How to engage more of your community in fitness

You don’t need to have a huge fitness event to have a huge impact within your community. With an achievable goal for almost everyone, Myzone record holding gym, Jones Fitness, has cemented its place as a health partner for members and anyone that wants to move.

Bringing people together of mixed abilities in a shared experience that rewards every effort is key to making fitness fun for everyone.

It’s this approach that stops people feeling like they can’t take part in or achieve a challenge, in or out of the gym.

The events could be anything. Whether running your own race, meeting up at a Park Run, hosting functional fitness events in your gym, or joining Myzone challenges with a grand finale that you organise yourself, the important thing is finding what will excite and energise your members to move.

What’s the Jones’ Fitness ‘Run the Wade’ event?

The plan was simple. Host a 5k in and around their hometown of Biggleswade in the UK. The circular route meant that the start and finish line can be in the same place, giving space sponsorship opportunities and convenience for both participants and supporters. All funds raised went towards the event itself and future activities for the community.

Entrants registered at the gym, which also offered a bag drop, before making their way to the start line with their Myzone devices for a warm up.

Before long, the race was underway. I took part, and consciously spent most of my time listening both on the start line and around the course. The support and camaraderie of everyone involved was incredible. For a relatively small team, to inspire action and organise the logistics of something like this for the community made the impact so much more than the sum of its parts.

When gyms lead like this, people follow. Whether running, walking, watching, or supporting, staff and people of all ages were engaged and involved. Factor in the opportunity for training sessions in the lead up to an event, and a celebration afterwards, and this is something that can make the difference in any community.

How did the first Jones’ Fitness event go?

“We were absolutely thrilled to host the inaugural Run the Wade event,” explains Aiden Jones, director at Jones’ Fitness. “Biggleswade, our little market town, had never experienced an official organised run before, so we were excited to bring this event to the area.

“At Jones’ Fitness, we believe that fitness should be accessible to everyone, and we aimed for this 5km run to engage the entire local community.

“To promote inclusivity, we used the tagline ‘walk it, run it, race it,’ hoping to attract not just avid runners but also those new to fitness. The response exceeded our expectations, with over 300 participants signing up, from serious sub-19-minute runners, to those who enjoyed a leisurely walk with their dogs.

“The overwhelming positive feedback we received was heart-warming. Since this was our first event, we intentionally kept it low key to learn the ropes of organising a successful run.

“Armed with this experience, we’re excited to announce that our next event will be even bigger and better.

“Thank you to everyone who participated and supported us. We look forward to seeing you at our future events!”

Build member confidence up for any event activation

It’s important to ensure that members have the right support in training for any event, which is a great way of using heart rate zones for both effort and recovery.

If you need a training plan to improve your running, or want to offer one to your members for a challenge or event you’re hosting, here are five tips for improvement, from Myzone running guru, Sarah Wasvick.

• 1. Run the right effort
  Don't be married to a pace. This means zero in on your zone. If it's an easy day, keep it between 65-75%. There are so many benefits of keeping the easy days truly easy. 
  
  
• 2. Love your base miles
  Most of your runs should be easy with a couple of days focused on building speed in higher zones. This trains your body to be more efficient at handling the demands of sustained aerobic exercise.
  
  
• 3. Strength train
  Running is great, but you need to keep everything strong, stable and balanced. Personally, I suggest lifting on your hard days.
  
  
• 4. You pick your shoes; don't let your shoes pick you
  The right footwear is so key. Do a proper fitting and gait/postural analysis at a reputable running shoe store and go with what shoe works for your foot, not the fun colours or what is popular with influencers or running mags. 
  
  
• 5. Have fun!
  Move joyfully, listen to your body data and love the fact that you are out there and capable.

For more information on creating an challenge with Myzone that unites your community in effort, speak to your account manager or send an enquiry.