What gets measured gets managed, but only if you're measuring the right things. In this episode, George and Bev explain why the numbers behind your gym matter more than the likes on your latest post. They cover why metrics are one of the most powerful tools a gym owner has: they get part-time coaches and passing-ships-in-the-night staff pulling in the same direction, they take the emotion out of losing members, and they show you how far you've really come. 

Then they work through the numbers every owner should be tracking: revenue, customer numbers (and why defining a "customer" is trickier than it sounds), joiners and leavers, member activity, average revenue per customer, average membership length and, finally, profit. If you've ever had a gut feeling about how your gym is doing, this episode will help you back it up with numbers.

It's always easier to keep an existing member than to go out and find a new one, but most gyms only ever speak to members in passing, between reps or on the way out the door. In this episode, George Palmer and Viv Henry break down how a proper member check-in, done consistently, becomes one of the simplest retention tools a gym has.

You'll learn:

• Why new members and long-term members need completely different check-in conversations, and what each group is actually looking for
• How to structure a check-in call: 10-15 minutes, phone or in person, in a dedicated and confidential slot rather than a rushed chat after class
• A simple drip-feed education plan for new members (five to ten topics, sent out before their first call) that gives you a natural way into the conversation
• Why open questions beat closed ones every time, and the exact phrasing that opens a conversation up instead of shutting it down
• How to reframe long-term members' progress using their own starting point, and the psychological trap (sometimes called "progression amnesia") that stops experienced athletes from noticing how far they've come
• How often to actually run these calls: the two-week and three-month checkpoints for new members, versus a few times a year for long-term members
• How to use check-ins as a trend-spotting tool across your whole membership, and why the real reason someone joined your gym is rarely the reason they say out loud
• Simple ways to manage the logistics without expensive software: a spreadsheet system that tracks who's due a check-in and when

Whether you're trying to stop new members quietly disappearing in their first month, or keep long-term members engaged for years, this episode gives you a practical, repeatable system for checking in that doesn't take over your week.

New episodes weekly.

The gym owners who retain members longest aren't the ones with the flashiest kit or the biggest space. They're the ones who get people into the habit of just turning up. In this episode, George Palmer and Viv Henry break down how to turn consistency itself into a retention tool, using a feature WodBoard calls the Consistency Club.

You'll learn:

• Why the most consistent athletes are almost always the ones who stick around longest, and how to help new members build that habit before they drop off
• How to set up a Consistency Club based on attendance (not bookings), with monthly targets tailored to each membership type
• The gamification tricks that actually work: levels, colours, streaks, and lifetime milestones like 100, 250, or 500 classes
• Why hidden levels for new members (so they don't see an "unachievable" target) make early consistency feel achievable instead of scary
• The story behind WodBoard's infamous "red bar of shame," and why members hated it enough to email in complaints, and why that reaction mattered
• Real-world ways to reward consistency beyond the app: shout-outs, prizes, badges, discounts, and one gym's annual red carpet Christmas event for their most consistent members
• Why keeping members' attendance history matters more than most gyms realise, especially when they're switching software

Whether you're trying to get January's new faces past their mid-February drop-off point, or keep your long-term members engaged for years, this episode gives you a practical way to make consistency the thing people show up for.

New episodes weekly. 

Every gym owner has faced this one: a member wants to pause instead of cancel. Say yes and you might be waving goodbye to a soft cancel in disguise. Say no and you risk losing a genuine member over a rigid policy.

In this episode, George Palmer and Viv Henry break down how to handle membership pauses fairly, without leaving money or members on the table.

You'll learn:

• The difference between a genuine pause and a "soft cancel," and the warning-sign months to watch for
• Four practical strategies for managing pauses, from pause fees to minimum pause periods to capped annual allowances, and which situations call for which
• Real data pulled from the Wobble database on the most popular months for pauses and the longest pause on record before a member actually came back
• How to turn your pause policy into a proper legal document your members sign, so everyone knows where they stand from day one

Whether you accept pauses freely, ban them outright, or land somewhere in between, this episode gives you a framework to make the policy fair for members and workable for your business.

New episodes weekly.

It's been a brutal summer for enquiries. Hot weather, the World Cup, everyone on holiday, across gyms in Europe, enquiries are down, and the ones that do come in are taking longer to convert.

In this episode, George Palmer and Viv Henry run through seven summer marketing plays gym owners can actually pull off, no big budget or agency required.

You'll learn:

• Seven summer marketing ideas, from Bring a Friend Day to a Community Run Club, and how to time each one for maximum impact
• The one idea on the list that costs nothing to run
• Why you shouldn't try all seven at once and the simple habit that turns your first attempt at any event into a reusable playbook for next year
• One thing you can action this week to get a campaign moving before summer's over

Whether you're chasing a quiet enquiry pipeline or just want a fresh idea that doesn't need a marketing degree, this episode gives you seven to choose from.

New episodes weekly. 

You started your gym to coach. Somehow you also became the cleaner, the receptionist, the social media manager, and the accountant.

In the first episode of The Gym Owner's Manual, WodBoard founder George Palmer sits down with Viv Henry (WodBoard's head of lots of things) to unpack why trying to do everything yourself is holding your gym back, and what to do about it.

You'll learn:

1. The 3-pillar framework every gym is built on (Product, Sales & Marketing, Operations), and how figuring out which one is yours makes the other two an obvious hire
2. Why the traits that make someone great at sales and marketing are usually the opposite of what makes someone great at operations, and why trying to be both burns you out
3. The member count where most class-based gyms need to bring in dedicated admin help (it's earlier than you think)
4. One thing you can do this week to work out what to hand off next

If you've ever ended a day having coached, cleaned, invoiced, and posted on Instagram, and done none of them well, this one's for you.

New episodes weekly.