According to Les Mills Asia Pacific, check out three fitness trends that clubs should look out for in 2023.

1. “Show Me The Value”

With a global recession and cost-of-living crisis looming large, consumers are scrutinising all of their monthly outgoings and deciding which they can do without. This means fitness providers will need to work even harder to demonstrate value to their members, at a time when operating costs are rising at alarming rates.

So how can operators prevail? Dialling up the member experience and maximising social connections through activities like group workouts will help keep members emotionally invested in your facility and disinclined to leave. But extending the services your club can offer them could hold the key to driving additional revenue.

With budgets being squeezed, clubs can make a compelling pitch for consumers’ full fitness spend by offering an omni-fitness membership that negates the need for a digital fitness subscription to supplement their in-club workouts.

Whether offering digital workouts as a membership upsell in a similar vein to LA Fitness, Esporta and Everyone Active, or baking them into your core membership offering to provide added value like these Gold’s Gyms, digital content can help clubs increase yield in a challenging market. By offering members an omni-fitness service that covers their workout needs in-club and at-home, operators build firm foundations for increasing membership prices without overly upsetting members, as they can clearly demonstrate the added value they’re providing.

2. #Fittok For The Win

Silly dances aside, TikTok has firmly established itself as the zeitgeist social media platform for young people, earning a significant amount of influence – particularly when it comes to fitness.

#FitTok, the subsect of TikTok populated with workout hacks and fitness tips, has attracted over 40 billion views as of December 2022. And while sometimes the domain of dubious advice and damaging diet and weight loss content, #FitTok is also home to a vibrant community of content creators serving to educate and inspire the next generation of fitness fans.

#FitTok has spawned several fitness trends – including the 12-3-30 treadmill-based workout that’s racked up 130 million views and counting over the past year – causing club operators to take note, with many chains now expanding their presence on TikTok.

And with papers suggesting one in four fitness videos on TikTok feature incorrect information, there’s a strong opportunity for operators to leverage their credibility and the expertise of their trainers to cut through the noise of #FitTok by offering trustworthy, science-backed advice to inspire and engage new audiences.

This chimes with recent research – featuring insights from over 3,000 digital fitness users – that found the majority use social media to search for serious science-backed fitness content to help them hit their goals. The most popular topics they’re looking for include:

• Technique tips
• Goal-specific exercise plans
• Motivation and inspiration
• Nutritional advice
• Deals on equipment and merchandise
• General health and wellness information.

3. VR Gets Ready For Lift-Off

2022 was a breakthrough year for virtual reality (VR) as growing adoption and greater choice of headsets helped catapult VR into the mainstream. META’s Quest 2 VR headset remains the dominant player, but TikTok owner ByteDance has recently launched its own PICO headset with a strong focus on the China market, while both Playstation and Apple are expected to launch VR headsets in 2023, fuelling further growth.

But unusually for gaming, this is one domain where fitness is a major growth category. Games such as Beat Saber and Supernatural have made significant headway, while in just eight months, Les Mills BODYCOMBAT VR became the world’s best-selling fitness VR game as the popular martial arts program moved boldly into the metaverse to offer a thrilling gamified workout. Its popularity even earned the program bragging rights as ‘Best App of 2022’ according to Meta.

In the short term, perhaps the biggest boon of the metaverse will be helping fitness brands connect with new audiences, laying the foundations for future engagement both online and in-club.

By creating a presence in the metaverse, either flying solo or through partnerships, clubs have the opportunity to broaden their appeal and take their services to a much wider (and typically younger) audience. And as the fitness gamification trend continues to take hold, expect to see an inspiring new wave of immersive workouts where music, visuals, wearables and Instructors combine to offer participants an exhilarating fitness experience.

GIVE YOUR CLUB THE EDGE

As the world’s first omni-fitness app, LES MILLS+ bridges the gap between digital and live workouts by signposting users towards your club. Find out more at www.lesmills.com.au/clubs/lm-plus-affiliate-program.

To read about more fitness trends that are set to shape 2023, visit www.lesmills.com.au/news/7-standout-fitness-trends-set-to-shape-2023. Or to explore the tried and tested Les Mills ‘trends’ that can level-up your club’s success, by attracting new members and retaining current ones, contact your local Business Partnership Manager in Australia or Southeast Asia.