Getting in shape at the gym has not escaped the rising cost of living and some gym members are having second thoughts about continuing their association given the increased fees.
One resident who has been a member of various gyms for the past decade and who did not want to be identified by name told Barbados TODAY she was now evaluating if she should again change gyms or withdraw temporarily due to the rising costs.
The mother of two explained that her membership fee has gone from $140 per month to $160 or $40 per week to $50 per week.
“Obviously it will be cheaper if you pay on a monthly basis but for me, with the cost of living it is difficult,” she complained.
“The gym is supposed to be a place where people go to help them get healthier, but food costs are going up, people have less disposable income and added to that the choices in terms of healthier food are more expensive. If you are looking to bring down things like non-communicable diseases a consideration has to be made in terms of making healthier foods cheaper and also allowing people to have greater access to health facilities like a gym,” she suggested.
“I now have to think about reassessing whether I want to make that additional $20 monthly investment to go to the gym or just hit the street. I know it is going to hamper people’s physical journey who feel more motivated when they go to the gym and have access to equipment and get a personal trainer.”
She said while she understood gym operators had to think about covering their rising costs they should also take into consideration the rising cost of living and unemployment.
Kemar Holder said while he still considered his gym to have one of the cheapest prices on the island at $100 per month, an increase of $10, it would still have an impact on him in the grand scheme of things.
“I mean, $100 is not too bad, but it is starting to go up in that range that it is getting high,” he said, as he recalled the days gym membership fees were between $60 and $80.
Holder, who has been in the gym for the past four years and would sometimes utilise the services of a personal trainer, said “Membership fees going up is really hard plus you still have to pay a trainer to get in that training if you don’t have a clue what you are doing in a gym. You can easily spend $200 or more per month in a gym and the training might be for only two sessions for a week,” he said.
Latoya Holmes, who has been a member of her gym for close to two years, said while the fee was $100 when she started, it had since increased to $120 per month.
She said with the increase in the cost of living in other areas she was in the process of finding a group to exercise safely, given that her monthly pay was having to stretch further than it did a year ago.
In addition to a monthly gym fee, Holmes said she used to pay $500 for a personal trainer for three sessions per week and she had to terminate that after just a couple months.
“The price increase in some gym fees is really a concern because you have to pay that plus the personal trainer, but I did it because I was seeing results,” she said.
Some gym operators, including many of those with price hikes declined to speak with Barbados TODAY.
However, owner of the popular Little League Gym William Beckles told Barbados TODAY he had no plans for an increase this year. He noted that he was expecting the usual high numbers when he re-opens his Bank Hall, St Michael facility next week following the Christmas break.
“We ended off last year with pretty high occupancy. If I compare January last year to now I would have to say that January last year was also a good time for me. I can tell you the gym was very busy throughout the entire last year and if right now is any indication, I would say that we could see up to 85 per cent occupancy in my gym when we reopen next week,” he said.
Asked about the likely impact rising gym membership fees could have on consumers, the fitness industry official said while his fee has remained stable “for quite some time” at $122 per month, he believed others have increased their price to match operating costs.
“If I had to guess I would assume electricity costs would have increased for some persons and obviously gasoline [prices] went up, but for me at Little League Gym we are fully solar powered so that keeps our overhead down significantly,” he said.
“I am sure some other facilities their rental would have gone up as well. I own my own property. So these are some factors that help to keep Little League Gym stable,” he said.
Operator at the First Fitness Gym and Training Centre Shakeila Vaughn told Barbados TODAY that since the full reopening of gyms it has been “business as usual” for that Oistins, Christ Church operation.
“It has been very busy. People are frequenting the gym,” she said, as she recalled that business was only affected when gyms were required to close during the height of the pandemic.
She said it would be difficult to give a true picture of what First Fitness Gym and Training Centre could expect for this year, given that most people tend to sign up by the end of January.
A lot more people would return to the gym towards the end of January into early February after taking a Christmas break, and again there is usually a spike in gym membership leading up to the annual Crop Over festivities, which run from May to the first week of August.
Vaughn said First Fitness Gym has not adjusted its fee. In fact, she said clients were getting more value for their membership.
“The price is still the same but you get more for your money. That is the only adjustment that we have made. You have classes that are now included with the membership, as well as three days’ free personal training and meal plan,” she said.
