My Ultimate Gym if I was a Gym Owner ?

So! I’ve visited over 30 countries and lived in 4. I’ve been to MANY crossfit gyms, HIIT gyms and group training gyms.  These are the things I like, and things that could be optimized.

After trying out GuavaPass / ClassPass in Bangkok the past few months, I’ve decided to write down my thoughts on my favorite things about a group training gym, and things that I would add. Feel free to share with anyone!

Cheers! Riley

Music:

• Loud & intense
• Type: ‘Workout Music’ (just search ‘workout music’ on streaming services)
  • ideally a mix up of hiphop  / EDM  / Rock workout music – a different theme each day, or a playlist that has a mix.
• During breaks, music is still pretty loud, just quiet enough to hear the coach talk
• If the music stops, it feels awkward, in my opinion
• During cool-down, music is still pretty loud, but playlist can be changed to less-intense.
  • maybe during cool-down, it’s ‘coaches choice’, or one person each day gets to choose whatever they want for cool down music.

Introductions & Stretch

• • While we stretch, people do introductions
  • Say your Name, Where you are rom, How long you have been training (now the instructor knows your level), and what you do / something interesting you did recently
    • This helps people get to know each other in the community. And makes people more comfortable in the gym.
  • Stretching should be slow! Some instructors rush thru this and I find myself catching up.
  • Encourage people to show up early and stretch themselves.
  • Sometimes I wonder… is the purpose of this to stretch? Or get the heart rate up?
    • The instructor clear to people in the warm up, which muscle this is intended to stretch, or if it’s to get the heart rate up.
  • Allow people to do stretch variations that work better for them. Everyone has their own level of flexibility. For example, I need more intense stretching than most.

The Workout

• I think most people like to be pushed… They are already pushing themselves by coming to the gym. Everyone wants to be fit.
• Working out & getting fit is just as much mental as it is physical
  • The ideal coach instills the mentality of pushing yourself
• I prefer coaches who keep it STRICT.. e.g. ‘No cheating!’
  • a rule for strictness: after the buzzer, do 1 more rep, then you can stop. Or else burpees!
• No Choices – many people come to to group workouts because want to decide what to do! They just wanna show up and do the work. Having variation options in a group class can be counter intuitive.  The coach is there to TELL us what to do, with confidence.

Post-Workout

• Music is still pretty loud
• After 5 mins required stretch as a group circle
• Instructor leads the stretches based on the day’s workout,
• But people are free to do their own stretches instead, what works best for them
• After stretch, everyone rolls out together, optionally

Ok those are my thoughts! 🙂 What are your tips!

For travelers and busy people, I’m coming out with a Travel Workout program soon. Stay tuned my sending a message to my Messenger Bot, and you will know when it drops!