Health club operators are facing more competition from the outdoor fitness and home workout sectors than ever before. However, this doesn’t mean out-and-out war, because the picture isn’t as straightforward as it seems

In summer, when the days are long, there’s no better time to exercise outside. Studies have shown that direct exposure to sunlight boosts the production of vitamin D and serotonin – the feel-good hormone – while research published in Environmental Science and Technology journal found that exercising outdoors increases energy levels and positivity, while also decreasing stress, anger and depression.

There are many reasons outdoor exercise should be encouraged, but as an industry dependent on members using our gyms and studios, doing so may seem counterintuitive.

However, it’s a move that’s not as illogical as it at first appears, because research suggests that people who exercise outdoors have better indoor training habits and overall adherence to their exercise regimes than those who only exercise indoors.

Encouraging gym-goers to head outdoors could, therefore, help clubs to improve their member retention rates, while also tackling inactivity.

In this issue of Health Club Management, kinesiology professor Martin Gibala suggests that encouraging participation outside the gym is vital for overcoming the “lack of time” excuse that stops many people exercising (p12).

Gibala has developed a concept of exercise ‘snacking’ – undertaking 20-second bursts of intense exercise throughout the day – and says gyms are well-positioned to educate the public on how to put this idea into practice, rather than avoiding it for fear of becoming redundant.

A growing challenge is also coming from the home gym market, which we debate on page 34 Faced with increasingly sophisticated at-home workout solutions, should gyms find ways to incorporate these into their core offerings or fight back with more high-end equipment and services?

Working out at home is a solution that will always be attractive, but just as with outdoor workouts, home and gym workouts are seldom mutually exclusive. In this digital age, where variety is key, it’s not unusual for a road runner to also hold a gym membership and an on-demand home workout subscription, for example.

Gyms must capitalise on this need for variety by encouraging members to use outdoor and at-home settings while offering face-to-face expertise – the main thing the alternatives lack. This will ensure members carry out their off-site workouts with maximum safety and efficacy while viewing gyms as the hub of their workout universe.

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