31% say they never would’ve paid had they known how little they’d use it.22% completely stop going six months into their membership.82% of gym members go to the gym less than one time per week.The detailed stats are even worse reading: Using US data again and assuming similar applies in New Zealand, a Statistic Brain survey of 5,313 American gym members found that 63% of memberships go completely unused. If we assume the lowest cost New Zealand gym membership, the typical gym member is suddenly paying $8.16 per workout, and if we assume the highest costing gym membership, the cost skyrockets to a whopping $68.40 per training session! But why is this so costly? – that’s because a vast swathe of people who pay for gym use simply don’t go at all While this was a study in the United States (US), there’s no reason to believe these results wouldn’t also apply to New Zealand – especially as both New Zealand and the US rank in the top three nations worldwide for obesity! Stay at home or go to the gymĪ study run by a pair of UC Berkeley economists found that while members anticipate visiting a gym nearly 10 times per month, they only end up going a little over four times per month, or 50 gym visits per year. What makes a gym membership such a poor investment is our lack of commitment to going at all.

Even at four times per week, it would cost just $1.96 per visit.īut here’s the thing: we collectively don’t even come close to seven gym visits per week, or four, or even three. Using the lowest cost gym identified by Consumer NZ, if the average gym-goer were to use a gym seven times a week, every week of the year without fail, this would work out to cost the small sum of $1.12 per visit. While many gyms now have open-term contracts, which give you the flexibility to quit without a fee, usually there’s a notice period of at least a month. On top of the monthly fee, gyms often tack on an annual fee which is paid at the start of each new membership cycle, can charge an initiation fee (a one-time cost, due upon signing up), may charge direct debit fees, and sometimes have other assorted costs such as for an access card to enter the gym. To get a good deal at the lower end of that range, you’ll normally have to sign up for a fixed term, such as joining for 12 months. Membership fees vary widely based on your location, the services provided, and your gym of preference, but Consumer New Zealand reports the range of membership fees is between $34 and $285 per month. The background – gym membershipsĪccording to Skills Active Aotearoa in 2017, the New Zealand gym industry was worth half a billion dollars, while globally it is worth nearly $120 billion! ExerciseNZ has reported that in New Zealand nearly one in five people belong to a gym, and over the last five-year period that it was measured, the numbers grew by 32%.Īverage membership numbers for each individual gym are around 1,000 or fewer, although large gyms could have upwards of 5,000 to 10,000 members. But before we get into all that, let’s look at the bigger picture. The reasons for this are deeply embedded in the way all humans make and keep commitments to ourselves, the business model of the fitness industry, and even behavioural economics. However, while joining a gym may seem admirable, it is generally one of the worst investments you can make. “Getting more exercise” is routinely the most common New Year’s resolution. More than half of all gym members never actually go to the gym - then year after year, they continue to pay for a service they don’t use. Many of you may have wondered whether your gym membership is good value for money.

Gym new years resolutioners statistics