of video game exercise products, such as ones that use virtual reality devices. What does all this mean for gyms and fitness centers? It might be time to start researching how you could incorporate video games and exercise into your facility’s offerings.

What Kind of Happiness Can You Offer?

What Kind of Happiness Can You Offer?

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yellow flag with black happy face on it

In this industry, there’s a lot of talk about happiness – as well there should be. In recent years, studies have suggested that the presence or absence of happiness affects us at a cellular level: When we’re happy, our tissues suffer less damage, our bodies have less inflammation, and our immune systems are stronger. Because we know that regular exercise contributes to greater happiness, we remind our clients that coming to the gym is good for them, that it’ll make them happier. But, in the light of a recent study, maybe we should wonder whether we’re giving happiness enough thought.

The study, led by Barbara Fredrickson, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, suggests that different kinds of happiness can have vastly different effects on physical well-being. It divides happiness into two types: hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic happiness comes from instant gratification, such as eating a piece of chocolate cake or buying a new pair of boots. Eudaimonic comes from working toward a goal that results in a sense of meaning or a contribution to a cause.

The gist of the study is this: For participants, hedonic happiness resulted in physical effects that look much like the effects of misery and stress. That is, it increased the expression of genes involved in inflammation and decreased antiviral responses. Eudaimonic happiness resulted in lower levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong antiviral and antibody gene expression. Or, to put it another way, happiness that came from working for some kind of greater good — some positive effect outside of and bigger than the self — led to a much more positive genetic impact, and therefore better health.

So, back to the gym: When encouraging clients to achieve happiness, which kind of happiness are you pushing them toward? Is it the instant gratification that comes with a single tough workout? Or is it the more powerful — and healthier — sort of happiness that comes from sustained effort toward the accomplishment of a larger goal? And is there a way to increase opportunities for that other, better happiness for your clients? Can you establish a program in which if a certain number of exercisers achieves a certain goal — losing ten pounds, say — by a certain time, then you’ll donate to a good cause? Or if a member comes to the gym twenty-five times in one month, you’ll give one month’s free membership to an economically disadvantaged person in the community?

Creating possibilities for your clients to help others or to achieve some kind of greater good through their workouts could boost the positive effects of exercising even more — and that, in turn, could keep your clients coming back. Which makes everyone happy. What kind of happiness can you offer?

The Fittest Cities-They Are Worth Paying Attention To

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In June, American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) awarded their number-one ranking for fittest metropolitan area to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, for the third year in a row. Last week, Virginia Beach, Virginia, won Facebook’s number-one ranking for the same title.  But were these rankings based on the same factors and set to be used for the same purposes?  Club Industry took a good look at both claims and explained the differences. The ACSM based its list on factors like the level of chronic disease conditions, access to health care and community resources that support physical activity, number of pedestrians and bikers, and park-land as a percentage of city land area in the nation’s 50 biggest metro areas. Facebook based its list on number of fitness-related mentions, check-ins, and fitness apps used on the social networking site over three months for cities with at least 200,000 Facebook users.  ACSM’s list aims to help cities become healthier; Facebook’s aims to show how people use the site to track their fitness goals and progress.

So which is correct? And, more importantly, why should it matter to you?

Because the lists differ so vastly in their intents and criteria, it’s impossible to say one is right and the other is wrong.  Either way, they are both worth paying attention to, because they can help you make decisions about how to improve your gym or health center.

The main thing is to consider your own reasons for being interested. Do you want to know which cities have the most health clubs, so that you can better gauge where to open a new branch?  Take a look at Facebook’s list — it’ll give you a sense of where people in a given city are working out, what they like to do at the gyms they visit, and how close those gyms bring them to reaching their fitness goals.  Then, figure out how your facility might differentiate itself in a given market.

Or are you more interested in understanding what exercisers in your city are doing instead of checking in at the gym? Are there many public resources for fitness activities offered by the city? Perhaps they’re enrolling in free community yoga classes, or in group runs in the park. The ACSM list will help you there, and knowing which activities the general population is choosing can help you pinpoint areas you need to improve in your own business or offerings you might add.

What about cities that don’t make it on to either list? After Minneapolis-St. Paul, ACSM includes in its top ten, in order: Washington D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Hartford (Connecticut), Sacramento,  Portland (Oregon), Seattle, Denver, and Austin (Texas).

After Virginia Beach, Facebook includes, in order: Colorado Springs, Austin (Texas), San Antonio, Livingston (New Jersey), Portland (Oregon), El Paso, Oklahoma City, Tacoma, Washington, and Albuquerque. Pasadena, California, and Portland, Maine made it on to both lists.  Does that mean those might be cities worth venturing into, if you’re looking to expand your business? Are there markets in those cities and in others that don’t make the cut just waiting for a gym like yours to move in?

The Fittest Cities-They Are Worth Paying Attention To.  There’s rich information to be mined from each list, and your facility can only benefit from rich information.

Gadgets in the Gym

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Wristbands that count your steps, clothing that monitors your heartbeat, watches that know when you’re asleep — in a market continually and increasingly flooded with fitness gadgets, it’s useful to keep track of the latest ones and to consider what, if anything, is the role of gyms and fitness centers in relation to them. When your clients have them, how can — and should — you make use of them?

In a recent post on the American Council on Exercise’s website, Ted Vickey, the former executive director of the White House Athletic Center, reviews three such products, each of which has recently launched:

  • The Basis Watch
  • UnderArmour’s Armour39
  • The FitBit Flex

What these devices have in common is their on-body sensors which make them more accurate than mobile fitness apps.  Theses gadgets can track heart rate, number of steps, time, and even blood pressure.
All well and good, but again, as a gym or fitness center, or as a personal trainer or instructor, how can you help clients use such devices to get the most out of their workouts?

As with the data that basic exercise machines give about a workout, clients should be reminded to see their numbers in two ways: first, as monitors that tell them when they need to push harder and when they need to pull back; and second, as motivators. The best thing about workout-related numbers — whether they’re from an on-body sensor, a machine, a mobile app, or good, old-fashioned counting — is the encouragement they give individuals to compete with themselves. As a service provider in the fitness industry, you can help clients get the most from their gadgets by paying attention to the data their gadgets are tracking. Point out when a client has surpassed a personal best and provide tips for success to clients who are trying to reach a specific number.  You might even consider installing an on-the-wall chart that highlights the previous day’s highest numbers in various categories.

