Start-ups introduce monthly passes to make your gym membership lean

Regular users need to have a monthly membership, the rest can opt for pay-per-session

Every month there are about 23 million searches on Google for keywords such as “fitness option near me”. Despite such high interest in fitness, there are only 10 million active members of fitness studios and gyms, according to data from Fitternity.

It’s a common story: Many join fitness clubs enthusiastically. A few months later, they stop going altogether. “About 80 per cent of people drop out of gyms within six months,” says Amaresh Ojha, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Gympik. Even those who continue don’t visit regularly. “Almost 97 per cent of those who sign up for membership of fitness centres feel that they have not been able to get the full value of the money paid as they are not regular,” adds Ojha.

To address these issues, start-ups have come up with models that are flexible, convenient and help fitness club goers save money.

Use pay-per-session if you are irregular: On an average, most people visit a gym or a fitness centre only four to six times a month. For such individuals, paying for individual sessions makes more sense. “The cost is designed in such a way that it should be one-tenth or one-fifteenth of the monthly membership of a gym,” says Neha Motwani, founder and CEO, Fitternity. If a monthly membership costs Rs 4,000, the per session cost will be between Rs 270 and Rs 400.

Pay-per-session also comes handy if you are training in one activity and want to complement it with another. Roopank Chaudhary,  a management consultant, has a personal trainer who visits his home. “But my job involves frequent travel, and I like to do yoga on weekends. I use pay-per-session to be regular with my workouts while travelling and also for yoga,” says Chaudhary.

Pay-per-session has also made swimming pools and fitness centres at five-star hotels more accessible. Starting at around Rs 1,000 a session, you can go for a swim in a five-star hotel or use their gym.

Membership is expensive: Gym and fitness studio memberships are structured in such a way that most end up buying the annual plan. On an average, a gym charges Rs 4,000 for a one-month membership (annualised Rs 48,000). But the annual plan is offered at a steep discount of 60-65 per cent. “Such pricing structure exists as customer acquisition cost is high. A gym gets members from localities wihtin its two-kilometre radius. After two years of operation, customer acquisition slows down. Thereafter, the fitness centre needs to spend heavily to gain new customers,” says Akshay Verma, founder and director, FITPASS.

Start-ups are bringing down customer acquisition cost for fitness clubs. That’s how they are able to offer newer models such as pay for each session and a monthly pass that allows access to any club in the network. The choice between pay-per-session and a monthly pass for an individual depends on the frequency of their visit to the gym.

Monthly pass suits frequent users: Fitness passes do away with the variable pricing of fitness clubs. You can sign up for a monthly or quarterly membership. FITPASS, for example, offers one-month membership in Mumbai for Rs 1,279 and three-month for Rs 3,199. With this one membership, a person can access over 250 fitness centres and choose from a variety of workouts such as yoga, pilates, Crossfit, and so on.

A network of gyms has its benefits. An individual can book sessions with gyms that may charge Rs 10,000 or even Rs 1 lakh for annual membership without paying anything extra. Depending on the city, customers get access to fitness centres such as Gold's Gym and Fitness First. But fitness passes may have certain restrictions. They may restrict visits to some centres to four or five times a month. Before you take up one, examine their list of centres and if there are any usage restrictions on the centre of your choice.

Swati Gupta, 27, signed up with FITPASS for the variety of workouts it offers and the ability to access a fitness centre almost everywhere. The Delhi-based banker stays in Noida and works in Greater Kailash-II. “I keep my gym clothes and accessories with me. Depending on the schedule, I can easily pick a gym close to my home or office,” says Gupta. Fitness passes are also popular with those who prefer group workout sessions.

No replacement for personal trainers yet: If you are starting out and want a personal trainer (PT) for handholding, there are no viable options to replace it yet. You will need to enrol in a gym to get a PT. Motwani says that they will soon launch plans where a person can take his personal trainer to the fitness centre or choose one available at the centre by paying extra.

What first time users can do is use a fitness pass or pay-per-session to explore fitness centres around them and also different types of workouts to see what suits them best. Once they choose the centre and preferable workout, they can take up full-fledged membership.

"I opted for a fitness pass to try different workouts. Depending on my day's schedule, I can book a fitness centre close to either my office or home" -
Swati Gupta, 27, banker

"I have a trainer who comes home. But I use pay-per-session for yoga over the weekend or when I am travelling for work to other cities" --Roopank Chaudhary, 41, management consultant