Working Out Sucks, Sometimes

Since my last blog I have been thinking a lot about working out and your members. I recently got back into long-distance running — well, I’m working on getting back into long-distance running. Regardless, drastically changing up a workout routine can be difficult. Everyone in our office works out between 4-7 days out of the week. We are continually in gyms, both for our own fitness and to develop new ideas for the magazine.

Last Friday, the final day into my routine, I was feeling pretty tired and I started thinking about why working out sucks, sometimes. I absolutely love going to the gym every day, but even I, and my co-workers, shared times when they have to give themselves that little extra push to get into the gym. We decided to share a top 10 list of why working out sucks, sometimes, with you:

10. More laundry from dirty clothes.

9. Being indoors rather than outdoors.

8. It’s hard being fit and really good-looking. (Zoolander)

7. Give up spending time with friends and family.

6. There are only so many milk jugs.

5. Dry skin from too many showers.

4. No time to sleep in.

3. Feeling bad when you miss a day.

2. Workout playlists get old.

1. Sometimes it can be hard to work through the pain.

Everyone, even people that exercise daily, get burned out — however, you can bet that the ones that have a routine will be back in each day. But, what about your new members that just want to drop 10 lbs? How do you keep them motivated when they start to realize one of things on this top 10 list? If you have members that utilize your gym enough that they might continually work through this daunting list (laughing), you might try and use them to your advantage.

Become closer with those members. Use their testimonials about why they developed such a routine and how it has changed their lives. Personally, I got into fitness when I saw my dad start having health problems in his early 40s. I decided that wasn’t going to be me — or, I was going to do everything in my power to keep that from being me. I’m sure there are a multitude of members in your gym that have great workout routines that wouldn’t mind sharing their stories with your new members.

When you find time, talk with your long-term members about why they spend so much time in your gym. Create a relationship with them and ask them if they’d ever be willing to share with a new member how they keep returning to YOUR GYM day after day. Trust me, if you can get all of your members to believe that working out sucks, SOMETIMES, NOT ALL THE TIME, you’ll have made headway in filling up your gym and bringing in referrals.