Whether you want to increase revenue, attract new members with additional services or enhance your current member satisfaction rate, running a nutrition challenge at your gym can be a great way to accomplish your fitness business goals. Before you dive in, be sure to consider the following aspects for why and when a nutrition challenge might be a good venture for your gym.

Why you should run a nutrition challenge at your gym:

Exposure

If you’re thinking about implementing a nutrition program at your gym or already have one established, you can run a nutrition challenge as a means to increase the exposure of your program to your members. This venture is a low-cost and low-risk way for members to dip their toes into learning about nutrition. If they complete the challenge with having moved closer to their aesthetic, lifestyle or performance goals, they will likely consider digging deeper into their nutrition needs post-challenge.

Community Building

When you run a nutrition challenge you also create a great community building medium for your gym. Challenges should foster an environment that encourages members to interact with each other. Whether it’s through sharing recipes, or personal bests on workouts, building camaraderie with other members is a priceless byproduct of a gym-wide nutrition challenge. When members are encouraged to interact and support each other, a sense of belonging and trust in the community is gained.

Motivation

Now let’s be honest, who doesn’t get motivated by some friendly competition? If there is a golden carrot hanging at the end of the race, people will inevitably do whatever it takes to get to that carrot! Not to mention the fact that if you run a nutrition challenge it will help people look and feel better by design. If that isn’t a win-win situation, I’m not sure what is! Running an in-house challenge or competition is a great way to stimulate your community to grow better, together. If you have the capacity to offer a prize, members will go full speed to the finish line!

When to run a nutrition challenge at your gym:

Timing

Offering your nutrition challenge at the right time is paramount for member participation and success. An ideal time to start is at the beginning of the year when people are motivated to clean up their diet and change their ways. Another highly successful time for a challenge is in the spring. Every spring is a new opportunity to build that “beach body” we all dream of. Imagine how much more successful members will be with a little extra nutrition guidance! Be sure to avoid running through school vacation periods, as this is generally when families go away.

Frequency

One or two challenges per year seems to be the ideal amount to host without overdoing it in a fitness community setting. If you desire to add more exposure to nutrition beyond the challenges, adding in social events like a “Learn to Meal Prep” series of classes is a great addition. This entices the community to continue learning and interacting in a way that benefits their health and compliments their lifestyle.