When it comes to operating a top-notch nutrition program at your gym, there are several crucial factors that demand careful consideration. As gym owners and nutrition coaches, there is nothing better than seeing those success story posts on your social media and happy clients strutting out of the nutrition coaching office feeling great about themselves.
The feeling is great, and getting clients to that point takes a lot of work, systems, and processes. In this blog post, we will touch on three things you can do as a gym owner to level up your nutrition program and feel good about elevating your clients and coaches.
What Is A Nutrition Program In A Gym?
A nutrition program in a gym is a structured program designed to help clients achieve their health and fitness goals through proper nutrition and exercise. Nutrition programs should be run by certified nutrition coaches and/or registered dietitians. Ideally, the nutrition coach will be working with clients who workout at the gym and also clients who do not. Letting clients know that in conjunction with fitness, working towards optimal nutrition will double time a client’s success and elevate their overall wellness.
A well-rounded nutrition program in a gym should be based on a holistic approach, just like we promote at Healthy Steps Nutrition. So much more goes into food choices than what people are hungry for in the moment. Factors such as sleep, social support, stress, exercise, and lifestyle all play into food choices.
Nutrition Education, guidance on portion sizes, recipes, meal prep training, plus ongoing accountability help individuals make healthier food choices and feel confident. The goal of these nutrition programs is to improve overall health and well-being, optimize life performance, promote muscle recovery, and support weight management. Obesity is on the rise in America. We know that the accountability and support of a nutrition coach can change someone’s overall health and the course of their life.
By incorporating a nutrition program as part of a fitness routine, clients can maximize their results, enhance their energy levels, and develop sustainable healthy eating and lifestyle habits that complement their workout regimen. It’s important to remember that nutrition plays a crucial role in achieving fitness and life goals, and a tailored nutrition program can make a significant difference in helping individuals reach their desired outcomes.
Tips For Gym Owners To Elevate The Nutrition Program In Their Gym
Trust but verify. Just because you have an amazing nutrition coach, doesn’t mean things can’t go south from time to time. Just like many other scenarios in life, communication is the most important thing when it comes to being successful as a gym owner.
Communication with nutrition coaches is just as important as it is with nutrition clients.
Tip #1 - Evaluate the experience your nutrition coach is providing the nutrition clients
Is the coach telling clients what to do, what to eat, and what action to take, or are they working with nutrition clients to create a realistic plan using their input? Just because you hired a certified nutrition coach doesn’t mean they are always going to be on point.
Nutrition coaching is challenging and requires constant sharpening of the ax, so to speak. It’s very important for the nutrition coach to take a “client-centered approach,” which involves always asking the client why, what, and how. Open ended questions are also extremely important. Yes no answers don’t get anybody results or provide the opportunity for deeper conversations.
A coach can tell a client what to do all day long, but if the client isn’t driven or feels a pain point in that area, they will not be successful at sticking to the action step the coach assigned. On HSN, a Certified Nutrition Coach will always lead with an open-ended question and ask the client what area of the holistic framework they would like to approach first.
During the initial consultation, our coaches are taking notes on all the things they see a client could work on. From those notes, when a client picks an area that is motivating them the most to improve in their life, the coach can help them determine which pillar to narrow their focus down to.
This leads us to our next tip!
Tip #2 - What Are You Doing To Provide Ongoing Training And Development For Your Nutrition Coach?
At Healthy Steps Nutrition and HSN Mentoring, we provide ongoing training for gym owners and nutrition coaches. Each week there is an opportunity to attend live training called “The Coaches Corner”. Our registered dietitians and business mentors will go live and speak about various topics related to nutrition coaching and running a nutrition program in a gym.
The education is one hour long and happens every Monday. Additionally, all of our HSN-certified nutrition coaches are required to undergo a live, hands-on evaluation before they are certified. This entails being seen as a nutrition client by one of our in-house RDs, and then going through the live hands on evaluation of a nutrition client. We take our nutrition certification program very seriously and have high standards for nutrition coaches.
We host a webinar related to health and wellness each month and hold an hour-long Zoom call called the Owners Mastermind Project, where gym owners gather to discuss all things gym ownership.
Our mentoring program also includes individual mentoring calls each month that offer guidance on nutrition coaching and business endeavors such as hiring, firing, working towards corporate wellness, marketing, branding, increasing revenue, and much more!
Tip #3 - What Education Is Being Delivered To Nutrition Coaching Clients?
At Healthy Steps Nutrition, we provide all of our nutrition coaching clients with an app to communicate with their nutrition coach and receive daily educational videos. The videos and education they receive are centered around the action steps they are working on.
If a client is struggling with energy balance, their videos will be tailored to teach them how to set habits that will help them with energy, such as getting adequate sleep and eating a balanced diet. Some clients may be struggling with not getting enough protein in their diet, so their education will provide access to strategies and resources related to this topic.
Moreover, on weekly basis, our clients’ profiles receive regular updates of informative, educational videos focused on promoting overall health and well-being. These videos cover a range of topics including meal preparation tips, creating a conducive sleep environment, and more.
Taking Action As A Gym Owner
Nutrition Client Experience
If you are a gym owner reading this article, it’s important to take action on these three tips. Doing a self assessment of your current nutrition coaching program is the first place to start.
We evaluate the clients’ experience by conducting a survey. Every six months, we send a survey to your nutrition clients. Our goal is to receive valuable feedback regarding their overall experience. You will not know what goes on inside those check-ins unless you ask or, unfortunately, find out too late. Clients quitting your nutrition coaching program more than they stay on is a sign something isn’t right.
Be proactive and ask.
Nutrition Coach Development
Remember that communication is key between you and your nutrition coaching staff. We highly recommend meeting with your coach at least once per month. During this meeting, you can have important conversations about the health of your program and your coach’s mindset.
We love to cover these things in our meetings with nutrition coaches on staff:
Bright spots – what is going well for your coach
Owner support – is there anything your nutrition coach needs from you
Opportunities – are there any opportunities your nutrition coaching staff sees that you don’t see
Improvements—are there areas the team thinks need improvement? This requires reflection and is a great way to open up conversations with the coaches about how they think things are going in general.
Clients – does the nutrition coaching staff have any client issues they need help with
Nutrition Program KPI review – let’s check the stats! How much revenue are we bringing in, how many clients do we have, how many leads are we getting, how many clients are we retaining, and how many conversions are we getting from free intros, to ongoing coaching, and from challenges
On Track Review – are we on track with the basic things that help our program thrive?
A gym owner’s support is needed when it comes to running a nutrition program, even if you aren’t a nutrition coach yourself. Taking an active role doesn’t mean spending hours on this one program. We realize how much gym owners are spread thin. It simply means guiding your coaches to run the program themselves and being available to offer them support when they need assistance.
Client Education
Part of the “curriculum” a nutrition program offers should be nutrition and lifestyle education. If you don’t have the resources to provide this content to your nutrition clients, enroll in a mentorship that provides it to you. HSN Mentoring provides a ton of free help on our blog and YouTube channel. You can continue to consume content there. Additionally, if you want to run a more professional nutrition coaching program in your gym, use the button below to book a free call with our owner and founder, Nicole Aucoin.
