Your Gyms Social Events Mean More Than You Think

Your Gyms Social Events Mean More Than You Think

Posted by Stephanie

Oct 24, 2019

AdobeStock_267783370

To help your new members feel welcomed and included in your gym community, make it your mission to host several social gym events annually.

Fun events help members build relationships and rapport. It gives them a chance to meet the gym community and see how valuable it is to be a member at your box.

For many folks, joining a local, small gym is less about fitness and more about connection. They are looking for friendships, for camaraderie, for a sense of belonging. As a gym owner, you have the unique ability to provide a platform for adults to connect to one another and socialize. Don’t take this responsibility lightly—make the social events calendar at your box a top priority rather than an afterthought.

To do this, sit down and plan your gym events one year in advance. Here’s a sample list (and one worth crushing on!) to get you started…

Holiday workouts (like Memorial Day Murph, for example)

Holiday parties

Monthly meet-ups (these can vary or can be at the same location every month)

Quarterly book club

Annual trip (this can be as simple as an overnight trip and as big as a week-long cruise)

In-house competitions

In-house workshops

Annual ladies night

Annual dudes night

Annual outreach (beach clean up, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)

Don’t let this hard prep work go to waste: Make sure you start promoting your events six weeks in advance. This gives everyone time to make the necessary arrangements. And for a big event, like an annual trip, promotion starts at least six months before the event takes place.

This kind of events calendar will help keep your veteran members engaged, and ensure that your new members feel like a part of the team in no time at all. It’s a win-win!

Related Articles

In the New Year, Be Careful Not To Make This Scheduling Mistake

Topics: Crossfit Member Experience

As an entrepreneur, you are undoubtedly an idea machine. Thoughts come to you constantly, day or night, about programs to add, certifications to host, outings to arrange, workouts to program, marketing strategies to employ, sales promotions to push.

And, arguably, your brain is on overdrive right now: the new year is coming up.

Do This One Simple Task To Help Keep Your Gym Full Of Good Vibes

Topics: Crossfit Member Experience

Ray Oldenburg, urban sociologist and author, is famous for his work on what he calls “third places”—public places like cafes, coffee shops, book stores, bars (and arguably gyms) where people can gather and interact.

Oldenburg says this on the subject:

"The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood, which contrasts with people's more serious involvement in other spheres. Though a radically different kind of setting for a home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home in the psychological comfort and support that it extends.”

Your gym, therefore, is quite possibly the “third place” for many of your members. What an honor!

But with honor comes great responsibility. You are now tasked with the objective of making your gym space warm (figuratively), happy, clean, organized, welcoming, empathic, fun, inclusive, and positive.

There are, of course, several steps to take in order to successfully hit all of the above criteria; but here’s one that’s easy and costs nothing to do:

Do a run-through at your box and see if there’s anything outdated, unused, forgotten.

This often comes in the form of a month-old competition flyer that’s still hanging on the board. Or a “Goals Board” that hasn’t been updated in months (or longer). Or even gym leaderboards that are so outdated that they’ve just blended into the wall like a sort of cruddy wallpaper.

These relics tell your members that you aren’t on top of things, that you aren’t organized. Rid your gym of these harmful (albeit innocent-looking) ghosts of gym past. They don’t belong in your members’ “third place.”

This is something worth doing every couple of weeks—a sort of biweekly scan that keeps the gym in the present tense. Just pop it in your phone as a reminder. It’ll message to your community that you care to keep their space beautiful, that you want them to feel nothing but good vibes when they’re there.

Share The Stage

Topics: Crossfit Member Experience

As a coach, you have center stage. You’re the headliner, the person that everyone is looking at and listening to and laughing with.