Health Club News Stories! Visit www.HealthClubNews.com

Health Club News The most up to date health club news as it's reported. Health Club News brings you the latest breaking fitness news. Health Club Opening Announcements, Public works of fitness centers, Club closures, Fitness mergers, buyouts, fitness franchise information and so much more. Thank you www.fitnesslifemarketing.com for your sponsorship. For some time, I have been asking myself: Why can we only draw and keep 14 percent of the total population inside our doors? Given that we have greater exercise technology, more advanced trainers and instructors, greater awareness of the benefits of fitness, and government and societal support for exercise, why do we labor at keeping people engaged in physical pursuits? Some obvious answers have been offered over the years : people have become too dependent on machines and technology; trainers and instructors have gravitated towards individual enterprises for the most part; while fitness benefits are on the rise, the eating of fats and sugars is on a faster incline; and the industry has paid too much attention to the sale of new memberships and not enough on retention. All of the above are true. But so what? Our industry is making little difference except with those who are already active and thus “in the choir” or with those who want to give fitness a try but invariably exit after a two- to three-year period. Consider these questions: What if our present clubs are the end of the first generation of fitness facilities? What if what we offer in our facilities no longer meets the needs or wants of the majority of consumers? What if our fitness-delivery systems are in opposition to the needs systems of the average consumer? What if our methodology of physical training does not even come close to what we should be doing with members?   If our facilities no longer meet the needs of the majority , then what will the club of the future look like? We have spent gazillions of dollars on design and ambience, yet it hasn't had more than a temporary effect. Are we trying to contain fitness within our four walls and thus missing another market? It seems that with a lowered first-time-in joining rate and the lowest response-to-advertising percentage of the entire decade that facilities are creating a prohibition to participation.   If our clubs are, in fact, the culmination of a natural first generation of facilities, then will future facilities be smaller? Larger? Totally different? Will they have less equipment? More equipment? Will they be more program-driven? Less confrontational? I suspect that a major change in facilities is right around the corner, but I do not know what that change will look like. Since our industry has been mired in a 14 percent-of-available-customers muck for nearly two years , evidence seems to show that what we present to the greater public is not what that public wants en masse.   Our fitness delivery systems are pretty much predicated on “get the members in, give them a quick sort-of assessment, introduce them to equipment a couple of times and get them the hell out of our way.” Consumers are now extremely aware that, for the most part, health clubs have a production-line delivery system of fitness that neither accomplishes the immediate task at hand nor promotes longevity of membership. One could say with some authority that the majority of new members are being set up for failure in most of today's health clubs.   Are our training methods based too much on the physical and not enough on the mental, spiritual and educational needs of customers? Judging by the low number of times per year the average member attends, it appears that we are concentrating on the wrong hot buttons to keep people involved. Surveys tell us that the bulk of Americans want to exercise and even believe they should exercise. Yet, less than 14 in 100 do exercise (at least inside our clubs), and the obesity epidemic is testament to our failure as an industry.   I am hopeful that many of you will ask of yourselves and your clubs the questions I offered. If you do, I assert that some space for change will open — space that has not been evident up to this point. Health Club News: ....This article has been brought to you by courtesy of www.fitnesslifemarketing.com amerishape, ameri shape, amerishape,ameri shape, anytime fitness, club solutions, contours express, Find Local Gyms, Health Clubs & Fitness Centers , Get a Gym Membership, fitness center closing, fitness center opening, Fitness Life Marketing, Gainesville Health & Fitness Centers, golds gym, golds gym new york city, golds gym hackettstown, golds gym equipment, golds gym membership, GOLDS GYM, powerhouse gym, anytime fitness, snap fitness, curves for women, contours express, ladies workout express,lady of america, Guilty plea in gym scam , health club scam, fitness center rip off, health club scam, health club rip off, gym, gym locator, gym equipment, gymboree, my gym, Gym Locator, Health Club Directory, gymmarketing,Vitality Marketing Group,curtis mock,Premier Fitness Marketing,Creative Fitness Marketing,GymSuccess.com,FitCommerce.com,health club success,healthclubsuccess.com,Club Industry's, Fitness Business Pro, Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro health club, health club closing, health club newsweek, health club opening, HEALTH CLUB, gym, fitness center, fitness club, athletic club, JUST FITNESS 4 U, FITNESS, LA Fitness, ladies fitness, ladies workout fitness, ladies, fitness boot camp, lady fitness gym, ladies fitness wellness, ladies workout express, lady of america new fitness center, Planet Fitness, snap fitness, snap fitness, anytime fitness, retro fitness, snap fitness reviews, 24 hour fitness, Posted by Fitness Life Marketing at Friday, August 21, 2009 0 comments Labels: anytime fitness , fitness franchise , fitness life marketing , fitness news , golds gym , gym , gym news , health club , health club news , la fitness , planet fitness , powerhouse gym , snap fitness , world gym  

Was this helpful? 0 0 Comments

You're reading Health Club News Stories! Visit www.HealthClubNews.com.