17 Creative Gym Social Media Post Ideas

Producing fresh and fun gym social media post ideas can be tough! Here at OriGym, we’ve come up with a list of our own to give you ideas and inspiration for your next Instagram or Facebook post.

But before we introduce these ideas, why not continue optimising your social media posts and appeal to a wider audience with our range of specialisms, starting with our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course.

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17 Unique Suggestions For Your Gym’s Social Media Posts

There are many gym social media post ideas to make your content more engaging. Let’s break these down and help you maximise your posts!

#1 - Create ‘Meet The Team’ Posts For More Personal Gym Social Media Content

At the core of your business is your team. After all, they’re what keeps your gym and its members going.

A gym social media post of your team gives your followers an idea of who forms your team, as well as their fitness or personal training niche and specialities.

For example, on your team you may have:

• A spin teacher
• An expert in kickboxing
• A top-notch bodybuilder available for coaching

A great post example to demonstrate this is from The Gym Group. The entire image is branded as they're all in their uniforms and they use a similar headshot for each team member, as well as introducing them by name in the caption to their already established audience: 

People love being able to put names and faces to a brand. This humanises your business and makes potential customers much more likely to engage with you.

Since your team is such an integral part of your business, make sure you’re showing off their faces. To do this effectively, you could either:

• Create a photo or video post for each team member 
• Show your entire team in one frame

Creating gym social media content around your team is super easy and can even be done throughout the year. Think about making a greetings post for the holidays, as this will draw the eye more than a standard graphic of a Christmas tree with some text saying, ‘Happy Holidays!’.

#2 - For Gym Social Media Ideas, Include Motivational Posts

An easy place to start with encouraging gym social media content is with a positive motivational quote. We’re aware these posts are everywhere but if they’re done right, you can have a positive impact and inspire your members.

Although consistency is key, it can be harder for some people to maintain than others. This is especially true when it comes to working out and attending the gym each week. 

As a fitness brand, you should try to motivate your audience once in a while with posts that fuel a person’s willpower to achieve their goals such as this post from LEP Fitness:

As you can see, LEP Fitness inspire with a motivational image of what people can potentially achieve, as well as includes a caption to give users some perspective.

However, make sure you don’t overdo these posts. Motivational gym social media posts lose their impact if you’re posting too many. Consider posting once per week to maintain the vibe without flooding your audience’s feed.

Another fantastic example of these types of social media posts is this one from The Gym Group. Here, numerous images of positive notes written by members provide client-created motivational quotes to inspire others.

If you’re struggling with creating motivational personal training quotes, don’t be scared to ask your team for quotes they think of in their everyday life. Plus, if you quote it as being from your very own team, you’re further strengthening a client-coach connection.

There are a number of posts that come under the umbrella of ‘motivational’, like: 

• Success stories
• Uplifting news and achievements from other gym members
• Physique and muscle showcases

However, we’ll go into more detail about these later in this article!

But first, as helping to motivate people is an important skill as a gym manager, check our article on this topic - 7 Key Skills A Gym Manager Needs.

#3 - Use Testimonials For Gym Social Media Content

Although devising gym social media post ideas can be a gruelling task, you have a goldmine of opportunity in the palm of your hand in the form of clients!

If you aren’t familiar with the term, a testimonial is a brief statement describing a user's experience of how your service worked, directly from a previous or current customer.

The example below from Titan Fitness is a fantastic template for testimonial posts. With branded colours as well as the logo, the audience knows exactly what this post is within one glance. Plus, the shoutouts to team members humanise the brand.

Testimonials work because they aren’t a sales pitch. As they come across in an unbiased voice from a client rather than the business, it establishes trust with your audience. Some favourites for testimonials include:

• Star ratings
• Static images
• Text

However, video is much more powerful, especially on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. This is because it lets your viewers connect with your brand on a more personal level.

The key with video testimonials is not to use a script. Just like any other gym content ideas, people can see right through scripted content. 

