Nearly 50 percent of people who start an exercise program will quit within six months.
Are these odds fitness centers are happy with? If this was another type of business would it be as acceptable to ‘fail’ that many clients?
Many gyms operate what seems to be a successful business model where by they sign people up with long-term memberships. Indeed, many would be unlikely to manage if all their members did turn up regularly anyway. It may sound like a conspiracy theory, but it is actually in the gyms best interest to have members that are not regularly going to the gym!
But I don’t think gym owners are inherently evil people – more they are taking advantage of the high drop out rates that exist with their current businesses. Additionally, I think it is more a sign of peoples psyche than it is the programs. It is easier to make an excuse and do nothing.
A recent comparison of people taking part in Weight Watchers vs a Fitness Center Program gave some interesting results:
- Weight Watchers were more likely to stick with the program (they attribute this to the support given).
- Weight Watchers lost the most weight, but a large proportion was lean tissue. This is the worst case scenario, and I imagine a result on the focus on losing weight, not fat.
- …”overweight, sedentary women joining a fitness center with the intent of weight loss or body fat change will likely fail without support and without altering their diets.”
So neither comes out looking particularly appealing for someone wanting to lose fat.
I think this is because a fitness centre especially should be viewed as something that helps with fat loss. It is certainly not the answer to the problem. If you do not address the bigger, much more important issues then you will almost certainly fail.