Moreover, know how to use the devices clients are using. Vickey has pursued a PhD in technology and fitness; that’s not an option for everyone, but you can still keep yourself up to date on what products are out there, how to use them, what the pros and cons of each one is, and which work best for which purposes (The American Council on Exercise’s website is a good place to start). Your clients come to your facility in part because they need the expertise of you and your staff; provide that expertise partly in the form of knowledge in not only fitness, but the gadgets in the gym.

adult-arm-art

The Real Issues Facing the Fitness Industry

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Sometimes, when I’m brainstorming posts for this blog, I look around on Google to get a sense of what people are thinking and talking about. Today, I was struck by what came up when I Googled “Fitness Industry Issues.” I was looking for topics of discussion, ideas, or observations, but almost the entire first page of results linked to long rants and complaints: “The Fitness Industry is Corrupt”, “The #1 Problem in the Fitness Industry”, “Things That Bug Me About the Fitness Industry.” Or, my personal favorite, “The Fitness Industry Is Dead.”

On the heels of a report by the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) that outlines the ways in which the fitness industry has grown recently, these headlines feel jarring. According to IHRSA, industry revenue reached $21.4 billion in 2011, with memberships totaling 51.4 million. Those numbers represent increases: 5 percent over 2010 in revenue and 2.4 percent over 2010 in memberships.

While the total number of health clubs saw only a marginal increase — 29,890 in 2010 compared with 29,960 in 2011 — dynamic changes at existing clubs have been underway over the past couple years, with more and more facilities devoting more and more time and space to functional fitness and to niche classes designed to fit specific needs of specific groups. Does that sound to you like an industry that’s dead? I didn’t think so. Of course, like any industry, it has its rough spots. So what are the rants and complaints? Here’s a brief synopsis:

1) Lack of Strict Regulation

Anyone can become a trainer, and even when a trainer is certified, “even highly regarded certification agencies are severely lacking in content and requirements.” In general, there’s very little integrity, research, continuing education, or professionalism.

2) Motivation Gets Lost Quick

#1 problem in the fitness industry is that people are not sufficiently motivated to workout, so overall enrollment in fitness programs remains low, and obesity levels remain high. Gyms and health clubs have not figured out yet how to make working out fun.

3) And Then The Generally Annoying Things…

Here are some of the generally annoying things in the fitness industry: (a) We’re too obsessed with achieving six-pack abs, (b) manufacturers spend to much time and energy trying to reinvent old equipment, and (c) too many personal trainers let clients dictate the course of their program. 4) The fitness industry is dead because fitness today is about achieving a certain look or weight instead of about performance. Honestly, I don’t get it. Certainly, some of the criticisms are worth considering, and it would be useful to start a productive dialog within the industry about those criticisms — perhaps a new industry conference devoted to dissecting the real problems and finding solutions.
But, in my opinion, most of these complaints are simply opinions based on anecdote rather than fact. The recent increases in revenue and membership speak for themselves, and the constant production of new classes that quickly become nationwide fads suggests a level of innovation in the field that is matched by the technology industry. Moreover, even if it can stand some improvement, why knock a field that is doing so much good for so many people, especially when we live in a nation where more than one-third of the population suffers from what is now officially considered the disease of obesity? I’m not saying don’t examine the problems; do, and then fix them.
But let’s avoid pointless rants and focus on the very good work that so many facilities accomplish. What are your thoughts? What are the real issues facing the fitness industry?

Preventing and Handling a Tragedy

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In February 2012, a tragic event occurred: A 22-year-old woman collapsed in a stall in the women’s locker room at a Planet Fitness in Bay Shore, New York. An hour later, she was dead. The family of the woman is now suing Planet Fitness, claiming that the sole staff member on site at the time did not help her. That staff member, according to reports, was male, and when he was alerted by a female member of the gym that a woman had collapsed, he replied that he was not allowed to enter the locker room.

Her death is a horrible and unfortunate thing (it turns out she had a heart attack, caused by an underlying condition that had never been diagnosed). It would have been horrible and unfortunate no matter where it occurred – but what if it had been at your facility? What would you do if a tragedy occurred at your gym or health club, and you were facing a lawsuit? What steps should you take? And, perhaps more importantly, how can you prevent such a thing from happening in the first place?

Prevention begins with preparation. If possible, always have at least one male and one female staff member on site at a given time. More importantly, make sure that all staff members know emergency procedures. Make sure they recognize when an emergency situation, such as the collapse of a gym member, trumps the usual rules, such as no men in the women’s locker room. Also, have on site at all times an automated external defibrillator (AED) and an employee who knows how to use it. Train your staff in first aid. Teach them that, if they’re wondering whether to call 911, it’s better to err on the side of overreacting.

If the worst thing happens despite your efforts, your attorneys will work hard to achieve fairness and keep your business going (make sure you have good ones). Meanwhile, focus your energy on open and honest communication with your members. Try to make sure they find out from you, before they find out from the media or from rumors, what happened. Be clear about any oversights that might have occurred on the part of your facility and explain the steps the facility will take to avoid such oversights in the future. Reassure them that your business will recover from any blows and will be stronger from the lessons learned, and apologize for any discomfort or doubt the incident might have caused. Invite them to speak with high-level staff members to share any concerns they might have.
If the press gets involved, follow the advice of your attorneys, of course. Convey as much detail about the situation as you are able to, with an emphasis on steps you are taking to fix any errors. Deal with reporters straightforwardly.

The tragic incident at the Bay Shore Planet Fitness will be remembered and mourned. It will also be learned from, assisting other gyms owners in preventing and handling a tragedy in the future.

The Best Approach To Providing Recovery Services

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This week, the IHRSA blog asks an interesting question: What is the industry standard when it comes to recovery services for members? How much is too much (or is there even, in this case, such a thing as “too much”)? What kinds of services should clubs offer, and how are they best implemented?

Christine Thalwitz, Director of Communications and Research at ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers, points out that it’s very common for fitness facilities to offer in-house massage and physical therapy services. These days, she says, a lot of clubs also offer acupuncture, aromatherapy, or chiropractic services, often through partnerships with local practitioners. But, what is the best approach to providing recovery services? Amenities should be FDA approved and meet safety standards, she cautions, and should be administered only under the direction of a qualified professional. The way to determine whether they’re the right services for your club, she says, is to measure their effects on your members. “While offering new and interesting products and services will capture the attention of your members and prospects, it is the ongoing satisfaction and positive outcomes that will determine the long-term success of the offering,” she says.

She has another good piece of advice too: “The types of amenities and services clubs adopt should be consistent with their mission, audience demographics and service model.” This might seem obvious, but given our culture’s “more is better” tendencies and the pressure to outshine competitors, it can be easy to pile on services your target audience does not necessarily want or need, or your mission does not call for. If you’re primarily a center for weight loss, do you need an aromatherapist on site? But if you’re a facility that, say, caters to the overall health and well-being of women, offering aromatherapy would probably be a good choice for you.

