Although most gyms and leisure centres are now, once again, open for business indoors, not all customers are keen to go rushing back inside just yet.
As we know, the coronavirus is still very much with us and, although the vaccine rollout is helping significantly, many people are still erring on the side of caution.
While it is, of course, important to do what we can to slow the spread of COVID-19, our physical and mental health is equally important.
During these summer months, many people are seeking to take advantage of the warmer weather by taking their workouts outdoors – and they ‘re looking to get their personal trainers onboard.
The great outdoors
According to the experts, the transmission of COVID-19 is considerably lower when outdoors and lots of folk are combining this increased safety with fresh air and exercise for the perfect outdoor workout.
In the last couple of months, outdoor workouts and sports have become the new gym and, some particularly popular activities are:
- Tennis
- Outdoor yoga
- Volleyball
- Golf
Even standard workouts and classes can be conducted outdoors and, while the more shy customers might choose the privacy of their own gardens, lots of others are taking to local parks, beaches and woodlands for a more ‘grammable workout.
Some personal trainers are also creating outdoor classes for their clients for a more sociable experience and, these include pilates, yoga and other forms of exercise.
Working it another way
While outdoor workouts are a great way of bringing in new business for personal trainers, this does present a unique set of challenges:
Exclusive or free for all?
Personal trainers who hold sessions or classes in public areas such as a park, may find that they are faced with freeloading interlopers.
In the film, ‘Bridesmaids’, Annie and Lillian hide behind a tree in order to join in with a personal trainer’s exercise sessions without paying the fee and, this is an issue that personal trainers face in a public place.
Where possible, trainers should find a reasonably secluded area to hold their sessions in order to keep it as exclusive as possible.
Making a change
Although outdoor workouts are a good idea in theory, one conundrum that a lot of trainers have is in finding facilities for themselves and their clients to shower and change afterwards.
Some personal trainers are getting around this slightly smelly problem by finding outdoor spaces close to a gym or leisure centre and then striking a deal with the facilities to allow the use of the facilities – not only is this convenient for trainers and clients but, it also brings in a little more revenue for gyms; which is very much welcome post-lockdown.
It’s all in the timing
In a lot of cases, a personal trainer will need to conduct back to back sessions in order to make a good living from their trade and, when booking outdoor sessions, this can lead to some considerable confusion when it comes to keeping all of those appointments straight and – just as importantly – avoid double booking clients.
Booksy’s scheduling software can be really useful to personal trainers in helping them to manage their time.
Powered by artificial intelligence, Booksy makes it easy to intelligently manage appointments.
A website and app, Booksy allows customers to easily make, amend and cancel their own appointments 24/7 through the forward thinking app.
This takes a lot of pressure off personal trainers in terms of phone calls and admin and allows them to focus on what they do best.
Putting paid to cash
Another common problem for trainers when working outdoors is in taking payment for their services.
Most prefer to minimise contact by not accepting cash – and carrying around a card machine simply isn’t practical (although it may help with weight lifting!)
Thankfully, Booksy has the solution for personal trainers as customers are able to pay for their sessions through the app.
Not only that but, trainers can also use the software to accept prepayment from clients, thus helping to protect them from no-shows on the day of the session – something which can really chip into a trainer’s takings.
On the market
Booksy is so much more than a scheduling tool – in fact, it can even help personal trainers to drum up business through its innovative marketing features.
These features help trainers to easily reach out to existing customers and to start spreading their net wider in order to find new ones – something which is incredibly important as lots of trainers tend to see a fair bit of client turnover.
Conclusion
Although outdoor workouts will no doubt dwindle in popularity during the winter months, lots of trainers are choosing to make hay while the sun shines.
Customers tend to find outdoor settings more inspirational than the inside of a gym and savvy personal trainers can cash in on this as long as they have a great tool like Booksy to keep them organised – and keep the cash coming in.