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IRELAND IS IN the midst of a fitness boom, but the traditional gym business model is being squeezed with budget and high-price operators attracting more new customers.
That’s what fitness expert Mark McManus says. He is the registrar for the Register of Exercise professionals, as well as health and wellness manager at Leisure World in Cork.
It’s part of a process that has seen the gym go from being a place for muscle-bound weightlifters to fitness being included in the day-to-day lives of more and more people, he says.
“I think there is greater awareness around health. I don’t think people are going into trainers saying they want a body like the person in the magazine…the main thing that’s driving people to be more active is health.”
People used to come to the gym as their past time, but now more and more are coming so they are healthier or more able to take part in other activities like mountain climbing, skiing, tag rugby, five a side.
As the amount of people interested in health and fitness increases, McManus says that general interest gyms are being squeezed out.
“The type of centres I manage have a gym, pool, aerobic classes, astroturf pitches…that’s the area that’s getting squeezed because you have a fragmentation of the industry because you have more specialist, bespoke stuff.”
People will pay more when they get a better level of service, but at the other end of the scale, you have easy gyms for about €15 a month.
As the industry expands, McManus is hoping to register more fitness professionals to the list, which should give consumers the confidence that their trainer is adequately insured and qualified.
“The fitness profession is one that is growing, and therefore we need to make sure there’s confidence that the person has appropriate training and insurance.”
What do you think is an appropriate level to spend on health and fitness classes a month? Or can you get all the exercise you need without going to a gym?
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It costs nothing to go for a walk or run.
Never understood people who go to a gym and use a treadmill and an exercise bike and then go home!
Or just stop eating shtie
Try living in a country where it’s 35 Celsius and 80% humidity, or alternatively one where there’s 3+ feet of snow and ice on the ground for 1/3 of the year.
Where do you think they should go when they are finished in the gym?
The pub!
You should also shell out a little bit extra for a decent pair of running shoes.
A walk and a run doesn’t keep you healthy. People need proper resistance training if they don’t do physical labour.
Like Allo Allo?
Couch to 5K is a good starting point – http://www.c25k.com/
€0 wouldn’t be seen dead in one, outdoors is best. i like the pool though and saunas are ok.
lol @ all the thumbs down for Brendan Boyd. High bone density and at least a decent amount of muscle mass, both of which are helped by resistance training, are vital for good health, especially as we get older.
Sitting on your arse in an office for 40 hours a week and doing a half an hour jog in the evening is NOT ENOUGH.
Besides, who wants to look like a Keyan marathon runner.
I don’t think anyone is disputing against high intensity resistance training here. I do about 2 hours of weight training per week however, the bulk of my fitness is from running (3-4 hours a week about 16 miles in total).
I used to go to the gym a few years ago. I could never do it for long. The best thing I did was start cycling and buy a decent bike. I cycle to work and do a few long cycles at weekends. I have my evenings to myself and great weekends cycling. No comparison.
€19.99 a month for 3 months of winter gym. Run and mountain bike for the rest of the year. A gym is great to have for the long dark wet winter evenings.
That looks like a sensible option – most people who sign up pay for the whole year, but only use it for 3 months!
There’s no right answer to this question! It all depends on how much disposable income you have! If you’re broke €10 is too much! If you’re a millionaire then a few hundred seems reasonable! As a general rule I would say €50 a month is starting to get pretty expensive.
I always liked walking but recently joined a gym and love it I feel im getting stronger and more toned along with my fitness levals are up . I never thought I would enjoy the gym but I feel great afterwards
Well done kellyanne. Keep it up
A gym with a decent pool is worth it
If you want to get fit go outside and do 50m sprints.
So many people give out about the price of healthy food and gym fees etc. but wouldn’t think twice about blowing money every weekend on drink
Also as shallow as we hate to admit we are…
They have done many studies on anti smoking campaigns and they show that it’s far more effective to tell people that their teeth will yellow and rot, they’ll have a tracheotomy scar or they’ll look ten years older if they smoke than it is to tell them their health will suffer.
How we look motivates us psychologically more than our health and we use other people and in particular our close peers, friends, relatives, colleagues as a barometer for that. Meaning more people getting into fitness will have a snowballing effect and encourage even more people…. Raising the bar higher
You’ll also find that fit people particularly those who are really actively engaged will seek out other fit people (it helps motivate them) encourage their friends to join them and even dump previous friends with unhealthy lifestyles (not to be surrounded by negative influence or criticism for turning down desert or not spending an entire weekend on the couch) …. It’s a tribe mentality.
My gym costs 55 pm I TRY and go 4 times a week .This equates to about 3.50 a go which isn’t that bad, is it
60e plus easy. Between kickboxing classes & the gym it can be very expensive. Gym prices haven’t come down a lot in recent years. It can be hard for people that do a sport & hold a gym membership.
