When people seek us out as a gym, one of the first questions is how much is a membership? Generally, the price. The majority of the Fitness Industrial Complex is set up on a transactional expectation. I want “X” (to lose/gain weight, increase athletic performance and so on) and in exchange and depending on my level of proficiency, one will either pay to use machines, meal plans and equipment or pay for someone to guide this process. Where this gets messy is on the other side of that exchange. Price is financial. Cost is emotional and physical. Price is what you’re willing to pay. The cost is what you’re willing to give. The difference between the two is critical to getting the outcome you desire from training.
Price is what gets you in the door. Gains you a spot in the class, an appointment with a Coach. Cost is deciding to challenge your body by working hard when you could be still at work, at home, at happy hour. Our entire life is a transaction of choices. Those choices are how we each determine the cost of change for ourselves.
The role of the environment is huge as it creates the space for us to determine the cost. If we don’t find value the environment, it’s nearly impossible we will pay the necessary costs to change ourselves. This is also why people leave gyms and coaches, when the cost no longer exceeds the price. The physical space is likely what it was at the start, the environment has changed. That’s why we as Coaches work so hard to establish a culture which share values related to the costs of change. To be clear, the cost is not low.
A high cost involves exposure. Price acts as a guidepost for this, but it doesn’t ensure it. The price of a membership at our gym is based on a model where we hope each member utilizes our Coaching to the greatest extent possible, not that you forget about it each month and passively see it on the credit card statement. We want each person who comes down our stairs to be proud of the commitment they’re making to themselves, to their community. Proudly paying the cost. The easy thing will not change us and we renew that membership with each member, each day.