“For people who go once or twice a week, I think that’s something they would consider cutting back on before other areas,” says Rebecca Pike, money expert at Finder.
Health and wellness app Keep It Cleaner commissioned a survey of 1,200 women and non-binary Australians and found that two-fifths of those surveyed don’t exercise because they feel it’s too expensive.
“Ultimately, prices will probably have to go up.”
Barrie Elvish, Active Executive Director of AUS
“It’s a sad reality that when we’re hit with financial stressors, people often don’t see their health and fitness as a priority,” says Laura Henshaw, CEO of Keep it Cleaner.
The survey also finds that only about 9 percent of women choose to work out exclusively at a gym, down from 34 percent before the pandemic. Henshaw says some are turning to cheaper online platforms, and his app’s membership base has increased by 60 percent in two years.
Elvish doesn’t think gym membership prices will go down even though finances are a barrier for some people.
“The price of gym memberships [relative to other price increases] it hasn’t increased for about 10 years,” he says. “Ultimately, prices will probably have to go up.”
It means gyms have to innovate to attract and keep members.
Flow Athletic fitness center manager Ben Lucas says his team in Paddington, Sydney “have definitely had to work harder than ever to grow”.
That includes doubling down on fostering a community that can’t be replicated online. “I run a men’s group where men get together to exercise, chat and have fun,” he says. “We are creating a sense of belonging and responsibility.”
The CEO of Melbourne-founded Body Fit Training, Cameron Falloon, says his gyms recently launched a bespoke heart-rate system. “We found that the heart rate monitors available on the market only reward people for working hard all the time, and that’s not necessarily what’s best for you,” he says.
The new technology rewards users for various types of training that may not increase an individual’s heart rate but are still beneficial, such as resistance training.
Sydney’s Fitness Playground co-founder Justin Ashley notes that more people join gyms to “feel better” rather than just look good. “For the first time in the last two years, more members have selected that they want to feel better as their main reason for joining,” says Ashley.
Charging
To accommodate this change, Ashley has created a space in her Marrickville gym where people can sit back and relax, even creating their own scent to enhance the atmosphere. “We have tea, sparkling water, free Wi-Fi, and seating for 30 or 40 people so they can hang out,” she says.
While the gym’s virtual fitness offerings have become popular for yoga and Pilates, Ashley says customers still prefer a hybrid experience. “Things that involve a lot of equipment are very difficult to do at home and people prefer to do them in the gym.”
James Ferguson, owner of the North Sydney-based Performance Playground gym, says there has been a wide shift towards individualized training and smaller classes. “People want a little more purpose in their training and a little more personalization.”
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