THE RISE OF ONLINE FITNESS SERVICES SHOULD WORRY EVERY GYM OWNER.
Beachbody, founded in 1998 with VHS workout tapes sold through infomercials, launched Beachbody on Demand in 2015. The streaming-workout service has 800,000 members paying $100 annually, with much of the growth coming from people uncomfortable with going to a gym, says Carl Daikeler, Beachbody CEO and co-founder.
“We got rid of the commute, the gross locker room and the uncertainty of what to do at the gym,” Mr. Daikeler says. The company also sells DVDs.
People who used this on-demand approach for the first time in 2016 spent 37% of their total fitness budget on these services, according to Cardlytics. They spent nearly 40% of their workout budget at traditional gyms, and the rest on fitness boutiques, according to Cardlytics.
A year earlier, those on-demand fitness users had spent nearly 67% of their exercise dollars on gyms.
The Insta-Daughter does online sessions with Ballet Beautiful. It seems to work for her.
UPDATE: David Kirkham writes:
Did you know about www.startingstrengthonlinecoaching.com
I am using one of their coaches and am closing in on that elusive 400 pound squat with their help.
I’ve already pulled over 400 in a dead lift.
Great coaches. Great motivation. They know lifting.
I’m sure!