Everything you do in your gym should have a purpose.
You invest time and energy in events and competitions, and the return on that investment should be:
- Better retention.
- More revenue.
- More clients.
My Intramural Open plan checks all three boxes—and you can get the 2025 guide to the party here.
The guide lays out everything you need to get the Intramural Open on the rails right now—I even programmed workouts this year in case that helps you get ahead of the game.
Here, I’ll give you clear examples of how the Intramural Open creates retention, revenue and client-count wins for gym owners.
Retention
We all know “good feelz” produce better retention, but I’ll rely on data here instead.
Competitions—even friendly, fun events—always generate emotions in clients. Here are two:
- Clients feel inspired by a PR or a win and badly want more.
- Clients feel disappointed by a result and want to make sure they feel different in the future.
Either way, it’s your duty to help.
While memories of the Intramural Open are fresh, have clients schedule a Goal Review Session (offer each a point during the competition for booking). At that session, help them set a goal and give them a prescription to get there (personal training, accessory plan, etc.).
Here’s the data: Our research shows about 30 percent of clients upgrade services by about 30 percent after a Goal Review Session, and these sessions have been proven to increase length of engagement.
After a Goal Review Session, clients are working toward something, they have a clear plan, and they know you will hold them accountable. They’re far less likely to quit.
So when you plan your Intramural Open, be sure you set aside time to book Goal Review Sessions with all participants.
Revenue
I programmed workouts for you this year just in case that reduces your stress and helps you generate some revenue in advance.
These are the movements I included: snatch, clean and jerk, press, deadlift, back squat, weighted pull-up, thruster, pull-up, rowing, farmer carry, burpee, lunge, wall ball, push press and front squat.
If you’re a coach, you can instantly see how a six-week prep program could get your clients ready to smash the Intramural Open.
Example: Run a six-week lifting program designed to help athletes hit PRs in the first week of the Intramural Open, when we hold a “supermeet” and max out six lifts. Charge 10 people $250 and boost your revenue by $2,500 while you help clients improve their fitness.
If you plan to link your in-house competition to the CrossFit Games Open, you can’t tailor your prep programs to the workouts, but you already know exactly what people always need to work on: double-unders, pull-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups, butterfly vs. kipping pull-ups, handstand push-ups, etc.
These prep programs are a very easy sell. And the best part is that the people who buy them are very likely to produce PRs during the competition—and that’s great for retention, too.
Follow-up revenue win: Ask prep-program participants if they’d like another block of training—or one-on-one coaching—after the competition.
Clients
In 2025, I borrowed one workout that will allow you to run a kick-ass bring-a-friend event during the Intramural Open, when people are cheering and all the best aspects of your gym are on display.
The workout Haiti comes from Sweat for Impact, a 24-hour event that runs in early February to support Brace for Impact 46, a nonprofit that provides life-saving services to communities in Haiti. (You can find out more and make a donation here.)
The workout is as many reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
- 10 dumbbell push presses
- 8 dumbbell front squats
- 6 burpees over the dumbbells
Want to create a marketing opportunity? Tell your Intramural Open participants that they can bring a guest for this one. Be sure to have extra coaches on hand to welcome guests, ensure waivers are filled out, answer questions, provide instructions and organize heats.
You can group the guests in a heat or have them work out beside their friends. You could even make the workout a you-go-I-go challenge where Partner 1 does a round and Partner 2 rests.
Plan to serve refreshments after the workout and chat with all your guests. Ask them to sit down for a free consultation, then ask about their goals and provide a plan to accomplish them. You’ll make some sales.
At minimum, get each guest’s contact info into your system so you can stay in touch. Send a personal follow-up message after the event, and ensure all email addresses get added to your lead-nuture sequences.
Three Big Wins
I want you and your clients to have an awesome time in the competition season.
But I also want your gym to grow as a result of your investment in an event.
Back in the day, I worked about 42 days in a row during the Open, and while my clients all had a great time, I ran out of energy and didn’t generate any revenue at all.
Now, we have a clear plan to improve retention, boost your bottom line and add clients through competition.
To get that plan, head to Intramuralopen.com.
