Why are Dogs twice as popular as Gyms?

7 in 10 people in the UK want to be healthier post-pandemic

[PHE Survey Jan 21]

Many people working in the fitness industry expect all these people to come into a gym and workout.
Surely all those people want to join a class, lift some kettlebells, and run on a treadmill?

• Only 15% of UK adults have a gym membership [Leisure Database Company]
• Whereas 34% of UK households own a dog [Statista]

How are dogs twice as popular as gyms?

Owning a dog is really good for your health. Time magazine has lots on this here.

The health benefits

In short, your dog needs a walk every day, regardless of the weather. This takes you outside for some gentle cardio activity. Sometimes you might throw a stick or a ball too. You feed, care for, stroke, and bend down to pick up after your dog (assuming you’re a responsible owner!)

Besides these simple physical health benefits, there’s a whole load of mental health advantages – companionship, responsibility, interaction, social (greeting other walkers), and more.
Owning a dog is way more than a health club contract, it’s an obligation.
And it’s harder to get out of than the trickiest of gym contracts!

Being a member of a gym provides an opportunity to be more active, but a dog delivers an obligation. A daily walk offers capability, and also boosts motivation, particularly a strong intrinsic motivation (doing it for satisfaction, not for reward).

What does this mean for the fitness industry and health clubs or gyms?

You could start selling dogs, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime sale (albeit in dog years). A simple start is to recognise that most people don’t want to do all the fitness stuff you love and have on offer.

However, they do want to be healthier, and they do want support – particularly motivation. A simple measurement, whether a quick health score from a questionnaire or a full body composition analysis is a good place to start. Offering coaching and plans around their lifestyle, nutrition, and activity will help to uncover their capability and opportunities to change, and a follow-up appointment helps with motivation and accountability.

You don’t need a gym to help the 70%, in fact, it will put a few people off visiting you. But if you can demonstrate that you’re helping people to be healthier with other ‘products’, it will help you to grow your ‘club’ of health seekers.

Take your dog for a walk every day, even if you don’t have a dog.