FACTORS ABIDING ORGANIC CONVERSION OF CUSTOMERS IN INDIAN

FITNESS INDUSTRY TO DIGITAL LANDSCAPE:

ABSTRACT:

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, and post covid scenario has put the Indian people to
bind with the safety protocols of social-distancing and no contact with the people. It
has led the people to adopt healthy lifestyle to boost up the immunity and can be able
to combat infectious virus. So this led people to be more active in their fitness by
using the health related app in the mobile device. This has majorly converted the
Indian customers from gyms to digital landscape like apps, online nutritionist
consultations, video call workouts etc. At the comfort of their home, customers can
avail the fitness assistance without going out. The cost also plays a vital role in this, as
the subscription fees in the digital landscape is much cheaper compared to the gym
yearly membership. So the factors like location-friendly, cost-effective, health safety
& contact less fitness option has made conversion of customer in Indian fitness
industry to Digital Landscape.

INTRODUCTION:

With gyms and boutique studios forced to close for months during the Covid-19
pandemic, fitness companies and their customers have had to get creative.

Fitness apps, streaming services, wearables, and connected devices are helping people
stay active while they practice social distancing. And while many will return to the
gym when they’re able to do so safely, the virtual workout isn’t going anywhere.

From in-home connected equipment like Mirror to smart apparel, digital fitness tools
offer on-demand workouts and real-time performance data. This provides flexibility,
convenience, and personalization that are difficult to find at the gym or even an in-
person class. And with many digital services coming in at a significantly lower price
point than the typical gym membership, customers will likely integrate them into their
fitness routines long after the pandemic subsides.

With gyms and fitness studios closed for months, the commute to work out has
disappeared for millions of consumers. Many are reportedly working out more
frequently than they were before the pandemic. 

Pre-Covid, working out typically meant carving out time to visit a gym, something
many people found challenging in their busy lives. But now streaming services and
apps are bringing workouts into consumers’ homes — often at significantly lower
costs than a traditional gym membership.

In 2019, only 7% of surveyed Mindbody users used fitness streaming services on a

weekly basis. By April 2020, that figure had grown to more than 80%.

Necessity prompted many people to try fitness streaming services for the first time. In
March 2020, many popular chains with locations nationwide — including Equinox,
Gold’s Gym, LA Fitness, and SoulCycle — closed their doors to comply with state-
level lockdown orders. More than 38,000 gyms and fitness studios nationwide
remained closed as of late May.

In response, downloads of fitness and health apps increased by 47% in Q2 alone, and

many streaming services experienced dramatic increases in demand.

For example, online workout video library Daily Burn saw a 268% year-over-year

surge in membership as the pandemic took hold across the US. Aaptiv, an audio-
based workout app backed by Insight Partners, saw organic traffic double between
March and April 2020, while engagement tripled.

While streaming services and apps may seem like the ideal alternative to brick-and-
mortar facilities, they aren’t without their drawbacks. Finding ways to successfully
replicate the community aspect of in-person workouts is one of their greatest
challenges.

Livestreamed workout sessions via social media have proved popular with instructors
and fitness enthusiasts alike, particularly among smaller boutique gyms and
independent trainers. These sessions approximate the shared experience of in-person
workouts to a degree. While livestreams and other digital fitness products may not be
able to fully simulate the collaborative feel of working out at the gym, the ability to
encourage their users may give them a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded
space.

Social functionality and gamification can be powerful motivators for users of fitness

streaming services and apps, particularly if those features emphasize social support.
Researchers discovered that sharing progress toward specific fitness goals in online
communities significantly increased engagement with fitness apps.

Digital offerings can also allow self-conscious consumers to try new workouts and
fitness routines they may not have had the confidence to try otherwise. Amaya
Weddle, Mindbody’s former VP of research and product marketing, told Forbes that
many consumers who struggle with body image negativity have felt empowered by
fitness streaming services and apps.

t may be difficult for streaming services and apps to re-create the in-person workout
experience, but they don’t necessarily have to. Approximately 46% of surveyed
Mindbody customers plan to combine both in-person and at-home workouts when the
pandemic is over.

In addition to convenience, fitness streaming services and apps are also at an

advantage over physical gyms when it comes to cost.

The average gym membership in the United States costs $58 per month — almost
$700 per year. The lower subscription fees of most fitness streaming services and
apps could be a strong selling point for budget-conscious consumers given pandemic-
induced economic challenges.

Many consumers have used the pandemic as an opportunity to identify ways in which
they can reduce their discretionary spending. Almost 60% of consumers surveyed by
TD Ameritrade have no plans to renew their gym memberships once the threat of
Covid-19 has passed. 

Lower subscription costs and greater convenience may be tempting value propositions
for consumers, but this does not mean fitness streaming services and apps can assume
that the dramatic growth many experienced in Q2’20 will continue.
The growing abundance of fitness streaming services and apps has created a strong
market for consumer choice. Many services have comparable libraries of workouts.
Most cover a broad range of exercises, from high-intensity interval training to yoga.
Subscription fees tend to be very similar. With so much overlap, the social
functionality of digital fitness products may prove to be the most meaningful
differentiator for today’s increasingly discerning — and price-conscious —
consumers.

Today’s home exercise equipment is becoming smarter and more engaging by

quantifying users’ progress with data. Many connected fitness equipment brands are
also successfully approximating the social and competitive aspects of working out in
gyms, making at-home workouts more appealing. 

Companies like Peloton, Lululemon’s Mirror, and Tonal are reshaping what the home

gyms of the future might look like, while others are combining exercise machines
with virtual reality to create entirely new hybrid fitness experiences.

Connected fitness equipment is making at-home workouts more engaging with

data

Connected fitness equipment is becoming increasingly popular with consumers. In

2015, the category accounted for approximately 2.9% of overall revenue in the fitness
equipment vertical. By the end of 2020, that figure is expected to exceed 7.5%. The
home fitness equipment market is projected to hit nearly $4.3B in value by 2021.

Part of what’s driving connected fitness equipment’s popularity is consumers’ desire

for engaging experiences that allow them to measure their progress over time, without
having to go to a gym. The emergence of Covid-19 accelerated interest in these
products and gave manufacturers an opportunity to demonstrate their value.

Peloton, in particular, saw dramatic increases in demand as the pandemic took hold.
The company’s year-over-year data for fiscal Q3’20 included a 94% increase in
connected fitness subscribers, a 64% growth in digital subscribers, and a 66% growth
in revenue to $525M. Having dispelled concerns about the sustainability of its
business model, Peloton is currently developing a treadmill product, which will
reportedly retail for less than its bike, as well as a connected rowing machine.

Wearables are helping athletes improve their form

Wearables are becoming smaller and more sophisticated, and they’re helping
everyone from professional athletes to physicians quantify a greater range of health
and wellness data.

Although the wearables market is still dominated by well-established brands such

as Fitbit, several new brands have emerged in recent years to challenge even the
largest incumbents.

Finland-based Oura Health, founded in 2013, is one such company. Its flagship

product, the Oura Ring, is similar in size to a wedding band. In addition to tracking
standard metrics like sleep quality and heart rate, the Oura Ring also tracks a
proprietary metric called readiness. This combines sleep data and historical activity
levels with body temperature, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability, giving users
an at-a-glance overview of their readiness for physical activity.

Whoop, a Boston-based performance optimization company backed by Foundry

Group and Two Sigma Ventures, is another brand taking aim at the growing
wearables market. With similar dimensions to other wristwatch-style devices,
Whoop’s Strap product doesn’t push the boundaries of wearable design. It does,
however, offer a glimpse at the potential direction of the wearables vertical as a
whole.

Whoop offers its wearable to consumers via a monthly subscription. Users pay $30
per month to join the Whoop community, which includes the Strap product and access
to Whoop Teams and Whoop Live services. Teams allows users to create custom
groups centered around specific athletic activities, health goals, or training objectives.
Whoop Live connects users to professional athletes and “power users” with a focus on
competitive incentives in real time, leveraging social gamification as a means of
driving engagement. Subscribers also gain access to a detailed personal dashboard of
health and activity data, which summarizes users’ activity in monthly reports.
For wearable brands, this kind of community-driven engagement based on a
subscription model represents one of the few ways these brands can distinguish
themselves in an increasingly competitive market. 

Barring significant innovations in the sensor technologies essential to wearable

devices, differentiation between products remains a considerable obstacle. The
discreet form factor of the Oura Ring lends itself to overnight wear — already a major
design challenge for many wearable manufacturers — but its primary differentiator
remains a simple temperature sensor. This makes the social aspects of products like
WHOOP that much more important.

Another driving force behind the evolution of the wearables vertical is the
increasingly blurred line between casual fitness enthusiasts and professional athletes.
Brands such as Fitbit appealed primarily to the “amateur” athletic market initially.
Today, many brands are targeting professional athletes and focusing on optimizing
competitive performance over tracking casual activity — factors that have a strong
appeal to even casual consumers.

This is exemplified by brands such as Under Armour’s line of HOVR footwear.

Positioned as a digital running coach, the HOVR line promises “real-time form
coaching” for amateur and professional athletes by measuring cadence (the number of
steps taken per minute) and stride length (the distance between steps), and making
personalized recommendations via a companion smartphone app. 

Other performance data, such as foot-strike angle and ground contact time, is tracked
by the footwear and analyzed by the app to provide runners with real-time, data-
driven analysis of their runs. While the data-tracking aspect of HOVR footwear is far
from unique, the performance-coaching angle is a compelling value proposition in an
increasingly crowded space.

Other brands are pushing this angle by appealing directly to professional athletes and
major sporting franchises in the broader smart apparel space.

Athos, a brand specializing in smart apparel designed for professional athletes, offers
a range of garments featuring its Athos Core electromyography (EMG) sensor. The
Core sensor measures just a few inches in length and sits inside pouches stitched into
Athos apparel to sit next to the user’s skin. Athos’ sensor focuses primarily on
muscular stress to provide athletes and coaches with insight into the performance of
an athlete’s individual muscle groups. This data can be viewed from a centralized
dashboard for individuals or entire sports teams, further allowing coaches to adjust
training routines for optimal performance.

The brand has already secured endorsements from and partnerships with sporting
franchises, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Santa
Cruz Warriors. Athos has also partnered with pro athletes, such as Greg Jennings,
former wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.

In the coming years, brands are likely to invest heavily in this kind of individualized
performance tracking in wearable devices. Consumers and athletes alike want and
expect more from wearable devices, and data-driven subscription models are likely to
become the standard. 

However, product quality, pricing, and customer acquisition remain very difficult are
still challenges for many new clothing startups, and they will likely be compounded
by the technology aspect of smart apparel products. But for brands with the means
and technologies to overcome these obstacles, the potential rewards are immense.

Better, harder, smarter workouts

For many consumers, Covid-19 presented an unprecedented opportunity to reexamine

their lifestyles and fitness routines. As emerging fitness tech evolves, virtual and
digital fitness will become increasingly specialized — and personalized — in the
coming years.

However, while consumers may soon be able to choose from a broader range of more
specialized products and services, the costs associated with cutting-edge fitness
technologies are likely to remain a major hurdle for those from lower-income ranges.
The already considerable divide between budget and luxury is likely to grow even
wider, especially in verticals such as connected fitness equipment and smart apparel.
As in many other sectors, this will create opportunities for some companies but could
also make something as supposedly universal as exercise a polarizing experience for
many consumers.

As a developing country, India has finally begun to open its doors to an entirely new
industry that has already found itself to be well-established in developing countries.
The fitness industry is one that has arrived with society’s increasing emphasis on the
physical image of a person as well as the individual’s growing awareness of their own
health condition. The average office going Indian tends to suffer from a myriad of
health conditions, most commonly high blood pressure and diabetes. India has already
been dubbed as the diabetes of the world as incidences of this disease have just
continually been increasing to the point where 5% of the population suffers from it
(Malik). In an era where countless members of the labour force spend majority of
their days sitting down in front of computer screens while chowing down on junk
food, it is no surprise that there are a large number of health problems occurring
within the population.

With growing middle class households that have more and more
30 disposable income, coupled with the rapidly growing awareness
of fitness and healthy lifestyles, the demand for exercise products

20 and services is on the rise. In the past decade, the usage of gyms
and fitness centers was exclusively for the affluent and the
famous. Now, the such services have reached out far and wide
50 from their original central metropolitan locations, all the way to
villages on the frontiers of urbanization (Kaushik). The entire
market is split between fitness services (50%), fitness equipment
(20%) and other health products and
Market Share services (~30%) (Indian Gym).

