Luxury gym to roll out $8900 training program for Melbourne executives
A boutique gym in Melbourne is charging $550 a week to help executives sleep, eat and destress better. Would you pay that much for a gym? Take our poll
A boutique gym in Melbourne will roll out a 16-week training program for C-suite executives, including sessions with a sleep psychologist, clinical nutritionist, stress management specialist and personal trainer.
AF Training Studios is a luxury gym in Melbourne’s CBD, where clients enjoy a sparkling and still water fountain, body composition scanner, concierge and in-house laundry service.
Its latest offering is an intensive program designed for freshly promoted executives and management.
The new High Value Leaders program, which involves four-week blocks with different experts tackling sleep, stress management, nutrition and physical fitness, costs $8900 per person.
Director Ashley Faithfull said the program for new executives and candidates coming up through a succession plan was an investment for companies, to ensure their senior leadership could manage the stress of their roles and prevent burnout.
“It can cost up to 1.5 to two times an executive salary to have them replaced by the time you go through the process,” Mr Faithfull said.
“These people are being earmarked two, three, five years out before they’re going to be moving into these key roles.
“These people have big expectations, the decisions that they will be making in the future can be absolutely of utmost importance to that business.
“I think it’s important for a lot of those businesses that these people move into these roles and have success and longevity.”
He added “ticking a health and wellness box isn’t good enough anymore”, as Victorian employers will be required to comply with new psychosocial health regulations from next month.
The new program first starts with four weeks focusing on sleep with a psychologist, as it affected how clients ate and made decisions, Mr Faithfull explained.
The High Value Leaders program will launch in the first quarter of next year, with two law firms as its first clients.
AF Training Studios on Collins Street has a maximum cap of 200 members – with only 20 members allowed in the space at a time.
Each member works with a personal trainer one-on-one, on a customised program and goal set.
Mr Faithfull said members’ progress is tracked with a body composition scan each four to six weeks.
Members can also host meetings while working out with trainers or during spin cycle sessions.
The gym’s concierge organises bookings, as well as providing a laundry service – steaming shirts and garments.
It works with executives’ personal assistants to lock in training sessions, even offering video call sessions while they travel.
“I’ve had PTs in the studio at 10 at night, Zoom calling and doing a session with a client who might be in Dubai for business,” Mr Faithfull said.
Costs start at $150 for a personal trainer session, with add-ons including laundry service, an infra-red sauna and cold plunge recovery room.
Mr Faithfull added the gym had a steam room, where “a lot of our judges and barristers will steam their silks if they’re heading to court straight after training sessions.”
He said the gym’s membership also included C-suite executives, who had goals like building up strength so they could pick up their grandkids or gaining cardio fitness so they could keep playing tennis.
“A lot of our clientele are 40 plus, so you know if they can get longevity out of [sports] and enjoy the things with minimal to no injury for as long as possible,” he said.
“A lot of high-profile clients come who have never really been to a gym, but they’re in their early 50s, they’re starting to think about their health and they really want some guidance and they want a space they feel comfortable in.”
Mr Faithfull had previously worked as a personal trainer in a large commercial gym in the CBD and built up experience with corporate clientele, particularly in professional services and the legal industry.
He said there had been a “hole in the market” for a luxury space targeting high-level professionals.
“Gyms can be overcrowded, have a lot going on and people all over the equipment,” he said.
“They’re obviously high-stress jobs, they usually have a big workload, so time’s a big issue for them.
“If could make something that was a bit more appealing for them to come to, that they enjoy, a bit more personal touch to it, bit more result driven, then that may be the catalyst to get the consistency that they need for the results.”
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Originally published as Luxury gym to roll out $8900 training program for Melbourne executives
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