At the end of my freshman year of college, I knew I had gained some weight. My guess was 15, maybe 20 pounds tops. This wasn’t great, but wasn’t terrible either. I’d lost 50 pounds in the past, so if I only had 15 to lose, that was certainly manageable. And seeing as I didn’t have access to a scale in my dorm room, I figured my “educated” guess was about right.
So when I went home that summer and jumped on the scale, my jaw hit the floor. I hadn’t gained 20 pounds. No, I had gained 40 — seemingly without any effort at all.
Upon this realization I was immediately hit with a wave of different emotions ranging from anger (how had I let this happen?), frustration (at knowing the hard work I’d have to put in to get the extra weight off) and shame (due to thought of facing my friends, who knew how hard I’d worked previously to drop 50 pounds).
The emotion that hit the hardest was the last one. So instead of working out in a regular gym amongst other people (where I may be judged), I spent most of the summer running the weight away on my family’s treadmill in our home’s basement. And when friends wanted to go out to eat, I declined, due to my embarrassment over my newly voluptuous physique.
Unfortunately, this is an experience that a lot of Americans deal with. In fact, according to the National Institute of Health, more than two-thirds of adults are considered to be overweight or obese. But if you looked at the average gym member, you won’t always find this demographic among them. Why is that?
It may come down to the fact that no matter how inclusive we “say” we are as a health club community, actions speak louder than words. And our actions, through our marketing and advertising efforts, are saying that only fit, beautiful and athletically-oriented people workout at our gyms. Although our intentions may be to cater to every body type, I’m not so sure that message is coming across.
Just take a look at the men and women represented in yours and your competitors’ ads. When’s the last time you let a person with a non-perfect physique represent your membership? And not just in a “before and after” photo?
Before we can reach the very large percentage of consumers that aren’t members of health clubs, we need to ask ourselves some hard questions. Are we truly as inclusive as we say we are? Are we alienating a whole group of people without even knowing it? And if so, what can we do to change that?
Of course, some gyms do only cater to elite athletes. But if you’re a gym that purports to being a gym for the “every man,” then your advertising should reflect that. I’m not suggesting never showcasing super fit people in your marketing, as ideally, that is what many people strive for. What I am suggesting is don’t just showcase super fit people, and super fit people only.
What if you showcased a mother who recently gave birth taking a “Mommy and Me” class, or a man recovering from heart surgery moving slowly back into workouts? Or a person who never dreamed they could run a marathon before running their first 10K?
The bottom line is, if the average consumer doesn’t see themselves reflected in your advertising — in one way or the other — they will have a hard time thinking that they actually do belong at your facility, and will never join.
Again, I know many gyms really do strive to cater to all body types. I’m just saying the message may be lost in our delivery.
Rachel Zabonick is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@clubsolutionsmagazine.com. Reach out to her about exciting events or programs your club has implemented, or to share the amazing accomplishments of a member.
