Facilities: Page 626

Heavy Duty

Fitness facilities are discovering a golden opportunity to weigh in on the fat fight.

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Floating an Idea

Heeding member suggestions, a Wisconsin health club launches its own water park.

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Profiting from Functional Fitness

The physical benefits of functional training are many, and fitness centers can profit from this growing fitness trend.Training for real lifeTo receive the "real life" benefits of resistance training, exercisers should use multiple muscle groups in an integrated fashion. This runs counter to the idea behind machine-based weight training, which was developed to allow bodybuilders to isolate single muscle groups. The muscles get stronger using machines and free weights, which is an essential component of any fitness program, but the all-important synergy of the body will not be accomplished. By contrast, functional training, such as SAQ (speed, agility and quickness), Pilates and yoga,challenges the body to work as a whole, firing up the muscles in a sequential pattern.In putting together each workout, trainers can choose from thousands of exercises, including more than 25 ways to perform a simple forward lunge. Mixing it up helps mitigate boredom and the exercise dropout factor that so often follows. It may be more difficult to choreograph and perform, but it will be more fun and beneficial to the member.To maximize human performance, trainers must have a good understanding of what affects performance. The factors that play the greatest role in performance are power (strength and speed), agility (flexibility, mobility, stability), cardiovascular and respiratory conditioning, sports skills (neuromuscular coordination and efficiency) and genetic potential.Metabolism. A major fraction of total daily energy demand arises from resting metabolism, and it is, thus, important to document the resting metabolism of clients. Metabolism decreases by about 10 percent per decade after the third decade of life. One reason is the loss of metabolically active muscle mass, and a parallel increase in metabolically inert fat deposits.As age increases, there may also be some overall reduction in cellular metabolism. Food intake must be correspondingly adjusted if body fat is not to increase further.Loss of strength progressively impedes everyday living. Muscle strength can be greatly improved by as little as eight weeks of resistance/functional training. Stronger muscles further enhance function by stabilizing joints, reducing the risks of falls, and improving balance and coordination.Exercise training cannot restore tissue that has already been destroyed, but it can protect exercisers against a number of chronic diseases. More importantly, it maximizes residual function. In some instances, biological age is reduced by as much as 20 years. Life expectancy is increased, partial and total disability is delayed, and there are major gains in quality-adjusted life expectancy. Exercise is, thus, an important component of healthy living.The recommended equipment for functional training will vary from that used in traditional strength training. Recent findings in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning show that machine-based strength training has limited carryover in helping perform activities of daily living. There are many better equipment options for functional strength training that minimize equipment needs. These include the following:Body weight. Combined with jump ropes or exercise balls, body weight is often challenging on its own, especially during lunges and push-ups.Exercise balls. Exercise balls offer a fun way to combine balance work with other exercises.Fitness center revenueAppropriate testing will ensure optimal outcomes, and instill confidence in participants. Justifiably, this comes at a premium price. Revenue generation comes from the following:* Functional training sessions, for which you can charge $65 per session, or $85 for a group of four.* Sports-specific training.* Pilates (prevailing rates within geographic location), including individual reformer, group reformer and mat classes.Lifestyle and lifetime changes

A Safety Checklist for Group Cycling Classes

Basic guidelines for instructors and facility managers to follow to ensure your group cycling program is successful and safe.

Driving Repeat Business to Boost Spa Sales

With a captive audience in your fitness center membership, marketing strategies for your spa should focus on developing repeat business. One frequently overlooked area in increasing spa revenue is staffing. Frequently, the business is already there; only fitness centers are not staffed to accommodate member requests for a specific service, time or gender. This not only leads to turned-away business (lost revenue), but also to a potentially unhappy member who is likely to visit a local day spa next time they are thinking about a service. For spas that do not have full-time service providers, the challenge is to find a cost-effective way to staff so as to reduce missed revenue opportunities. One way to do this is to develop a list of reliable, on-call therapists and technicians who are trained in your spa's services, protocols and standards. The upside for them is an opportunity to develop a loyal following of "regulars" who consistently book treatments with them. Keep in mind, for this to happen, compensation must be competitive.Front desk staff can assist with sales by creating a list of existing spa users, and calling them regularly to give them priority scheduling. By letting members know that the spa is booking quickly, and offering them an opportunity to block out their most convenient time, you have not only potentially captured an additional treatment, but have reinforced your spa's commitment to service and personalized attention.With staff trained and on-board to sell your spa, you can now create unique events and packages to introduce members to the benefits of regular spa services. Holding a special member event is one such example. A night of "Champagne and Shopping" in the spa will promote retail and drive gift certificate sales. Select a key holiday such as Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's, etc., and invite your members to a night of discounted merchandise, beverages and food, give-a-ways and instructional clinics. Be sure to arrange for some spa samples from your vendors, and set up chair and foot massages to get members near the gift certificate desk. Include incentives to purchase gift certificates such as an additional $15 with the purchase of every $100, or special retail items at cost. Invite local retailers to also set up shop in your facility.Don't overlook your spa

