If you’ve read any of our recent blogs or downloaded our white paper on 7 Smart Ways to Maximise Revenue Across Your Leisure Centres, you’ll know just how important a digital fitness offering in your leisure organisation could be. 

The rise in virtual classes, online workouts and digital fitness over the last two years has been incredible. All the signs – including the research conducted on our behalf – point to the fact that digital fitness trends are here to stay. 60% of members said they’ll continue to use online fitness workouts, with over 40% currently using a health or fitness app.* 

Your members demand a digital fitness option, and offering that can also help you to reach a wider community in your local area. 

Here are 6 ways to get started. 

1) Make Sure Your Website Is Up To Scratch 

The first step to any digital offering is making sure your website is easy to access and easy to use. It should deliver a great online experience to the entire community your organisation serves, with: 

• Up-to-date information and announcements 
• Online joining and membership management
• Activity and class bookings

Your website should be the go to place for anyone in your community when they want to learn more about fitness services in your local authority. 

2) Partner With Established Online Providers To Create Hybrid Membership Options 

One hassle-free way to build a digital fitness offering is through a partnership with an established online provider. 

With a huge variety of online workouts and virtual classes, you could create a new hybrid membership option where members can choose between accessing facilities at your leisure centres or working out at home. 

As well, you could create an “online only” membership, with discounted access for members to the virtual classes of your chosen partner. You may even want to include those on-demand classes as a free ‘add-on’ to your current membership plans, adding extra value to attract more members from your community. 

3) Live-Stream Your Fitness Classes Online For Members To Work Out At Home

If you don’t want to go down the partnership route, you could invest in video equipment to live stream all the classes from your current timetable to members who may not be able to attend in person. 

With many different streaming providers now offering low-cost solutions, it’s a simple and effective way to get more value from your current classes and trainers. Plus, it allows you to showcase all the diverse offerings from your leisure centres to your entire community. 

Whatever the reason they might have for being unable to visit your centre, all they need to do is log onto your website or app and join in from home. 

4) Create Dedicated Areas In Your Leisure Centres For On-Demand Virtual Training 

Space is always tight at home for those online classes and while many members enjoy the variety of digital fitness offerings, they prefer the atmosphere of the gym. So why not combine the two? 

A simple way to show you are embracing the digital fitness revolution is to create a dedicated area within your leisure centres for virtual training. 

All you need is an unused studio or an open space on your gym floor that can be sectioned off. Install a TV screen with an internet connection, and encourage your members to work out to their preferred virtual classes and training sessions right there in your centre. 

5) Offer Online Coaching And Personal Training To Those Who Can’t Access Your Facilities 

We’ve all got used to Zoom calls and Teams meetings during the pandemic, and, because they’re so easy and useful, they’re here to stay too. 

Use your community’s familiarity with virtual calls to bring your fitness offering and wellbeing support directly into their homes, through online coaching and personal training. 

This is especially useful if your members are just starting their fitness journey – maybe they’re only just getting into exercise or are starting to recover from an injury. They might be unable or unwilling to visit your leisure centre in person yet, but they do want to get started. 

Your team can help build their confidence and fitness in their home – through virtual training sessions and one-to-one coaching – until they’re ready to attend in-person. Consider investing in a solution like TrueCoach, to really set your personal training services apart.

6) Build An App For Your Leisure Centres 

One way to facilitate those coaching calls, live-streamed classes and on-demand workouts is through your own native mobile app. One that any member at any of your leisure centres can easily download and use, whenever they want to access your fitness offering. 

We’re all well accustomed to apps, and for many of us, they’re the preferred way to manage our lives. 

A dedicated mobile app can help your members manage their membership whenever they want, book classes and activities and access your full digital fitness offering. They help your community stay connected, and help your teams keep your members engaged. 

At Legend, we can help you create the perfect mobile app and show you how to build your digital fitness offering. 

Book a demo today to learn more.

*Research conducted by Decision Architects on behalf of Xplor Technologies in Spring 2021.