FITNESS CONSUMER OF TODAY: Driving Industry Change Like Never Before

1. FITNESS CONSUMER OF TODAY:
Driving Industry Change Like Never Before

2. Introduction
In the roughly 30 years of the modern health club era, the mid-market
club has reigned supreme. For consumers, getting fit meant joining a
traditional health club as a one-stop-shop where all of their fitness needs
were met. Of course, they might also have some home exercise DVDs
and run outdoors, but the central focus was always the health club.
The fitness consumer of today has changed. Health and wellness are no
longer discretionary activities but rather a core part of their very identity.
They wear yoga pants, running shoes and a Fitbit® everywhere they go
as symbols of their active lifestyle. They no longer accept bland or boring
experiences and are willing to pay more for bespoke experiences which
provide the deeper benefits of community, a high level of personalisation
and, for some, a tribe-like sense of purpose and belonging. It’s not so
much about losing weight or getting fit – it’s more about connecting with
a purpose and strengthening their sense of self.

3. 1
The Rise of the Fitness Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
It Begins and Ends with Trainers and Instructors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Indoor Cycling and Small Group Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Indoor Cycling and Hybrid Group Exercise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Indoor Cycling and Gamified Workouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
We Are All Studios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table of Contents

4. 2
1
“The Top 100 Health Clubs of 2016”, Club Industry (2016). From http://clubindustry.com/
2
IHRSA2015 education session “The Transformation of the Fitness Industry Through Technology.”
The Rise of the
Fitness Studio
The overwhelming majority of new club openings in larger markets
(e.g. USA, Germany, UK) are either a “budget club” or a fitness studio,
mimicking the trends of many other consumer service industries.1
Consumers are voting with their wallet for self-assisted experiences at
a low cost, as well as highly specialised experiences at premium prices.
Institutional investors and franchisees have noticed, and studios in
particular are growing at an unbelievable pace. In fact, boutique fitness
studios now make up 42% of the US fitness market2
.
But if you think that the future of the industry is just budget clubs and
fitness studios, you’re mistaken. The better way of thinking about the
market is as a continuum of convenience and personalisation. Most
consumers have low price elasticity for basic convenience offerings and
high elasticity for personalised fitness experiences. For this reason, nearly
every major gym organisation we speak to is exploring how they too can
become more studio-like.
This is the same reason most mainstream health clubs have such an
obsessive focus on personal training. Consumers are willing to pay a
significant premium for a personalised fitness experience. This is the
underlying driver of small group training and premium group exercise
offerings.

5. 3
It Begins and Ends with
Trainers and Instructors
At the core of the studio movement is the fitness professional. The classic
studio story usually begins with a successful trainer at a big box gym who
takes over a warehouse space down the street and fills it with old tractor
tyres, self-welded functional rigs, and used equipment off Gumtree. The
‘larger than life’ trainer is able to build their tribe and command incredible
loyalty and member spend. The most popular example is of course
CrossFit®, which now boasts over 13,000 open boxes globally3
.
From the beginning of grit studios has also arisen glamour studios. They
are heavily branded, located in desirable retail locations, thoughtfully
designed, and often feature their own mobile apps and branded clothing.
Popular examples include SoulCycle®, Orangetheory® Fitness, and Pure
Barre®. They are scalable and repeatable models which appeal to a
broader set of demographics – particularly millennial women.
Regardless of the format, the success of a studio concept begins and
ends with the fitness professional. For as great as the equipment, layout,
branding and location may be, it is the trainer/instructor who makes or
breaks the experience.
3
“CrossFit Is Breathing Life and Opportunity into Activewear for Investors”, Adam Lawrence,
GURU Focus website, 17 October 2016.

6. 4
A New Chapter
for Indoor Cycling
Indoor cycle bikes are an incredible tool which studios have embraced.
Bikes have a small footprint, are easy to move, and offer an incredible high-
intensity workout. This has led to a renaissance of indoor cycling, driven by
three underlying mega-trends (each discussed in greater detail later on):
1. Small group training combining high-intensity and functional
training. CrossFit led this initial surge and many others have developed
it further.
2. Hybrid group exercise driven by exercisers increasingly seeking
unique and engaging formats and operators needing to compete with
the emergence of fitness studio programming.
3. Gamified workouts powered by sensorised equipment and riders
connected to a digital solution (e.g. leaderboard).
According to the 2016 IHRSA Equipment Report, indoor cycling bikes were the number one most used piece of
cardio with small group training.
CARDIO UNITS IN OPERATION
GROUP CYCLING BIKES
TREADMILL
ELLIPTICAL MOTION TRAINER
UPRIGHT EXERCISE BIKES
RECUMBENT EXERCISE BIKES
ALTERNATIVE MOTION TRAINER
STAIR CLIMBER, STEP MILL AND SIMILAR
ROWERS
UPPER BODY ERGOMETER
19.2
15.4
11.5
5.7
4.5
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.7

