As a circuit training health club owner, do you think about music much? Probably not. Your gym members like to listen to music as they exercise, so you provide a wide assortment of music CDs. You even buy brand new music once in a while, just for something different. If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you probably have music galore. Maybe even enough to open your own music store! Still, you don’t think about it all that often because (let’s face it), workout music isn’t all that important to overall fitness center success.
Or is it?
Do you really know how your members feel about the aerobic music you play in your gym? Did the Christmas music you played throughout the month of December drive your members crazy? Do the music lyrics on some of your CD’s offend anyone? Do you play a lot of country music because you like it personally, and do your members feel the same way? What sounds like beautiful music to you doesn’t necessarily sound the same to your health club members.
Some fitness centers have even found themselves in legal trouble when they have exclusively played Christian music and nothing else. Some would claim that strictly playing Christian music is discriminatory towards people of other faiths. Others would not agree, even saying that they support Curves precisely for religious reasons. "After all, we live in a free country. All of their (Curves') literature show(s) right up front that they are Christians and are not afraid to credit God as their source of wealth," wrote Eileen Williams, a teacher at Immanuel Lutheran School. "They even play Christian music in the centers while people are working out." (Source: Seattle PI, 6-30-04).
There’s no doubt about it. Music is important to most people. People love music because music inspires us, motivates us, and helps us get through another workout. For a clue as to whether or not you’re playing the right health club music, take a look at how many of your members bring their own iPod or similar device. If more than a few choose to ‘drown out’ your music choices, then it may be time to embark on a new music search for something more popular.
If you’re in the market for some new exercise music, then the first thing you need to do is take an inventory of what you already own. Gather up all the music CDs owned by your gym, and separate them into categories. You may be surprised to find that rap music is 70% of your library! Maybe rock music is the only variety you offer. List the types of circuit training music you have now, and then compare it to this suggested inventory list:
1) Pop Music
2) Dance Music
3) Country Music
4) Christian Music
5) Rap Music
6) Hip Hop Music
7) Latin Music
8) Classical Music
9) Gospel Music
10) Holiday Music
11) Christmas Music
12) Oldies Music
13) 50s Music
14) 60s Music
15) 70s Music
16) 80s Music
17) 90s Music
Your health club should own at least one CD from each of these categories. If you only stock a few selections, then you need to buy music as soon as possible because offering a wide selection will keep your members from getting bored and unhappy.
When purchasing aerobic music for your circuit training program, it’s important to look for a consistent beats-per-minute (BPM) in the 142-148 range. This rapid tempo keeps your members moving along at the right pace for the circuit training workout. It’s also important to select songs that people know and recognize.
In a gym that provides circuit training for women, members are often given free access to the stereo for the purposes of adjusting the volume. Why not buy a CD organizer and store your workout music next to the stereo? Encourage the members to choose a CD on their own! You’ll end up with happier members, and the extra cost to you is minimal. Here’s another twist on that idea – track which of your members have achieved some type of goal (exercised 12+ times last month, for example) and allow only those members the privilege of choosing the fitness center music for the day.
You can also add a lot of fun to your circuit training routine by offering theme music. For example, you could host a Hawaiian day where you play only Hawaiian music (it’s available in 145 BPM). Consider giving out plastic leis that day to everyone who completes a workout.
Circuit training exercise is a lot more fun when there are a lot of music alternatives, and fortunately the music business has given us an almost endless array of choices!
So, does music matter in a health club? Absolutely!
Here’s a circuit training idea for you: why not get some of your best members together and let them vote on which music CD’s to order? You’ll boost member loyalty and make the workout more fun!
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