15%

India’s GDP is currently at around 2.25

trillion dollars and is fast growing. The
fitness industry contributes around 30 billion

85%
Top 5 Brands Mom & Pop Stores
dollars in 2014 and it expected to increase to about 82 billion dollars in 4 years at
roughly 16-18% growth (Indian Gym). The health and wellness industry currently has
21000 centers across India. The industry also employs a large number of people
(estimated to be at least 3 million) with the highest paid jobs belonging to health
instructors, physical therapy assistants, gym and fitness program instructors, etc
(R,N.).

While India is still an upcoming market when it comes to fitness, the top 5 players in
the industry contribute to only 15% of the total market share, which is far behind
countries like Japan and Singapore, which are at 40% and 20% respectively. This
proves that the players in the Indian Industry have huge scope moving forward.  This
also means that there are various opportunities for new players to enter the market as
well. Currently, some of the key players in the market are Talwalkar’s Gym, Fitness
First, Gold’s Gym, Fitness One, Ozone Fitness and Spa, etc.

Talwalkar’s gym is found in almost all major cities in India. It increased from a total
of 63 gyms in 2010 to a 144 in 2013. The total membership as of 2013 was at a
staggering 1,33,000. They are active in 75 cities in 19 different states. Its recent
investments include acquiring a stake in other fitness start-ups like Chennai based In
Shape Health and Fitnez Private Ltd (51% stake), Gym trekker Fitness (19% stake)
and Sri Lanka’s Power World Gyms (49.5% stakes).  Talwalker’s gym franchise is
the most widely spread in India (R, N.).

Gold’s Gym is an American based franchise of gyms that expanded to Mumbai, India
in 2002. It is the largest chain of gyms globally with over 700 centers. it provides a
comprehensive approach to health, wellness and fitness backed by state of the art
infrastructure and delivery through multiple programs. These programs are designed
to help an individual reach his or her maximum potential (Chhabra).

SWOT Analysis:
Bargaining power of Suppliers:

When looking at the Health and Fitness industry, the number of manufacturers in the
fitness equipment industry is large. With television retail channels becoming more
and more popular, the equipment manufacturers are now beginning to target the home
segment. However, not many people opt for the equipment based on these ads and
that makes the supplier power low. Another scenario is that those consumers from the
home segment who do buy the product use it in the wrong way and end up injuring
themselves. The lack of trainers to help individuals at home reduces supplier power as
well (R, N.). Another disadvantage for the fitness sector is that the products
themselves are not necessarily distinct. Current fitness equipment, if at all slightly
better than traditional equipment, is still not too different from one another. However,
the only distinction is between normal and luxury equipment. For example: some
high-end centers use technologically advanced treadmills that have a virtual reality
system attached which allows the used to run while seemingly in any county he inputs
into the machine. But on a general note, considering the products are so similar, the
switching costs for a consumer are very low and this again makes the supplier power
low. Hence, when looking at the whole picture, the suppliers do not really have any
power when it comes to the fitness industry (Chhabra).

Bargaining Power of Consumers:

Unlike the suppliers who have almost no power when it comes to keeping the world
fit, but can the same be said for the buyers. The consumers in this industry can either
be individuals or institutions. Individuals in India are slowly gaining a better
perspective in India about the importance of staying fit. Be it doctor prescribed or just
an individual’s choice, the number of buyers in this market is growing daily. The
youth alone reached about 400 million in 2015 (Chhabra). With this immense increase
in the customer base, the suppliers have the slightly upper hand. The buyers cannot
really influence the prices because the market is big enough to do so itself. This does
not provide the consumers with a lot of wiggle room or power. However, the
switching costs, as mentioned before, is quite irrelevant in this industry which
provides the consumer with an opportunity to move from one supplier to another if
they are dissatisfied (R, N.).

Threat of new entrants:

By studying the expected retaliation and the barriers to entry, the threat that new
entrants pose to existing players can be analyzed. Those firms entering into the fitness
industry need a large capital investment in terms of a one time cost which it will incur
when buying the equipment that is necessary. Depending on how large this player
wants to be, the penetration costs will be extremely high and not to mention the array
of fixed costs that comes with it. A few estimates revealed that it can take upto 2 - 3
months to set up a working fitness center, and it still requires 2 years before it can
make a profit (Sachitanand). This large investment in space and equipment acts as
barrier to enter into the market. As mentioned before switching costs are not too high,
which means that if the new entrant is able to provide a differentiated product, service
or experience, getting a loyal customer base would not be too hard. However, what
needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that this customer base could just as
easily move to another entrant as well (Chhabra). Also, because already existing
players could lose their customer base, they will retaliate as soon as a new entrant
makes an appearance. Additionally, there are issues with having existing members
renew their membership with their fitness centers. It should be noted that across the
industry, membership renewal is only at 40% - 50% (Sachitanand). Another barrier to
entry is the current market prices for real estate. The fitness centers need to be set up
in locations that provide easy access to their more expensive clientele. However, this
directly leads to much higher rental costs; costs which can be changed very quickly
based on the landowner’s wishes, i.e: Gold’s Gym originally had two branches in
Mumbai. The first of which was supremely successful as it catered to the upper strata
of Mumbai’s economic powerhouses. The second Gym, however, was forced to shut
down due to poor membership and an abrupt doubling in the rent of the land
(Sachitanand). Hence, it is safe to say that there is a moderate threat posed by new
entrants, as the barriers to entry are already high enough to keep out all but the biggest
or most financially capable brands, therefore leading to there being a certain amount
of risk of losing customers to new players (R, N.).

Threat of Substitutes:

What needs to be kept in mind when analyzing the fitness industry is that fitness can
be achieved anywhere; be it at the gym, at a dance class, playing sports or just taking
a walk in the park. This means that when it comes to substitutes, the fitness industry
has lots of cheaper existing alternatives. Once again looking at the point about low
switching costs, the threat of substitutes is fairly high. In countries like China and
India, most fitness training happens in the outdoors and not in centers. This move
towards outdoor fitness regimes also illustrates the threat of substitutes (Gym, Health
and Fitness).

Competitive Rivalry:

The fitness market in India has a lot of

28% players and is also very fragmented. About
72% of these players are also very small in
size and are highly unorganized which
72% leaves only 28% of the players to be
recognized as “organized players.” When
looking at price competition, the fitness
Organized Unorganized industry provides a consumer from
packages that they can choose from. Since
the products and services are so similar, there is a high level of price competition. At
the same time, despite being similar, some firms innovate and stay ahead of the game
which brings in a product differentiation angle to competitive rivalry (R, N.).

Government Influence:

Due to the current level of influence of the fitness industry in India, the government
has taken very few measures to regulate or promote the growth of this industry. The
few policies in places are primarily related to maintenance of hygiene standards. In
particular, civic services in New Delhi have put in place a regulation that requires
fitness centers to obtain a license in order to achieve and uphold particular standards
of quality and hygiene (Chitlangia). The civic body in New Delhi also, plans to
regularly make random checks of the licensed fitness centers, however, due to a
distinct lack of manpower, these random sweeps are not very regular at all
(Chitlangia).
Strengths in the Industry:

The population of India is the second largest in the whole world is fast growing. This
means that theoretically there is a large customer base that one can tap into as well.
Also, India has the largest number of diabetes patients who are specifically asked to
exercise by the doctors. Same can be said for other health disorders. While this cannot
be looked at as strength for India, it definitely can be looked as a chance to tap into a
new market for the firms in the fitness industry (Chhabra). As most of India’s fitness
centers are unorganized, if a new entrant were to establish itself in the top 25% of the
players, then he will be recognized as one of the major players (Indian Gym).

Weaknesses in the Industry:

While the population of India is vast, the ratio of that population that actually makes
an effort to go to gyms or other fitness centers is very small. For those who do go, the
quality of the equipment and service provided is not as important as convenience - in
terms of location for example. Hence, a center providing superior quality could have
the same business as a center with very poor quality equipment. This leads to the
organized players losing out on a large number of customers because the unorganized
players install cheap equipment and still attract the surrounding customers (R, N.).
When it comes to price, the organized players can’t compete with the unorganized
players either. Another weakness in the industry is the lack of good trainers who have
sufficient knowledge. Anyone who seems fit goes ahead and becomes a trainer with
no real knowledge about what they are doing. Hence there is a lack of a set standard
in the industry. Another major weakness is the seasonality that comes with the fitness
industry. For example, the youth visit the gym the most during the break in summer
and the gyms are full during this time but when work comes around, fitness takes a
back seat with most of them (Chhabra).

Opportunities:
India has one of the highest numbers of populations in the working-class group.
Reports show that by 2020, the average age in India will be 29. This goes to say that
the large number of youth in India provides the fitness industry with an opportunity to
boom. With India in the era of dominance of social media, almost everyone is looking
to put their best foot forward and this opens a plethora of opportunities for the fitness
and beauty industries in particular (Chhabra). The per household disposable income in
India is on the rise as well which further proves that people will willingly spend
money on the way they look in the years to come. Currently only 28% of the market is
held by organized players, small and big, hence the entrance into that sector of the
industry could be relatively easy and also highly profitable (Indian Gym).

Threats:

The main threat that the fitness industry faces is its lack of standardization when it
comes to the hiring of trainers in these gyms. India in particular does not have too
many training centers where interested personnel can first get trained and then train
others. While in countries like the US, this is a mandatory step in order to become a
trainer. The lack of quality trainers could hurt the industry because consumers will
then have to reply on their own knowledge, which could be limited, and they could
invariably injure themselves. Also, since the entry into the industry is not too hard
because of the small number of organized players, it could be a threat to already
existing players in the industry (R, N.). The most major threat is the fact that fitness
does not necessarily achieved only in a gym. Most fitness centers work on a
membership basis and this means there is a lot of money involved. However, a person
can stay fit by working out at home, buying equipment and having a mini-gym suited
to their needs, using body weight instead of weights, or just going out for a run
anywhere. Recently, there are resistance bands (elastic bands) which can be bought at
roughly 1000-1500 rupees which completely replaced the need for equipment at all
because the band gives you the same level of resistance and hence works the muscles
the same way a machine at the gym would. Hence, the availability of substitutes and
the lack of trainers is not the best combination because of which the fitness industry
could really be hurt (Chhabra).
Key Drivers of Growth:

The fitness industry is currently growing at a rate of 16 to 18 percent annually which

is relatively high when compared to other countries like the US or Singapore. The
organized sector alone is growing at 22 to 26 percent. With existing players
expanding at great speed and new players entering the market as well, it is quite clear
that the fitness industry in India is currently booming and there are multiple reasons
why (Indian Gym).

Purely economically speaking, the GDP growth in India is constantly increasing the
disposable income per individual. This means a higher portion of their income can be
spent to their discretion. This invariably improves their lifestyle and along with this
comes an increase in diabetes and obesity. This in turn increases awareness on the
importance of staying healthy and fit. Even if there was a slowdown in the growth of
the industry, it would not change the fact that a part of the consumers need to stay fit
in order to stay alive, and hence, the fitness industry remains almost unhurt by the
slowdown. What is also a major advantage for this industry, as mentioned before, is
the population demography of India. With most of the Indian population currently in
their youth and the average age of an Indian being 29 by 2020, the fitness industry in
particular will benefit a lot from this. Another growth driver is urbanization. The
fitness industry itself is divided into three tiers based on which the kind of fitness
centers vary as well (Indian Gym). The first tier consists of cities like Delhi, Chennai,
Mumbai, Bangalore, etc. Tier two comprises cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur,
Lucknow, etc and Tier three has cities like Roorkee, Coimbatore, and other smaller
cities. Most of the current growth is happening in the highly urban areas, which is
essentially tier one cities. Hence, urbanization too is an indirect driver of growth for
the fitness industry (R, N.).

 
Another driver of growth is that the fitness industry combines both the product
(equipment) and the service (training), which means that those consumers who choose
it can have both without really buying the product and the service separately. This
leads to an economic means of staying fit. On the other hand, online retail and
television retail brings in a fair number of buyers for the equipment alone (R, N.).

Franchising is another tool that is pushing forward the growth rates of the fitness
industry. When you look at this industry in particular, only about 22% of the centers
are self-owned. The rest 78% are essentially franchisees. However, recently there has
been a shift away from franchising to ensure quality control across all centers.
However, players like Talwalkar’s still work with a model where 51% of the centers
are franchisees(Chhabra).

The only other thing that could provide a huge boost to the growth rate for this
industry is improving the quality of the trainers. With quality equipment and quality
trainers, this industry could grow at a much higher rate that what it is currently
at (Chhabra). 

