How did people tell time before the invention of commercials? The 30-second spot is the original shared calendar! What movies are coming out? Look at the latest Happy Meal toy! When’s Columbus Day? – Your local Hyundai dealer will tell you. Time to send in your taxes? – Have you seen the name H&R Block recently? And the best part, Madison Ave. knows us to give us a 6-weeks notice!

The problem is, that’s what the gym industry is all about – 6-weeks! 6-weeks is JUST enough time for me to Read More »

 The world of corporate wellness is rife with hype, misleading propaganda and false promises. 

I found this great article in the online version of Corporate Wellness Magazine. The article is written by Greg Justice and it strives to dispell the myths around the concept of “corporate wellness”. It’s part of a series and this is the first. I encourage you to read this part and then follow up by reading the rest of the series. Here is the link to the article:

I’d like to start a regular blog that will look into the best practices of other industries. The idea is that we can learn quite a bit by looking at some of the best practices that other industries have used, which are applicable to the health and wellness industry.

Gym Memberships and Cell Phone Contracts
The first entry will deal with the similarities of gym memberships and the cell phone contracts.

Let’s lay out the similarities (we have already established my love of lists! ):

• Both businesses require members (users) to sign an initial term contract of 1or 2-years;
• After the term of the contract (the obligation), members (users) are switched over to month to month;
• At this point members (users) can choose to join another gym (port their number to another carrier);
• In most cases you never hear from your gym (the carrier) unless you are late with a payment;
• And the biggest similarity is the cost of keeping a member (user) is less then the cost of acquiring a new one!

I want to spend time today discussing the last two items AND really focusing on how the similarity we have with the cell phone industry is the mistakes we all make! Read More »

Processes and activities that have been shown in practice to be the most effective. 

There is one thing that every gym seems to have in common…not a single one buys all their equipment from just one manufacturer. I’ll see Star Trac treadmills, Iron Grip dumbbells, and CYBEX ellipticals. A mix of the best gym equipment. Read More »