Gym provides secure employment for trainers

Club manager: Emily Sullivan
Gym provides secure employment for trainers

Anytime Fitness Rangiora has provided job security to its personal trainers by changing their employment structure from contractors to employees in the post-lockdown environment.

Club manager Emily Sullivan says with fluctuating client numbers before lockdown it was important to provide a stable ongoing employment environment for all trainers.



“We wanted to create secure jobs as the personal training industry is oversaturated and most roles are contract base which means that a trainer’s income is based on the number of clients they have. It also helps to create more of a team atmosphere at the gym because we’re now mostly employees working together.”



“Just before lockdown one of our personal trainers lost a few clients and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to continue working with us after lockdown. With this new structure she has come back to a guaranteed wage.”

Emily says during lockdown gym staff and members stayed connected through Zoom and Facebook sessions. Once restrictions eased from level 4 to level 3, there was an opportunity to paint and thoroughly clean the gym to prepare for reopening.

“We repainted the inside of the gym and deep cleaned all the surfaces, when Covid levels allowed access. It was a great opportunity for a refresh.”

Almost 300 new members joined the gym in the three months after lockdown which Emily credits to the gym’s focus on cleanliness and their community spirit.

“We’re very thorough in terms of cleaning the equipment and we’re really connected to the local community. We clean the gym three times per day and all of our machines are spaced 1.2 metres apart.”

Technology is also an important part of the gym’s offering through the Anytime Fitness app that provides hundreds of workouts, which members can access at any time and The Evolt360 Body Scanner which can be connected to Myzone (an in-club Fitbit) so members can track their fitness progress over time. Free body scans are also offered to new members, so they know their starting point.

The gym has also introduced “Team Workouts” which are small group personal training sessions of eight to ten people with a focus on form.

“One of the trends that has emerged is that people are much more concerned about taking the time to learn how to do an exercise correctly and this small group session offers the opportunity for more personal interaction with a trainer for a small additional fee which is more affordable than a one-on-one training session.”

Emily says she has noticed an increased focus on health and wellbeing since lockdown with people prioritising their fitness.

“It’s great to see people realising how important their wellbeing is and the role that fitness can play in that. It’s a really exciting time to be involved in this growing industry.”


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