Traditionally, health clubs have been known as a “big box” …. “rent a treadmill” …. “churn and burn.” But now, the trends are changing toward smaller gyms, towards results and programming and towards a huge focus on retention. Of course, you still have your big box players- those clubs that came into the market during the recession as the low-price competitors, but what are those gyms, really? They discount the price we should put on our health, and they don’t offer the services that the higher priced gyms do. Now, that’s great for those who are self- motivated and know exactly what they need to do and how to do it. But that doesn’t help the average American, and unfortunately, it sets them up for failure. Intimidation is a big factor along with the lack of knowledge, help, and in turn, the lack of results they’ll receive.
It’s unfortunate because these low price competitors have really changed the market. Less than 20% of the US population works out. When you take those out of the 80% who make the leap of faith and try it, only to fail, they are WAY less likely to ever join a gym again. It’s sad and frustrating, especially coming from a gym (we at Women’s Workout & Wellness 🙂 who truly care about our members. We have shifted our focus to learn new ways of helping our members and giving them service. We don’t want to be a ‘big box’ anymore, and we DEFINITELY don’t want to be known as the “churn and burn” club. We want our programs, especially our group exercise classes and group functional training, to be popular among our members because we know that’s how our women will get results. Group atmospheres for women make exercise FUN! And this dynamic keeps our members coming back to maintain the health they have achieved here at W3!
As mentioned, group exercise throughout our Chicagoland locations is a huge part of what makes W3 successful and what gives the Women’s Workout World (& Wellness) name strong brand recognition, even 30+ years later! We pride ourselves on excellent group exercise programs throughout our 5 locations. We know it’s a great bridge for the beginners and a great way to ease everyone into fantastic programs. However, also as mentioned above, we have looked for ways to better service our members and give them the attention they need to get fit, healthy, and see results. They need guidance and a GREAT program, and we have found a way to do that through our group training programs. Not only is it group training; it’s also functional training. Work on core, strength and metabolic movements- many times all at the same time! Much of our equipment is what you’ll see on the Biggest Loser show, too! For those who don’t want to fully jump into the program, we offer bootcamps to get a short-term taste of what success feels like!!! (and an awesome workout!) If you are thinking about functional training, ask to set up a fitness assessment where one of our fitness professionals/trainers will go over with you, step by step, what’s involved in the program, what you can expect, and then he/she will take you through a mini-workout so you can experience that personal attention first hand!
