I would say that I rarely have a negative experience in the gym. I’ve been in and out of different gyms since I was in my teens, and I’ve exercised on many different types of equipment.
I can’t recall ever struggling to figure out how to use strength equipment, but cardio equipment is a completely different story. I know I can hit the quick start button on a treadmill, amp up the speed and be on my way. However, last week I tried multiple times to perform interval training on a treadmill. I found myself looking at variations in incline while the speed stayed at a steady 1.0 mph.
I ended up hitting stop, pressing quick start and going about my jog.
If this is hard for someone that has spent 10-15 years in gyms, what does that say for the deconditioned member?
A scenario like I experienced isn’t enough for me to stop coming to the gym, but it could be for a new member. How do you keep situations such as this from occurring?
First, I would suggest having instructions somewhere on the machine, or make someone easily accessible within the gym that can show someone how to operate the equipment. In my case, I was inside the cardio cinema, so it was already difficult to read the adjustments. Do you have someone near your cardio cinema that could quickly help a member? In my case, the closest employee would’ve been at the personal training desk, about 30 to 40 yards away from the entrance to the cardio room.
I can imagine, if I was a new member that had never been to a club before — I’m overweight, don’t have a lot of confidence — the first time I can’t get a treadmill to operate, I would leave and never return. I know the typical response is for the member to be enrolled in personal training. However, we can’t be naïve enough to think that every member that is confused will sign up for personal training.
Some members simply want to come into the club, hop onto a treadmill, or other piece of cardio equipment and get a quick workout to help them get on track to losing weight. They know that they can go outside and walk around, but they’d rather come into your club. When you make exercise difficult, you make it easy for a person to decide not to come to your club. Once that person makes that decision, it will be close to impossible to get them back. Also, they are going to spread the word and you’ll struggle to get anyone they know to join your club.
Spend some time printing off detailed lists on how to use pieces of equipment. If you can see the value in your members’ knowledge, spend a little extra money, hire someone to stroll your floor (preferably a trainer) and have them help members that might be struggling. You may only need this person during high traffic hours, which is fine. The point is to have someone available to help, and to avoid having members get frustrated, leave and never return.
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
