The 5 Best (& the 5 Worst) Things to Show on Gym TVs
Naturally, people go to the gym to build muscle and get in shape, but for many people going to the gym is a lot more than a place to work out, just as a restaurant is more than merely a place to fulfill the biological function of eating food.
For a lot of people, the gym is a place to have fun. Sure, it's not the type of fun that you might find advertised in a magazine dedicated to a city’s best nightlife spots, but ask many a gym rat and they will tell you that the hours that they spend at the gym are some of the best of that day.
Gyms can be a place to forget about the worries outside and focus on goals, or they can be a place to socialize with friends who also share a passion for fitness (or the jacuzzi and sauna). But of course, the gym isn’t a utopia for everybody. Many people struggle to get themselves to the gym and struggle even more when it comes to meeting their fitness goals.
Some people go to the gym at the height of their youth, while others come in their later years and often have fitness goals that are very different from young bodybuilders. The point is, while it might seem that everyone goes to the gym with the same purpose – to work out – the way that people approach this purpose, their fitness goals, and their experience of exercising differ greatly, and for that reason, a gym must consider how to create an environment that meets the needs of a highly diverse group of people.
They must consider not only the workout equipment available, but must also consider how to create a great environment, an environment that helps many people find joy in going to the gym and also makes the experience of working out more pleasant for those who find working out to be difficult. There are many factors that go into curating a gym environment, but one way that is sure to have an impact on a gym’s clientele is the content that the gym shows on its TV screens.
Choosing the right content to show on a gym’s TV screens can inspire, inform, and entertain while choosing the wrong content to show on the TV screens can negatively impact the gym experience for many people. In this article, we intend to put you on the right path to inspirational, informative, and entertaining content while helping you avoid the potential pitfalls that many can fall into when deciding what to put up on their gym’s TV screens.
The 5 Best Things to Show on a Gym TV
1. Information About Events, Activities, and Courses
A lot of gyms offer a lot more than the equipment that one needs to workout. These days, many gyms offer all sorts of fitness and wellness-related programming. This might include yoga classes, group high-intensity training sessions, meditation instruction, boxing classes, and much more.
The modern gym can often seem more like a holistic wellness facility than simply a place to get ripped. And of course, if a gym is offering these kinds of activities, it is very likely that they will want their patrons to know about them. Likewise, many patrons will want to know about such activities. This is why one of the best things to put on a gym TV is information about all the activities and services that the gym provides.
Such promotion is not only useful for patrons that are already interested in some specific type of activity but can also pique the interest of patrons who had not even considered that such programming was going on at the gym. In fact, it is often the case that a person will select one gym over another gym precisely because the selected gym offers these kinds of courses and activities, or on the other hand, that a person might have decided that working out at the gym was not something they wanted to continue until they discovered that the gym offered some sort of activity.
Of course, it is unrealistic (not to mention inefficient) for the gym staff to inform all of the patrons of the classes that are going on, and many patrons won’t ask the gym staff about such information if they do not even know that such courses are offered in the first place. For all of these reasons, there is no doubt that putting up information about events, activities, and courses is one of best ways to make the most out of your gym TVs. Its simply one of the best marketing strategies because it uses information that is truly of interest to many who enter a gym’s doors.
2. Motivational Quotes, General Workout Tips, and Helpful Reminders
Exercising can take a lot of willpower. Some people are lucky enough to have workout partners or personal trainers to help push them push themselves, but many other people go to the gym alone, and for these people, working out becomes a struggle with themselves. As most people know, self-motivating is not always the easiest thing to do, especially when the activity they are trying to motivate themselves to do can be physically and emotionally straining. Utilizing gym TVs to give clients an extra boost helps create a supportive atmosphere that will keep people coming back for more.
One step towards achieving a supportive environment is to display motivational quotes on your gym’s TVs. Sometimes, reading the right sentence can make the difference between prematurely calling it a day and pushing oneself to meet one’s goals. Beyond motivational quotes, a great way to create a supportive atmosphere is to display general workout tips and facts. Workout facts can actually be more inspiring than motivational quotes. By displaying information about all the positive effects that working out has on the body, people will be reminded of the reason for and the importance of the activity they are engaged in.
Finally, simple reminders can be of huge help to people working out. These reminders could be as simple as telling clients to remember to drink sufficient water while they are working out or telling them that they can always approach gym staff with any questions that they might have. People should not feel like they are all alone in their struggle for personal fitness and wellness, and displaying motivational quotes, workout tips, exercise facts, and helpful reminders is a great way to create a supportive environment, which is exactly the type of place that people will come back to time and again.
