Canadian Fitness Standards and your Gym

Is your gym clean??

Seems like a no-brainer, really.

Is the equipment in good working order??

These two statements are pretty basic and its likely most of us expect the answer to be yes, when it comes to the gym that we pay a monthly membership fee.

But sadly, its not always the case.

These days, especially in Ontario, the fitness gym industry is highly competitive and vieing for our hard earned $$.

Wonderful fixtures and mood lighting, fancy private showers and upscale interior and exterior design are all very nice; but they are meaningless if the facility is dirty and unkempt.

Read here for a listing of the Canadian Fitness Standards

For the purposes of this post, I will focus on standard #1 and #4 listed under "Fitness Environment".

Fitness Environment

Standard #1

All fitness related environments and equipment shall be clean, well maintained, and free from hazards. (S)

Standard #4All fitness testing equipment shall be checked, cleaned and calibrated as required. (S)

My last few visits at a gym facility have shown me some pretty sorry circumstances. Lack of paper towels and clean fluid, several machines with "out of order" posted on them, dirty and dusty floors and changeroom areas, these are just a few of the things I have experienced recently.

Quite frankly, its disappointing. I fully enjoy and look forward to my visits at my gym. But when I arrive and try to find a treadmill that works, ending up with one where the handles are sticky and gross. Then I try to find cleaner and paper towels to wipe down the handles and there's no cleaner!! I ended up using some water from my water bottle. Yuk!!

Maintaining a clean, well-stocked environment with reliable and well-serviced equipment does require time and effort, which in turn cost $$. But, truly this is an important investment to make because it ensures that your members are happy and happy members means happy chatter about their gym experience to their friends, co-workers, hairdresser, mechanic and anyone else who wants to listen.

And, as we all know; word-of-mouth is THE best advertising, EVER!!

At the same time, it can work against you.

I am not pointing a finger at any particular gym location or name; because I have witnessed unclean and unkempt conditions in every gym I have been too. Which means that the industry as a whole really needs to step up and raise the bar in this area.

Happy members = more happy members!!

Downloadable Checklist for choosing a gym

until next time; don't sweat the small stuff