If you’re considering adding some recovery services but are unsure what would best suit your facility, poll your members. Ask them what they want to have on-site; you might think they’re looking for a chiropractor, when what they really long for is a certified physical therapist. When you get their answers, run with them; provide what they’re looking for (if you’re in a position to do so) and forget about the other extras. They’ll thank you for it.

At the same time, guard against getting caught up in the push to provide such services. Focusing on core competencies is sound business practice, and if you’re distracting yourself from providing the best basic services you can — safe, effective workout equipment, great classes, high-quality trainers — then all the recovery services in the world won’t mean a thing. Do what you do best first; discriminately add on other things later.

Adapting to Functional-Fitness Trends

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Last week, the New York Times ran an article about the functional-fitness trend. “Vintage exercise machines have recently become the padded shoulders of the workout world,” the article states, “swept aside for a fresher look.” In other words, out with the leg presses, biceps curlers, and seated torso rotations, and in with the kettlebells, medicine balls, and weighted sleds. Anything that gets you working out in ways devised to help you perform daily activities, like lifting, bending, and climbing stairs, constitutes the latest trend, the article says.

To experience the trend for herself, the writer of the piece, Julia Lawlor, signed up for a class at the UXF (“ultimate fitness experience”) Training Zone in the New York Sports Club at 59th Street and Park Avenue, in Manhattan. The class started out with jumping jacks, frog jacks, walkouts, and mountain climbers, she says, in addition to speed and agility drills.

After that, participants were asked to cycle through six exercises: a backward lunge with a kettlebell, a squat thrust, a swinging of the kettlebell from one hand into the other, an upper-body exercise using bands suspended from metal frames, a sled-pulling exercise, and a rope movement drill.  “I was breathless, my throat burned, and I felt as if I were slogging through mud,” Lawlor writes “…UXF, I concluded, really stands for ‘utter exhaustion and fatigue’ zone.”

But the fact is that, no matter how exhausting clients like Lawlor might find a functional-fitness workout, they keep coming back for more. The International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) concurs with the article, stating that workouts like the one Lawlor describes are taking over as a trend. “Functional-fitness workouts are pushing other workouts into the corner of clubs, and even out the door,” IHRSA wrote recently in a blog post.

For health clubs, this means facing a need to adapt. In the fitness industry, perhaps more than in other industries, service providers have no choice but to incorporate the latest fads into their facilities; they have to offer the classes and regiments that will bring members in. But does this mean that old standbys like the machines listed at the beginning of this post should be tossed out?

Probably not. While adaptation is necessary and creating a supply to meet demand is only healthy business practice, it is also the case that tried-and-true methods — like common workout machines, plain free weights, and even simple aerobics classes — have their place. Some members will always prefer a routine they are used to, rather than a trend they might fear will disappear soon or could be discredited by future research. The ideal for any club, of course, is to make room for both. One thing is for sure, as Julia Lawlor discovered: Adapting to functional-fitness trends is a must.

Obesity Is a Disease – What Does It Mean for the Fitness Industry?

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When I sat down to do some research before writing up this post today, I typed into Google, “Is obesity,” but before I could get any further, Google finished my question for me: “Is obesity a disease?” 61,600,000 pages came up when I hit enter. It’s the question everyone is asking — and now the American Medical Association (AMA) has answered it. On Tuesday, after considered debate, the physicians’ organization voted to extend official disease status to the condition. Yes, is the answer to the question. It’s a disease.

What this means for the medical community is immediately clear: Doctors will now be required to raise concerns about weight with obese patients and to prescribe a course of action to help treat it. As it is now, some doctors are reluctant to discuss obesity with patients, in part because addressing the issue can be a time-consuming process, the cost of which often is not covered by insurance companies. Now, with the AMA’s new designation, doctors will be professionally obligated to diagnose and treat the disease, which means insurance providers will feel greater pressure to provide reimbursements.

All well and good, but since obesity is a disease – what does it mean for the fitness industry? The implications are not so clear. The change could be very beneficial. With more than 78 million obese adults and 12 million obese children in the country, there is now a huge portion of the population — more than one-third — affected by what doctors consider a disease. Because this is a disease best treated, for most people, through changes in lifestyle that incorporate dietary overhaul and regular exercise, health clubs, gyms, and other fitness facilities stand to gain a slew of new members — members whose doctors will be monitoring them to make sure they’re sticking to their regiments.

While the AMA’s decision doesn’t require insurance companies to pay up, it does put pressure on them to do so. Does this mean that insurers will begin classifying obesity as a disease? And if they do, will they pay for gym memberships and personal training sessions? It’s possible, but if they do, the fitness industry could find itself bogged down in the same kind of paperwork that assails doctors’ offices, with only certain percentages of costs being covered and with endless red tape. Membership levels could rise, and rise dramatically, but membership could become a complicated new thing.

It’s impossible to know what all the ramifications will be, but now that the AMA has had a chance to debate the pros and cons and imagine a healthier future for obese people in this country, it’s time for the fitness industry to start a dialogue of its own. What does it mean for those of us who provide services that could potentially help a large number of disease-sufferers? What kind of relationship, if any, do we want to have with health insurance providers? How can we gear our businesses to be most beneficial to both diseased and healthy populations — while also remaining sound businesses? We need to start talking now.

Happy Employees Means A Healthy Business

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The fitness industry is winning accolades in the press these days. In this space a couple of weeks ago, we highlighted an article in Forbes that lauded the industry for its useful website content and its ability to make that content go viral. Now another magazine, Minnesota Business, offers praise of a different sort: Anytime Fitness has won recognition as the best Minnesota company to work for in the large business category.

Headquartered in Hastings, Minnesota, Anytime Fitness has 110 employees locally and more than 500 nationally. Each employee, first and foremost, receives a free gym membership. In addition, employees can take part in a special program that encourages them to try out a whole range of new activities, including, to name a few, onsite fitness boot camps, weight loss competitions, volunteer opportunities, skydiving, blood drives, and gardening. Thanks in part to the program, Anytime Fitness employees participated in more than 28 classes, wellness initiatives, activities, and charity programs in 2012.

The company makes relationship-building a priority. Through a peer lunch program, it pairs up two employees who do not interact with each other on a daily basis and sends them for an off-site lunch. Also, it hosts an annual conference, during which franchise employees, corporate staff, vendors, and members from all over the world come together to connect. Last year’s conference in Chicago saw more than 1,100 attendees, a record.

Finally, the company invests in its employees, encouraging professional development through a tuition reimbursement program and highlighting not an employee of the month but a “Hero of the Month.” What’s most appealing about the Hero of the Month program is that it calls for staff to nominate their peers for the title, encouraging not only pride in one’s own work, but also pride in one’s colleague’s work.

