Fitness professionals at clubs are challenged to find the proper balance between trendy and practical equipment for their facilities—without tipping the scales.
By Brandi Shaffer, Associate Editor
Like any industry that incorporates technology, trends can be fickle in the fitness business. Constantly changing announcements of the “next big thing” create a cycle of all-the-rage crazes that fizzle out just as quickly when their effectiveness is debunked.
While commercial gyms get caught up in all the latest crazes, fitness facilities at clubs tend to take a more conservative approach, to ensure a worthwhile investment in fitness equipment. Clubs must strike the proper balance between meeting members’ desires to have the latest equipment on hand, and purchasing equipment that will continue to be used for years, rather than gather dust.
Pam Thrailkill, Director of Fitness at West Lake Country Club in Augusta, Ga., stays aware of trends through a judicious mix of listening to member requests and attending yearly fitness conferences.
“I get introduced to all the new toys,” Thrailkill says. “But I don’t consider buying a new piece of equipment until I see it a few times at [major shows] and hear other professionals and peers talk about it. We put any member request on our wish list, but we don’t run out and buy it.”
In addition to considering member requests, some clubs, such as Round Hill Country Club in Alamo, Calif., have members help with the research.
“We try to avoid purchasing trendy equipment; however, something could be ‘trendy’ yet effective,” says Shannon Anastasio, Fitness Director. “That said, before purchasing a piece of equipment that may fall into this category, we will demo the piece to get member feedback. We take member requests and feedback into consideration, and seek to educate them as to why a piece of equipment may or may not be the best fit.
“Ultimately, we want to provide what members want and will use, while also considering the fitness center’s mission and vision,” Anastasio says.
SUMMING IT UP
- To help determine on a regular basis what fitness equipment needs to be updated, what needs to be tossed and what can stay, member requests should be weighed against industry trends.
- Keep member needs and safety in mind when selecting fitness equipment and developing a layout of the space.
- A simple, easy-to-follow system that organizes small equipment makes it easy for gym-goers to clean up after themselves.
Making Due
Just six months after West Lake CC invested in 55 pieces of fitness equipment, the manufacturer went out of business. Fortunately, the club has a maintenance engineer on staff to keep the equipment in good shape. “Before it all hit the fan, our engineer was able to take training classes with [the company] to maintain and work on the equipment,” Thrailkill explains.
The facility is designed to be unsupervised, apart from group classes, and a true extension of home. Her staff keeps an eye on members when they use the facility, Thrailkill says, but she finds that the population is “pretty educated” and “fitness savvy,” so misuse is not common.
“We’ve added little things to make it more ‘unsupervised friendly’ on a 24/7 basis, like TVs in the studio, both for entertainment and so a member can plug in a DVD for P90, and they can use equipment they may not have at home,” Thrailkill says.
Though the club bought its fitness equipment through what Thrailkill calls a “screamin’ good deal” nearly six years ago, equipment problems have been few and far between. The only piece of equipment that has been replaced was an elliptical in favor of a rowing machine—and that was just a few weeks ago.
The Club at Admirals Cove implemented a simple system for members in a walk-in closet to be sure every ball, mat, blanket or block is in its designated place.
“We had huge demand from members for something different for a total-body cardio experience,” Thrailkill says. “The timing was right and we found a good deal. Through good relationships with businesses in town, we heard about one willing to turn [a rowing machine] loose for half the price.”
The free area of the facility, which resembles a personal training studio with functional rather than static equipment, is the most active, Thrailkill says. Last year, she convinced the club’s Board, GM and golf pro to purchase a True Stretch stretching station (see picture, pg. 44). Now, she says, it’s one of the most popular pieces of equipment.
“Personally, I want to train to support my lifestyle,” Thrailkill says. “So my goal for everyone here is to improve their ‘game of life’ as well as their golf or tennis games, so they come back in the fitness center.
Suitable Space
cater offerings to members. The Club at Admirals Cove in Jupiter, Fla., altered its previously standardized fitness program to suit the needs of its members, some of whom suffer from poor cardiac health, diabetes and other age-related maladies.
“Because of the clientele we have and the fact that they’re not all apparently healthy, our main goal was to transition from standard offerings into a combination of balance training, coordination and agility, to keep members injury-free and active,” says Pamela Caldwell, Director of Spa, Salon & Fitness.
The layout of the fitness facility is especially mindful of safety, Caldwell notes. With four feet of space behind each treadmill and three feet between them, members have more space to maneuver around the 10,000-plus sq. ft. facility.
Though it took some convincing, the True Stretch (right) proved to be a worthwhile investment for West Lake CC, with some golfers and tennis players coming to the facility just to use it.
The club’s new fitness facility opened in November 2012. To keep members informed about how to operate the new equipment, the Admirals Cove staff created a booklet that listed all of the equipment, its features and guidelines for proper use, and offered 20 orientation sessions a week for members. The equipment manufacturer trained with the club’s staff for more than a week, to be sure they knew the ins and outs.
The club’s General Manager, John Herring, pushed for the fitness facility to offer treadmills that are recessed into the floor, not only to create a clean and stylish look with hidden wires and cords, but also to minimize accidents from tripping or stepping off the equipment.
“By nature, a country club [fitness center] will provide more open space versus a commercial club,” Caldwell says. “We took a look at the need to do functional training with our members, and we did a lot of research and met with a lot of fitness companies to make the decision about what was best.”
The Storage Challenge
For small equipment, Admirals Cove has a separate walk-in closet, where every mat, ball or band has a designated spot. The simple system encourages members to clean up after themselves. “It always looks very neat and keeps the aerobics room clutter-free,” Caldwell says.
At Round Hill CC, space is a challenge. With strength equipment grouped together and cardio equipment situated to give users easier access from the back, there is little room for storage. Most of the smaller equipment is placed in the Functional Fitness Room for easy access, Anastasio explains.
To view The Club at Admirals Cove’s fitness center equipment overview pamphlet, as well as additional images of the fitness centers featured here, go to
clubandresortbusiness.com
“Our facility is unique in that most, if not all, of the equipment is fully utilized either by personal trainers and their clients or members themselves,” Anastasio says. “The challenge for us is not in finding fitness equipment—it’s finding the space to place it in the facility.”
However, it seems that one non-fitness-related item—TV— is the glue that holds most club fitness facilities together. “Back in the day, they didn’t have TVs on equipment,” laughs Caldwell of Admirals Cove. “Now, when the TV goes down, it’s like World War III—anything to distract them from exercise.”
WHETHER MEMBERS ARE losing interest or it’s just time for an upgrade, getting rid of bulky exercise equipment can introduce some challenges. Fortunately, there are plenty of recycling and trade-in options.
- If the equipment is functional but outdated, consider donating it to local facilities, or advertise and sell the equipment at a discounted rate to individuals. “We’ll either sell it or donate it to someone outside the membership,” says Pam Thrailkill, Fitness Director at West Lake CC. “If you sell it to a member, they think it’s your obligation to maintain it, so to keep the bad taste out of everybody’s mouth, just avoid that.”
- Contact your distributor to see if it offers a trade-in program that will also aid in finding new, more suitable equipment for the membership. “We negotiate a trade with whoever we buy new equipment from,” says Pamela Caldwell, Director of Spa, Salon & Fitness at The Club at Admirals Cove.
- Check with local recycling centers to see if they’ll take equipment that is no longer usable.
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