How raising the bar on equipment helped Merritt supercharge its studios

Hi Rose, please can you share some background on Merritt and your role?

Rose Burgamy (RB): I'm the Group Fitness Director at Merritt’s Canton and Fort Ave locations. We’re based in Baltimore and we have eight clubs in the city. My role sees me coordinate the group fitness schedule, programming, Instructor recruitment and their associated training and development needs across our estate.

What makes Merritt clubs unique and keeps members coming back?

RB: From my perspective at Canton and Ford Ave, our longstanding partnership with Les Mills has been a key driver of Merritt’s strong community, helping us to grow from a small racquetball club into the fitness chain it is today. The partnership we have is our lead member engagement tool because they know they’re getting a proven, consistent group training program. Les Mills group training sits right at the heart of our clubs – I think we carry pretty much every program they have!

What percentage of weekly check-ins does group training account for?

RB: It’s summertime here in Baltimore, so group training usually has a little bit of a drop off due to holiday season. But even so, at our Fort Ave club, about 25% of our members are taking a group training class every week, which is a big percentage for summertime. A real crowd-pleaser right now is our outdoor rooftop pool at our Canton facility, so that’s getting a lot of member attention. But we’re still attracting one in five members to group training, even with the draw of the pool!

What trends are you witnessing right now among members?

RB: Strength training is a huge driver across the whole club. Downstairs, our members are enjoying our free weight area and they’re supporting their strength training with LES MILLS BODYPUMP™. It’s attracting men and women of all ages – they all really enjoy strength training. And the appeal of strength isn’t all weight-based – our power yoga and barre fusion classes are very popular, so anything strength-based is a really big trend for us. As far as HIIT formats go, LES MILLS SPRINT™ is amazing for us, while our members are still loving cardio as well.

How are your members using other programs to support their strength activities?

RB: A lot of people take BODYPUMP multiple times a week, because it’s what they love. Trying to get them to balance that out with cardio and recovery can sometimes be a little bit of a challenge, but that’s where my role comes in. We've tried to structure our schedule so that it reflects the type of workout that would be needed across the week. We’re intentional with how we timetable a balance of strength, cardio and recovery. So there are options for members to plan their week and develop their own personal workouts by the schedule that we've created.

You recently upgraded your studio equipment to Les Mills SMART TECH™. What made you decide to replace your previous equipment?

RB: My previous employer had purchased SMART TECH equipment not long before, so I was already familiar with the SMART BAR™ technology and the user-friendliness of the kit. When I joined Merritt, I had the opportunity to review the offerings across all our clubs and I was able to come in and make that transition to bring the SMART BAR into two of our clubs that needed it most. It was definitely the right decision to bring that equipment to enhance our classes and it's really been a huge asset for those clubs.

How has SMART TECH improved your group training offering?

RB: It’s improved it in so many ways! We purchased the SMARTBAR™ Gen 2 kit, and it’s such a user-friendly experience. Getting weights on and off the bar with the easier lock makes changeovers a lot smoother than they were previously. The rotating head is a big asset, but it’s the lock-in and lock-out mechanism with the alligator clip that’s made everything so much better for our participants. We've been using them for multiple classes for the last six months. BODYPUMP alone can be run up to three times a day, in addition to our other equipment-based classes. It’s really great quality and there have been no issues whatsoever with damage or wear to the equipment.

Are you using SMART TECH to attract new members into the studio?

RB: Yes, it's removed some of the confusion around using equipment in classes and removed some of the barriers for our members. They’re now able to walk in and know what weights to pick up, when, and how to set themselves up with confidence. It’s taking that friction point out, and they feel more comfortable picking up the equipment. They’re no longer so intimidated walking into a class where a lot of members may already know what they're doing because they know the kit is easy to use. So that has enhanced the fitness experience here at Merritt.

What’s been the feedback from Instructors on the new equipment?

RB: Part of the success of our SMART TECH rollout was having Instructors here that have been with Les Mills for a long time, so they’ve used this equipment either at a live event or at other gyms. They were able to talk the members through the equipment and explain how it all works, so it wasn't a hard transition.

They love taking classes with the new equipment and it’s been great to go on the journey through with them. Last year, we started talking about buying the new equipment and they were onboard straight away. They were pumped after returning from LES MILLS LIVE LA, where they had seen the equipment in use for STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT AND LES MILLS SHAPES™. After that experience, our Instructors were really the driving force of improving things for members. They saw the presenters on stage at LA and said, ‘we need this equipment if we're going to bring these new programmes on’. We knew it would not only help us in existing programs like BODYPUMP, but also lay the groundwork for taking on new formats and engaging more members because we have the equipment in place to transition well.

Was it a smooth transition to install SMART TECH?

RB: Yes. We ordered the equipment and everything was delivered and installed in the studio in less than a week. It was surprisingly easy to set-up and put the displays together – and that's with five racks of equipment here at Canton and four racks at Ford Ave. So we were able to complete everything within a day and it didn't impact any of our classes, which was much appreciated by all.

Any surprising impacts since changing over to the new equipment?

RB: I teach primarily senior fitness and senior mobility, so we use equipment in those classes and what I've enjoyed experiencing is the ease of just using the plates to grip versus using dumbbells – it’s a tremendous asset. But even more excitingly, our seniors are feeling so comfortable with the equipment that they’re now taking BODYPUMP classes. They may not be using the bar, but they are using the plates and that’s a huge win for our senior community.