According to the Leisure Database Company just 13.7% of the UK's population has gym membership. Okay, so many people will be doing other forms of activity: walking, cycling, running classes, the list is endless but there must be many people who do none of the above and hate gyms. As a former obesity sufferer these are the biggest problems I have found with gyms:
-Grunters:
Every gym has them! The guy that has to pick up the biggest dumbell in the gym, has a real need to press it above his head (without combusting) and them drops it creating a thunderous shudder across gym. Yes everybody has the right to be active and exert themselves but should also respect other users. these guys also tend to leave stuff exactly where they dropped it! TERRIFYING!!
-Grime:
Probably the most tactile environment in the modern world, full of sweating people touching equipment such as machinery, dumbells and stretch mats, gyms are a hotbed for germs. A recent study in Arizona found that 28% of gym surfaces were contaminated with "extreme bacteria"
-Boom Boom Music:
How many people in the gym want to listen to that nasty techno remix? Having spent years in the gym this is often one of my biggest criticisms. The noise, often bares no resemblance to music, okay so you can't please everyone all the time so please make sure that your equipment has a radio/ music functionality. Many, leave the gym with little more than a headache!
-It's a Dungeon:
You've spent all day working ( hunched over a desk), it's 23 degrees, who wants to go and workout in a dark/ dull gym with 100 other people? A gym with natural light, lifts the mood, re invigorates and helps with programme adherence.
-Bog standard inductions and expensive membership:
You've never been a gym member, never stepped foot into a gym in your life, you've put on a stone in 3 months and you know something has to change. You pay your joining fee, commit £55 per month of your hard earned income to pay for it and you book your induction, your gym instructor collects you from reception (if your lucky) and before you blink your induction is done!
-A beginners Mind:
When was the last time you looked at a class timetable and found something on offer specifically for beginners, someone who is new to exercise doesn't want to be met by a room full of lycra wearing, exercise addicts doing handstand pressups to the beat of "I'm sexy and I know it!'
-Hellish changing facilities:
Still in this day and age many leisure centre/ gym facilities have communal changing rooms, what does this do for the esteem of perhaps an overweight, self conscious individual. Possibly one of the most uncomfortable things for a beginner is to bare flesh in a communal facility. This is seriously unfair and out of date!
-Lazy approach:
Humans are clever things, we know that no one part of a recipe will make a great meal. So why do gyms just focus on dynamic of health: Exercise? If you want to provide real value for your clients, help them with nourishment, rest/ relaxation, rehabilitation, re-hydration and motivation......as well as movement! The gyms are seriously missing out on this. open evenings and seminars are relatively cheap so why isn't it happening?
-Answer the phone!!!!!!:
Many leisure facilities operate a 24 hour cancellation period, yet they often have just one receptionist, so you try to call them and let them know you can't get to Zumba but nobody answers, leaving a black (naughty) mark against your records.
- Sign your life away Packages:
Purchase your membership by 6PM today and receive a 10% discount (provided you sign up for 24 months). The industry must learn that life changes, circumstances, income, and priorities all change. We all live fast paced lives so why can't the leisure industry offer us some flexibility.
Three Pillars of Fitness was born out of my own experience of weight loss, the Three Pillars are MIND: DIET & EXERCISE. We see it as our responsibility to fight these stereotypical gym offenses by offering a bespoke client journey which in many cases is offered in the comfort of our clients home. We will coach you in many different lifestyle areas including: Nourishment, Sleep, Movement and Motivation.
To book your free Three Pillars consultation please click here, we look forward to hearing from you.
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