Life Club

I was at the health club the other day and thinking about how it could be so much more.

Rather than a place you just go to exercise it could be a place you go to better your whole life. It could be made into a place where you would want to spend your spare time and want to hang out.

This post is basically how I would set up my hypothetical life club.

When you check in at the front desk you would be given a pedometer / heart rate monitor. This would help keep track of your physical activity.

The gym portion of it would be pretty similar to most health clubs. The cycle bikes would power little generators (something some gyms already do) to promote greener thinking.

Also like many gyms there would be a little cafe. The cafe's menu would be designed to promote healthier eating. A twist would be that one could receive a discount on his or her purchases there based on his physical activity (as measured by the heart rate monitor and pedometer). This would help provide that little extra motivation to really push yourself in the gym.

But the whole point of the life club is that it doesn't stop at just the gym. It's like if a gym ate a community center. There would be a club garden where club members could sign up to get a little plot of soil to tend to. An activity room with an air hockey and foozball table. A small theater that could sit maybe fifty people. They would show a movie each day (likely something old to keep the licensing down). There would be other rooms  with tables and chairs that you could check out to use for a party or just hang out.

Then there would be classes. Offering classes is nothing new to health clubs, but the range of the class topics would be increased. You could register for a gardening class or a healthy cooking class for example. Almost like an adult education center.

For younger members there could be a tutoring center. In some cases these tutors could be other members. There could even be a supervised play area to allow parents to drop off their kids before going and working out.

Regular social events could be planned. Socials or perhaps competitions depending on the interests of the members. I imagine the atmosphere being a bit similar to that of college.

And things would not necessarily need to end at the club. A persons physical activity (once again monitored by the pedometer / heart rate monitor) could be logged online. That person could then login to his account on the club's website to see this. A parent could track their child's workout and offer various rewards at home.

Now here is the key: marketing. You couldn't see this thing as just a health club with more. To many people pass up on extras their health club offer. It would need to be marketed as a complete package. If the majority of the members are not using these extra services, the effort failed. If the majority of the members are not socializing and learning from one another, the effort failed.

Such a center would be pricier than a regular health club. However, this may make it difficult for people who then want to register for a class or something that may have an additional cost. The way around this is to up the base membership price by a small amount, but then make that include one free class per season. Further incentive would be to offer membership discounts based on physical activity in the gym or perhaps participation in social events.

Now this may not seem like a good business move, but I feel that it would keep people attending and keep them involved. If they are making use of your facilities they are less likely to cancel their memberships. Too many companies focus on recruitment rather than retention.

Something like this may flop. People might not be willing to sign up, they might not make use of their memberships, they might cancel their memberships, they might not care about some of the facilities; there is any number of ways in which this could fall flat on their face. But if someone had a bit of investment capital and is willing to take a risk, it seems like it could at least be worth a try.