Gyms are a horrible business. For a small time when I was in far away in San Francisco, I seriously considered becoming co-owner of a gym I loved: it was independent, beautifully run, beloved by its customers… but barely broke even (we’re talking single digits). From the research I did then, it was clear that outside of some personal training gyms, a bunch of CrossFit boxes, and a few huge chains (and even most of those are suspect), it’s nearly impossible to make the classic “gym model” work. The reason? I think it’s that the model is sorely lacking in innovation. Its most recent trend, the Planet Fitness-style small cost of $10-20/month for a tiny space and minimal equipment, is just a testament to the fact that ultimately nearly every gym is based on the principle of incentivizing people to sign up for a long term contract, then hoping (or even expecting) they don’t come back. That might make okay business (not that any of these gyms are really crushing it– most success or failure in the gym space has basically fluctuated in step with the economy and expendable income), but not the best business. And definitely not business to feel good about. [1]
For the average consumer, gyms should be places people love to go to, feel good at, and rave about to their friends. I think they should be small, lean, & focused, dedicated to building a community atmosphere and working to keep people around so they can keep spending, stick with the gym, buy other stuff there, and convince all their friends to join.
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to know what will work. My life is 100% Greatist and what we can do to make health & fitness easier for people now on the platform we’re building. But for shits & giggles here’s what I’d look into & try if someone suddenly proposed to fund a massive new chain of brick & mortar gyms:
I’d hire people to work at & represent the gym just like Starbucks hires baristas, based on attitude, interest, & ability. But mostly attitude. The gym should be awesome, a positive, uplifting experience– and that starts at the person who’s at the front desk (if there is a front desk) and ends at the person cleaning the towels.
I’d have a very clear, standardized pricing system– one where everyone pays the same, w/o having to scrounge up random discounts all the time.
OR another option (which I think could really work and potentially be pretty transformative) is to do a Zipcar-like thing where people agree to pay a minimum per month, but really pay per visit (and even perhaps sign up as specifically as the machine they want to use, the weight lifting area, or both– either way, maximizing the efficiency of the equipment, which no one really does right now). They schedule their visits when they’re coming & the visits change prices based on the demand/popularity. This means the gym will never be PACKED (because of a maximum number of slots & because economics will convince people to go work out at another time that’s better). Plus, if people are paying already, they’re more likely to want to go (‘course the whole pay-per-visit thing might also disincentive people from going at all, but then they shouldn’t have bought the package in first place, maybe?)
I’d also offer alternative pricing for: families, coworkers, friends/roommates (switch off going), and one w/ exorbitant pricing that becomes super reasonable if certain goals (pounds, strength, endurance), whatever, are met. If someone recommends a friend and they sign up, they get something (free visits or whatever). Tracking visits, ps, can develop a leaderboard and all that, too. [2]
I’d consider an invite-only gym in the beginning to preserve some specific userbase (or not & instead just be super open & super willing to let people have day passes to check it out).
I’d definitely couple it w/ a small cafe/smoothie/food bar. It’s silly to have so many people leave the gym and then go eat somewhere else when they’d be more than happy to grab something healthy and go. It’s an expense– but if done right (and not half-assedly like most gyms do), it could be a big revenue driver. Has to be done well enough for people to go just for that (“healthy food” but not overbearingly so). For fun, I’d also maybe try a “tax” on bad goods that are offered in gyms. Sure, you can buy that piece of cake… but it’ll be $20/slice. How much do you really want it?
Can the cardio machines generate enough power to fuel the place? Make it cost-efficient if possible. People will love that and it could potentially save a ton of money. If not, invent machines that can (or at least find relatively affordable ones that could).
I’d invest heavily in technology that allows you to go to any of these gyms with a passcode/sign-in or whatever every machine recognizes you & tracks your data (if you want it to). Obviously tracking software/app with the website so people can add diet if they want or whatever. This can be a sticky feature & also be valuable data-wise down the line.