Let your client give an honest review, as you can always edit the video and cut out any unnecessary pauses, such as this video below from In Motion O.C:

When sharing testimonials, avoid sharing it in a way that may appear arrogant. You should share it because you’re grateful to your client for taking time out of their day to write you such a glowing review. 

Come at it from the angle of being happy you were able to help them achieve their desired fitness goals and you’ll be raking the clients in!

#4 - Use Member Spotlights For Gym Social Media Posts

A member spotlight is a brief profile used to highlight the achievements of a person. This may be from contributions to your company or to celebrate a personal victory.

Most people who are looking to join a gym or are trying to choose a personal trainer will do some background research on what they can expect when they join you. They won’t just be looking for the things you say about yourself, though.

People want to know the overall experiences and successes other clients have achieved with you. These types of testimonials can be one of the most powerful tools to push your content into authenticity and trustworthiness.

A great example we’ve found is from OrangeTheory Fitness in Chicago, where they include a small interview with a member addressing how they overcame obstacles to achieve their goal. 

OrangeTheory spotlight winners receive:

• A branded hat
• Free towel
• Spotlight on social media

This social media gym idea works perfectly alongside before-and-after photos, as they’re a great way to demonstrate you have a successful gym. Feature them in your stories as well as your feed and use the client’s name to strengthen the client-business bond.

However, your member spotlight doesn’t have to be exclusively about achievements made in the gym. Something as simple as ‘It’s Katie’s 40th Birthday today!’ or ‘Dave ran a half-marathon last Sunday!’ are worth making a fuss about!

Not only does this give your members a sense of achievement and confidence but it’s also known to boost loyalty. Plus, other members of your gym will see the post and be motivated to work towards their own spot in the limelight.

Once again, check out this member spotlight from LEP Fitness:

This type of gym social media content is a great opportunity for you to nurture your community and give encouragement to those working their hardest. 

The fact the spotlight doesn’t have to be about a significant achievement or event is crucial - the point of these posts is simply to throw some recognition at your members.

These spotlights also help show off the dedication of PTs who work at the gym, allowing them to train more clients and increase their own income. Find out more about How to Make Money as a Personal Trainer here.

#5 - Give Tips and Tricks In Your Gym Social Media Content

Your aim with tips and tricks posts is to get your brand out there and position yourself as an authority on the subject.

Providing valuable educational content and professional insights to your audience as well as supplying solutions to problems your competitors aren’t talking about, puts you top-of-mind for people when they do want to join a gym.

A great example of a gym social media post we found comes from givergate24 on Instagram. This post has short, snappy tips on sports recovery while maintaining branded colours and imagery yet still gives relevant information to the audience.

People who are just beginning their fitness journey often look to fitness Instagram accounts and online trainers to educate them on health and fitness. This is especially since hitting the gym isn’t the only thing that impacts your health - proper diet and mentality are key, too!

For example, if you offer yoga classes, you could include a gym social media post about breathwork. Or if there’s a bodybuilder on the team, get them to write up some tips on the proper execution of squats.

As a fitness professional, coming up with these tips and tricks should be pretty easy! Besides these tips, also consider posting some fascinating facts about health or scientific research findings that impact common workouts. 

Just ensure you’re keeping the language simple to understand for beginners so they aren’t put off!

To find out more tips to help yourself, check out our article '13 Helpful Tips For Gym Managers'.

#6 - Create Gym Social Media Posts About How to Use New Equipment

We mentioned earlier how your team makes up the core of your business and while this is true, you wouldn't have the business without equipment or gym machines! 

Putting free tutorials on your social media pages is a great way to reinforce your value to potential customers and grow your client base. An excellent example of this sort of gym social media content comes from Kayla Itsines.

Here, she explains what the leg press is and how to use it. She covers each part of the machine and what it does, as well as providing a demonstration of its use. 

The gear you offer defines the experience your clients can expect from you, so don’t shy away from showcasing a nice new piece of equipment with a branded video or Instagram post.

Sometimes, workouts can feel like a drag. Whether you’re not in the right mindset or are tired from a gruelling day in the office, there are a plethora of reasons you might be avoiding your weekly workout.

