Personal trainers, group exercise instructors—indeed, all fitness professionals—have to stay on their toes in this dynamic industry. It’s not just fit people coming to the gym anymore. The faces we see have evolved into a mix of kids, older adults, pregnant women, people with postrehab needs and elite athletes, to name a few of the myriad special populations. Meeting the demands of such a diverse spectrum of people is an ongoing challenge for the entire industry. Doing it well requires paying diligent attention to the latest research and implementing it safely and effectively. Here we look to IDEA members across the country to find out how they are meeting clients’ needs.

Data from the 2008 IDEA Fitness Programs & Equipment Survey—our 13th annual—shows that even while new group exercise formats and pieces of equipment arise, the old standbys don’t suffer much. This year’s results reveal the workout elements that clients are sticking to, as well as some new ventures that make things interesting. There is a wide range of activity choices and equipment to match almost every category or special need that clients can present.

One thing is very clear from this year’s survey: fitness facilities are responding to the call for community-building that their members crave. Emphasis on group cohesion is evidenced by an increase in the number of clients sharing personal training sessions (83%), as well as social activity groups that go beyond the gym floor (43%). In this age of technology, clients are looking for ways to make a human connection. Facilities are meeting this demand by creating opportunities for members to bond with one another. The 214 IDEA business and program director members who responded to the survey can help us expand our viewpoints on how best to serve our clients. The percentages of respondents representing yoga or Pilates studios (15%), multipurpose health clubs (17%), personal training gyms (13%), fitness-only health clubs (9%) and YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs (7%) illustrate that this is a diverse group providing a broad range of views. These are the facilities we use to make comparisons; the full list of facility types, including colleges, corporate, hospital, etc., appears in the actual survey (see July–August IDEA Fitness Manager for more detailed breakouts). Respondents report that an average of 76% of their members/clients stay with the business for 1 year or longer, a statistic that has held steady for the past several years. How do those surveyed continue doing this? A look at the numbers reveals how.

New Questions on This Year’s Survey

Male or Female Clients?

Two new questions were added to this year’s survey to gather more information about the people we serve and what we are doing with our members. One of these questions asked respondents to report what percentage of clients served within their facility was female and what percentage was male. The survey determined that the populations of IDEA member facilities are heavily female (66%) compared to male (35%).

Nicki Anderson, president of Reality Fitness Inc., in Naperville, Illinois, has a notion why women are in the majority. Her clientele, is, in fact, predominantly female. “Women always tell me that when they [say to] their husbands they are going to a trainer, [their husbands] often respond with, ‘Why do you need to do that? Can’t you just figure it out on your own?’

“The reality is that women need and thrive on accountability in an exercise program and tend to be more social. Women often respond better to someone keeping them in check where their fitness is concerned,” Anderson observes. “Men, on the other hand, seem to think that if they ask someone to help them get in shape, it will appear as if they are weak or can’t do it on their own. It’s a very interesting dynamic, and it seems to be consistent across the board with all ages.”

Social Activity Valuable, Not Confined to the Gym

The second new question added to the survey attempted to determine how many facilities offer social activity groups (walking or running clubs, group trips, organized group activities) for their members.

Living an active, healthy life is rooted in enjoyment. Exercise philosophers elucidate that mastering a skill, having fun and being healthy are some of the core incentives that get people moving. While values differ from person to person, any fitness professional knows that anticipation of a fun workout is a great motivator to lace up the athletic shoes. Both fitness professionals and program participants are constantly looking for ways to shake things up and keep an exercise regime entertaining. Making friends at the club doesn’t hurt either.

This year’s survey results reveal that creating a fun environment is becoming a key focus for fitness managers, with 43% offering social activity groups. A majority (67%) expect these groups to grow. Walking and running clubs make up part of this category, but shopping trips, movie outings and group cruises were reported as well. Client retention is crucial to growing a business, and getting members to be social clearly plays a part in that.

Personal Training Number One Since 1999!

