Footprints: Part 1

Footprints can tell us where we’ve been or where we’re headed. The same holds true for the footprints, meaning equipment, within your facility. Does your equipment show where you’ve been or where you’re headed?

Before we jump into the good stuff, let’s establish a solid foundation about where the experts say we are and where we’re headed as an industry. Then we can compare that to what your facility’s footprints are telling you and your patrons.

It’s no surprise, or at least it shouldn’t be, that an unhealthy lifestyle has been suggested as being the primary factor attributed to more than 50% of severe COVID-19 cases among the population. An article from IHRSA, detailing fitness market insights representing more than 40% of total membership around the world, revealed three important points:

1. More than two-thirds of members plan to return to their facilities
2. Member were less active when their facilities were closed
3. Most members depend on their facilities to enhance their health and wellbeing

This is supported by statistical evidence showing that as health clubs begin to reopen, they are extremely safe venues. Stats from the UK, Australia, and the US have shown that out of tens of millions of check-ins there is less than a 0.002% incidence of associated cases. Furthermore, many health clubs have seen a marked increase in memberships sales in recent months. So, it’s time to look ahead and prepare for who and what’s coming.

As facilities reopen all around the world, the most important footprints are those of patrons coming to join and/or returning to your facilities. However, why they are there and what they will be looking for are of the utmost importance. These footprints, and the desires of your patrons, lead us to the second most important footprints in your facility, your equipment.

Let’s face it, people are far more likely to stick with what they enjoy, so it can’t be just any equipment, it has to be relative to your demographics. For many, motivation to train comes as much from personal interaction as the desire to improve health. According to Club Industry, a recent survey has shown that approximately 50% of gym goers said working out with others is most motivating while approximately 44% said health is most motivating.

IHRSA also points out, while in years past men and women had noticeably different preferences in a training facility, recent trends suggest otherwise. This is especially true with Millennials and Generation Z, who comprise nearly 50% of health club members. They tend to favour a more “functional fitness” style of training. This type of training typically involves more racks and lifting platforms, barbells, dumbbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, and other accessories that can also be performed outdoors if desired.

Equipment with footprints consistent with the wants and needs of your patrons will have the greatest impact on your profitability, stability, and growth. To maximize this impact, it is imperative to choose equipment that 1) has a favourable footprint to patron ratio – how many patrons can safely be active in a given space of equipment (footprint) at any given time – and, 2) allows multiple exercises to be performed within that footprint.

Why you ask? For starters, having more customers involved in activities they prefer, per unit of space, equals more satisfied customers. More satisfied customers lead to decreased attrition. Less attrition results in the increased stability of your membership base. This ultimately fuels increased profitability and opportunity for growth, as satisfied customers are more likely to ‘tell a friend’.

For example, in a 15-foot x 15-foot space you can safely fit about 3 treadmills, which allows for 3 patrons to be active in that footprint at one time, performing essentially one main exercise. On the other hand, a strength station consisting of a rack and lifting platform with pull-up and dip bars, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, joy sticks, glute benches, plyo-boxes, and more allows up to 6 people to safely perform multiple exercises and get a total-body training session at one time. This is obviously based upon the accessories used and the guidelines within your facility.

Conclusion

The footprints in your facility are more than statements about the identity of your facility. By maximizing the productivity of your footprints, you create a solid foundation for increasing your profitability, stability, and growth. When your footprints are aligned with the trends of your demographics, you're headed in the right direction. Trends suggest free-weights are becoming more desirable with a shift in more men and women enjoying functional fitness style trainings. Putting this all together in an allocated strength station with well-designed programming strategies is a recipe for success … and we’ll discuss the programming in Part 2.