Whether you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle or improve heart health, a fitness gym can help you achieve your goals. They combine equipment, education, training and socialization to keep you motivated and coming back for more.
The standard of the facility and layout play an important role in creating a great experience for your members. When you create a space that aligns with your brand and keeps the same standard each time they visit, you can grow a loyal following.
Equipment
The equipment available at a fitness gym is a big part of the member experience. It creates a level of convenience, helps members hit their fitness goals and is an important factor in building a brand.
The types of equipment you provide at your fitness gym will depend on the size of your facility and what type of members you have. For example, a small gym with few members may only have a handful of cardio machines.
A large, specialized training facility will need a wide range of strength and weight-training equipment. This equipment should include a variety of weight machines, power racks and free weights in a number of different sizes to accommodate different users.
When it comes to choosing exercise equipment for a commercial gym, it is important to match your budget with the right grade of equipment. Light grade commercial equipment is generally intended for medium use and is less durable than full commercial grade exercise equipment, but it can still withstand heavy usage without requiring frequent repair or replacement.
Socialization
Fitness gyms offer a variety of socialization opportunities for their members. These can include classes, workout buddies, and social events like dinners or a drinks event.
Providing clients with opportunities to interact with others socially can help lessen some negative health effects of exercise. This includes reduced heart rate, blood pressure and stress hormones (Holt-Lunstadt, Robles & Sbarra 2017).
In addition to the exercise-focused spaces, club operators can create social nodes throughout the facility. These might include non-exercise areas, such as locker rooms and juice bars, as well as waiting areas outside of group exercise classes.
These elements can build a sense of community that drives membership sales and retention. It’s also an important way to attract new clients and entice existing ones back to the gym.
Education
Many schools offer physical education (PE) classes to promote fitness and wellness in children. This class is a required academic subject that helps students learn how to work as a team, develop healthy personal fitness habits and set goals for their physical well-being now and throughout their lives.
A good gym class will also offer a variety of activities that will help kids strengthen their coordination and flexibility, which are important for everyday movement as well as athletic pursuits and dance. The American Heart Association recommends that all children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day to improve their health and reduce the risk of chronic disease later in life.
If you’re considering a career as a gym teacher, it’s important to have a Bachelor of Education degree with an emphasis on physical education. You’ll also need to take a wide range of courses to ensure that you have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach children how to exercise safely and effectively.
Variety
Variety in your fitness gym workouts is a key factor for getting results. Whether you are doing cardio, strength training or both, varying your routine keeps your body and mind challenged and refreshed.
One way to vary your workouts is to add weight or reps to certain exercises or change the type of exercise. This can also help prevent plateaus in your progress.
Another way to keep yourself motivated and challenged is by having a workout buddy, so you can challenge each other and see each other’s success. This is especially beneficial for those who are just starting a new program.
Including a low to moderate level of exercise variety in your training routine can also help you avoid overtraining injuries and promote greater muscle hypertrophy. This happens due to the fact that low frequency of training increases mastery of movement patterns and higher frequencies of exercise increase protein synthesis which leads to muscle growth.