One of the surprise business stories of the past three years has been how strongly gyms and health clubs rebounded following the pandemic, after shutting their doors entirely for months in 2020 (twice, in Arizona) then weathering through the Peloton-powered “home-workout revolution” that, in the end, proved surprisingly brief.
Despite the initial setbacks – revenues for gyms, health clubs and boutique fitness studios dropped by nearly 60% in the first year of the pandemic – the industry began to recover in the latter half of 2021, and continues today. Experts are projecting the global fitness industry to grow from $190 billion in 2022 to nearly $435 billion by 2028.
The customers are back – that’s the good news. But they’ve changed. Pre-pandemic, the main objective for many gym-goers was physical fitness and aesthetic goals such as weight loss, muscle gain and improving physical appearance.
Now, the focus has shifted to overall wellness, encompassing not just physical health but also mental, emotional and social well-being. Among fitness enthusiasts, there is a greater emphasis today on activities that promote holistic health, like yoga, meditation, mindfulness practices and functional fitness that supports daily life activities.
Even Tucson’s powerlifting power couple, Rafe and Melissa Teich, who run the Beast Strong Powerhouse gyms in Tucson and Marana, go by the apt nickname “Mr. and Mrs. Beast” and look like the last people you’d expect to embrace the new mindfulness mantra, have pivoted to the new “wellness first” mindset gym customers have been calling for.
“As a member-built culture, we provide a healthy outlet for individuals, creating a mindset of belief and perseverance that they can count on,” says the couple on their website, below a photo showing Rafe, the certified USA Olympic weightlifting coach, cheering on International Fitness and Body-Building Federation pro Melissa’s powerlifting stance with a fiery intensity that would put Rex and Starla from “Napoleon Dynamite” to shame. “With this strong community, individuals can find and nurture their mental, emotional and physical strength.”
On the other end of the spectrum, we’re also seeing experts from biological medicine and technology sectors entering the fitness field. Dr. Jeoff Drobot, former co-founder and medical director of the American Center for Biological Medicine in Scottsdale, now helms Biomed Centers, which has a facility in Scottsdale and is looking to expand in Tucson. Drobot said he’s watched as gyms have moved from mere physical fitness to a more comprehensive wellness model.
“It used to be just skeletal-muscle based, that was fitness,” said Drobot. “And then everybody said, ‘I need mental fitness, emotional fitness and physical fitness.’ So they started to incorporate other fitness routines, whether it was deep breathing, cold plunging or Wim Hof stuff.” That refers to the regimen created by the Dutch extreme athlete that includes immersing in cold water with deep breathing techniques to augment immune response while boosting endorphin production.
“Instead of just moving skeletal muscles, people have also started moving visceral muscles,” Drobot explained. “They’re rounding out their total fitness goals with more comprehensive programs.”
Besides adding mindfulness to muscle-building, another new trend is toward hybrid and digital fitness, combining in-person workouts with digital tools like fitness apps and wearable technology. This all accelerated during the pandemic’s home-workout phase, which normalized online fitness classes and virtual training, and now people are hitting the gyms with their wearables.
Fitness enthusiasts accustomed to the convenience and personalization provided by digital tools are now looking for gyms that offer workout programs that connect with their at-home fitness equipment like Nordic Track, Mirror and Peloton, as well as wearable technologies. In 2021, about 75% of fitness studios or gym operators offered some form of digital fitness, making hybrid models a key component of their recovery strategy. And digital fitness continues to complement in-person activities, with many consumers maintaining their online exercise routines alongside returning to gyms.
This trend is particularly driven by younger gym-goers. According to a 2023 survey of 4,000 Gen Z fitness buffs across the U.S., U.K., Germany and China, 72% of regular exercisers reported including both in-gym and out-of-gym workouts in their weekly routines.
Per the survey, 68% said they started getting into fitness at home with a fitness app, with 35% choosing their in-person class online and over three-quarters using a fitness influencer’s free programming at home and relying on their online advice to guide workouts at the gym.
“In the old days, the only thing you had at home to track your health was a scale, to check your weight,” said Drobot, with a laugh.
“Now you’ve got loop bands and Apple watches and other wearables, and people are starting to get metrics on their whole-body health, and of course the natural evolution is to want to move the metric. So there’s this immense appetite now for health information that began during COVID and has never left. People are dialed into health websites and they’re listening to podcasts and weaponizing themselves with innovative health information, and they really want to move those metrics on their levels of performance and wellness.”
Biomed Centers pump up the tech, too, integrating various advanced assessments and treatments like heart rate variability, full-body thermography, exercise with oxygen treatments (EWOT), pulsed electromagnetic field therapies, red light therapies, IV therapies and hyperbaric oxygen. And Drobot said the centers also do a lot of preventive medicine in identifying health issues early through advanced diagnostics like full-body MRIs and cardiovascular assessments. He also highlighted the importance of regenerative treatments such as exosome therapies, cold plunging, cryotherapy and peptide therapies.
“Regenerative medicine is going to be a real focus in the next 10 years,” he said.
Finally, the other big trend in fitness is capitalizing on the concept of gyms and studios as the new “third place” for work-from-home shut-ins longing for environments that encourage social interaction and a sense of belonging.
According to ABC Fitness, a leading tech provider for fitness businesses, gym check-ins have risen dramatically between the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, increasing by 60% in traditional gyms and 22% in fitness studios and boutiques.
“People around the world are recognizing the importance of fitness for their physical and mental wellbeing, and now we are seeing more people recognize the social benefit as well,” said Bill Davis, ABC Fitness CEO in a May press release. “The fitness industry is poised to help more people in more ways than ever before as fitness businesses emerge as a strong driver of community.”
The Ruckus Room, with locations in Downtown and North Tucson, leans heavily into this with its Sisterhood and Brotherhood programs, which offer empowering three-month workout programs for women and men looking to foster “meaningful connections” and find “accountability partners” to help them push their limits.
“The most inclusive and supportive group of people,” said one Ruckus regular in a Tucson Reddit group, where people search for gym buddies and rate the “vibe” of different workout facilities. (“Any Tucson gyms that don’t play Fox news?” asked one trans fitness buff recently. Answers: Anytime Fitness only plays music, and the Racquet Club only plays sports channels “for this reason”).
“Humans are pack animals,” said Drobot. “So when we were in solitary confinement for a long period of time, as soon as we could be released back in the wild, we all kind of found the pack that we ran with. And that’s a positive thing for mental fitness.”