Trending Insights: Today’s Thriving Health & Fitness Club Industry

Trending Insights: Today’s Thriving Health & Fitness Club Industry

Where Success Leads to More Member Injuries, Emergencies and Safety Threats

As the leading provider of Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) for the U.S. health and fitness club industry since 2017, I have conducted thousands of consultations with sports club operators and managers that has allowed me to educate and inform an entire industry faced with an ever-increasing number of on-premises club safety and risk challenges.

For background, industry trends post Covid indicate an increasing number of Americans are prioritizing physical as well as health and wellness activities (can we say personalized training, injury prevention, and improved health and longevity as we age in place) as beneficial lifestyle choices. As such, the local gym, health and fitness club and/or boutique/studio are where these individuals convene within a like-minded community environment.

So as the headline states, let’s identify the various sources (in no order) to the continuing spike in club member, on premises emergency-based ‘911’ events occurring within the larger U.S. sports club industry.  As you will see, IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS:

1. More year-over-year club openings (urban and suburban/rural) post Covid-era.  

2. Significant increase in number of clubs operating 24/7 and/or without supervised staff. 

3. Expansion of sports-specific, high-intensity training and cross-training programming.

4. Availability of senior-age programming (i.e.’ Silver Sneakers’) via health plan subsidy offsets and the generational ‘baby-boomer’ effect.

5. The ‘Gen Z Surge’ where adults aged 18 to 24 have the highest gym penetration rate of any age-related category.

6. Increased popularity and availability of youth age sports (under age 18) in K-12 schools and public recreation.

7. Fragmentation and growth of non-traditional facilities: boutique, studio, hotel/resort, corporate wellness centers, academies/camps and more.

8. Treadmills and free weights continue to be the backbone of the workout experience.

9. Integration of popular, non-fitness-based sports offerings and operator affordable infrastructure such as pickleball and racquetball.

10. Club operators are driving new investment in multipurpose spaces and hybrid membership plan options that combine sport, recreation, fitness and wellness. 

Americans now view ‘fitness’ and ‘being fit’ as a lifelong pursuit rather than a temporary solution or lifestyle phase. This growing adoption to personal fitness and well-being exponentially expands the range of traditional age-based participation, fosters the social community aspect and therefore has a positive effect on the longevity of club membership plans. Industry tracking data also indicates how health and fitness clubs have become recognized as the ‘central hub’ in Americans’ pursuit of personal health, fitness and well-being.  

As you can see, as more growth and success continue within the U.S. sports club industry, health and fitness clubs in particular, such success and expansion can also lead to more critical and costly challenges to club operators now and in the future.  It’s all in the numbers!