Need Ideas for Your Country Club's Wellness and Fitness Programming?
Fitness programming at a country club is a critical component to member satisfaction and retention. While some of the members spend time on the golf course or out on the tennis court, almost ALL of them utilize the fitness facilities in some form or fashion. This not only means that fitness programming is a central piece to overall experience of each member, it also means that the programs needs to be enjoyable and accessible by all members!
While this may seem like a tall task when determining what type of programming to offer, it doesn’t have to be! There are plenty of ways to get a large majority of the members involved in a program and still make it fun and challenging, without it having to be a ton of work on programmers’ part. In addition, we find that the simpler and more approachable by your members, the better. While complex programs and platforms may claim to solve problems, it turns out that they can cause a lot of headache and not provide a lot of value to your members. Especially if the solution is a complicated app and your members are a bit older.
Instead, fitness programs at country clubs should focus on activities and events that are enjoyable, not complicated, quick to set up, and effortless for members to participate in. Here are some quick and easy ideas you can seamlessly incorporate into your club culture. But first, let’s examine some key aspects to keep in mind when designing these activities.
Key Considerations:
1. Friendly Competition
The number on motivator for physical activity is friendly competition. Utilizing this is a powerful way to get and KEEP your member motivated to participate in the event and see the results that will keep them coming back to your facility!
2. Community and Social Support
A close second is the reinforcement from peers. It’s crucial for members to see club leaders actively participating and offering their encouragement. It also important that club staff also participate in the event, so making it easy for them to participate is also critical
3. User-friendliness
The activities must be incredibly straightforward and accessible to all members. The more complicated an initiative, the less likely it is to be embraced.
4. Variety
Keeping activities fresh and diverse retains members’ interest, helps in habit formation, and thus ensures long-term member wellness.
Below are some foolproof, enjoyable initiatives that can boost wellness among your club members. While a basic spreadsheet can track these, it lacks the capacity to facilitate friendly competition or social encouragement, and it doesn’t offer timely reminders to the participants. This is where the FytFeed platform shines, handling all the logistics, including challenge setup, member engagement materials, and post-challenge analytics.
1. Active Minutes Challenge
Rather than the traditional (and somewhat monotonous) steps challenge, an active minutes challenge encourages members to log any activity they consider physical exercise. This promotes inclusivity, allowing less active members to participate fully by deciding what constitutes activity for them. This also encourages taking advantage of everything the club has to offer. Members tend to get stuck in their routine and only use a few of the amenities at the club. In this case, a member may post that they participated in a group fitness class, and another member may see that and have forgotten the club offers fitness classes! It promotes cross-engagement of all of the members. A true win-win!
2. Clubhouse Fitness Challenge
A squats or push-ups challenge right in the clubhouse can inject fun and fitness into your members’ day. Keeping it open to interpretation allows all fitness levels to compete, fostering a sense of camaraderie and wellness. You could even tell your members to do the squats or push-ups at home and share them to social media, giving your club free exposure!
3. Mental Wellness Moments
Mental health is just as important as physical health, and it is a great way to keep your members happy and coming back. Encourage your members to take daily breaks to focus on their mental health and record the amount of time and what they focused on. Offer a quite space in the club during these events for meditation or relaxation, or even offer a class once a month to lead members in mediation.
4. Hydration Challenge
While fad diets come and go, one thing remains constant when it comes to nutrition; drinking plenty of water is important. It is recommended that adults drink at least eight, 8 oz. glasses of water a day, so set a goal of that and see who can hit it! The best part of something as simple as a hydration challenge is it can actually lead to much more complex and beneficial wellness behaviors such as better food choices and being more active! One small change in a person’s daily routine can have big impacts in the long-term and keep them enjoying and using your facilities.
5. Points-Based Challenges
A word of caution here. As mentioned, one of the main reasons why member wellness initiatives die is simply because they are too complicated to follow. So having a points-based challenge can attempt to hit on all things wellbeing, but can get complicated quickly. A good and simple points could be something such as 1 point for 30 minutes of physical activity, 1 point for a healthy meal choice, and 1 point for drinking 4 glasses of water. You could also a point just for being at the facility for a day. As with all of these ideas, make sure they are approachable and inclusive for everyone in your members.
It's As Easy As That!
Incorporating easy and enjoyable wellness initiatives into your country club can have a huge impact on member satisfaction and engagement. By focusing on activities that are accessible, fun, and foster a sense of community, you can create a vibrant wellness culture within your club. If you want to make it even easier, we can set you up with any of the challenges listed above and easy tools to get your members involved. Schedule a 15-30-minute meeting with us with no obligation today to find out how! Start implementing these wellness ideas today and watch as your club becomes a haven of health and happiness for your members.