How to Increase Workout Accountability for Your Gym Members

Members who are accountable for their actions are motivated to work out. When motivation is high, members are more likely to achieve their fitness goals. The more members see results, the better your member retention. 

Holding members accountable online is different from supporting your in-person clientele. You need to figure out what works for your customers on the specific platform they use. When you can identify and find the best way to keep your members accountable, you can continue providing an incredible member experience that delivers results. 

In this article, we talk about workout accountability in hybrid businesses and nine ideas for increasing workout accountability. 

Skip ahead to:

• What is Workout Accountability?
• Workout Accountability in a Hybrid Fitness Business
• Why You Need to Increase Workout Accountability
• 9 Ideas to Increase Workout Accountability in Your Fitness Business

What is Workout Accountability? 

When a person is accountable, they are responsible for their actions. Fitness accountability means taking responsibility for what you eat, how often you exercise, and how far you progress towards your goals. Let’s say that you set a goal to lose weight. To hold yourself accountable, you would need to set a specific target weight rather than a general goal to lose a bit of weight. 

When you are accountable, it can apply psychological motivators that help to improve your motivation levels. In fitness, consistency is key. To be consistent, you need to be accountable and motivated to show up for yourself and work out. 

Over the years, research into accountability and fitness demonstrates that accountability improves your chances of success. One study by the Association for Talent Development evaluated the probability of completing a goal based on specific actions. The research showed that if you have an idea or goal, you’re 10% likely to complete the goal. This percentage jumps to 95% when you have a specific accountability appointment. 

When you sell gym memberships, you’re selling a result. If you struggle to motivate members to consistently show up and achieve results, you lose social proof and credibility. A huge role of any fitness business is keeping its members motivated, online and offline. You need to be an accountability buddy to your members. 

Alex Hormozi, the founder and owner of Gym Launch, delves into the topic of how to drive revenue online in an episode on The Fitness Founders Podcast. He talks about how accountability is the key differentiator in giving your business an edge and keeping your members long-term. 

Workout Accountability in a Hybrid Fitness Business 

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, people are adapting to a new way of working and living. The concept of a hybrid model is creeping into multiple areas of life. With a hybrid way of working that combines working from home and office days, a merging of two worlds is clear throughout society.  

Leaders in the fitness industry understand the importance of workout accountability. It’s not a new concept. However, keeping members accountable online requires a different approach. When running a hybrid fitness business, you need to consider how you will keep your digital and in-person members happy, accountable, and motivated. It’s no secret that keeping members accountable online is tough. It requires some creative thinking. But it’s essential to support your members in the best way possible to grow a hybrid business effectively. 

Stuart Brauer, the owner of WTF Gym Talk and Urban MVMNT, talks about why your brand needs to engage members now in The Fitness Founders Podcast. He talks about introducing accountability calls to your business in combination with livestream fitness classes and on-demand videos. 

Why You Need to Increase Workout Accountability 

Workout accountability is essential for creating happy and satisfied members. Your members or customers are the lifeline of your business. Whether you’re training clients online or in person, increasing accountability offers several benefits to your business. 

Boost Member Results 

Great member results mean better progress photos, word-of-mouth referrals, and marketing. When members can track their progress and see results, their goals stay at the forefront of their minds. That means that your brand is fresh in the brain. Getting consistent member results boosts member referrals, and ultimately increases your bottom line.  

Drive Revenue 

The main reason that most people join a gym or digital fitness platform is to learn from an expert. Members want someone to guide them through their fitness business and provide services that they can’t do alone. When you consistently achieve great member results and hold customers accountable for their actions, you add value to your offering. Adding value is key to driving revenue and remaining relevant in an extremely competitive fitness landscape. 

Improve Member Experience 

Creating an incredible member experience is essential for cutting through the noise and standing out from the competition. Engaging with gym members, making the fitness experience as seamless as possible, and personalizing your offering are all part of a great member experience. By giving members the ability to track their progress in the easiest way possible or check in with accountability calls, you can add value and improve the overall member experience. 

9 Ideas to Increase Workout Accountability in Your Fitness Business 

It’s clear that increasing workout accountability and making your members feel responsible for their actions is key to achieving great member results, driving revenue, and improving the member experience. When developing accountability measures, it’s important to take your member personas and platform into consideration. Here are nine ideas to boost workout accountability in your fitness business. 

1. Be Positive, Patient, and Open 

There is a right and wrong way to hold people accountable. The point of increasing accountability is to encourage someone to continue to work out and hit their goals. That means you should focus on being positive, patient, and open. While ongoing feedback is critical to the process, you need to deliver it in a way that your members respond to. Successful workout partners make members feel comfortable speaking about obstacles and challenges. The more valued your members feel, the more likely they are to be honest with you about how they could be self-sabotaging their fitness journey. 

