Encouraging Intensity for Results & Retention

Whether your members are hoping to burn fat, build muscle or tone their body, many of them are showing up expecting results they can see in the mirror. The truth is that meeting this expectation can be crucial to retaining these members long term. As a fitness professional, you can help them achieve their physical goals by sharing the transformative benefits of high-intensity exercise.

Better for the Body

Studies have shown that one of the top reasons why members renew is to keep making progress on their health-related goals. Luckily for fitness facilities everywhere, increased intensity will keep the physical results coming.

Two of the most sought-after physical results are improved fitness and body composition. According to research, both outcomes are particularly sensitive to level of intensity. For example, compared to low-intensity workouts, randomized controlled trials show that high-intensity workouts drive at least twice the fitness improvements and at least twice the reduction in body fat. Findings are similar in health club environments. When members push beyond their comfort zone, they make about twice the physical progress when it comes to gaining muscle and losing fat compared to those who share the same goals but follow their own workout plans.

Of course, there will always be those who are just starting out and individuals seeking stress relief who exclusively seek low-intensity exercise. Yet when individuals have an established exercise habit, it’s important for fitness professionals to stress that the progress they make will be closely tied to the peak intensity of their workout. For both strength and cardiovascular training, higher intensities are often required to trigger the physical transformations sought by many exercise enthusiasts. Sharing the advantages of higher intensities can help these people overcome plateaus and keep progressing toward their goals.

Better for the Business

In addition to driving physical changes, high-intensity exercise supports your business. For starters, exercising at higher intensity doesn’t add time to the total workout duration. In fact, more intense workouts often reduce workout time, in turn improving the flow of members using the facility. And time efficiency can counter one of the top reasons for membership cancellations — a perceived lack of time.

Even if only a few members ramp up the intensity, it can still improve the environment of your fitness facility. When someone witnesses another exercise enthusiast exerting themselves, it helps them envision taking their own workout to that same level. By tapping into this instinctive sense of competition, examples of high exercise intensity can motivate members who want to be part of that energy and enthusiasm. Ultimately, it creates a culture where giving your best becomes the new normal.

Intensity Right for Everyone

Not everyone who exercises is at the same fitness level, and fitness professionals must consider individual abilities when advocating for high-intensity workouts. One way to help is by offering personal training options aimed at overcoming fitness and strength plateaus. Personal trainers understand their members’ strengths, limitations and goals, creating workouts that vary in intensity in all the right ways. As a bonus, one-on-one conversations help members mentally prepare for the effort and learn to notice the physical signs of intensity without overdoing it.

When it comes to the people you work with, you may also need to clarify what intensity really means to set realistic expectations. Higher intensities produce more physical signs of exertion, including more sweating, heavy breathing and even mild burning sensations in the muscles. While these workouts include a higher degree of discomfort than low-intensity exercise, the results will be worth it for many members. As the saying goes, if the workout doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.

The Rewards of Intensity

By encouraging intensity at your fitness facility, you can help the people you work with experience the joy of accomplishment when they see their efforts reflected in improved physical fitness and body composition. As you share all the benefits of high-intensity exercise, be sure to remind your members that their physical transformation goals are always just outside their comfort zone. Best of all, whether your members are there to lose weight, build muscle or tone their body, results they can see in the mirror will keep them returning to your facility for more.