Health Club Systems Design

Let's be honest. Most gym owners try the "hit and miss" approach to business. They try newspaper advertising, but that doesn't immediately work so they move on to something else. They try a new referral program, but that doesn't work immediately either so they move on to something else. They try....well, you get the idea.

What most fitness center owners need is a system. A system that will pay big dividends time after time, regardless of the market.

Here's the bad news: we don't know which health club system will guarantee you great results.

Here's the good news: we DO know that there's a health club system that will guarantee you great results.

We just don't know which one it is.....and neither do you.

The fact of the matter is that nobody, unless they also own a successful health club in your market, can tell you for sure which health club system will work in your area. Each and every market around the country is different, so what works in NY may not work in CA.

So what's a gym owner to do?

We highly recommend that you check out the following resource:
http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?Clk=1384908

Bedros Keuilian Health & Fitness is an awesome tool for one reason and one reason only: here you will find a variety of fitness center systems strategies that you can put into practice immediately. Will all of these systems be right for you? Of course not. But one of these systems will be right for you.

The www.cuecd.com team is also a big supporter of FREE health club systems design tools. That's why we give you so many FREE articles for gym owners and managers, which you can access by clicking here: http://www.cuecd.com/articles.asp

What health club system works for you? Let us know and we'll share your story with other fitness center owners!

Me? A Fitness Expert?!?!

The day that you open the doors of your gym location is the day that you become a fitness expert. What?!? A fitness expert, you say?!? But I just opened……..I’m not ready………I need more time!

Scary as it may seem, a gym owner is considered to be an expert in health and fitness. Your members will start asking you questions right away. Perhaps they want to know if a crunch is better than a sit-up. Or maybe they want to know if they should start supplementing with creatine now that they’re exercising. Whatever the question may be, you’ll get it!

Although you may not yet be an expert, there’s no reason why you can’t start learning today! In the meantime, the most important thing you can do is to simply be honest with your members. If you don’t know the answer, don’t fake it. More often than not, the member will eventually find out the real answer, and then you’ve lost all credibility. So be honest. Say that you’re not sure of the answer, but you’ll do some research and get back to them with a response.

Some practical things you can do to become a fitness expert:
1) Subscribe to ‘muscle’ and health magazines. Read each copy cover-to-cover.
2) Become a certified personal trainer.
3) Subscribe to a health and/or fitness news clipper service.
4) Take physiology classes at the local college or university.
5) Talk with other gym owners.

Subscribe to ‘muscle’ and health magazines. Read each copy cover-to-cover.
One of the best ways to learn about any topic is to read the trade publications. Reading the Wall Street Journal® front-to-back every day for a year, for example, would teach you everything you ever wanted to know about finance. In much the same way, you can go a long ways towards becoming a fitness expert by reading the trade publications. Some recommended magazines to read are:
Muscle & Fitness ®
Muscle & Fitness Hers ®
Fitness ®
Shape ®
Health ®
Prevention ®
Fitness Rx ®

An added bonus to subscribing to these magazines is that, when you’re done with them, you can add them to your gym library for your members to read.

Become a certified personal trainer.
Becoming a certified personal trainer is not as frightening as it may sound. On the contrary, you should be excited about the new opportunities that will open up for you once you’re certified by a national organization!

While there are many groups out there that offer fitness certification, the old rule of thumb that ‘you get what you pay for’ is very true in this area. Be wary of internet-only certification, where you don’t receive any hard-copy materials. You should also stay away from any business offering certification for less than $100. You get what you pay for.

The two best national fitness certification organizations are ACE (American Council on Exercise) and ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association). ISSA, for example, charges about $600 for their first level certification. The training materials you’ll receive include a textbook, a video, a CD, unlimited access to their website, unlimited telephone support, and admittance to a two-day conference. The ISSA certification exam is quite lengthy, but well worth the effort in terms of the knowledge you’ll acquire.

Not only will the certification process provide you with a solid education in health and fitness, but most organizations also provide you with unlimited resources for asking questions and continued learning.

