Does The Fitness Industry Really Understand Its Members?
Let’s be brutally honest for a second — how many of your members actually love exercising?
How many jump out of bed or finish work thinking, “I can’t wait to get to the gym!”
Yet from day one, we tell them they need to train three times a week if they’re serious about results.
Maybe… just maybe… we need to rethink our expectations, our messaging, and even our product if we truly want to improve retention.
Last week, Aaron Moore from VIDA Fitness told my REX Roundtable in Washington that their members aim for nine visits a month. Luke Carlson from Discover Strength, who’s way smarter than me, said two 30-minute strength sessions a week are enough to improve health. That’s eight visits a month.
So is twice a week the magic number?
If our entire approach focused on getting members to train twice a week, from programming to communication, would we see stronger retention and happier members?
I don’t know the definitive answer, but I do know this: I hate going to the dentist. If someone told me I had to go three times a week to keep my teeth, I’d take my chances and settle for once every six months!
Your challenge this week: Dive into your member visitation data. See how often your members really train — and what that says about how well you understand them.
You might be surprised by what you find.
Justin is the Managing Director of Active Management, which he began January 2004. He offers coaching to businesses worldwide in everything from start up and design to marketing and sales systems. Justin also facilitates four Australian and New Zealand ‘fitness industry roundtables’ events, which allows him to see a huge cross section of business models.