Health and fitness

Health and Fitness

The Fitness Industry

Fitness is a steadily growing industry. It evokes images and associations with many good and positive things. First and foremost among these is something so innate and natural to every lifeform that it’s what people the world over try to attain and aspire to on a daily basis – Good Health

Good health is something which we all try to achieve in different ways (and some people manage to do this more effectively than others). While an elite few look to science as a means to enhance and rejuvenate their bodies, most stick to health and fitness as they age naturally, and that’s precisely what the fitness industry is concerned with

As an industry, health and fitness is very important to the makeup of modern day society. Due to the benefits that are associated with this, governments and employers alike do their best to actively promote healthy lifestyle choices in the form of healthy eating and exercise – this is because it’s regarded as a great way to keep citizens healthier and working longer, increasing productivity and reducing health related costs

There are many other important benefits associated with health and fitness too. Not only is it regarded as a great way to extend natural lifespan, but it’s also regarded as a great way to increase social and physiological wellbeing too

While the definition of fitness only centers around physical fitness and the body’s capability for athletic feats and endurance through exercise itself, as an industry, the wider definition of health and fitness doesn’t just stop at gyms and health clubs, but can also encompasses many other different aspects associated with health in general – this ranges to everything from sports, swimming, cycling, walking, and healthy eating – to other areas such as nutrition and bodybuilding supplements, and even the emerging field of gene therapy too! (Although at present those are areas currently measured and defined within other industries areas such as equipment, clothing, and food manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and science sectors)

As an industry, fitness is something that focuses heavily on metrics and statistics. Currently, the global fitness industry is worth £97 billion a year

While industry growth slowed during the recent COVID pandemic, it’s now started to increase again, and the good news for those interested in a career in the sector is that it’s projected to continue growing, with the expected turnover in this industry to reach £130 by 2030. There are around 250,000 gyms, health clubs, and fitness studios worldwide, and these serve a global total of around 200,000 members at present. (The good news is that increasing standards of living in Asian and African countries will continue to propel this number forward as the fitness industry continues to grow). The U.S currently has the most fitness venues worldwide with nearly 35,000 facilities, (while the UK has around 15% of this number, with around 5000 facilities)

You can find several different types of facilities within the fitness industry where patrons can go to indulge in the types of fitness pursuits that satisfy them the most. These typically include the following:

Gyms – These offer patrons the chance to exercise in a variety of different ways such as cardiovascular exercise on tread mills, weightlifting to build muscle strength…and much, much, more. Gym facilities give patrons the opportunity to perform these activities in a safe and controlled environment, with access to fitness instructors and a varied range of equipment and amenities, as well as giving them the opportunity to participate in other types of classes that may be on offer as well like calisthenics, aerobics, and yoga

While a typical gym membership costs around £40-£60 per month, one of the offshoots of gyms today is what is known as High Value, Low Price gyms – These aim to offer access to similar sorts of amenities, services and equipment, but at a vastly reduced cost – typically in the £10-£20 range, making healthcare a more affordable option accessible to a wider variety of people

Health clubs – These are usually found in more social settings like spa’s; and offer an additional range of physical activities such as tennis, badminton, and swimming, on top of more traditional gym facilities. Members usually pay more for membership to these types of organisations, typically anywhere between £100 – £300 per month

Fitness studios – Fitness studios are places that offer physical activities and classes ranging from everything to dance, calisthenics, aerobics, yoga, and more… Patrons tend to be offered a more specific class of activity in a fitness studio, (normally lead by an instructor) as opposed to being able to perform a range of all-around physical activities by themselves, and they will tend to pay for classes, rather than specific memberships

In addition to these types of venues, there are also fitness facilities in hotels (a popular location for health clubs) as well as fitness facilities in health boutiques (a popular location for fitness studios), combining health with different types of leisure and beautification pursuits

Online fitness

Although it’s recovering now, the fitness industry has declined from its peak in 2019 due to the Covid pandemic. However inspite, or perhaps because of this, online fitness is a subsection that has outperformed the other areas of the fitness industry for a while now, and is projected to continue doing so

With the lifestyles that people lead, travelling to a specific location may not always be possible. Online fitness not only gives people the means to exercise at the times when it’s most convenient for them, but it also gives them a huge variety of classes and forms of exercise types they can choose from. For instructors and those looking for careers in the fitness industry, this can provide great opportunities to source an additional income

In 2019, online fitness was a submarket of the fitness industry only valued at £7 billion. By 2023, this is estimated to have increased by about 90%, with a projected turnover of around £60 billion per year

Interpersonal Skills that can help with Membership Retention

Retention is another key focus of employers in the fitness industry

Online classes and fitness studios have the highest membership retention rates, at around 80%, whereas gym clubs typically have the lowest retention rates, with nearly 50% of all gym memberships cancelled in the first year. For people applying for roles in this industry, emphasizing a high degree of personal contact with patrons by having meaningful interactions with them is a great way to help increase retention and personal job satisfaction both at the same time – this will make a big impression in any interview as it underscores an approach that is outgoing and points to strong interpersonal skills which is often looked at as a core competency in this line of work

There are many other aspects to the fitness industry as well, some of these revolve around the services it offers, such as the opportunities it provides for those with qualifications to get into personal training roles and earn extra revenue, as well as other aspects that revolve around the equipment and technology that can be found in the industry itself – such as wearable technology in the form of the gadgets that allow users to monitor their vital signs while performing workouts and exercising. This technology stems from the fitness tracker market, and is an industry with a turnover of £29 billion pounds per year, although it is predicted to grow even further over two next decades

Other external aspects of the fitness industry include equipment manufacturers. They produce the exercise equipment that can be found in homes, gyms, and fitness studios across the country. This is an industry that was worth $12.1 in 2023, and is projected to continue to grow well over the next few decades

Regular exercise not only keeps us looking younger and healthier, but it’s also linked with several other important health benefits too. This is why regular exercise has been associated with reducing the risk of the following by up to 42%
Heart failure
stroke
diabetes
cancer

There are many other benefits associated with regular exercise too. These include the following:

Building muscle and getting rid of excess weight

For starters, it’s a great way to lose unwanted weight and build muscle both at the same time. For women, this can lead to a more toned, fuller figure. For men, it can lead to a much more muscular frame and increased physical strength that even without additional biomedical intervention can be maintained well into a man’s late 50’s

Increased energy levels