2. Table of Contents Page No
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 1
2. About the Study....................................................................................................1
3. Aims and Objectives...........................................................................................1
4. Gender wise Distribution in Gyms.................................................................2
5. The Nutritional Supplements..........................................................................8
6. The Gym Trend..................................................................................................13
7. The Fitness Trainers........................................................................................15
7.1 Gym Index..................................................................................................................16
8. Interesting information gathered from the survey...............................19
9. Estimates of Sampling Errors.......................................................................19
10. References........................................................................................................20
Exhibits....................................................................................................................21
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 ii
3. Appendix
Appendix 1: Institutes In India Providing Fitness Certifications........................1
Appendix 2: Fitness Equipment Manufacturers in India.....................................10
Appendix 3: Major Fitness Equipments Brands In India (Imported)............14
Appendix 4: Nutritional Supplement Manufacturers in India...........................16
Appendix 5: International Nutritional Supplements Brands in India
(Imported)................................................................................................................................18
Appendix 6: Major Gyms/Fitness Chains in India...................................................20
Appendix 7: Major Gyms in the Cities...........................................................................22
Delhi and NCR.........................................................................................................................22
Bangalore..................................................................................................................................23
Mumbai......................................................................................................................................24
Chennai......................................................................................................................................25
Kolkata.......................................................................................................................................26
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 iii
4. PREFACE
A young India, as can be rightly said for the country with around 40% of the population falling
in the age bracket of 10 – 24 years, is on the path of healthy economical growth. But is the health
of young Indian also keeping pace with its economy? While today’s generation is more
urbanised and better educated than the earlier ones, health and lifestyle vulnerabilities have
risen. Health scares, like Obesity, Coronary diseases, diabetes and many more are increasingly
posing a grave problem to the Indians. A consequence of this is an increased awareness towards
fitness and active lifestyle which in turn is fuelling the growth of fitness industry in all its
aspects. While India is showing signs of a promising land, the real questions lies in how the
indigenous/worldwide fitness companies will take advantage of this highly unorganised,
relatively immature yet potentially evolving sector in the coming years.
‘The Gym Survey Report’ describes the findings of the Fitness Industry conducted over a span of
six months in Bangalore. The purpose of this research is to understand how the Fitness Industry
might evolve, to explore various hurdles faced and the possible solutions to mitigate the strains
and maximize the opportunities offered by the Industry. The Survey sheds light on various
aspects of the fitness industry that will prove beneficial to anyone connected to this field
ranging from a common gym goer to the big corporate eyeing for investment in this field.
The finding answers a wide spectrum of questions like the Gender wise distribution of
individuals over the different gym type, analysis of the relation between the age, spending and
use of Nutritional Supplements by the gym goers and how well informed and qualified our
Fitness Trainers are?
I deeply appreciate the guidance and vital inputs from Ryan Fernando of BodyFuelz during the
entire journey of the survey right from the inception of this idea, designing of questionnaire,
deciding on the survey pattern, data analysing and finally writing the report. Also, I would like
to extend my thanks to the BodyFuelz team that helped during the data gathering/survey stage.
Finally, I would like to record my appreciation of the support and co operation of all the
individuals who took part in the survey ranging from the Fitness trainers, Gym Supervisors,
Nutritional Supplements Dealers and most important, all the gym goers.
Dec 2010 Vaibhav Sharma
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 iv
5. 1. Introduction
In the twenty first century, India is witnessing an outbreak of various health problems due to
the new sedentary lifestyle embraced by a majority of urbane population. The most prevalent
among these evils are obesity, and the resultant cardio vascular diseases and diabetes.
As a result, there is an increased awareness among the upper and middle class Indians towards
proper diet and the inclusion of fitness/exercise in the everyday routine to reverse the risk
factors associated with the health.
Hence, coupled with the idea to keep the health disorders at bay and also, to enhance one’s
aesthetic appearance, stemmed from the glamour laden visual entertainment media, there has
been an upsurge in the enrolments to the fitness centres.
The gymnasiums are no longer seen as the places reserved only for some sweat drenched freaks
toiling hard with weights to gain precious muscles, but with several new gyms opening up and
the existing ones throwing open their hi-tech zones with add-ons like spinning, sauna and salsa,
there has been a tremendous change in how we view the fitness in today’s world.
2. About the Study
We conducted a survey in the Gyms of Bangalore to gather the people’s perspective towards
fitness, health, workout and the use of Nutritional Supplements.
The study took place from June 2010 to Nov 2010 in Bangalore. In depth interviews were
conducted with the trainers and customers chosen from a wide spectrum of gyms.
The use of a well formatted questionnaire selectively prepared for gym clients and trainers
provided a comprehensive picture of a common man’s perception towards fitness and health.
3. Aims and Objectives
The aim of the study was to provide a better understanding of the behaviour and attitudes of the
gym goers and the fitness trainers of Bangalore by the use of qualitative research methods.
Qualitative methods aim to cover the perspectives from a wide spectrum of individuals related
to this field.
The Objectives were as follows:
1. To determine what factors directly or indirectly influence people’s behaviour and beliefs with
regards to fitness/workout.
2. To examine attitudinal difference between the trainers and common gym goers.
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 5
6. The gyms covered in this survey are classified under three categories based on the annual
enrolment fees as:
A Class Gym: Annual Fees >Rs 12, 000
B Class Gym: Rs 12,000 >Annual Fees > Rs 7,000
C Class Gym: Annual Fees < Rs 7,000
4. Gender wise Distribution in Gyms
Similar to the other fields which require physical endeavours, the fitness sector also witness a
higher presence of males, both in terms of customers and fitness trainers.