As with most fields, best practices — or, as I once heard a coworker say, “better practices”: “It’s more hopeful,” he explained, “because it implies that we can always find new and better ways” — all right then: As with most fields, better practices in the fitness industry are always worth studying. We all know that happy employees means a healthy business. Are there any Anytime Fitness practices you can adopt and adapt for your own fitness facility? If you do, who knows, you might find your business’s name splashed across a magazine one day too.

The Power of a Friendly Greeting

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Recently, IHRSA put forth an interesting argument in a blog post on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines website. It called, simply, for individuals to exercise in a way that makes them happy — as opposed to forcing themselves into one workout routine or another just because that routine is convenient or much talked about.

The suggestions for finding happy exercise are basic and sound: Work out with another person or other people, work out in an aesthetically pleasing environment. Because social engagement and beautiful spaces tend to increase happiness, IHRSA argues, designing an exercise routine that incorporates these elements might make people happier exercising, which in turn will keep them exercising.

But what really caught my attention was IHRSA’s third suggestion: As the blog post puts it, “Sometimes we want to go where everybody knows our name.” Besides cleverly working in a reference to the old T.V. show Cheers, this statement contains great truth. “The secret weapon of many successful health clubs is the friendly front-desk person who seems genuinely pleased to see you and greets you by name,” the post states. “It’s nice to feel welcomed and valued. That quick interaction makes us feel happy and more likely to seek out a similar interaction in the future.”

We’ve said similar things in this space before, but it really cannot be overstated: If you have a friendly staff, especially a friendly front desk staff, your members are going to walk away with positive impressions — even if it’s been a bad workout day, or if other elements of your facility do not meet their standards. And positive impressions become referrals. They become renewals. They become word-of-mouth praise. Their value is immense.

At my gym, unfortunately, the front desk staff is not overly friendly. They’re not mean, but they don’t smile automatically when they see a client walk in, they certainly don’t greet anyone by name, and they don’t thank anyone just for checking in. Forget any efforts to make small talk, or to get you to smile, or laugh, or generally just to relax and enjoy yourself. The towel attendants in the locker room are a different story. There’s one woman in particular, Asha, who smiles broadly each time someone walks in. “Welcome!” she says (and often that’s “Welcome, Marjorie!” or “Welcome, Maria!” or welcome any of the other seemingly hundreds of clients whose name she knows). She’ll ask how you’re doing; she’ll make a joke about the sweat-quotient in the gym that day; she’ll tell you you’re looking good and you better keep it up. I swear, some of my fellow gym-goers find the motivation to go only because Asha makes it seem like she’s waiting for them.

At any rate, IHRSA is right: It’s important for people to exercise in ways that make them happy. Your task is to find out those ways and incorporate them. Start with your front desk staff by teaching them how the power of a friendly greeting can make a difference; you’ll be happy you did.

The Early Bird Catches the Great Deal

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I’ve always wondered how it feels to get in a good workout at 3 a.m. I don’t belong to a 24-hour gym, though, so there isn’t much of an opportunity for me to try. But this winter I came close. My gym launched a “sunrise special” for early birds: For $29 extra a month, members could access the facility starting at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. on weekends. As a pilot program, it ran only January through April, but I’m hoping it starts up for good soon; I loved waking up with the birds and finishing my whole drill before most other people were even reaching for their snooze buttons.

You might want to think about instituting such a program for your facility, if you don’t have one already. The extra cost associated with doing so is relatively small – personnel-related, mainly – but there’s a potential for some nice new revenue. Most members won’t mind the cost (at my gym, less than a dollar a day) when the pay-off is an uncrowded cardio room, no one to jostle with on the machines, and the opportunity to accomplish the day’s exercise before work and other demands kick in.

If you’re worried about that uncrowded cardio room, fear not: chances are enough members will want to take advantage of the program to make it worthwhile. I know that even when I reached the gym right at 5 a.m. when the sunrise special was on, there were always a few other people (sleepily) stumbling in with me. The stream was small but steady throughout the morning — not enough to make me feel like I had to battle for equipment, but just enough so that I never felt I was there on my own. In fact, it was a little bit like a secret club; the other members and I would acknowledge each other with a knowing smile that seemed to say, “So you’ve figured out that this is a great deal too, eh?” And with a program like this, incentives work well: Come ten times before 7 a.m. and receive a free massage, or something along those lines.

Try an Early Bird type program. Your members will love you for it.

Reality Television and You

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We live in interesting times. The convergence of reality television with the national obesity crisis and a new level of health obsession has created opportunities for the fitness industry that never existed before. Last month, CBS’s Undercover Boss featured the CEO and founder of New-Jersey based Retro Fitness; last year, the CEO of Modell’s sporting goods shop appeared on the show. Now, a new season of Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition is starting up on ABC, and exercise technology company NuStep has a product in the limelight.

Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition documents the year-long efforts of eight men and women who are at least 200 pounds overweight to lose half of their body weight while continuing to live at home. Each participant’s home is modified to include a dedicated exercise area, and each area includes a NuStep T5xR Recumbent Cross Trainer.

With potentially hundreds of thousands of viewers, that’s a lot of exposure for NuStep’s product, just as the Undercover Boss episodes offered exposure for Retro Fitness and Modell’s, and just as other reality television programs — including NBC’s The Biggest Loser, A&E’s Heavy, and MTV’s I Used To Be Fat — have offered exposure to other clubs, to trainers, to a range of players in the fitness industry.

What does this mean for you? Of course, you can’t just up and appear on a reality television show any time you please. But you can, perhaps, capitalize on the stir of interest in and excitement about these programs. Here are a few ideas:

  1. You might consider running a mini-version of one in your own facility: ask overweight members or regular clients to consider signing up for a year-long program dedicated to helping them lose a certain number of pounds, or a certain percentage of their body weight. Choose a handful to participate in the program, and then give them their fifteen minutes of fame in your club. You can hang up their pictures, along with brief profiles and their stated weight-loss goals, and you can post their progress each month. You can feature them in newsletters and website spots, and you can host a ceremony honoring their efforts at the end of the year. Not everyone will want to be in the spotlight in this kind of way, but some people might find it incredibly motivating — and the program could pay off for you by garnering local attention, new referrals, and new members who want to participate in such a program themselves.
  2. If you have the staff know-how, you could consider actually making a reality tv show of your own, or some version of one, and posting it on your website. It needn’t be national-network quality, and these days a decent smartphone and a video-editing software program can produce a pretty impressive, very watchable video. You would probably want to do it on a smaller scale, featuring, perhaps, ten-minute segments. And you wouldn’t have to limit the theme of the show to weight-loss; any theme that makes sense for your facility could work, or even a weekly “show” that just highlights a different part of the facility each time, or a different staff member. You’re limited only by your imagination here.
  3. It might, in fact, be possible for your facility, or for one of your trainers or members, to land a spot on a reality tv show! Many of the shows that are out there (and, again, not just the ones having to do with weight-loss) have simple, web-based procedures for applying to appear on the show. In an article about Mitchell Modell, the CEO who appeared on Undercover Boss, Modell was quoted as saying, “I tell everybody: If you’re fortunate enough to be on Undercover Boss, do it in a heartbeat.” He describes the experience as having been not only good for business, but also life-changing. Why not look into it?

