Hour Fitness – Gym POC

Choice of a gym is a crucial factor in your beginner bodybuilding plan. It can make or break your success. Here are some things to think about when making this choice:

1) Equipment.

It goes without say that the gym should have enough machines and free weights for all members especially during the peak times.

Are there enough flat benches for core chest exercises? Or is there a long line to use the one or two available? Do people keep interrupting you to ask when you will be done? Nothing will kill your motivation to go to the gym as much as having to wait several minutes to use a machine.

2) Cost

Don’t pay through the nose for a membership. You need just the most basic of membership plans allowing you the use of the core machines and free weights. You certainly don’t need to pay for spas, tanning salons and a bunch of other stuff that isn’t necessary for the beginner bodybuilding routine. National chains like Gold’s and 24 Hour Fitness have “express” locations that cater to just the basics and are pretty affordable.

When you sign the contract pay attention to the language and make sure they are not tacking on any hidden charges or committing you to a long term membership.

3) Hours

This goes without saying. Make sure they gym is open at the hours you would like to work out. Also be wary of very low monthly membership fees that restrict what hours you can work out. A popular ploy by some gyms is to charge as low as $15 a month but then have some fine print that says you can only use the gym between 11am and 3pm.

4) Location

The best beginner bodybuilding gym is one that is situated near your house, or is on the way from your house to your office. This helps ensure that it’s convenient to get there and that you have one less excuse not to go. Don’t pick a gym that involves a long drive to get there; you’ll just end up going less frequently and skipping workouts.

5) Crowd

The ideal crowd is of course other beginner bodybuilders so that you get to motivate each other and engage in friendly competition. Absent that it isn’t really that big a deal. Just avoid gyms that are dominated by the following types of crowds

a.A crowd consisting of mostly women. This type of gym will emphasize yoga and cardio and will not inspire you to reach your goals. Do not sign up to join Curves gym 🙂

b. Muscle heads. These are the guys with 50 inch biceps and walk around like they own the gym. They can be intimidating and also tend to juice up on steroids. Avoid them like the plague.

6) Hygiene

This is a personal pet peeve of mine. I can’t stand a filthy gym with days old sweat caked on the benches. This type of environment could gross you out and make you less eager to go to the gym and workout. Motivation is important. Don’t pay for a gym that de-motivates you.

Now go pump some iron! No more procrastinating!

by Don Demarco (Dr Muscle)

Whether you own a circuit training franchise or a large national chain gym, there’s no doubt that two of your primary functions are health club marketing and boosting profits. Every fitness center in the country is looking for new members, while at the same time seeking to increase their income.

What if you could do both at the same time? What if you could get your existing members to do some gym marketing for you, and do it for free? Even better, how excited would you be if your members actually paid you to advertise your health club?

A custom t-shirt can help you achieve all these goals, bringing in more revenue and free advertising for years to come. Selling workout clothing has been profitable for many gyms, and it can be for you, too.

Perhaps the best way to capitalize on the workout wear market is to sell t-shirts with your logo on the front. Your members will wear a high-quality customized t-shirt, and every time they wear it they’ll be advertising for you.

Before entering this side-business, it’s important to consider exactly what type of custom printed t-shirt your members will purchase. As an example, consider the extremely popular women’s circuit-training gyms that are spread across the United States. Most of these hydraulic circuit-training gyms cater to women. Color and quality are important, especially to a woman. While most women will not wear a regular white t-shirt, they will eagerly purchase a custom designed t-shirt. Cheap t-shirts that are practically see-through after the first wash won’t generate many sales. Offering high-quality shirts in a wide assortment of colors, on the other hand, will maximize sales.

So how do you get into this profitable business? It’s simple! You already have the membership base, and all you need is a t-shirt design. For most of you, that will be your existing health club logo. Once you’ve decided on an image, slogan or logo for your printed t-shirt, your next step is to find a supplier that can wholesale t-shirts and also handle all your t-shirt printing needs.

Perhaps you already have a t-shirt printer that you’re working with. Maybe they’ve even quoted you a price that appears to be low. But is that really what you’re paying? Be wary of the hidden charges on your bill. Most gym clothes providers charge a set-up fee ranging from $60 to $140. You pay this fee every time you make a change to your t-shirt design. Other companies quote you a low price on the shirts and then hit you with a huge shipping and handling fee, bringing the per-shirt price well over $9. Hidden costs like these will erase any profit potential.

To discover what kind of profit you’ve been making on retail health club t-shirts, find one of your old invoices and figure out your actual cost per shirt. Take the total amount you paid, including set-up fees, shipping and handling and divide that number by the actual quantity of shirts you received. You may be surprised by how much you’re really paying for t-shirts.

Assuming that you’ve found a supplier with a reasonable price, you can resell logo shirts to your members for $10 each. However, you may want to consider charging more for your shirts. For example, 24 Hour Fitness center charges $16 to $20 for their women’s t-shirt. Bally’s Gym has a t-shirt for a man listed at $16.99. World Gym offers their basic logo t-shirt for $15.95 and their designer t-shirt for up to $26 each.

If you decide to charge more than the basic $10 for your gym t-shirt, your profit margins might look something like this:
$10 retail = 42% markup
$12 retail = 71% markup
$14 retail = 100% markup
$16 retail = 129% markup
$18 retail = 157% markup
$20 retail = 186% markup
(Based upon a cost of $7 per shirt)

So now you’re aware of the potential profit to be gained by selling workout clothes, while at the same time getting completely free fitness center marketing and advertising. Still not convinced that you should be selling t-shirts in your health club? Here’s another idea that may even help with member retention:

Hold a t-shirt design contest for your gym members! Have your members submit drawings or ideas for a novelty t-shirt. Choose the best design and have some printed up for sale. Give the member who submitted the best design a free t-shirt or some other prize. Your members will have fun, and you’ll be surprised with the humorous t-shirt ideas they’ll create.

If you like this idea, here are a few funny t-shirt sayings to get you started:
“Leave Your Fat Behind At __________” (name of your gym)
“Actually Weight What Your Drivers License Says.”
“Don’t Weight Another Day! Join __________ Today!” (name of your gym)
“The Weight Is Over!”
“Change Your Life Inch By Inch.”

Selling t-shirts in your health club is profitable, it provides you with free advertising and it can help increase member retention. No matter what size your gym may be, this is one strategy that deserves a closer look.

Tag: Hour Fitness

Beginner BodyBuilding The Right Way To Choose A Gym

Health Club Marketing With Gym T-shirts