Thinking of adding a new space at your club for fitness or improving a current space? There are some things we can learn from commercial facilities that will help us navigate the waters of setting up a facility and designing programming. Commercial clubs try to offer something for everyone, however, because of this quality gets lost in the process. Check out the tips below to determine the do’s and don’ts learned from commercial fitness.
Do’s
Provide versatile, multi-purpose equipment. Commercial gyms have the space to provide hundreds of options of selectorized equipment, cardio machines, and other pieces, however, maintenance and cleanliness is often an issue due to the volume of equipment and usage. Keep your equipment well maintained and consider leasing key pieces of equipment so you can provide the latest and greatest equipment every several years. This will allow you to continue to provide best in class products to your members while keeping maintenance costs low.
Leverage quality staff and programming. Commercial gyms constantly battle high turnover which hinders the quality of programs and classes. Private clubs generally see less turnover and staff are able to develop and maintain relationships and deliver more custom programming that appeals to the member base.
Don’ts
Try to provide something for everyone. While it important to have versatile equipment and dynamic programming, you will never please everyone. Instead, determine what is popular amongst your members and key in on those things to be successful.
Focus too much on sales. Many commercial fitness facilities focus on volume and with this comes sales quota. This hinders the ability to connect with members and make true impacts on their lives. Members join private clubs as a way to escape and they will be reluctant to visit your fitness center if they feel they are going to constantly be given the sales pitch. Allow staff to create authentic relationships to drive program engagement.
Forget about the “little things”. Commercial fitness is unable to keep up the quality of their standards and facilities. Remember the importance of the little things such as keeping your facility clean and organized, having staff know every member by name, and upkeeping locker rooms and the fitness floor so members know they can expect a quality experience every time they visit