Optimal Aging

7 Holiday Fitness Messaging Strategies That Actually Work for Clients Over 50

• Jay Croft

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This holiday season, ditch the tired “burn off the pie” message.

In this episode of The Optimal Aging Podcast, Jay Croft shares seven high-impact messaging strategies for gym owners, trainers, and health coaches who serve the 50+ population. You’ll learn how to communicate with compassion—not guilt—while keeping your clients engaged and consistent through the holidays.

From practical travel workout tips to mindful eating reminders and ways to foster deeper community, this episode is a complete framework for turning holiday chaos into authentic connection and retention.

What You'll Learn:

  • How to replace fear-based fitness messaging with hope and encouragement
  • Why older adults ignore shame-based calls to action
  • Real-world tactics to keep clients active during travel
  • How to highlight community and member wins to build your brand

Timestamps:

  • 00:00 – The holiday fitness guilt trip: why it doesn’t work
  • 01:00 – People over 50 want support, not shame
  • 02:00 – Reflection, connection & gratitude as holiday fitness themes
  • 03:00 – Strategy 1: Reframe messaging with positive reinforcement
  • 04:00 – Using gratitude and consistency as motivators
  • 05:00 – Strategy 2: Promote meaningful self-care (not spa fluff)
  • 06:00 – Strategy 3: Smart travel fitness tips for staying active
  • 08:00 – Gear to pack + travel-friendly routines
  • 09:00 – Strategy 4: Mindful eating without restriction
  • 10:00 – Nutrition swaps, healthy recipes & realistic advice
  • 11:00 – Strategy 5: Stay visible with social + event content
  • 12:00 – Showcase member fun to boost retention and reach
  • 13:00 – Strategy 6: Holiday gift ideas + pre-sales that convert
  • 14:00 – Promote habits, not resolutions
  • 15:00 – Strategy 7: Build connection to build your business
  • 16:00 – Final thoughts + where to get more support

🎤 Host: Jay Croft
Jay helps fitness professionals grow their business by communicating effectively with the 50+ demographic.

🌐 Podcast Website: https://primefitcontent.com

📬 Contact: jay@primefitcontent.com

📘 Book: Selling Longevity on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Longevity-Over-50-Transform-Business/dp/B0FHF6W8FL

📱 Instagram: @primefitcontent

🔗 LinkedIn: Jay Croft

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SPEAKER_00:

