3 KEYS TO SUCCESSFULLY OFFERING FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

HOW CLUBS, TRAINERS AND COACHES CAN COLLABORATE TO CREATE HIGH VALUE FOR THOSE THEY SERVE

By Greg Lawlor

The number one fitness trend for 2023, as indicated in the canfitpro Health and Fitness Trends Survey, is functional training. In surveying global trends over the last 10-15 years, functional training has been at the top of the list every year. We saw it hit a peak between 2009-2014, when more accessories and programs started to flood the market.

Historically, this is not the first time a trend has transitioned to becoming a staple fitness offering. We saw this with indoor cycling. Years of trending, and still going strong.

We saw this in programming, with group exercise as a prime example. We have seen this with equipment. The elliptical comes to mind, and the climbmill. Even the rower has gone from a trend to a staple item. We see this especially with equipment that can address multiple programming needs. And let us not forget TRX. Suspension training has become a category driven by the trend of accessible functional training that hit the market in approximately 2005.

If we agree that functional training has become a staple offering, then the discussion can quickly evolve to how to offer it so trainers and coaches can create high value for those they serve.

In small organizations, that value is driven by the instructor. The fitness leader who has invested in developing the skill set of coaching and teaching functional training, the progressions and regressions into programming that suits their clientele.

In many organizations, value also comes from standardizing programming and certifications. Training on the latest modality from kettlebells, body weight, resistance bands, medicine balls, plyo boxes, agility ladders, and Olympic lifting stations (the list goes on) into safe and accommodating programming.

Programming becomes functional training’s biggest strength but potentially its greatest risk. In fact, the definition of functional training opens a pandora’s box of possibilities, both good and bad. Functional training can be defined as training that prepares the body for daily activities. In athletes, the definition is expanded to training that meets the demands of the competition.

These are broad definitions, open to lots of interpretation and possibilities.

3 Keys to Successfully Offering Functional Training:

1. Accommodating.

Progressions and regressions. Functional training has not typically targeted the beginner or the older adult very well. While this is starting to change, building in programming that is accommodating to your targeted clientele becomes critical for a sustainable offering. Most older adults do not want to be getting up and down a lot from the ground and you may lose them after one session by introducing too many movements.

2. Standardizing.

We speak with many operators who struggle with standardizing their functional training offering. Trainers/ coaches tinker with programming to lead and program. Operators do not always specialize in that and struggle with trying to figure out how to program across multiple staff, classes, and types of clients.

Finding a way to offer functional training to a certain standard, without reinventing the wheel, streamlines the efficiency for your staff, clients, and business. Can programming and equipment cater to young athletes, weekend warriors, beginners, and older clientele?

How about instructors, can they progress and regress on the fly with the above groups in the same session? Or is it too complicated and therefore should be presented in a one-on-one format only (we do not think one-on-one is the way to go)?

3. Return on investment.

We do not need to be reminded about the cost of space, equipment, and staffing in 2023. How can we ensure positive ROI for all the above as quickly as possible? After all, without financial sustainability, none of it will endure.

Matrix Fitness is a global supplier of fitness equipment and education to organizations of all sizes. In Canada, we have 21 consultants across the country prepared to support your functional training offering, regardless of your history, size, and budget.

For more information, please reach out to the Matrix Fitness Canadian Head of Performance, Wayne Burke at Wayne.Burke@matrixfitness.com for a free assessment. Collaborating is indeed one way to ensure this fitness trend becomes a successful staple in your offering.

Greg Lawlor is Vice President of Business Development with Matrix Fitness Canada.