Boston — February 8, 2018 — Today, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) released The IHRSA Fitness Training Report, sponsored by Power Systems. The report helps club operators better understand personal and small group training clients, with a special focus on demographic analysis. Key findings as well as infographic insights are provided in the report.

“Historically, training is the number one source of non-dues revenue among health clubs,” said Jay Ablondi, IHRSA's executive vice president of global products. “Roughly 26.6% of health club consumers, which include member and non-member users, reported engaging in small group training in 2016. Approximately one in eight health club consumers used a personal trainer during the same year.”

Although consumers may participate in training across various health clubs, the report shows that studios had higher penetration rates for personal and small group training (SGT) in comparison with fitness-only and multipurpose facilities. The average rate of personal training utilization at studios was 21% and 31.7% for SGT. In all, 11.6% of fitness-only club consumers indicated using a personal trainer and 26.4% reported using SGT. At multipurpose clubs, 14.9% of consumers utilized personal training, while 19.1% engaged in SGT.

The IHRSA Fitness Training Report also provides an analysis of training participation by demographics. Key findings include:

  • A slightly greater portion of non-member consumers engaged in SGT in comparison with personal training. About 15% of total SGT users were non-members, while roughly 13% of total personal training clients were non-member consumers.
  • SGT users were more likely to be female, while personal training clients were more likely to be male in 2016.
  • Generation Z and Millennial consumers were the most likely age group to use a personal trainer.
  • Training utilization among minority groups was higher relative to overall penetration rates. For example, among Hispanic club consumers, 17.4% used a personal trainer in 2016, while 44.7% participated in SGT.

The IHRSA Fitness Training Report is derived from a study conducted in collaboration with Sports Marketing Surveys as part of the Physical Activity Council, a research partnership consisting of several physical activity-oriented associations. During the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, a total of 24,134 online interviews were carried out, with a nationwide sample of individuals and households from the U.S. Online Panel of over 1 million people operated by IPSOS/Synovate. A total of 11,453 individual and 12,681 household surveys were completed. The total panel is maintained to be representative of the U.S. population for people ages six and older. The survey included over-sampling of ethnic groups to boost response rates from typically under-responding groups.

The IHRSA Fitness Training Report is available for $39.95 for IHRSA members and $79.95 non-members.

For more information or questions, contact IHRSA research or call +1 617-951-0055.

About IHRSA

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is the trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, racquet and sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. Its mission is to grow, promote, and protect the health and fitness industry. As one of the world's leading authorities on the commercial health club industry, IHRSA regularly conducts industry and consumer research, along with club operator studies.