2. Utilize Social Media 

Social media is a fantastic tool for boosting client motivation and accountability. Use your social channels to create a support group for your fitness community. Encourage members to share workout progress and results and join in social media challenges. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great places for your staff to get involved and recognize all the hard work your members are putting in. You can also use this as an opportunity to answer any questions and continue to nurture your gym community. 

3. Create Fitness Challenges 

Fitness challenges are a great way to encourage members to hit their fitness goals, track progress, and create accountability. When you set a timeline and specific task, members know what they are trying to achieve. Consider setting challenges that members can participate in both inside and outside of the fitness studio. Create a strong incentive or reward to encourage member participation. Fitness challenge ideas include total weight loss, miles run, and healthy eating competitions. 

4. Use Fitness and Training Apps 

Tracking progress with a visual representation can do wonders for increasing accountability. Finding fitness motivation is tough and sometimes you need an extra nudge to get to the gym or stream your next fitness class. Fortunately, there are a growing number of fitness apps that can give members the nudge they need. One app to try is MyFitnessPal which allows users to track their diet and exercise goals. You get daily reminders to exercise and take progress photos as you go. You can encourage members to use popular fitness and training apps or create a branded app that allows members to track their workouts and metrics. Either way, apps can make it super easy to keep members accountable whether they are in the gym or on the way to work. 

5. Set Realistic and Achievable Goals 

One of the first steps in improving fitness accountability is setting a goal. Goals should be realistic and achievable for maximum impact. When a goal isn’t realistic, it’s unlikely that members will see progress. When you stop seeing progress, motivation starts to drop off. Help your members to formulate specific goals within a timeline that is relevant to their abilities. Continue to measure progress and regularly show members how far they have come. Celebrate milestones and accomplishments. Setting realistic fitness goals is a fantastic way to hold members accountable. 

6. Celebrate Accomplishments

Don’t be afraid to celebrate every member milestone and accomplishment. Staying committed and motivated to fitness is hard. By celebrating milestones, you can keep members inspired and accountable. When you feel like you’re not progressing, seeing results, or feeling valued, eventually that person will quit and go elsewhere. Having a coach or personal trainer can seriously boost accountability because you don’t want to fail someone else. As a fitness leader, you need to celebrate progress and goals at every opportunity. 

7. Innovate Your Offering 

One of the reasons that people quit the gym or stop working out is boredom. When you do the same workout using the same machines day in and day out, it’s easy to lose motivation. Variety is important in fitness programs because you work out different parts of the body throughout the week. Cardio, strength training, kick-boxing, and HIIT workouts challenge different muscle groups to improve multiple areas of fitness. Continue to innovate your offering so that you can motivate members and achieve great member results. A great example of a brand that innovates to motivate its customer base while meeting consumer demands is F45. The fitness juggernaut recently launched a new workout concept, FS8. The yoga and Pilates-inspired brand is a multi-modality full-body workout like no other.   

8. Become an Accountability Partner 

A workout accountability buddy is someone who helps you to identify realistic fitness goals and shows you the steps you need to take to get there. Most importantly, they keep you on track so that you can reach your goals. It’s the job of a workout buddy to help someone keep a commitment. The idea is that if you know someone is relying on you to show up, you’re more likely to stay committed. Whether it’s the fear of being told off for skipping a workout or just knowing that someone is supporting you, finding an accountability partner is essential. By finding a way to be an accountability partner to your members both online and offline, you can hold people accountable for their actions. This could look like regular accountability calls, encouraging emails, or push notifications to inspire daily movement. 

9. Leverage Technology and Wearables 

With both digital-only and in-person members, it’s important to leverage technology and wearables. All members are different and you need to figure out what works for your target demographic. Wearable devices and activity trackers can help streamline fitness and make the whole gym experience as seamless as possible. You can help members track their real-time heart rate, weight, sleep, daily movements, workouts, and more. Encourage members to sync their data to your brand’s app. Technology makes fitness more accessible to people of all abilities. It breaks down complicated data into easy-to-read graphs and statistics. When you can see your progress at a quick glance, it keeps you on track and committed to your goal. 

In Summary 

Accountability is a key factor in determining the success of any challenge, especially in wellness and fitness. If you want to achieve great member results, accountability is essential. How well you hold your members accountable can differentiate you from the competition and give your business the edge it needs to succeed. There are simple ways that you can increase workout accountability online and offline. Members who feel accountable for their own health and fitness are more likely to stay committed and achieve their fitness and nutrition goals. Incredible member results are a reflection of your business, your workout, and your offering.