The PT55 program gradually introduces participants to a healthy lifestyle by requiring a time commitment of only 55 minutes a week. Photo courtesy of LifeStart Wellness Network.

2011 BEST NONMEMBER PROGRAM
LifeStart Wellness Network, Chicago

For many people, the most challenging part of making lifestyle changes is getting started. With that idea in mind, LifeStart Wellness Network, a facility management and corporate wellness company based in Chicago, developed PT55, a program that uses training tailored to the ability level of sedentary adults to introduce them to a fitness facility and, ultimately, to healthier habits.

PT55, which stands for physical training in 55 minutes, is comprised of two 25-minute, small group training sessions per week. Each week, the participants also have either a five-minute consultation with a dietician who reviews participants’ water consumption and eating and sleeping habits, or a consultation with a personal trainer, depending on the client’s specific needs.

LifeStart kept the program simple and unintimidating but educational for people who were new to exercise in hopes that it would motivate them to continue going to the gym, says Ashley Ralph, general manager.

“I think it was so successful because we introduced the people to the center in such a way that they became comfortable with it over the eight weeks,” Ralph says. “So, by the end of the program, they knew how the facility worked, where the equipment was and how to use all of it.”

All of that helped nonmembers be more comfortable with joining the center and coming into the facility on their own, she says.

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