Subscribe to a health and/or fitness news clipper service.
Subscribing to a health and/or fitness news clipper service is easy, free, and effective. One of the best on the market today is the YaHoo ® home page service. Simply set up your YaHoo ® home page to post all health and fitness related articles as ‘My Front Page Headlines’. Then, every morning, you have immediate access to the latest health news! Rest assured, when a news story breaks that impacts fitness, you will have members asking you about it. If you’ve already read it on the internet that morning, then you’re prepared!

Another benefit to the health and fitness news clipper service is that it allows you to print pertinent articles immediately. So, if the AMA (American Medical Association) issues a press release about the hazards of trans-fats, then you can quickly print off some copies to distribute to your members. You might even consider putting up a small brochure rack solely for this purpose; you could title it “Breaking Fitness News”.

Whatever course of action you decide to take, it’s vital that you stay on top of the newest and latest health news. That way, anytime a member asks you about new fitness developments, you’ve already heard about it even have additional materials for them to read! After a period of time, this will help to establish you as a fitness expert in your community.

Take physiology classes at the local college or university.
Depending on how much time you have, you may consider taking some basic physiology or sports nutrition classes at the local college or university. Where you live will, of course, have an impact on how much this costs. Another possible drawback is that, with a class, you are time-bound in your education efforts: the professor will not re-schedule the class just for you! On the positive side, classroom learning allows you to interact with other students and ask pointed questions of the instructor.

Talk with other gym owners.
Finally, one of the best ways to become a fitness expert is to frequently talk with other gym owners. Whether you discuss marketing, sales, operations, or just plain old ‘health’, the information you can glean from this group will be invaluable.

No matter which of these methods you use to become a fitness expert, it is vital that you do something. Word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind of advertising in the world, and when you are recognized as a fitness expert in the community your word-of-mouth advertising will multiply tenfold! Your goal in this area is to become knowledgeable, so that your members will always refer to you as their source of information. Comments like “I’ll ask Jane at ABC Gym.. She always knows about this stuff” are golden! This is exactly the kind of publicity you should be seeking!

Tom Nicoli BCH, CI is a nationally recognized hypnotherapist that was featured on Dateline NBC. He offers several different self help CDs including Weight Loss, Stop Smoking and Exercise Boost! CDs. Click here for More Information.

Just a quick reminder from the www.cuecd.com team…..

The fastest, easiest and most effective way to advertise is simply by handing out “Free Trial” coupons.

We have a great article on this subject, which you can read here: http://www.cuecd.com/article.asp?ID=7

Anyway, VistaPrint is running a great sale on business cards. As you’ll know by reading the article, having the printer run you some coupons as business cards is the best value around!

Check out this sale today…..and DRIVE MEMBERSHIP SALES!

75% Off Premium "Custom" Business Cards at VistaPrint.com!

Kids Health = Health Club Profits?

Fitness Business News recently reported that just 15% of people in the United States belongs to a health club, and that gyms are always seeking ways to bring in the other 85%.

As part of this effort, some fitness centers are targeting kids as clients. One of the dangers is that you risk changing the atmosphere of the gym by introducing kids to the mix. Conversations may have to be more guarded, and not everyone enjoys being around children and/or teens. After all, many members come to the health club for "me time" away from their youngsters!

Of course, there's also the concern that your insurance company may not allow children below a certain age.

On the plus side, there are many parents that are concerned about how lethargic kids are today. The daily health news frequently features a story about obese children. Between video games, iPods and television most children are getting far less exercise than they should. This could be a perfect market for fitness center owners, and who wouldn't want to boost their overall membership numbers?

How do you make it work? A gym called Motion Fitness in New Jersey allows kids into the facility after school and on weekend afternoons, which are typically slow times. Some circuit training health clubs keep kids in mind by offering memberships to anyone 16 years of age or older.

Is your gym a children's place or just for adults? What's your age cutoff for new members? Join the discussion and add your comments below!