Many fitness trends have come and gone over the last decade, some have been amazing and revolutionised the Health & Wellness industry as we know it, some, on the other hand, we’re glad to see the back of – good riddance to the juice diets and the vibrating belts! Now, as we approach the ‘twenties’, we want to see what is in store for the next 10 years, so in this post, I’ll be looking at the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) latest annual survey of worldwide fitness trends and I shall offer my best guidance on how you, as a Health Club Operator, can take advantage.
1. Wearable technology.
Yet again, Wearable technology was the number 1 worldwide fitness trend, this is the third year running it has featured in the top spot. Here, we’re referring to fitness trackers, smartwatches, heart-rate monitors, GPS tracking devices and basically, any other technological device you wear to support your health and fitness goals.
Now, Wearable technology is already estimated to be a $95 billion industry, so the question really is – what could possibly happen next? I have previously written an article addressing Wearable Technology and how operators can make the most of it, but to summarise, my view on Wearable Technology is that it is very much ‘what your fitness facility makes of it’. If you understand and recognise what your members want, then it’s vital you launch the correct Wearable Technology model that will work for you.
You can choose to team up with an existing provider, or you can set up your own Wearable Technology system – both have their pros and cons. Whichever model ultimately takes your fancy, it needs to be right at the epicentre of your business and day to day operations. Digital marketing, branding and other forms of communication need to be optimised so every member knows about your Wearable Technology, and the concept must be synonymous with your member experience.
Arguably the biggest key to unlocking success with Wearable Technology is getting your Personal Trainers and Fitness Instructors bought into the concept within your club.
The Operators who will be most successful in the realm of Wearable Technology will be those who ensure their fitness teams live and breathe it, it will also be those who regularly analyse the masses of data obtained from such devices. For me, the insights gained from Wearable Technology will be a game-changer for predicting gym performance, attendance, retention and thus, churn.
2. High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
HIIT, which involves short bursts of high-intensity training followed by periods of rest, has found itself in the top 5 Worldwide Fitness trends for the 10th year running, so it’s obviously doing something right!
Like with Wearable Technology, I have already written an in-depth post encouraging Operators to make HIIT a huge focus on their Group Exercise timetable here. But so you can carry on scrolling through this current article, I’ll again do my best to encapsulate what that post says. Firstly, HIIT has been shown to accelerate health benefits, improving all sorts of health areas from lowering blood pressure to facilitating fat loss. It’s reasonable to contend that a healthier member achieving results is a happier member, so in other words, HIIT leads to greater retention levels. Additionally, the sheer variety of exciting equipment used and the actual uniqueness of each HIIT workout should lead to members becoming more engaged and dropping out less in classes, which will again increase class attendance figures and retention. Ultimately though, HIIT is ideal for you as an Operator, as it allows you to remain competitive, especially against the booming Boutique providers who are opening up left, right and centre. HIIT can come in many forms, you can even run Virtual HIIT Classes using a system like the Virtual Wexer during studio downtime to keep your members engaged.
The Operators who will get the most success from HIIT in 2020 will again be the ones who utilise their class attendance data effectively. General Managers, Fitness Coaches and Marketing Teams must have a clear understanding as to who their HIIT class hero audience is. Once established, Health Clubs will be much better positioned to upsell further secondary revenue streams such as Small Group Training and HIIT focused 1-2-1 Personal Training to this network of people, this makes for the perfect fit as this group of HIIT enthusiasts are likely to already possess some similar characteristics to ‘buyers of Personal Training’, i.e, they are results-driven, they like fun exercises, they don’t like training alone, they like performing at high intensity, they like a coach telling them what to do.
This brings me nicely on to my next trend.
3. Small Group Training
While Group Exercise training programs (think fitness classes) have been around for a long time, Small Group Personal Training (SGT) has only really taken off in the last 3 years, ranking in the top 10 each year in the annual survey.
Within this SGT setting, up to five participants are lead by Group Exercise Instructors and Personal Trainers, and such sessions are designed to be effective and motivating for those of all levels of fitness and fun.
Once again, I’ve already written a large piece on Small Group Training and how your Health Club can get the most out of it – take a look here.
It’s almost like I predicted all these trends were coming? However, if you want to stay reading this article then I’ll highlight the main points of the article.
First and foremost, Health Clubs should ensure the ratio of SGT participants to trainers is no more than 1:4, as they need to maintain a motivating, stimulating environment. Furthermore, all programming needs to be tailored both to individuals and the group, a feat that can be quite difficult to achieve if not careful. Regarding feedback, a combination of coach commentary and on-screen digital instruction seems to be the best way to deliver a correct and effective workout.
