How this university is inspiring new generations of fitness fans

Tell us about your facility.

Steven Trotter (ST): ECU has roughly 29,000 students spread across two main campuses, two smaller satellite campuses, and an 8,000-strong digital campus. Health and well-being have long been a fundamental part of the university’s mission, vision, values, and ethos and LES MILLS programs have been integral to the university’s group fitness program since 2004. We currently offer 40 weekly classes across two facilities. While some of the faculty and staff are long-term members, the majority of the fitness facility clientele are students, so they are always changing.

How have you tailored your offering to meet the unique university environment?

ST: We really focus on the unique needs of our students. This means fostering a strong sense of community, prioritizing Instructor development, and offering both in-person and digital options.

Post-COVID, many universities faced declining attendance, but we saw an impressive rebound. I believe this is because health and wellness are so fundamental to our campus and our members.

However, two years ago the reality of inflation and the need to cut budgets hit, and as a result we had to cut 25 classes a week off our timetable, which made a large dent in our offering. It was tough making the cuts, but we focused on quality over quantity and chose to put all our eggs in the best baskets. As a result, we've increased our average class attendance and achieved the lowest cost per head in our history.

62% of students report that campus recreation programs influenced their decision of which college / university to attend – NIRSA

What does your current offering look like? And how do you know it hits the mark?

ST: Now we have a mix of LES MILLS programming, some small group training and some freestyle classes. BODYPUMP is still one of the staple programs, our LES MILLS SPRINT classes are always full, dance classes are popular, and Pilates, yoga and barre workouts heavily dominate too. There’s been an increased demand for more effective shorter classes as members want to get in, and get out. And they are happy to come in early. We recently brought back 6 am classes by request.

Our experience shows us that the popularity of classes comes in waves, so we continuously evaluate our offering with Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys every semester. We’ve set the bar high, consistently achieving scores of +85 for classes and +87 for instructors, even reaching a perfect +100 for BODYPUMP classes during one recent survey. Participant feedback is also key. We know we’re on the right track with feedback such as: "Group fitness has helped me improve my mood and makes me feel better about myself.”, “It has made me feel more confident and comfortable.” “I never felt comfortable in my own body until I went to BODYPUMP.”

We also take a big picture view, looking at what percentage of students make use of our fitness facilities, tracking their average visits per week and use over time. We recently came close to a 100% penetration rate for a number of our student groups on our health sciences campus!

You say meeting members where they are at is the secret to driving remarkably high engagement. Tell us more.

ST: We know motivating factors have changed over the years, and increasingly feeling good and looking after mental health has become a priority. People want to find movement they enjoy, so we need to educate the students on what’s on offer. With this in mind, we’ve flipped the script to take group fitness to where our members are – introducing them to different workouts outside our walls.

We have a calendar of diverse events designed to create awareness and interest, desire and action, and advocacy. We have themed cycle rides, Halloween classes, yoga raves and hip-hop yoga. During National Yoga Month our sunset yoga attracted hundreds to do yoga out on the grass, we had a ‘flow and joe’ coffee and walk event for National Recovery Month, and we’ve staged rooftop poolside workouts at nearby apartments; each time inviting participants to the studio to experience more.

When we have a new intake of students we hold a Friday night ‘Raid the Rec’ with games, inflatables and workouts. This typically brings 3000 brand new students through our doors and we go all out to create a memorable experience that will make them want to come back.

Partnerships are another way we create memorable movement experiences. Collaborating with the Humane Society we have an annual ‘puppies and poses’ event where 300+ students work out to destress and provide donations for animal shelters. Bringing a sense of purpose to the movement really resonates with the students.

How have you turned high Instructor turnover into a positive?

ST: When it comes to Instructor training and talent management we have to be on our A game, as there is constant turnover due to our large base of student Instructors graduating.

We’ve come to a sweet spot where 80% of our Instructor team are students and 20% community Instructors. It’s ideal because the brand new Instructors learn from our experienced instructors, and our experienced instructors (many of whom also teach out in the community) enjoy the opportunity to teach within the collegiate environment and learn what the next generation love.

We recruit most of our student instructors from group fitness classes and academic programs and have developed a group fitness instructor prep class that helps set students up to take certifications. We’ve also developed a mentor program where our experienced Instructors mentor new instructors, which helps our experienced instructors keep their continuing education up and fulfil their sense of purpose.

We know most of our Instructors are going to leave us at some point – so we want to know that we’ve made a positive impact and set them up for the future. We take them to conferences, and networking events and give them lots of development opportunities. A lot of our graduates go on to seek Instructor roles in traditional club settings, and that’s where the value of Les Mills comes in. Having 21 certifications myself, I know no one does training and education better than Les Mills. So by training our Instructors to the Les Mills standard, we're better preparing our Instructors to go out into the wider fitness industry.

And we can be confident they will be in hot demand. In the South East, LES MILLS programs are something most clubs offer – because members demand it. I have heard from local clubs that anytime an Instructor's resume comes in with ECU on it they know that they will be a great hire, and we can put that down to how much we invest in them.

How does leveraging hybrid workout solutions contribute to your success?

ST: In addition to our live classes, our partnership with Les Mills provides students and members access to LES MILLS+ digital workouts at a discounted rate. This flexible solution has been a game changer for our distance education students and remote faculty. It’s also good for those who want to maintain their fitness routines on their terms. When there isn't a class in the cycle studio, we often find people on their iPhones doing a LES MILLS SPRINT workout or they will go into the studio and do BODYPUMP using LES MILLS+. This is a trend we’re expecting to grow, so we’re looking to build small personal movement spaces where students can access a bike, weights and screen and tap in to do their own workout.

What else is on the horizon for ECU?

ST: For a long time, we've been a classic group fitness facility with the signature LES MILLS programs. We're now exploring how we can add in some of the Limited Edition programming like LES MILLS STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT. We know our members want it, so we need to make it happen. At the end of the day, that's our primary focus, giving the younger generation the chance to enjoy a healthy lifestyle when they want it and how they want it.