If everything went well for you in 2025, I’m genuinely happy for you!
It’s been a record-breaking year for me, too.
But I can remember very clearly when the years didn’t go well.
One month is burned into my brain: August 2009. It was rough. But in the stress and chaos, I realized I’d never have another month like that if I created a plan for the entire next year.
That simple revelation changed everything. Ever since, I’ve built an annual plan for my gym every year—not in my head, not “roughly,” but written down month by month, printed and pinned to the wall behind my desk.
A year from now, your gym will be either better or worse. That is a hard truth. And “better” doesn’t happen by accident. It will only happen if the CEO—you!—chooses a direction, sets priorities and executes consistently.
To help you thrive next year, I’m going to give you a high-level overview of my 2026 plan—the exact one I’m using at my gym, Catalyst.
To get my full guide—with more detail and a customizable 12-month event calendar—send me a DM through our Gym Owners United group.
Customize my plan or use it verbatim. But get something in place right now so you control your destiny in 2026.
January: Audit Your Funnels + Run a Healthy Habits Challenge
Gym owners think, “It’s January! Leads will fall from the sky!” But that won’t matter if your funnels leak.
In the first month of the year, your job as CEO is to build four funnels: referrals, organic social media, content and paid ads. If you already have these funnels, your job is to audit them so they are clog-free.
For your healthy habits challenge, just pick four simple habits people can focus on every day. For example, drinking water, eating protein, walking and getting to bed on time.
That’s it. This is a low-drag revenue generator, a community builder and a massive value add.
February: Evaluate Your Coaches + Run a Bring-a-Friend Event
Most gym owners wait until they’re angry or exhausted, then dump a list of complaints on staff members who had no idea they were “in trouble.” That’s not leadership—that’s ambush. This year:
- Create an evaluation form.
- Share it with staff in advance.
- Schedule evaluation dates for the entire year.
The bring-a-friend event is not a free trial or “community day.” It is a structured conversion tactic with a precise execution plan:
- Host a simple, fun workout that gets everyone smiling.
- Do a No Sweat Intro with every guest at the event or book them in for a consultation ASAP after the event.
- Add anyone who doesn’t join into your long-term nurturing process.
If you follow my plan, your bring-a-friend event will become an essential low-cost, high-conversion marketing tool at your gym.
March: The Intramural Open
One of my favorite annual traditions is often misunderstood:
People think the Intramural Open is a competition. It’s actually a retention system disguised as a celebration.
The goal is to make 100 people feel like winners. Design your own workouts, create teams, and award points for participation and spirit. This creates friendships, memories, stories and loyalty. (I’ll have a full 2026 Intramural Open guide for you in January.)
April: Do 30 Goal Reviews
Goal reviews boost retention, improve prescription quality, raise average revenue per member and increase referrals—all in one conversation.
There is no downside to a goal review and no better use of your time as a gym owner.
May: Corporate Outreach + Career Roadmaps
Here, you are not trying to sign up a corporation. You are trying to meet their employees. If you follow my plan, the seeds you plant will grow all year.
Turning inside your business, Career Roadmaps are a “goal review for coaches.”
You ask:
- “Where do you want to go?”
- “How much do you want to earn?”
- “What kind of career do you want?”
Then you lay out the path and show the steps.
When owners do this well, they keep great staff for years. When they don’t, their best people leave and become their competitors.
June: Come to the Two-Brain Summit
Yes, this is a pitch, but here’s the truth:
The Two-Brain Summit changes gym owners’ lives. You learn. You recharge. You meet people just like you. You stop feeling alone. And you go home with real tools, not hype. The ROI is huge.
Here are just a few of the headliners (more announcements to come):
- Mike Michalowicz
- MetFix
- Bill Parisi
Tickets: 2026 Two-Brain Summit
July: Audit Your SEO (It Matters More Than Ever)
SEO isn’t dead—it’s evolving (that’s why we update the Two-Brain SEO course every year).
Remember two things:
- Bots—not humans—are scanning your site and need to find what they’re looking for instantly.
- If they don’t, they’re gone.
To stay current, run a full SEO audit and make your content bot friendly. Then update (or complete) your Google Business Profile.
A few hours of SEO work will pay off all year.
August: Update Your Ad Copy for the September Surge
August in the fitness industry: tons of leads but few sales.
Prospective clients are researching gyms in August, but they join in September, when routines stabilize. That means your August marketing must be razor sharp.
This is the time to update ad copy and refresh creative, review your full paid ads funnel and learn more about ads (Two-Brain clients have access to courses and marketing mentors).
Your September success depends on August action.
September: Do 30 More Goal Reviews (Repetition = Power)
This is simple: Do more goal reviews—because repeating the basics creates a powerful compounding effect.
In September, talk to 30 clients, review their progress and adjust their prescriptions. Do this again and again.
If you do, you will earn more and change more lives.
October: Set up Year-End Promotions (Retail, Gifts, Packages)
Late in the year, gyms can get crushed by clients who overspend on holiday gifts, travel and pause memberships, “take a break before getting back to it in January,” and so on.
Solve these problems in October by getting tried-and-true revenue-generating tactics ready for rollout:
- Retail and supplement presales.
- Gift packages.
- Holiday offers.
Two-Brain has templates for all this—DM me if you want my guide to year-end revenue.
Remember, October prep = November revenue.
November: Career Roadmaps + Your 2027 Plan
November is for internal stability.
Two big jobs: Do another round of Career Roadmap sessions and create your annual plan for next year.
I’ll say it again: Do not chase novelty. Repeat the things that work and upgrade them 10% each time.
That’s how gyms grow from chaotic messes to profitable enterprises to dominant industry leaders.
December: Run a Hyrox Simulation + Your Big Community Event
December is for celebration and community. Create opportunities to put clients on podiums and send them into the New Year full of positive vibes.
You can run a Hyrox simulation and a host fun in-house competition. Hyrox is exploding in popularity for a reason, and you can take advantage of that by creating a similar event using gear you already have. (BTW, Two-Brain has new resources coming for Hyrox affiliates.)
At Catalyst, we run the Super Meet—six max lifts in one session—and then we host an event called The Gift. It’s our annual tradition in support of kids in foster care.
Every year, the response floors me and reminds me why gyms matter. It also builds loyalty and belonging that no marketing strategy could ever replicate. Pick one major community event like this and make it a tradition.
Your clients will love you for it.
The Bottom Line
My detailed guide is available in Gym Owners United: DM me to request “The Essential 12-Month Gym-Building Plan for 2026.”
You can take my template and use it as is or scratch things out and build your own plan.
But you must have a plan.
Write it down. Execute it. And repeat it next year with small improvements.
This is how gyms grow.
