Is ‘Gymtimidation’ a Thing?

The gym is a place which either strikes fear into your heart or a place where you thrive and can’t wait to rush back to daily. However, the media image which is so heavily portrayed, and one which is used for advertising campaigns worldwide, is ofyoung, nimble athletes. Could this be a contributing factor to the lack of older generation in gyms up and down the country?

The experts at Portafina undertook a survey of 2,000 participants, which would split evenly between two key age ranges, under-30s, and over-50s, to discover more about whether ‘Gymtimidation’ is a thing. The highly relevant survey is one which explores how active the two generations are, and how much importance each age range places on activity and healthy living.

The results are rather eye-opening!

The survey discovered that over-50s prefer to exercise outdoors (26%), which could be a factor into why gymsappear to be primarily occupied by those in lower age ranges. There’s no denying that exercise enjoyed outside is more varied and, often, exciting. In fact, 8.3% of over-50s walk more than 10,000 steps a day, the recommended daily average. Unless they use a treadmill continuously, this is a little harder to achieve in a gym.

However, what’s extremely important to note is whether gyms are welcoming, inviting places for those in the over-50 age range. Let’s take the gym adverts; they feature young, attractive, toned people, they do not feature older citizens.Portafina found that only 10% of over-50s hold a gym membership, compared to 32% of under–30s. But why exactly is this? It’s not because of over 50s living a sedentary lifestyle. 32% of over 50s made exercise part of their daily routine, in contrast to under 30s who exercise specifically to reduce stress. The survey shows that over 50s felt keeping active is an extremely vital part of their lifestyle, but the gym rarely appeals. It’s a place which is seen as a young person’shobby, rather than an inclusive area for young and old alike to improve their fitness.

As Portafina expertly point out, the over 50s generation is a huge missed opportunity for gym owners. When you take into account that the majority of the younger generations will be working a typical 9-5 workday throughout the week, this is a part of the day which sees gyms becoming emptier. Interestingly, this is the part of the day when 65% of over-50s are the most active. It stands to reason then that this is a clientele which gyms need to be targeting.

To target and attract the older clientele, gyms need to be changing the way they operate. Advertising campaigns need to feature older citizens, but most importantly, the gyms themselves need to employ staff who can assess and train those in the over 50 generation.

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