Fitness and Training

Overall, the fitness and training industry is expected to have steady growth in the coming years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that fitness trainers and instructors will experience 14 percent job growth through 2033, much faster than the average for all occupations. More people are participating in various fitness classes and gym memberships, which will increase demand for exercise trainers and group fitness instructors. Trainers working in the personal care and services field may experience growth of about 6 percent through 2033.

Demand for these instructors will come from aging baby boomers who want to avoid chronic diseases that result from lack of activity, as well as young people who embrace a healthy lifestyle. Many health insurance programs now partly subsidize gym membership fees by offering monthly rebates for policyholders who visit the gym frequently. Some employers are setting up gyms on their premises. It seems likely that fitness centers will be created in retirement communities. Older fitness seekers will create an increased demand for low-impact forms of exercise such as yoga. Best opportunities are expected for job candidates with certification and increased levels of formal education in health or fitness.

The BLS does not release outlook figures for teaching specializations such as physical education. However, it projects a decline in employment for elementary and middle school teachers through 2033. The BLS attributes the decline to a projected decrease in school enrollments as well as state and local budget constraints. High school teachers will also experience a decline in employment through 2033. (These figures do not include special education teachers.) In recent years, school spending on physical education has been declining.

The industry of sporting and athletic goods manufacturing, like other manufacturing sectors in the United States, lost ground during the recession, with decline in revenue and number of employees from 2007 through 2011, and slow recovery in the years that followed. IBISWorld reported only 1.3 percent annual growth in the sporting and athletic good manufacturing industry between 2014 and 2019. The pandemic caused a dip in revenue in 2020, but pent-up demand for athletic and sports equipment has since boosted revenue, with about 1.1 percent annual growth from 2018 through 2023.

The American College of Sports Medicine conducts an annual survey of professionals in the fitness industry, asking about the dominant trends they perceive. In 2020 and 2021, the top trends were online training, home exercise gyms, and outdoor activities due to the social distancing requirements in the early days of the pandemic. For the 2024 survey, among the top trends that respondents identified were wearable technology and mobile exercise apps. Other trends included work-site health promotion, yoga, health and wellness coaching, high-intensity interval training (also known as HIIT), fitness programs for older adults, exercise programs for weight loss, online personal training, exercise programs for mental health, youth athletic development, and personal training programs. Other fitness programs that used to be among the top 20—Pilates, stability ball, and balance training—have not been on this list for a few years.

A periodic survey by the Physical Activity Council attempts to determine the level of physical activity of ordinary citizens. The most recent survey found that the percentage of inactive respondents—those who had not participated in active sports—decreased slightly, from 23.7 percent in 2021 to 22.4 percent in 2022. The portion who had participated in fitness sports in 2022 was 67.4 percent. The survey also revealed that, in 2022, the most significant participation was occurring in the fitness and outdoor-based activities categories. In addition, participation in racquet sports had increased from 13.3 percent in 2017 to 16.4 percent in 2022. The survey also revealed a decrease in participation in individual sports, dropping from 46.2 percent in 2017 to 41.3 percent in 2022.

One trend in fitness is the proliferation of bicycle-sharing programs in large cities. The goal of these programs is partly to increase the fitness of city dwellers but also to reduce automobile traffic. Successful programs have been organized in Denver, Minneapolis, Fort Worth, and the District of Columbia. In 2013, New York City inaugurated the Citi Bike program with about 6,000 bicycles available in lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn at 300 stations. Within 8 weeks, the program had expanded to more than 60,000 members and almost 34,000 trips on a single day. According to Statista, in 2018 there were approximately 1,608 bike sharing programs operating throughout the world, up from 1,400 in 2017 and 1,188 in 2016. In 2024, the global bike-sharing market was valued at $9.06 billion. Strong growth is predicted in this sector, at a rate of nearly 7 percent annually through 2029, to reach $12.66 billion in revenue.

To meet social-distancing guidelines and comply with municipal restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2020, gyms and other fitness services across the nation closed for an extended period. Some companies, such as SoulCycle, closed all of their locations globally. Loss of access to these facilities encouraged consumers to turn digital spaces. In 2020, 85 percent of fitness consumers in the U.S. were using livestream technology to work out as opposed to 7 percent in 2019. For the nearly $100 billion dollar fitness and training industry, the abrupt switch to digital exercise benefitted companies positioned to take advantage of it, such as Peloton, but left traditional gyms with uncertain prospects for reopening. At the same, trade and travel restrictions and disruptions to manufacturing led to shortages of home fitness equipment and delivery delays.

Post pandemic, some people continue to work out at home, many have returned to working out and taking fitness classes on site at gyms and fitness clubs. Fitness studios realized the benefits of offering hybrid models to customer during the pandemic and will continue to offer this option, enabling customers to take classes at home as well as at the gym.

The U.S. gym, health, and fitness clubs industry was valued at $40.6 billion in August 2024. It consists of nearly 90,656 businesses and employs about 644,000 people. Since the pandemic, more people are focused on leading healthy lifestyles and improving their fitness. The research group IBISWorld noted that despite the public's strong interest in health and wellness, the gym, health, and fitness clubs industry will continue to fluctuate based on the strength of the economy. Gyms that offer monthly memberships with low fees for cancellation fare well. Competition will be keen among gyms and fitness clubs in the coming years as many offer similar benefits to consumers. Personal trainers will also be in high demand, due to increased interest in working out in small, personalized groups rather than in large facilities.