In recent years, rates of anxiety, depression and burnout have soared. With 1-in-5 adults in America experiencing a mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the fitness industry is set up to help many people in their communities improve not only their physical health but mental health, too.
On the latest installment of the Thought Leaders roundtable discussions, Mary Frank, the vice president of sales and marketing at the Cincinnati Sports Club; Jacqueline Buchanan, the director of communications and wellness experience for the In-Shape Health Clubs; Erin Lotta, a certified personal trainer and wellness coach; Laura Newman, a mental health coach for Wisconsin Athletic Club – Wauwatosa; and Elise Stolzle, a fitness director of Stone Creek Club and Spa, all sat down to discuss the fitness industry’s role in mental health.
One key takeaway was the industry shouldn’t try to take the spot of a licensed mental health professional, but it should try to better market the connection of exercise and mental health benefits.
For Buchanan, it’s encouraging to see how the industry has come in this department, but she also recognizes how far it still has to go.
“We talked about this briefly, but our industry was largely started because of vanity,” said Buchanan. “Then it incorporated performance, then we’ve kind of thrown in some longevity. Now, we have this great opportunity to incorporate mental well-being and show how essential it is to health. I think what we really need to do is talk about keeping the mind and body healthy, how movement is key to that, and how it’s key to mental well-being. Prevention and well-being are proactive, and I think it’s a daily pursuit. We need to do a better job of communicating that as an industry.”
How can the industry do this?
Buchanan said the key messaging should be prevention is proactive, and movement is one of the best tools available get ahead of physical or mental decline. Speaking to that, rather than promoting unachievable goals and just celebrating the result with before and after photos or measurements, the industry needs to encourage people to do the daily work by educating them on it, celebrating progress — no matter how small — and then welcoming everybody and every body into the mix.
Another avenue is through education.
“It’s so essential to actually understand how the physical body affects the mind and how the mind affects the physical body,” said Newman. “Use your website, your social media, whether it’s a blog, YouTube, TikTok, etc. to start making mental health common day language. As many times as we’re saying, ‘Burpee/push-ups, goals,’ ‘I’ll see you next week,’ ‘Thanks for coming in,’ ‘Did you like your workout?’ etc., we should be equally saying things about mental health. That way we’re using common language.”
On top of educating members and better marketing around the topic, the industry can also provide specific programming for members to improve mental well-being.
After COVID-19, the Cincinnati Sports Club was seeing significant changes and reactions from members that were much more stimulated than what the scenario should be. To combat this, with the help of their health partner, Frank said they rolled out a free, confidential counseling program for members.
“Not only is it free, but it’s also confidential,” said Frank. “We never know who is going, we just get numbers back of people using these sessions. Anyone who is an active member can receive up to three free telehealth sessions. We can try to educate, but we needed to give them a resource. We launched it and in the first quarter, we already blew through the budget for the year. We had to double down and make available more funds, because we recognize our members needed this, but they wanted to do it in a way they could trust. They wanted to do it that they could go scan the QR code, identify who they were, and have access to these three free services, and then determine with that professionally trained counselor if they needed something more.”
Overall, there are big strides the industry can take to help members improve their mental well-being. However, don’t forget how far small gestures can go with people.
“It sounds small, but to be that place someone can come and get that human connection — if they’re isolated, if they don’t have anyone that lives with them, if their wife or their husband passed away, etc.,” said Stolzle. “Our health club is their outlet for social connection. I think the impact we can have on someone’s life, in the smallest ways, can impact somebody in the biggest ways.”
Watch the full conversation, below.
And Buchanan’s point about our industry’s evolution from vanity to mental well-being? Spot on. It’s not just about the six-pack abs; it’s the six inches between our ears that matter too. Thanks for this enlightening piece!