Actionable Items To Get Your Members Back On Track

As gyms continue to open their doors across the country it’s inevitable to find that many members, oftentimes extremely devoted gym goers, have lost their enthusiasm for fitness. It could’ve been the Pandemic that held them back or perhaps it was extenuating circumstances. Either way, their attendance snowballed and you went from seeing them every few days, to every few weeks to not coming in at all. Whatever the reasoning: here’s a few action items to get your members out of their fitness ruts and design a healthy workout routine.  

Help Them Develop Proper Motivation

When it comes to working out and staying healthy the most important thing should be that they’re doing it for themselves. Remind your members that when it comes to living a proper fitness lifestyle they need to figure out what routines will fit best for their life.

Cedric Bryant, the Chief Science Officer and President of the American Council on Exercise has been quoted as saying: “You have to start examining why. Ask, ‘why do I want to make this switch?’ It really has to be focused on things that are really meaningful for you as the individual and finding your right why.” In other words, not because they want to be a size three again but really getting down to the heart of the matter.

Remind Them To Take Their Time

Once their motivation is locked down they’ll be reaching for that barbell like a baby reaches for candy. That’s when you need to remind them of the fact that numerous studies have proven time and time again: Taking time off from working out and being physically active, even as little as one week, can lead to a dramatic loss in the overall mass and strength of your muscles. Really what this means for your members is if they were sticking to a strict schedule before the pandemic hit they should not expect to be able to go as hard as they’re used to. Remind your members to ease back into their routines (try five minutes on the treadmill as opposed to twenty for example) and reassure them that you’ll be there every step of the way.

Focus On One Thing

Quarantine no doubt knocked a lot of your members (lets be real, yours as well) lives out of whack. One of the fundamental things that changed when the pandemic struck was our eating habits. It’s normal when trying to get back into the routine of living healthy to feel the impulse to purge all non essential food from our daily life. Before they start emptying out their fridge remind your members to focus on one thing at a time. Get their physical routine locked in, make it a habit, then start making moves to get their nutrition in line. When you have your members take it a step at a time it makes the whole deal more digestible for them. This way they will be less likely to feel overwhelmed by it all happening at once and quit altogether.

Change The Definition of Fitness 

This one doesn’t have to be hard. Working out and staying fit doesn’t always have to mean deadlifting or vigorous cardio. Remind your members that exercise can take on many different forms. The next time they find themselves at the mall tell them to use the stairs instead of the elevator. The next time they want to get a cup of coffee – walk over to the coffee shop instead of driving or having it delivered. If their family and employer obligations make it difficult for them to maintain coming into the gym, suggest a simple 10 minute workout routine they can do every morning when they wake up or every night before they go to bed. 

All of these are easy to accomplish solutions to reducing the amount of physical decline your members might have experienced from not being as active as they once were. The main thing you need to remind your members of is that living a Fitness Lifestyle is all about finding what fits best for them. The point of fitness is to build up the body and soul – not break it.

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