Delivering Exceptional Service

To keep your customers happy, offer exceptional service that focuses on reliability, responsiveness, reassurance, empathy and tangibles. ReliabilityIf a promise is broken, rebuild your reliability by apologizing, admitting that something went wrong and finding out what your client needs now. Leave out the excuses; clients don't want to hear them. Finally, don't over promise. Reliability means keeping promises you make, and making promises you can keep.Doing something at the right time or in a timely manner is being responsive. When you set deadlines, be realistic. If you know a remodel will take longer than promised, or the treadmills you ordered will be late, be up front with members.ReassuranceEmpathyIf you respond with sympathy, you can become worn out. When you respond with empathy, you are emotionally aware and sensitive, without becoming emotionally involved. Empathy allows you to be calm and in control, and professional and caring at the same time. Using empathy will let your members know they're being heard, and make them feel like they are important.When prospective members enter your facility, they begin to form an impression about the services before even receiving them. They are evaluating your intangible services based on the tangibles they can see and hear. Tangibles play a big role in making your services memorable, for better or worse.Practice makes perfect

Understanding the New Research on Antioxidant Supplements

Clinical studies on antioxidant supplements have been mixed, with some finding benefits and others finding no benefits. Clinical studies in humans have generally been mixed, however, with some finding benefits and others finding no benefits. And recent analyses suggest that megadoses of beta-carotene and vitamin E may even be harmful to the people researchers once thought would benefit most from supplementation: smokers and people with artery disease.Beta-carotene is one of more than 50 chemicals called carotenoids in the human diet. Carotenoids are plant pigments responsible for the red, orange and deep yellow colors found in many fruits and vegetables. Many dark green vegetables contain carotenoids as well, but the dark green of chlorophyll masks the lighter shades of the carotenoids.Because beta-carotene looks like a powerful antioxidant in the laboratory, several well-designed studies have tested the effect of beta-carotene supplements on rates of cancer development in people. While some studies found no effect, a few found that beta-carotene supplements were associated with higher cancer rates, especially in current and former smokers. A recent meta-analysis of research looking at the effect of beta-carotene supplements on rates of digestive system cancers in humans concluded that mortality rates were slightly higher for subjects in the beta-carotene groups than subjects receiving a placebo.1Similar conclusions have been reached concerning vitamin E. In the laboratory, vitamin E seems to help protect arteries from damage by preventing oxidation of cholesterol carriers called low-density lipoproteins (LDLs). However, a recent meta-analysis concluded that human subjects receiving megadoses of vitamin E, versus a placebo, had somewhat higher mortality rates.2,3The current research does not suggest that all antioxidant supplements are harmful, but that people should re-evaluate their use of vitamin E and beta-carotene. Risk of mortality only increased in the meta-analyses by a very small amount. Critics have pointed out that subjects in many of the studies were unhealthy to begin with, so the effect of these supplements on healthy people may be different. Risk of harm from vitamin E seems to increase at doses of 400 IU and higher; lower doses may be safe, although more research is needed.REFERENCES2. Greenberg, E.R. Vitamin E supplements: Good in theory, but is the theory good? Annals of Internal Medicine 142 (1), 2005. Accessed 12/1/04 at www.annals.org.4. Powers, S.K., K.C. DeRuisseau, J. Quindry and K.L. Hamilton. Dietary antioxidants and exercise. Journal of Sports Sciences 22 (1): 81-95, 2004.

