Dull start for gyms, yoga centers

Few are opting for monthly memberships as fear looms of another lockdown

January usually sees an influx of people taking gym and fitness center memberships thanks to their new resolutions and fitness goals for the year. With the pandemic scare still on, business has not picked up much for the sector, say city gym and fitness center owners.

Energy Fitness, Vasanthanagar, is offering 10 per cent discount on annual memberships till end of the month, but hasn’t seen any new members yet.

The gym, which reopened August last year, has retrieved around 15 per cent of its total business.

Najeeb Aga, proprietor, says, “We usually see a 25 to 30 per cent hike in members during this season but there are no new signups yet.”

He says that ‘the economy has been hit badly’, which has affected their business.

Opting for monthly packages

Fit & Free, located in Malleswaram and Indiranagar, is not offering any discounts. Srinivas J, owner, says, “Though we reopened in August, business is only 10 per cent of what it was before March last year.”

He says that all city gyms have been waiting for January, as memberships usually rise.

“But the new strain has caused fear among many. No new members have joined, some of our old members are back,” he says.

Most are worried about paying for a year’s subscription and are opting for monthly packages. “During the lockdown, those who paid for the year, were not able to access the gym. Many who paid for six-month and yearly packages last year, suffered losses,” he says.

Srinivas says that despite assuring members that if a lockdown happens again, “their offer will be on freeze”, members are not opting for yearly subscriptions.

Staying hopeful

Ramesh J Pereira, owner of Rage Fitness Club, Indiranagar, points out that every year, post first week of January, new members are seen. “Most Bengalureans travel out of the city for New Year’s and are back by then. This year, most are in the city, but the start has been slow,” he says.

Ramesh hopes that by second week of January, new members should come in. “After reopening in August, we saw less than 8 per cent of business before the
pandemic. November and December have been good months, it’s mostly youngsters who are back,” he says.

January, comparing to other months, always sees a boost in membership, often up to 40 per cent, says Israil P, owner of MI Crossfit Gym, Koramangala and Ulsoor.

The gym has introduced a new offer: 12+1 months for Rs 9,000, but it hasn’t gathered as much attention as expected.

He says, “Most people are scared that there could be another lockdown, which is why they don’t want to spend unnecessarily.”

Israil is hoping that business will boost up by at least 30 to 40 per cent.

Yoga, pilates slowly recovering

Aparna Pathak, founder of Celebrating Life, a wellness company, has been taking mixed classes of yoga and pilates online, since June. “People have been skeptical about payments; some have lost jobs and others haggle just to see if they can get a better bargain,” she says.

Despite introducing a 30 per cent discount on rates of classes in January, she hasn’t seen new interested candidates. She adds that most people are looking for free online classes.

“I saw a rise in inquiries in November and most of them assured that they would join the classes by February. Despite most having new year resolutions and intention setting, there isn’t a hike in numbers in January still,” she says.

For Aadhya Power Yoga Studio, in Basaveshwaranagar and JP Nagar, with a reduction of more than 30 per cent revenue from studio, online personal classes are helping meet targets.

Swathi Rajesh, owner, says, “January is the month of resolutions. This January, walk-ins have increased without any discount offers.”

However, compared to last year, new members are lesser, but those who had stopped classes earlier have resumed them.

The reduction in numbers is not connected to the new Covid strain though.

“Most people are responsible towards hygiene and have been following safety protocol voluntarily,” she says.