Gender wise Enrolment in Gyms
100%
5
90%
30
80% 35
70%
60% Females
Males
50%
95
40%
70
30% 65
20%
10%
0%
A B C
Exhibit 1
A look at the Exhibit 1 gives a clear picture of the distribution of individuals based on gender
among the three gym categories. The female preference is mostly towards the A and B Class
gyms as compared to C, with majority female participants in the B Class gyms. This can be
derived from the fact that B Class gyms provide a better environment to the lady folks both in
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 6
7. terms of safety and guidance when compared to Cs, and are also not as heavy on the pockets as
the As. Also, as large portion of females get enrolled in group activities (like Aerobics or dance,
the facilities not available in Cs), so coupled with the above factors, B Class gyms come out as
the winners among the fairer sex.
Focusing towards the profession of the gym goers (Exhibit 2), we can see the distributions of
males categorised under Working and Students for the three gyms. While As are dominated by
the professionals, Cs are the preferred choice among the students. A possible explanation of this
trend needs us to focus our attention on the enrolment fee parameter of the gyms. While the Cs,
with their low fees are within an easily access of the low income group comprising of students
but with an obvious compromise on the equipments and guidance, the As are still seen as the
places of workout for well to do individuals.
Hence, B gives a middle path options to the individuals who cannot strain enough financially
to get an A Class Gym enrolment, but are also not very satisfied by the C.
Profession of the Gym Goers(Males)
100%
10
90%
30
80% 40
70%
60% Student(Males)
Working(Males)
50%
90
40%
70
30% 60
20%
10%
0%
A B C
Exhibit 2.1
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 7
8. To get a similar analytical view of the female gym goers, we need to expand out categories of
survey. In order to have a complete picture of the female enrolment pattern to the gyms, we
need to add a new section of non working females, which is the House wives (Exhibit 3).
The presence of females in the C class gyms is very negligible, which can be attributed to the
factors of behaviour and safety. While the Bs have the highest concentration of the Housewives,
As are the favourite choices among the Working women. All the observations residing on the
fact that “More the spending capacity, the better the facilities you will go for”.
Profession of Gym Goers (Females)
100%
90% 15
30
80%
70% Housewife(females)
60% Working(females)
50% Student(females)
75 50
40%
30%
20%
10% 20
10
0%
A B
Exhibit 2.2
As the above study shows, most of the urbane fitness conscious population is with the B class
gyms, though the enrolments tread line for the As is also going up, slowly but steadily.
So for the big players to increase their market penetration they need to tap this immensely
potential middle and lower middle class sections with a huge population base of individuals
with increasing private incomes, growing awareness and changing saving behaviours.
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 8
9. A possible way for the big franchises to conquer the blossoming opportunities could be the
introduction of relatively cheaper versions of their existing chains, like aping the successful
business model implemented in the case of low cost airlines. With such a growth on the horizon,
it will be early to say which category of gym will be a clear winner.
Moving ahead and looking on the age wise composition of the gym goers (obtained by a union
of gym goers from As and Bs), we find certain similarities among both the genders. The age that
is holding the maximum chunk of the pie is between 20 – 30 years (Exhibit 4 & Exhibit 5).For
the males, after peaking to 50% (Exhibit 6), the graph falls sharply thereafter, indicating the
presence of fewer individuals comparatively in other age groups, but in case of females the fall
is more gradual, suggesting a substantial number of females in those age segments also.
Age group of the Gym Goers (Males)
10%
20%
below 20 years
20%
20 – 30 years
30- 35 years
above 35 years
50%
Exhibit 3.1
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 9
10. Age group of the Gym Goers (Females)
5%
20%
below 20 years
20 – 30 years
40% 30- 35 years
above 35 years
35%
Exhibit 3.2
Comparative Age wise distribution (Males
& females)
60%
50%
40%
Females
Males
30%
20%
10%
0%
below 20 years 20 – 30 years 30- 35 years above 35 years
Exhibit 4
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 10
11. 5. The Nutritional Supplements
With a massively expanding middle class along with its increasing awareness towards
preventive therapies, rising discretionary income and favourable growth environment, the
Nutraceutical* sector is propelled on a high growth path with the figures at 21% annually, and
the entire nutritional supplement market in India is set to double its current worth by 2013.
In the study, we can see the distribution (Exhibit 7) of the use of supplements by the individuals
over the three gyms. The study only comprises of male respondents as females using nutritional
supplements for recreational purposes are still very low. Though the figures stand nearly the
same for Bs and Cs in the use of supplements, there is a significant difference between the
brands preferred in both the segments.
Though individuals in Bs and As mostly go for American Brands, predominantly Whey Proteins
from Optimum Nutrition, Ultimate Nutrition and GNC, those in Cs prefer more of Indigenous
brands, like the Couch’s Formula and Venky’s.
Percentage of individuals using
supplements (Males)
40%
35
35%
30
30%
25%
20
20% % of individuals using
15% supplements (Males)
10%
5%
0%
A B C
Exhibit 5
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 11
12. To download the full Report please visit the below link:
http://www.fitnesswiki.in/Fitness_Wiki_Charts.html
Thanks.
Gym Survey Report - Bangalore 2010 12
