It goes without saying that movement is good medicine for the body and mind. Movement in the form of lifestyle activities such as walking, dancing, gardening and yoga are strongly correlated with physical and mental wellbeing. Movement in the form of structured exercise plans (eg. the gym) and play (eg. sport) can lead to athleticism and readiness for physical and mental challenges in life (eg. during a pandemic), at work, and in sport.

The WHO recognises the need for physical activity in their 2030 Agenda for a sustainable future. They recommend doing 150-300 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every week AND two strength sessions per week. This is backed up by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The percentage of adults who meet both the cardio and strength training guidelines declines with age. This is a BIG problem in an aging demographic – like Europe, North America, and Australia. Livestrong.com posted a nice graphic about participation rates and they reference several sources with stats about how many (or should I say how few) people exercise; according to age, gender, geography, and race.

Fitness is not something that comes naturally – you have to earn it!

The body responds positively to stimuli that challenge our locomotion system. We become faster, stronger, more agile, and better coordinated with physical challenges. Without those challenges, our health can decline over time. We then begin to wonder why our lifestyles change from being active to sedentary and eventually end up in the ‘dangerously high’ 84% of the population getting too little exercise. Examples:

1. loss of muscle mass

2. a gain in unhealthy body fat

3. loss of bone density

4. loss of joint integrity

5. loss of balance

6. loss of cardiovascular capacity

Find out about your NEEDS then find a fitness professional

Everyone is different! We live different lifestyles, have different job demands, and have different preferences as far as physical activity is concerned. But we all must do something, because the body needs it, and so does the mind. Some can do it solo but most people need some positive peer group pressure and benefit from joining a gym or a group. That’s one reason why we go to schools to learn – we need the structure, we need instruction from competent teachers and we need some external motivation to be consistent and engaged. Hence the rise of the gym industry, and more recently, as with online learning platforms, the boom in online fitness during the pandemic.

Regardless of whether it is time, money, or community that drives choices about structured exercise programs, EVERYONE needs to know what their NEEDS are in order to meaningfully engage in physical activity. Self-awareness is the key to positive change, and that applies to your body as well – how well do I move, what is my fitness level, how flexible am I, and how much weight can I lose/gain? Just like good drivers are aware of their own limitations and the limitations of their car. It also helps beginners to have an instructor, especially if there is a competition in the pipeline.

The worst thing that can happen when a person starts exercising without knowing what they NEED is that they get injured – it does not get more demotivating than that – fear, resentment, and loss of control – are all dead ends to long-term adherence to training. Back pain, knee pain, and hip pain are all strong deterrents to going to the gym. These are easily avoided with a physical assessment prior to starting an exercise program (refer to the driving test analogy above). Before starting the Boxercise or Crossfit group class, give yourself some weeks to fine-tune your quality of movement and improve your strength and range of motion so that you can cope with the stresses placed on the body.

The next thing that can happen is that a person does not enjoy physical activity. There is something for everyone in the world of physical activity – however, when the balance is poor, muscles are tight, movement is uncoordinated, and strength is inadequate, then the fun soon disappears. Some people have pre-existing injuries that were never quite resolved – they just avoided those movements for the past 10 years (eg. stairs). So they didn’t notice the problem anymore. This type of disuse leads to atrophy and decline in function that can be life-threatening in older populations – falls affect more than 30% of people over the age of 70 – many die from the injuries. Once again – a physical assessment prior to starting an exercise program allows people to build themselves up progressively and remain motivated by their small achievements. 6-12 weeks of an individualised training program is usually enough to make monumental changes in foundational movement patterns. 6-12 months might be necessary for significant changes in cardiovascular fitness.

Personal health is the best investment – for individuals and health businesses

Gyms are up against other forces competing for a member’s time and money. Only when the need for structured exercise programs is strong enough, as well as self-evident to each person, will members have the tools necessary to prioritise the gym over other interests/duties. Lack of time (39%) followed by lack of confidence (17%) are the two biggest reasons for skipping the gym. A quantifiable reason to go to the gym is necessary to overcome emotional inertia. EVERYONE needs to measure baseline status, set milestones, and see that they achieve their goals – not just athletes. This is Motivation Theory 101 and Coaching 101.

In the USA, adults spend around $290/month on health and fitness. There are 87.6m gym members spending $35.8b annually, with the average gym membership costing just $58/month. One might think that most American adults are already benefiting from the gym until you realise that $1.3b is spent on unused gym memberships. One might also think that this is easy money-in-the-bank for the gyms until you see the high dropout rates and factor in the cost of acquisition of a new customer (average is around $120) compared to much lower customer retention costs. Repeat custom is 5-8 times more profitable. Yet, IHRSA (2020) says that most gyms lose 50% of their new members within 6 months. This seems like such a huge opportunity cost for the gyms and a saddening sunk cost for the members – no one wins! Keeping customers healthy for years and not just 3-6months is good for population health and for business! People will only stay committed if they have enough self-awareness about their individual needs, and when the gym can satisfy those needs. A machine park and some Zumba classes may not be enough anymore, especially when alternatives are easily available online.

The pandemic caused some rather shocking changes in personal and industry behaviour in 2020 and 2021. It may have also highlighted some reasons why so many people drop-out of gyms, and it is certainly revealing some new opportunities that have been staring more conservative gym owners in the face for years - the world is going digital!

Demand-side:

• 60% of Americans believe fitness clubs will cease to exist post-pandemic. 34% of gym-goers are planning to cancel their membership after COVID-19. That is over 20 million memberships. Online services are more convenient and more affordable.

  • Gyms need to get more personal again. Not just rep counting – that can be done with a watch or an app. I mean do a fitness gap analysis using measurement. Some measures can be done from home, and others need specialised onsite equipment. Make personal training personal again! Put massage and physical therapy and stretching sessions on the fee-for-service menu, and become a one-stop concierge service provider. Especially if you don’t own the best real estate.

• The New York Post (2020) said that 65% of Americans who routinely exercise said they are “letting themselves go a bit” during the COVID-19 quarantine. We all know that if you don’t move it, you lose it!

  • There is a greater need now, more than ever, for individual screening for musculoskeletal problems related to working from home, as well as fitness testing due to inactivity, not to mention resilience to the COVID viruses.

Supply-side:

• IHRSA (2021) reported that there are more than 1.4 million fitness professionals (44%) who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic (IHRSA, 2021). Personal Trainers around the world lost the majority of their clients and their income during the pandemic.

  • Acquiring customers is time-consuming and costly, with many personal trainers dependent on referrals from gyms, many of which (30%) have permanently closed due to the pandemic. Personal trainers need to adopt a hybrid model of digital and physical services in alignment with the new expectations of consumers.

• There is an opportunity to scale with digital services and online advice. With digital measurement technologies, there has never been a better time to have a technology backbone that monitors clients remotely and sells assessments/know-how/education.

  • The early adopters of technology and online services flourished during the pandemic. The large majority of gyms and personal trainers will follow suit in 2023 but may have already missed a golden opportunity to become a household name (eg. Peloton, Les Mills). Everyone is going digiphysical now.

  • Individual personal trainers can build a flourishing business without huge costs if they can promise reliable advice based on an informed analysis of individual NEEDS. The cookie cutter advice that people get from a fitness magazine, or some pseudo fitness guru with a great Insta account is way too competitive. Differentiate by being scientific, customer-centric, and outcomes driven.

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