3. Brand Narratives & Personal Narratives
A gym’s TV is a great place to display information that helps the clients connect with the establishment. As any marketer will say, establishing brand loyalty is essential for the long-term success of a business. This is especially true for a place like a gym where the nature of the service provided means that many people will not stick around for long periods of time.
There are lots of people who want to workout, less people who act on that desire and actually join a gym, and even fewer people who stick around for the long haul. There is no mystery to this trend: working out is hard, and a lot of people don’t have the time or energy to stick to their fitness goals. However, establishing brand loyalty can make it easier for people to stick around.
A key factor in establishing brand loyalty is helping people connect with an establishment through narratives. On the gym TV, a gym can tell their story, their purpose, and their goals. It can tell the client what they stand for and why. Additionally, a gym can feature the narratives of some of the staff and trainers who work at the gym, further helping people put a human face to the business.
Some people will be indifferent to this kind of information, and that's totally okay because it is likely that there will be others that find in this information a reason to stick with the gym and view it as the right place to pursue their fitness journey. This is especially important now when so many people are opting to work out at home. High-quality gym equipment is readily available and youtube features thousands of videos about home workout routines and even full home fitness courses.
The gym needs to offer clients something that they can’t find in the comfort of their own home: a sense of connection to the gym and a feeling of being part of a community of like-minded people.
4. Music Videos
Giving clients useful information is undoubtedly important, but just as important is providing them with entertainment while they work out. It simply would not make sense to show TV dramas or movies on a gym TV screen. People are more liable to be confused than entertained if they glance up at a screen and see a movie that is already halfway through, and even if they did somehow connect to what was going on on the screen, they will inevitably have to move to a different machine or workout area.
This is why music videos are the perfect form of entertainment to show on gym TV screens. Music videos are filled with bite-sized visually stimulating content that requires no knowledge of characters or plot development for someone to find entertainment. With a content player like that offered by Loop TV, you get access to tons of music videos for free, so you can keep your clients entertained without distracting them from the task at hand: working out.
5. Sports
Sports are also a great way to keep your clients entertained with the added benefit of inspiring them. When we watch people playing sports, we are witnessing a display of peak physical activity. Watching sports reminds us of the amazing things that the human body is capable off, and this can be downright inspiring for people trying to up their fitness game. Like music videos, the entertainment value of sports does not depend on a strict continuity of viewing, making it optimal for the bite-sized entertainment so well suited to the gym environment.
The 5 Worst Things to Show on Gym TVs
1. Diet Shows
One of the worst things you can display on your Gym’s TV is programming that features supposed experts talking about different kinds of diets. Not only is the information on these types of shows not accurate, but by showing this kind of content you divert your client’s attention from the real experts you have employed at your gym. You should be directing your patrons towards your personal trainers and/or nutritionists instead of showing material that can be harmful to your clients and take away from your bottom line.
2. TV Dramas & Movies
As we have hinted at in the previous section, the entertainment best suited for the gym environment is content that does not need prior knowledge or continuous viewing. TV dramas and movies with their character development and plots have little entertainment value in a gym setting.
3. Political Programming
The desire to work out is present in people from all religions, ideological spectrums, and cultures. For this reason, your gym will likely have clients from all points on the political spectrum. By showing political content, you risk alienating a certain portion of your patrons, and that's simply not good business.
4. Childrens' Shows
The majority of a gym’s patrons will be adults, so showing children's shows will likely be offputting and potentially irritating. Thus, children’s shows should be avoided. However, there is an exception to this rule: it can actually be quite beneficial to have children’s programming in a specified spot or room in the gym. Many people with children have trouble working out at gyms because they have to take care of their children. For that reason, a gym may want a designated children’s zone where parents can leave their kids under staff supervision while they workout.
5. Professional Lifting Videos
Unless your gym specifically caters to professional bodybuilders, you may want to avoid showing videos of professional lifting. The fact is, many people in the gym have no desire to see such content since their fitness goals are so different than those of professionals.
Making the Best of Your Gym TVs
When it comes to creating the ideal gym environment, gym TVs are an indispensable tool. The best things to put on your gym’s TVs should inspire, inform, and help create a sense of community and support. Creating a space that motivates and connects with people is essential for a successful gym.