Low class numbers at gym?

[ThreeKneeRepeater]

Before covid and lockdowns, my gym ran a full day’s worth of classes, the majority of which were full and lively, with a great atmosphere. Les Mills cardio in particular. Attack, Combat, Step, Pump) You had to book as soon as bookings opened to get a place.
Now classes are half empty, and are being taken off the timetable to the extent that many people aren’t bothering to renew memberships, thus perpetuating the problem.
Is this happening at your gym? Have people discovered that they can do exercise more cheaply at home?

Whilst people worked out at home in lockdown, it was assumed some would continue doing that. In practice, that really hasn’t happened, but consumers have either moved on, moved away, new jobs that just don’t allow the time.
summer is generally the time classes dwindle a bit - it’s too hot to consider

however on the other hand, Les Mills went hard on their online options, it did ruin it for those gym instructors

I thought Les mills was an actual person who ran classes at my club.... (yes, I am one of those people who doesn't really do classes! I do use the pool though)

Yes, they've got rid of all the early morning classes at my gym and the daytime ones are often poorly attended. Staff desperate for us to make sure we book instead of just turning up as head office base their decision to cull a class on the class numbers that they see online.

@sleepyhoglet 😀Les must be a busy man to get round all those gyms!

To be honest, they are probably having problems getting the Les Mills instructors. The courses are expensive, they have to go each time there is a new release, and as most instructors had lots of time off doing lockdown they probably don't have the money to plough into more training and courses.

Regarding members, in times of economic hardship the first thing to go will be the gym membership for a lot of people. I cancelled mine yesterday as right now I just can't justify it. Hoping to re-join at some point and plus as a PP has said, it's too hot to be sweating in a gym right now. Hopefully come Autumn the gyms will get back to fuller numbers.

It's a combination of things:

1. People are watching the pennies and can't afford gym memberships like they used to

2. People realised that either they didn't miss the gym when they couldn't go during lockdown, or

3. Many fitness companies offer an attractive package to do their classes online. IIRC, it's £4.99 / month with Les Mills as an introductory offer.

4. Summer always sees a reduction in member numbers. People are less keen due to the weather (too hot!), feel it's not worth it as they'd miss most of a month due to holiday or they have childcare issues and can't make it when school is closed.

A few friends have dropped their membership due to increased cost of living so paying £250/month for a David Lloyd membership was an obvious expense to cut back on.
And I did my PT training over zoom when the gyms were shut and I've just carried on that way. I just pay the trainer rather than membership and trainer on top.

More embarrassingly, I assumed it was a French thing and asked to book onto 'les Mills' - I looked like a right pretentious knobber.

I work in a gym, I'm a personal trainer. Yes, we have a lot fewer classes now than we did (say) three years ago.

I think it's a combination of things. In my opinion the following have all had an impact:

Some of the franchise models/licenses have become more expensive, and gyms are being hit by rising costs just like everyone else and looking to save money. LM in particular can be a bit awkward because they make the gyms buy packages of several classes, some of which they might not want or need. It's not terribly cost-effective, especially if we're struggling to fill the classes.

We lost some staff in 2020 and 2021, including class instructors. Some were EU citizens and left to move to an EU country because they either felt unwelcome or couldn't make UK citizenship work for them. Wages for class instructors (tends to be lower than PT pay) have frozen too and this (plus the cost of living rises) has pushed some people out of the industry.

Some people bought Pelotons or WattBikes for home use and do their workouts at home instead of going to a class.

Over the pandemic, my gym in particular prioritised paying the personal trainers (like me!) and other staff over paying class licenses/packages. We deliberately let some of the licenses slide in order to pay staff wages and keep staff around for when things opened back up again.

There seems to have been a bit of a shift in fashion, where gym-goers will pay their memberships and sometimes for personal training or functional training — and my gym has dropped PT prices, but changed how the packages are sold — but aren't quite as interested in classes. People seem to want one-to-one.

Certainly at my gym, the typical client for classes has tended to be the people who are/were more at-risk from covid, or at least see themselves as being at more risk. There's definitely an ongoing unwillingness from some to get back into rooms with other people, especially in an exercise context. (Spin is an exception to this, but the typical spin client skews younger anyway.)

This has happened to lots of yoga teachers I know, so many studios have gone under. We've had to work really hard at my studio to boost numbers, think we are in a healthy place now but it's been really tough. Still way down on pre covid income.

Freelance teachers I know are having a horrendous time as such poor job security when gyms cut them.

I loved classes but was struggling to fit them in. I have a les mills subscription & canx my gym membership as I don't like the gym & have classes on tap.

This is interesting and helps shed some light on the situation. I just find it quite sad when I think of the buzz I used to get from a full combat or attack class. Thanks for the responses.
I’m aware gym attendance slackens off during the summer, but during the fierce heat last week, the studio at my gym was a glorious 14 degrees.I felt like camping out there.

So many people do free or very cheap online now. It's awful for people who have spent thousands to qualify as teachers. ☹️

I always thought it was a fancy French name pronounced "lay mee"

I cancelled my gym during covid as I bought a spin bike off eBay and just use it at home.

I think most people are now moving on to home workouts. I use chloe ting - it's free and you don't need equipment and I can notice the results.

I always thought I needed the gym to keep me motivated to work out. Lockdown taught me that I can work out effectively at home. I still like a class format to push me and have the Les Mills and the Peloton app. I cancelled my expensive David Lloyd membership after the 2nd lockdown - classes were fewer (and DL dropped a lot of their Les Mills classes) and often weren't at times that suited me any more. I realised I preferred working out at home - the class I want, at the time I want - no rushing from work to get to class on time, no worries if I wasn't in decent work out gear as nobody sees me, can get out of bed in the morning and not worry about my morning bed hair. If I do an hours class and fancy an add on 30 min abs class it's there in front of me.

On the contrary at my gym it’s difficult to get a place in a class.