Small Group Boutique Gyms, More Harm Than Good?

[louieneri]

Hey Jordan/Austin,

I've noticed that every few years, there's always a trend with a new group training gym's opening that charges people hundreds of dollars a month to do group HIIT-style workouts with lifting some weights here and there. (i.e. F45, Orange theory, etc).

Curious about your thoughts on these gyms? Are they doing more harm than good? On one hand, I'd rather have people exercise rather than do nothing. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of charging people hundreds of dollars a month for mediocre programming and potentially developing an unhealthy relationship with exercise (they usually have people wear heart rate monitors and rank people's calorie burn on screens).

Thanks in advance!

Louie

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hey Louie,

Thanks for the question. I think that these facilities cater to affluent individuals who prefer group exercise and, for them, this is very much a positive influence. I don't think displaying energy expenditure or using other values to leverage a competitive spirit is a negative at all. I also do not think the cost is generating negative economic effects.

That said, I do not think these types of gyms are useful in public health promotion either- meaning that without one or all of them, I don't think that less people would be active AND, additionally, they do not offer access for all individuals who want to be active.

Just my 0.02.

-Jordan