The holiday season is supposed to be about celebration, positivity, forgiveness. But when it comes to fitness, it gets wrapped up in fear and punishment every year. You've seen it. All the messages about burn off those holiday calories and staying disciplined so you don't blow it again. Getting ready for your New Year's resolution so you can do it right this time. It's almost like we're telling people, you failed before, you'll probably fail again. But hey, you know, let's at least put on the front and talk about our how we're gonna we're gonna really do it this time. This is fear-based, deficit-based language that doesn't work. Just makes people feel anxious, makes people want to avoid you. You know, and honestly, I think we're all a little bit tired of it. For people over 50, people who've lived long enough to know guilt doesn't work. This language is especially ineffective. They don't want to feel ashamed by someone who wants their business. They don't respond to being scolded by people half their age. And they certainly don't need to be told that they failed because they enjoyed pumpkin pie or didn't stay perfect during the holidays. So instead of focusing on punishment and this mythical clean slate of January 1st, I want to offer a different framework, one that's hopeful, human, and genuinely helpful. The holidays are full of indulgent foods and busy schedules and travel, sure. But they're also a time to reflect on progress, to express gratitude and renew social connections, to strengthen community ties and to practice self-forgiveness and compassion. And all of this ties directly into fitness for people over 50 and how to present it to them. Your content can highlight these themes in a way that positions your gym as a positive force. And today I'm going to give you both a philosophical approach to holiday messaging and tactical steps you can start using right away to communicate better with your members, your prospects, and your community at large. Number one, let's reframe the conversation and make it about hope, progress, connection. Instead of fear-based messaging, try something like look at the progress you've made this year. You've come consistently two or three times a week. You've lost this much percentage of body fat, or you've gained this much uh muscle mass, whatever you use to measure. And then say, here are a few ways to keep that momentum going through the holidays and into the new year. So you feel great even before the pressure of January 1st comes around. That's a whole lot more inspiring than you're gonna blow it again. So here's some sarcastic promotion to undercut the whole idea of self-improvement. Look for opportunities to reinforce gratitude, which is proven to improve mood, sleep, and resilience. Community, because for older adults, joining a gym is often motivated by finding social connection, reflection, because the season encourages us to notice how far we've come in various aspects of our lives. Self-forgiveness, because you know, one slip isn't a moral failure, it's just life. And stressing consistency over perfection as a key to long-term fitness. Your content can lean into these themes without sounding preachy. A paragraph in an email or a short social post can go a long way. Second, talk about self-care in ways that resonate, that really matter to people. A lot of people, especially caregivers, parents, grandparents, take on too much responsibility for other people at this time of year and end up putting themselves last. So remind them that it is not selfish to maintain their sleep schedule. It is not selfish to move their body every day. It is not selfish to keep their fitness routine as much as they reasonably can. It's not selfish to say no to invitations or commitments that feel overwhelming. And it is not selfish to ask for help. Because self-care is not about manny patties, is it? It's about doing what keeps you grounded. It's about taking care of yourself so you can be there for others. This message lands beautifully with people over 50 who appreciate honesty and directness with their empathy. Number three, give travel strategies that actually help. You know, the holidays can equal chaos, right? And many of your members will be traveling, driving or flying or juggling disrupted schedules. Show them how to stay active without feeling pressured. They can walk after big meals, they can stretch in the morning, they can play with the kids or the grandkids that they're visiting, they can uh do a 10-minute mobility routine, they can um track their steps and enjoy it without obsessing about it. Movement counts, even if it doesn't look like a real workout. And then remind them of the resources that you offer, um, like the travel-friendly workouts you can provide them, um, videos on your website. Maybe you have an app or a PDF you could send, these kinds of things. A lot of gyms have resources like this, but then they don't tell their members about them or they forget to remind their members about them at this time of year. And members really know that you have these resources and that you think about them enough to offer them and to encourage them to use them. Also, encourage them to pack small items like resistance bands and a jump rope. Make sure they take their sneakers with them, uh, comfortable workout clothes. These kinds of things set them up for success and they reinforce the idea that fitness is portable and that they can take care of themselves wherever they are. Number four, help them eat well without guilt or restrictions that they can't possibly follow. Holiday nutrition should be about mindful eating, about enjoyment with intention, not about restriction. You can share practical reminders like sticking to their regular meal times and filling half the plate with vegetables, eating slowly, um, choosing smaller portions of special treats rather than eating all the treats all the time, reminding them to drink water, limit their alcohol, things like this. It's easy to forget over the holidays. Helpful reminders are just that. They're helpful. And when they're traveling, you can encourage them to pack healthy snacks like nuts and fruit and chopped up vegetables, things like this. We've all been stuck, I'm sure, in those um interstate food deserts where there's just nothing around but fast food options and