As many of us head down to the industry conference at IHRSA next week, many will be exploring the following topics. Where do you stand as an operator on these topics? 1. The evolution of fitness As consumers, we have never had as many choices as we do right now on exercise or activity options. There are gyms fees for all budgets and areas of specialization (athletic performance, boot camps, PT studios, yoga studios etc.). Universities, schools, hotels, condos, office buildings, municipalities, and sports teams are just some of the groups who have increased the quality of their fitness offering....

Here’s Real-Life Lesson # 2,651 that I learned during 40 years as a football coach and two decades as a college law enforcement professor/program coordinator that became our personal training policy when I started X Fitness from scratch over 15 years ago – team training beats personal training. There’s nothing tougher to sell than fitness. When I started X Fitness in 2001, I made a number of mistakes that almost killed my gym. One of them was selling personal training using the traditional model of personal training. It didn’t work out for us – dual meaning. No success and people stopped...

The IHRSA Foundation announced that 2017 will see the launch of five ACCESS Health pilot programs in IHRSA clubs, from California to New York. The ACCESS Health Initiative is the IHRSA Foundation’s five-year strategic effort to remove barriers to physical activity for people with chronic conditions through participant-focused, multi-dimensional wellness programs. One such program, funded by the IHRSA Foundation and the American Council on Exercise (ACE), is a pilot to serve cancer patients in San Diego area health clubs. In addition, the IHRSA Foundation is also addressing the needs of people...

Here’s Real-Life Lesson # 2,626 that I learned during 40 years as a football coach and two decades as a college law enforcement professor/program coordinator that became our primary survival strategy at X Fitness - Protect the Investment. It’s a transferable lesson that became our governing principle in the X Fitness Business System. I learned the power and significance of that lesson long before I started X Fitness from scratch over 15 years ago – nothing is more important than protecting customer investment in your organization financially, psychologically, physically, intellectually, emotionally,...

What value do I add? This is the fundamental question of business. Note, this isn’t necessarily the same question as “what do you do?”. What you do is “we have a 25,000 sq. ft. gym with terrific equipment and great group classes”, but the value you bring is stated in terms of the customer like “Our on-boarding process, needs analysis, and support system makes it easier for you to create lifelong exercise habits. Members of our gym are twice as likely to achieve their fitness and weight loss goals”. With budget-clubs rapidly spreading across the fitness landscape the question...

October 2016 marked the tenth anniversary for Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC), and we want to thank you for making this possible. Here is a quick update of some of the issues that we are working on diligently in 2017: Music Licensing: We are continuing to work to ensure a positive outcome for future music licensing fees. In 2014, FIC negotiated a 10-year agreement of 36 cents per class per year for FIC members. The original request by Re:Sound to the Copyright Board of Canada was $18.56 per member per year, which would have cost the fitness industry more than $86 million per year. Consumer...