Obesity is predicted to be the number one health problem of this century. It is growing at epidemic proportions and isn’t predicted to peak until the next decade.
At the other end of the scale, however, is a growing group who know we have to do something about this. The number of people using health-clubs in most developed nations has doubled over the past 10-15 years. Partially driven by people’s time constraints, going to the gym is becoming the biggest “sport” in the western world.
For us in the fitness industry, the challenge has been to replace the fun and camaraderie that were previously created by traditional sports activities. Until recently, going to the gym had been a pretty uninspiring experience. If we go back 20 years, for instance, standard gym activities like riding an exercise bike were tedious and boring. Over time, the equipment improved and we saw innovations like the cardio theatre. Riding our exercise bike got better, but it remained something of a chore.
Then in the 1990’s came a major change. Aerobics, which had bubbled away in a niche through the 80’s, became the Group Fitness Revolution. Suddenly you could ride your bike in a social environment with inspiring music and a great teacher to motivate you. The same thing happened with weight-training, martial arts, yoga, dance classes and a host of other activities. Instead of being a chore, this new way of training became something that people loved and wanted more and more of.
At Les Mills we have been passionately devoted to creating this revolution for over 25 years. But in providing fitness classes and instructor training for 10,000 clubs around the world, we have learnt that managing Group Fitness is complex for most businesses. In our Group fitness Management (GFM) seminars we have tried to demystify the process by providing simple guidelines and tools for success. With this e-letter, we want to reinforce these key rules and guidelines, using examples from successful GF clubs around the world as case studies.
We will publish Group Fit P.R.O.F.I.T. regularly, subject to demand. We welcome contributions and questions and would ultimately like to publish ranking lists providing industry benchmarks in areas such as weekly attendance.
We welcome you to the first issue of Group Fit P.R.O.F.I.T. and hope you will benefit from it. As operators of Group Fitness businesses you bring health, community and magic to people’s lives. What you do is very, very important.
Tena Koutou Katoa,
Best Wishes,
Phillip Mills.