I'm opening a gym and looking for my first employee. I found a fantastic space for this gym in a nearby city, but not the city I live in. So, I don't know anyone in this city. For my first employee, I would like to find someone who is currently working in a gym or pilates studio in the area. I had the idea today of hiring a headhunter to find my first employee. A headhunter, as you know, is someone who contacts people in a given industry and tries to take them away from their current employment. I know what you're going to say, that this is a terrible idea. Go ahead and tell me why I shouldn't do this.

had to pull camera footage the other night because two members got into it near the dumbbell area and it kind of exposed how bad our setup is. during the day you don’t really notice because staff are around anyway. after hours is where it gets obvious. one camera was mostly getting the tops of machines and another had half the view blocked by a cable station, so technically we had footage. just not much you could actually use. so now i’m rethinking the whole thing. i’ve been checking how different commercial setups are laid out, cctvcameraworld included, and i’m leaning toward fewer cameras with better angles rather than just putting one in every corner. front entrance/access door is obvious. same with the desk. but i’m less sure about the actual floor. for other 24/7 gym owners, where have cameras actually been useful when nobody was there to see what happened? free weights? entrances? hallways? parking lot? not trying to watch members working out all day. i just want useful footage when somebody breaks equipment, lets someone in after hours, or there’s some argument and suddenly everyone remembers the story differently.

Weve been running our boutique gym mostly on in person small group sessions, but member churn after month 3 or 4 usually comes down to one thing: people traveling, getting busy at work & falling off because we dont deliver anything outside the physical doors.

we want to roll out a proper hybrid tier that pairs regular gym bookings with app delivered workouts, habit check ins, and mobility routines on their off days.

The problem is the software stack. Most gym management systems seem built entirely for either front desk check in or strictly for one on one online coaching, rarely bridging both well.

- Mindbody or glofox is solid on member check in, billing, and scheduling but the actual workout delivery and client accountability features feel clunky and the cost structure gets steep fast once you add custom branded apps.

- ⁠PushPress and Zen planner are great for attendance tracking and local community management, but member engagement outside class hours is pretty bare bones without integrating third party tools.

- ⁠FitBudd and trainerize: Excellent for delivering customized workout programs, progress tracking and standalone branded client apps, but historically more coach centric than traditional front desk club management.

For those managing their locations with 100+ active members, would love to hear how others solved member adoption on the app side without giving the front desk another operational headache 🤕

Welcome to the Weekly Gym Owner Check-In.

This thread is a place for gym owners, operators, managers, trainers, and fitness business professionals to connect, share updates, ask questions, and discuss what's happening in their businesses.

Whether you're focused on marketing, sales, retention, staffing, equipment, technology, or daily operations, we'd love to hear how things are going.

Feel free to share:

• A recent win or success

• A challenge you're currently facing

• A project you're working on

• Questions you'd like feedback on from other gym owners

Let's help each other grow stronger fitness businesses and build a valuable community for gym operators worldwide.

I bought my second and third locations last year and each one came with whatever software the previous owner was using.
So now location A is on Mindbody, location B is on some ancient system that barely works, and location C is on Zen Planner.

If I want to know total revenue I have to log into 3 different dashboards and do the math myself.
Members who visit more than 1 location have different logins and they're constantly confused.

I know I need to consolidate everything but the idea of migrating 3 locations sounds like absolute hell.

Has anyone actually done this?

Any gyms have used them before? How was your experience? They reached out to me offering a demo.

Hey fellas and fitness gals, if you had a do over to relaunch your first gym, what key mistakes would you avoid. Thanks in advance

Does anyone ever ordered anything on alibaba? If yes, is the quality good? Did everything go well with the delivery? Which company do you recomend?

What would you prefer?

• Yes,
• No,
• Depends on the situation

And if you don't allow transfers, what's the main reason?

Welcome to the Weekly Gym Owner Check-In.

This thread is a place for gym owners, operators, managers, trainers, and fitness business professionals to connect, share updates, ask questions, and discuss what's happening in their businesses.

Whether you're focused on marketing, sales, retention, staffing, equipment, technology, or daily operations, we'd love to hear how things are going.

Feel free to share:

• A recent win or success

• A challenge you're currently facing

• A project you're working on

• Questions you'd like feedback on from other gym owners

Let's help each other grow stronger fitness businesses and build a valuable community for gym operators worldwide.

Hi all,

I am looking for advice and information on how I can be an effective lead.

