Senior Fitness is Dead, But Bootcamps could and should be Booming with Boomers!
guest post by Dan Ritchie, PhD, CSCS
In case you didn’t know I have trained clients of all ages, even athletes, and used to own 2 bootcamps. My specialty really is training boomers and seniors though. That is where my passion lies. I am sorry Fat loss, weight loss just bores me. I mean really I hate to say it but in my opinion most people weigh what they really want to weigh. They want to be fat and lazy so be it. Okay so I get bootcamps I even run one out of one of my personal training studios. But that isn’t where I make the most money not even close. In fact recently I have had some conversations with Bootcamp owners about the whole middle of the day that is tough to sell, tough to fill and for the most part just given up on. I recently coached a couple of bootcamp owners in Florida to start something unique in the middle of the day. Now here is where I see people make mistakes they think “senior fitness” is boring or even worse they are afraid they might kill someone. We aren’t talking about old chair based “senior” aerobics. We are talking about legitimate impacting peoples lives, building and restoring strength, function and balance. I hate to say it but when you really change a 65 year old for the better and restore their health that is some pretty awesome stuff…..honestly way cooler than helping someone lose 35 lbs. (in my opinion) So I think you can actually charge more for it, since you are giving someone their life back that they didn’t think they could ever get back! Someone losing weight they knew they could do that.
People in their late 50s, early 60s even early 70s, are looking for a Boomer Bootcamp, or a Functional Bootcamp, or a Balance Bootcamp or an Ageless Adventure…..or if you want to get wild and fun….play off the 60s. 60s bootcamp all the rush without the drugs, or 60s bootcamp, function and fitness the new drug. Be creative but don’t use Senior in your name.
I know you might be thinking where would I even find these clients I don’t market to people over 55 for a reason my bootcamps aren’t designed for them. Your current clients all have parents, aunts and uncles, older neighbors…..and you know what they will never refer any of them to your current bootcamp, but if you offer a premium program just for a mature audience needing more function, more power, more balance they will refer in droves (assuming they like and trust you). Don’t be afraid to charge 20% even 50% higher prices than your regular bootcamp. Remember this is a premium special program for a special audience, and you might need smaller class sizes at first. 10am, 11am, noon, 1pm, 2pm could become a whole new opportunity for your business.
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