The Secret System We Use to Run Our Gyms

In the early days of running a gym, most of your operations live in your head.

You know when team meetings are. You remember what the plan is for this week’s content. You hope someone else grabbed the client’s receipt.

But as you grow, that breaks. The team gets bigger. The stakes get higher. And the “winging it” model starts leaking revenue, results, and retention.

So we built a system. We call it Gym HQ.

It lives in Notion. And it runs every part of the business.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Meeting Summaries

Every department logs a weekly meeting with actions, updates and decisions.

We don’t rely on memory. Everything is summarised using AI and we can easily reference conversations with a few clicks.

Ad Creative & Swipe File

A running vault of what’s worked (and what hasn’t).

We test hooks, headlines and new creatives. The winners go here. When it’s time to launch something new, this is where we start.

Content Schedule

A live calendar and board showing every post, email and campaign.

Marketing gets done ahead of time. The whole team knows what’s going out and when.

Playbook Vault

We document how we do things — onboarding, client setup, handling no-shows (plus loads more).

Customer Responses

We write out replies to common client questions and turn them into templates we can use in the future.

This keeps us consistent and aligned across the board.

Expense & Receipt Sheet

We track spending daily. Every receipt gets uploaded, logged and reimbursed.

For small things like cleaning supplies and water, this is a huge time saver.

Studio Performance Dashboard

We check the numbers every week — leads, appointments, sales, retention, revenue.

When something’s off, we see it early and act fast.

We’re building this complete operating system inside Notion to help other studio owners streamline and scale.

It’s everything we’ve used to launch and grow our own locations, while keeping the team aligned and hitting targets.

If you’re running your gym business in “reactive mode,” this tool will help turn it into a well-oiled machine.

Included inside Gym HQ:

• Content scheduling (using our REPS framework)

• Team directory

• Company calendar & policies

• AI-assisted meeting summaries

• Session & class programmes

• Ad creative templates / swipe files

• Business partnership hub

• SOPs & funnels

• Email & SMS templates

• Social media templates

• Studio performance dashboard

• Expense & receipt logging

...and a lot more.

Want early access to Gym HQ? Join the waiting list here and we’ll let you know the moment it’s live.

In this episode, we break down how to run gym ads that actually stand out in a crowded market. We share the exact framework we use inside our own studios and client campaigns—from understanding market awareness to adjusting your offer and building systems that scale. Whether your ads have stalled or you’re just getting started, this episode will help you create smarter campaigns that bring in better leads.

Here’s what we cover:

• Why most gym ads don’t work (and how to fix them)

• How to match your messaging to market awareness

• Creative tips to stop the scroll and get attention

• What to do when ad costs keep climbing

• How to narrow your offer to boost conversion

• Why your leads aren't converting—and how to move them down the funnel

• Behind-the-scenes of the systems we’re building to scale Revamp

• A smart summer idea to generate walk-ins using bio age scans

That’s it from us. Reply any time…

Cardy Brothers
Say hi 👋🏻 Instagram
*All links with an asterisk are affiliate partners.