Recovery has been a buzzword in the industry that has been steadily gaining popularity over the last few years.
On the latest installation of the Thought Leaders series, four industry leaders — EK Navan, the CEO and founder of The Covery & REGYMEN Fitness; Kevin Yanuskavich, the president and CEO of Fit Athletic Therapy; Gini Grimsley, the director of fitness product for VASA; and Mary Thomas, the owner and general manager of Western Racquet and Fitness Club — sat down to discuss where this hot commodity is headed.
“I think this trend is going to continue to grow rapidly,” said Navan. “I think fitness is still growing as a trend, but I think recovery can very easily outpace it. To me recovery is going to go into a lot of different factors. We’re going to have aesthetics, mental wellness, acuity and athletic performance. But I think one of the biggest fields we’re about to see it step into is everyday people like us that want to optimize ourselves.”
Thomas echoed the industry is very heavily-focused on active users and gym goers. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows only about 20% of the population is actually in this space.
“We’ve got an opportunity to serve the 80% of the market that might not even be in a space to move yet,” said Thomas. “They might not be feeling well enough to even consider getting into a gym. I think there’s some really neat opportunities to take some of those paths for participants or people who are looking for more passive modalities. I really truly think at the end of the day exercise is still the No. 1 biohack. We can get people from a place where they start to feel better, move better and get them into a realm where they can utilize the services within the club.”
While it’s clear recovery can have many benefits to facilities, deciding how to offer it can be a challenge. At VASA, they include their recovery services in their premium membership level.
“We’re using our studio flow and personal training services as the premium product,” said Grimsley. “We would love to get people more engaged in those, and as a way to add more value into the membership that they’re going to pay monthly anyway. As we look at how we’re incorporating things, as folks come in and they use different parts of the gym, we want to make sure they see the value in it rather than coming in saying, ‘I’m just getting a membership for weights and cardio.’ We tell prospects if they pay a little bit more, now not only do they get weights and cardio but they also get our first level of recovery with our Hydromassage beds. I think there’s several different ways but as we look at it, it’s more of a value add than an add on.”
Today, more and more people are looking at ways to improve their health, both mentally and physically. After experiencing a global pandemic and unstable economic times, it’s important as an operator to choose recovery options that will help your members improve their lives. As the industry has its eyes set to the future, there was one modality the panelists agreed clubs need to start looking at no matter what — cryotherapy.
“There are so many types of recovery modalities, but the No. 1 would probably be cryo,” said Yanuskavich. “This is just based on what we’ve seen in our clubs in terms of the benefits we’re hearing and the testimonials we’re gathering. I think we’re moving into more hot and cold offerings as well, but if you summarize it to one modality it’s cryo.”
Navan agreed cryotherapy can be one of the biggest bangs for an operator’s buck, but it’s a massive investment and upfront cost.
“The reason I say that is it’s fast, you can turn and burn people in three to five minute sessions, and have them feel amazing,” explained Navan. “But again, you’re preparing yourself, especially as a club owner, to say I’m paying ‘X’ for this one product. So at the end of the day, you better facilitate a couple other products around that to help sell that product even more.”
While there are a plethora of recovery modalities to choose from, it’s important to consider what works best for your business model and your members. Thomas put it simply: What is the problem your customers are coming in with and how are you going to solve it?
“I think that’s where you need to start with any outlook or decision within the facility,” said Thomas. “Keep learning. There’s so many cool things happening and so many neat people to listen to. Keep reading, learning, watching, listening, stay on top of things. Continue to figure out how we can help solve the problems our clients and members are bringing into the doors. Working with them can make such a big impact on their lives.”