Reality Television and You: the results could be unimaginably rewarding.

Want to Retain Your Clients? Motivate Them

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Back in the fall, when I joined my current gym, I signed up for a free training session. The trainer I was assigned, Cliff, was friendly, knowledgeable, kind, and encouraging. I met with him twice. I felt I could learn a lot from him — if nothing else, I found him motivating, and I knew I needed motivation — so I intended to meet with him again, but, somehow, I didn’t manage to. (As I’ve confessed before in this space, my gym-going became — I don’t want to say a complete fantasy, but it certainly didn’t happen too often.)

Recently, thanks to my gym’s cheerful and persistent fitness concierge, I worked up the courage to return to my old routine. On my first day back, I didn’t see Cliff. Honestly, I was a little worried about seeing him. Would he grill me about why I hadn’t been there for so long? Would he take it personally? Would he think badly of me, or judge me in some other way? On the other hand, he probably wouldn’t even recognize me. I’d met him only twice, and I hadn’t shown my face there in several months.

On my second day back, I walked in, and the first person I saw was Cliff. “Hello!” he said to me, grinning broadly. He came over and high-fived me. “I haven’t see you in a while!” “I know,” I said sheepishly, and I launched into some kind of pathetic excuse. “Aw, that’s all right,” Cliff said, chucking me on the shoulder. “You’re here now, right?” “Right,” I said. “Well, get to it!” Cliff said, tossing me another grin and leaving me to do my thing.

That was all I needed. I worked out harder that day than I had on my first day back. Now I notice that each time I go, if Cliff is there my workout is better (we usually give each other a little wave when I walk in). If he’s not there, I think about him, not even about what his expectations for me are, but about the fact that he has somehow become a partner in my success, someone who’s in it with me, and I find myself pushing harder.

This is what a good trainer does. He or she makes your clients feel like they’re not alone in their endeavors. It’s extraordinarily motivating to believe that someone cares about what you’re doing, cares and believes that you can do it (and will tell you, when you need to be told, to get to it). Finding motivation can be one of the hardest parts of sustaining an exercise routine — and your clients sustaining an exercise routine means your membership retention rates staying high. You can help them (and help yourself) by providing staff members who will inspire motivation in them — staff members like Cliff, or like my fitness concierge: smiling, caring, sympathetic, encouraging people who prod clients, spur them on, welcome them back (and even recognize them!). I’m pretty sure now that when my membership expires, my gym will find it’s had no problem retaining me.

Bottom line – if you want to retain your clients? Motivate them!

Keep Your Content Viral

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A couple weeks ago, Forbes ran an interesting article about getting online content noticed. “Want to make your content go viral?” the article asked. “Take a lesson,” it advised, “from”—and here’s the interesting part—“the fitness industry.”

The article noted that, while there is a lot of miracle-diet and exercise-fad gimmickry out there, the fitness industry offers up some genuinely rich and helpful Internet content, including workout videos, guidelines for better ways to work out, and tips for metabolism-boosting diets. In order to get the good information noticed, the article says, new types of fitness experts have emerged: “individuals who exist across the online and physical worlds and operate as equal parts trainer, writer, and social media guru.”

The article cites Jonathan Goodman, a Toronto-based trainer and founder of an online portal for trainers to share advice. “Fitness sells on emotion,” Goodman told Forbes, “and sharing content on social media relies on eliciting emotional responses. There’s a lot of carry-over there. How can you give people the opportunity to selectively self-represent through sharing your material?”

First, pat yourself on the back for belonging to an industry Forbes says other industries can learn from. Then, reinforce for yourself the lesson you’re teaching others, the one Goodman so succinctly sums up: The way to get people to share your material is to keep in mind that anyone spreading your content is telling his or her entire social media network something about him or herself—reposting it becomes a self-representation. Therefore, the way to ensure your content is widely shared is to forge content that is going to make people proud of themselves. Before you tweet about a new workout regimen or put up a Facebook post highlighting the routine of one of your star trainers, ask yourself whether the material is something others might identify with. You might want to imagine various people you know. Would your brother share it? Your aunt? Your next door neighbor’s girlfriend? Her physician? Her physician’s office manager?

The point is, if you’re visualizing who might share your stuff, you’ll get closer to your intended audience—and you might strike just the right note so that your stuff actually does get shared. This is really the best thing social media can do for you: make your content viral. Once it’s out there to hundreds or thousands or who-knows-how-many people, your brand acquires a unique sort of force; you become a voice of authority.

Having one of those new types of fitness experts in your corner helps. You want someone who, like Goodman, is a writer and social media wiz, with the knowledge and experience to back-up what he’s writing about. If you don’t currently have a person like this on staff at your gym or fitness facility, consider creating a position for one. Once he or she starts getting the right kind of content up on your website and social media channels, you’ll become exactly one of those fitness industry entities Forbes considers a successful model.  And remember – keep your content viral!

An Innovative Idea — and the Benefits of Sharing It

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Recently, Colleen Kennedy, the director of membership at The Houstonian Club, wrote a blog about an innovative sales program at her Houston-based fitness facility. They call it The Houstonian Lotto, and Kennedy says that it has been instrumental in increasing both sales and referrals. She also says that it’s a program any club can duplicate — and that it costs little.

It works like an actual lotto. For a specific period of time — one month, say — members receive a sealed envelope when they provide a referral, and new members receive the same when they sign up. The envelope contains a certificate for a prize. One lucky member will receive the top prize, and the rest second and third prizes. The prizes offered will depend on the club’s business model and member demographics, Kennedy says. As she puts it, “For clubs with moderate initiation fees and dues…, the top prize could be one year’s free dues, with second and third prizes of, respectively, a free fitness evaluation or a smoothie at the health bar. For clubs with higher initiation fees and dues, the top prize could be 30 percent off the initiation fee, with second and third prizes, respectively, of two months’ free dues or a free personal training session.”

For the program to work, Kennedy says, the enrollment period to participate must be short; the number of envelopes available must be limited (for example, she says, 25 if your marketing plan stipulates acquiring 30 new members that month); and the program must be marketed to your membership, prospects, the community, and your sales force with great enthusiasm.

Great idea, right? But what I like most about Kennedy’s blog post is the fact that she wrote it. All fitness facilities and health clubs can benefit from fresh ideas for inventive, inexpensive programs that boost sales and referrals (not to mention retention). The best way to gain new ideas is to talk openly with others who are in the same boat.

