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Saddle Up CrossFit faced a common industry challenge: members were attending classes sporadically, limiting their physical results and the gym's community cohesion. By leveraging PushPress to automate and gamify their Committed Club, the Decatur, TX gym transformed member consistency into a fun, rewarding challenge. The initiative drove a massive 28% year-over-year increase in check-ins and significantly boosted long-term retention.
Saddle Up CrossFit isn’t just a place to sweat; it’s a faith-based community designed to lift people up. Owners Jill and Jason Hughes have built a culture where members support one another through the good days and the bad.
For Jill and Jason, the goal has always been creating a space that members never want to leave. However, they knew that for their community to truly thrive — and for their members to see life-changing physical results — consistency is essential. They needed a way to encourage members to show up more often, without the process becoming an administrative nightmare.
While Saddle Up had a loyal membership base, Jill and Jason noticed a pattern: many members were stuck in a routine of attending only two or three times a week.
"We all know doing it more, you get results faster," Jill explains. "Ideally, I would look for everyone to come every day. We know that doesn't work in life, but getting the consistency for folks [was the goal]."
Jason adds that from a programming perspective, consistency is non-negotiable. "You’re not going to get that coming to a gym twice a week," he says.
The challenge was moving the needle from three visits to four or five. They needed a strategy to motivate adults to prioritize their health amidst busy schedules.
Furthermore, their previous software solutions, which included both Zen Planner and Wodify, were clunky and difficult to navigate, making it hard to track attendance trends or provide members with visibility into their own progress.
They needed a solution that was:
Saddle Up CrossFit implemented a Committed Club, a retention strategy designed to reward consistency. The premise is simple: attend a specific number of classes per month, and get recognized.
"You would be surprised what a grown adult would do for a sticker," Jill laughs, recalling the advice she received from another gym owner.
But running a long-term retention program requires more than just stickers; it requires robust data. This is where PushPress became the gamechanger.
PushPress took the manual labor out of the Committed Club. The software’s automated check-in tracking allowed Jill to monitor attendance trends effortlessly. More importantly, it put the data in the hands of the members.
"When you check in, it tells you how many you have left to make the Committed Club," Jill explains. "All the members receive that feedback... Oh, I've got 14 check-ins and I've got three days left this month to get my other two."
With the admin side streamlined by PushPress, Jill and Jason could focus on making the club fun. Over two years, they evolved the rewards system:
Beyond the Committed Club, switching to PushPress simplified the gym's entire backend. "Everything was very simple, very streamlined," says Jason. "I can go to the Committed Club app and look and be like, 'Okay, there we are.' I can see those numbers at a glance."
The combination of gamification and PushPress’s easy-to-use platform delivered immediate, measurable results.
The data speaks for itself. Saddle Up CrossFit saw their check-in rates climb significantly:
The psychological impact on the members was profound. The visibility provided by PushPress changed how members planned their lives. "We've had multiple members that travel for work... and they plan their days to make sure they're laying out enough time to get the Committed Club," says Jill.
In the fitness industry, December is notoriously slow. But at Saddle Up, the chase for the 6-month milestone t-shirt flipped the script. "December hit... and that was our busiest month," Jill reveals. Members refused to let the holidays break their streak.
The most impressive result was the increase in year-round dedication. In the first year, only three members maintained their status for all 12 months. By the following year, 14 members achieved a perfect 12-month streak.
"That turned into a huge retention tool for sure," Jill says. "The members that we have are coming and they're staying... you can't beat that."
By pairing a creative engagement strategy with PushPress’s powerful, intuitive software, Saddle Up CrossFit successfully changed the habits of their community. They turned attendance from a chore into a point of pride, proving that when you make consistency visible and rewarding, members will show up.
Jill and Jason are now moving to become a 100% PushPress facility, recently switching their workout tracking to PushPress Train.
"Hands down, PushPress is the best software that we've been with," says Jill. "Just the simplicity of everything... making it simple and easy for our members to have everything in one app is just a game changer."
Ready to automate your operations and boost your member retention? Join gym owners like Jill and Jason who are saving time and growing their communities with PushPress. Book a Demo Today.
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