As autumn looms into view, the change in season is often marked by a change in strategy, as club owners and managers begin to prepare their clubs for the coming year. While getting ready for 2011, many decisions will be paramount to assess a positive business plan, and ensuring growth and development in all areas of your facility. In addition to new equipment, personnel development, and promoting current services, revising your Group Exercise schedule can be a powerful tool to help retain members, attract new members, and service your clients.

“Group Exercise programs provide attention, retention and referrals. We are the heart and soul of the club and we motivate by numbers. It’s never been more important than right now to make good decisions with programming,” said Deborah Puskarich, Group Exercise Director for the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch, McKinney, TX.

Trends in Group Exercise are somewhat easy to identify, explained Puskarich. “Vast audiences are attracted [to programming trends], because they appeal and cater to a variety of different fitness levels. The first thing I do is ask myself: How many populations does this program accommodate?” Working these fitness trends into a great schedule takes some work, but offers great results.

ZUMBA® and Les Mills programs are favorite fitness trends, in that they attract a large number of attendees and tend to offer a wide variety of programs that can gratify a variety of fitness levels. In addition, programming like Boot Camp Challenge® or Piloxing® can offer compelling results, while attracting a wide pool of members through multiple-disciplines. “It’s not about making a schedule, it’s about growing your program,” said Puskarich.

Much more goes into building a schedule rather than just plugging classes into time slots. Learning the different ways in which your members use Group Exercise is a great place to start—similarly, a director or manager should use peak times to cross-promote their services and build their group exercise programming.

“A population who works out at 5:30am is definitely different than the 9:30am group,” she explained. “The early morning classes I tend to keep more intense to wake them up, because they’re just starting their day. Try to stray away from too much complexity. Strength Training, Kickboxing, and Boot Camp—[programs like these] don’t really involve them having to get out of bed and having to think. They’re less choreographed and more intense with every exercise,” said Puskarich. This is a perfect way to cater to the nine-to-five community, offering them a time-effective way to take advantage of Group Exercise.

There’s definitely a difference between members who are trying to squeeze a workout into their work schedule and a member who may be attracted to a specific program or fitness trend. The mid-morning classes on your schedule can get a little more creative—they’re a little more light-hearted, they may be more choreography-intense, and cater to those who are more open-minded and willing to be challenged in a different way. Similarly, offering shorter sessions during the lunch hour may appeal to a crowd who is looking to take a class, shower, and return to work.

Fusion classes are immense, offering a tool for time-strapped members to train in multiple disciplines, efficiently maximizing their workout. “Fusion has never been more important, because we have a variety of effective programming out there now,” said Puskarich, who went on to explain how fusion classes are helping older modalities to retain relevance. This is increasingly more important for a club’s peak hours, allowing programming that allows members to feel like their accomplishing more than one discipline. “This way, members can get in, get fit, and get home.”

“Having a Personal Trainer come in to teach the last fifteen minutes of a class is an opportunity to network and contribute to the revenue of a facility, while the class views it as a special treat—it’s like a bonus,” Puskarich explained.

 Considering your Group Exercise programming schedule is one of the best ways a facility can renew its commitment to members prior to the New Year. Be sure to use all of the resources in your club to maximize the benefits for your members—and maximize profit for your club.

Deborah Puskarich has over 19 years experience as a group exercise instructor, and is a respected presenter and educator for major fitness conferences around the world. She earned “Group Exercise Instructor of the Year” from the Cooper Fitness Center in Dallas, and received “Ambassador to the World of Fitness” in England. Deborah is now a Group Exercise Director for the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch.

For more tips on Group Exercise, programming solutions, or managing your club, join us at a MANIA near you to hear more of what the professionals have to say.




Take me out to the ball game... with Les Mills! A Les Mills baseball-themed launch had Newtone Health & Fitness members and employees showing team spirit like never before.

The adrenaline—and the popcorn machine—were overflowing on April 17th when Newtone Health & Fitness in Lafayette, Indiana held their baseball-themed launch for their seven Les Mills classes.