7. 5
Indoor Cycling and
Small Group Training
Small group training (SGT) is perhaps the hottest trend in the fitness
industry. SGT is becoming a critical part of the overall training strategy
for those who win with training. The best operators create a spectrum of
training options for members, ranging from self-guided to one-to-one. As
SGT fits squarely in the middle, it offers broad appeal as well as delivering
results. In a study from a leading fitness franchise, small group training
was cited as being the #1 retention driver, surpassing even 1:1 training4
.
We’ve seen particular traction in programming that combines functional
training solutions like Queenax™ and high-intensity cardio like Spinning®.
In fact, according to the 2016 IHRSA Equipment Report, indoor cycling
bikes were the number one most used piece of cardio in small group
training5
. According to data collected by the Fitness Industry Supplier
Association (FISA), Indoor Cycling was the second largest product
category by unit volume and the fourth largest by revenue6
.
4
Study conducted by Dr. Paul Bedford, RetentionGURU.
5
“IHRSA Health Club Equipment Report: Spending, Utilization and Programming Trends”, page 50.
International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, May 2016
6
FISA 2015 Report

8. 6
Indoor Cycling and Hybrid Group Exercise
Studios have become the laboratory for group exercise content where there is a constant focus on trying new concepts and constantly improving a
class format. Independent studios are usually at the cutting edge of innovation: taking risks, failing fast and learning quickly. They are usually trailed
by studio chains and franchises and then traditional health clubs.
Our advice is to harness the power of the studio no matter what your size. Have the right tools in place – functional training, indoor cycling bikes,
racks, free weights and accessories – and then get out of the way and let your instructors and trainers shine. There is no one magic formula for
facilities, so the ability to customise and modify is key.
In this sense, equipment becomes the ingredients and it is up to the chef (the fitness professional) to create the recipe. From this approach has
emerged an incredible variety of hybrid concepts combining everything from yoga to indoor cycling to functional training. Exercisers, especially those
who get bored easily, have responded well to the variety, excitement and challenge of these hybrid formats.

9. 7
Indoor Cycling and
Gamified Workouts
The most discussed fitness facility over the past year has to be Orange
Theory Fitness. After receiving an infusion of investment capital, their
growth suddenly soared and they will soon reach over 1,000 sites7
.
What has driven their success is a winning formula of programming
and their ability to transform their workout into a gamified experience.
Their workout usually involves a treadmill, rower and functional station.
Each participant rotates through the three stations while their heart rate
is being continuously captured. They coach to not only achieve key fat
burning zones, but also for recovery and balancing of zones.
They don’t use indoor cycle bikes, opting for rowers instead, but are
mentioned because of the success of the total experience, which is
ultimately what matters. While exercisers are intrigued by heart-rate
tracking and power measurement as technical features, they aren’t
truly relevant until they are integrated into a total programme. Solutions
that enhance your instructor or trainer, as opposed to reducing them or
competing with them, should be the focus of your purchase decision.
7
“Join the fastest growing fitness franchise in the world!” (25 October 2016). Retrieved from
http://marketing.orangetheoryfitness.com/franchisees-2/

10. 8
We Are All Studios
Studios are often discussed in terms of square metres, which is a mistake.
Studios have achieved success because they have a very specific focus.
They choose to be great for a specific set of customers, as opposed to being
average for a broader set of members. This obsessive focus is what allows
them to execute, and the results speak for themselves. Studios achieve
higher average net promoter score ratings, retention rates and revenue per
member compared to most clubs8
.
As an equipment supplier, we aim to provide you with the right equipment,
capabilities and partnerships to enable you to succeed. Ultimately however,
it’s your fitness staff and facility that transform these tools and capabilities
into exerciser value.
8
“Fitness and Health Industry Report for Listen360; Text Analysis of Net Promoter Score Surveys”,
page 3, Richard Thomas, EVP, July 2015.
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
Range of Net Promoter Scores (NPS) Across Industries
Average NPS is higher for Fitness & Health than for other B2C industries
The Focus of this Study Comparative B2C Industries*
NPS
High NPS
Low NPS
Avg. NPS
Fitness and Health Industry Segments
FitnessandHealth
Salon
Yoga
Wellness
Pilates
MartialArts
SpaDance&Music
Children'sProgrammes
Fitness(Small-Midsize)Fitness(Large)
AutoDealers
HotelChainsInvestmentFirms
Retailers
Airlines
CarRentals
ParcelDeliveryServicesWirelessCarriers
Banks
InternetServiceProviders
TVServiceProviders

11. 9
About the Author
Brian Kane leads marketing research efforts at Precor. His report
represents a combination of industry research, in-depth conversations
with operators and studio owners, as well as his own opinions.
The viewpoints expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Precor or
the Spinning® brand.

12. Precor is a brand of Amer Sports Corporation.
For more information please see www.amersports.com
© 2016 Precor Incorporated. The information contained within this ebook is correct at the time of printing.
Precor reserves the right to make any changes without prior notice. 2. March 2017, 9:13 AM.
Precor, headquartered in Woodinville, WA, designs and manufactures premium end-to-end commercial and
at-home fitness solutions. Since 1980, Precor has been a pioneer in creating innovative fitness solutions for
customers, including the EFX® Elliptical, Adaptive Motion Trainer® AMT® and Preva® Networked Fitness. Precor
is part of Amer Sports Corporation, one of the world’s largest sports equipment companies, with internationally
recognised sister brands that include Wilson, Atomic, Suunto, Salomon, Arc’teryx and Mavic.
Get more retention information:
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