The “Third Place”: An Alternative to Big Box Gyms
Gyms aren’t just about going in, lifting a few weights, showering and then leaving anymore.
As products are tending towards the more personalized and catered, gyms have begun to take a similar approach, leaving behind the “big box” gym idea for a more one-on-one fitness experience. Many gyms are now aiming to be the “third place” people spend time after work and home.
Hugh Hawley is the director of operations and partner of Biometrics Strength & Conditioning gym in Fredericton. He says their primary focus is on providing quality coaching by trained professionals whose career it is to do so.
“The single biggest difference [between us and a big box gym] is that we’re providing a high-value service here that involves a professional coach who’s invested in your success, as compared to more of a real estate play,” Hawley says.
“In our gym, 95 plus per cent of the people who have a membership here are in here within a five-day window.”
Hawley says what they offer is more of a professional service like that of a chiropractor or massage therapist than just a place to go to workout.
He adds that positioning themselves this way and setting themselves up to make actual careers for their coaches does make them one of the most expensive choices for gyms in the area, but that this enables them to hire and retain the most knowledgeable and highest quality coaches.
A big hurdle for a gym like Biometrics is getting newcomers to fitness to try them out, Hawley says.
“One of the misconceptions about a gym like ours is that it’s for people who are fit, which is absolutely not the case. In fact, it’s better suited for people who are not because we have that professional coach who’s interacting with them one-on-one in order to get them started safely and efficiently.”
Hawley explains that they promote their hybrid training that mixes personal training and group fitness in a community-oriented, family-fun sort of atmosphere. He says the coaches have close relationships with many of the clients, relationships that go beyond their regular workouts.
Biometrics keeps in close contact with clients through these relationships and also through social media interactions, competitions and community events.
“Our community members come here to do their workout but there’s a lot of ongoing banter all day,” Hawley says.
“I know that that goes out into their everyday lives too when they see each other. A lot of them become great friends … We like people to think of it as the ‘other place’ they can go and it’s their thing. People have their home and their work and what’s that third place people think of that they would want to go to. For some people it’s a coffee shop, for some people it’s a pub or something downtown. For these people, it’s here.”
KV Fit Body Boot Camp in Quispamsis has a similar focus on being the “other place” or “third place” people spend their time. Owner Sean Barker says over the six years they’ve been open, they’ve both built a fitness community and become a part of the surrounding community at large.
KV Fit Body Boot Camp gives people who are short on time a 30-minute express metabolic workout, incorporating into that a personal training experience and services from a nutritional lifestyle coach.
“[We] offer all of that under one roof to work to offer the best solution so people can maintain and keep health and fitness a part of their lifestyle and of course get the universal benefits from that.”
KV Fit Body Boot Camp is also focused on offering a professional service. Barker says people use professional services for many other parts of their lives and that his gym is providing the professional service of health and fitness.
“We go to an expert, a certified professional … to get help, whether it’s with our taxes or to get our car fixed but what we try to show people is that it’s the same with fitness, to get help with your exercise and your nutrition and a healthy lifestyle,” he says.
“We coach people with that from the minute they come in progressing throughout exercises and we use the high energy of our group workouts but we also make sure it’s catered to the individual.”
Barker says they keep in touch with their clients by providing a very personalized experience. They know every person’s name and background and lifestyle and reach out to them if they haven’t been around for a few days. He says this sort of contact builds community and encourages people to keep with it.
“It’s hugely important to realize that we’re not just a trend that’s coming and going,” Barker says. “We’re rock solid behind Body Boot Camp itself with myself leading this facility to show people that if you’re in this, you’re in this for the long haul.”