The Indian fitness industry is still in its nascent stages, as such, there is a growing
demand for the services and goods that allow for an increasingly more health-
conscious population to achieve their fitness goals. In order to make the most of this
industry, investment is required in training skilled labour in order to provide quality
service that is comparable to the standards found in developed nations. The lack of
skilled labour as fitness trainers holds back the sector from further development. It
would also be beneficial investment within the organized sector, as the unorganized
sector, though numerous, has little to no means of attracting more members. The
innovative ideas that involve the use of more technologies still requires a large
amount of capital. In the case where there are fitness centers that focus on
minimalistic training equipment usage, a franchise or brand name will be what makes
it popular. India’s fitness industry is in the greatest period of growth and will only
keep getting bigger as the years pass. This is an industry that will keep growing for
many years until the entirety of its potential is reached, therefore investing in the
current organized sector would be a good choice for earning well in terms of future
profits.

The growth and competitiveness of any industry can be analyzed by Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) with respective its country. Indias GDP is 4 percent points higher than
global growth average of last 3 years and nearly 3 percent points more than the
average growth achieved by Emerging Markets and Developing Economics (EMED)
it signifies the market potential in the global arena and the GDP is 7.5 per cent in
2016-17 and it is expected to decline to 6.5 per cent in 2017-18 (Ministry of finance,
2018) and the service sector, it is expected to grow 8.3 per cent in 2017-18, as against
7.7 per cent in 2016-17 (IBEF, 2018). A joint report by NSDC with KPMG on sector
skill gap study (NSDC & KPMG, 2017) elucidates, the Indian wellness industry is
growing at Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.6 percent, were the
global wellness industry is growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent which is more than the
world average and the countries china, brazil, the US, India and Indonesia are growth
markets. The customers are willing to pay a premium for wellness experience were,
spending for wellness is no longer considered a luxury and are more aware of holistic
approaches and setting aside quality time to acquire wellbeing because wellness is an
active pursuit of activities, lifestyle and choices that lead to a state of holistic health
(Global wellness economy monitor, 2017). It is imperative to understand health and
wellness sector as they are misunderstood as one and the same. Mueller and
Kaufmann (2001) aimed to make a clear peculiarity between wellness and cure, from
the health policy angle. The authors states a line should be drawn between wellness,
which includes comprehensive service packages consisting of physical fitness, health,
nutrition/diet, relaxation/meditation, beauty care, psycho2 International Journal of
Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue logical activity/education, and illness
prevention. Though there is an overlaying of service requirements in the health sector
and wellness sector the differentiation come in who pursues the services, a healthy
person avail wellness services for upkeep and maintenance. Hence, the objectives of
the study are: 1. To define and understand the wellness concept and its dimensions
through previous studies. 2. To analyze the determinants for the competitiveness of
Indias wellness industry by adopting a porters diamond model. Understanding the
concept wellness: Wellness is defined as a state of being in positive health. More than
50 years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as beyond
freedom from illness, disease, and debilitating conditions. The suggestion by the
World Health Organization that health has a positive element led to the use of the
term wellness (Corbin & Pangrazi, 2001). Wellness is a multidimensional concept and
has been defined as principal and foremost a choice to assume responsibility for the
quality of ones life. It begins with a conscious choice to shape a healthy lifestyle.
Wellness requires a mind-set and predisposition to accept a series of key principles in
different areas of lifecycle that lead to high levels of well-being and life satisfaction
(Ardell, 2002). The wellness centers are defined as any service provider, who has
positioned themselves as an organization offering platform comprising physical
fitness, beauty care, healthy nutrition, diet, relaxation by rejuvenation, meditation,
psychological activity, education, or ambience which aims at preserving or promoting
the general health of the client (Satya Suresh, 2011). One can reach an optimal level
of wellness by understanding how to maintain and optimize each of the dimensions of
wellness. These are discussed briefly below: Physical wellness: Hettler (1980) defined
physical wellness as encompassing the degree to which an individual maintains and
improves cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and strength. Furthermore, he signified
the importance of maintaining a healthy regime and attempting to produce bodily
balance and accord through awareness and monitoring of body feelings, internal
conditions, physical signs, tension 3 International Journal of Pure and Applied
Mathematics Special Issue patterns, and reactions. His definition also included
seeking suitable medical care and taking action to prevent and notice illnesses. In
sum, Hettlers definition of physical wellness encompassed ones involvement to
physical self-care, activity level, nutritional needs, and use of medical services.
Physical health is typically addressed through exercise and healthful cuisine in
addition to pampering services, often with a therapeutic value, such as a specialized
massage offered in rejuvenation centers (Lebe, 2006). Emotional wellness: Emotional
wellness, it focuses on ones self-concept or self-esteem, that is, a secure identity and
positive sense of self (Adams et al.s, 1997). They detailed emotional wellness as a
safe internal self-image and a positive sense of self-regard, or the degree of self-
valuing. Similar to Adams et al. (1997) and Hettler (1980), Renger et al. (2000)
focused on an individuals self-view. However, Renger et al. demarcated emotional
wellness with regard to ones level of anxiety, depression, self-control, well-being, and
optimism. Emotional wellness includes experiencing satisfaction, interest, and
pleasure in life, as well as having a positive and optimistic anticipation of the future.
Emotional wellness was abstracted as awareness and control of feelings along with a
realistic and positive assessment of the self, conflict and life statuses. The ability to
handle with stress and maintain fulfilling relationships also enhances one’s emotional
wellness (FICCI and EY, 2016). Psychological wellness: Psychological wellness, as
defined by Adams et al. (1997), it is the individuals sense of optimism that she or he
will experience positive outcomes resulting from the events and experiences of life.
Of the wellness models reviewed, Adams et al.s (1997) concept is the only one that
included the psychological dimension. However, it seems that both psychological and
emotional wellness is conceptually similar with respect to individual, but in a broader
sense it differs. Hettlers (1980) definition of emotional wellness (i.e., a realistic self-
assessment and positive assessment of the self, the world, and relationships wherein
challenges, risks, and conflicts are viewed as prospects to further develop) is very
similar to Adams et al.s (1997) definition of psychological wellness. Similarly,
Renger et al. (2000) and Leafgren (1990) defined emotional wellness as together with
optimism and a positive approach to life. Given the similarities.

of Adams et al.s (1997) conceptualization of psychological wellness and other authors

concepts about emotional wellness, psychological wellness can be observed as closely
related to or a possible aspect of emotional wellness. Intellectual wellness: Adams et
al. (1997) defines that the perception of being energized by an optimum amount of
intellectually stimulating activity was crucial to intellectual wellness. Stimulating
intellectual activity included psychological challenges and critical reasoning, both of
which require ones attentiveness. Furthermore, Adams et al. (1997) believed that the
optimum level is not too much or too little stimulation because each has adversarial
consequences. Similar to their definition of physical wellness, the definition of
intellectual wellness was focused on the ones perception. Renger et al. (2000)
comprehended intellectual wellness as ones orientation and achievement toward
education, personal growth, achievement, and creativity. Continual personal growth
and education included indulging in cultural events and seeking opportunities to gain
and share knowledge. Intellectual wellness is the ability to open our minds to new
ideas and experiences that can be applied to personal decisions, group interaction and
community betterment. Occupational wellness: Crose et al. (1992) and Leafgren
(1990) also discussed occupational wellness. Leafgren stated that occupational
wellness is ones approach about work and the amount of personal satisfaction and
enrichment one gains from ones work. Similarly, Crose et al. included in their
definitions that ones attitude toward leisure and work, as well as ones work history,
patterns and balance between leisure activities, and vocational goals. Integrating the
previous conceptualizations, occupational wellness is the extent to which one can
define ones attitude toward work and the ability to balance several roles; individual
values and gain personal satisfaction and enrichment from paid and unpaid work; and
the ways in which one can use knowledge, skills and abilities to contribute to the
community. Occupational wellness is the ability to get personal fulfillment from our
jobs or our chosen career fields while still maintaining balance in our lives.
Environmental Wellness: Hettlers (1980) contribution of occupational wellness
expandedthe wellness theory to include a part of the environment, ones occupation.
However, Hettlers definition and model lacked an emphasis on what can be
conventionally considered environmental concerns (e.g., pollution, nature, and its
conservation). Renger et al. (2000) included environmental wellness as a separate
dimension and defined it to include the impact on and sense of balance between home
and work life, as well as an individuals association with nature and community
resources. For example, steps taken to reduce pollution or participation in community
cleanup efforts were considered an aspect of environmental wellness. Therefore,
Renger et al. the concept of environmental wellness it is a broader dimension that
looked at the nature of an individuals joint interaction with the environment and
domestic life (e.g., home, work, the community, and nature). Social wellness: In
association to Hettler (1980), Adams et al.s (1997) conceptualization of social
wellness focused more on the interaction of individuals, as the individual in relation to
the larger community or environment. Social wellness, as defined by Adams et al.
(1997) is the amount of support expected and reciprocated, and the value attached to
the actions of sharing support. Similar to Adams et al. (1997), Renger et al. (2000)
concept of social wellness mainly in terms of the interaction of the individual with
others. They defined social wellness as the extent to which one gets along well with
others and is at ease with expressing and willingness to express ones feelings, needs,
and opinions. Support, fulfilling relationships (including sexual relations), and
affection are central concepts in this model. Similar to Hettlers definition, Renger et
al. included the interaction with his or her social environment and the contribution to
ones community. Peer acceptance, bonds /attachment with others and social skills are
regarded as fundamental to social wellness. Our ability to establish and maintain
positive relationships with family, friends and peers contributes to our Social
Wellness. It encompasses the degree and quality of interactions with community and
nature. Segments in Indias Wellness Industry: The industry is unfocused by
researchers because it is still fragmented and unregulated, yet with a huge potential
for development. Each wellness offering differs in its own mode, yet most are driven.

