Biography Dr. Axel Gottlob

Born in 1960, Axel Gottlob studied both physics and law before he graduated from the

University of Stuttgart with a diploma in mechanical engineering. Following projects in

ergonomics and occupational physiology at the Fraunhofer Institute, he specialized in

biomechanics. Having practically grown up in gyms, the fitness industry has been his

main profession for more than 25 years. He has worked as a fitness trainer and gym

manager for many years and was the 1982 German Bodybuilding Champion. Since 1983,

he has been active in the research and development of professional training machinery

(he has four patents in his name and is the inventor of multi-motion technology) and

differentiated exercise kinematics. Furthermore, he works with elite athletes, physical

therapy groups, fitness facilities and associations and holds a teaching position at the

University of Heidelberg. In addition, Axel Gottlob is the author of the book

"Differenziertes Krafttraining" (Differentiated Strength Training) and a frequent speaker

at both national and international conventions. He is considered the leading strength

training expert in Germany. After several years as head of distribution and general manager, studies in psychology in the United States and a one-year EU management

training in Japan, he also specialized in motivational and management training as well as

customer-oriented company management in addition to his strength training expertise.

He is the company owner of Gottlob Seminare & Consulting. At the start of 2002, Axel

Gottlob graduated magna cum laude from the University of Heidelberg with a doctorate

degree in sports science.

Drop-Out

A challenge for fitness facilities

Every year, fitness facilities in both Europe and the United States are faced with drop-out

rates (the percentage of people who quit) of 30 to 50 percent on average [Brehm 1995,

Rampf 1999]. In Germany (the United States) alone, about two million (9.4 million)

members drop out of the more than 6,500 (14,000) commercial fitness facilities, which

corresponds to an economic loss of about EUR 1 billion (USD 4.5 billion) [Kamberovic

2001, McCarthy 1999]. If this fluctuation could be reduced by only 10 percent (e.g. from

35 to 25 percent), the membership of a 1,000-member gym would increase by 100

members by the end of the year with a resulting increase in membership fees of about

EUR 60’000.00 plus additional facility-specific sales, an improved image and better

advertising by word of mouth. Of course, a considerable "compounded interest effect" would occur in subsequent years (after two years, there would be 175 additional

members, etc.). These numbers/effects are well known. Why then is it so difficult to achieve lower drop-out rates?

The drop-out phenomenon was examined for the first time at the beginning of the 1970s

with regard to the regularity of pharmaceutical application by patients and physical

therapy groups [Oldridge 1984]. The success of long-term therapy plans and training

programs primarily depends on their regular execution. The identification of high drop-

out rates was the beginning of drop-out research [Pahmeier 1994]. Used in the fitness

industry during the 1990s, it provided more precise factors than just the repeatedly stated reasons for termination by the individuals who dropped out.

Asked for the reasons for terminating their membership, most drop-outers mention that

they don’t have enough time anymore and/or that the membership fees are too high

[Wingenfeld 1999, Rampf 1999]. Rampf and Brehm rightly assumed that these are superficial arguments. What happened instead seems to be a shift in priorities. The

cost/benefit and time/benefit ratios, which were assessed favorably at the start of the

membership, came to be assessed unfavorably [Brehm 1995, Rampf 1999]. However,

even people with little money and little free time pursue fitness training, if they assign a sufficiently high priority to this endeavor and put other activities on the back burner.

Now, many facilities invest a large share of their energy and budget into soliciting new

customers. Spring, summer, fall and winter promotions are coming up periodically, as are

"open house" campaigns, member referrals or 30-day trial offers. Existing members get

little benefit out of these promotions, and if no additional staff is assigned during

promotion times, these existing customers get too little attention on a regular basis. The

drop-out carousel can gain momentum! A large share of the acquired new customers

serve the sole purpose of compensating for the high drop-out rate. By the way, most

drop-outs do not return to the gym at a later point in time either, so it is only a question

of time until the potential target groups in a given business area are "exhausted" [Brehm 1999].

Many fitness facilities are not aware of the fact that a membership needs to be sold not

only during the initial signing of the membership agreement but also "re-sold" during a

every member visit, or at least they don’t act accordingly! However, some customer

service efforts do take place in part, but these are often interpreted in an activity-oriented manner by the facilities and the consulting firms by organizing barbecue nights,

joint jogging sessions, joint excursions, sweepstakes or point-reward travels. The

members like these activities very much - even though only a very small percentage

participates in them! According to my experience, this only yields a minimum drop-out

reduction effect. Very few customers will maintain their membership simply because of a

great party twice a year, and it is only a handful of members that will participate in any

outdoor activities.

