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How Gyms Make Money (2015)

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Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#101

Post by nomilk »

opportune wrote: post #90
nomilk wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About 5 times per week for 6 months. The exact workout is from 19m28s - 37:22 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0WOTplwNlw&t=19m28s (I do the whole thing twice, then 3km run then stretch) Imbalance is something that worries me. I figure it's better to do a workout that's imbalanced than to come up with a theoretically perfect workout that requires a gym that I hate going to or, worse, doing no structure…

Pulling movements in general are pretty hard to do with just calisthenics. Anywhere in that big park, is there a nice sturdy pole or post? If so, you can get an elastic band set, usually very inexpensive and portable, and use that to do rows (and face pulls, if you want). I would also try to incorporate pull-ups (some parks have pull up bars, or you can install one at home) to work your lats. This might be tricky if…

Superb feedback.

I'll incorporate pull ups as of today on every day except where the bar is taken, as that would negate one of the joys of this particular workout: that it can be done absolutely any time without planning/thinking/waiting.

Will research bands and band exercises (on youtube?) and almost certainly buy some and incorporate a few. Very much like the idea of some sort of 'row' as well as shrugs for traps. Forearms seems to already get smashed during pushups (especially the 'fingers out' and 'narrow grip' push ups [1]).

Will check out banded ab exercises too.

Thanks for the advice.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0WOTplwNlw&t=28m44s

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#102

Post by opportune »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #45
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 Yes, but it's personality specific; the absolute worst part of the gym, to me, is "other people". The sweaty, macho, over-enthusiastic bros with specific kind of humour (you can tell me that's not all or even most of them; doesn't matter, my subconsciousness doesn't believe you! :). The stink…

Not to point out the obvious, but most of this is I think just anxiety.

I remember when I first started exercising, I was a fat alcoholic that was usually the youngest person there and had no idea what he was doing. I was very anxious about potentially doing something wrong, or being taunted or judged. I didn’t know how to use a lot of equipment and it took a long time before I even realized kind of “obvious” stuff like you being able to swap out attachments on cable systems. I knew my body language was glaringly displaying low self confidence and anxiety, and was further psyched out by knowing that it was obvious and I couldn’t do anything about it.

As I went to the gym more I became more self confident and also assured through experience that I wasn’t doing anything wrong and nobody would be a dick to me. I mean, people are dicks sometimes, but usually only out of their own selfishness (like wanting to use something you are, or hogging something they’re not use because of fucking supersets), not malice. There’s always a small chance of a bad interaction along those lines every time you go but the anxiety definitely greatly subsides over time.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#103

Post by petesergeant »

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.

About twenty years ago I had a gym structure their yearly fee as a credit agreement, where I paid the year upfront, and then was paying off an interest free loan to them every month as my dues.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#104

Post by cko »

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…

I lived out of my Toyota 4runner for 5 months. I would go to the Planet Fitness in the morning, take a long shower using their soap and hot water, do some exercise, and leave.

Membership was $5 a month (for a 3-year contract.

Now I live in Romania and gym memberships are $50-70 a month but people actually go there

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#105

Post by jaggederest »

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!

Reverse pricing is much more enjoyable for people. Free lattes in the early morning hours, free protein shakes during other off hours, early bird/night owl discount when you renew for the long term if you badge in during off-peak hours exclusively.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#106

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

Popeyes wrote: post #49
swamp40 wrote: post #22

"The founder of Colman’s Mustard used to claim that his fortune was based on the bit of mustard that everyone left behind on their plate" Wow.

I haven't read the article but the move to squeezy ketchup bottles was because parents didn't like kids messing with the glass bottles, and kids were the ones who would dump a load of unused ketchup on their plates meaning parents would buy more.

It's because glass bottles were more expensive. It took decades to develop a plastic bottle that was sufficiently gas impermeable for long shelf life unlike restaurant plastic bottles that are refilled frequently enough to not matter.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#107

Post by dgfitz »

hattmall wrote: post #94
borissk wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmmm, not sure how much a customer taking a hot shower costs a gym.

Probably about 6 cents. Assuming a 30 minute shower with a 2.5 gpm flow rate and 110F average temperature. Maybe less if they have a more efficient water heater than resistive electric at ~11 cents per kwh.

To make light of the comment: what the hell does someone need to take a 30m shower for?

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#108

Post by fatmans »

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…

We have 2, one all you can eat 100 euro/month: Packed like a japanese metro. One on a cinema model where you must pick one of their training programs, each with a different trainer and different times ranging from 300 to 550 euro per month. Only sqash is on an hourly rate and never sold out.

Its easy to squeeze out a few extra reps at home by thinking of what it costs. It really helps how expensive they are. Lol

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#109

Post by Larrikin »

dgfitz wrote: post #107
hattmall wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably about 6 cents. Assuming a 30 minute shower with a 2.5 gpm flow rate and 110F average temperature. Maybe less if they have a more efficient water heater than resistive electric at ~11 cents per kwh.

To make light of the comment: what the hell does someone need to take a 30m shower for?

I personally don't understand the people who wouldn't want to take a 30 minute shower.

So long as the water stays hot and you have the time, it's one of the more relaxing things you can do at home. Baths use way more water, and if you don't live somewhere like Japan, they aren't deep and cool off quickly without a bath warmer. Its also kind of gross to sit in a bath without already showering and getting clean before you get in.

If you have a speaker in the bathroom you can listen to an audio book. Long showers have only gotten better with water proof phones becoming more common. As a kid I would put my Gameboy in a Ziploc bag just so I could stay in longer.

Re: How Gyms Make Money (2015)

#110

Post by wisty »

talldatethrow wrote: post #39
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…

The worst customer is similar to you, but doing it at peak times, while also taking up resources of staff somehow (even if just chatting them up). Doing it at 430am is their second favorite customer other than someone that doesn't come at all.

Just look at the signs in the gym to see what they hate. Leaving equipment out, and messing up the toilets (apparently someone spits gum in the urinals?) is what annoys the staff at the gym I go to.
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