Porters (1990) diamond model provides an excellent framework to understand and

analyze the competitiveness of a particular industry within a country (Jin and Moon,
2006). The model has been applied in a broad range of industries due to its
implications for marketers, policy makers and the government in designing the 7
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue enduring
development of a nations competitive advantage ( Jin and Moon, 2006), even for open
and transitional economies (Chobanyan and Leigh, 2006). Porter (1990) proposes that
the features of the national environment influence the competitive advantages of a
nation and identifies four primary determinants that affect competitive performance of
firms, the constructs of the model are: factor conditions; demand conditions; related
and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure, and rivalry. These
determinants interact and act together to form the nations diamond, and interrelations
between the determinants establish national competitiveness (Grant, 1991). The
government also interacts with the four determinants in the diamond by fostering or
deterring the development of a nations competitive advantage. The following analyzes
each determinant to identify factors that might directly affect the competitive position
of the Indian wellness industry. The summary of each determinant of a national
diamond for the Indian wellness industry is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Determinants
of the competitiveness of Indian wellness industry Factor Conditions: Factor
conditions are detailed as the nations position in factors of production, such as skilled
labor or infrastructure, necessary to compete in a given industry (Porter, 1990, p. 71).
Porter analyzes the characteristics of factors of productions and describes how they
are created and how they relate to national competitiveness. He categorizes factor
conditions as basic and advanced factors. Basic 8 International Journal of Pure and
Applied Mathematics Special Issue factors comprise endowed resources, such as
national resources, location, and demographics. Basic factors deliver initial
advantages, whereas advanced factors, like sophisticated skills, communication
infrastructure, and research facilities, are created through investment by individuals,
companies and governments and play critical roles in enhancing a nations competitive
advantage (Grant, 1991). Demand conditions: Demand conditions are defined as the
nature of home demand for the industrys product or service (Porter, 1990, p. 71).
Composition of home demand is critical as it regulates the response of firms towards
consumer needs and wants. We analyze the demand condition in India, which is
characterized by a swelling middle class with rising disposable income, a youthful
population, and demographic and geographic diversity in demand for wellness
services. It is projected that by FY 2020, it would be INR 1,50,000 crores of market
size from INR 85,000 crores and with a CAGR of 12 percent(FICCI and EY, 2016).
So, it is evident that there is huge domestic demand and with huge population and
major composition are youth (Bharadwaj et al., 2005). It is observed and analyzed
from figure 2, beauty care segment is dominant with 41%, it may because of beauty
conscious influenced by the western cultural impact and ones quest for an appearance
and it also evident that increase in demand for fitness segment from FY 15 to FY 20
from 12 percent to 16 percent. The other segments have a constant market share and
an expansion of market share is observed. Finally, it is observed that the demand
factor in the domestic is a competent determinant in determining the competitiveness
of the wellness industry. Figure 2: Market share of respective segments in the Indian
wellness industry (Source: FICCI and EY, 2016) 9 International Journal of Pure and
Applied Mathematics Special Issue Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry: This
dimension is defined as the conditions in the nation governing how companies are
created, organized, and managed, as well as the nature of domestic rivalry (Porter,
1990, p. 71). Firm Competitiveness is created by the convergence of favorable
management practices and organizational models specific to that country (Porter,
1990). Franchising is one of the strategic choices adopted by the existing players.
Franchises were started up in the service sector in 1980s; these chains grew through
franchises due to lack of finance (Cliquet, 2002). The two primary forms of
franchising are product franchising and business format franchising. Product
franchising is similar to licensing in that usage rights to a trademark are allocated to
the franchisee for a royalty and/or fee with little to the support offered (Seng-Su,
2013). According to a report on franchising in India by KPMG in support with
Franchisisng Association of India (FAI): India, by witnessing huge demographic
branded products, global exposure transformation fueled by the and use of
international brands is consumption led growth, stands as an driving adoption of the
franchising attractive destination globally for the franchising fraternity, organized
service providers like Loreal Paris and VLCC has expanded its business through
franchise strategy (KPMG and FAI, 2013). Local firms in unorganized sector, such as
beauty centers, and fitness centers, which possess a major market share are
competitors to the organized firms. Were, service quality is a primary constitute in
customer retention, appropriate strategies to be taken to sustain in the competition.
The bottom line is that a firm that is very adept at quality can capitalize on this
competency. Firms must identify their unique advantages in pursuit of quality service
which builds a competitive advantages that can be uniquely translated into superior
organizational performance (Molly, 1998) Indian Government as strategist: Porter
(1990) describes how governments affect the above four determinants by playing the
roles of consumer, policy maker, and commerce regulator. The government acts as a
catalyst or challenger and mediator, when it encourages or pushes companies to
increase their performance in order to gain competitive advantage. Indian
Government is playing a crucial role as by its schemes such as modular employable
skills (MES): It has provided a pathway in transforming skill development from long-
term skill acquisition pe10 International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
Special Issue riods (12 years) to short term (about 3 months) period and STAR
(Standard Training Assessment and Reward) Scheme, this program is aimed at
training workforce employed in the manufacturing and retail sectors across 200 cities
in 23 states in beauty and wellness industry (NSDC & KPMG, 2017). Conclusion and
business implication: Porters diamond model is a flat form to analyze the
competitiveness of industry in the domestic market. Through the model constructs, a
conceptual analysis is made in the Indian wellness industry. Through the determinant
factor conditions, a considerable amount of the workforce is involved in the industry
and there is a huge amount of the work force is in need, especially skilled personnel,
through the factor, demand conditions: because of increase in population were, the
majority are youth and working class a huge domestic demand exists. Franchising is a
considerable option made by established players like VLCC and Loreal and
establishment of foreign players such as Golds gym and new entrants raise a good
competition among organized and unorganized firms and finally related industries like
health care insurance and training institutions has direct and indirect players in the
ecosystem. The Wellness industry is in a prosperous state in the country a clear focus
must be made by researchers, institutions, corporate firms and government to explore
to its optimum extent. Were, it is most part a service centric industry lot of significant
importance is to be made in offering services. Considering these factor determinants
firms can make strategy formulation for business expansion, customer retention and
better service quality and it is to be noted that this study is made considering all the
segments in the wellness industry which generalized to all the segments. A focused
study is to be made individually on each segment of the industry and derive its
competitive factors and its advantages in the domestic and global market. Scope for
further research: There is a lot of scope for research in the wellness industry; one may
focus on customer purchase pattern, factor motivating to avail wellness services and
wellness tourism. An empirical study is to be made individually on each sector of the
industry to identify the significant factor and their impact on the competitive
advantage of the firm in the home country.

When we look back on the evolution of the fitness industry in India, it is fascinating

to see how the demand for fitness products and services has grown by leaps and
bounds over the last decade. The inflection point that the sector is currently at, points
towardsa lot of positive developments in the future. The advent of technology and the
democratisation of information has been one of the many crucial factors that have led
to the surge in consumers taking greater interest in fitness and actively seeking
products and services to help them remain fit.Most products and services in the
market today are geared towards providing consumers with new and exciting ways to
maintain good health and well-being. While many of these people visit gyms and
fitness clubs to get in better shape or gain more strength, those with thewant to
become more fit and lead more active lifestyles are discovering fun, engaging, and
off-beat fitness activities like Zumba, Pilates, MMA, kickboxing, aerobics, etc. On the
other hand, the rise of professional sports means that fitness products and solutions
focused on athletes are rising steadily in the market, indicating a substantial
opportunity for some of the emerging, as well as established players in the country.

The Indian fitness industry: Rise in technology and the evolution of consumers

The fitness industry in India is largely unorganised and lacks a definite structure to
differentiate between diverse product and service segments. Until a few years ago, the
fitness industry was dominated by a handful of large players, be it in terms of gyms
and fitness centres or even fitness equipment. But this situation is changing gradually
with the entry of new small players in the market, who are leveraging technology to
create and delivera gamut of services and products. Several start-ups in the fitness
sector are now targeting urban consumers across various age groups to market a range
of solutions depending on what they need. This includes everything from wearable
fitness devices, digital platforms where people can sign up for open gym
memberships, to even state-of the-art fitness equipment. With the entry of technology
and digitisation in the fitness domain, the current structure of the market isin the midst
of a major overhaul, making way for more consolidation in the market.

Access to fitness through the internet and smartphones has been one of the most
critical factors in the surge in demand for health & fitness products and services.
Mobile app-based services allow people to schedule their training and workout
sessions at the gyms, and the time of day that they prefer.This level of flexibility is
prompting more and more individuals to get involved in fitness despite busy
schedules and at a much lower cost than they would generally pay for a conventional
gym membership. There is also an increase in strength, energy and stamina that
comes with working out regularly, making fitness and strength training extremely
popular among young urban women and men.

The Indian fitness market: Size and Scope

At the end of FY2018, revenues in the Indianfitness market amounted to USD

908million. Further growth in the segment, expected at a CAGR of 9.3% between
2018 and 2022, is expected to take the total market value to a whopping USD 1,296
million in 2022.Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2018-
2022) of 9.3 % resulting in a market volume of US$1,296m in 2022.However, a fact
worth noting is that a major portion of these revenues will be driven by the
consumption of fitness wearables.

Simultaneously, the number of upscale fitness centresis growingat a pace similar to

the rapid rise in disposable income among consumers between the ages of 20 to 45
years old. The Indian fitness industry is also helping bring about a much-needed
revolution in the country that’s triggered by the increasing number of cases of obesity,
diabetes, and heart disease. This is also one of the key reasons behind the sudden
surge in the number of weight loss products available in the market, as well as the
spike in health club and gym memberships. Spending money on gym memberships,
which was earlier perceived to be a luxury, is now becoming a way of life for several
people. Furthermore, there is an increasing number of people in tier 2 and tier 3 cities
looking for wellness and fitness solutions, with most men opting for muscle-building
training and women for cardio-vascular and strength training.

The future of fitness in India

A new corporate culture wherein companies provide fully-equipped gyms and health
clubs to employees in the office is enabling many people to look at fitness in a new
light– as a fun way to destress after a long day at work rather than a task that must be
completed. The hospitality industry is also following the trend, with hotels in smaller
cities providing gym facilities to guests. Prompted by this trend of greater demand for
fitness amenities, gyms, health clubs have become almost standard features at new
residential complexes that are being built, not only in metros and tier 1 cities, but in
tier 2 cities as well. At the same time, there is also a greater demand among
consumers for home gym equipment and services being sold through online portals
and mobile apps, along with the ability to access gym trainers, fitness experts, and
nutritionists etc.

Organised players, global companies, and home-grown start-ups in the fitness

segment are affecting greater consolidation in the market, and giving rise to newer
business models and revenue streams. The unique combination ofdigitisation and
fitness is allowing Indian consumers today to enjoy easier access to convenient tech-
driven services and products. Moreover, people are also increasingly becoming aware
of the many merits of working out regularly, such as reducing stress, anxiety, and
depression, and keeping other diseases at bay.All of this points towards a brighter
future for India’s fitness industry, while enabling consumers to lead healthier lives.

From creating safe havens for women to spreading a word about new ways to
exercise, many women both young and old are making fitness a more positive
experience for all. After being ignored for decades, the women fitness market is now
the hottest and fastest growing industries, due to athleisure fad and the large no. of
women who were yoga pants to do everything except workout, but the market is also
full of women's who wants to shed pounds, add-muscle and get healthy. According to
Forbes, Nike alone saw enough opportunity in this segment to grow the market by
nearly 12% into 2013 and extending its growth to 20% by 2020. When it comes to
attaining a svelte, athletic and powerful physique, while simply feeling confident and
healthy women have to overcome a massive barrage of mental and physical hurdles
unfortunately in physical society, including the fitness industry women and young
females are incessantly pressured or shamed into feeling like they should workout or
diet or solely to change their appearance, that they should strive to become smaller,
skinnier, more feminine and subservient version of their current self. 1.2 Statement of
Problem To analyse women's perspective towards health and fitness in the growing
women's fitness market. 1.3 Objectives of the Study • To understand and analyze the
Indian fitness industry • To understand and analyze women's perspective towards
health and fitness 1.4 Literature Review Al -falasi et.al carried out a research in the
year 2008 to access the knowledge, attitudes and use of anabolic steroids among gym
users in Al-Ain district, UAE. The study gives us an insight on anabolic steroid usage
is significantly higher among body builders, weight lifters and commercial club users
despite of creating awareness on consequences of anabolic steroids. Buchha
highlighted insights on fitness trends in India in the year 2012 and he observed that
fitness trends and technologies were changing fast hence there is a need for educating
new users on new trends, he also observed a shift towards gentler more introspective
exercises that contributes to improve cardiovascular health while increasing flexibility
and muscular strength. He also concluded that fitness clubs must provide highly
customized fitness products and experiences that meet customer's requirements.
Darper et.al. Carried a study in the year 2006 on South African fitness industry and it
stressed upon that, all the facilities were located mostly within urban areas hence only
2% population was served by fitness centres. But the facilities offered a wide range of
equipments and services to their customers and majority were in the age ranging 18-
25years, 55% were male and 49% were female and 25% were university qualified.
Deloitte access economics commissioned by Australian fitness centre in the year 2012
provided us with the important data and trend information which contributed to
industry development. The data obtained indicated high number of users within the
age range of 25-34years with majority of female participants. It also showed that there
is huge growth for fitness industry when compared to other Vol.7, No.2, April-June
2018 231 industries and also predicted further growth for the industry. It also stressed
on industry innovation to meet changing consumer preferences and to develop a
greater capacity to integrate advanced technology in service provision. EHFA's
'European Health and Fitness Operations report' provided insights in the year 2013
about many different facilities like gym, wellness centre, spa sauna, swimming pool
racquet sports, Aerobics etc which needs to be provided to the customer as the
retention reports were increasing from the fitness centre. By introducing multiple
fitness regimes you can easily cater your special customers and retain them by
satisfying their needs and requirements. Franchise help report 2014 states about
fitness industry analysis 2014-cost and trends, analysed the current costs and future
trends expected in the health fitness industry in America. Acc to this the fitness
industry would continue to rise and health fitness centres needs to concentrate more
on older age groups, it also suggest fitness centres to purchase the equipments on the
regular basis and be updated with the latest trends but it could be expensive huge
amount is needed, but increased percentage of obesity rates prevalence of lifestyle
diseases would continue to attract people to health clubs resulting in growth. IHRSA
and leisure trend groups published in the year 2014 proved useful for many reasons:
to track past trends, analyze the findings, highlight areas of opportunities and address
what needs to be done to increase member participation. This latest report focuses on
health club consumer behaviour of Americans of age group above 16. It also shows
that young American was playing a big role in health and fitness club memberships.
More than one-fourth (37%) of them are in the age group of 21-30. The Australian
Report: wellness trends growth and market opportunities published by Hannah
Wilkinson on Dec 2016 states that 15 percent of Australian adults gym members and
some 20,000 are employed in the fitness industry alone, the country's mature wellness
market provides a fertile breeding ground for industry innovations. Some 44 percent
of Australian consumers avoid sugar when making food purchasing decisions. "The
Australian consumer is 3-4 years ahead of the UK consumer, and fruit juice is
regarded as added sugar by many Australians is embracing the notion of simply eating
real food. Going forward, success for UK and US players looking to penetrate the
Australian market rests on truly disruptive ideas, marketing strategy, and product
innovation. They may manifest through clever brand collaborations, retail
partnerships, destination-led experiences, or infusing technology and science with
wellness since demand is high, but businesses must create innovative ways to
leverage it. Amaresh Ojha CEO and founder of Gympik contributed a study on
evolution of fitness in India -Riding high on growth in the year 2017 that modern
fitness concepts have entered market 20 years ago so it will not be right to say that
fitness industry is in the infant stage. Fitness industry has a very good opportunity in
the Indian country to grow and it might increase our national income by 20-30% due
to the increasing health issues and increased literacy rate people are depending on
fitness clubs.

