ExRx.net

what improvements you would make to retain customers or to gain new clientele? From my experience with the chain gyms, many of their "trainers" aren't experienced enough to qualify as competent trainers. If i were to make just one improvement, i would only hire trainers with at least a few years of training along with certification from organizations like NSCA or ACSM, especially with the high cost of gym memberships, they owe it to the clients. I'd aso like to see the front desk people competent enough to at least answer basic fitness questions.

1.Change the name to something gym.
2. Get rid of all the cardio crap.
3. Buy 4 additional power racks and place signs on them about staying the f out of them if you are going to curl.
4. Get rid of the smith machine.
5. Buy bumper plates.
6. Buy chalk.
7. Buy chains and bands.
8. Buy a reverse hyper
9. Get rid of most of the machines.
10. Hire a competitve powerlifter, o lifter and body builder.
11. Kick out anyone with an affliction or tapout shirt. Also kick out anyone who brings up crossfit unless their sentence starts off F-n crossfit.
12. Buy a prowler and strongmen apparattuses (sp?) And have an area for that.
13. Puke buckets.

At least this is for the kind of clients I would want.

Those are good improvements!

Everything Hoosegow said plus:
-All trainer's must read starting strength
-No stupid "diet books"
-No music (People can bring in mp3 players if they want)
-A lounge area or room where fellow lifters can rest and drink protein shakes while discussing HIIT meets lol.

dude, I can smell the progress it's so prevalent there.

I need a more hardcore gym.

See article 3 reasons why I hate hate fitness.

As much as I like these improvements for myself, the original request was a fitness centre - so you're gonna need cardio machines too.

Wait what's wrong with crossfit...

Oh, oh oh. Sorry tostig - you meant you wanted to make a profit. Silly me.

In that case...

1. Add tons of sparkley shiney things that do nothing but stroke egos.
2. Get rid of clients and trainers that have any clue as to what they are doing.
3. Add tons of curl type apparatusses (sp?)
4. Get rid of your power racks and add Smith Machines.
5. Sell affliction and tap out shirts right next to your huge supply of NOxPlode.
6. Have all your trainers say stuff like core work.
7. Add a lunk alarm.
8. Add a coffee/pizza/crap food bar.
9. Lie.
10. Balance your marketing to douche bag frat boys and their parents.

As for the, "What's wrong with crossfit," question, for most of the people - nothing is wrong with it. It is a program that gives helps most people accomplish their goal of not having any goal. If you want decent overall physical fitness then it is fine. If you want to get bigger, stronger, leaner, more fit and have goals, it sucks.

Boy, are you ever sensitive.

I dunno about your observations on the crossfit thing, Hoose. Granted, too many of them push the envelope when it comes to drinking the kool-aid and "crossfit uberalles". That said however, as a general method of developing an overall level of fitness, combined with some ME strength, for a generall offseason training program, I think it's pretty good. Not so good for max strengtrh or getting bigger, but in the site they even tell you if you want that, specialize in it. As to getting leaner, well when you do those METCONS for time combined with the Zone or low carb, you're gonna get leaner.
Congrats on the meet, Hoose.
Tim

I just had to mention how odd I think this is...

They redid the fitness center at my college (its a community college so its not great). There is no barbell bench press bench (they have benches but just for dumbbell I guess). I talked to a person in the fitness dept and they said bench press benches are a liability issue. Of course, they have a smith machine in its place. They don't have a squat rack. They have a bunch of crappy machines as well. But going in I did notice some improvements. They have a dip/pull up station. They have dumbbells (that only go up to 80). But this is what I found the oddest improvement...they have a deadlift area and actually have rubber plates as well (I am assuming for olympic lifts). How the hell do you not have a squat rack but an area for deads/olympic lifts? Not that I am complaining...its a nice open area for deads. Just found it strange. I'll bring in my dip belt and do dips instead of benches, and hopefully no barbell bench press benches will keep out a lot of douchebags. And I'll just do my squatting movements at my parents on a diff day.

I can see deadlifts being less of an insurance liability concern. I don't see how you could kill yourself doing deadlifts - I do see how you could kill yourself doing squats.

I have a pretty powerful imagination, i'll give it a whirl. Some guy catches wind of how great dead lifts are so he goes watches a 20 second video on youtube then runs off the gym to try it out himself. He throws on a ton of weights and pulls really hard on the bar. He manages to lift it off the ground and to really toque the weight up he emphasizes by leaning back. Upon leaning back he looses his footing falls backwards and crushes his hip under the bar.

I can't disagree with you Tim about the overall fitness, but for anyone with an actual goal, there are better methods than cf. In other words, if you want to get bigger, stonger, faster, leaner, more powerful, have better "fitness" or any combination, there are better methods to achieve your goals than crossfit. Something is better than nothing and if it will get the average person off the couch then I have no problems with it.