Member Experience

Gyms and fitness clubs attract different types of people from all walks to life, from students and young professionals, to working parents and the retired. This means they’re likely to have different goals that they’re hoping to achieve from their workouts, whether that be losing a certain amount of weight, or being able to complete a certain number of squats, pull-ups or bench presses. The ways in which they attend the gym to achieve these goals will also differ, with many of your gym members fitting into one of a few types. The newbie, the lunchbreak exerciser, and the reluctant gymgoer are just a couple that your personal trainers probably see time and time again.

However, despite their differences in workout styles (and attendance levels), they all share a common goal; to improve their general health and fitness levels. To help make this a reality, you need to ensure that you use different tactics to get them to keep coming back to your club.

Here are 6 types of members that you’ll see at your gym and how to retain them…

 

The fitness fanatic

 

This type of gymgoer comes in many forms, but they share one way of thinking; there’s no rest for the wicked when it comes to working out. You’ll see them cycling through every fitness machine with ease (minimal rest needed) or see them grunting and sweating as they lift the highest weight. To stop them losing interest, update your gym equipment often, have plenty of bars, free weights and power racks, and offer more challenging fitness classes, such as circuits and bootcamps. Just make sure you mix up the format of the classes each week!

 

The newbie

 

Your staff may have only seen them a few times, but every time they’ve struggled to operate the more complex exercise machines and have instead done a quick run on the treadmill before leaving. To keep them motivated to keep attending, make sure that you always have friendly and approachable trainers in the gym to give them guidance on their work out and show them how to use various machines. For shyer or busier members, displaying clear step-by-step guides for your equipment is also a good idea.

 

The lunchbreaker

 

As the name suggests, this gymgoer will only show up during typical work lunchbreak hours, and they’ll often be armed with an alarm and be in and out of your club in record time. To give them a chance to mix up their current fitness regime (and get them energised for the rest of their day at work), consider running a few 30-minute high intensity classes during lunchtime. However, although this is likely to be between 12:30pm – 1:30pm, keep an eye on when your busiest time on weekdays is.

 

The reluctant gymgoer

 

Reluctant gymgoers are very easy to spot because they won’t stay in the gym for long, and before you know it, they’ve quietly slipped out of the door. During their session, they’ll also be found using many of the machines and exercise mats as seats more often than they actually use them to exercise! If you want to boost their motivation, encourage your trainers to offer to put help them set achievable goals and put together a free personalised training plan that they can stick to.

 

The silver surfer

 

The inspiring silver surfer puts us all to shame by keeping up with members twice their age in the gym; and in many cases, giving them a run for their money! To cater to the needs of gym members that fall into the over 60s age bracket, you should offer a varied range of high intensity and low intensity classes for different mobility levels. Some suitable high intensity classes are aerobics, dancing and swimming, while yoga and tai chi are excellent low intensity exercises. Your trainers should also help them build confidence in using weights, as although they may not have been exposed to lifting them for a long time, it can be extremely good for their health. You should also help them work through any existing injuries they may have.

The social butterfly

 

If you spy the social butterfly in your gym, they’ll most likely be taking a selfie in their nicest gym wear, texting between each set of reps, or precariously balancing their phone on an exercise machine to get their Netflix or Spotify fix as they get fit. There are a couple of things you can do to keep them happy, such as refreshing your club’s décor to make it ‘grammable’, having plenty of floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and investing in new machines that have apps such as Spotify and Netflix installed.

 

Whatever type of members your gym attracts, make collecting their Direct Debit payments an easier process with Payment Collection & Debt Recovery software from Ashbourne Management Services. Contact us to find out more about how we can help your club.