Should You Join A Gym? Yes or No? Read This First.
I’m not a big conspiracy theory guy. I’m pretty sure we actually landed on the moon and I’m pretty sure those trails behind the planes in the sky have something to do with moisture and not a secret government project to brainwash us.
That being said, I do believe that the current state of the commercial gym business is rigged for failure. Let me rephrase that. The business model of most commercial gyms are rigged for the CUSTOMERS failure. Their business only works if the vast majority of their members pay for a membership and DO NOT come to the gym. In fact, to be profitable, gyms need about 10 times as many members than use the gym.
The owners of huge Globo-Gyms know what they are doing and they have built their businesses to be profitable. Here are some statistics.
➤ In 2017 there were approximately 61 Million members of gyms in the United States
➤ Planet Fitness is the highest grossing gym with revenues of 1.5 Billion in 2015
You might read those statistics and think to yourself,
“That’s a lot of money and a lot of people getting fit in the gym!”
Wrong. Here are some more statistics.
➤ 80% of people who have a gym membership do not go regularly (less than 2x week)
➤ 80% of people who join a gym in January have quit going at all by May
That’s a lot of people, paying a lot of money for a gym membership that they aren’t using, and that’s exactly what the gyms need to happen for them to stay in business. Gyms know through research and experience that plenty of people have the motivation to start an exercising, but not to keep it up over time. They bank on that fact, literally and figuratively.
The people who join a gym with good intentions to make a positive change in their health and fitness are not the problem. Most of us are in that boat and have started something that we didn’t stick with. So what’s the problem? We believe that the problem can be summed up with one statement. They didn’t have a plan. Notice that I didn’t say “the perfect plan”. Perfection isn’t realistic or sustainable. But having a plan of action and sticking to it relatively closely, consistently over time is the thing that keeps progress coming.
What do we mean by having a plan?
I’m glad you asked.
If we’re talking about fitness and health, you’ll need to have plans for both your exercise and your nutrition. They don’t need to be overly elaborate to get results, but you should take some time figure out what your goals are and come up with a framework of a plan that you can follow.
Maybe for your training that is as simple as: I’m going to do squats and deadlifts every Monday, bench press and core work every Wednesday, overhead press and arms every Friday, increasing the weight or reps each week and I’m going to do intervals on the rower 3 times per week also. It’s a plan! If you’re just starting on your nutrition journey maybe your plan to start is as simple as, I’m going to avoid fast food and drink 8 glasses of water every day. It’s a plan! These may seem like simple things, but it gives you something to stick to, and that is the key to success.
Give it a try. Write down a plan, even if you’re not sure it’s the perfect plan, and stick with it for a while. What do you have to lose? You just might find the motivation and discipline to stick with something that has been hard for you to do in the past.
If you have any questions or need help fill out this form and we will reach out to you.