Utilizing Your Gym Management Platform to Run 1-1 Training

Offering 1-1 training services in addition to group classes is one of the strongest trends for gyms at the moment. Although the 1-1 model has been around for decades, typically referred to as “personal training,” it can now be found in fitness businesses where the core offering is group training.

This is because a great group training product can create a large pool of higher-quality prospects to then funnel into one-on-one services. This is in contrast to the “personal training” model at “globo-gym” where a low-fee member will take much more convincing to upgrade to a 1-1 service; the gap between products at globo-gym is large compared to upselling a client that already participates in organized group fitness.

Clients also benefit from the flexibility that 1-1 training offers. For some clients, being able to specifically choose the days and times of their training sessions is more convenient than adhering to the recurring class schedule. Lastly, coaches typically earn more in 1-1 services and can bolster their income on top of group classes with little to no effort from the gym owner.

Now that we have covered the advantages of 1-1 services, which tools then allow gyms to facilitate these services?

Most gym owners will agree that their gym management software ought to have the ability to support 1-1 scheduling and transactions. Ideally, your gym management software will have the ability to create a schedule of availability for specific trainers/coaches/practitioners from which members can book appointments. 

Secondly, the gym management platform should be able to categorize the types of 1-1 services offered. Categories will allow a gym or coach to offer certain services across different memberships or packages (Eg: Manual therapy is only included with the Premium Unlimited Membership). It will also help when running reports in order to analyze which 1-1 services are the most popular, which coaches book the most clients and which days/times are most popular for 1-1 services.

Some member management platforms have specific functionality built to support 1-1 scheduling and appointment setting. However, other platforms may need to offer a workaround where the 1-1 appointment is created as a “class” and posted to the schedule with a capacity of 1-person. This allows one person to book the appointment and browse the general schedule for both classes and 1-1 services. However, one drawback to this workaround is that 1-1 services can “crowd” the class calendar and create a bad experience for members seeking both group classes and 1-1 appointments.