Deloitte access economics-fitness industry workforce report :2010-2020 in Australia

was published in the year 2012 which has given a updated stats on fitness industry ie,
According to the comprehensive report, Spain is home to 4,350 health clubs, with an
average size of 3,859sq m including outdoor activity space. On average, each club has
3,037 members with an average age of 36.5 years. Spanish health club members are
slightly more likely to be female (50.6 per cent) than male (49.4 per cent), with an
average monthly cancellation rate of health club membership coming in at 6.7 per
cent. In 2015, Spanish health clubs spent, on average, 37.7 per cent of income on
personnel salaries, 9.9 per cent on supplies, 3.5 per cent on marketing and promotions,
and 1.3 per cent on education and training. Macfarlane and Thomas has contributed a
research paper on 'Exercise and diet in weight management in the year 2010 he stated
that solving the overweight and obesity problem via appropriate modifications to
exercise /diet appeared easy but in practicality it was very difficult and only a small
percentage of people were able to maintain their weight loss for long term so they
thought guidance by doctor, dieticians and allied health professionals would be the
right people to guide those who are at over-weight and obesity risk. Phillips has done
a study on improvement of physical activity with special reference to the isokinetic or
sedentary behaviour of the modern society and its impact on health of American
population in 2012, he stresses that American population were not performing
intended physical activity so new strategies were supposed to be brought to bring a
change in this arena. He observed that patients respected their physicians as credible
sources of information and looked to them for health-related guidance, unfortunately
many physicians were not talking to their patients about physical activity hence a
unique opportunity to raise awareness about fitness was missing. So he started
stressing on the health care community in making Americans more physically active.
Zhang carried out a study on consumer behaviours of commercial health clubs in
Liverpool in the year 2014 and he suggest that targeting marketing strategies of the
clubs should be suggested accordingly in order to design service channel, price
reasonably, communicate with consumers and provide satisfying environment. 1.5
Research Methodology The researcher has applied exploratory and descriptive
research design by constructing the questionnaire and subjected the questionnaire to
50 women consumers who are fitness freaks in a growing city, Ballari. Using
convenience sampling for data collection, the collected data has been analysed using
simple tools such as averages and percentages to arrive at a desired results. Vol.7,
No.2, April-June 2018 233 Research Design Exploratory and Descriptive research
Sample design Convenience Sample size 50 women fitness freaks Data collection
method Structured questionnaire Sources Primary data and secondary data Tools for
Data analysis Averages and percentages 1.6 Indian Fitness Industry Fitness and
wellness sector in India has reached a long way from the ways of local akhadas to
wrestling boxing now being the part of international Olympics where Indian's are
taking part in it irrespective of the gender and winning the medals. Earlier physical
fitness was confined only to those who were practicing body building and power
lifting they used to conduct it for their survival and livelihood during the festival and
social occasions they use to travel miles to participate in the event which in turn
requires huge level of strength and stamina. Other such physical activity is people use
to work hard in agriculture and men use to get trained for getting into soldier. But
today fitness industry in India is driven towards health, well being, fitness, good looks
confidence and they look fitness as their status symbol hence they are moving towards
aerobics, Zumba, aerial yoga, Pilates, MMA, kickboxing etc. have become the fitness
trends over the years. Currently fitness industry in India is largely an unorganised and
unstructured sector, waiting to be integrated into an organised entity. It has been
observed that many mom-and-pop structures are making way towards organized
retailing in the gym business and the trend will only accelerate in the coming times,
with the entry of global players. We should thank today's fast pace, hectic, stressful
and modern lifestyle which has made people workout actively and follow well-
designed fitness regime for healthy lifestyle. Now we have our fitness and health
related app in the smart phone which is increasing the awareness levels of people
towards the importance of fitness and forcing them to follow those workouts and diet
to keep themselves fit and healthy. Nowadays we see even on the eatable products
packages like for healthy heart, fat free, sugar free, low cholesterol, baked or boiled,
probiotic etc. Moreover muscular and toned bodies of celebrities, models and fashion
icons coupled with healthy lifestyles are making Indian consumers embrace fitness
like never before. People never mind taking out their precious timeout even in their
busy schedule to do some workouts to look good, healthy and fit. It has been proved
and people are coming to terms with the fact that those who are regularly doing some
exercises and workouts are happier and healthy. Workouts also reduces stress level,
depression, anxiety also keeps the diseases at bay including the cancer. It also
strengthens your immune system, stamina and strength. In India, the total retail
market for fitness as a category is valued at Rs. 4,579 Cr (US$ 0.76 bn), growing at
16-18 per cent and as per the estimation it has crossed Rs. 7,000 crore (US$ 1.18 bn)
by SUMEDHA Journal of Management 234 the year 2017. Modern retail total market
as per the estimation has grown by 22-27%.Fitness centres are flourishing as
disposable per capita income rises and desk-bound lifestyles lower immunity amongst
today's youth. Indian fitness industry is undergoing riot by increasing incidences of
obesity and diabetes, even when we look around on a daily basis we find weight loss
advertisements are rampant everywhere. This is one of the key reasons for the
increased memberships in health club and gym. Spending on fitness was considered
as a luxury a decade back but now it has become a daily routine not just in urban
cities but also in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, towns and villages where people are opting for
fitness. The proactive approach to fitness has increased the demand for not just fitness
services but also for the products because this generation people would like to look
good and feel good at any cost this is increasing the growth of service and products.
Moreover global corporations, IT industry KPO's BPO's have also provided
momentum to industry by installing in-house fitness centres and health clubs within
their work premises. It is been followed by hospitality industry, national and
international hotel chain in India many others are in pipeline. Hotels in smaller cities
are providing gym if not spas- in order to satisfy the new age health conscious people.
Nowadays even the wedding couples are gifted with gym subscriptions and fitness
equipments. Residential societies, community centres, apartments, complexes are also
compulsorily hosting gym not just in metropolitan cities but also in tier 2 and 3 cities
it is spreading like wildfire. Multinational fitness chains and gyms are taking the
franchisee route in order to enter into Indian sub-continent considering India's high
and middle class population. Small in-house gym setup is also coming up in the
houses of business tycoons, industrialists, sport icons, celebrities, socialites and
fitness freaks that are elite sound in terms of finances and space is not a concern. Even
online tutorials and apps are in demand which provide gym trainers, fitness experts,
and nutritionists etc at your place with cost. Prominent and recognised fitness centres
are already diversifying their products and service portfolio into market in every
possible way to satisfy and reach the potential customers. Skyrocketing prices and
cost of healthcare and medicals have pushed people towards the preventive viable
option, rather than cure. As one of the health mantra is "Prevention is better than
cure". Interestingly the fitness oriented customers are mostly in the age group of 20-
40 who are either students or employees, which gives us a evidence that from the
college days to employment people are fond of looking good, maintaining fitness and
toned body. Once they cross 40 they do some workouts to fight with their health
issues or doctor might have suggested them to do so for better lifestyle. Earlier it was
only males who embraced physical fitness but today 45% of females are involved in
fitness regimes. Digital enforcement and easy access to technology, TV has brought a
drastic paradigm shift in women's perspective towards fitness and health seriously.
Rising cases of osteoporosis Vol.7, No.2, April-June 2018 235 and lowering of bone
density have catapulted women to take up health, diet and fitness in a major way.
Nowadays breast cancer is increasing drastically it is taking away the millions of
women lives it is also second most common type of cancer in India. At the contrary
every days trendy lifestyles, Hollywood, Bollywood celebrities lifestyle influence are
some of the factors to create interest in women's to look good and have better
physique. Fitness regime and modern lifestyle have entered India a good 20years ago
so it would be wrong to say that the industry is at blooming/budding stage by any
means. All stakeholders, trainers and educational, institutions, fitness franchises,
equipment and nutrition manufacturers and distributors, including gym owners,
professional associations and the government should come together and catapult the
industry to a stage where it can flourish. Undoubtedly, fitness industry has great
potential in a country like India where there is a huge opportunity hidden. It is a
sunrise sector, poised to grow by 30-40 per cent year on year. India's top fitness
centres: 1. Talwalkars 2. Fitness first 3. Golds gym 4. Fitness one 5. Ozone fitness and
spa India's market wellness trend report-Growth and market opportunities With
India's economy on course India is world's fourth fastest grown country by 2017, and
under 25s making up almost half its population, the region's burgeoning wellness
industry is full of potential. A report published in Dec 2016 by FICCI (Federation of
Indian chambers of commerce and industry) in association with consulting firm EY, it
has predicted double industry wide growth for the rest decade with gym and fitness
centre to see a expansion of 18%."Attitudes to wellness have changed a lot in last 5-
10 years due to instagram and also India's upper class people are highy mobile and
return from travelling abroad with an appetite for products they've discovered in the
US and UK," explains Rohini Bajekal, a former Brand Manager for both RAW
Pressery -- India's first cold-pressed juice brand, and the country's first vegan and
gluten-free snack startup Eighty20. A staggering 47 percent of India's 1.3bn
population is under the age of 25, and the importance of social media in driving
millennial interest in wellness is impossible to overstate. Bollywood stars like Amrita
Arora regularly feature on the Instagram feed of luxury Mumbai health club I Think
Fitness, while actress Gul Panag is the Co-Founder of MobieFit, a fitness coaching
and motivation app. And in a market where government support for new businesses is
limited, stars even play a role in the funding SUMEDHA Journal of Management 236
space. In April 2017, RAW Pressery attracted a $559,000 investment from actress and
model Jacqueline Fernandez. Finally with increased interest in yoga and meditation
showing no signs of slowing down outside India, opportunities to build on the
country's spiritual reputation are only going to increase. Indian wellness industry
likely to hit Rs1.5 trillion by FY2019-20: as the industry estimated close to 85000
crores in financial year 2014-15 and is expected to grow at a compounded annual
growth rate of nearly 12% for next 5 years so it can easily achieve above 1.5 trillion
by FY20. 1.7 Data Analysis 1. Awareness levels of BMI (Body Mass Index) in
women's are very high it is found that 90% of them know about BMI. 2. 20-45 Age
range of women's showed high awareness levels towards their own BMI levels. 3.
Awareness level towards their own BMI measurements is moderately high.70% of the
women has the knowledge about the levels of their BMI and 30% doesn't have any
knowledge about it. 4. Obesity levels in women's is as follows:

• 10% of women's have very high obesity levels whose weight is above 85kg.

• 20% of women's have moderately high obesity level whose weight is between 75-85
kg.

• 30% of women's have average obesity level whose weight is less than 75 kg.

• 40% of women's are having low or normal obesity and BMI levels. 5. Occupations
of women's who is aware about BMI are:

• It is found that 50% of the respondents belong to student's category and working
spinster.

• 30% are housewives and 20% are working women. 6. Stress levels of women are as
follows: • From the sample size result is it found that 5% of the women are having
very high stress levels.

• 50% of the women are having moderately high stress levels. • 20% of the women
are having moderately low stress level as compared with 50% women. • 25% of the
women are having low stress levels

• Even their stress levels are affecting their health and fitness to a greater extent. 7.
Initiatives taken by women's to overcome their stress levels are: • 20% are fond of
gym to overcome their stress and to be fit and healthy.

• 30% of them go for a regular walk in the morning and evening as a fitness regime.
Vol.7, No.2, April-June 2018 237

• 50% of women's are following yoga and meditation as a stress reliever and health
mantra. 8. Location chosen by women's to carry out their regular fitness activities. •
60% of them visit's fitness clubs.

• 30% prefers to carry out physical activities in the parks and grounds.

• 10% women's would like to stay at home and do their regular exercises with gym
equipments placed at home and meditations. 9. Parameters on the basis of which
women chooses her fitness clubs or locations.
• 20% of the women look for the accessibility as a priority to join a fitness centre. •
40% of the women look for the credibility and expertise of the coach in the fitness
centre.

• 40% of them see to it that equipments/instruments are well maintained and placed in
the centre as per there requirements. 10. Number of women owning their own fitness
equipments are: • 20% of the women from the elite segment own the fitness machines
in their home.

