Resources for Fitness Studios & Boutiques

A comprehensive list of all IHRSA resources created to help fitness studios, boutiques, and similar facilities succeed and grow. This page will be updated regularly.

Part of IHRSA’s mission is to provide its members with benefits that will help them be more successful. To expand on this mission, we have tailored our resources to meet the needs of studios, small gyms, and boutique fitness facilities.

Jump to the resources you need by topic:

Fitness Programming & Facilities

Group Purchasing [PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS]
By changing the way you approach purchasing, you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on licensing, housekeeping and appliances, utilities, and more.

These 7 Fitness Programming Trends are Bringing in Fresh Ideas [ARTICLE]
From virtual golf to old grade-school games, health clubs and studios are implementing new programs that keep exercise from going stale.

How to Bring Functional Fitness Training to a Wider Population [ARTICLE]
Increase engagement—and revenue—at your fitness business by expanding your functional fitness training programming.

Core Considerations: Fitness Experts Share Current Trends and Common Fallacies [ARTICLE]
Viewing core training from a variety of perspectives provides a comprehensive sense of what is...and isn't.

Success in Group Exercise [WEBINAR]
Group exercise programs are frequently an overlooked aspect of running a successful fitness facility. When managed properly it can increase revenue, referrals and member retention as well as be a key element to overall success.

How to Create an Exceptional Outdoor Fitness Site for Your Gym [WEBINAR]
Learn how to move your gym’s exercise facilities outdoors by creating a fitness site that is customized to your audience.

Group Fitness Variety and Strategy for Increased Revenue [CLASSES ON DEMAND]
Group fitness can be a complex offering at your facility. Learn best practices to keep your programming fresh. This IHRSA Online Learning class is available to you on-demand with in-depth content and opportunities to earn CECs/CEUs.

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Technology & Consumer Research

5 Ways Artificial Intelligence Can Transform Your Gym’s Sales [ARTICLE]
Artificial intelligence-assisted CRM may become your gym’s best sales tool—and sooner than you’d think.

How AI is changing the Health & Fitness Industry [CLASSES ON DEMAND]
Understand and leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for your business. This IHRSA Online Learning class is available to you on-demand with in-depth content and opportunities to earn CECs/CEUs.

Technology Hacks for Personal Trainers [CLASSES ON DEMAND]
Now more than ever, technology and personal training go hand-in-hand. Learn how to implement new trends in technology to boost your client’s experience. This IHRSA Online Learning class is available to you on-demand with in-depth content and opportunities to earn CECs/CEUs.

The 2020 IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report
This annual publication provides demographics and health, sports, and fitness participation data on America’s health club and studio users. New to this year’s report is an analysis of trends since 2010 as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the fitness consumer.

COVID Era Fitness Consumer COVER

The COVID Era Fitness Consumer

The COVID Era Fitness Consumer is a report based on a study of American health club members commissioned by IHRSA and conducted by Kelton. The report discusses health club user sentiment and behavior prior to, during, and after facility closures.

GET THE REPORT

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Staffing & Personal Training

Cultural Leadership: The Key to Employee Engagement & Retention [CLASSES ON DEMAND]
Gain a better understanding of the engagement of your team. Cultural leadership is the key to excellence. This IHRSA Online Learning class is available to you on-demand with in-depth content and opportunities to earn CECs/CEUs.

Teach Your Health Club Trainers to Sell, Service, & Thrive [ARTICLE]
Give your health club trainers the tools they need to recruit and maintain clients.

Why Personal & Small Group Training is for Everyone [ARTICLE]
People of all ages and ethnicities participate in personal and small group training. Our research expert breaks down the unique distinctions from our Fitness Training Report.

The 30-Minute Model: Generating 7-Figures with 30-Minute Training [WEBINAR]
The 30-minute model could be the answer to your members’ and customers' number one excuse for not showing up—a perceived lack of time.

Key Learnings in the Virtual World of Personal Training [WEBINAR]
How to evaluate and improve your online personal training program to stay relevant to your gym’s at-home audience.

