Fitfor Life

Mini-gyms in residential areas tap into the lucrative shared business trend

LI Tianqi, 34, was delighted to find that two shared mini-gyms were recently placed in his residential compound. As a fitness guru, he has made working out an important part of his daily routine.

On National Fitness Day, August 8, Misspao Minigyms, also known as shared gyms, were made accessible throughout Beijing. Covering 5 square meters, the air conditioned gyms can be used at $1 per 30 minutes and are equipped with a treadmill, Wi-fi and a television.

Instead of traveling outside of his residential area to use a gym, Li now has the convenience of using one on his doorstep. “The cost of using a mini-gym is far cheaper than going to a conventional gym. It is well equipped and I can listen to music or watch a film when running inside,” he said.

The past years have witnessed the Chinese public’s growing passion for sports and fitness activities. Minigyms can help the elderly and the young stay healthy, while giving the nation a kick start to exercise more. and fitness facilities available is now an issue. The rising interest in healthy living and regular workout is not matched with an increase in venues.

According to Nielsen, a global data research company, in terms of gym density, China is still far behind the United States which offers one gym for every 10,000 people. However, the gym to people ratio is 1: 320,000 in China. Not only do older residential areas lack exercise facilities, but newly constructed residential communities are also found wanting.

Thus, China has a huge gap in the fitness service market. Zhiyan.org, a Beijing-based consulting service provider, said China’s fitness industry output value was 70 billion yuan ($10.6 billion) in 2015. In the next five years, the sector is expected to develop steadily and maintain a 12-percent annual growth. By 2020, the value of the gym market is expected to reach 123 billion yuan ($18.6 billion).