Determining your Fitness Return on Investment (ROI)
By: Jackie Wright, Owner/Manager Lakewood Fitness
If you are a business owner or manager, you are probably familiar with the acronym “ROI” which represents the return on your investment. And, while this refers to financial investment in the business world, it may also be applied to your fitness “investment.” When referring to your fitness investment, the ROI is directly correlated to the time and energy that you commit to your fitness program.
Certainly, the efficiency and effectiveness of your fitness program design will impact your ROI; however, over your lifetime, it will be the consistency of time and energy you input that will yield the greatest ROI. While it is true that you may make financial investments into your program by belonging to a health club, hiring a personal trainer/coach, or purchasing in-home equipment to supplement your program, the primary investment and ROI are achieved by your personal physical commitment over time. Check out the following five ROI Tips and enjoy a lifetime return on your fitness investment. As always, prior to beginning any exercise program, please consult your physician.
ROI Tip #1 Get Real! Due to the physical investment required to increase your fitness ROI, you must be realistic about your body, its limitations, your true availability to perform the program consistently and the specific goals/objectives that you have set. Think of this part of the process as setting your fitness business plan just like you would when opening a new business or re-engineering your current business plan.
ROI Tip #2 Build on your Base! Begin with and master the fundamentals progressing steadily toward realistic goals. Fitness takes time as do most valuable investments that we make in life.
ROI Tip #3 Attach an intrinsic and extrinsic value to your investment! When you are developing your fitness business plan, set a long-term intrinsic goal that might include less stress in your life, more quality time for family, or an extrinsic goal such as fitting into those skinny jeans or completing and beating your previous time during an endurance event.
ROI Tip #4 As you become fitter, reassess your ROI. Is the investment paying off as you envisioned? If so, excellent. However, if the investment is not yielding the results you were seeking, there is often a very specific reason, and this requires time to ponder and re-evaluate. Were your goals realistic? Have you been faithful to your commitment? Have you just plateaued and need a boost? In order to receive all of the possible benefits of a positive ROI, these questions must be examined and resolved.
ROI Tip #5 Keep Shaking It Up! In order for your fitness ROI to continue producing consistent “fitness revenues” and eventually “fitness profits,” you must continue to periodically modify your program. The body adapts and needs to be shaken up on a regular basis. While it depends upon what your fitness program design purpose may be, such as preparing for a fitness event or sport’s season, all programs require modification over time. If you have been performing the same program since high school and you graduated 5-40 years ago, it is time for a change!
And your body is probably telling you that because it is no longer receiving a positive ROI!
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