Myzone Blog

Onboarding Myzone: A complete guide for gym owners to drive engagement and retention

by Ben Hackney-Williams on Monday, 9 September 2024

This guide will walk gym owners through the setup process, from onboarding to getting members excited about using Myzone, boosting gym retention, and fostering a thriving fitness community.

Research by ukactive showed that clubs who introduced Myzone to their members during a 24-week-long study saw a 77% member retention rate, whereas clubs that didn’t use Myzone found lower retention rates of 65%.

We know the benefits of Myzone driving engagement, motivation, and accountability, but what happens from the moment you sign up?

What do I have to do as a gym owner?

We often get asked “What does Myzone software do for my business?” With Myzone, as soon as it’s set up in your facility, all you have to do is tell your members about it!

When you build your business package, you create a thriving community in just two steps – choose your license, and then pick the heart rate monitor devices you want to use.

 

 

Telling your members about the new value you’re offering could be as simple as answering the question of what are Myzone Effort Points (MEPs) on the induction tour, or promoting your new heart rate training offering across social media.

Myzone technology unites both new and old members alike, whether they want to train on the gym floor or take part in an exciting and colourful new way of classes and group exercise.

What do my gym members have to do?

When they’ve purchased a device from you (or received one if you’ve included it in their membership), members register and input their height, weight, age and other details so that the heart rate monitor can formulate their heart rate zones.

These zones are individual, so it means that every one of your members can work out together and compete if they wish, because 70% of effort is 70%, no matter how fit or able someone is. If they have a heart, they can move together with Myzone.

They’ll have a unique belt ID, and you’ll have a unique facility code. This ensures that you can see every bit of data and every insight, every time they move.

Data from each workout or class is live streamed to the member’s phone, to the heart rate training software in your facility or, in the case of the MZ-3 and MZ-Switch, stored to the device’s memory if the member is away from your club.

 

 


That’s when the good stuff happens! Members and staff can see the colour zones on your gym screens, meaning that members can be coached by colour and motivated to push for more or recover.

If they’re exercising away from your gym, staff and other community members are able to like and comment every move, which is the perfect way to engage with your people, reward their effort, and motivate them to move more.

Through your facility, you can also host Myzone challenges to bring a healthy sense of competition to your community that has been proven to keep more people active more often.

How does Myzone work out a gym member’s heart rate?

Whenever a gym member moves, their live effort is calculated from their maximum heart rate using the HUNT Formula.

The HUNT Study, initiated in 1984 in Norway, was led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) with contributions from local health authorities and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health to investigate health trends.

It is one of the most accurate ways of calculating heart rate across a variety of age ranges and abilities, used by healthcare and fitness professionals around the world.

The equation in the HUNT Formula is: 211 – (0.64 x age).

From this data, Myzone can reward an individual’s effort through Myzone Effort Points, which we’ll refer to as MEPs from here on out. For every minute someone spends in a heart rate zone, they earn MEPs for their effort (see below). The more effort, and the higher the zone, the more MEPs they get.

Read more about the heart rate zones and the benefits of heart rate training.

What do Myzone Effort Points (MEPs) mean?

MEPs keep your members motivated, and Myzone keeps them coming back. Every MEP earned counts towards a gym member’s Myzone status.

It’s the status that makes a different to bring positive behaviour change and instil physical activity habits that last a lifetime.

The World Health Organization’s minimum recommended guidelines for physical activity are at least 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or 150 minutes of moderate activity, per week. This equates to 1300 MEPs a month.

 

 

Earning 1300 MEPs in their first month also qualifies an individual to achieve their first Myzone status. Iron status is the first rung on the ladder of their fitness journey. Members work through Bronze, Silver, Gold statuses, all the way to Hall of Fame and beyond.

Hall of Fame takes four years of regular exercise to achieve, but there are over 10 years of Myzone status levels to be earned with every effort. This is what makes the difference in community health and wellbeing, and keeps people moving with you for longer.

Celebrate your community wins with gym members, offering prizes for achieving new status levels or simply giving them a well-deserved shout-out on social media when they move up a level.

What else do I get?

The onboarding team will work with you to understand not only how Myzone will be used for your members, but what’s the long-term purpose of it in your value add so it’s not just a new shiny thing that doesn’t stand the test of time.

Whether it’s a belt sales strategy, challenge schedule, staff onboarding and training, or anything else that’s needed to help you succeed, we’re here to grow with you and support you at every step.

You’ll also get access to seasonal marketing materials with ready-to-run challenges, social media assets, advertising essentials and more, available to use in your community.

For more information and to join the movement of movement, get in touch at myzone.org
Topics: Myzone insight

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