Kennedy’s post is detailed and generous, and it even includes her email address for anyone who has questions. When this kind of sharing happens in the industry, everyone wins (or, to continue with the nautical metaphor, a rising tide lifts all boats). Feel free to share your own ideas — whether about programs that have proven successful or about ones you have yet to test — in the comments section here. We all want to know about them.

Matching Clients with Trainers

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Recently, the fitness concierge at my gym sent me an email to remind me that I still had one free orientation session to use. When I joined last year, I was given two. I used the first one right away but forgot about the second, and I appreciated the reminder, not only because I didn’t want to let such a gift go to waste, but also, embarrassingly, because it had been a while since I’d made it to the gym. I needed that refresher course.

The trainer assigned to my case was a sweet, older man who looked like he might be on the verge of retirement (or perhaps even past the typical age). He clearly knew his business, and yet I wondered whether I might not be better off with a trainer who “matched” me more than that one did. Would a woman, and one closer to me in age (let’s just say I’ll soon turn 39 — again) know more instinctively what kinds of exercises I’m most in need of? Would someone who is also the mother of a young child have a sense of the constraints I face and help me figure out a work-out plan accordingly? Would someone a little, er, rounder in the thighs (and elsewhere) have more specific experience that could push me to reach my goals more quickly?

Maybe not. But it got me thinking about how we choose trainers when a member or client calls and wants a consultation. At my gym, the process is random — you get whoever’s available during a given timeslot. A better way to do it might be to ask some questions before pairing a customer with a trainer: age, gender, height, weight, body type, health issues, goals, special concerns or considerations. I did fill out a questionnaire that elicited this sort of information — but only after I’d arrived at the gym for my session.

I liked my trainer, but I have to admit that when he gave me the hard sell at the end, trying to convince me that I should sign up for a three-session training package with him, I declined. Maybe if I’d filled out that questionnaire beforehand and been assigned to a trainer who was a better match for me, I would have shelled out the money. Honestly, I could really benefit from those sessions — just not, I think, with that sweet, older man. If you are interested in learning more about effective examples of personal trainer software, we recommend signing up for a free demonstration.

Don’t Let the Lovely Weather Get You Down

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After a debilitating hurricane in the fall and a seemingly endless winter, spring finally has arrived in New York City. The trees poking up from the sidewalk have fully let their green hair down; Central Park is overflowing with tulips, bluebells, pansies, and forsythia; and exercisers are out in droves. Yes, all those people who spent the long, inhospitable months of fall and winter in the gym are now donning their jogging shoes and mounting their bicycles. They want to feel the warmth of the sun as they work out. They want fresh air.

All well and good, but what does this mean for you and your business? Maybe you survive on year-long membership fees, and you don’t get so worried when people don’t show up to work out—they’ve already paid their dues, after all. But what if your mainstay is monthly fees or per-session fees? Even if your facility does have the security of long-term membership payments, what if, when it comes time to renew, all those enthusiastic lovers of the great outdoors remember how they didn’t really ever go to the gym from mid-April through mid-October? What if they don’t want to “waste” that money again?

It boils down, really, to one question: How do you keep people coming to your facility when glorious weather comes and the great outdoors beckons?

The answer is pretty simple: Give them what they can’t get out there. And what is it that they can’t get? In your facility, they can probably jog on a treadmill, ride a bike, use the Stairmaster. But they can jog, bike, and climb stairs outside. They can take free weights outside. These days, it’s even pretty easy to find any number of classes you can take outside. But there are two things they can’t get outside: machines and that one instructor or trainer you have who is a powerhouse of magnetism and charm, who gets everyone moving faster and forgetting their self-consciousness, who pays attention to each person in the room with a smile and a charisma that rival that warm sun in the sky.

Machines are easy: Offer people incentives to come and use them. Most people don’t have them at home—at least, not ones like the ones you have in your facility—and, if they did, they certainly couldn’t lug them outside. So give them extra reasons to use yours (a free session with a trainer? points toward an extra month of membership? a week’s worth of beverages from the juice bar?).

As for that one instructor or trainer who is a powerhouse etc., employ that person as much as possible. Don’t just put him or her in front of a Zumba class — station him or her in the cardio center. Have him shout out encouragement to everyone on the ellipticals and stationary bicycles. Tell her to turn her smile on to everyone who walks into the room. Have him or her learn members’ names — in short, let that person do his or her thing to the utmost of his or her ability. With any business, it’s the people who count, who instill loyalty, who make customers want to come back. If you don’t have an instructor or trainer who matches this description, find one, pronto. And then laugh when it’s a gorgeous, sunny, seventy-degree day, because your facility is going to be packed, regardless.

What Mothers Really Want

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Mother’s Day is a holiday that always makes me cringe a little bit (and not just because I’ve usually forgotten to send a card to my mom). What I don’t like about it is that it encourages showering mothers with gifts we really, truth be told, don’t need. Flowers, chocolates, breakfast in bed? No. What every mother I know truly needs, more than anything else, is time — and, in particular, time to work out.

There are a lot of activities a mother can, and does, learn to do with her children: cleaning the house, cooking, getting groceries, going to the doctor, even completing part-time work. But working out is a different matter. You can run around with your kids, sure, or jog alongside as they ride their bikes, but the focus necessarily is the kids and their needs. In order to get a true, satisfying, fully beneficial workout, a mother needs to go it alone, but daily demands on the schedule often make carving out time impossible.

What can your gym do to help? The best thing would be providing childcare for the length of a class or workout session. If this is an option for your facility, consider giving your clients who are mothers a voucher for a free or discounted babysitting session this Mother’s Day. If you don’t have the capacity to provide childcare, how about making available class packages that never expire (allowing mothers, for example, to purchase ten classes but not specifying that those classes must be used in a month or six months or some other period of time). You might also consider offering more classes during school hours. I love my gym, but it offers most classes in the morning, when I need to work, and in the evenings, when I’m home with my son. What I long for is yoga or Pilates or cycling at 2 p.m. — but between the hours of 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. there are generally very few choices.

One of the reasons I feel strongly about the need to make it easy for mothers to get to the gym is that mothers are particularly susceptible to unhealthy habits. We gulp down a few quick bites on the run, or we grab pizza because it’s what our kids our eating (but our bodies sure don’t process the pizza like our kids’ bodies do). We take care of everyone else and forget to take care of ourselves. We prioritize household chores over working out.

Caitlin Moran, a comedian, writer, and feminist thinker, points out another, more serious problem that many women who are caretakers face: “Overeating is the addiction of choice among carers,” she writes in her excellent book How to Be a Woman. “… It’s a way of [messing] yourself up while still remaining fully functional, because you have to…, [of] slowly self-destructing in a way that doesn’t inconvenience anyone.” It’s true: a lot of women who overeat do it because the stress of being a “carer” drives them to seek some kind of outlet, but a kind that won’t cause dramatic trauma, as a drug or alcohol addiction might. For such mothers, the ability to work out would make a world of difference. Your facility can help by helping them find the time to focus on fitness.

