Heads up!
We’re gearing up!
Outdoor Fitness Friends is just over one year old. With our longer and warmer days comes the opportunity for some exciting growth!
Introducing our new brand TerrainFitness.club
The work on the Sea Defence Walls are complete and now open.
We are now spoilt for choice with so many versatile spots where we can work out without having to lug along any equipment.
People are already out in droves enjoying the scenery and sunshine.
It would be rude not to invite them to join us in our quest for fitness and physical and mental wellbeing.
Many outdoor boot camps are held on flat sports fields or in parks. And here we are with the privilege of working out in the most versatile outdoor area in the whole of Portsmouth!
It is rustic, scenic, vast, and versatile. We have stairs and short hill inclines and moats and bridges and sheltered decks and grass areas and the beach!
People would join us if they knew what we are about, and how to contact us.
Outdoor Fitness Friends as a name has served us well, but ‘OFF’ simply is not an acronym that we can use to promote ourselves.
If we are serious about surviving as a group we simply also have to grow. Normal circumstances may move people on at times, that we can be sure of. But we cannot assume people will join us without us doing something to invite them and to become more visible in the community.
Finding the balance
SIZE MATTERS!
But large groups are not necessarily better.
In the last year I also joined a UK Bootcamp, joined a Gym for classes, and visited Emma at Portsmouth Outdoor Fitness.
I do this to build relationships with PT’s, to learn from others and to ensure I am fit enough to run our sessions even though I am working out alongside you all.
This is what I have observed in large Bootcamp sessions and Gym classes:
- no one might talk to you for a few weeks, and people may not even notice when you are absent
- in small groups people are more likely to attend as they know they will be missed
- you spend more time standing around while the instructor makes sure everyone understands
- bad and dangerous form is frequently overlooked in large groups even if the instructor is highly qualified.
How will we balance intimacy with the need for growing?
I still fully intend to enlist the use of PT’s from various disciplines. We could not pull that off with our limited winter numbers.
To this end we will soon switch to a paid model with a modest monthly fee.
Many people I have spoken to almost seem more likely to attend if they were paying.
Besides some of my costs, I will in fact start drawing on these funds. I do spend several hours a week planning workouts and music and creating Instagram promotional videos. Up to now I have not wanted to be compensated for my time, but it is time we operate a bit more commercially.
Branded workout gear
I provide a marketing service for a company that creates bespoke sports gear for Ice Hockey and Cricket teams. I am in discussions with the owner to get us some branded gear created.
There will be a cost to this but I am sure to get it at a good rate. We may have to go for something more modest than what is displayed in the image as they don’t have as many female patterns as male patterns as yet. Watch this space.
Why the name?
The word ‘TERRAIN’ provides a better impression than ‘Outdoors’ does of what we really are about. We don’t just exercise outdoors, we use available stairs, benches, hills, and the beach.
‘CLUB’ sounds a bit more organised than our previous word of ‘FRIENDS’. Coincidentally it is also handy that the domain extension of .club exists.
Garment options, should Dunamis not have adequate patterns or our numbers don’t make economic sense, we could acquire garments from Pencarrie and have the brand printed on or embroided.