gas stations. Um, but you know, even in most circumstances like that, you can choose a grilled option. You can pick the simplest item on the menu. You can ask for some kind of vegetable side item instead of fries. You can skip the sugary drink. You can um check your phone to see if maybe there's a real grocery store nearby instead of just gas stations. These aren't rules, they're just strategies, things to keep in mind for when you're stuck in an unusual place and you need something decent to eat. You can also provide in your content healthier recipe ideas like um the lighter versions of holiday classics, vegan options, gluten-free options, ingredient swaps that preserve the flavor without all the calories. People love this kind of content during the holidays, and maybe some of it will even sink in throughout the year. Number five, use your content to promote visibility. This is a season when many gym owners go silent for some reason. Keep doing what I'm always telling you to do. Send out your emails regularly, post on social, keep your website updated, get out there in the real world with uh partnerships and with business organizations. You want to be helpful and educational, and also be personal, community driven. Be sure you're highlighting and promoting the parties and charity events you have, open houses, member socials, gift exchanges, special classes, fundraisers, things like this that you're doing. Promote them before the event and then showcase them afterward in lots of photos that you're going to put in your newsletters and on social media. Show your members smiling and connecting and having fun. That's how you build the marketing. That's how you build your brand in your community by showing people having a better life because of their association with your business. And this speaks directly to the needs of people over 50 and why they're looking for a fitness home. Hey, are you a fitness professional trying to grow your business with people over 50? If you are, then you need to know how to communicate with them, how to market to them, and how to get them to trust you with their fitness, well-being, and money. We're talking about millions of people who are a little older than the typical market that the fitness industry usually pursues. They have more money, more time, and better motivation to make the best long-term fitness consumers you'll find anywhere. If you're not focusing on them, you should be.content.com. That's prime, like prime of your life.com. Back to the show. Number six, and then there's just one more after this. Offer simple, low barrier holiday programs and gift ideas if possible. If you have time to put a put together a holiday program or challenge, that's great. Keep it light and short and positive and supportive. If you don't, no problem. You know, at least try to focus on experience-based gift ideas instead of buying more stuff that nobody really needs, right? You can suggest stocking stuffers like resistance bands, massage gift cards, mobility tools, fitness watches, personal training sessions, all these kinds of things. They show that you really care, that you're supporting people and their efforts to improve their lives. And it will give them a reason to follow up on the intentions that they've set. Now you can also do some sort of soft pre-sale for January. It's not high pressure and that's not based on resolutions, you know, but you can offer the invitation. Hey, why wait for January 1st? Come start now and feel great before the year even begins. Finally, number seven, bring it back to community and connection. And this might be the most important point of all, because people over 50 are looking for friendship and consistency. They crave individual recognition. They want to be missed when they're gone. They want to feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves with people who care about them. This doesn't mean they expect you to be their new family, but connection is vital. And this is the perfect time to communicate gratitude for your members, appreciation for the progress they've made, reflections on the year, small wins you've seen them make. It's a great time to share stories of people who are staying active despite challenges. Think about the tone of a warm holiday card, then subtract the cliches and bring that tone into your content. People will remember how you make them feel much more than they'll remember some specific offer or discount or deal. So to wrap up, now is not the time to go silent or to assume that nobody's reading your content. First of all, you don't know that. And secondly, odds are they're reading even more during the holidays. So you need to stay visible and stay positive, stay supportive, share messages that reflect your values, hope over punishment, gratitude over guilt, community, not isolation, progress, not perfection. So highlight member stories, celebrate their wins, and remind your people that they can take their fitness and health habits out into the real world with confidence. Now I cover all of these topics regularly in the material I send to my Prime Fit Content subscribers, material that they then use in their email newsletters, their social media, and their websites, and in my book, Settling Longevity, which is available on Amazon. So sign up for Prime Fit Content, give it a try for a buck introductory offer. You can't go wrong. It's the easiest way possible to consistently get these messages out there. Just go to primefitcontent.com. And if you take these steps now through mid-January and ideally all through the year, your members are going to feel empowered rather than stressed. They're going to feel supported rather than judged. And you'll show your community that fitness is something to enjoy, not to fear. So thanks for listening. You know, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. And I'm working on another episode that's going to come soon about how to take better photographs at parties and other events. And it's going to tie really nicely into this episode today, but it's going to take me a little time to put together. So bear with me. Until next time, thanks again. Please subscribe to the podcast and keep doing all you can to help people over 50 live longer, better lives.

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Jay Croft

Host