What will the fitness industry look like moving forward?

[noiseboy]

I pose this question with the idea that masks and social distancing are here to stay. In Texas, no more than ten can gather at a time. This seems to spell doom for fitness centers. and gyms.

Will workout schedules be by appointment only? A business model that is not sustainable and is unsafe for serious lifters. Unless of course your spotter is a family member living in the same home with you. All ridiculous IMO. In Texas, Gov. Abbott announces yesterday no real plan to reopen. Just more nonsense about a committee and another announcement 27 April. I foresee lots of used equipment flooding the market in the next 90-120 days. Get your pennies ready.;-)

 

[woodswise]

I pose this question with the idea that masks and social distancing are here to stay. In Texas, no more than ten can gather at a time. This seems to spell doom for fitness centers. and gyms.

Will workout schedules be by appointment only? A business model that is not sustainable and is unsafe for serious lifters. Unless of course your spotter is a family member living in the same home with you. All ridiculous IMO. In Texas, Gov. Abbott announces yesterday no real plan to reopen. Just more nonsense about a committee and another announcement 27 April. I foresee lots of used equipment flooding the market in the next 90-120 days. Get your pennies ready.;-)

Based on what I know about epidemics, it seems very unlikely that we will have to use social distancing, masks and gloves for more than several months to a year. This virus will run its course, then --depending on how badly the economy has been hurt-- things will get more or less back to normal. Long term social changes are more likely to arise for economic reasons than an epidemic.

We are already hearing from the deniers who say this epidemic is not about the disease as much as it is about politics. The funny thing is, the more successful we are with suppressing the spread of the virus with social distancing (and there is no doubt it is working as new cases have leveled off over the past few weeks), the more people will be willing to believe the deniers who claim that the virus is really a big hoax. So when this epidemic is all over, unless it gets really ugly, it will become merely another event in people's lives, and not a defining moment. That is why I don't think it will change much for us socially.

 

[noiseboy]

Based on what I know about epidemics, it seems very unlikely that we will have to use social distancing, masks and gloves for more than several months to a year. This virus will run its course, then --depending on how badly the economy has been hurt-- things will get more or less back to normal. Long term social changes are more likely to arise for economic reasons than an epidemic.

We are already hearing from the deniers who say this epidemic is not about the disease as much as it is about politics. The funny thing is, the more successful we are with suppressing the spread of the virus with social distancing (and there is no doubt it is working as new cases have leveled off over the past few weeks), the more people will be willing to believe the deniers who claim that the virus is really a big hoax. So when this epidemic is all over, unless it gets really ugly, it will become merely another event in people's lives, and not a defining moment. That is why I don't think it will change much for us socially.

woodwise, I sure hope you're right. Thanks for your response. I don't see it though. Especially based on a new Stanford study, it is a BIG over-reaction. IMO the "deniers" are the ones who want things to stay closed. But I digress. Only time will tell. Stay safe.

 

[monsoon]

This is a strange journal but TEHO I guess.

 

[DungeonDweller]

I would guess most gyms don't operate at a high enough financial margin to limit their occupancy or spread the equipment out more. Maybe, just maybe, people will learn to wipe down equipment better.

 

[noiseboy]

This is a strange journal but TEHO I guess.

Monsoon, you’re right. This is a strange journal. But I wasn’t sure where else to post this question.

I’m looking for others perspectives on this matter. Having been a gym owner, I couldn’t have sustained a shutdown for more than a few months. (Wishing I still had some of that equipment now

IMO limiting the number of people attending at any given time would force gyms to charge way more than would be reasonably expected. Personally, I don’t see much of a way forward for commercial gym owners unless they have real deep pockets. Even then why continue? It’s not a big money maker anyway. At least for those that care about their clientele. You can’t operate at a loss for long. Or can you?


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[monsoon]

I have had almost ever job in the gym business, but never actually owned the place. I do think that a lot of smaller to midsize one of gyms will close or otherwise go out of business. One advantage that smaller gyms may have is that they are 100% supported by their members who are more likely to return than the average globo franchise member.

 

[searay]

Many members at the Gold's I go to requested that the gym continue to draft there member fees. However, it was an all or none option only so the owners shut down all monthly drafts to keep the aholes happy.

 

[HDH]

I think it will be back to business as usual when we get past this, it's just a matter of how long it will take.

People with money will survive and people without will go under. I can't imagine how many business will suffer enough to close the doors. It was estimated that over 110,000 restaurants in the US will not make it. That's just restaurants.

 

[BackAtIt]

This?....


https://www.pomortzeff.com/eng/features/2011/hydropark/

.

 

[Bigtex]

I pose this question with the idea that masks and social distancing are here to stay. In Texas, no more than ten can gather at a time. This seems to spell doom for fitness centers. and gyms.

Will workout schedules be by appointment only? A business model that is not sustainable and is unsafe for serious lifters. Unless of course your spotter is a family member living in the same home with you. All ridiculous IMO. In Texas, Gov. Abbott announces yesterday no real plan to reopen. Just more nonsense about a committee and another announcement 27 April. I foresee lots of used equipment flooding the market in the next 90-120 days. Get your pennies ready.;-)

I am hoping this idiot of a Governor we have will wake the fuck up after all of the protest taking place in Austin. I know he is getting a lot of email too. I know I send one every friggin' day. Abbott actually opened up nothing but State Parks starting tomorrow. Probably there are also going to be a mountain of law suit start hitting governors. What they are doing is called a violation of civil rights. We have the right of free assembly. Abbott is already being sued by religious groups. Another 1st amendment right. I live in Houston and 6 Gold's Gyms are closing up, but they did very little business anyway and paid way too much money to Gold's for their franchise.

Once things get opened again, they will simply not have the people to go around checking on who is doing what. Social distancing is just not happening now. Walk into WalMart and it is packed, Lowes, Home Depot. No one is checking this now. Texas is unique that we pay no income tax. The state makes all of their money through property tax and sales tax. Gyms pay a whole lot of sales tax and we have a whole lot of gyms in Houston. Probably 150-200. The State will not be able to function soon if they don't start getting people out spending money again and that includes gyms. No gyms, no football, no basket ball, no base ball, no soccer, no rodeo and the conventions will be gone. These people need big packed venues to exist. Houston will dry up as will the state. I agree, it is all ridiculous. I can walk into a crowded Lowes any day., no social distancing and no limit to how many people are in there. Nothing is being sanitized. Yet we have to be treated like damn children and not allowed to go into a gym where all the germ-a-phoebes are using handfuls of paper towels and bottles of sanitize all over everything they touch already. Gyms are most likely the cleanest place in town.

These these silly ass strike forces are too much. Trumps plan was good and we should stick to it. Phase 1 gives gym permission to open back up. Abbott is a dumb ass and I am sorry to say I voted for him. Anyway, I think things will be right back to normal by May. The people in Texas have h ad enough of this nonsense. There are about 65 counties that did not have 1 case of this crap. Now we have over 1 million people in Texas out of work.

 

[noiseboy]

Bigtex, AMEN! Gov. Abbott's plan for Texas is to form a committee to come up with a plan in ten days. Ridiculous! I can hang out with all my neighbors at the grocery store but I can't go tho the gym? Grr...