Adarsh

March 8, 2023

What ails our education system also ails our fitness industry. You get what you pay for.



WHAT ARE GYMS
A space that provides you with literal space, machines, weights and other implements to do things. What is the 'thing' that you need to exactly do? 

You need to pay more to find that out. 99% of gyms out there do not factor for the true cost of educating you and guiding you to an outcome. They charge you for the space, air conditioning and putting a coach on the floor to keep you from breaking equipment. There are gyms that make you pay for a coach and throw the gym space in there (my gym operates on this model). But those are the exceptions rather than the norm. 

There are no real statistics on what percentage of gyms go broke every year. But anecdotally 4 out of 10-12 gyms within a 2 kilometre radius of my home have changed ownership in the last 18 months. And it was not a case of coaches cashing out of profitable businesses. It was them trying to find cheaper spaces. One of the spaces evicted the gym and converted it into an office. The 12-20k a year gyms charge does not factor for the true cost of producing adherent, consistent, strong and educated client. 

What this should tell us is the fitness industry puts the cart before the horse. The coach is the horse who should be pulling the cart (gym) ahead. Gym membership prices are too low and do not incentivise coaches to be better communicators, relationship-builders who are constantly learning. That hour a client spends in a gym should be a productive, fun hour for clients with progress to show for time spent. Clients should look forward to coming back for more for decades. If this does not happen, gyms are likely to remain stagnant carts inaccessible to large swathes of the public.

About Adarsh


- I run a strength and conditioning facility in Chennai, India
- I work with my clients to make training and eating for better body composition a part of everyday life
- I coach online and in-person
- I design and manufacture strength training equipment for use in our strength training facility