Here is a possible secondary goal for the New Year’s rush – protect your new members. Protection in this sense doesn’t suggest retaining them or keeping them in your club, but actually keeping them attending the club and out of the emergency room.
A lot of club owners forget the first time they entered a club because it was so long ago. However, for many of the new members in 2010, the experience is fresh. Some members may have never touched weights or cardio equipment in their lives. MSNBC.com reported that over 50,000 people are treated in the ER each year due to gym related accidents. That’s a lot of people that were literally removed from the gym scene. With those types of incidents, reminder phone calls may not be enough to get that injured member back.
Treadmills seem to cause the majority of the problems for newbies. Taryn Wright told MSNBC.com that she had a horrible incident a couple of years ago involving a treadmill in the club she just joined. According to Wright, she was enjoying a nice walk and then a light jog. She felt pressured by the more experienced exercisers and kicked her workout into high gear.
As the speed of Wright’s treadmill increased, she started to lose control. She tried to hop back to the front of the treadmill, but it lifted the back end of the treadmill causing the treadmill to crash down and Wright to bang her knee and her palm. However, the majority of the injuries were referenced to her pride.
In 2009, there were 575 reported injuries related to people falling off or tripping over treadmills in clubs. Make sure to keep experienced employees around the club’s cardio areas to assist new members in times of need.