Among the programs offered, personal training still tops the rankings (89%). Our facilities report an average of 65 training sessions conducted per week, with most of them lasting 60 minutes (65%). If we look more closely at these sessions, adult one-on-one is still the most conventional (87%), with 2 clients sharing a session not far behind (83%). Small-group personal training (3–5 clients share) made an impressive leap to 58% this year, up from 44% in 2007. And personal training for youth (aged 18 or younger, one-on-one) is now being offered by 63% of the facilities surveyed. The majority of respondents believe that personal training is either still growing or stable, with less than 6% believing that it will decline.

Since 38% of clients in our facilities are at a beginning fitness experience level, offering services free or at a discounted rate may help to promote interest in continuing with these valuable services. Respondents reported offering discounted or free fitness assessments (53%), goal setting (49%) and personal training (36%).

Mind-Body Activities Divided in Popularity

Pilates and yoga remain strong in the industry, with 68% of survey respondents offering Pilates and 61% offering yoga. The average number of classes per week is 10. Pilates training is most often offered in Pilates or yoga studios (100%), YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs (87%) and fitness-only and multipurpose health clubs (72%). Just 26% of personal training gyms offer Pilates. Yoga has a strong showing in YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs and in fitness-only and multipurpose health clubs, but surprisingly not in businesses that describe themselves as “Pilates and yoga” studios. This suggests that of the 31 Pilates and yoga studios that responded to the survey, the majority were Pilates-only studios as opposed to yoga studios.

While Pilates and yoga are popular within our facilities, tai chi and mind-body fusion have declined over the past several years, with less than 25% of the facilities surveyed offering the programs.

In addition, 60% of those who offer Gyrotonic^® or Gyrokinesis^® exercise believe that this trend will grow, but only 2% of those surveyed offer the activity and it has not yet gone beyond the walls of Pilates or yoga studios.

Equipment Usage Reflecting Clients’ Diverse Needs

As new populations come through the doors of our facilities, how are we handling them? A look at our equipment usage may provide some insight.

Balance equipment has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years, with reported usage increasing from 60% to 83% since 2004. While a good deal of this growth may be attributed to the mainstream balance pieces, such as the BOSU^® Balance Trainer, disks, wobble boards and balance boards, perhaps use of even simpler balance equipment reflects an increase in programming for seniors. Balance equipment, along with foam rollers and small balls, can also be helpful for postrehabilitation.

Chart Toppers

Equipment topping the charts continues to be small and versatile. Among survey respondents, 94% offer resistance tubing, and 87% provide barbells/dumbbells. Creativity in the group exercise room has clearly led to increased use of equipment that can function in a variety of ways; for example, stability balls and weighted bars are offered by 88% and 70% of respondents, respectively. In fact, weighted bars are the only piece of weighted equipment that has seen a dramatic increase in usage since 2000. However, the more traditional selectorized strength and plate-loaded machines still find their place in the gym, holding steady in reported usage across 9 years of data.

Perhaps what we can glean from this is that while formats evolve and fads come and go, the basics work for many. Elliptical trainers have been around for years, yet usage is still expected to grow by 61%, according to fitness managers who offer them. Even with the rise of weighted bars and the increased use of resistance tubes and bands, conventional barbells and dumbbells have declined in use only slightly.

Members Benefiting From More Nutritional Guidance

While the idea of “fusing” two types of exercise together is currently very popular in the fitness industry, perhaps one of the most valuable fusions in our field is the emerging combination of exercise and nutrition education. Among respondents, 51% and 53% offer nutrition assessment and nutrition coaching, respectively. While the former can be carried out using nutrition software, the latter requires some knowledge regarding healthy diets. Exercise science and nutrition departments at universities have the priceless ability to bridge the gap between these two interrelated, yet often estranged, disciplines. Shawn Dolan, PhD, RD, CSSD, says that “another avenue to growth for fitness professionals and facilities is to build relationships with registered dietitians, particularly dietitians who specialize in working with an active population. A reciprocal relationship can be fostered that results in client referrals [back and forth].” In addition, current fitness professionals have the opportunity to expand their nutrition competency by taking nutrition-based certification and continuing education courses.

