Every gym member has a reason behind why they decide to join a gym or fitness facility. Common client goals include losing weight, improving their fitness, getting stronger, changing shape and so on. Whilst these are a great place to start for goal setting, helping a client make clear, achievable goals and sticking to their routine present different challenges. The use of goal setting is key to improving a member’s focus and commitment and helps enable them to develop strategies to support themselves in achieving their long-term goals.
One of the best places to start the goal setting process, is to find out what motivates an individual towards their goal. Why have they chosen it? What makes them feel motivated towards continuing to participate? What makes them feel empowered? How will they feel once they’ve achieved it? What will they be able to do that they couldn’t do before? It’s important to ensure programmes and recommendations are designed around what the individual enjoys and makes them feel great.
Strike a balance between process and outcome goals – if someone wants to achieve a reduction in weight (outcome), what are the steps they should take to achieve the goal (process goals, e.g. exercising more regularly, dietary changes and so on) and how can you pair it with what they want to achieve as an outcome goal. Having a balance between the two is vital to ensuring that even if the scales themselves don’t change, provided they are continuing to meet their process goals this will help them to focus on the smaller achievements as part of the journey, not just a focus on the end goal. This will encourage them to focus on positive achievements throughout the journey.
An additional strategy is to ensure there is a strong, clearly defined end or outcome goal to help members continue to stay motivated throughout the journey. As a part of this, goals should be SMART – Specific (focused and clearly defined), Measurable (tracking progress and recording measurements), Actionable (a clear step by step plan that can be achieved), Realistic (setting goals that are achievable and simple reducing the likelihood of failure) and Time framed (a clear time frame to achieve the goals).
Focus on the tools and mechanisms you can use as an operator to support your trainers to enable members to become fitter in the long term. Using these goal setting strategies is a step in the right direction and a crucial element is being able to measure what results they are achieving. FitQuest can support this process through regular testing on the gym floor which can be conducted by the members themselves or with the support of a trainer. The FitQuest ecosystem can also support tracking the process goals including attendance and enable you to engage more effectively with members when they are not in the gym too. To find out more about one member’s experience with her trainer and the role FitQuest played in her journey, look out for our next blog ‘A FitQuest Journey’.
For more information about how FitQuest can support your members, please contact us.