Adding some variation to your routine or introducing a new piece of equipment can help spice things up when you’re feeling unmotivated. 

Use this gym social media post idea to give your audience some information about how they can use pieces of equipment differently or for the first time.

#7 - Gym Social Media Content Can Include Workout Ideas

This is where you can really show off your knowledge and expertise to your audience while adding value to your social media pages and brand.

If you know your gym members often exercise at home or engage in outdoor training, find workout ideas that can be used in a variety of environments.

The below example from Fit 4 Lyfe Athletics is the perfect format for Twitter. By using hashtags, you can be assured they’re reaching the people in the world of fitness. The image is also simple yet snappy with bullet points rather than a chunk of text:

Workout plans are great gym content ideas and you can get creative with them too. You may want to create a bodyweight series for people who are away on holiday or unable to come to the gym for other reasons, so they don’t need to worry about gathering all the necessary equipment.

Or perhaps you could create a series focusing on a different body part in each video. If you have PTs on-site, ask for their input and quote them as the creator to humanise your brand further.

The great thing about this sort of gym social media content is how it can be posted to various platforms multiple times or even published again in the future.

Boost engagement with these posts to develop future content ideas by encouraging your audience to give their feedback on the workouts.

It’s essential to focus on workouts your audience will find easy to follow. Consider creating tiers of difficulty to appeal to a broader range of clientele to reduce barriers and give an instant sense of achievement, no matter the difficulty level.

#8 - Gym Social Media Content Can Be User Generated

Similar to the way testimonials provide social proof, sharing user-generated content is one of the best ways to show off your happy members. 

User-generated content is content related to your brand, created by someone who isn’t an official representative of your business. For example, a client of one of your PTs tagging your gym in their posts.

If you’ve been operating your gym for a while, you’ll be well aware of how much people love to take selfies after their workout! Consider reposting these on your company’s social media pages to get super-easy gym social media content.

Check out the below example where Anytime Fitness has reposted an image from one of its members. 

As you can see, Anytime Fitness:

• Tag the original poster
• Use an encouraging caption
• Allows users to comment

This is a perfectly executed use of user-generated content!

These posts can often create a sense of encouragement for your other members, creating a knock-on effect of making people want to get involved with your gym. The original poster will also feel good about having their content posted by you, continuing the circle of positivity.

This type of gym social media post also works as a testimonial, even when there isn’t a recommendation involved. We recommend adding a small snippet of a caption to the image on your own profile - when you repost, that’s the area where you have the most flexibility to make changes.

Consider adding a positive response to what the member has written in their original caption. For example, express gratitude for them being an active part of your community.

#9 - Before-and-After Member Transformations Is Great Gym Social Media Content

If you have clients you’ve helped reach important milestones, whether that be weight loss or muscle gain, get in touch with them to see if they’d be comfortable providing you with a before and after shot. 

Before-and-after posts are another form of indirect testimonial when posted as part of your own gym social media content. It’s social proof your gym and trainers are capable of doing their jobs and helping people reach their SMART fitness goals.

Either encourage them to post the picture themselves (which you can also repost as user-generated content) or post the picture directly onto your own pages and stories.

The example below, from Asylum Fitness, is one of the best-crafted before-and-after posts we’ve seen from a brand:

If we breakdown this post, we can see: 

• Positive language is used throughout to boost the confidence of the client
• An explanation as to what the client did is given
• Achievement is celebrated
• The client is complimented: David makes my job seriously easy, he’s got an infectious personality as well as high determination and I know 2022 is going to be his most impressive year.

While the vast majority of before-and-after pictures are made from two photos with a line separating them, video can be more effective. Gym social media posts in video format allow the person to move about freely and show the results of their journey more accurately. 

In a photo, you get a static shot of one or two sides of the body. However, with a video, you can get a full 360 of the transformation!

#10 - Cross-Post and Collab With Other Fitness Professionals For Effective Gym Social Media Posts

If you don’t know already, cross-posting is a time-saving process of posting the same (or very similar) content across multiple social media profiles. 

