(Editors' Note: This sponsored article is part of Club Industry's report, " Cardio and Strength Equipment Trends, Technology, Purchasing and Maintenance." To download this free report, click here.)
Have you maximized the layout of your cardio and strength areas? Are you offering a fully connected, digital service to your members? If you aren’t doing these things, here are a few reasons why you should reconsider.
Maximize, Modernize and Monetize with Zones
The days of rows of cardio equipment as far as the eye can see are long gone. The popularity of the boutique fitness market and the unstoppable force of social media are forcing larger health clubs to change. Consumers now expect an experience from their fitness, and the industry needs to step up to keep offering something new.
The pressure is on to maximize, modernize and monetize every inch of your gym floor. And ensuring that each space has a clear purpose through zoning is a great way to achieve this while boosting member confidence. Zoning will encourage communities of people who like training in the same way or for the same goals, which will in turn increase member engagement and retention.
Take indoor cycling, for example. The industry has seen how zoning this modality can boost small group training, one-on-one personal training and membership uptake. In the past, indoor bikes may have just been haphazardly placed next to treadmills and cross trainers. But they now have a distinct place of their own on the gym floor. Indoor cycling has been popular for a long time, but zoning of indoor bikes on the gym floor has boosted the popularity of performance-based training or the popular trend of training like an athlete, using indoor bikes as a training tool to test and benchmark fitness, improve power and strength as well as cardio.
It’s important not to disregard the key component of design. Branding an area to make it stand out as a zone can motivate members while also directing them around your gym space, creating a flow to their individual fitness journey.
Offering Data-Driven Training
Technology, connectivity and wearable innovations have made fitness an integral part of daily life. Members don’t leave their fitness journey behind when they leave the gym; they take it with them. Therefore, the industry needs to find ways of allowing and supporting this connectivity inside and outside of the four walls of the gym.
This leap in tracking data has also meant that consumers are no longer satisfied with just knowing simple information, such as their step count and their weight. That is why ensuring that the equipment you purchase measures more performance parameters is important. It provides the user with effective and efficient power-based training solutions.
Training has now become data driven. This change is not only being driven by the consumer but also by equipment suppliers who are constantly evolving and finding new ways to enhance the member experience. In many cases, this is through equipment manufacturer apps or connectivity with third-party apps that allow members to keep using all of their favorite trackers and train the way they want. Apps can offer training programs that members can take home from the gym, acting as a digital personal trainer in their products, available at their fingertips 24/7.
BIO
Richard Baker is CEO of Wattbike. Since Wattbike started work on its pioneering indoor power trainer in 2000, the company has been obsessed. Obsessed with perfectly replicating the sensation of riding on the road. Obsessed with generating the world’s most accurate power, technique and performance data. Obsessed with creating the ultimate indoor cycling experience. The Wattbike is the indoor bike of choice for the health and fitness sector, the home fitness market and elite sport, including the NBA, NHL and NFL. Today, Wattbike offers the complete indoor cycling solution with a portfolio of Wattbikes to suit every Wattbiker.