Canstar Blue survey looks at Australian gym goers' spending and motivations

Canstar Blue survey looks at Australian gym goers’ spending and motivations

November 7, 2023

A newly released survey from market researchers Canstar Blue has revealed a significant fall in what Australians spend on gym memberships - with gym goers spending an average of $62 per month on gym memberships over the last 12 months, or $744 over a year - noticeably down from $81 a month paid last year.

Surveying 1,000 gym and fitness club members across the nation as to their gym habits, Canstar Blue found adults aged in their 70s spent the most on membership ($69 per month) while those aged in their 20s had the lowest gym costs ($55 per month).

The survey also found that:

23% don’t use their membership as much as they thought they would, down from 27% last year.
33% have tried more than one gym chain in an effort to find a place they really like, down from 39% last year.
50% report feeling healthier for having a gym membership and regularly going to the gym, down from 56% last year.

Motivations to attend fitness clubs
Asking survey respondents about their main motivation for maintaining a gym membership, Canstar Blue found:

37% just want to generally improve their general fitness
23% go to lose weight
16% go to build muscle
15% go for their mental wellbeing

Writing about the findings, Canstar Blue’s Content Projects Lead, Dean Heckscher explained that for others going to the gym is “a mix of being a social activity, rehabilitation or specific sports training.

“Our research shows that most gym members (44%) attend the gym between three and five days each week, which is pretty good going considering how easy it is to come up with an excuse not to go.

“A quarter (24%) go once or twice a week, while 20% hit the gym five or six times per week.

Considering times of the day when people work out, Heckscher noted “we found mornings to be the most popular time of day to hit the gym (30%), followed by evenings (27%) and afternoons (20%). 8% try to fit the gym in at lunchtime, while the rest just go whenever they can.

Most popular gym work outs
Canstar Blue also asked survey respondents what their regular gym workouts consisted of, with respondents stating:

41% were hitting the weights
24% stuck to the cardio section
16% went to the gym for group fitness classes

Heckscher noted “for the rest, their regular workouts consisted of cycling, swimming or boxing or other activities.”

Image credit: The Booty Parlour.

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