Imagine you’ve just shot and edited a walkthrough of your gym to showcase the equipment. Using the same caption, you can post this same video to:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook

Take the gym social media post below. This is a collaboration between Rise Fitness Studios and Home Chef Prep for a social media competition.

Notice how Rise Fitness Studios has included the logo of Home Chef Prep as well as tagged them in the post. This increases brand visibility, allowing those who didn't enter or win the competition to still check out the products of this business.

Cross-posting alongside other brands or fitness influencers is fantastic for increasing brand awareness. It enables you to put your message across multiple media channels where it has a higher chance of being seen by your target audience.

With the average person spending two hours per day on social media, these gym social media posts are an effective way to get more eyes on your content and message.

Collaborating with other companies and influencers is also a great chance to: 

• Brainstorm with new people
• Gain a fresh perspective on the way to create content
• Demonstrate the value of your business

Social media collabs entail supporting and building relationships with other businesses by sharing audiences and establishing new networks. 

Some examples of collaborations, if you’re struggling with where to start, are as follows:

• Social Profile Takeovers - Control of one or more of your social media accounts is given to another business or influencer for a limited amount of time. This is most commonly seen on Instagram stories because the analytics feature makes the impact easily measurable. Social takeovers can inspire fresh content and ideas.
• Competitions and Giveaways - Co-branded giveaways are a great way to boost your exposure while rewarding loyal followers. Your audience will have the opportunity to win a collection of products or services from you and other brands involved. This could be something as simple as a month’s free membership or branded activewear.

#11 - Use Training Videos from Your PTs To Maximise Gym Social Media Content

Most fitness businesses and gyms use video to:

• Share their expertise
• Boost interest in their methods
• Showcase their trainers and members
• Provide gym motivation videos

Using video to showcase your PTs expertise is a fantastic gym social media post idea as it helps build a connection with the audience who will feel like they’re engaging with a human rather than a brand.

The key point here is to keep the video relatively short and snappy as you don’t want to overwhelm beginners in your audience. 

Check out the post from Daniel Antonie below. He’s a PT who often uploads workout tutorials and healthy eating guides. In this post, he clearly defines the exercise he’s performing and clarifies which areas of the body it will affect. 

Within the caption itself, he breaks down all of the movements, making it easier for those watching to follow along rather than rewinding the video.

According to the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), 65% of people are visual learners. Since you’re in a very visual business, use this fact to amplify your brand’s message in a style your audience prefers.

Shooting gym social media content of a personal trainer providing valuable instructions and personal training tips for beginners fosters trust in prospective clients. This allows beginners to try new exercises in the comfort of their own home first. 

Luckily for you, the fitness industry has a clear advantage when it comes to gym content ideas.

Some incredibly popular content include tips that improve a person’s life and aspirational lifestyle goals. Video ads are significantly cheaper when compared to TV or print ads.

- - - - 

If you’re looking for some more creative social media post ideas, check out these articles below:

• 9 Gym Marketing Ideas & Examples
• 13 Creative Gym Event Ideas to Boost Member Retention
• Gym Business Cards: Why You Need Them, Examples & More

#12 - Create Challenges For Engaging Social Media Content

Challenges are a great way to generate engagement with your brand. Whether you want to know who can plank for the longest out of all your gym members or who can stay on the treadmill at a full incline for the longest, people love getting involved in a fun challenge!

A great example of these posts is the one below from The Factory Elite Fitness on Twitter. In the caption, they clearly define:

• What the challenge is - to lose 20lbs
• What the prize is for completing the challenge - getting your money back

Also, note the video is embedded to give the audience more information about the challenge and get them hyped up. As a result, the tweet also takes up more space on the timeline. Several fitness-related hashtags are used as well to ensure the tweet reaches a larger audience.

If you’re struggling to come up with gym content ideas, a quick scroll through the ‘fitness challenge’ hashtag on TikTok or Instagram will show you a ton of fitness challenges from which you can draw inspiration.

