Become (Mentally) Strong Here
One of the largest trends we’re seeing in the fitness industry right now is recovery. It’s been here a while and it is here to stay. You have generations who have grown up understanding the importance of recovery and as they become adults and fitness consumers, they’re demanding it. The best part? They’re willing to pay for it too!
In most articles I’ve read about recovery trends, you learn of modalities that you can use at home or recovery businesses that are standalones outside of most health clubs. What if more fitness business operators focused on recovery INSIDE their health clubs and associations? What if instead of one of your members going down the street to pay for stretching, massage, sauna, cryotherapy, physical therapy, etc. they were able to get all of (or some of) these recovery modalities and classes within your fitness business (and paid you more money each month to do so)?
The first (and easiest) area that can be evaluated is your group fitness schedule. Is your schedule currently full of strength-focused and high intensity classes with one or two yoga classes a week? Or does it incorporate the high intensity classes with an equal amount of recovery, deep stretch and yoga classes? When you look at the type of classes that SoulBody offers – you have the strength focus you’d expect from a group fitness class coupled with the opportunity for resetting the body. The team has heard firsthand how, SoulBody Restore, has helped marathon runners recover from their training and that it’s a class members choose to quiet their mind from their busy lives. What if you incorporated some yoga slow flows or peace classes? Sound baths or workshops are fantastic to incorporate as well. Something that members can look forward to as a ‘special event’. When you shift your focus to strength + recovery, it’s a way for your members to train smarter, not harder!
We can take it a step further and dive headfirst into addressing mental health within your fitness business. I realize that you’re not likely to have licensed counselors on your payroll; however, one of the top reasons fitness consumers work out is to reduce stress and anxiety in order to better their ‘mental well-being’ (so we’ll use mental well-being from here on out). What if instead of marketing slogans around ‘getting strong’ at your gym, you advertised they could ‘get mentally strong’ there as well. It would completely change the game for how and where fitness consumers expect to receive their exercise, their recovery, and mental well-being support. I recently had a conversation with Victor Brick, who operates over 100 health clubs between his Planet Fitness locations around the US and in Australia, and Brick Bodies clubs in Baltimore, Maryland. Victor has a personal connection to being a mental health champion and I knew he would be the perfect person to discuss this topic with – please check out the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation if you have yet to do so. We discussed the medical side of mental health that the fitness industry simply is not qualified to address, but we also discussed the intersection of mental health & self-care, which is mental well-being, and that my friends, is what the fitness industry can address in a health club setting.
Here are some ways you can promote ‘mental well-being’ in your fitness business:
Marketing: Market your fitness business as a place where someone can come to reduce the stress and anxiety of everyday life before you market it as a place to ‘get fit’ or ‘get toned’.
Social Hub: Address ‘the epidemic of loneliness’ and explain the social benefits of exercise (or member socials you plan at your club!)
Group Fitness Schedule: Offer classes that focus on recovery and self-care (think yoga, Pilates, meditation)
Recovery Focused: Incorporate recovery like percussive/trigger tools, massage, sauna, and cryotherapy into your fitness business offerings.
Embrace the Space: Enhance your spaces to be mentally pleasing – do you have the space for a quiet room or journaling station for before/after class? Could you refresh the paint color of your locker rooms to be more tranquil? Could you make certain areas ‘phone free’ to foster the sense of community? Could softer lighting be introduced in certain areas to be more peaceful?
Educate Your Staff: Did you know moderate to vigorous exercise is more effective in improving depressive symptoms? This is because moderate to vigorous exercise stimulates the happy hormones of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins.
Victor calls it a D.O.S.E. of Happiness. On the other hand, someone with anxiety, whose body is in a state of stress, should seek out mind-body activities like meditation, yoga, and recovery exercises to give the body the rest it needs. How powerful for your staff to know the difference and be able to make educated fitness recommendations! Victor and I discussed the ‘effort reward model for mental well-being’ in depth and it truly makes so much sense. Think about it like this: if someone is trying to lose 30 pounds – that could take them months of effort, followed by a slow reward. If someone is working out to feel better mentally, the reward is instantaneous – they could walk out of your health club feeling better than when they arrived. Marketing & selling fitness on the mental well-being effects, when done correctly, could generate satisfied customers quicker than our old tactics. This should be what we are ‘selling’ our fitness consumers!
Again, you do not have to claim to fix or address mental health – you can just be a safe space, where someone feels comfortable working on their ‘mental well-being’. Joan Gebhart, VP of Sales for Creative Surfaces shared with me that, “Every brand is incorporating some recovery modality into their business. It’s a necessity at this point”. Joan and I discussed the importance of training your staff on the recovery tools you bring into your business – “they shouldn’t just sit, unused in the corner so you can check a box that you have recovery in your club. Your team should know the benefits of the tools and how to properly use them.” When you think of the perfect recovery offering, what if your trainers ‘prescribed’ recovery modalities for injuries or soreness? Not in a medical sense, but if they had general knowledge about the tools available and how it would help with common aches and pains that were fitness related.
Recovery modalities Joan has seen be incorporated in health clubs recently include, but are not limited to:
Infrared Saunas
Cryotherapy
Red Light Therapy
Halotherapy (salt therapy)
Massage
Compression tools
IV drips (require an RN)
Hyperbaric chambers
Lounging spaces with HydroMassage beds
Areas for cold plunge, pools, and/or hot tubs
At the end of the day, there are so many ways you can promote mental well-being in your fitness business. Even if you implement just one of these, I know it would make a huge difference for you and your mental health-conscious members would be appreciative. Busy professionals do not have time to workout and then go elsewhere for recovery and mental well- being support. When put under one roof and make recovery accessible, you’ll be helping your members, further educating your staff AND helping your bottom line – that’s a win, win, win if you ask me!