Myzone proves the silver lining of lockdown for bootcamp business

Kelly Young, founder of Kelly’s Bootcamp, took the bold decision to switch her heart rate training provider to Myzone during lockdown. It was the best decision she ever made, she says.

I was so excited to offer heart rate training to clients

When I founded Kelly’s Bootcamp in March 2009, my goal was to create a program that provided accountability as well as a fun Saturday workout that participants could do with minimal commitment.

Our outdoor schedule grew to 12 classes a week and in May 2017 we launched an indoor training studio called INERGY to complement our outdoor training. Currently, the dream team of 13 and I offer over 35 classes a week and coach and train more than 400 members. All but two of our team members were Bootcamp participants.  

Our slogan has always been ‘get what you came for’. To be successful with our program you have to know what you want and why you want it. During workouts, I reinforce this message by asking members why they are here today. It isn’t the same answer every workout, but when you have a purpose and you know what it is, you will find success. By caring about our members and meeting them where they are at, we can serve members of all ages and fitness levels. The only requirement is that they have to want to get better.

I was excited to offer heart rate training to our students when we opened the indoor studio. I chose fitmetrix because the package included an app that I thought I could use for all of the fitness assessment data that I had collected from my members over the years. Unfortunately, despite hours of training, set up and trouble-shooting, I was never able to utilize the system as I had hoped.

I knew Myzone could serve our members even though we were committed to another provider

Pre-Covid, we would coach and train up to 50 people at once at Inergy and up to 100 in the outdoor space. When Covid hit, we were forced to transform our programming and the way we serve our members overnight. We were on a mission to help our community maintain their physical and mental health. Students expressed gratitude on a daily basis as we did everything in our power to create high quality virtual training. Many said our virtual classes were the highlight of the day during quarantine.

I am a proud fitness professional that takes my role in the industry very seriously. I was extremely impressed by the way the fitness industry came together to collaborate during the pandemic. I signed up for a free weekend webinar called Succeed and watched all of the sessions. One of these was about Myzone and after watching the webinar, I knew Myzone could really serve our members through virtual training and beyond. I was certain our community would love the accountability and competition of the MEP challenges. My only issue with switching was that hundreds of my members already had the fitmetrix belt.  

Switching to Myzone was the silver lining of lockdown

Certain that Myzone could really enhance our virtual training and to show some gratitude for our patrons that continued with Kelly’s Bootcamp despite the temporary closing of Inergy, I decided to switch to Myzone and gift a MZ1 belt to any participant who had purchased a belt in the past 18 months. I also offered to pay a modest upgrade fee for the MZ3 belt. Myzone facilitated this by offering a great deal on belts for members that would be switching over. Switching to Myzone was hands down one of the greatest silver lining to the shut-down.

Because we started using Myzone when Inergy was closed, we didn’t have a place of sale. I was really surprised that we were able to get so many belts out so quickly. Many students did porch pickups and we had a few scheduled outdoor pickups. With our past model we had to program all the belts. I love the Myzone feature that students are able to download the app and program their own belt. I also appreciated that Myzone created codes so students could have the belts delivered directly to their door if they chose.  

About 40 per cent of our members are now addicted to their Myzone belt. This number will certainly increase once more people start coming into the studio.

It’s the best thing I’ve seen in 28 years of fitness coaching

I cannot express how remarkably helpful Myzone has been. Zoom classes are surprisingly effective because we can see our participants in real time as we coach classes. Myzone’s MZ-Remote feature has elevated the experience exponentially. It’s the perfect tool to get that little extra out of students who don’t have the motivation of other people working out around them. It reaffirmed to me and the coaches that students can get an incredible workout with Zoom. Seeing their heart rate while they are training at home is probably the best thing that I have seen in my 28 years of being a fitness coach.  

Inergy is now open so we are enjoying having the heart rates on the screen as we coach students live and using a separate device for the Myzone remote students. I love being able to see people at home and in the studio, it really connects the two groups and makes them feel like they are training together.

I also use the platform to educate the students on aerobic vs anaerobic and the importance of recovery in our Zone Training class. It’s very intense and what I like to call ‘smart training with a significant purpose’. Coaching heart rate adds measure and validity to this game-changing workout and having Myzone in the studio and remotely makes me even more excited to teach this format.

MZ-Remote is a dream come true for outdoor training

Since a big part of our program involves outdoor workouts, MZ-Remote is a dream come true for my outdoor classes. I connect my laptop to WiFi and have all the heart rates on display while we are training outside as well as those that livestream our outdoor classes from home. I use the heart rates to push my students, but in the heat I also use the data to provide extra breaks and make sure we are not overtraining. My students have learned so much from heart rate training and they truly appreciate that effort is rewarded vs always giving shoutouts to the most fit.  

The feature that is totally new to my community and that has been a huge motivator during this challenging time is the ability to connect, comment and see workouts on the app. I encourage my students to name their workouts and I spend time looking at the big picture of their training, and educating them that spending time in all of the colors is good training.

I love that coaches and other students can comment if somebody has a high MEP count or a fun picture. I also appreciate that if a client is concerned about their max heart rate or their zones I can easily pull up all of their workouts and give them advice and coaching.  

My members love numbers and feedback. Our culture is that we want to get better and we know that those two things will help drive change.  

Community is a huge part of our culture  

The biggest perk of the belts is the MEP challenges that we are able to run and the friendly competition. We have run three different challenges so far and they have all been successful in different ways. Students say that the challenges encourage them to work out when they otherwise would not. I also like seeing the modalities of training that are more effective in earning MEPs. It is just one more way to make fitness fun!

One thing that I think Myzone has done is connect people that might not have known each other before. By creating random teams for the challenges people connect, it expands their social group within the Bootcamp community. Of course, that has been especially relevant these past few months when physical interaction has been so limited.

I love Myzone!

Every interaction that I have had with Myzone has been first class. My sales rep Becca was joyful to work with and incredibly responsive to all of my questions. The tech support has been exceptional and I am somebody that would not consider myself tech savvy! The training videos and webinars are efficient, well thought out and are clearly designed by people that understand fitness just as much as they do tech. The app is user friendly and fun to use and I am impressed with the organization of data that I have access to through the owner’s site. The launch of MZ-Remote is cutting edge and incredibly well timed. I am especially grateful to the mastermind behind Myzone and I am genuinely wowed by my experience as a user and an owner. I ❤️Myzone!

If you would like to explore how Myzone could improve your member’s workout experience, we would love to hear from you! Click Here to speak with a Myzone team member and get started.