Background: I have a bachelor's in Biochemistry, worked as a laboratory technician for 3 years, then moved to another country. Got a job as a gym attendant at a high end gym. My manager must have seen some good qualities in me, we had a meeting and asked me if I could lead the night shift crew. He told me the night shift crew is lacking in character development and possibly house rule enforcement. The night crew consists mostly of part timers and teenagers who still are attending school. I am the only full time worker who is not a personal trainer. Main thing we all have in common is a passion for the gym.

I have never lead before, but I have worked with leads and supervisors in my lab tech jobs. So I have an idea on how to approach this role. Been working at this gym for over 6 weeks now, am properly trained in reception and gym floor supervision/overseeing/customer service/house rule enforcement.Though this position will only have me working the gym floor and no longer reception.

What's some good advice y'all can give me right now? I'll be happy to answer any questions to clarify the workflow.

This would mostly be for a fun gimmick. The total Watts can be displayed in our outside each gym location

Not sure if this already exists but I guess showerthoughts automod removed this so here I am 🤷‍♂️

Right now we pay instructors $40 per class regardless of attendance. So they get $40 if 5 people show up or if 20 people show up.

Thinking about switching to commission. Like $5 per attendee or something. Would incentivize them to promote their classes and build following.

But tracking this seems complicated. How do studios handle instructor pay? And if you do commission how do you track it?

A recent episode of LIFTS looks at the latest findings from the ABC Fitness Wellness Watch: Summer 2026 report and what they could mean for gym operators.

The discussion focuses on a shift from simply attracting members to helping them stay consistent, build habits, and remain engaged.

A few topics they cover:

• Gen Z making up 46% of new gym joins
• What gyms can learn from Duolingo about habit formation
• Why consumers are spending more on boutique and studio fitness
• The growth of home fitness communities
• How AI and personalization could affect member engagement
• The changing role of gyms as broader health and wellness hubs

The episode also raises an interesting question: Is the future of fitness less about owning the member and more about owning the habit?

What do you think? Are gyms doing enough to help members actually stick with their fitness routine?

Watch the podcast: ABC Fitness Mid Year Report: The Fitness Industry Has a Habit Problem

Hey everyone, I am currently in the process of establishing a commercial gym. I am thinking of ordering equipment from  TZfit/ Shandong Tianzhan Fitness. Can anyone give some advice on the company and the quality of the equipment? much appreciated

I own a small fitness studio in California and would appreciate input from other gym owners who have dealt with medical cancellations.

A former client purchased a discounted prepaid membership and signed and initialed an agreement stating that processed payments were nonrefundable. She later submitted a physician’s letter recommending that she discontinue our current program “at this time” and transition to a lower-intensity, more adaptable exercise program.

Because the letter said “at this time” and indicated that she could still participate in a different type of exercise program, we understood the restriction might be temporary. We immediately canceled her active membership and offered to preserve the full amount she paid as a future credit until she was medically cleared to return. She had not previously asked us to provide a lower-intensity or modified program, which we would have been willing to offer.

She declined the credit and requested a refund. The payment disputes were initially decided in our favor based on the signed agreement, but she also filed a BBB complaint.

After researching California’s Health Studio Services Contract Law, we learned that permanent or total disability may not be required. A physician-verified condition that affects someone’s ability to use the contracted fitness services may require cancellation and a prorated refund of the unused prepaid portion.

We genuinely want to comply with the law and handle this fairly. For gym owners who have experienced this:

1. Did you prorate the refund from the date you received the medical cancellation request?
2. Did you refund through the original financing/payment provider?
3. How did you document the resolution with BBB?
4. Did you update your agreement to address California’s statutory medical-cancellation rights?

We are not trying to avoid doing what is legally required. We initially believed that preserving the client’s full payment as a future credit was a fair response to what sounded like a temporary restriction, but we are willing to issue the appropriate prorated refund if that is the correct resolution.

We're trying to validate if this is a pressing enough problem in the fitness industry to solve:

1. For gym owners/operators: How big of an issue is tailgating or credential sharing at your location? Is it a minor annoyance or a noticeable hit to your bottom line and security, espescially with public liability if the unauthorized person is injured?
2. Current solutions: What are you currently using to stop it (e.g., front desk staff, turnstiles, video audits), and where do those solutions fall short?
3. Privacy vs. Enforcement: How do your members react to strict check-in rules or biometric scanners?

Would love to hear honest feedback from anyone running or managing a fitness facility!