The answer to the drop-out issue in fitness facilities is multi-level and needs to be viewed

from the perspective of both customer and fitness studio. For this purpose, various

surveys have compared the people that drop out and those that stay in terms of their

personality- and situation-related factors. With regard to the personality-related factors,

the only distinctions worth mentioning were the facts that the people sticking with their

gym membership exhibited a greater tendency toward self-motivation, set more precise

goals for themselves and increasingly demonstrated the ability to split up their goal into

smaller steps in a process-oriented fashion. In addition, their decision to join a gym was

made less spontaneously [Rampf 1999]. There were marginal or no differences at all with regard to profession, physical state or other lifestyle-related features.

What plays a key role are the situation-related factors, which are predominantly co-

determined by the facility itself. As central criteria, the individuals that dropped out

experienced a deficit with regard to training success, social context, emotional

experiences and direct facility environment [Rampf 1999]. There were smaller differences

between the genuine drop-outers that would no longer engage in any fitness training, not

even at a different facility, and the fluctuating customers who only want to change gyms.

For a complete drop-out, the lack of training success and the absence of social

integration were the predominant factors. Apart from the social and emotional factors,

the facility environment played a more important role when it came to a change of

facilities.

1. Training success

A large number of gym members terminate their membership, because they have

experienced little or no success. In this respect, the process of exact goal identification

and specification between trainer and customer is an indispensable measure at the very

beginning of the membership. The most frequent motive for joining a fitness facility is

clearly the goal of improving one’s figure. What figure improvement means for the

individual must be determined ahead of time, and the gym personnel needs to provide

information, e.g. if the customer has unfounded concerns with regard to strength

training. After all, there’s no such thing as a svelte figure without sufficient muscles,

since bones and fat would otherwise be the only figure-forming tissue! Furthermore,

muscles help eliminate fatty tissue more quickly and sustained fashion. Since a harder

training effort is required not just for figure improvement but also for many other goals,

all stops must be pulled so that fitness training will become fun and yield success in the

near future. Training plans should be designed to be fun. The great long-term goal must

be subdivided into process-oriented interim goals, such as two repetitions or 5 kg (10

lbs.) more for a given exercise. Success must be noticeable every single week! The

facility should establish sufficient information management. As a result, the participants

will develop a greater interest in their bodies. The more informed they are, the more

committed they will be to their training program and to a nutrition plan that supports

their training success. Information must be offered in an attractive, easily digestible

format and should be up to date. The difficult phase at the start of every training - the

first 5 to 10 minutes during which the individual must overcome his or her own weakness

- should be accompanied by encouragement from the trainer. Once the body has reached

"operating temperature," the remaining training becomes very easy. After a training

session conducted in this fashion, customers will feel better physically and eventually

associate the gym visit with a pleasant physical experience. No training plan can replace

the presence of a trainer. No aerobic video can replace the instructor! He or she must

encourage customers to perform, show an interest in the members’ goals and progress and courteously praise them for their commendable training progress and commitment.

2. Social context

At fitness facilities, many customers feel that they are treated like strangers and don’t

receive good customer service. Frequently, they feel like they are part of an anonymous

crowd. There is no personalized appeal. In this respect, everyday routines in the training

rooms, at the reception, during exercise classes and at the service counter must be re-

examined regularly. Do listless members who are just "hanging out" receive motivation?

Are client contacts customer-oriented and courteous when employees hand over keys

and customers purchase beverages or ask for a trainer, or are they handled with fake

friendliness, if even that? Do customers really feel welcome? Do the employees provide

assistance so that customers can get to know each other? If so, customers could find

training partners and the anonymity would be lifted to make room for some individual acquaintances.

3. Emotional experiences

Many drop-outers feel that their training is boring. With or without their training plans,

participants move from equipment to equipment and crank out set after set without incentive. The pauses between the sets get longer and longer.

The training sessions of the participants must be supported in such a manner as to turn

them into a noticeable experience or sometimes even an extraordinary event. Also in the

training area, interaction with the customers needs to be encouraging. Classes in

particular can provide this valuable aid, which is one of their superior strengths. However, when it comes to the most frequent objective of figure improvement, the

possibilities of classes are too limited. In this respect, one can not avoid incentive measures in the field of individual strength/cardio training.

4. Direct facility environment

If no lockers are available in the evenings on a regular basis, if the training equipment is

always occupied or if the sanitary conditions are poor, these are knock-out criteria that

must be corrected without delay. Other important factors include the atmosphere of the

fitness facility, the customer structure, the quality and accessibility of the equipment, the

quality of classes, the ambient lighting, air and music and the parking facilities. In

addition, the time factor is important: How quickly can customers check in or out, do classes start on time, are beverages quickly available and can the training equipment be

adjusted quickly?

Drop-out reduction is not a single, spectacular event but instead consists of many smaller

and medium-sized steps and measures that are required and must be implemented in a

systematic fashion in order to achieve a more attractive drop-out rate through their

committed application on a daily basis. If all four factors are met, the drop-out rate

should eventually reach a level between 10 and 15 percent or a maximum of 20 percent.

If one of the first three factors is met exceptionally well, this may partly compensate for

deficiencies among the other factors.

np. 77 / pp. 98-99