Combating obesity in this country has become a high priority for many organizations, both political and otherwise. It certainly should be a priority for gyms and health clubs.
It is imperative that clubs step up to the forefront of this battle. Who is better positioned to have an impact than we are? Our society needs gyms and health clubs precisely because of the sedentary lifestyles we lead. We are no longer working out in the fields, much less hunting and gathering. We often sit for hours at a time in front of a television or computer monitor for work or pleasure. So we have to create opportunities to simply move!
How can clubs directly enter the battle against obesity? My belief is that we have to offer programs that give optimal results for weight loss. Very simply, we have to offer the type of comprehensive program that uses a range of tactics to assist people in developing a healthier lifestyle.
By comprehensive, I mean that the program incorporates nutrition education about how to make diet changes, with exercise and some type of behavioral intervention. These kinds of weight-loss programs have been proven to be the most successful.
After spending the last year consulting one-on-one with weight-loss clients, I decided that more people needed to have a resource for nutrition information and weight loss, so I have developed a program that uses many of the personal trainers’ skills under my supervision. With these trainers acting as coaches, I am hoping to offer a comprehensive program that is more accessible and appealing to more of the membership.
Although I have developed the program content, the trainers involved have attended special sessions in how to administer the program to individuals. Each participant will meet with their Coach weekly, which will hopefully enable them to establish a rapport and a relationship which can foster change in the client’s lifestyle behaviors.
With trainers involved in the program, there will be someone available to coach a nutrition client at almost any time of day, making more people aware and able to be serviced. And the way to make the program even more widely available is to advertise it to the community as a benefit of joining your gym.
I am particularly proud of the trainers who have enthusiastically jumped on this opportunity, not just because it is another source of revenue for them and the club, but because they truly believe that all their clients and the community will ultimately benefit.
Judith Samuels, M.A. is a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and master personal trainer at Sport&Health Clubs in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. She can be reached via e-mail at judi@judisamuels.com.