The Operators who are likely to achieve the most future success with Small Group Training will be the ones that create and shape real member communities. Those who have well-thought-out training programs and continually monitor progress will benefit the most as their members will achieve the best results. Subsequently, Small Group Training becomes much easier to market and sell when you have an array of member transformations and testimonials at your disposal to showcase, so success breeds success with Small Group Training.
4. 1-2-1 Personal Training
Frankly speaking, unless something remarkable happens within the industry, 1 to 1 Personal training will always remain a trend. Since 2006, it has never featured outside of the top 10. In today’s world, Personal Trainers are not only in gyms but online, too.
With such a great deal of information and competition out there, it is vital that each Health Club gets their PT business model right. There are so many pros and cons to both the ‘Self Employed’ and the standard ‘Employed PT’ business model that perhaps both need to be addressed.
In my opinion, the Health Club Operators that will benefit most from 1-2-1 Personal Training in the future will be the ones that manage to ensure the in club service is mirrored online, every step of the way from the initial purchase of a PT session to interacting with their chosen PT. Furthermore, the Health Club Operators who invest time in inspecting such purchase data in order to thoroughly determine their core browsers and buyers of Personal Training are the ones who will experience elevated success. By gaining clear insight into which audiences are buying Personal Training, Health Clubs will be able to execute smarter, targeted, automated marketing campaigns aimed at the right people which should help to consistently drive an influx of Personal Training sales.
5. Bodyweight training.
Bodyweight training, which is training using, ahem, the body, has been trending now for the last 7 years, however, it has really come to prominence as a major phenomenon in the last 3 years. Due to it’s sparing use of equipment, it offers an inexpensive way for Health Club members to exercise effectively. As of now, Specialist Calisthenics centres, CrossFit Gyms and Functional Fitness facilities all promote Bodyweight training exercises within their training programs.
To my mind, the budget gyms should try to capitalise on this trend. As minimal, if any, equipment is needed to run ‘bodyweight classes’, it is somewhat surprising that the budget clubs have not sought after this trend. Perhaps, A HiiT/YOGA fusion class combining core stability with intense bouts of training is something that we will see offered on timetables from the low-cost clubs in the future?
6. Fitness Programs for older adults
This idea of fitness programming for the elderly has been one that the industry, on the whole, has flirted with, but has never really grasped. The trend has been listed in the ACSM annual survey for the last 5 years up but never in the top 5. Here, the focus is placed on making exercise accessible and effective for those over 55.
Now, I have previously offered advice on how to ensure your marketing and membership experience is catered for ‘BabyBoomers’ (alongside every other generational cohort), which you can read here. It ought to be noted that the goals of elderly adults are pretty vast, but they are also specific. To name a few of those goals we are concerned with; reducing the stress around the joints, eliminating back pain, preventing osteoporosis, improving posture and connective muscle tissue, and finally, seeing adaptations in both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in order to prolong the quality of life.
Now, investing in specialist active ageing equipment will be key here for Health Club Operators in the future. Simply expecting the older audience to use already existing non-specialised kit may not be enough to attract and retain an elderly audience in 2020. Seen as swimming pools, spas and jacuzzis remain popular among the elderly, the Premium Operators and Independents who already boast such facilities may find it worthwhile to splash out on specialist active ageing equipment to further strengthen their position as the best place for the elderly to exercise. However, if the Premium Operators miss the boat, then the Budget Gyms now know how to capitalise to get the lion share of this market in 2020 and beyond – specialist active ageing kit!
7. Exercise for weight loss.
‘Weight Loss’ is often cited as the number 1 reason or ‘motivator’ when factoring why people join gyms, so we shouldn’t be left astounded by seeing ‘Exercise for Weight Loss’ as a trend. In fact, it has been a top 20 trend since the annual survey began in 2006.
Now, most diet programs combine some kind of exercise program with nutrition logging. However the diet program is marketed, it is essentially the tracking calories to ensure that one is in a ‘deficit’, rather a caloric ‘surplus’ which ultimately dictates whether a person will lose or gain weight.
The gyms likely to have the most success with ‘Exercise for Weight Loss’ are those who make quality, bespoke, community-led Personal Training packages promoting genuine and honest ways to lose weight. Over the last 20 years, from the notions of ‘carbs make you gain weight’ to ‘slimming pills help you burn fat’, there has been an alarming amount of misleading information available online, and for some, it is still difficult to differentiate what is a myth, and what is backed up by empirical evidence. Thankfully, people are starting to rise up to this nonsense. With that in mind, the only gyms that will be successful in the future within this area will be those that do it with integrity. Weight Loss Camps and Largest Loser competitions which have been successful for gyms and other institutions in the past will only be effective moving forward if the gym delivers them in the right way. The more open, truthful and sincere Health Clubs are around this area, the more they will be able to specialise in weight loss.
