As a gym owner, it is crucial to stay on top of the latest fitness trends. This not only allows you to reach more customers, but also to keep your offerings up to date and create momentum. By understanding the current trends, studios can increase their appeal and position themselves as trendsetters in the fitness industry.
Fitness on the rise
Compared to 2023, fitness is becoming even more popular. Pilates, strength training and meditation programmes top the list of trends, with sport reducing stress and minimising sick days for members.
Member’s motives
Urban Sports Club members are driven by different motivations. An impressive 70% strive for better physical fitness for health reasons, while 13% use sport as a coping strategy for their hectic daily lives. Patrick Soxhlet, our VP Partner Management, welcomes this motivation and explains: “It is remarkable that the health benefits of an active lifestyle are firmly anchored in the minds of exercisers and motivate them to take up sport. In addition to the physical benefits, the mental motivations are increasingly coming to the fore, because a healthy body supports a healthy mind and vice versa.”
Partner locations and corporate sports
Partner locations benefit significantly from members’ health ambitions and willingness to experiment, with 65% having tried a new sport and 58% not having visited any of the partner locations before joining. Corporate sports programmes contribute to motivation, with 44% of members having discovered Urban Sports Club in 2023 via employee benefits. In addition, 48% report a less stressful working day, 10% say they have been sick less in 2023 and 9% notice a more restful and deeper sleep.
Germany’s training trends in 2023
In 2023, members remained just as active as in the previous year, with an average of around four visits per month to one or more partner locations. The most popular sport category was fitness, which rose by 11% to 44% compared to 2023. Yoga followed with 15%, bouldering with 7% and indoor cycling made its debut with 6%. The representative survey shows that around 69% of Urban Sports Club members would like to try out new sports.
Top 5 Trends for 2024:
1. Pilates:
Pilates remains a favourite and is more experimental than ever with exciting formats such as Pilates Flow, Pilates Reformer and Pilates Slider. The number of check-ins at Pilates partner locations has doubled in the last two years and already accounts for three per cent of all check-ins. An impressive 64% say they prefer to attend classes at partner locations, which shows that they enjoy training together with other participants.
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2. Yoga & Socializing:
Yoga lovers are looking for peace and connection, which is why studios are increasingly offering spaces to linger. Around 33% have already made new friends while exercising and 41% prefer to train with friends.
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3. Weight training & staffless studios:
In addition to relaxing course formats, this year’s members attach great importance to a short, time-efficient workout. An impressive 30% prefer individual training at partner locations. For this purpose, sports enthusiasts like to visit studios without staff, where the focus is on efficient use of the studio. Muscle building and a strong body are clearly in vogue this year, and classic weight training is celebrating its comeback.
4. Journaling & Sound Bath Meditation:
Classical yoga remains a favourite, but will also be expanded in 2024 to include meditation. Journaling courses focus on coming to terms with everyday life, and sound bath meditation uses singing bowls to put participants in a meditative trance.
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5. Came to stay: Barre
A new sports trend from 2023 has been confirmed: The sports category of barre has won the hearts of Urban Sports Club members and will continue to appear regularly in the sports schedules this year. Swimming also remains a favourite among members. Bouldering will continue to boom this year. This is because members also favour a varied sports plan for 2024 and visit an average of three different partner locations per month.