I’d make them small, compact, & everywhere. Working out & traveling sucks. Moving to a new place & finding a gym sucks. They all vary super widely, even within the same chains sometimes. Plus, location is everything– gyms are usually out of people’s way & that’s among the top factors people use as an excuse for not joining one and going regularly. If they’re everywhere, small, and the same– that’d be huge.
I’d pay crazy amounts to make sure the equipment & bathrooms are kept outrageously clean at all times. Think that’s key to the experience. And the extra cost minimal compared to everything else, really
I’d spend the time to recognize & reward great members who are motivating & helping others. Why just have a wall of trainer photos when the regular members are just as important at setting the gym’s pace & satisfaction? What if a gym treated its members like constituents, not customers? [3]
I’d experiment with using the late evenings (or really any non-peak times) as theme nights/events of some sort. Even if it’s just to play a certain type of music. Again, when signing up for times, stuff like that will be clear so people won’t be surprised. But then it can become a truly social place. A place people go to have fun & want to go to.
I’d also 100% do movie nights, sports game nights, big TV show airing nights, where people all come together to watch these games while on cardio machines or whatever. The shared sense of this could be a really interesting alternative to a sports bar or whatever– and there aren’t really all that many alternatives.
I’d try everything I could to hack at the current trainer-client model (right now, group classes & revenue-share with trainers is where most gyms make real profit… so they upsell the hell out of those things, regardless of whether people really need them or if that’s really the best, most effective way). I’d look into how to have trainers teach in classes more (for example, from 12-2pm today, come to the gym and Frank is open & willing to help with anything) and consider having 3-4 person training sessions (where Frank trains them together and sets up circuits or whatever)– these are sometimes called “semi-private training sessions” and definitely not widespread enough. A lot can be done here. [4] People could go back at different times for their favorite trainers.
Find a way to really have the best trainers only. The certification system is basically broken. There are too many– no regular consumer knows which to trust. There’s little to no updating, so trainers could have gotten certified 10 years earlier or whatever. I’d find a way to fix that, make it universal, and then really be able to keep only the best. the truth is most trainers suck, so the fact that they’re certified shouldn’t be enough. Worse, it’s also difficult to figure out who’s bad or good fast, especially if the client is inexperienced. The true solution here, I think, is ultimately some form of government regulation, but that’s a whole different blog post.
That’s a lot of ideas. A lot of random thoughts. And a lot of things I think the industry (and the world) sorely needs– or at least needs someone to try.
Know a gym that does some of this successfully? Have other ways in mind to disrupt the gym business? Share your experience & ideas in the comments below!
FOOTNOTES
[1] An exception, at least to me, are the gyms created only for the hardcore and focused. They exist because the have small (often closed) communities of people who love them, their founders are insanely well-respected, and… almost all of them are entirely on a trainer-client business model (the only model that really works right now). Of those, the ones that come to mind & kill it are Westside Barbell in Ohio, Gym Jones in Utah, Mike Boyle’s Strength & Conditioning in Massachussetts, NorCal Strength & Conditioning in California, and of course Peak Performance in NYC.
[2] My friends Yifan Zhang & Geoff Oberhofer are working on an external product to track some of this with Gym-Pact (and it’s launching January 1st, actually!)
[3] Special thanks to the always insightful Sam Novey for his thoughts on this point specifically.
[4] A lot of innovation in the trainer-client space is happening online right now, mostly with semi-tailored & video-focused programs like the new Daily Burn, GAIN Fitness, Exercise.com, FitOrbit, and others. It’s easy to think of these as the evolved version of Exercise DVDs which, though seemingly silly, is a hugely lucrative market. But the opportunity on the web to include so many other aspects, including real customization/personalization, food & fitness tracking, motivation & reminders, plus nutritionist advice & follow-through can give these platforms an opportunity to no doubt make an increasingly meaningful difference.