• Other 80% of the women's are dependent on fitness centre they do not own any
equipments. 11. The type of instruments owned by the women are: • 40% own
treadmill in order save their time going out for a walk. • 10% of them own different
set of instruments.

• 50% own cycling machine with some extra fittings as a fitness remedy. 12. How
many of them strictly follows the diet chart prescribed by the trainers or doctors: •
50% of women strictly follow the diet charge and they are highly serious about it. •
40% of them are moderately following the diet chart.

• 10% are low in practicing the diet chart regularly. 13. Women who are sports lovers
are: • 5% of the women are sports lovers and they are very particular about their
health and fitness. • 50% are moderately interested in physical activities like dance,
aerobics, zumba etc.

• 45% are traditional fitness followers like walking, exercises, yoga with normal diet.
SUMEDHA Journal of Management 238 14. Diabetic patient percentage in women -
5% of the women whose age is 40+ is affected by the diabetes.
This full body workout routine consists of 3 training days per week. You will
alternate between “workout A” (which is covered in this PDF) and “workout B”
(which will be covered in another PDF). Your schedule will look like the following:

Monday – Workout A

Tuesday – Rest

Wednesday – Workout B

Thursday – Rest

Friday – Workout A

Saturday/Sunday – Rest

Monday – Workout B Tuesday – Rest

Wednesday - Workout A

Thursday - Rest

Friday – Workout B

The exact days don’t matter for your workouts, but the key is to get at least one rest
day in between each workout, getting 3 workouts in per week, and ensuring that
you’re rotating between Workouts A and B. Abs and calves exercises can be thrown
into the main workouts as well, or performed on rest days.

This version is designed for beginner lifters (those relatively new to the gym). The
main difference between this workout and the intermediate workout is total sets, an
adjustment in the rep ranges, and less accessory movements.
WORKOUT A (INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED VERSION)

This version is designed for more experienced lifters who already have a solid
foundation of muscle and strength, and are proficient in performing the movements
prescribed. The main difference between this workout and the beginner workout is an
increase in the number of sets, an adjustment in the rep ranges, and more accessory
movements.

EXERCISE TUTORIALS
EXERCISE 1: BENCH PRESS Step 1 (Positioning): Lie down on the bench so that
the bar is sitting directly over your eyes. Grab the bar with a width such that your
pinky’s just inside the ring marks (but experiment and see what grip-width works best
for you). Raise your chest up towards the ceiling and squeeze your shoulder-blades
back and down by pinching your shoulder blades together. Keep your butt on the
bench. Bring your feet back under your knees and plant them firmly on the ground.
As a result, there should be space between your lower back and the bench (an arch).
Squeeze your glutes to help you maintain a stable position.

Step 2 (Unrack): Straighten your arms to lift the bar up. Move the bar so that it’s
balanced directly over your shoulders.

Step 3 (Descend): Lower the bar to slightly below your nipples while slightly tucking
your elbows and keeping your forearms vertical and directly under your wrists. Make
sure to use full range of motion such that the bar physically touches your chest at the
bottom.

Step 4 (Press): Press the bar from below your nipples to directly above your
shoulders. The bar should not travel straight up and down, but rather slightly back
towards the starting position. Focus on moving the weight by squeezing your chest
together (think about trying to bring your biceps together). Your shoulder-blades
should be retracted and pulled down throughout the press, and your butt should
remain in contact with the bench.
EXERCISE 2:

BACK SQUAT Step 1 (Placement): Grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider
than shoulder-width. Place the bar on your upper-back (traps) by dipping under the
bar. Raise your chest up and retract your shoulder blades. Step 2 (Unrack): Unrack the
bar, take

3 steps back, then adjust your footing. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart or a
little wider. You can point your toes out slightly if this is more comfortable. But play
around with foot positioning to find what’s comfortable for you.

Step 3 (Descent): Take a deep breath in and hold it. You want to use this breath to
brace your core (think about contracting your abs how you would if someone were to
punch your stomach). Move your hips back while bending your knees to squat down.
Squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the ground. If you have the
mobility to do so, then you can go further below parallel.

Step 4 (Ascent): Squat back up by pushing through your heels. Keep your knees inline
with your toes by thinking about “spreading the floor apart” with your feet. Avoid
creeping up on your toes or collapsing your knees inward. Keep your lower back
neutral and your chest up. You can exhale as you press up, or keep your breath held
and then exhale at the top position. Then repeat for more reps.

EXERCISE 3:

PULL-UPS Step 1 (Set Up): Grab the pull-up bar with an overhand grip slightly
wider than shoulder-width – I’d suggest using a “thumbless grip” as it usually helps
better activate the back. Next, depress your upper traps and keep them this way as you
pull.

Step 2 (Pull): Pull yourself up by pulling your elbows down to the floor, you want to
think about pulling with your elbows as opposed to pulling with your hands. It’s
preferred to keep your feet straight down throughout the pull-up, but if your pull-up
bar doesn’t allow this then it’s perfectly fine to cross your feet over and bend your
knees.

Step 3 (Top Position): You want to pull such that at least your eyes reach over the bar
– and at this point, you want to ensure that your shoulders are not rounding forward
(internally rotating) and are instead retracted back.

Step 4 (Descent): Lower your body in a controlled manner until your arms are
straight, and then repeat for another rep. As soon as you’re able to perform 8 or more
bodyweight pull-ups in one set, I’d suggest adding a little bit of weight by either using
a weight belt or holding a dumbbell between your feet then continue adding more
weight overtime.

EXERCISE 4:

LYING DUMBBELL LEG CURLS

Step 1 (Set Up): Lay down on the floor with a dumbbell placed up by your feet. Pick
up the dumbbell with your feet by placing the bar between your feet and squeezing it
to keep it secure as you perform the movement.

Step 2 (Curl): Engage your abs and then by using your hamstrings, lift the dumbbell
up by slowly curling your legs towards you until you reach the end range of motion.

Step 3 (Descent): Slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position in a
controlled manner. You should feel your hamstrings working throughout. Softly touch
the dumbbell onto the ground before proceeding for another rep.

EXERCISE 5: STANDING OVERHEAD PRESS (BARBELL)

Step 1 (Set Up): Set up your rack such that the bar is around shoulder height. Grab the
bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width. Your forearms should
be inline with your wrists.

Step 2 (Preparing the Press): Lift the bar off the rack and take a couple steps away
from the rack (keep in mind that normally you’d be stepping backwards, I just had to
unrack it forwards in order to show you the positioning). Engage your core by
contracting your abs slightly and squeeze your glutes.

Step 3 (Press): Take a deep breath in, hold it, and then press the bar up. You’ll have
to ensure your head is not sticking forward in order to do so. Once the bar passes the
top of your head, you can move your head forward to allow the bar to be directly over
your head in the finishing position. Don’t use momentum with your legs as you and
make sure that you aren’t arching your lower back when pressing.

Step 4 (Descend): Bring the bar to your shoulders after each rep while exhaling your
breath.

EXERCISE 6: FACE PULLS (KNEELING)

Step 1 (Set Up): Set up a cable system so that the notch is a couple notches below
from the very top. Grab the rope with an overhand grip, then get down on one knee.
Relax your upper traps by bringing your shoulders down and away from your ears.
You want to maintain this throughout each rep.
Step 2 (Pull): Pull the rope towards your face while keeping your elbows high. Think
about pulling with your elbows and squeezing your shoulder-blades together, and as
you pull, you want to externally rotate your shoulder such that your knuckles are
facing the ceiling.

Step 2 (Pull): You can see what I mean here at this angle, the end position is as if you
were holding a “biceps flexing pose”. This helps further target the rotator cuff.

Step 4 (Eccentric): Control the weight back to the starting position and then repeat for
another rep. Ensure that you aren’t excessively arching or rounding your back during
each rep. You should feel a strong contraction in the middle of your back.

EXERCISE 7: DRAG CURLS

Step 1: Grab a weighted bar with a shoulder-width grip and let it hang in front of your
body.

Step 2: While keeping the bar as close as possible to the front of your body, drag the
bar up alongside your body by contracting your biceps. Your elbows should naturally
move backwards behind your body.

Step 3: Control the bar back to the starting position then repeat.

Full body workouts have always been popular.

Many bodybuilding greats (including the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve

Reeves) used them to build the foundation of their lean muscle mass.

The reason for their effectiveness is they allow you to train hard and only 3 days a
week. This type of programming allows most to optimally recover between training
sessions.

They’re perfect for any experience level. Beginners will thrive when using full body
workouts. Intermediates will continue to notice progress towards their goals. And
advanced lifters will be able to maintain their size and slowly build upon their
established foundation.
In this article, we’ll discuss 5 of the most important exercises you should include into
your full body workout routine. Then, we will give you an excellent full body
workout routine to help you achieve your goals.

5 Best Exercises for Full Body Workouts

When it comes to writing an effective full body workout, exercise selection is key.

Since you aren’t training frequently throughout the week, the exercises you choose to
do should provide a lot of bang for your buck.

The best way to accomplish this is by including compound exercises in your

workouts. Compound exercises are exercises that require multi-joint movements to
achieve the full range of motion. As a result, they recruit more muscles to perform
resulting in a higher calorie burn and more muscle stimulation.

The 5 we’ve listed below are arguably the best to perform. We’ve listed them in their
most traditional variations, however, most can be performed a number of different
ways to meet the individual needs of the person using the program. Experiment or
work with a trainer to find the best variation for yourself.

1. Deadlift
The deadlift could very well be the most important movement you learn throughout
your lifting career. It is a hip-hinge movement that builds the entire posterior chain.
Perfecting your deadlift form and becoming relatively strong at the exercise lends
itself very well to keeping one healthy and injury free throughout life.

As a result, the deadlift will be included in most workout routines you find online.
That being said, not everyone is comfortable performing the conventional deadlift.
Luckily, there are many deadlift variations out there and most people can find one
they’re able to comfortably perform.

The most popular among beginners is the trap bar deadlift, as it puts the lifter in a
more favorable upright lifting position. If you struggle with the deadlift, seek out the
help of a trained professional to find an appropriate variation to perform.
2. Squat
The squat is another classic exercise you’ll find in most workout routines online. It is
a compound exercise that trains a very fundamental movement pattern. Like the
deadlift, the squat is a movement pattern that requires a lot of mobility and it is
important to build and maintain efficiency throughout life.

The most popular variation of the squat is the barbell back squat. It also happens to be
one of the more advanced variations one can perform – so if you need to, begin with
an easier variation such as the goblet or front squat.

The squat is a complete lower body builder. Simply by getting good at squats, you’ll
notice that your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves all grow. And since they are one
of the toughest movements to perform, you’ll also burn a ton of calories in the process
of your workouts by including them.

Main Goal

Build Muscle

Workout Type

Full Body

Training Level

Beginner

Program Duration12 weeks

Days Per Week

Time Per Workout45-60 minutes

Equipment Required

Barbell, Bodyweight, Dumbbells

Target GenderMale & Female

Recommended Supplements

Multivitamin, Pre-Workout, Creatine, Whey Protein, Casein Protein

Author

Steve Shaw

Workout PDF Download Workout

Workout Description

Full body workouts have always been popular.

Many bodybuilding greats (including the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve

Reeves) used them to build the foundation of their lean muscle mass.

The reason for their effectiveness is they allow you to train hard and only 3 days a
week. This type of programming allows most to optimally recover between training
sessions.

They’re perfect for any experience level. Beginners will thrive when using full body
workouts. Intermediates will continue to notice progress towards their goals. And
advanced lifters will be able to maintain their size and slowly build upon their
established foundation.

In this article, we’ll discuss 5 of the most important exercises you should include into
your full body workout routine. Then, we will give you an excellent full body
workout routine to help you achieve your goals.

Lastly, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding full body
workout.

5 Best Exercises for Full Body Workouts

When it comes to writing an effective full body workout, exercise selection is key.

Since you aren’t training frequently throughout the week, the exercises you choose to
do should provide a lot of bang for your buck.
The best way to accomplish this is by including compound exercises in your
workouts. Compound exercises are exercises that require multi-joint movements to
achieve the full range of motion. As a result, they recruit more muscles to perform
resulting in a higher calorie burn and more muscle stimulation.

The 5 we’ve listed below are arguably the best to perform. We’ve listed them in their
most traditional variations, however, most can be performed a number of different
ways to meet the individual needs of the person using the program. Experiment or
work with a trainer to find the best variation for yourself.

1. Deadlift
The deadlift could very well be the most important movement you learn throughout
your lifting career. It is a hip-hinge movement that builds the entire posterior chain.
Perfecting your deadlift form and becoming relatively strong at the exercise lends
itself very well to keeping one healthy and injury free throughout life.

