The Times online recently reported a sharp decline in gym memberships during 2007 despite joining fees falling rapidly.   It seems gym chains are in a price battle with one another for new members and their heyday has come and gone.

I have over five years personal experience inside well known gym chains running personal training businesses, at one time I was operating in two different Gym chains at the same time in the same city so I can understand firsthand why memberships are falling.

The customer care is minimum and after the member has signed up they are unlikely to receive the proper instructions needed towards achieving their personal goals.   Gyms are driven by sales figures pushing essential issues like cleaning exercise equipment, mats and changing rooms down the list of importance.   Sweating it out in front of a crowd of strangers has its limited appeal to the self conscious and having to wait to use a piece of exercise equipment at peak times is enough to put busy populations off for good too.

Gym chains profit heavily from direct debits of a minimum of 12-month contracts with no get out clause, they generate their revenue from members that never use their facilities but still paying every month regardless.   Only around 20% of gym members will regularly use what they pay for.              

Around five years ago almost every gym chain jumped on the personal training bandwagon to increase revenue and to uphold their status alongside other gyms.   It was always going to have a limited success rate personal training in a commercial environment because of the fact that it just isn't personal enough for some people especially whilst being motivated in front of other members.   It is also difficult for the session to run as smooth as it should because another member might be using the piece of equipment you need, so there can be a lot of start and stops losing the benefits of what the session is designed to gain.   As well as other distractions and financially paying more for the reason that gym members are paying gym memberships plus joining fees on top of their trainer's fee it becomes an increasingly heavy financial load to uphold for the client.                    

When I decided to open my own gym I looked at all the possibilities and the limitations of what a gym chain could offer its members in terms of a personal training service and how I could take advantage of that.   So how does a small outfit like my personal training gym compete with the big gym chains?   Simple, I can offer a service that commercial gyms can't.   

The next generation of gyms is personal

I've incorporated my vision of what a gym facility should be like into Pro Active Studio for gaining the most out of time and money invested and to meet individual requirements.   Every training session is with the guidance of a personal trainer, this way each session is more productive and tailored towards personal goals.         

You see, most people join gyms with a clear mind of what they want from it, which is normally to change the way they look.   They sign up and hit the treadmill followed by a few crunches and hope in a few months time they will achieve their objective.   They are buying into a believe system that being a member of a gym will yield results, gyms are guilty of selling the idealism of time spent working out equates to results.   Imagine if we were allowed to sell cars to people who had never driven before, you take their money and hand over the keys, would you expect them to drive away safely and with no problems? You know this would never happen, it would end in the person getting out of the car in frustration or crashing, it's a bit like the same concept with the big gym chains and their short term retention rate; in a nutshell they sell memberships to people that don't know how to exercise, resulting in the member bailing out or hurting themselves.   The other least favoured option for the member would be to pay a trainer on top of their gym fees.   

This is where I come in and how Pro Active Studio can actually save the typical would-be-gym-member money.   If a person joins a gym they can expect it to cost them at least £400 for the privilege, this is with the joining fee and a minimum 12-month contract.   If like most they use it a couple of times a week for a month or two then gets bored and stops going this has cost them £25 for each visit, remember this is around the minimum and with this the member hasn't learnt anything new or moved any closer to their goal.   For the cost of the joining fee alone I can teach a person how to eat healthily and offer nutritional guidelines that could last a lifetime.   Already I am one up on the gym chains in terms of value for money before they even step inside the gym.

Pro Active Studio is all about service and giving the client one-on-one attention towards achieving their goal.   This takes place in privacy inside a private studio equipped with functional gym equipment that provides a clean and comfortable surrounding.   There is no waiting to use the equipment so the session and service is kept high throughout.   The changing rooms are totally private and spotless the whole time making the client feel secure and at home.    

Pro Active Studio caters for anyone who wants to improve his or her health & fitness regardless of current fitness level.   There is no joining fee and no minimum contract, its simply pay as you go, although it is advised that two training sessions a week for three months is recommended to make it a worthwhile investment and to generate a difference.                                       

Run of the mill gym memberships are sold without asking key questions of why the individual wants to join and what their goals are.   It's a case of selling as many memberships as possible and leaving the member to their own devices.   It's a poor service with no standard assessment protocol to prevent harm or to offer direction.   Programme design isn't a one fits all process; it should be tailored and reassessed regularly.   Examples like, reviewing current eating habits and lifestyle factors through to updating programmes is a basic necessity for helping someone achieve their goal.   There is more to changing the way you look than pounding the exercise equipment day in day out, until people realise this there will always be dissatisfied gym members and a membership sales team in every gym.

A different calibre of product at
Pro Active Studio

Once the full picture of the individual is assessed and requirements acknowledged the client's goals are broken down into realistic steps explaining clearly what is needed of them to achieve results.   The list of advantages and services to help achieve this as swiftly and comfortable as possible include:

•  No waiting

•  No crowds

•  No joining fee

•  No membership fee

•  Clean and private atmosphere

•  Private changing rooms

•  One-on-one training

•  Reserved time slot option

•  Block booking savings

•  Different training packages available

•  Nutrition & lifestyle coaching

•  Body transformation training

•  Sports conditioning

•  Step by step programme design for any goal

•  Food shopping service

•  Meal preparation help  

•  4 week reviews

As you can see from above at Pro Active Studio you have expert advice to help steer you towards your goal.   You will be guaranteed a productive training session every time.   Invest in your time and money wisely!