Earlier this year, World Gym international launched a new ongoing education and training program for coaches. The goal of it is to improve personal training and group exercise programs at gyms and studios called World Gym Athletics. World Gym Athletics is available for all gyms and studios, not just World Gyms. Here, Guy Cammilleri, the managing director of World Gym, details the new venture:
CS: What can the fitness industry expect from the launch of World Gym Athletics?
GC: We designed World Gym Athletics to give full-service gyms a way to offer members a studio-style experience with the amenities of a full-service gym. World Gym Athletics is taking the benefits popularized by small studio programs and adding a more comprehensive approach to serious fitness. As a World Gym Athletics member, you will get a more complete and personalized fitness plan while your coach will receive more ongoing education, including a broader assortment of functional and continually evolving training options. World Gym Athletics is inside a full-service gym, with all the facilities and amenities that only a full-service gym can offer, including locker rooms and a full traditional gym.
For gym owners, World Gym Athletics offers opportunities for incremental revenue and new premium memberships. Beyond improved personal training revenue, World Gym Athletics offers guidance and support to set up a customized fitness studio within or attached to their existing gym, which creates a new membership level for owners to offer. We’ve also seen that the World Gym Athletics member is a more loyal member, which reduces attrition, an ongoing challenge for full-service gyms. Covering more than just the education for the physical training portion, World Gym Athletics also provides a customized and complete strategy for each gym owner and their market. World Gym Athletics helps to develop staff, systems, technology and operations to maximize the program and its profits. With experience in both the traditional gym model and emerging studio operation, we’ve blended and refined these models to create World Gym Athletics.
CS: How does the process of collaborating with World Gym Athletics work?
GC: For the average gym owner, the process starts by sending an email to fitnesstruth@worldgym.com. From there Doug Katona, our director of training and education, will reach out to the gym owner to discuss their program and the options. The consultation includes a deep dive into the demographics and business conditions in their individual gym and broader trade area. Gym owners have the option to send coaches to an existing certification [program] or schedule their own. Coaches for the World Gym Athletics program are certified by attending an intensive two-day workshop, which can be done onsite at their gym, along with ongoing monthly continuing education. The certifications are only valid for one year, and then the coaches must be re-certified. Coaches will receive ongoing fitness programming and regular updates to their coaching manual with education materials throughout the year. World Gym Athletics also includes business and financial training for management to make sure that the program is successful. World Gym Athletics’ programming, management support and all other systems are dynamic and constantly evolving to meet the needs of our franchisees.
CS: How can World Gym Athletics further assist health club owners in operating their businesses?
GC: In addition to increased membership retention through the improved programming, World Gym Athletics helps gym owners with training for gym owners on how to turn their new fitness programming into incremental revenue. Beyond improved personal training revenue, World Gym Athletics offers guidance and support to set up a customized fitness studio within or attached to their existing gym. Covering more than just the education for the physical training portion, World Gym Athletics also provides a customized and complete strategy for each gym owner and their market. World Gym Athletics helps to develop staff, systems, technology and operations to maximize the program and its profits. The program is designed to provide weekly support to both the owner and the coaching staff.
According to a press release, World Gym, with its headquarters located in southern California, has over 220 franchised locations in 20 countries and territories; these include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Cayman Islands, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Macao, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. To learn more about World Gym and franchise opportunities, visit worldgym.com.