As a result, the deadlift will be included in most workout routines you find online.
That being said, not everyone is comfortable performing the conventional deadlift.
Luckily, there are many deadlift variations out there and most people can find one
they’re able to comfortably perform.

The most popular among beginners is the trap bar deadlift, as it puts the lifter in a
more favorable upright lifting position. If you struggle with the deadlift, seek out the
help of a trained professional to find an appropriate variation to perform.

2. Squat
The squat is another classic exercise you’ll find in most workout routines online. It is
a compound exercise that trains a very fundamental movement pattern. Like the
deadlift, the squat is a movement pattern that requires a lot of mobility and it is
important to build and maintain efficiency throughout life.

The most popular variation of the squat is the barbell back squat. It also happens to be
one of the more advanced variations one can perform – so if you need to, begin with
an easier variation such as the goblet or front squat.
The squat is a complete lower body builder. Simply by getting good at squats, you’ll
notice that your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves all grow. And since they are one
of the toughest movements to perform, you’ll also burn a ton of calories in the process
of your workouts by including them.

3. Row
The barbell bent over row is an often overlooked exercise, but there’s a reason the
golden era bodybuilders performed them consistently. They’re an absolute back mass
building exercise.

If you want to build the coveted V-taper, perfecting the row movement pattern is key.
The stronger you get at them, the denser your back will appear.

Most don’t have issues performing the barbell bent over row. However, if you notice
your shoulders or elbows build up nagging injuries there are plenty of alternatives you
can perform.

One could build an impressive and strong, albeit not completely aesthetic, physique
simply by utilizing these first 3 exercises alone.

Main Goal

Build Muscle

Workout Type

Full Body

Training Level

Beginner

Program Duration12 weeks

Days Per Week

Time Per Workout45-60 minutes

Equipment Required

Barbell, Bodyweight, Dumbbells

Target GenderMale & Female

Recommended Supplements

Multivitamin, Pre-Workout, Creatine, Whey Protein, Casein Protein

Author

Steve Shaw

Workout PDF Download Workout

Workout Description

Full body workouts have always been popular.

Many bodybuilding greats (including the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve

Reeves) used them to build the foundation of their lean muscle mass.

The reason for their effectiveness is they allow you to train hard and only 3 days a
week. This type of programming allows most to optimally recover between training
sessions.

They’re perfect for any experience level. Beginners will thrive when using full body
workouts. Intermediates will continue to notice progress towards their goals. And
advanced lifters will be able to maintain their size and slowly build upon their
established foundation.

In this article, we’ll discuss 5 of the most important exercises you should include into
your full body workout routine. Then, we will give you an excellent full body
workout routine to help you achieve your goals.

Lastly, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding full body
workout.
5 Best Exercises for Full Body Workouts
When it comes to writing an effective full body workout, exercise selection is key.

Since you aren’t training frequently throughout the week, the exercises you choose to
do should provide a lot of bang for your buck.

The best way to accomplish this is by including compound exercises in your

workouts. Compound exercises are exercises that require multi-joint movements to
achieve the full range of motion. As a result, they recruit more muscles to perform
resulting in a higher calorie burn and more muscle stimulation.

The 5 we’ve listed below are arguably the best to perform. We’ve listed them in their
most traditional variations, however, most can be performed a number of different
ways to meet the individual needs of the person using the program. Experiment or
work with a trainer to find the best variation for yourself.

1. Deadlift
The deadlift could very well be the most important movement you learn throughout
your lifting career. It is a hip-hinge movement that builds the entire posterior chain.
Perfecting your deadlift form and becoming relatively strong at the exercise lends
itself very well to keeping one healthy and injury free throughout life.

As a result, the deadlift will be included in most workout routines you find online.
That being said, not everyone is comfortable performing the conventional deadlift.
Luckily, there are many deadlift variations out there and most people can find one
they’re able to comfortably perform.

The most popular among beginners is the trap bar deadlift, as it puts the lifter in a
more favorable upright lifting position. If you struggle with the deadlift, seek out the
help of a trained professional to find an appropriate variation to perform.

2. Squat
The squat is another classic exercise you’ll find in most workout routines online. It is
a compound exercise that trains a very fundamental movement pattern. Like the
deadlift, the squat is a movement pattern that requires a lot of mobility and it is
important to build and maintain efficiency throughout life.
The most popular variation of the squat is the barbell back squat. It also happens to be
one of the more advanced variations one can perform – so if you need to, begin with
an easier variation such as the goblet or front squat.

The squat is a complete lower body builder. Simply by getting good at squats, you’ll
notice that your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves all grow. And since they are one
of the toughest movements to perform, you’ll also burn a ton of calories in the process
of your workouts by including them.

3. Row
The barbell bent over row is an often overlooked exercise, but there’s a reason the
golden era bodybuilders performed them consistently. They’re an absolute back mass
building exercise.

If you want to build the coveted V-taper, perfecting the row movement pattern is key.
The stronger you get at them, the denser your back will appear.

Most don’t have issues performing the barbell bent over row. However, if you notice
your shoulders or elbows build up nagging injuries there are plenty of alternatives you
can perform.

One could build an impressive and strong, albeit not completely aesthetic, physique
simply by utilizing these first 3 exercises alone.

4. Bench Press
To round out the aesthetic appearance, you need to include some of the press
movements into your routine. Unfortunately for some, especially beginners, it’s easier
to focus on the press movements while neglecting the three prioritized higher on this
list.

That being said, they are still very important to train. The horizontal push is very
much a foundational movement pattern and the bench press is the easiest way to
become super-efficient at the movement.
Like the barbell row, if you suffer from some nagging joint discomfort, you may want
to research and experiment with alternate variations of the horizontal push until you
find a variation you’re comfortable performing.

The bench press works the muscles of the chest, shoulders (primarily front delt) and
triceps. By perfecting the movement and becoming stronger at it, you will build all of
these muscle groups.

Many bodybuilding greats (including the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve

Reeves) used them to build the foundation of their lean muscle mass.

The reason for their effectiveness is they allow you to train hard and only 3 days a
week. This type of programming allows most to optimally recover between training
sessions.

They’re perfect for any experience level. Beginners will thrive when using full body
workouts. Intermediates will continue to notice progress towards their goals. And
advanced lifters will be able to maintain their size and slowly build upon their
established foundation.

In this article, we’ll discuss 5 of the most important exercises you should include into
your full body workout routine. Then, we will give you an excellent full body
workout routine to help you achieve your goals.

Lastly, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions regarding full body
workout.

5 Best Exercises for Full Body Workouts

When it comes to writing an effective full body workout, exercise selection is key.

Since you aren’t training frequently throughout the week, the exercises you choose to
do should provide a lot of bang for your buck.

The best way to accomplish this is by including compound exercises in your

workouts. Compound exercises are exercises that require multi-joint movements to
achieve the full range of motion. As a result, they recruit more muscles to perform
resulting in a higher calorie burn and more muscle stimulation.
The 5 we’ve listed below are arguably the best to perform. We’ve listed them in their
most traditional variations, however, most can be performed a number of different
ways to meet the individual needs of the person using the program. Experiment or
work with a trainer to find the best variation for yourself.

1. Deadlift
The deadlift could very well be the most important movement you learn throughout
your lifting career. It is a hip-hinge movement that builds the entire posterior chain.
Perfecting your deadlift form and becoming relatively strong at the exercise lends
itself very well to keeping one healthy and injury free throughout life.

As a result, the deadlift will be included in most workout routines you find online.
That being said, not everyone is comfortable performing the conventional deadlift.
Luckily, there are many deadlift variations out there and most people can find one
they’re able to comfortably perform.

The most popular among beginners is the trap bar deadlift, as it puts the lifter in a
more favorable upright lifting position. If you struggle with the deadlift, seek out the
help of a trained professional to find an appropriate variation to perform.

2. Squat
The squat is another classic exercise you’ll find in most workout routines online. It is
a compound exercise that trains a very fundamental movement pattern. Like the
deadlift, the squat is a movement pattern that requires a lot of mobility and it is
important to build and maintain efficiency throughout life.

The most popular variation of the squat is the barbell back squat. It also happens to be
one of the more advanced variations one can perform – so if you need to, begin with
an easier variation such as the goblet or front squat.

The squat is a complete lower body builder. Simply by getting good at squats, you’ll
notice that your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves all grow. And since they are one
of the toughest movements to perform, you’ll also burn a ton of calories in the process
of your workouts by including them.
3. Row
The barbell bent over row is an often overlooked exercise, but there’s a reason the
golden era bodybuilders performed them consistently. They’re an absolute back mass
building exercise.

If you want to build the coveted V-taper, perfecting the row movement pattern is key.
The stronger you get at them, the denser your back will appear.

Most don’t have issues performing the barbell bent over row. However, if you notice
your shoulders or elbows build up nagging injuries there are plenty of alternatives you
can perform.

One could build an impressive and strong, albeit not completely aesthetic, physique
simply by utilizing these first 3 exercises alone.

4. Bench Press
To round out the aesthetic appearance, you need to include some of the press
movements into your routine. Unfortunately for some, especially beginners, it’s easier
to focus on the press movements while neglecting the three prioritized higher on this
list.

That being said, they are still very important to train. The horizontal push is very
much a foundational movement pattern and the bench press is the easiest way to
become super-efficient at the movement.

Like the barbell row, if you suffer from some nagging joint discomfort, you may want
to research and experiment with alternate variations of the horizontal push until you
find a variation you’re comfortable performing.

The bench press works the muscles of the chest, shoulders (primarily front delt) and
triceps. By perfecting the movement and becoming stronger at it, you will build all of
these muscle groups.
5. Overhead Press
The final movement pattern everyone should include into their full body workout
routines is the overhead press. The overhead press trains the important vertical push
movement pattern.

Overhead presses primarily target the muscles of the shoulder but will also indirectly
target the triceps and require a ton of core stability to perform efficiently.

Perfecting this movement pattern and getting stronger at it equates to better shoulder
development and a strong and sturdy core.

Again, the barbell variation isn’t for everyone. You may find it bothers your shoulders
or elbows. If this is the case, research and work with someone to find an appropriate
variation for yourself. Then, proceed to perfect the movement pattern.

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to explore
strategies that some health and fitness club managers use to improve customer
retention. After interviewing six managers from five fitness centers in Southeast
Texas who have successfully implemented strategies to improve customer
retention, I identified one overarching theme and two subthemes. All
participants emphasized the importance of service quality in improving
customer retention. Within this overarching theme, the interview data revealed
two subthemes: (a) customer satisfaction and (b) customer loyalty. Section 3
covers the presentation of the findings, a discussion of applications for
professional practice and implications for social change, recommendations for
action and future research, my reflections, and a conclusion to the study.

Presentation of the Findings

I created the interview questions (see Appendix B), asked the interview
questions to the participants, and collected and analyzed their responses to
support answering the overarching research question: What strategies do some
health and fitness club managers use to improve customer retention? I used
Audacity® to record each interview. I used NVivo® software to transcribe and
analyze the transcriptions. One overarching theme (importance of service quality
in improving customer retention) and two subthemes (customer satisfaction and
customer loyalty) arose from the analysis of interview responses and other
relevant information from the company’s website.

Overarching Theme: The Importance of Service Quality in Improving Customer

Retention

All six participants mentioned that service quality was critical in improving
customer retention in their health and fitness club. Their responses to Interview
Questions 1, 6, and 10 indicated that service quality was integral in their strategy
for improving customer retention. These results corroborate results of previous
research that found that customers that experience service quality has a high
degree of satisfaction and are more likely to maintain their membership (Y. L.
Lee, Pan, Hsu, & Lee 2019). Service quality is the customers’ expectations or
perceived value of the service received (Dias et al., 2019). Y. L. Lee et al. (2019)
posited that retaining 5% of the existing customer base can increase profits by
25% to 75%. Additionally, securing new customer cost five times as much as
retaining the current ones. This overarching theme directly correlates with the
conceptual framework and the literature reviewed in Section 1 of this study.
Ahmad and Buttle (2002) stated that the premise of customer retention
management theory is to focus on retaining customers by improving perceived
superior service quality and by improving customer satisfaction by more
effectively managing the expectations of customers. To create relevant
experiences for customers and improve customer retention, managers and their
staff must provide customer service and engage customers using a
communication channel with which the customers identify. Since 2000, the
fitness industry has grown considerably, thereby increasing competition for
customers and making customer retention critical for continued success (Dias,
Ferreira, Romã o Pereira, & Fonseca, 2019). The participants in this study agreed
that retaining customers is an essential part of their success and that improving
the quality of service is critical in that effort. Participant 1 from Company 1
(P1C1) said stated that customer retention is a large part of their job. P1C1 went
on to say, “service quality is important, being personal with our customers and
providing them excellent customer service goes a long way in retaining them.”
Participant 2 from Company 1 (P2C1) agreed and said that providing service
quality by building a rapport and engaging customers improved customer
retention. These results indicate that service quality mainly improved through
direct communication with the customers. During the data collection process, the
participants mentioned some of the critical dimensions of service quality in
health and fitness clubs that have also been mentioned in the literature, such as
customer service, ambiance, employee attitude, reliability, information giving,
personal consideration, price, exclusivity, ease of mind, convenience, and social
opportunity (see Freitas & Lacerda, 2019). The participants referred to these
dimensions of service quality during the interview process. Participant 4
Company 3 (P4C3) explained how his health and fitness club distinguished itself
by providing service quality and creating an ambiance that welcomed its
customers. P4C3 said, “our goal is to provide value by making every customer
feel special from the moment they enter the gym.” Participant 5 Company 4
(P5C4) mentioned that focusing on service quality improved customer retention.
Additionally, P5C4 mentioned that the manager's attitude and giving each
customer personal consideration were some of their best practices to retain
customers.