You can harness all the things that make these challenges great:

• Forging a community spirit
• Getting immediate feedback and responses
• Finding like-minded people
• Giving feedback to participants in seconds

But the biggest benefit seems to be the element of being held accountable. There is a reason businesses like CrossFit and Weight Watchers’ ‘check-in’ programmes are so successful: 

• Accountability 
• Community

Nail these two things when creating your challenge for your gym social media posts and you’ll do fine!

As challenges are often short-term, it sets the audience up for success. It’s achievable and easier to maintain but still requires enough effort that you get a feeling of pride when you complete it.

#13 - Show Your Business In Action For Interesting Gym Social Media Posts

For new audience members who may be unfamiliar with your business, getting a glimpse of what goes on behind your doors is paramount. It gives them a feel of your gym so they can decide whether it’s right for them.

We recommend using this social media gym idea on platforms like Facebook and Instagram as long-form video is more appealing here. Plus, the live stream options on these platforms make it easier for you to:

• Showcase exciting news
• New additions to your gym
• Even livestream your fitness classes

The post below from GymEx is a fitting example of what customers can expect in the future. It shows some manual work going on to improve the quality and aesthetics of the gym. 

As your behind-the-scenes content is unique, it naturally appeals to people looking for your specialities. Attracting the ideal customer base and making your business more approachable for newcomers is an excellent way to build a long-lasting rapport with your clients.

Showing this behind-the-scenes content can be incredibly interesting to your followers as it boosts the personality of your business. 

Consider showing footage of a team meeting or showcasing popular group fitness classes. Even giving teasers of things to come will spike interest and lead to new members.

If all of this wasn’t enough already, consider the following reasons to use behind-the-scenes content in your next gym social media post:

• Share your values and what matters most to you - this attracts clientele with similar principles.
• Showcase the process and efforts involved in your triumphs - this makes your audience appreciate you more.
• Involve your audience in the processes - this brings your members a sense of belonging, leading to higher loyalty towards you and your business.

#14 - Use Promotions For Popular Gym Social Media Posts

As a business owner, you’re going to want and likely need some self-promotion. While promotional content can take time and investment, they’re most definitely worth it.

If you’re unsure, promotional content consists of things that show off your business services while boasting about why you’re the best in the business. When deciding what to include, consider the following:

• Pricing structures
• Level of experience
• Qualifications
• Awards
• PT package deals
• Special offers (think New Year’s or Black Friday)

Take the below example from Fisique, a Boston-based gym. The ad is asking for twenty-five women to join their gym for a ‘life-changing transformation’. They offer a six-week free trial for these new members and make a promise to deliver results.

It’s important to note they also link back to their own webpage, rather than simply putting a status on their Facebook page.

You might feel sceptical about whether posting promotional gym social media content is worth it as the people seeing it will already be following you. 

This sort of content is easily shareable between your audience and with the use of hashtags, you’ll pop up on people’s feeds if they’re interested in fitness or joining a gym.

These posts also work great with location-based posts. You’ll attract people with your fitness Facebook ads who live and work near your gym, making them all the more likely to choose you.

We recommend using reels (found on Instagram and Facebook) or similar functions, as they are easily accessed by users who don’t follow you but have an active interest in fitness.

#15 - Use Interactive Gym Social Media Content 

Interactive content is content that requires the audience’s active engagement, more than simply watching or reading. In return for this engagement, your audience receives real-time results they care about.

Some interactive gym content ideas are:

• Instagram polls
• Quizzes
• Feedback forms
• Surveys
• Q&As

The below example from personal trainer Mel Chandler (@littlemel._pt) tells a personal story, before inviting the reader to contribute their own goals.

As you’re opening a two-way dialogue between your business and audience, your interactive content tends to deliver higher engagement and conversion rates. This means more people will join your gym from these posts than your standard ones!

More interaction encourages people to share your content with others and excites them about being able to participate. 

Interactive content is an excellent opportunity for personalised results for your audience. Personalisation sets your brand apart from the competitors, as well as the multitude of fitness social media content people are exposed to on a daily basis.

