Outside The Box Fitness Industry Trends For 2018

Fitness industry trends are about to see a major shift.  There’s no question the fitness industry is booming.

The speed of innovation and change is accelerating and

Every year you see very similar “Fitness Industry Trends” reports that talk about HIIT training, functional training, personal training, blah…blah….blah.

You’ve read them before, same old stuff.

Here’s an Outside the Box view of what’s trending in the fitness industry and what to keep a close eye on.

Fitness Industry Trends For  2018

Fitness Industry Trend 1: Technology

Wearables like FitBit we’re all they hype a few years back.  There tends to be a quick fall off rate.  People stop wearing it after a few months or even just weeks.  

You’re seeing 3D body scans entering gyms.  These can render your before pic, take some vitals, and help you track your progress.

Wearable tech is also big “inside” the gym.  Studios like Orange Theory and now many more, gyms included, are using tech to track real time data while putting on the big screen.

Once Apple watch and it’s competitors get their devices dialed in a little more you will see these in fitness facilities a lot more with a way to use your own watch and data in the gym.

Fitness Industry Trend 2: Gym Extension Communities 

Happy hour anyone?  There is a segment of gym goers that love the social aspect and the community of being around like minded people with similar goals.  

Now fitness facilities are hosting after hour and offsite community building social events.

One of the biggest fitness industry trends is events like happy hours.

Gyms are getting more social by providing opportunities to connect at weekend races, bike rides, trail runs, off site boot camps, and even field trips.

Much better field trips then the ones we took in 5th grade.

This is one more fitness industry trend getting members engaged.

It’s also good for fitness business owners to build brand loyalty.

Fitness Industry Trend 3: Open Play Spaces 

Adults want to have fun and play too!  Health clubs are building facilities with open spaces dedicated to boot camps and coach led workouts. 

You won’t find step aerobic equipment in these areas.  Instead you’ll see turf, sleds, Crossfit like cages, foam flip tires, and more. 

The big mistake I see with these areas is placement.  Some facilities put them in odd places where it makes the people exercising feel like their on stage.

This open area can be “open” to the rest of the facility but shouldn’t be surrounded by people on cardio equipment.

People doing cardio have nothing better to do but watching exercisers get beat up.

It’s kinda weird and can make people uncomfortable if they feel like their on display.

“Is that guy watching me trying not to vomit right now?”

Fitness Industry Trend 4: Speciality Studios 

Speciality Studios that offer only one type of fitness class like Cycle, yoga, HIT, etc at a premium price will continue to expand. 

They will face more turn over as more people get exercise A.D.D. but we’re still in the growth phase of this trend. 

Speciality studios are trending.  They will need to innovate and find new ways to keep members engaged with programming, community events and out of the box thinking once novelty wears off for long term members. 

Remember Curves? Innovate baby…innovate or die.

The good news is, studios are finding core members that fall in love with one type of exercise and stick around for a while.  Speciality studios are going to be around for a while.

Fitness Industry Trend 5: Creative Spaces – Design

Image above is Trainer Space in Boca.

Over the next 5 years your going to see a lot more creative effort put into facility design.

You’ll see creative spaces that use:

• Lighting in interesting ways.
• Unique layouts.
• Funky new equipment.
• Integrated Tech.

Why? You ever walk into a restaurant or see the pics online and think “hm, food looks ok but the atmosphere is blah” so you pick somewhere else to go.  That’s why.

It helps a “BRAND” stand out and people like to associate with “cool” or premium brands.

Did I miss any fitness industry trends you think is gaining traction or pretty cool?