Get fit feel good. As the health club industry continues to expand tremendously, teen gym memberships have also skyrocketed. In 2010, industry revenue increased by 5% while memberships also grew at health clubs such as Lifetime, Anytime Fitness and Gold’s Gym. Kids, ages 12-18, are quickly increasing in the health club atmosphere.
The question is, why do teens feel the need to begin lifting weights and running on treadmills at an age as early as twelve? Kara Amorosi, member services team member at Lifetime Fitness, states that she “sees twelve-year-olds training with trainers at Lifetime as early as 6:00 AM”. Amorosi believes the competiveness of high school sports has contributed to this rise in teen memberships at health clubs because “society idealizes fitness and admire people who have a certain edge and can stand out from the crowd”. According to the Fitness Issue, in 2007 3.8 million teenagers had health club memberships while in 2010 there was a dramatic increase to 6.1 million teen memberships.
As society emphasizes the importance of working out and staying fit to maintain a healthy weight and a happy mind, more kids are making working out a priority. Clubs such as Anytime Fitness are popular across the USA with over 500 locations that are easily affordable and easy to access. Anytime Fitness currently opens a new location for their health club every business day.
Health Clubs offer motivation, assistance, and peace of mind. People of all ages can escape from their hectic day and take an hour to relax their mind and body with a hot 1-hour yoga class at Lifetime. Being in a group fitness class provides people with a social aspect so they are able to interact with friends and make new lifelong workout partners. People are now living longer than they did hundreds of years ago; therefor they want to take care of themselves in order to live a healthy life.
Feeling down? Lifetime and 24 Hour Fitness as well as other health clubs are open 24 hours a day allowing their guests to literally get an emotional lift on the weight machines. The lines of cardio machines make it easy to stimulate various brain chemicals that leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. Exercise has been proven to combat depression in all ages. By beginning to workout in the teen ages, kids are preparing themselves for the future by starting a healthy lifestyle early on- mentally and physically.
Exercise creates strong bones which lessen the chances of getting Osteoporosis later in life. Exercise also allows one to have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight. Each day, more and more health clubs pop up in places such as Massachusetts and Colorado where health club attendance is over 20.8%, higher than any other states. With each health club, member’s lifestyles improve, health is enhanced, and more people are walking the streets with pleased and smart minds. (515)
