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How Gyms Make Money (2015)

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Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#61

Post by legerdemain »

nelblu wrote: post #25

I've been a gym rat for almost 20 years now, and I'm probably the worst customer for gyms. I only workout at 24*7 gyms and being an early bird I get there at 430 and I have pretty much the whole gym for myself. I am there 6 days a week and I always shower at the gym. Further, I use the corporate discounts available to join the memberships. With all that, it comes down to approx. $50 a month for membership and I used…

  > Finally I must add, all the friends (more like acquaintances) you make
  > at the gym are absolutely crucial to motivate oneself and also just have
  > a positive social interaction.
Eh, been going to a gym weight room for 10 years and it's damn lonely and demoralizing. I'm sure it's different in tiny one-room Olympic weightlifting gyms or whatever.

I'm not in my 20s anymore and I'm not actually that athletic, so 10 years of looking for a gym buddy have yielded nothing for me. Otherwise, the people I recognize at the gym are either the ones who camp out a piece of equipment or just walk around chatting others up and apparently never lifting anything.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#62

Post by nickpsecurity »

toddmorey wrote: post #9
nickpsecurity wrote: post #2

There’s also tricks like requiring certified letters to cancel the membership. One I went to required two. You also paid a fee upfront that was like being there for half a year.

Ryan Hamilton's comedy bit about canceling gym contracts is hilarious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnKJiixfa00

That man said Civil War lol. Yeah, there’s something wrong if the level of difficulty in canceling is the same between two eras.

At least washing our gym clothes got easier…

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#64

Post by jimbob45 »

klipt wrote: post #41
Avshalom wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm probably the worst customer for gyms [...] I get there at 430 no that's the best customer for gyms. The ACTUAL way gyms make money is by heavily over subscribing a fixed amount of resources (machines/benches/space). You finding some random time to go to the gym instead of just canceling has barely any marginal cost over some one just not going and you'll talk positively about having a membership.

I guess the most economically efficient model would be for gyms to charge per use with surge pricing. 4-5am? $2. 5-6pm? $10!

That’s what our local gym did. It was ultra frustrating to use and they stopped offering it after a while.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#65

Post by dehrmann »

ndeast wrote: post #35
quickthrower2 wrote: post #15

Any gym owners can chime in? My local gym seemed pretty normal this January so far (but I am in Australia where many people book their holidays during forced shutdown periods). Also the gym seems to have the same pricing whenever except sometimes there is “no joining fee” which is a weird thing to me but hey? My gym is independent. A famous world brand of gym I used to belong to seemed to make their money by making i…

Alan Thrall (owner of Untamed Strength in Sacramento) has discussed this a few times (most recently in this video[0]), but basically independent gyms don't really see this effect. In fact January can still be a pretty slow month for independent gyms as members over spend during the holidays (and cancel memberships) or don't want to go out in the cold weather. Personally as a member of an independent gym for a few yea…

A lot of new year resolvers won't be so keen on training untamed and will find their way to the nearest Planet Fitness. Squat racks can be pretty intimidating, and learning how to use them takes some guidance.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#66

Post by fritzo »

klipt wrote: post #42
asylteltine wrote: post #40

The best thing I ever did was invest in some quality gym equipment at home. I have a power rack, tons of weights, bars, etc. treadmill, TVs, speakers, whatever. Never going back to a gym again.

But then you're paying for a big house to fit all that.

In which one can additionally fit: a coffee shop, restaurants, light repair shops, tool libraries, and a bathroom for every person

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#67

Post by unsignedint »

I've had two past experiences with joining gyms. The first time, I canceled before even visiting, thanks to a state law allowing no-questions-asked cancellations within a certain period. The second time, I didn't proceed with signing up due to high-pressure sales tactics and an uncomfortable environment that included shaming and mocking. These experiences left a bitter taste.

However, since changing jobs, I've been working out at my workplace gym. It's a much better environment with friendly trainers, no pressure sales, no shaming, and no long-term contracts. I'm much happier and find myself working out more frequently than ever before.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#68

Post by medler »

danielvaughn wrote: post #26
nickpsecurity wrote: post #2

There’s also tricks like requiring certified letters to cancel the membership. One I went to required two. You also paid a fee upfront that was like being there for half a year.

I had a membership in NYC. When I moved to Florida, I forgot to cancel before I left. So I called them up to cancel, and they said I had to be there in person. You'd think that telling them that I had moved 20 hours away would have made them budge, but nope. I had multiple phone conversations with them before sending a legal threat, which finally prompted them to "make an exception for me." Ridiculous.

Since 2020, gyms in NY state are required to offer an easy means of cancellation

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#69

Post by nomilk »

A friend asked me what gym I’m going to now days, I was delighted to inform him it’s a globally available 24/7 gym and I never have to wait for equipment. It’s 2 square meters in “the park”. 120 bodyweight squats, lunges, and calf raises, 150 push ups and 200 sit ups, 3km run, and 10 minutes stretching. Challenging, requires zero thought or planning (other than wearing a warm top on cold days) and costs $0/month.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#70

Post by opportune »

nomilk wrote: post #69

A friend asked me what gym I’m going to now days, I was delighted to inform him it’s a globally available 24/7 gym and I never have to wait for equipment. It’s 2 square meters in “the park”. 120 bodyweight squats, lunges, and calf raises, 150 push ups and 200 sit ups, 3km run, and 10 minutes stretching. Challenging, requires zero thought or planning (other than wearing a warm top on cold days) and costs $0/month.

I’m happy for you, but this is kind of phrased a little overly smugly to me. As someone who lifts weights, it sounds like “I don’t go to the grocery, I just eat potatoes and eggs from my backyard farm”.

It’s certainly something you can do and get good results, but it’s also a limitation. If you want to build muscle or strength past a certain point it will be very inefficient not to use free weights. Maybe you don’t want to do that, and that’s ok. But it’s kind of weird to be smug about it

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