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WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013
EMBRACING
WELLNESS
THE
HOLISTIC
WAY
S
avvy health clubs are teaming up
with allied health professionals in
order to deliver an even greater
service to their clients. Toni Krasicki speaks
with one such club.
In the last few decades the Australian ftness industry has
evolved to refect society’s increasingly scientifc approach
to exercise and wellness. These days, successful trainers
cannot afford to focus solely on the physical aesthetics of
their clients, but in order to be competitive need to have the
ability to educate clients on a wide range of related health
and wellness topics.
As a result, savvy heath clubs are beginning to expand
their services to offer clients a more holistic approach to
achieving optimal wellbeing, providing members with easy
access to these allied health services; in best case scenarios
this occurs under the one roof.
In the Southern Queensland city of Toowoomba, Willows
Health & Lifestyle Centre has established themselves as the
‘go-to’ gym in the area for all manner of health and wellness
matters. Purchased by Troy and Susan Morgan, together
with Dan and Renee Jauncey in 2008, they began work
on transforming the existing gym and squash courts into
a facility incorporating allied health partners alongside a
traditional gym.
Managing director of Willows Health Group, Troy Morgan
says that ‘in addition to our traditional health centre we also
have professional health suites within the centre itself, and
they have their own reception. These include an exercise
physiology studio, physiotherapy, an occupational therapy
practice, dietitian practice, reformer Pilates studio and
massage centre.’
by Toni Krasicki
We caught up with Troy and he happily
shared some of the secrets behind
transforming his gym facility into a
successful community health and lifestyle
centre.
WNIF: Why did you decide to transform your traditional gym
into a community health and lifestyle centre?
TM:
It was the movement in the market and also the tsunami
of chronic disease that gave us the idea. We wanted to
give people a fuller approach in treatment, being able
to prescribe a pathway for them so they have a pathway
of treatment rather than just a generic one size fts all
approach.
WNIF: Have you attracted more members using this model?
TM:
Yes, it’s a little bit scary from a business point of view at
times, especially when we suggest members to visit one of
the exercise physiologists or a physiotherapist or their GP frst,
rather than sell them a gym membership.
WNIF: What systems do you have in place to source
members?
TM:
We put members through a performance screening
process to fnd the best pathway for him or her, and
sometimes that may mean that a traditional membership is
not the best choice for them at the present time.
WNIF: What challenges have you had to overcome?
TM:
Not only is it a bit scary going down a different pathway,
but also getting the general public and the council to
understand what you’re trying to do. For example, the
council said that we were no longer a ‘ftness centre’, so we
had to change to being called a ‘medical centre’ before
we were allowed to involve allied health staff. There were
other requirements like that, which we had to meet too.
WNIF: Are your staff put through any special training?
TM:
We put all of our staff, including our administration
staff (we don’t have sales staff), through a Level 1 Wellness
Coaching Course so rather than using a sales type language
we want to use a coaching style language from the very frst
moment we connect with clients.
WNIF: What special programs do you offer?
TM:
We have two coaches that run the Safe Exercise for
Women (SEFW) program and we also have links with the
Continence Foundation of Australia and the Pelvic Floor First
Project. We offer a SEFW membership that incorporates the
pelvic foor frst screening for all of our female members and
includes specially run small group exercise classes, one-on-
one and take home programs.
To fnd out more or to contact Troy Morgan visit
www.willowshealth.com.au
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