What are you training for? Tour de France?
That is @drew
Combination of cycling, home workout & outdoor exercise equipment. And a cleaner diet.
I pay 29 for Flye Fit, nice and cheap but the gym gets extremely busy
I’d pay no more than £30 for a gym membership-would have to be a good one too.
Small number of options no… I know plenty of people who spend €300+
Add in Gym, personal trainer, sports supplements, sports massage therapist, the wardrobe and sneakers, Drs prescription testosterone if you’re 40+…. it’s not hard to hit the thousands. I know a good few who do.
You got there before me Drew,for a one off payment of 1200 euro some years ago for a carbon fibre hibrid, i cycle 30/40 km most days,and i like nothing better than a longer coastal trip at weekends starting in the south west or Kinsale, some people think this is extreme but its nothing when you achieve a level of fitness,its the single best thing i know that can keep you fit while enjoying all the fabulous scenery, exersize gyms may suit those stuck for time but four walls just dont have the same appeal.
My gym costs €165 a month, very pricey but top quality coaching and excellent results I’ve never been fitter!!! The money is great motivation to go to!!!
Can I ask what you’re getting for your €165 pm?
Excellent coaches who go out of their way to help improve, a top class facility where the some of fittest in Ireland train, the team spirit and community aspect of the gym, not just some random face with their headphones plugged in and friendships with people outside of training! Obviously the money doesn’t cover all that, but it’s a bi product of the atmosphere!
Crossfit?
You got it in 1!
I thought so. Overpriced scientology type fitness cult.
Have you tried it yourself?? Or like many others have you been influenced by the crossfit bashing articles that are popping up week after week?
The 165 a month was enough to put me off. I;d rather spend a grand on a power cage, weights and a load of other bits.
I love the CrossFit hate from the couch potatoes, absolutely adore it. I’m 30 and have been training hard for more than a decade. I made more progress in the last 18 months using CrossFit than in the previous 10 using free weights. I was a little sceptical about it until I saw the progress some initially unfit people made in it. I gave it a try and I’d not be able to give it up now – too much progress week after week in every department – I’ve only lacked progress when I had lazy weeks.
Call it a cult if you like, and I won’t disagree that there are some people so caught up in it they might be indistinguishable from cult members in their loyalty and sometimes unhealthy commitment. There are people like that everywhere but it’s popular to make this claim about CrossFit just because its members are more vocal. People spam all sorts of shite on Facebook, CrossFit isn’t an exception. It just pisses some people off to see ordinarily unfit people change their lives and learn the joy of competing with others and more importantly their own limits.
CrossFit is my weapon of choice.
Not easy, or not always practical to fit a power cage and flooring to accommodate heavy weights dropping. If you think you’re maximising your bench press without a spotter you’re not. Don’t care how motivated anyone thinks they are either – you will always train harder when you’re being encouraged by others – there’s an extra gear in there.
“The money is great motivation to go to!!!”
People might turn their nose up at that comment but it has a valuable point to it. Paying money into something does subconsciously make a lot of people more likely to use it. And for some people who are very motivated and are every day at the edge of their limits you will always sacrifice something material like money for the satisfaction and rush achieved from making progress in the gym.
Bit creepy going through my Facebook but whatever! Maybe I’ll go back to asha and buy t shirts so I can look like you??
Since when did having a beard and wearing a suit to a wedding make me a Mc Gregor wannabe??
He’s just playing with the internet – leave him be :-P
Download the Couch 2 5K app, follow the instructions, repeat weeks if you feel like it. You aren’t going to end up like Mo Farah or anything like that, but you will feel so much better.
Also, drinking lots of water and eating less junk food will go a long way. I swear by it.
I’d love your friends incomes.
People who say gyms are too expensive are the same ones dropping 20eur on a Domino’s every Friday.
You can’t put a price on good health and fitness and how good it makes you feel. Think of the medical bills you’ll save, and exercise is the best anti depressant
Well why don’t you stop talking about it and do it???? Oh that’s right it’s much easier to sit behind a keyboard and berate others!!!!
Eoin that McGregor fella hasn’t got a patch on u. Also, to Sean Herbert you look like you could take a leaf outta Eoins book, crossfit or no crossfit!
You think those Brazilian girls get those bums from walking the dog in the evening?
Women of Ireland, please get squatting.
It’s easy to see why people who train have disdain for crossfit…
People go into that building having never touched a so much as a barbell in their life and after their 3rd class come out with a know it all, I’m part of the best of the best of best, only I know the true path to fitness attitude.
The fact is they aren’t achieving anything they otherwise wouldn’t have, they either lacked the ability to self motivate, or the intelligence to apply methodology to their training.
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