Workers Need You

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Yesterday was International Workers’ Day, a holiday created to commemorate Chicago’s Haymarket Affair of 1886 and the events leading up to it. The long and short of it is this: in 1867, the federal government passed a law guaranteeing federal employees an eight-hour work day; all Illinois workers were covered by a similar law. But the government failed to enforce its own law, and workers in Illinois were forced to sign waivers of the law as a condition of employment. So, on May 1, 1886, labor leaders organized a protest to demand adherence to the eight-hour rule. It ended badly, a few days later, with riots, police killing protestors, and someone throwing a bomb into the crowd.

What does all this have to do with anything? Well, it seemed like a good day to talk about a recent study that found out what today’s employees desire most: onsite fitness facilities. In a way, this could speak to the failure of the demand for eight-hour days so long ago; although eight hours is still the law, millions of salaried workers work ten- or twelve-hour days, or even longer, and just a few months ago Eric Cantor, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, called for ending overtime pay for hourly workers. Clearly, employees need a way to shake off the stress of their long days.

But more than that, it speaks to our present-day understanding of how crucial fitness is to health, and the link between fitness and productivity. According to the results of a survey, titled Principal Financial Well-Being Index: American Workers, twenty-five percent of workers who did not have an onsite fitness facility in 2012 wanted one, up from 19 percent in 2011. (The second most desired benefit was fitness center discounts; twenty-three percent of workers who did not have an onsite fitness facility in 2012 wanted those).

Now, only 12 percent of workers who participated in the survey said their company offers an onsite fitness center. What does this mean? There’s a demand for your services, and so far the demand is going unmet. Have you visited local companies to talk to Human Resources folk about how you might be able to help keep their employees happy, either by bringing your business into their building or offering discounts and opportunities in your facility? If not, it’s time to think about doing so. And then go ahead and knock off of work early today—you’ve probably been there for too long already anyway.

Outdoor Fitness Classes

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One thing I love about summer in New York City is the outdoor yoga classes everywhere. When the weather gets warm, in every small patch of green you can find, there’s a yoga studio or fitness facility or health advocacy group that has set up shop in the great outdoors, and you can breathe deeply (though maybe you don’t want to breathe too deeply) while the everyday noise and pollution and excitement and chaos swirl all around you. And it’s not just yoga, and not just in New York: Outdoor fitness classes are a trend all around the country.

In some places, this is becoming a problem. Cities with large numbers of organized outdoor exercise classes have found that ordinary citizens who use city parks for strolling around or relaxing in some other way often dislike these classes. City council and staff members hear complaints about noise, about private instructors profiting from public land, about damage to turf and amenities — the list goes on and on.

As a result, some cities are putting in place policies to regulate commercial use of park space by fitness groups. Last year in Austin, Texas, for example, the Parks and Recreation Department instituted regulations that require fitness groups to purchase six-month permits for $50 if they want to convene a class in the park. Instructors who serve more than four clients per month in the park are required to pay 45 cents per day, per client. The permits limit classes to 34 of the city’s 250 parks. They prohibit participants from attaching exercise equipment to trees, handrails, and other park fixtures, and also from bringing heavy-duty exercise equipment, like tractor tires, ropes, or cables into the park.

As permits go, there’s no norm. What costs $50 in Austin costs $500 in Henderson, Nevada. In Los Angeles, the fee is $60 per hour. Santa Monica’s city council has been considering instituting a permit system as well, after receiving many complaints from non-exercisers wanting to keep the park class-free. Right now, the city is considering an annual fee of about $100, plus a 10 to 15 percent cut of gross receipts (which is similar to what private surf or tennis instructors pay when they use city-owned beaches or courts).

Some fitness instructors feel the fees are unfair—that all taxpayers, including small-business owners, should have a right to use the park space as they like, as long as they’re doing it respectfully. City councils argue that, no matter how respectful an exercise class is, its wear and tear on a park exceeds that of a dog-walker or strolling couple. Others in the fitness industry feel the permits are beneficial—they give classes held in regular places at regular times priority over other activities and protect them from interruption.

So are permits for outdoor fitness classes in public spaces a good idea or a bad idea? I know I want to keep doing my yoga under the sky either way—and I might even pay a little extra for the class if I knew the instructor had a permit fee to cover.

If you are a yoga company that offers outdoor yoga classes, make sure to check out our yoga studio software to schedule instructor times and membership check-in.

When the Boss Does the Dirty Work

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Did you hear about Eric Casaburi? He’s the CEO and founder of New Jersey-based Retro Fitness, and on Friday night he appeared on CBS’s Emmy award-winning reality TV show, Undercover Boss. The show features senior executives working undercover in their own companies to investigate on-the-ground operations in their firms.
In the episode, Casaburi poses as Barry Goshe, an employee being trailed by a film crew because he’s trying to land a spot on a game show. Casaburi grew a beard, dyed it for the role, and donned a wig. He also wore padding under his shirt so he wouldn’t look suspiciously in shape.

Disguised as an employee, Casaburi did everything, including hanging heavy bags, cleaning dumbbell racks, leading sales tours, and making prospecting phone calls. He faced a few challenging situations: a failed sales attempt, a disaster at the juice bar, the need to keep his mouth shut when a fellow employee told him that sometimes she wants to punch customers in the face. (Happily, to make up for that, he also met an employee who credits Retro Fitness with having changed his life.)

Casaburi told the online fitness industry news outlet Club Industry that appearing on the show was his own life-changing experience. “No one is going to try to let the ball drop when they’re juggling when you’re there. But when you go in as an undercover guy…everybody is themselves, and you learn more,” he said.

Those are the words that caught my attention. Obviously, not every health club CEO can go undercover in his or her own facility, but thinking about Casaburi’s experience made me wonder what would happen if every boss took more time out to be on the ground. It’s true, you might see everybody on their best behavior, without getting to witness who they are when you’re not around, but you’d probably still garner a sense of how things work day-to-day, what needs improving, which employees need some encouragement, and which ones deserve recognition for hard work.

What if you put on an apron and got behind your own juice bar? What if you took over front-desk duties for a day? Maybe you’d set an example for your employees; seeing you getting your hands dirty with the nitty-gritty work might inspire them to work harder. Or what if you gave tours to prospective clients for a day? How impressed might they be, knowing that you care enough about what you do to meet with them face-to-face? Or, what if you actually could go undercover in your facility for a day? What kind of knowledge might you gain to help you improve your business?

