Jarod Cogswell, co-creator of Spartan DEKA and senior director of Spartan, contributed to this article. Customer experience is the overall perception of your customers based on the touchpoints through their journey with your company. It includes every interaction your members and guests have with your brand. A positive customer experience can add to your bottom line…
Alan Leach, CEO of West Wood Clubs, and Chair of the IHRSA Board of Directors, and Cheryl Ward Barnett, chief growth officer of ROR Partners, contributed to this article. In today’s world, marketing is an evolving and ever-changing discipline. It is the key driver of new members and guests as well as part of your…
The COVID-19 pandemic pummeled the health and fitness industry. Data shows that health clubs, gyms, and studios continued to close at alarming rates in 2021, demonstrating the fitness industry’s dire need for financial assistance. Tens of thousands of facilities have permanently closed, and thousands are still climbing out of the hole without the same access…
Over 40 fitness industry professionals from across the globe volunteered to help IHRSA develop an easy-to-use resource for sharing best practices on running a fitness facility. These volunteers are some of the top minds from health clubs, gyms, studios, community fitness centers, recreation complexes, and medical providers of all shapes and sizes. In early 2020,…
We have all heard about the importance of exercise and health. Being an orthopedic surgeon and performing many hip and knee replacements, I’ve seen this first hand. The rehab after hip or knee replacement is crucial in the outcome and recovery experience. Pain, fatigue, depression, and, even at times, post-traumatic stress in the postoperative period…
On July 15, 2021, Sony Music Entertainment, one of the largest record labels in the world, sued Gymshark, the UK-based fitness apparel company, for allegedly violating federal copyright law by using unlicensed sound recordings in social media videos. Sony alleges that Gymshark infringed upon “hundreds” of its copyrighted sound recordings and seeks to recover actual…
There’s a lot of good things happening in the fitness industry. Women are making their presence known, IHRSA members are teaming up to provide management and customer relations solutions, virtual fitness offers real marathon races, and researchers say exercise may be able to combat cancer. Although there’s so much good to share, the COVID-19 pandemic…
Even though there are roughly 22% fewer gyms and studios due to the pandemic, Americans still have many choices when selecting a gym. At Murphy Research, we have been tracking fitness attitudes and behaviors in the U.S. since 2018 through the State of Our Health (SOOH) syndicated tracker. Based on the numbers, here are the…
The first step toward promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the fitness industry is to understand its importance, both to you as a professional and to the industry as a whole. In the long-term, it requires an ongoing dialogue with yourself, during which you are open to exploring where you may have been falling…
As the world continues to slowly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term impacts of the last 18 months on physical and mental health are yet to be determined. Some mental health experts fear a “tsunami” of mental health issues will emerge in the near future. Investment in strategies to improve and address mental health…
For years people have been depending on health and fitness facilities and trainers to make them look and feel better. The choices for these individuals are diverse: cardio, muscle training, spinning, aquafitness, Crossfit, Pilates, Yoga, dance—you name it, there’s something for everyone. However, with all this diversity there has often been something lacking in the…
The IHRSA Foundation and ABC Fitness Solutions recently commissioned ClubIntel to conduct a research study examining the motivations and behaviors of fitness consumers. The resulting report, The Next Fitness Consumer, shows post-COVID exercise enthusiasts value the physical and mental health benefits of exercise. Active consumer motivation for a total fitness experience demands a highly personalized…