Brandon Fleming, Group Fitness Manager, and his entire team outdid themselves with their creativity in designing and executing the event.

All the employees and many of the members wore baseball attire—each class a different “team,” and rooted each other on. They brought in a popcorn machine for people to have something fun to munch on between the back-to-back, packed classes. Baseball tickets were raffled off in every class. The National Anthem boomed out of the speakers before each class and baseball themed music was playing all day. And, after track #7 in the BODYPUMP®, they had a ‘7th inning stretch’ and sang ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’.

“It was really great to see the members joining in, wearing baseball hats, shirts, eye black and jerseys and getting into the event as much as the instructors,” said Fleming. “By giving the event a theme, it allowed everyone to really get involved and have fun with it. There truly was great team spirit flowing all day long.” To add to the team spirit, during the BodyPump® class, one instructor was devoted to circulating the room and helping members and participants with one-on-one training on form and technique.

Overall, the event was a hit. Score one for Team Newtone Health & Fitness!




There is nothing like a good re-launch event to refuel the passion for the programs you teach! The events provide a great opportunity to get members excited about group fitness and attract new members to your club. They also create a feeling of community and build member loyalty.

So what can you do to make your club’s event even more amazing? Follow the steps below to become a re-launch rock star!

Step 1 – Get Everyone Involved

Have all employees think about what role they can play at the re-launch. Get the team together and brainstorm ideas for your event. Talk to local businesses about sponsoring with freebies or prizes for participants. Consider a bring-a-friend promotion. Create a theme. Make it a fundraiser for a local hospital and get the hospital involved.

Step 2 – Be a Rock Star: Prepare and Practice

Set time aside to practice with your team before the event. Decide who would be best to introduce the class and who will teach what track. For a truly professional performance, also think about how to position yourselves on the stage. Perhaps one person can show modifications and options, and another instructor can coach participants on the floor, giving members and potential members hands-on attention.

Have a look at the Masterclass DVD for inspiration and ideas and think about what main benefits you want to convey to your re-launch class participants.

Always prepare for the unexpected: Have a Plan B up your sleeve.

Step 3 – Pack the Room

Start promoting your re-launch event in your classes a couple of weeks before the big day. You could hand out invitations and encourage your members to bring a friend to the re-launch.

Les Mills offers everything you need to hold events, launches, re-launches, keep your classes energetic, and to keep marketing efforts going everyday, every week of every year. Check out www.scwfitness.com/launchkit.

Here you will find the downloadable materials to help promote and launch your Les Mills program(s).

You can download Launch Kits here, giving you everything you need for an event, launch or “re-launch.”

    Included in each kit you will find:
  • Launch Posters
  • Launch Sign-Up Sheets

    Instructor Track Assignments:
  • Class Passes
  • Tips For a Top Notch Launch
  • Sales Sheet (Guide to Success)
To view all of the Les Mills programs or get the newest information and updates on trainings, please visit www.lesmills.com.

Each promotional piece included in the launch kit is not dated, and everything is archived. This gives you the complete freedom to customize the materials as you see fit, and differentiate from other facilities offering Les Mills programs. If you have any questions or need further support, please contact us at: info@mw.lesmillsusa.com.

Have an awesome re-launch!




Bold moves made over the last 12 months aimed to reinvest in and improve the group fitness operation at Family Fitness in Lake Jackson, Texas, have delivered amazing results. Overall, group fitness cost-per-head (CPH) has decreased from $1.80 to $0.84 in just 12 months. Male participation in group fitness has increased from roughly 10% to an incredible 60% at peak times in both BODYPUMP® and RPM®, and is strong at 20% even in morning timeslots.

With a full room of 49 bars, BODYPUMP® classes are at 90% capacity and have a low cost-per-head (CPH) of $0.72. The RPM® studio has 42 bikes and enjoys 80% capacity in each class while CPH is $0.94.

How has this been made possible? Kay Aplin, the founder and owner of Family Fitness, sets aside a group fitness budget that prioritizes investment in her instructor team, paying for 50% of instructor training and offering $5 per class more to Les Mills instructors. Instructors also receive a minimum wage pay of $7.25 per hour for re-launch preparation. They are paid $20-$30 for team-teaching during and after re-launch events, and have hotel costs and event entry fees for one LES MILLS® quarterly paid for each year.

