the fitness witness:
change & the health club

Rochester has recently seen a consolidation of several health clubs. In some cases new owners have replaced old and, in others, clubs have been closed and memberships transferred. Is this necessarily a bad thing? Or can change be good? RHL had a discussion with Bob Bovee, President of PHA Health Wellness & Fitness Center, one of the architects of area club changes.

Q. Bob, you have purchased two clubs near you recently and closed them. While it is not uncommon for businesses to buy and close competitors in order to grow, how does this affect health club members?
A. It can be difficult for members to have a facility close. It can mean a new location, new club members, staff, policies, etc. So the club doing the acquiring has a responsibility to affected members to make sure the transition is beneficial for them.

Q. Can a new owner take a health club that has been failing and make it healthy again?
A. Sure. But it is very challenging. In most instances I’m familiar with, the failing club was doing so because of underlying demographic changes. These clubs are very difficult to revive. If the underlying reason is the owner’s neglect, then it’s possible for the new owner to once again regain the vitality a club needs. But in the majority of cases that’s not why clubs fail.

Q. What do you mean by “vitality”? Why is that important?
A. A health and fitness facility must be a vibrant, active place. This, in part, motivates its membership to be the same. If a club delivers amenities, resources, and variety on a regular basis, then club members enjoy the environment and exercise at the facility more often.

Q. Recently we have seen a trend to one-gender-only health clubs. Is this a good thing?
A. It can be. Whatever encourages someone to achieve better fitness is a good thing. If that person is more comfortable with women or men only then that’s fine. But there may be other considerations.

Q. Like what?
A. First, I think clubs have to be both women AND men friendly. This means having the right equipment for each. For women, this means weights that go up in smaller increments. For men, it means having machines like Hammer Strength equipment. Our club has both, and everybody benefits because the equipment is helpful to both.

Club management also has to be sensitive to non-fitness areas of the club like locker rooms, members’ nutrition needs, educational courses, and staff. Having these attributes allows a club like ours to design and develop programs that complement both men’s and women’s specific needs, goals, and abilities.

Q. Is this what’s happening nationally, and how has the change worked for your club?
A. I have observed fitness clubs for almost 30 years. I believe a trend toward coed clubs makes sense not only for members, but makes the club stronger financially and therefore better able to serve its members. We think we’ve seen that here. While it was tough for some of our new members to make the transition, most are very happy to find facilities that are better designed for them and offer better fitness overall.

Q. So what can club members do if there are aspects of their health club they’re unhappy with?
A. Your club should be responsive to reasonable requests. Make sure you know who your club managers are. Talk with them about concerns and praises!