Last week Club Solutions Magazine spoke to Amy Larkin, the district athletic director for Mountainside Fitness in Arizona. We picked Amy’s brain on everything Group X, from how they push people to use classes, to how they manage instructors:
CS: How do you entice new members to try Group X classes?
AL: Our sales team is well trained on the group fitness schedule and from the initial contact point they plant the seed about the variety of classes and benefits. We provide the members with easy access to the schedule by posting on the website, in the facilities on TV monitors and offer to directly e-mail it to their inbox each month.
CS: What Group X classes have worked well for Mountainside Fitness over the past year?
AL: Zumba, Muscle, Piloxing, Cycle, Total Body Conditioning, PiYo.
CS: How can clubs and Group X directors stay knowledgeable about new Group X trends?
AL: Group X directors can attend large conventions such as IDEA, search other facilities in large cities for class schedules and use Internet research for new class ideas in order to find the newest trends or class names.
CS: How can Group X directors better manage a large instructor pool?
AL: The use of technology has helped me better manage three facilities and over 85 instructors. We use e-mail and text to send out memos and find subs. To help with reviews we use video cameras to record classes before meeting with the instructor for an evaluation.
CS: Can you ever have too many instructors?
AL: Yes. I try to have quality over quantity by hiring instructors that can teach multiple formats at multiple locations. If the instructor is not teaching at least one class a week they lose the pulse of the clientele.
By Tyler Montgomery
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