8. Outdoor activities.
A variety of outdoor activities such as group hikes, park runs, obstacle races, climbing expeditions, and even water sports are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. This trend began in 2010 and has remained in the top 10 throughout the last decade. We’re also seeing the emergence of ‘Rabble’ and ‘Be More Fit’ who have taken HIIT training and circuit training to the outdoors, respectively. Participants of such activities will either rock up to an organised event if it’s one of ‘large-scale’, or if it’s of much lesser magnitude, they will just meet in a local recreation area and take on their planned activity or excursion.
So how do Health Clubs, which offer primarily ‘indoor fitness’ make the most of this one?
Well, as I’ve preached in many of my posts, building a successful member base is all about creating communities. While your Health Club should be at the heart of that community, there is absolutely nothing wrong with arranging monthly outdoor activities at the weekend for your members. The Health Clubs that will be able to gain the most benefit from the ‘Outdoor Activities’ trend will be the ones who partner up with outdoor companies who make such ‘community-focused’ events happen regularly. To determine the value of organising ‘Outdoor Activities’ for members, operators ought to analyse the data of members who attend such events to see if they are leaving happy NPS scores and actually remaining loyal members of their Health Club.
Health Clubs may wish to take their tie-ins with such companies further and sponsor larger Outdoor Events in a bid to drive awareness, leads and sales. To evaluate the effectiveness of such promotional effort, key metrics and performance indicators need to be in place. This may be through a phone number that participants of the event can text on the day to claim a free week at the sponsoring Health Club, or through the distribution of unique discount codes to join the facility via email or through tangible marketing collateral.
9. Children and exercise
While it remains a huge issue, ‘Children and Exercise for the Prevention or the Cure of Obesity’ has not been listed in the top 10 as a trend in the ACSM annual survey within the last 5 years, however, it is in the top 20 for the 2020 annual survey and I feel it’s definitely something worth drawing your attention to.
Childhood and adolescent obesity remains a huge issue in the UK, mainly because it is seen to put a child at risk of contracting Diabetes Type 2 and Heart Disease among other social and psychological problems. So even though it’s not a major ‘trend’, it is certainly a ‘major problem’. Health clubs around the world should be acting on this, not merely to boost their Corporate Social Responsibility, but with genuine intentions to shape the health of the future generations.
The Health Clubs who may derive the most benefit from being active in the ‘Children and Exercise’ space will be those who manage to combine valuable kids memberships with a pleasurable experience for the family. However Health Clubs need to look beyond just providing a creche service, instead, the focus must be on getting the kids actively engaged with a tailored, fun exercise regime. Only if a program has clear health benefits for children, will we begin to tackle this problem as an industry.
10. Workplace wellbeing programs
Although this hasn’t been a megatrend in previous years, in 2020 it did come in at number 18 so I feel it’s worthy of a mention. Here, we are referring to a wide array of programs and schemes provided by employers to boost the health and wellness of the workforce. For an employer, it often has positive effects on reducing staff absenteeism and increasing staff productivity. Typically, workplace wellbeing programs are either ‘on-site’ or in a nearby gym.
I believe it’s time Health Club Operators were more hands-on in this area. There are aggregators currently operating such as HUSSLE (formerly PayAsUGym), GymFlex and MoveGB who are making waves in this area, but this is not to say that Health Clubs should just lie down and watch external forces dominate the market. The Health Clubs which will be at the top of the pile when it comes to workplace wellbeing programmes will be those who are proactive, those who provide separate lunchtime sessions for corporates during studio down-time and use clever storytelling techniques to share how they are right gym for Corporates in the local area. Tailored strategies which meet the needs of each organisation will no doubt become the way to deliver such programs in the future, even if that involves working alongside such aggregators.
Conclusion
To summarise, the trends of the ACSM in 2020 are nothing new, they have in fact been present for the last 10 years and most have even remained as ‘top 10 trends’ throughout every year in the decade just gone. However, what has evolved is our industry knowledge and insight on how to tackle a trend. Within this post, I’ve offered my best tips for Health Club Operators pertaining to capitalising on each trend, and the one recurring theme seems to be – ‘analyse the data and do something with it’.
On that note, over to you.