Staying focused on fitness for a long period of time is difficult. The fact is most people stop working out consistently because they are easily distracted or bored.
Most people are drawn to fitness because they want to look better. Unfortunately, that kind of motivation is usually short-lived. It lasts long enough to convince people to join a fitness center or buy a piece of home workout equipment. Rarely will they stay focused on fitness just because of the way they look. Think of how many treadmills are sitting in homes today just being used as expensive clothes hangers.
The fitness industry mainly focuses on one thing and that’s to drive prospects to the door, and join. Practically no one focuses on retention in the fitness industry.
What the average fitness center offers is just too boring to hold the interest of the average consumer. Fitness has been so “dummied down” that no one can remain motivated for long. If clients don’t have other goals than just the way they look, then most likely they’ll become bored, and quit.
This has created a great opportunity for martial arts fitness programming. I believe, and have been proven right with my UBC programming, that if you give fitness students more than just a treadmill, weight machines or a step class, then you can retain them and even up-sell them.
I created my UBC five-week and ten-week weight loss and fitness courses to capitalize on the “must-lose-weight-and-be-in-shape-now” mentality of the average fitness consumer. I then created my maintenance program to retain students, and my elite martial arts fitness course to up-sell them to a long-term program.
It’s becoming more and more evident that if you want results from fitness training, then you must exercise at a moderate to intense pace 30-60 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week. Walking around the block three times a week just doesn’t cut it for weight control. If the average adult must work out 4-5 days a week for the rest of his or her life, then why not create a fitness program that has a long-term vision?
I’ve tried to develop a martial arts system that keeps students growing, in their quest for fitness. I explain to my student, “Fitness is like a dollar bill. A dollar is either making you money or losing value. Its value is always fluctuating because of inflation. Fitness is the same. You are either improving your shape or regressing because of the aging process.”
To keep students moving forward in fitness, I’ve created the Elite Martial Arts Fitness System, which is an adult-only, traditionally-structured and modern martial arts fitness course that provides students with opportunities to achieve fitness and martial arts goals for years to come.
 “If you give fitness students more than just a treadmill, weight machines or a step class, then you can retain them and even up-sell them.”
What makes my fitness program different is that it’s progressive. Students build upon what they already know, so every workout is a little different. It’s fitness training with a purpose: to earn a Black Belt.
My Elite system is different from other martial arts programs because fitness and long-term health benefits are its primary focuses. It’s not a watered-down martial arts system, but skill development and requirements of the highest standard. It’s designed with the understanding that the average mature adult will not want to participate in a kickboxing match or a Karate tournament.
By adding a short-term fitness course (5-10 weeks) that will attract the fitness market, you will have a ready audience to then up-sell to your martial arts program. Look at your traditional program to determine what barriers might be keeping the average adult from participating. By making some small adjustments, you may be able to convert those short-term fitness students to a long-term martial arts fitness goal.
The idea is to give the adult fitness market not just a workout, but also a program that will give students a long-term goal in their fitness training.
