Social events are a great way for gym owners to get their members to know one another. Think how many times you’ve been at the gym and have seen the same guy or girl for a few weeks in a row, but you don’t really feel comfortable making random conversation with them. Social events are the cure. After a few social events, your gym members will start conversing with one another between sets, hanging out outside of your gym, and who knows, maybe dating. If your members are friends with one another, there’s a good chance that they’ll work out together and stick around as long-term members. Below are 5 simple social events you can hold at your fitness business to get your members to know one another.

Support Your Local NFL Football Team

NFL parties are a mainstay in the USA. If you can swing it, try to hold one once a month at your fitness center. Put up signs around the business informing members that you’ll be having a viewing party for XYZ team at whatever time the game is. Encourage people to bring snacks and beverages, but don’t be scared to purchase some yourself either. Make sure you don’t take over your whole facility so that the Sunday workout people can still get in their reps, but setting up a TV in the far corner shouldn’t be too hard. I’m not saying that you need to have Las Vegas style viewing parties, but something simple will go a long way.

Hold a Kickball Tournament with Local Gyms

Kickback tournaments are more popular than ever. If you’re looking for a fun way to get your members outside the gym, set up a kickball tournament amongst local gyms. Each gym had to field it’s own team of 10 people. Try to get a minimum of 5 teams so that you can set up a round robin style tournament. Schedule the event at least a month in advance so that you have time to set up partnerships with the other gyms. You can even holler at some yoga studios and kickboxing gyms to see if they want to get in on the action. Make sure you get the necessary city permits from your city before holding your event. There’s nothing worse than having your event get canceled for lack of permits. Then, go out and have some fun.

Have a Monthly “Healthy Food” Potluck

Since your members are most likely trying to get fit, it’s a great idea to hold a healthy food potluck. If the gym owner’s house is big enough, you can do it there, but if not, find a city park that has picnic tables and get there early enough so you can get them before the other picnickers show up. Your members will get to show off and brag about their cooking skills while getting the chance to learn new recipes from their cohorts at the gym. Here are some great ideas for healthy food options. Have each member bring a dish to pass. Since you’ll be dealing with potential allergies, just warn everyone from the start that they should ask the members what’s in their dish. You don’t want a nut allergy reaction when someone dives into the pesto salad.

Bring in Speakers to Discuss Health & Fitness

This one is going to cost you a little money, but you’ll be able to advertise it on a city-wide scale and not just for your members. There’s a slue of good speakers out there, but Obi Obadike seems to be a popular option. I’m not sure what his rates are, but give him a holler. If you’re not looking for someone as famous, ask a local nutrition company if they want to send a speaker over. This event will take the most work, but if you line up a good list of 5-10 speakers, you can have a day-long event at your business. You’ll get lots of people coming through your door and there’s a good chance that some might become new members as well.

Image Credits:
MMA Place
AGFE on Flickr CC 2.0 By
Thrillist
Obi Obadike
PlayWorks
Fitness and Feta