3 Steps to Success: Remote Personal Training for Your Gym [WEBINAR]
With gyms moving personal training online, your member experience needs to be sharper than ever.

Develop a Winning Personal Training Team [WEBINAR]
A successful team is developed by implementing strategies which provide both managers and personal trainers with skills required to effectively manage their business, within the overall club business plan.

How to Strategically Hire and Onboard Personal Trainers [WEBINAR]
Finding and keeping quality trainers isn’t easy. This webinar will give you the tools to build and retain your personal training dream team.

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Sales & Marketing

Sales Training for Trainers Who Don't Like to Sell [WEBINAR]
Personal trainers don’t choose their career to become salespeople, but—like it or not—they must be involved in the sales process in order to foster a successful personal training program.

Simplifying Your Branding Message [CLASSES ON DEMAND]
Your customers and potential new leads are bombarded daily with marketing tactics. Break through the noise by clarifying your message. This IHRSA Online Learning class is available to you on-demand with in-depth content and opportunities to earn CECs/CEUs.

Make Your Fitness Studio Stand out from the Crowd [WEBINAR]
Even in today's competitive market, there are several strategies you can implement to position your fitness studio for success.

Meet the Customer Where They Are with Digital Marketing [WEBINAR]
Identify digital marketing methods you can use to create a clear understanding of your customer.

Webinar Personal Training No Sponsor

Effective Marketing & Programming for Clubs & Studios

In this webinar, learn to stretch your marketing budget by leveraging creative, cost-effective strategies that will grow your personal training department and member retention.

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Fitness Leadership Lessons Learned by Saving the Universe [WEBINAR]
Before Chris Stevenson opened his first club, he was a “Power Rangers” stuntman. And that experience taught him invaluable lessons that will apply to your business.

Why Most Startup Fitness Studios Fail [ARTICLE]
With programs like yoga, Pilates, cross training, stationary cycling, heart-rate, boot camp, and HIIT, a studio can concentrate on individual instruction and small-group training that allows for more customization and social support, while promising quicker results.

Creating a Strategy to Compete in a Hyper-competitive Market [CLASSES ON DEMAND]
Execute your strategy with competition in mind. This IHRSA Online Learning class is available to you on-demand with in-depth content and opportunities to earn CECs/CEUs.

Think Inside the Box to Better Your Fitness Business [WEBINAR]
Maximize and creatively leverage what resources you have to increase your business growth, and ultimately, create something new from the old.

What Gyms Need to Know Before Selling Gift Certificates [ARTICLE]
When selling gift certificates, it's important to know what the specific laws are in your state. If you aren't careful, it could cost you.

3 Common Music Copyright Questions From Gym Owners Like You [ARTICLE]
Music can set the mood in your club, but music could cost you more than you initially planned if you aren’t careful.

Why All gyms need to follow the Peloton Music Copyright Case [ARTICLE]
Ten music publishers sued Peloton for $150 million for violating music copyright law. What could this mean for the fitness industry?

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Coronavirus

Fitness & Wellness Industry Plays Critical Role in COVID Times [ARTICLE]
In this case study, Pure Group CEO Colin Grant writes how misconceptions around health clubs, gyms, and studios were set straight; how facts speak for themselves; how customers were safe and informed; and how the industry rallied together and worked to create a better future.

Safety Considerations for Sport, Fitness Clubs in the Context of COVID-19 [GUIDE]
As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into 2021, gyms will need safety protocols in place until the population is sufficiently vaccinated. These considerations are a collaboration of IHRSA, Europe Active, and WFSGI and informed by WHO research and guidelines.

Active Safe studio

Make the IHRSA Active & Safe Commitment

The Active & Safe Commitment is an initiative to reaffirm the fitness industry’s unyielding dedication to safety at this time when exercise has never been more important to global health.

Make the Commitment

Author avatar

HFA Staff @HealthFitAssoc

This article was a team effort by several HFA experts.