Other participants highlighted the importance of other aspects of service quality

that did not include direct communication with the customer during their visit to
the health club. For instance, Participant 3 Company 2 (P3C2) and Participant 6
Company 5 (P6C5) shared relevant feedback on the importance of service quality
in improving customer retention. Both P3C2 and P6C5 mentioned that reliability,
price, and convenience were critical dimensions of service quality. P3C2
mentioned in her response that she started at the club ten years ago, and many of
the customers are still with the club. Providing more evidence that service
quality serves as an essential role in improving customer retention.
Figure 1. Customer Retention

Subtheme 1: Customer Satisfaction Chiu, Won, and Bae (2019) suggested that a
health and fitness club’s customer satisfaction and perceived service quality is a
significant indicator of customers’ intentioned to recommit. All participants in
this study agreed that the customer and their satisfaction was one of their top
priorities. P6C5 mentioned that engaging customers and listening to and
addressing their needs adds value and leads to customer satisfaction. In turn,
this could lead to a customer that not only returns but could help bring in new
customers. These results indicate that engaging and interacting with customers
enhances customer experiences, whereas the lack of engagement and interaction
could result in a customer not patronizing again. One of the ways the study
participants measured customer satisfaction was the use of social media. All
study participants agreed that social media increased customer satisfaction and
had an impact on improving customer retention. P1C1 mentioned that social
media was an excellent marketing tool as well as a means for our customers to
tell us how we are doing. Participants mentioned that Facebook, Twitter, and
other forms of social media gave the customers an avenue to express their
satisfaction. Guha, Harrigan, and Soutar (2018) surmised that social media is a
two-way method of engagement between the customer and the company. In
contrast to customer-management interactions via social media, Wonsuk Cha
(2019) stated that physical engagement between the customer and the service
provider is necessary to have a positive effect on satisfaction and the customer's
intentions to repurchase. All participants mentioned that engaging and
interacting with customers was a focus area for them and believed that it led to
improvements in customer retention. Both P1C1 and P5C4 mentioned that
building a rapport with customers through staff and customer interaction
improved the customer's experience and satisfaction. Additionally, P3C2 and
P4C3 mentioned customer and service provider interaction through personal
training added value and satisfaction to the experience. The importance of
customer satisfaction in efforts to retain customers, as indicated by the study
participants, directly correlates with the conceptual framework and the
literature reviewed in Section 1. For example, the data collected here supports
the hypothesis of Ahmad and Buttle (2002) that one way to improve customer
retention is through improving customer service quality and satisfaction. The
complexity formed in the relationship between the customer and service
provider affects the strength and longevity of the relationship (Ahmad & Buttle,
2002). All participants agreed that the relationship formed affects customer
retention. P5C4 highlighted this importance of customer relationship by stating,
“customer service and customer engagement are things we do very well with
regards to customer satisfaction.” Therefore, interview data demonstrated that
customer service is a critical component of service quality that can impact

customer retention. Subtheme 2:

Customer Loyalty Customer loyalty is the measure of the recurrence of

purchases made by a customer of a company (Novianingsih, Kardoyo, & Thomas,
2019). The quality of the customer engagement comprised of satisfaction, trust,
and commitment, has a positive relationship with customer loyalty
(Novianingsih et al., 2019). Customer loyalty emerged as a subtheme during the
data collection process. All participants noted that customer loyalty and finding
ways to create that type of relationship helped improve customer retention.
P1C1 mentioned that some of her customers elected to stay with the club even
though they moved out of the area. She thought that these customers were loyal
to her club due to the relationships club employees formed with the customers.
Likewise, P2C1 mentioned that building a relationship and getting to know
customers helped create an experience that built loyalty with customers.
Srivastava and Rai (2018) stated that loyalty in a service provider or between
the service provider and customer is essential to earning profits. In health and
fitness clubs, the customer engagement benefits both the customer and the
provider and, in turn, improves customer retention (Y. L. Lee et al., 2019). Y.L.
Lee et al. (2019) posited that creating customer loyalty through interacting with
customers has a positive effect on satisfaction, thus improving customer
retention. P3C2 mentioned that health and fitness clubs could be a little
intimidating, and customer engagement helps build loyalty by making customers
feel comfortable. All participants also mentioned loyalty programs and the
impact they had on customer loyalty and improving customer retention. These
loyalty programs offered incentives that reduced fees and, in some cases, waived
fees for the customer and any new customer they referred. P5C4 noted that her
loyalty program considered the customer, as incentives applied in different ways
for each customer. Faulkner, Dale, and Lau (2019) found that loyalty programs
work if appropriately incentivized and could create loyalty. Customizing and
advertising loyalty programs are an effective method to increase customer
loyalty.

Applications to Professional Practice

During this qualitative exploratory multiple case study, I explored strategies that
some health and fitness club managers use to improve customer retention. After
interviewing six managers from five fitness centers in Southeast Texas who had
successfully implemented strategies to improve customer retention, I identified
the importance of service quality in improving customer retention. Participants
identified customer satisfaction and customer loyalty as critical components of
service quality. By asking structured interview questions, I was able to identify
how these health club managers were able to increase service quality, namely by
improving customer service, ambiance, employee attitudes, reliability,
information giving, personal consideration, price, exclusivity, ease of mind,
convenience, and social opportunity. Previous research has identified improving
service quality as the best practice to improve customer retention. Even the best
marketing programs do not match the value and profitability of a company
retaining its customers. In an intensely competitive environment, the health and
fitness club industry must retain its customers to remain profitable. Y. L. Lee et
al. (2019) suggested that retaining 5% of the existing customer base can increase
profits by 25% to 75%. Additionally, securing a new customer costs five times as
much as retaining the current ones. Customers that experience service quality
through excellent customer service have a high degree of satisfaction and are
more likely to maintain their membership (Y. L. Lee et al., 2019). Current health
and fitness club managers may find these strategies gleaned from this study
useful in improving customer retention.

Implications for Social Change

If health club managers use the findings of this study to successfully improve
customer retention, customers, clubs, and society could benefit. First, if health
and fitness clubs retain more of its current customers, then employment
opportunities within health clubs may increase. Second, customers may
experience better health outcomes if they remain members of health and fitness
clubs. Saghi and Lotfabadi (2016) posited that improved customer retention
strategies might motivate some customers to maintain and improve their health
and fitness. Third, using local service providers and generating revenue for the
local economy may encourage positive social change. By implementing strategies
to improve customer retention, health, and fitness clubs may be able to remain a
viable part of the communities. All participants in this study staffed a health and
fitness club that served an area with many residents. The managers used local
vendors to maintain the facilities, causing a direct impact on the local economy.
Besides offering employment opportunities, health and fitness clubs provide
areas where customers can participate in events and programs that improve
physical fitness, mental well-being, social connectedness, and sense of
community. The implications are expressed in terms of tangible improvements
to individual customers, local areas, surrounding businesses, cultures, or
societies, as the finding could affect social change or social behavior. The likely
implications for positive social change also include an increase in sustainable
business practices. MacIntosh and Doherty (2007) understood how being
competitive within the fitness industry requires a fundamental awareness of the
service environment customers most desire. Saghi and Lotfabadi (2016) agreed
that there are various approaches in the field of social change, such as health
education and health promotion. Research on the fitness industry has placed
considerable focus on service quality, particularly in equipment, programs,
facilities, ancillary services, and member satisfaction and retention (MacIntosh &
Doherty, 2007). Improved services that lead to enhanced health outcomes for
health and fitness clubs’ customers create positive social change. Findings and
recommendations from this study could contribute to positive social change by
enhancing the health conditions of customers.

Recommendations for Action

Customer retention is critical in health and fitness clubs because of its impact on
profitability. There is a substantial amount of interest in the drivers of customer
retention (Gonçalves, 2018). The findings of this study align with the tenets of
customer retention theory that are used by some health and fitness club
managers. The knowledge from this study indicates that for managers in health
and fitness clubs to sustain their business, they need to have strategies for
improving customer retention. As a fitness professional, I understand the far-
reaching impacts that stem from a successful health and fitness club. The
participants in this study indicated that they used three related strategies to
improve customer retention: (a) improve the service quality provided to
customers, (b) improve customer satisfaction, and (c) improve customer loyalty.
To prevent customer attrition or customers switching to a competitor, health
and fitness club managers must ensure that training their staff in customer
engagement, conflict management, and customer service is a priority. Also,
managers should attempt to engage new and established customers via social
media, provide incentives for continued membership, and provide an organized,
clean, and safe facility. Based on the findings presented here, I recommend that
health and fitness club managers focus on providing service quality through
customer engagement and customer service. The health and fitness club
managers interviewed in this study focused on building a rapport with
customers and creating an environment that satisfied their customers. This
result supported the findings of Gonçalves (2018) that the perceptions of the
attributes of facilities, equipment, human resources, and accessibility were the
ones that most influenced customer retention in the health and fitness clubs. The
influence of customer satisfaction on retention aligns with the literature in the
studies reviewed in Section 1. These studies found that customer satisfaction
was a direct and indirect predictor of customer retention, but that customer
satisfaction alone is not enough for customer retention. The participants
mentioned that customers stayed with the club for other reasons, such as social
environments, friends and family, staff, and access. Gonçalves (2018) also
reported that some of the customers of the health and fitness clubs are not
satisfied but stayed for other reasons such as accessibility, being with friends,
kind employees. Therefore, health and fitness clubs should highlight and develop
those characteristics within their clubs to improve customer retention.

Recommendations for Further Research

The results of this study highlighted strategies that managers of health and
fitness clubs in Southeast Texas used to improve customer retention. Health and
fitness club managers face continuing challenges in retaining their customers in
a growing market. Future research on customer retention in this sector could aid
in the securing and maintaining of financial capital. For example, some clubs may
be interested in increasing or beginning their use of social media to target
existing customers over traditional marketing tactics. Additional insight into the
effectiveness of social media for health and fitness club managers to attract or
retain customers could provide a competitive advantage and add to the
sustainability conversation. Furthermore, additional research should address
specific ways in which managers could improve service quality and perceived
value to retain customers. The research presented here focused on one
geographically narrow area of the United States. Future research should
compare the results reported here with those from similar studies executed
elsewhere. For example, researchers could consider studying successful health
and fitness clubs managers from various other locations in the state of Texas for
comparison, including Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, and El Paso. Further
examination of strategies used by health and fitness club managers to improve
customer retention in different locations would allow researchers to compare
strategies based on location. Because this study only used one geographic
location, the conclusions presented here may not apply to all health and fitness
clubs. Therefore, further studies that include more interview questions or
include a larger sample size may serve to generalize the results. These options
could address the problems or needs of current customers have that are not
being met or solved. Additional qualitative research, similar to that presented
here, may give some greater insight into other strategies that were useful in
helping health and fitness clubs improve customer retention. Other researchers
should use other methodologies and designs to expand the body of research on
this topic. Overall, the study findings and themes align with the conceptual
framework of the theory of customer retention and the tenets of service quality.

Conclusion

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to explore
strategies that some health and fitness club managers use to improve customer
retention. I conducted semistructured interviews with six health and fitness club
managers in Southeast Texas that had at least three years of experience in that
role. I used member checking to ensure data saturation and validity (see Harvey,
2015). The analysis of each emergent theme was linked back to the literature,
existing bodies of knowledge, and the conceptual framework for this study

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