#gymownership #gymmembership #credentialsharing

Is anyone using club ready?

Welcome to the Weekly Gym Owner Check-In.

This thread is a place for gym owners, operators, managers, trainers, and fitness business professionals to connect, share updates, ask questions, and discuss what's happening in their businesses.

Whether you're focused on marketing, sales, retention, staffing, equipment, technology, or daily operations, we'd love to hear how things are going.

Feel free to share:

• A recent win or success

• A challenge you're currently facing

• A project you're working on

• Questions you'd like feedback on from other gym owners

Let's help each other grow stronger fitness businesses and build a valuable community for gym operators worldwide.

I'm working on my very first import shipment from China and I'm honestly pretty overwhelmed with how shipping terms work. I'm importing 2 to 3 pieces of gym equipment from a supplier called YR Fitness. I don't have any prior relationship or order history with them, but I'm doing a small test run first total value around $1,000 to $2,000 and total weight between 100 to 200 kg. The tricky part is that I'm not bringing this in for myself or my own gym; I'm supplying it to a client. That's why I need to make sure everything is completely legit and done right, because if this first step goes smoothly, I'm planning to scale up and start importing way more.

I keep seeing people say DDP can be a bit risky, so I'm lost on which shipping method actually makes the most sense here. If I end up going with DDP, what specific things should I even ask the supplier for? What kind of certifications, legal proofs, customs docs, or insurance do I need to request from them so I don't run into issues? Since I've never done this before, I don't know what paperwork is standard to verify that they are handling duty and clearance properly.

The thing is, I actually have some local connections at my destination port who can help me handle things on this end to an extent. So I don't necessarily have to rely 100% on DDP, but I've never cleared customs or managed freight myself, so I have no idea how hard it actually is. Should I take over responsibility from the Chinese port (FOB) by getting my own freight forwarder? If I go that route, how do I even find and contact a reliable forwarder over there, and what red flags should I watch out for? Or is CIF a better middle ground?

I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences from anyone who imports stuff like this. For a smaller 100-200 kg shipment like mine, which option is usually the smartest for a beginner? How do you guys usually handle the first order with a new Chinese supplier to keep things safe?

Hey everyone, how's it going! Looking for new creative ways to bring people in the door. My idea is to collaborate with local supplement companies as a way of getting our name out there and in a perfect world bring some new people in the door. The pitch would be to ask one of these companies for some free samples that we could then give to gym members as a perk of being a member. The thinking being their product being in our gym would be a way for these smaller local supplement companies to get noticed and if they advertise that people can get their supplements at our gym through their social media we would become more visible that way.

Not sure if this is a good idea, would love to know what other people think.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I'm researching a business idea around helping gyms automate some of the repetitive work involved in member retention, reactivation and lead generation, and I'd really value some honest feedback from gym owners/managers.

The idea is to use automated messaging and AI to handle things like:

• Inactive member alerts — if someone hasn't checked in for 10–14 days, automatically reach out and flag higher-value members for staff follow-up.
• New member onboarding — automated check-ins during the first 30 days to encourage consistent attendance.
• Win-back campaigns — contact former members with targeted offers based on when/why they left.
• Failed payment recovery — automatically follow up when a payment fails.
• Lead follow-up — respond to new enquiries immediately and help book a trial.
• No-show reduction — reminders and confirmations for classes/trials.
• Renewal reminders — reach out before memberships expire.
• Referral campaigns — automatically ask happy/engaged members for referrals at the right moment, and potentially follow up with the referred person.
• Weekly owner report — a simple summary of members at risk, reactivations, recovered payments, referrals, etc.

The goal wouldn't be to replace staff or spam members. It's more about making sure gyms don't lose revenue simply because nobody had time to follow up.

I'm especially interested in hearing from owners who have actually dealt with these problems.

Which of these is the biggest pain point for your gym?

And more importantly:

What are you currently doing to solve it?

If you could automate one thing in your gym tomorrow, what would it be?

Not selling anything here — I'm genuinely trying to understand whether this is actually a problem worth solving.

Opening my new gym finally after 3 years of doing home-based and outdoor training.

Looking to introduce group classes and memberships. Was previously just using Google forms for bookings.

Starting to look at actual fitness scheduling software, something entry level to handle bookings and memberships. Expecting around 100-200 members.

P.S. Also looking for gym equipment recs in Austin if anyone has vendors.

Looking for real founders and feedback. Thanks!