However, it’s not all about your clients! Interactive social media content also lets you capture valuable data you can use to guide future gym social media posts. This information could range from audience preferences to demographic information.

#16 - A Great Social Media Post Idea Is To Advertise Giveaways 

Running a giveaway is one of the more popular gym content ideas as it drives engagement and boosts your brand awareness. 

You can use giveaways to:

• Celebrate an occasion
• Mark a launch of a new location
• Generate interest in your business

Something important to note when it comes to giveaways is that people participate to win. So, make sure your prize is worth participating for!

Take this example from Wedge Gym:

As you can see, they catch the audience’s eye with a video then hook them in with the eye-catching offer. In this case, the winner will receive a few luxury gym items like a sports tote and cooling towel, as well as a pair of the brand’s own ‘wedges’.

Ensure the reward is related to your brand and is proportional to the effort your audience has to put in. For example, if you ask your audience to like your posts, you can offer some small free product samples. Anything more and you’ll need to raise the stakes.

Think about offers that will appeal to those in the fitness space:

• A free one-month membership to your gym
• Percentage off PT sessions
• Some personalised gym wear brands

Consider partnering with other brands to offer more to your audience while boosting your own brand’s exposure.

If you’ve decided a giveaway will be your next gym social media post, understand your objective before diving in headfirst. 

A few examples to consider are:

• Growing your email list - As part of the giveaway, ask people to submit their email addresses. Through this, you’ll grow your mailing list and keep people updated.
• Increase your follower count - Use giveaways to build your audience across social media channels.
• Boost brand awareness - Ask people to tag their friends and followers on your posts to familiarise people with your brand.

However you decide to organise your giveaway, ensure you ask your audience to like, share, and tag others as part of the entering process.

#17 - Use Healthy Recipes For Gym Social Media Content

You don’t need to become a nutritionist to know people need to eat well and nourish their body’s to be fit and healthy. You can’t out-train a bad diet so your business should be promoting the fact nutrition and exercise go hand in hand.

Some gym social media post ideas when it comes to sharing healthy recipes are ideas for healthy snack alternatives or tips on which foods to avoid if you’re trying to reach a certain weight or gain muscle.

The Recipe Cookbook’s on Twitter posted this link to their post on healthy meals:

The post is dated so followers can be sure they’re getting the most up-to-date recipe ideas and uses simple, relevant hashtags to appeal to their target audience.

With your experience in the realm of fitness, you might have some healthy recipes that are both delicious and guilt-free. You could also post about topics such as the benefits of a vegan diet.

You can post recipes as a slideshow of images, each with tip-style graphics as instructions. Or you can post a video of you going through the entire process of making the meal such as this example from Cheap Lazy Vegan on Twitter:

You can choose to have a person in frame if you have a tripod or someone shooting for you. However, try to keep the video focused on the food! Also ensure you film in a well-lit environment for high-quality gym social media posts.

Aside from being a great way to add value and alternative content to your social feed, this sort of content doesn’t require elaborate recipes. You aren’t a restaurant advertising your chef’s skills - you simply want to give your audience quality information.

How Can I Get More Social Media Content Ideas?

There are plenty of ways to come up with gym social media content. A good place to start is by checking out the pages of your followers.

You can click on their profiles and see what they’re:

• Interacting with
• Talking about
• What photos they’re posting
• The brands they interact with the most

Using polls and questionnaires, you can even ask your followers for ideas about what they’d like to see in the future. If you struggle to get responses, consider offering rewards like vouchers to boost interaction and increase gym revenue.

Don’t be afraid to use Google either! If you have a general topic in mind, search for it and see what pops up in the suggested topics. In addition to the search suggestions, you can use the ‘People Also Ask’ section or the ‘Related Searches’ section at the bottom of the page.

Before You Go!

Now you feel much more prepared to come up with some fantastic gym social media post ideas, it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice!

To keep users coming back to your posts, check out our range of specialisms, starting with our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course to appeal to a wider audience by providing them with plenty of tips and knowledge.

You can find out more about this by downloading our course prospectus or leave your details in the box below.