Why has recovery become such a hot topic? There are several reasons, but the primary ones are because fitness professionals have learned it’s vital to emphasize all aspects of wellness. They’ve become educated on the benefits of recovery and are passing that knowledge onto their clients.
The vast use of social media is contributing to the explosion of wellness and recovery programming. Furthermore, biohacking is quickly becoming mainstream. Lastly, the increase of boutique recovery franchises — along with better equipment — are contributing to the exposure.
What is recovery and biohacking?
Recovery refers to the physiological and psychological processes that helps someone who has done physical activity restore their body and mind to pre-exercise states. These processes aid in repairing tissue damage, replenishing energy stores, and reducing fatigue, ultimately facilitating enhanced performance and injury prevention.
Biohacking is the process of altering the body’s physiology in a passive manner, as opposed to exercise which is active. So, using something as simple as a sauna is a bio-hack.
How is ‘Recovery’ aligned with your current fitness and wellness offerings?
Wellness and recovery programs are consistent with the overall fitness goals of your rec center because they deliver results, increase longevity and assist to minimize injury.
Furthermore, these programs expand the center’s service offerings and drive revenue, thus become a profit center.
How does recovery affect athletic performance and longevity?
Recovery is vital to maximize athletic performance for sports such as golf and tennis. They enhance speed, power and agility. Other benefits are they create durability, improve range of motion (ROM), prevents injury, and improve endurance.
Basic areas for recovery.
Some baseline areas your program should already be offering to members are nutritional consultation to educate them on the importance of understanding macro-nutrients and hydration. Other basic areas to ensure you are focusing on are sleep, stress reduction through meditation/mindfulness, stretching to release lactic acid and modifying training volume.
Services and equipment types and benefits.
There are many ways centers are adding to their offerings. Massage and massage guns, cupping, dry needling, compression, cryotherapy, loungers that massage and perform cryotherapy, red light therapy, hyperbaric chamber therapy, injections, IVs, muscle stimulation and inflammation reduction using cold plunge cabinets.
Medical
Medical programming and services are becoming the norm and are very popular as operators realize they’re safe, beneficial and easy to offer. There are a variety of popular services such as injections — B12, fat burner, tri-amino, etc. — medically supervised weight loss and more.
These programs require medical supervision and must follow state guideline, but in many cases, can be offered by TeleMed.
Financial Considerations
In most cases, you can use existing space in the fitness center for recovery and even medical programs so you may not have any new occupancy cost. But if you need to add space, construction can vary greatly depending on the space available and level of finishes. Ideally, between 500 to 2,000 square feet would be dedicated. The amount of space available will dictate the services that can be provided. Also, the more space available and services provided will also necessitate more equipment. I always start with $500 per square foot for contraction and for furniture, fixtures and equipment.
You should expect to make a net profit of 30% of gross revenue. Labor costs should be 50% of gross revenue and operating costs 20%.
Final tips and takeaways
It’s important to get professional assistance so you can avoid mistakes and pitfalls. Develop a strategic plan that includes how to market to your members. Demos, displays, packages, offering promotions, introducing your professionals and using member testimonials are just a few ways to market your programs.
Lastly, make sure to dedicate time and resources to educate center leadership, staff, the Board of Directors and especially members.
