SECOND EDITION
IHRSA’s Guide to
Personal Training
How to Generate Profits and
Improve Member Satisfaction
Sponsored by
International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association
How Well Do
You Know Your
Customers?
These two reports will increase your knowledge and
understanding of today’s health club consumer.
n The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report: 2011
Health Club Activity, Usage, Trends & Analysis
This report, published in August by IHRSA and Sports Marketing
Surveys, analyzes demographics and participation trends of
American health club consumers and expands on profit center
opportunities for club operators.
Available as a PDF for $49.95 (IHRSA members) or $99.95
(non-members).
n The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report: 2011
Health Club Activity, Usage, Trends & Analysis —
Tabular Data
This supplement to The IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report: 2011
Health Club Activity, Usage, Trends & Analysis contains tabular data with in-depth breakouts by club
type, gender, age, income, education level, and more.
Available as a PDF for $69.95 (IHRSA members) or $139.95 (non-members).
Both are available for purchase at ihrsa.org/store.
Questions? Contact store@ihrsa.org or call 800-228-4772 (US/Canada) or +1 617-951-0055
(International) ext. 117.
International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association
A Welcome Note from IHRSA and ACE
Welcome to IHRSA’s Guide to Personal As President and CEO of the American
Training, which has been generously Council on Exercise (ACE), the coun-
sponsored by the American Council on try’s leading authority on fitness, I’m
Exercise (ACE). honored to present IHRSA’s Guide to
Personal Training.
A successful personal training program
With both the fitness industry and the overall econ-
can work wonders for a health club’s bottom line. In
omy forecasted to grow in the coming years, ACE
addition to providing a steady stream of non-dues rev-
Fitness Professionals are well positioned to help
enue, it can also improve the club’s member retention
even more people achieve their wellness goals
rate. “The more they pay, the longer they stay” has been through safe and effective exercise programming—a
a longtime industry axiom. Personal training clients use mission shared by IHRSA, and captured in this guide.
the club on a regular basis, develop connections with
staff (and, in the case of group training, with other A survey of ACE’s extensive network of personal
members), and are more likely to see results sooner trainers, exercise scientists and health providers
and to reach their overall fitness goals. Together, these foreshadows some exciting trends for 2012. Three,
factors should turn your club’s personal training clients in particular, will have a direct impact on clubs.
into satisfied, long-time club members.
With consumers becoming more health-and-fitness-
While nine out of ten health clubs offer personal train- conscious, clubs will see a rising demand for ‘all-
around packages,’ including wellness, nutrition
ing in some capacity, most are converting only a small
counseling and stress management programs. This,
percentage of their members into personal training
in turn, will benefit highly educated trainers and
clients. By looking at who is most likely to buy personal
health care professionals with the knowledge and
training - and who can benefit from it in various ways - capacity to run these programs. Also, as consumers
you can begin to capture a broader training audience. become better educated about obesity-related ill-
Of course, hiring and compensating your trainers is a nesses, well-prepared trainers and health profes-
key component of a successful personal training pro- sionals can counsel and create programming
gram. All of these areas are addressed in this compre- addressing their health-related needs. Corporate
hensive publication. wellness is yet another opportunity. With more em-
ployers recognizing that a healthy team equates to
I hope this guide helps you in your quest to take your higher productivity and less absenteeism, clubs will
club’s personal training program to the next – and more become their trusted source for safe and effective
profitable – level. programming.
These are exciting times for the fitness industry and
Regards,
clubs. Educating your fitness staff is the smartest in-
vestment you can make and ACE is proud to serve
the industry in this capacity.
Best regards,
Joe Moore
President & CEO, IHRSA
Scott Goudeseune
President & CEO, American Council on Exercise (ACE)
©2012 International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reprinted, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical
or otherwise — without the express permission of IHRSA.
To order other IHRSA publications, visit ihrsa.org/store or contact:
IHRSA, Seaport Center, 70 Fargo Street, Boston, MA 02210 USA • +1- 617-951-0055, info@ihrsa.org
IHRSA’S GUIDE TO PERSONAL TRAINING ©2012
PERSONAL TRAINING improves the health of both clients and clubs. For clients, it
means training and exercise programs customized to their needs and abilities, which leads to the results
they want. For clubs, it means increased profits and greater customer loyalty.
Health club members cite feeling better about themselves, a need to stay healthy, looking better and losing
weight as top goals for using their health club. A well-run personal training program can help clients with
all of these common goals.
Each year, 30% of club members quit, or opt not to renew their memberships. Of course, some cancellations
are due to “uncontrollable” factors such as relocation, illness, injury, personal issues and financial hardship.
Other reasons commonly cited by consumers for leaving a health club include: “I wasn’t using my member-
ship / I wasn’t going to the club,” “There was no one there to guide me,” “I didn’t know what to do there,”
and “I didn’t reach my fitness goals.” Again, personal training is the ideal solution to overcoming these
common objections and reasons for quitting.
By maximizing your club’s personal training program, you can give members the results they want and ex-
pect – and the result for your club will be more revenue and improved member retention. IHRSA’s Guide to
Personal Training, generously sponsored by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), will get you started on
the path to both.
IHRSA’S GUIDE TO PERSONAL TRAINING ©2012
Background
An estimated 6.3 million Americans use personal Small-Group Personal Training
training services, up from just 4 million in 1998, ac-
cording to IBISWorld Inc. Personal training in the U.S. There has been a distinct surge recently in the popu-
is a $7.2 billion industry, generating some $736.2 mil- larity of small-group personal training (SGPT), and,
lion in profits. experts predict, it’s going to continue to grow.
Despite the global economic downtown, personal SGPT is neither one-on-one personal training, nor is
training as an industry grew an average of 1% per it group exercise. It’s a unique class format that
year from 2006 to 2011, while annual growth of 3.8% straddles the two, falling conveniently in between.
is expected each year from 2011 until 2016, when it It’s really only during the past five or so years, since
is projected by IBISWorld Inc. to be an $8.7 billion boot-camp-style classes have come into their own,
U.S. industry. that many clubs have begun offering SGPT. Because