Fitness is foundational.
Up and Up
Year-end HFA data shows commercial gym traffic rose for the 19th consecutive quarter, with annual visits up 4% YoY to match 2017’s all-time high.
Welcoming newcomers, HVLP, mid-market, luxury, and boutique operators all posted higher engagement, while strong retention and utilization nearly erased historical seasonal dropoff.
Signal
From bodybuilding’s heyday to the boutique boom and post-pandemic recovery, the share of Americans with gym memberships has never topped 25%. But as fitness evolves from subculture to shared infrastructure, that ceiling may finally shatter.
Longevity. More people are training for overall health, but a third of Americans are in “optimization mode,” ready to deploy $8T to live better and longer. As facilities add biological age testing and 75% of members use wearables, biofeedback is reinforcing routines and personalizing programs.
Strength. The top modality, 47% say they’ll lift more this year. While vanity, anti-aging, and women’s health factor in, a third cite everyday capability as the biggest benefit, reframing the pump as preparation for life.
Alignment. New Pilates recruits slowed, but existing members checked in 4% more and canceled ~9% less. Athletic-style reformer classes now anchor new boutique builds, attracting women and men, while budget gyms are scaling mass access.
Performance. Going hard, nearly two-thirds of younger generations want workouts that push their limits, with fitness racing emerging as a proving ground. Programming high performance, gyms are layering VO2 max testing, force plates, progressive training, and dedicated HYROX-style arenas.
Community. The gym is Gen Z’s church, with 43% saying community makes their membership worthwhile and a third engaging with fitness tribes daily. Social climbing, 73% of millennials view being fit as a status symbol. Psychospiritually nourishing, exercising for mental and emotional health jumped 29% over five years.
Medicine. As consumers adopt DIY healthcare, the gym is becoming a clinic. With 40% exploring diagnostics and a third open to monthly retesting, operators like Life Time, Equinox, and F45 are adding metabolic testing, lab integrations, and physician-aligned partnerships. Spurring action, exercise frequency doubles among GLP-1 users, nudging non-users in the household to join.
Above All
Intertwined, motivations aren’t mutually exclusive, with 67% of consumers saying the gym is the most important part of an ever-expanding wellness stack. And its role will assuredly grow.
Fitness is a melting pot, relevant across age, income, and identity. Facing a polycrisis of global health threats, movement is empowerment, and inactivity the enemy.
Punchline: Working out has become a shapeshifting panacea for physical health, mental resilience, social connection, and meaning — and the gym’s impact can’t be measured by check-ins alone.
