Take a read of our article below or in Fit Rec magazine https://joom.ag/
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How the fitness industry can be recognised as a part of the healthcare industry
The least likely person to step foot in the Gym is often the person that needs help the most. Many people who may be larger, older, injured, or have a disability don’t think the Gym is a place for them. There is a huge misconception that the Gym is a place for fit people to get fitter. It sounds intimidating to walk in amongst the bodybuilders and bikini models and find your way in a big open space full of heavy weights. This stereotype may not be fair for many in our industry, but the reality is we do have this stereotype which is one of the reasons the fitness industry is rarely seen as a health care service. When it comes to the media or the government talking about health care, Personal Trainers and Gyms barely get a mention.
We have an amazing opportunity to change this misconception if we work together as an industry. We are a diverse industry that should not be lumped into the one stereotype. The health and wellness sector of the fitness industry is very different to the vanity focussed sector of the industry. When it comes to helping people with health goals vs vanity goals, differentiating yourself can be the key to success.
For us at Fitness Enhancement, this difference has been a key strategy for success. Our main client group is people “too scared to go to Gyms”. Over the last 20 years, we have grown into Australia’s largest Mobile Personal Training company providing Personal Training in comfortable and private settings either in our “100% private” studios, or the comfort and privacy of the clients own home. In the last couple of years we have also become NDIS registered – this is the National Disability Insurance Scheme which gives funding to people living with a disability to help them improve their health and wellbeing by working with a Personal Trainer.
Our NDIS registration has opened up a whole new market for us, and gives us more credibility as a health care service; we now find medical professionals and disability support companies referring clients to us for Personal Training. Our NDIS client’s goals are varied and include independence, confidence, increasing functional strength, recreational activities and simply being able to do the things most of us take for granted.
The fitness industry is not the first industry that springs to mind when people think of health care or disability support. In fact, many of the companies and families that we now work with didn’t realise a service like ours was available until they found us! They are often surprised and excited to hear about the role, a caring and down to earth Personal Trainer can play in health care and disability service.
What we have done as a company barely scratches the surface of what we as an industry could do if we banded together and all actively promoted our successes in health care and disability. If we want to be seen as a part of the healthcare industry, those of us that are doing great work need to be building on this credibility and continue to distance ourselves from the stereotypes that so often hold us back.
If we’re united as one, we can help so many more people experience the benefits of exercising with a professional Trainer.
How you can expand into disability fitness
