Technology
Trick 91: Tech Ed
Consider adding this conference to your yearly travel schedule — The International Consumer Electronics Show. The next event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 5-8, 2017. Attend, or send your chief technology officer, for insight on new technologies that could disrupt the health club industry in the near future.
Idea 92: Have You Heard of Big Data?
Marketers and tech junkies alike have been hearing a lot about Big Data. But, what exactly is it? According to IBM, “Big data is being generated by everything around us at all times. Every digital process and social media exchange produces it. Systems, sensors and mobile devices transmit it. Big data is arriving from multiple sources at an alarming velocity, volume and variety. To extract meaningful value from big data, you need optimal processing power, analytics capabilities and skills.”
To discover if Big Data should be something on your radar, talk to your marketing director or chief technology officer.
According to IBM, “Big data is changing the way people within organizations work together. It is creating a culture in which business and IT leaders must join forces to realize value from all data. Insights from big data can enable all employees to make better decisions — deepening customer engagement, optimizing operations, preventing threats and fraud, and capitalizing on new sources of revenue.”
Idea 93: Digital Musts
Lindsey Rainwater’s “Top 3 Non-Negotiable Must-Do’s” when it comes to technology:
Mobile Responsive Design. “If you do not have a mobile-friendly website or mobile app, you are not only behind in the game, you are not even being considered.”
LIVE Interaction with Your Consumer. “Long gone are the days where you can just post articles on your website and call it a day. You must engage your target audience, respond to their comments, and cater your content toward their interests and needs.”
Smart Equipment. “Several companies offer smart fitness equipment. Eco Fit has a tremendous product that is being tested to create an easy way for health club operators to visibly see the usage stats and service opportunities before they even happen. Imagine a world where you know the specifics on all your equipment and can diagnose problems before equipment is completely out of commission!”
Tip 94: Wearable Advice
The global wearables market is expected to reach a value of 19 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. Unfortunately, the rise of wearables hasn’t necessarily meant increasing fitness levels. A recent Anytime Fitness survey found that nearly 70 percent of those who purchased activity trackers or fitness apps say their activity levels increased only slightly, or not at all.
To remedy this, Mark Daly, the national media director for Anytime Fitness, suggested clubs encourage members to partner with a personal trainer for support if they truly want to see results. “Nothing beats the human touch,” he said.
Trick 95: Texting is King
According to the Pew Research Center, texting is still the most widely-used and frequently used app on a smartphone, with 97 percent of Americans using it at least once a day. And, many health and fitness clubs are capitalizing on these facts by making texting a way they communicate with members. To take advantage of texting at your club, look into mass texting services like Club Texting.
Trends
Staying Current
According to ACE Certified Personal Trainer Pete McCall, these four trends are the ones health and fitness professionals need to be paying attention to.
Idea 96: Combined formats for group fitness classes.
“Consumers want fun and creative instructor-led workouts, and equipment companies have responded with solutions that enable clubs to create a variety of combined formats, such as cycling and boxing, and treadmill running and strength training. These new formats will provide innovative ways to engage members and produce results.”
Idea 97: Health coaching for personal trainers.
“Great personal trainers know that guiding clients toward optimal health goes beyond a single workout. Rather, it involves coaching clients to make exercise and healthy choices a foundational part of their lives. A health coach certification gives trainers the knowledge they need to lead clients toward long-term success.”
Idea 98: Experiences, not simply workouts, will become the norm.
“Boutique studios thrive because they create a catered fitness experience that surpasses the expectations of normal health-club patrons. Look for fitness entrepreneurs to continue to offer a variety of opportunities to combine people’s passion for exercise with a chance to have a one-of-a-kind, physically challenging experience.”
Idea 99: Education workshops for the average fitness consumer.
“The average fitness consumer is being exposed to exercise strategies and techniques — like barbell strength training and high-intensity weightlifting — that were once reserved for high-performance athletes. As a result, there is an increased demand in education from professional strength coaches to help consumers learn how to properly perform these workouts.”
Youth Fitness
Tip 100: A Two-Way Street
To combat the rise in childhood obesity, Lakeshore Sport and Fitness offers a myriad of youth fitness programs, including youth personal training. Carey Schueler, the director of sport specific and youth/teen training at Lakeshore, said that training youth is fulfilling for a variety of reasons. » “Working in youth fitness allows me to create healthy habits and patterns instead of correcting and changing bad ones,” said Schueler. “It’s an amazing opportunity to shape the way an adolescent looks at general health, fitness and exercise-related activities. » Too often poor coaching, teaching and interactions turn youth away from sports, as well as general fitness routines. I am able to change lives, and have a ton of fun doing it.”
Tip 101: Youth Fitness for All
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with disabilities can find it more difficult to eat healthy, control their weight and be physically active. In fact, children with disabilities are 38 percent more likely to be obese.
With help remedy this, Newtown Athletic Club (NAC) launched the FITfinity program. It provides an outlet for children with special needs to get active.
“My team and I initially wanted to start the FITfinity program because we wanted to continue the NAC’s mission of ‘Making Lives Better,’” said Amanda Brown, the youth program director at NAC. “We noticed that in our area there were no fitness programs offered exclusively for children with special needs. At the NAC, we had the available facilities to create a program that would provide an outlet for this community to get active and discover the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Just by making small adjustments to the programs that we were already offering, the FITfinity program was able to provide an incredible opportunity for these children.”
For clubs who also wish to make a positive impact, Brown gave this piece of advice. “Do not reinvent the wheel,” she said. “You have programs in your facility that just need to be adapted to fit the needs of these individuals. Do you offer one-on-one or group instruction? General fitness or specialized programming? There are so many ways to customize this type of programming — all you need to do is open your doors and make this community feel welcome.”
101 Industry Tips reported by Rachel Zabonick and Emily Harbourne.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