Maximizing Group Exercise Instructor Performance

Your group exercise program can benefit from a well-designed evaluation and recognition plan for your instructors.Performance appraisalsWhile 88 percent of fitness directors Eickhoff-Shemek surveyed assess instructor performance, many did not provide written feedback, and few included important criteria or performance standards. Without specific, measurable, objective and attainable benchmarks of quality instruction, feedback is difficult for group exercise instructors to interpret and incorporate for improved performance.Spot evaluationsNew instructor assessmentThe evaluationform includes a 1-to-5 Likert scale rating on the followingcompetencies:* Other (options and modifications, charisma, energy, variety, intensity checks, safety)Year-end reviewOther evaluation methodsPeer evaluations are also a useful assessment component. Time-strapped supervisors may train their most experienced and highly rated instructors to help with the performance appraisal process, and conduct new instructor assessments and year-end reviews. Trained and competent peers may be the sole reason a fitness center with 30 instructors can feasibly implement performance appraisals. Peer assessments also encourage instructors to attend other instructors' classes, think more critically about what constitutes effective teaching and feel that they are an important part of the facility's group exercise program. Requiring each instructor to complete a 10-minute spot-check once per year is an effective way to involve all staff in the mission to improve the quality of the group fitness program.Recognition and rewardsIn addition to a performance appraisal system, an outstanding group exercise program includes a commitment to continuously recognize and reward exceptional performance. Positive feedback not only is an important motivator to maintain quality, but it also fosters a strong relationship between staff and management.Whether a formalized system or simply a commitment to thank instructors when a job is well done, recognition increases job satisfaction, builds morale, demonstrates that management cares about its staff and improves the overall quality of the group exercise program.An excellent way to assure that directors are given ample reason to recognize staff, and that instructors meet the fitness center's performance criteria, is to organize regular in-service trainings. Areas identified in the performance appraisal as the most in need of improvement are ideal topics. Directors can hire their best instructors or other experts in the field to lead sessions, such as how to design an effective warm-up, the proper execution and cueing of difficult exercises, and emergency procedures.The caveatsFind what works for your facility[Editor's note: The four tables associated with this article can be faxed if you send a request with the article and author name to [email protected].]REFERENCES

Keeping Fitness Current

At Lake Country Racquet & Athletic Club, keeping up with current trends is important.For owners John and Trudy Gebhard, keeping up with current trends is important. This includes new developments for staffing and education. Continuing education is a high priority for them, and all tennis professionals, group fitness instructors, massage therapists and personal trainers receive continuing education.In keeping with this family atmosphere, the managers of every department work together to help members reach their goals. Tennis professionals encourage their clients to strength train; group fitness instructors encourage class participants to use other parts of the facility to prevent boredom; etc. Also, for personal training, clients have the option to work out in small groups (up to four people). Members can also choose one-on-one, sports-specific, post rehab or functional training. There is a separate area of the facility where these training programs take place.To make sure all of these programs are working for members, the facility has an office that is dedicated to fitness assessments. It offers free fitness evaluations for all members, including a printed version of their personal fitness profile. "This office is also used by our certified and registered dietician, where members can work either one-on-one or for family improvements on their nutritional needs," says Walter.

Equipment Maintenance Is Key to Success

Maintenance is key to the success of any fitness center. Maintenance affects everyoneLogs reduce liabilityA case involving a member injured on a piece of equipment at a Health and Tennis Corp. facility underscored the need for equipment safety inspection records. According to Doyice J. Cotton, a consultant to the fitness industry, inspection records saved the day for the company." Had there been no evidence of regular inspections, and the equipment been found faulty, Health and Tennis Corp. of America would probably have been found negligent in this case, and been liable for damages," Cotton wrote in the March 2003 issue of Fitness Management (p.30).Besides helping meet member expectations and avoiding liability issues, a preventive maintenance program can help you get your investment out of a piece of equipment. Equipment that isn't maintained breaks down more quickly than equipment that is maintained. Service technicians agree on this point. "Having a maintenance program can actually cost less than not having a maintenance program," says Senad Haskovic, owner of US Fitness Service in Chicago, Ill. "If something breaks, I charge more to get there and a higher rate per machine," he says. "Plus, there's the cost for parts. And there's the inconvenience of down-time. A maintenance program really makes sense."While unexpected breakdowns create extra repair expenses, the lack of a regular maintenance program shortens the product life. This translates into the need to buy new equipment sooner than would otherwise be necessary. The lack of maintenance means that facility owners don't get the biggest bang for their buck. Profit gets eaten up by repair fees and by new equipment costs.

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AB Show 2025 in San Diego

AB Show is a solution-focused event for athletics, fitness, recreation and military professionals.

Nov. 5-8, 2025