I have a dilemma, I heavily endorse and work with many suppliers and operators linked to the Health Club & Gym Industry, as a result I am asking everyone to share some thoughts on what our Industry is doing to reach the projected 80+% of the population not active in leisure. (The actual percentage active in gyms is lower of course)
So forgive me a little reminiscing here, while I compare what Health Clubs do to some experiences I have.

Much of my formative adult years, was initially involved in competitive swimming, which came with organised pool time and land training as part of a squad session.It is fair to say the repeated habit of training at 0600 & 1600 5 days a week created some lifelong mental toughness when trying to reach a goal.

During time spent as an Armed Forces PTI, the training of recruits and servicemen was heavily reliant on class based circuit trg, running and swimming, with a healthy supplement of sports games, this 'system and method' proved (and still proves) to be highly efficient from a time perspective and ultimately highly effective in achieving results, turning deconditioned people into active servicemen and women. Yes there is a discipline element involved that doesn't transfer to commercial fitness (although isn't 'Military Fitness in the Park' bringing Military methods to the masses) but underpinning everything a forces PTI does is with consistency and proven processes that has to get people to a set standard, usually within a limited timescale. Typically the tools of the trade for Military PTI's were a court (badminton/basketball depending on group size)medicine balls, benches (like the ones you had at school in PE)and mats, with this the lesson options were endless! Simple stuff capable of delivering anything from lunchtime circuits for office workers to pre-deployment training for Special Forces, the innovation came from the Instructor, it had to and it had to be fun, it had to make the participants get a buzz, build confidence otherwise it could be pretty repetitive stuff.

There are some common issues here with commercial fitness:
New members need to see results in the first 8 weeks.
Forming a new habit is difficult.
They get bored easily.

We fill our gyms with the latest innovations, members quote " your club doesn't have such and such piece of equipment (take your pick here - vibration trg/boxing ring/low row/40kg dumbells etc), I can't train without it" So are we creating a dependency on 'equipment', how far can equipment innovation keep people coming to our doors, more importantly does the machine deliver results? Is this machine led Industry doing it because we have lost faith in our Trainers or just beacause it looks eyecathcing?

This is where I am concerned we may be creating a generation of Gym Instructors who feel they have to programme using every bit of equipment, with little rationale or justification rather than create simple routines using minimal equipment that actually deliver results, because almost every gym now squeezes as much fixed equipment in as possible, on a ratio of at least 25 members per station. What would happen if we just put in a floor space, with a set timetable of gym circuits Military style? A hard marketing and sales project I suspect to change perceptions out there? Now think about marketing 25% VO2 improvement inside 12 weeks! (that's what is typical in recent studies we have conducted with the Armed Force) Of course the tone and discipline would adjust in a commercial setting but the content?

I see lots of clubs all struggling to show results to new members, I see members getting bored, I also see gyms looking like equipment showrooms, where will it lead us?

Maybe