As a club owner, you can appreciate the enormous investment you’ve put into your facility’s cardio equipment and diet programs. Not just the outlay of cash to pay for the equipment itself, but the time to train staff, set up the programs, and space to house it all.
So what happens when the excitement of a new program wears off? When the thrill of spin classes or low-carb diets has waned, is there anything you can do to salvage your investments? How do you re-kindle interest in what you already have without having to buy into some whole new program?
The answer is metabolic testing! Metabolic testing uses oxygen consumption measured through a short test of a person’s breathing. It includes Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) that shows a person how many calories they burn at rest, and exercise VO2 that determines fitness levels based on a person’s measured aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. With the purchase of a single piece of equipment, you can add technology that is leading edge, exciting, and will enhance your existing diet and exercise programs. Consider its application in the following ways:
Diet Programs
Many fitness facilities have invested in weight loss and nutrition programs. Some may restrict the kinds of foods clients are allowed to eat. Others may simply restrict total caloric intake. Maybe supplements or vitamins are used to enhance weight loss. But regardless of how it is structured, success in weight loss is ultimately determined by burning more calories than you eat.
Because “burn more than you eat” ALWAYS applies to weight loss, metabolic testing can complement any diet program you may have. First of all, consider the interest generated by metabolism. Check out the headlines in any supermarket checkout, and month after month you’ll see the word “metabolism.” Why? Because the overweight are convinced that a slow metabolism is to blame for their struggles. When they hear there is a way to actually test it, they jump at the chance!
In addition to increasing interest in the program you are offering, metabolic testing can make the program itself more effective. This happens through the learning that occurs as clients see the results of their own testing. It allows them to actually see their body’s own ability to burn calories.
Cardio Programs
Equipment for cardiovascular conditioning is a huge investment for any facility. Yet the public’s interest in cardio workouts is forever changing. Whether it is step aerobics classes, elliptical trainers, or spin classes, we’ve all seen the popularity of each rise and fall.
Metabolic testing to determine true workout zones can bring new interest to these workouts by focusing the client on effective workouts based on their VO2 “zones.” Once they have had a VO2 fitness assessment, they are given target heart rate “zones” that are actually based on their own aerobic, anaerobic, and peak heart rates.
Zones are important for cardiovascular workouts to be effective over time. Each zone has a unique physiological benefit. But clients may not know what different intensities feel like. They may only know easy and hard. And, if all they do is come to your facility and “go all out,” they will eventually burn out.
With VO2 testing, you can offer spin classes or aerobic dance classes for individuals who have had their VO2 test done. All the instructor has to do is call out the “zone.” This may be “Zone 1” or “Blue Zone” or “Low Intensity Zone” (whichever corresponds to the VO2 test performed.) Each class member will know exactly the heart rate to shoot for, because they have had their own VO2 test…Their class just became personalized, and they feel more in control!
This holds true throughout the workout. Instead of having to describe how they should be feeling at each stage (“You should be feeling the burn now.”), just tell them, “Zone 3!” and they are right there with you. It’s like a handicap for a golfer: clients of different levels can be in the same class since the zones are personalized, and time in the zone is what matters. Clients have a more comfortable workout, they are more likely to keep coming, and they are quick to tell their friends about this great “new program.”
Is the answer always something new… new equipment, new programs, new clients? NO! For less than the cost of one treadmill, metabolic testing can: revitalize the use of your existing equipment; give new life to your programs, and better serve (and retain) your existing customers. It’s the best solution a club owner could ever ask for!
Scott Kofoed, Ph.D. is the President of KORR Medical Technologies, Inc. He can be contacted at 801.483.2080, or by email at scott@korr.com.
