I have never been a star athlete, but I’ve been to more than my fair share of gyms. That’s due in part to moving a lot, but I also really like variety—and I’m quick to move on when something’s not working. I’ve been to Brazilian jiu-jitsu gyms, boxing gyms, the 24-hour racquet club. I’ve been to L.A. Fitness and Life Time Fitness and their equivalents. I’ve been to the fancy gym where CrossFitters would yell at me for doing walking lunges on the turf because they wanted me to work around their precious iPhone while it was recording. I’ve been to Olylifting gyms, powerlifting gyms, and some really fun independent gyms.
 
All of these places got some things right, and many got some things wrong. One of the many things I’ll miss about editing the Performance Menu is the amazing people I’ve gotten to work with. (We still have two months, so I won’t gush too much just yet.) Another thing I’ll miss is being able to share my random thoughts about the things gyms are doing wrong.
 
Beyond just venting, my hope has always been that business owners will learn from other people’s mistakes, improving the environment for all of their athletes. I imagine most of you reading this will nod in agreement to the majority of this piece, but maybe realize there’s a thing or two you hadn’t thought of. Or you can print out a copy for someone who really needs to read this, and hope they change their ways.
 
If you’re a gym owner trying to retain clients, or at least have a choice about who you work with, you might be interested in this rendition of things that aren’t working. (And just for the record, I’m extraordinarily happy at my current gym, so this vent is all for you!)
 
Group Class Problems
 
Not Having Enough Space
 
If you’re doing group coaching and have specific exercises in mind, you also likely know how much room each person will need to complete each one. (Hint: they’ll need less room for shoulder presses and more room for walking lunges.) It’s annoying at best and dangerous at worst when people are bumping into each other. So that means you have a few options. You could limit your class sizes. You could limit activities that’ll take too much space if you have a large class. Or you could carefully think through issues that might arise and plan accordingly by splitting the class up into activities in different parts of the gym to prevent collisions. The worst thing to do is to just cross your fingers and hope everything will be okay, because one day it might not be.
 
Making People Clean Before They’re Done with Their Sets
 
One gym I’ve trained at has athletes wipe off their own equipment between sets. This totally makes sense and will help prevent staph and all sorts of skin diseases. But nobody in a group workout wants to cut their set early to clean. Setting time aside for this is preferable, so that people doing somewhat short workouts can feel like each minute counts.
 
But we’re in a global pandemic, you say. This is true! I didn’t say not to clean. Note, however, that there are far better ways to prevent COVID than with cleaning wipes, even if you don’t want to require proof of vaccination or N95 masks. Ventilation is also really important in reducing airborne concentrations and the overall viral dose to your athletes or anyone else in the building. That could be as simple as opening windows and using fans to increase the effectiveness of open windows, or repositioning supply/exhaust diffusers to create directional air flow. Or, you could add portable HEPA fan/filter systems. The CDC has some other suggestions as well.
 
No Spotters
 
One time, in a group class, I had to rush over to help someone who was bench pressing because he was trapped under a bar. I don’t think the coach ever noticed because he was correcting other people on their form. But this reminded me of another gym where a coach got upset because he wrote me a customized program with heavy bench presses and I did dumbbell bench presses instead, because I didn’t have a spotter. “That’s not the program,” he said. But if you’re lifting heavy, wouldn’t you rather use dumbbells so you can just drop them on the floor when they get too heavy than something you’re more likely to drop on your chest or neck? Anyway, my point is that it’s your responsibility as a coach to make sure to watch people in group classes when they’re benching. That might mean asking people to partner up, bringing in a second person, or not paying attention to people doing other exercises when folks are benching. It’s good to have choices.
 
Generic Problems
 
Making Assumptions About People’s Goals
 
If there’s an individual coaching component to your gym, you’re likely to offer people reminders about why they should push themselves harder. But those reminders can fall flat if you’re focusing on things they don’t care about. I’m thinking of a powerlifting gym that would offer tours and take women directly to the changing room. Yes, there are televisions and couches and it’s very nice, and probably a good sell for people who want to hang out while their partner works out, but that’s not every woman who comes in the door!
 
This can cut many ways, too. Telling someone who is training for aesthetic reasons that they should lift heavy to get more muscle can scare people who don’t realize the “tone” they want is “muscle tone.” I’m not sure if that’s just as annoying as telling someone they should lift heavy if they want a “tight booty” when they’re just trying to hit a strength goal, but I do know that everyone wants to feel like you get them. This is obviously harder in group classes, but not impossible, since you’ll likely see the same people again and again. Trying to remember why people are there can create a better experience for everybody.
 
 
 
Pseudoscience
 
It’s hard for me to call people out on bad science, since I subscribe to many things that a medical doctor might scoff at. I swear by ashwagandha for stress. I’ve gotten my fair share of acupuncture. Heck, I’ve even made tea out of white willow bark that I processed myself as a substitute for aspirin. That said, everyone has their limits. Mine is people telling me that walking barefoot on grass will draw electrons up through the ground to my feet and the rest of my body. That was something I heard before the pandemic, which has drawn out even more bizarre theories. If you are in a position where people look up to you for health information, it’s important to make sure it’s accurate and specific to the person you’re speaking with, or even telling people, “This practice I swear by isn’t necessarily proven to work.” Then they can decide for themselves.
 
Your Weird Hard Sell
 
The last item on this list isn’t even about coaching at your gym, but about trying to get people to join in your gym in the first place.
 
Every weird hard sell is different, so it’s hard to come up with something specific to tell people not to do, but I think it boils down to some basic principles. One of them is this: don’t try to make people feel bad about themselves to try to get them to sign up.
 
For a while, I was training twice a week at a local independent gym that had small group classes. I really liked the coaching and how we got to pick a lot of our own exercises, but when COVID hit, I decided the cost wasn’t worth the video workouts they had transitioned to. After getting vaccinated, I decided to try to go back, but they had some new spiel I had to sit through, which I imagined was because they had raised their prices to try to stay afloat.  I brought my husband with me in case he wanted to join (but also to make sure I didn’t agree to spending too much money, since the price was already pretty high pre-pandemic).
 
Unfortunately, this sales pitch included an unpaid writing assignment listing five reasons why program participation and accountability were important to me, five goals I’ve been working on and would like to get started on, and a list of daily activities that would make my life better. When I wrote my apparently very superficial reasons for wanting to join the gym (things like “get in better shape” and “lift heavy things”), the owner told me I wasn’t going deep enough, and tried to say I wasn’t ready. He even tried to get my husband (who had written just as little) to sign up without me. So, we walked out and joined the other gym down the street.  Not everyone will walk out if you try to manipulate them into signing up. You might even convince a few people. But they’re not likely to stick around for very long, and probably won’t want to bring their friends. Finding a way to sell without negging should be high on anyone’s priority list.
Bottom Line
 
Create a safe environment where people have space to do their workouts, and have spotters if they’re doing an exercise that could cause serious injury. Create adequate ventilation for COVID prevention. Don’t bullshit people with pseudoscience or with hard sells that make them feel like they will never exercise again and will be banished from the fitness world if they don’t join your gym. Get to know your athletes and encourage them in a way that aligns with their goals. And let people finish their sets before you asking them to wipe things down or otherwise help clean your gym for you. Don’t you feel better already?