Been a very busy period for me so apologies for the lack of content this year.
I would like to start this years information with an idea I have been having that I am not sure has been tried before.
I read a great deal about human motivation as I am very interested in why we do what we do and more importantly, why many members are unable to commit to lifestyle changes that deep down, they know is the right thing to do.
One of the common themes that I read is to do with the importance of owning the process and owning the goal. This means the person who is trying to achieve something e.g. lose weight, has a far greater chance of success if they are involved in the planning and commitment to the agreed goal. Please see a friend of mine's blog on commitment click here
Having visited many clubs and spoken to hundreds of trainers, my feeling is that we do not support this important process at all well. Trainers are often guilty of providing a goal to their members and then they create the path for them. The result is usually a Wellness System key, with a program and a long term plan that we do not follow up and support consistently.
This is a deep rooted problem in our industry and I believe one of the key reasons that many people fail to stick to a training routine. They simply do not own the process. It belongs to the trainer.
I then started to think about how we can address this issue and try to turn this negative into a positive. We have many excellent trainers in our industry. The knowledge, passion and expertize is wide and deep ranging from highly qualified physiotherapists to back care and weight loss specialists. We have excellent schools and education programs for our trainers to improve their skills and some incredible web tools and resources for trainers to constantly keep up to date with the latest trends and techniques.
Unfortunately, this is where the knowledge often stops. Our trainers hold on to this knowledge and only share what is needed with the client to create a program.
Think for a second, how many of your members are clear exactly why they are doing the leg extension or leg curl? I am sure that very few are 100% clear on why they have the type of program they have. If their answer is 'because my trainer gave it to me' then we can see my point.
Ok, so here I go with my idea. Yes its a bit different, yes trainers will probably hate it but if we look at the bigger picture here, what are we trying to achieve as club operators?
1. Highly motivated members?
2. Effective results?
3. Opportunities to create social situations?
4. Reasons for members to talk/chat/post on Facebook things about the club?
5. Motivate staff who actually start to think about the effect of what they do?
If the answer is yes then this should be interesting.
I would like you to challenge your trainers to create a monthly members evening where they teach members how to create their own training program. Sound simple? thats becasue it is simple.
Think how many members would like to learn all about how to burn fat/lose weight and the process of how exercise can speed up this common goal?
How many members would like to understand the process of building stronger muscles and keeping the body lean and strong?
How many senior members want to understand the importance of stretching and keeping mobile to improve their quality of life or improve their golf swing?
Lets work with our members to give them the knowledge to do this for themselves.
You have the perfect tool in the Wellness System, all you need is a room, a projector and the system and you can work with a group of members showing them how a program is constructed and explain why.
Split them into pairs and get members helping each other to write programs and in the end you can upload their final program onto their key. They have been educated, set their own goal and can develop the program to gain long term benefits.
I honestly believe that this will shake up your trainers and give them a whole new approach to members motivation. You could be the first club to educate members to take their own responsibility and shape their own path.
The alternative of course is to go on giving members programs and seeing nearly half of the fall out every year!
Remember, it is all about member experiences. How many people would you tell if you wrote your own program and it actually worked!!
I would really appreciate your comments on this post, am I finally going mad or is this a realistic idea?
Have a good winter holiday
George
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