Gym Memberships are Up at start of the Year

'Twas the season to be jolly, and now, it’s time to shed those festive kilos. That, combined with the New Year’s resolutions tradition, means that gyms and fitness centres see a little spike in new memberships in January.

Of course, between cup and lip, so to speak, many don’t follow through: Only eight percent of those who enquired at a gym actually got down to signing up. And fitness is, usually, higher up in the hierarchy of needs, not something people spend money on in recessionary times.

We asked a couple of multi-city gym chains what business was like. They told us that as of January 15, their branches across India have seen memberships go up from around 932 members per gym last January to 1,013 this year.

Image: Minal Shetty

As usual, annual memberships are most popular with newbies (the gyms did not comment when we asked about how many stuck with the programme), with three-month weight-loss packages next.

Also relevant: 2009 saw a number of global fitness brands enter the market. But competition hasn’t lowered prices. At most, some gyms cut fees by a mere five percent.

We have to conclude that balance sheets are putting on weight!