Slightly more fitness managers believe that nutrition coaching is growing (51%), as opposed to just nutrition assessment (43%), but both are on the rise. Personal training gyms and in-home trainers are most likely to offer nutrition assessment (71%) and nutrition coaching (82%) to their clients. Members desiring to lose weight may benefit most from these programs. Weight management classes, which would include nutrition guidance, are offered by 31% of respondents. Of these, 52% anticipate this category will grow, and 37% expect it to stay stable.

Ups and Downs in the Group Exercise Room

The number of group exercise formats offered is staggering. While some formats are appearing less often on the weekly schedule, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are any less popular with members. While under half of all surveyed facilities offer aerobics (including high-, low- and mixed-impact) (49%) and step aerobics (46%), the percentages are much higher for some business categories. Aerobics is available in 70% of fitness-only and multipurpose health clubs and in 67% of YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs, while 67% of fitness-only and multipurpose health clubs and 93% of YMCAs/YWCAs/JCCs offer step aerobics. In general, martial arts–based aerobics and boxing-based/kickboxing classes have been on a downward slide since 2000.

In the same period, many types of group exercise classes have grown. Indoor boot camp, indoor cycling, core-conditioning classes and stability ball–based programs have all increased. Group strength training formats have likewise grown. Additionally, 40% of facilities now offer dance, up from 20% in 2000.

Chalene Johnson, creator of dance-infused programs like Hip Hop Hustle^™, Turbo Kick^® and Turbo Jam^™, offers her reasoning for the increase in dance offerings: “Dance makes people feel different than any other type of exercise. Two left feet or not, you can’t help but enjoy yourself when you are dancing. Dance makes people forget they’re working out. Most people have so much fun dancing they feel guilty calling it exercise. It transcends gender, age, culture, language and economic status. It’s the oldest form of art and expression. It’s no wonder that we’ve returned to our roots. I’ve always said, ‘We just have to get people to move.’ Most of the world hates to exercise, but they love to dance.”

Unfortunately, after the category “branded choreography” was added to the survey last year, it was inadvertently left off of this year’s questionnaire. The format will be added back next year.

Looking to the Future

The fitness industry continues to evolve in positive directions by educating our clients with sound information concerning their health and by providing more opportunities to make physical activity something to look forward to.

Taking the time to instill proper technique in our personal training clients and in the group exercise room is paramount to creating a safe and effective location for members to become healthier. At the same time, our challenge is to offer many choices of equipment and exercise formats in order to attract and retain individuals of varying backgrounds and needs. But with so many options available, can we offer all the latest trends in the right way? Or is it better to focus attention on just a few?

Moreover, this survey has shown us that facilities are providing members not just an exercise experience but also a social experience. The ability to connect with our members—and connect them to each other—through exercise as well as social activities may help us retain clients and foster a feeling of community. Will a sense of community encourage the nonexerciser to join in?

In the future, the key to reaching the sedentary individual and sustaining the active person may lie in a combination of training programs and social activities that keep people connected to both their physical and their mental health.

More Survey Trends and Results

The complete results of the business member survey are available in the July–August issue of IDEA Fitness Manager. There you will find the entire list of programs and equipment being offered; growth trends; and multiyear comparisons. IDEA business and program director members receive this issue as a membership benefit. If you wish to purchase a copy, contact IDEA member services at (800) 999-4332, ext. 7.

Look for more survey results in upcoming 2008 and 2009 issues of IDEA Fit­ness Journal, and IDEA Fitness Manager; and expect the results of our newly revamped 2008 IDEA Personal Training Programs & Equipment Survey in the September issue of IDEA Trainer Success. Overviews of both surveys will also be post­ed on IDEA’s website, www.ideafit.com.

SIDEBAR: 25 Most Frequently Offered Programs

SIDEBAR: 25 Most Frequently Offered Types of Equipment

SIDEBAR: 10 Types of Equipment Predicted to Grow

SIDEBAR: 10 Programs With Growth Potential

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Jan Schroeder, PhD, is an associate professor of kinesiology at California State University, Long Beach.

Karlie Friesen, MS, is beginning her doctorate degree in exercise physiology at Oregon State University this fall.