The investment in staffing and programs continues to pay dividends. With only two Les Mills programs on offer, BODYPUMP® and RPM®, 45% of the group fitness timetable of 39 classes per week is dedicated to Les Mills programs. Family Fitness’ former indoor cycle program drew 145 weekly attendees, yet per Program Director Kari Chupp "lacked consistency, quality control and safety." It was replaced almost completely by RPM®. Cycling now boasts a newly designed RPM® studio with logos, decor, spot-lighting, stage and sound, and only offers one free-style cycle class weekly. Weekly cycling attendances stand at 240 today.

1,300 attendances, correlating to 43% of the 3,000 total gym visits each week are delivered by group fitness, up from 20% and 700 attendances 12 months ago. New membership sales have increased 10%-15% per month since the initial launches, an increase the membership team at Family Fitness attributes directly to class guest passes and word of mouth referrals for group fitness. This is an impressive list of results for a premium priced facility at $659 per annum with 4,000 members and strong local competitors, including two large recreation facilities and one competitor also offering four Les Mills programs.

Group fitness events take center stage at Family Fitness, literally. While each re-launch event has a different theme, one of the most effective events for showcasing group fitness was when the re-launch for both BODYPUMP® and RPM® was held in the middle of the main club floor. Equipment was cleared, stage, lighting and fog machines were rented and a red-carpet theme was played out. Energy drinks, workout towels and refreshments were handed out.

Group fitness instructor team is a key competitive advantage. The group fitness team at Family Fitness delivers 39 land-based classes per week including Zumba®, yoga, Pilates, step, cardio-blast and fat-burn in addition to BODYPUMP® and RPM®. Being a Family Fitness instructor holds high esteem and Chupp knows her team sets the club apart from the competition. There are 15 exclusive instructors at Family Fitness, eight of them teaching Les Mills programs, many of whom have been with the facility since it opened 11 years ago. 60% of the personal training staff cross over and also teach group fitness. Instructors get together regularly to prepare for events, practice incorporating the latest program education into their teaching and provide feedback to each other on their instructing. They also keep each other accountable for delivering the choreography 100% and staying true to the Les Mills® system and experience. Both the management and members at Family Fitness notice the effort!




Instructors, are you taking the time to really understand each track, how it works and how to teach it so that it's fresh and effective for your class?

It takes a bit of work, but it's worth it! We've broken down the learning process for you below. As you review the booklet for each track, keep in mind the following:
  1. TRACK FOCUS -This tells you the most important thing you should focus on when teaching in this track. It is UNIQUE for every track.
  2. LOOK AT THE INTENSITY FACTOR – This gives you a road map of the choreography and highlights where the BURN that we love so much comes from.
  3. TRACK INTRODUCTION – This will stop you from saying too much and remind you of the important information, e.g.: weight selection! If you say only what we suggest, your transitions will stay under 45 seconds!
  4. COACHING – Understand the best way to coach the track to give your members the most effective workout. Our expert DVD presenters, who obsess about getting the coaching perfect, will help you with this. Learn to better setup cues, motivate, how to set a specific intention for each set, compulsory cues and what to look out for in the room.
  5. CHOREOGRAPHY – This covers the things to look out for – how many sets. The sequencing, exercises and repetitions.
  6. FITNESS MAGIC – The most important thing is that you feel the music and bring it alive for your members. There's not much to do in BODYPUMP so whatever you do, do it well! Use your 5 voices, lyrics, music, feel, standing strong and holding, big Shoulder Rolls and every now and then, break out! Do the unexpected.
  7. TECHNIQUE AND COACHING CUES – here we aim to provide new instructors with a quick reference for Setup, Follow up and Compulsory Cues. Even experienced instructors can all do with some revision now and then, can't we?
The choreography notes have been designed to make the learning obvious (you can find all the information easily) and, most importantly, logical. Faster learning and better understanding!