The Trends Shaping the Future of the Personal Fitness Training Industry This year's shift to digital is shaking up traditional fitness industry revenue models and presenting a plethora of opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to exercise their business muscles.
By Pritom Das Edited by Frances Dodds
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Traditionally, if you wanted to get fit, you would sign up for a gym and go there regularly to lift weights, use the treadmill or perform other exercises. Alternatively, you could focus on cardio and take up running, cycling, or other sports. In either case, you could get a personal trainer to provide guidance and help you achieve your goals.
The events of this year have changed those options drastically, however. As a result of the restriction on movements around the world, outdoor sports have not been an option for a few months, and nor have going to the gym or meeting with your personal trainer. Those happenings have all culminated in a defining moment for the fitness industry, shaking the traditional models up and presenting a plethora of opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to exercise their business muscles.
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Streaming Services
The global online fitness market size was estimated to have a value of 6,046 Million dollars in 2019 many studies have projected that it will likely attain a size of 59,231 Million dollars in 2027. That would represent growth of about 33.1% annually each year. This growth is largely driven by a variety of products and services that have sprung up to revolutionize the fitness industry by making it safer and more convenient to access fitness training through on-demand classes and workouts taught by experienced fitness trainers. These are typically accessible using apps that can be downloaded onto mobile phones, computers, and TVs. The personal trainer experience is diluted to an extent in this model because the classes and workouts are not personal in that they are produced like any other video and then published for the access of all subscribers to the service.
Nonetheless, personal trainers are able to still provide effective direction and motivation for most people to have a complete and satisfying workout. In addition, the prices for the streaming services are generally very affordable, with many of them being in the $20 range, thus making removing cost as a barrier for most people.
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Virtual Coaching Classes
For those who find the pre-recorded workouts too impersonal, the next step up is to find a personal trainer who offers virtual coaching classes. These classes are held using tools like Zoom and Google Meet which though not originally intended for use by personal trainers, lend themselves well to the purpose. With those tools, trainers can cater to groups of students in live sessions and offer a more personal and interactive session that can be obtained using the streaming services.
Many startups have launched to facilitate these classes, connecting students to personal trainers. Even with the fees that these companies charge for their services, personal trainers are still able to earn sums of money that far outstrip the average personal trainer salary. Most of the services allow the personal trainers to set their own fees, and those are usually influenced largely by the person's reputation as well as the certifications and accolades which they have acquired in the course of their career.
Integrated Fitness Devices
The Peloton is probably the most popular one in this category, representing a full package of integrated software and hardware that allows you to take fitness classes designed specifically for the device. Some, like the Peloton, are for one sport, while others, allow for users to explore a variety of workout types.
The workouts are usually led by personal trainers and users may be able to pick whether to stream pre-recorded classes or to have live classes with specific coaches. In addition to offering convenient ways to exercise, these devices also typically offer advanced tracking features that allow users to track everything from their heart rate and temperature to the minutest details of their exercises.
