A new customer may have a lot of insecurities walking into your facility for the first time. One of the first chances you have to give them personal attention will be that one-on-one fitness assessment where they see clearly how you are going to help them meet their goals. My question is: what are you doing for your fitness assessments? This is a new customer’s first impression and just like a first date, you never have a second chance to make a first impression.
According to The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the components of fitness assessments include muscular strength and muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition.
Not much has changed in recent years in the assessment of muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. But it’s a different story with body composition and CRF. Measurement technology has come a long way in recent years, and customers know it. Whether through shows like Dr. Oz or The Doctors, reading articles in magazines and online, or by speaking with friends, the public in general has become more aware of scientific and accurate means of assessment. Believe me, a measuring tape, calipers, or predictive equations are not going to impress them.
Cardio Fitness
ACSM states: “True measures of CRF require maximal exertion along with collection of expired gases.” This is what is commonly referred to as a VO2 Max test. The test will measure not only VO2 Max, but also anaerobic threshold and calories burned during exercise, and give highly accurate heart rate zones for effective workouts. Although in the past the equipment to perform a VO2 Max test has been complicated and expensive, the technology has advanced. Simple VO2 Max test equipment is now available at a cost targeted for gyms and personal trainers. The mask and treadmill image of a VO2 Max test is seen on TV associated with sports drinks, professional athletes and running shoes. Offer VO2 Max testing and you will be synonymous with “elite” and “high performance.”
Body Composition
Most people are becoming quite aware that losing fat and gaining lean body mass is preferred over just losing weight. This measurement is vital to monitoring results of any strength training or weight-loss program. Bioimpedence scales have made great strides in accuracy in recent years and give club owners a great alternative to archaic calipers or expensive water tank measurements. Although some of the most accurate and reliable scales require spending a little more money, the cost is definitely worth it. Unreliable results put a trainer in the impossible position of trying to explain a reading that doesn’t make sense. Multiple points of contact and multiple frequencies dramatically increase the accuracy of a bioimpedance scale.
The fitness assessment is your first moment to shine. It might be about making a new member feel confident that you are competent and identifying their personal needs. Or it might be the point where the seasoned athlete is reassured that he made the right decision because you have leading-edge technology that will help him progress. No matter who that client is, invest some time and money in that first impression, because you want this to be the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship.
Julie K Kofoed, BSN, is the VP of Marketing for KORR Medical Technologies.
*Cited ACSM online Jan 10, 2012, Getting a Professional Fitness Assessment. Matthew Percia; Shala Davis, Ph.D., FACSM; and Gregory Dwyer, Ph.D., FACSM.
As an Exercise Physiologist (Ph.D.) I take exception to the downplaying of several “classic” methods of fitness assessment. New higher-tech. tools for for fitness assessment, such as bioelectrical impedance scales and VO2 max. “carts,” in my opinion, are no better than the more classic hands-on testing methods. Fitness assessors that exude competence and confidence can be much more “impressive” and accurate with good old-fashioned methodology than someone with lesser training using high tech. equipment that basically does the testing for you. Finally, please be careful when doing VO2 max. testing. The risk for injury in max. testing far outweighs the “additional” data that might be collected. Again, a highly trained assessor with sub max. data can properly prescribe exercise levels for their client.