Casaburi’s experience was something of a spectacle (and fun to watch). Yours might be quieter, less sensational, more like reality than reality TV — but it could still be extremely effective. Give it a try. Let us know how it goes.

Finding Inspiration to Achieve Your Goals

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I recently set a goal for myself: an hour of yoga everyday. It sounds achievable enough, but with work, child-rearing, and millions of other demands on my time (okay, maybe only thousands. Hundreds? Dozens? I don’t know, but it all seems like too much), I’ve failed miserably. I always seem to find some convincing excuse not to do it.

Then I heard about Augie Nieto. Of course, Nieto is a big name in this industry, well known as the chairman of the board of Octane Fitness and the founder of the fitness equipment company Life Fitness — and as a man who, eight years ago, at the age of 47, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Lou Gehrig’s is a devastating illness. Causing damage to motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, it shrinks muscles and renders them weak, gradually leading to total, or near total, paralysis. About half of people with the illness die within three years of being diagnosed; 20 percent die within five years. It’s worth noting, though, that Stephen Hawking, the most prominent sufferer of the disease, has lived with it for fifty years.

It looks like Nieto is following in Hawking’s footsteps. He set a goal to last for a long time. And not only to last, but also to help find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease — and to keep himself as fit as possible. Thus, even though he uses a wheelchair, relies on a breathing machine, and is unable to speak, Nieto regularly works out. (This in addition to making appearances at events like the IHRSA International Convention and Trade Show, where a benefit event drew 700 people and raised money for Augie’s Quest, the nonprofit research foundation Nieto founded with the Muscular Dystrophy Association.)

How does he work out? Last year, he began training on a custom-made Life Fitness leg press machine. Now, every other day, he performs three sets of 20 reps at 120 pounds on the machine. He also uses a custom xRide bike from Octane Fitness. With it, a motor moves leg and arm pedals to get him started, but he eventually overpowers the motor and pushes the pedals himself. (At the IHRSA convention, he did so in front of a large crowd at Octane’s exhibit booth — for twenty minutes!)

Did I mention that Nieto’s foundation has raised $37 million dollars for research into cures for Lou Gehrig’s disease? And that, since his diagnosis, he’s written two books? Suffice it to say that Nieto is an inspiration, and not only for those of us who are lucky enough to have relatively good health and yet still find excuses not to do yoga everyday, or not to meet other goals we might set for ourselves. He is a man whose determination to achieve his goals never ceases, and who therefore, simply put, achieves them.

So what are your goals, personally or for your gym or fitness facility? What are your excuses for not achieving them? I’ll leave you ponder the answers to those questions while I go unroll my yoga mat….

Helping Others Heal

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For years now, studies have reported that exercise eases the effects of trauma. Though it’s not always easy to predict how trauma will affect an individual, it’s a nearly universal law that regular exercise will help individuals manage their reactions to trauma. Doctors recommend workout routines for veterans returning from war and others who might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and coaches know that the best morale-booster for athletes who have recovered from an injury is to get back into the game.

Chances are, therefore, that if you own or manage a fitness center, at least some of your clients are there because they’re struggling to overcome some experience of trauma, whether physical or emotional, small-scale or large-scale.

You’ve probably guessed by now what I’m working up to here. A few days ago, in Boston, thousands of people experienced a large-scale trauma. Thousands of others around the country, and around the world, watched with horror and anxiety as events unfolded.

In this instance, many of the people involved already know the benefits of exercise. They were, of course, runners. They were personal trainers. They were tennis pros and fitness directors and health club maintenance workers. They were also just people who appreciate the discipline, hard work, and determination that go into marathon running, the beautiful, triumphant spectacle of the whole thing.

How are all of these people going to heal? Exercise helps, we know — but what if exercise is the thing associated with the trauma? Will runners want to continue running? Will people training for future marathons be too scared to continue? Can exercise still heal when it was exercise that gave a platform to the trauma in the first place?
Given the results of most studies on exercise and trauma, the answer is probably yes. But what can you do to help?

The bombings at the Boston Marathon directly affect the fitness industry; it only makes sense that the fitness industry should respond. Were any of your members running in the marathon? If so, give them a hero’s welcome home, or maybe just have your membership services staff reach out to them personally. Whether you had clients involved or not, can you offer a discount for the month in honor of the people who were killed or injured? Do you have the resources to bring in a social worker or trauma expert to give a talk to the community about the bombings?

Whatever you do, your efforts will be felt by your community — merely seeing your facility respond in some way can help initiate healing for those who need it. And you might find some of them realizing that exercise could help further their healing, and signing up for a class or two — or a run around the track.

Health Clubs and Property Taxes

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There’s been a lot of talk recently about Rodney Steven II, owner of Genesis Health Clubs in Wichita, Kansas. Steven has been fighting local YMCAs that receive tax-exempt status, arguing that the Ys have an unfair advantage over for-profit health clubs that pay property taxes.

Last month, by a 25-14 vote, a bill passed in the Kansas Senate that would exempt for-profit health clubs from paying property taxes. The exemption reportedly applies to health clubs that focus on cardio and strength equipment but not specialty clubs, such as golf courses, spas, and tennis facilities. The bill is now in a House-Senate conference committee, and will presumably be taken up again when the Kansas Legislature resumes its current session on May 8th, after a break.

What people have been debating is, first of all, whether the votes in favor are legit. Some critics have accused Steven of having bought the vote, as his company donated at least $45,000 to Kansas Senate Republicans during their campaigns over the past two years. Twenty of the 24 senators who received contributions from his company voted for the bill, according to reports. (Steven, refuting any connection between his donations and the votes, has pointed out that he’s been politically active for years, that no bill had been written when the donations were made, and that some senators who voted for the bill did not receive any contributions.)

Critics also have argued that the bill would have an impact on local school and municipal budgets that collect property tax money, and that private golf clubs, child-care centers, waste collection companies, and generally any private entity that competes with municipal services might find themselves freed of the obligation to pay property taxes if the bill passes.

But, as Steven told the online fitness business news source Club Industry, “Even municipal golf courses in Kansas are required to collect and pay some taxes. Not every non-profit in Kansas is tax-exempt. Only non-profit and municipal health clubs are 100 percent exempt from collecting and/or paying any taxes. This unique exemption was granted to non-profit health clubs in 1998 by the Kansas Legislature.” And, Steven says, “The Legislature needs to fix their creation of this inequity.”

What do you think? Is the 1998 law unfair? Should for-profit health clubs be required to pay property taxes if nonprofit and municipal clubs are not? Instead, should YMCAs, as one senator suggested, be required to pay property taxes? If the bill passes, will the door be opened for other organizations that compete with municipal services to claim exemption? And might schools and other municipal services be negatively impacted if they are?

What are your own experiences with property taxes?