China

Country Insights

Smaller, More Flexible Fitness Models Gain Ground

By Frances Fan, Director, and Arthur Yan, General Manager, ChinaFit

Industry Performance and Market Dynamics

In 2025, the number of fitness facilities in China remained broadly flat or slightly lower than in 2024. Beneath that headline stability, however, the structure of the market continued to change. The number of large-scale commercial gyms continued to decline, as did membership within that segment. Private-coaching studios followed a similar pattern, with both facility counts and client numbers continuing to fall. By contrast, smaller-format clubs continued to increase, reflecting a broader shift in how consumers want to access fitness services.

The strongest growth was concentrated in 24-hour clubs and studios, where both facility numbers and membership continued to rise. Smart access and other technology-enabled features have become more widespread and significantly improved, strengthening the appeal of these models. Strength-training-focused “iron gyms” also expanded, supported by increasing interest in self-directed strength training and simpler, more specialized club concepts.

Consumer behavior is helping drive this market transition. Members are becoming younger, more price-sensitive, and more interested in freedom and flexibility. Many prefer to train independently and do not want aggressive sales approaches or unnecessary interruption during their workouts. ChinaFit estimates that market penetration among younger consumers exceeds 10%, making this demographic increasingly important to the industry’s future.

Service models are changing accordingly. Demand for complimentary group classes within large gyms is declining alongside the traditional full-service model, although paid group classes are showing signs of growth. Large personal-training packages have become rare, with consumers increasingly choosing smaller, short-term lesson packages. Independent and freelance personal trainers are also becoming more common. Across the industry, prices and average transaction values per member continued to decline in 2025, reinforcing the move toward lower-priced and more flexible offerings.

Policy, Advocacy, and Public Health

Regulatory changes are reinforcing the move away from long-term, high-value prepaid memberships. Restrictions on long-duration membership cards and high-average-transaction-value purchases have made monthly and quarterly memberships increasingly common, while contracts extending beyond one year are now rare. These changes place greater emphasis on ongoing service quality and member retention rather than large upfront sales.

At the same time, the government continues to promote national fitness and national health as major policy priorities. This provides an important long-term foundation for the industry, positioning physical activity as part of a broader effort to improve population health and encourage more active lifestyles.

Economic and External Context

More cautious consumer spending remains one of the principal pressures on the Chinese fitness industry. Consumers are trading down, average spending per member is falling, and operators must respond with clearer value, shorter commitments, and more efficient business models. These conditions are likely to continue favoring smaller clubs, lower-priced formats, and concepts that rely less heavily on large prepaid packages.

Against these pressures, the nationwide emphasis on fitness and health provides a supportive external force. Greater public awareness of physical activity and continued promotion of national health have the potential to expand participation over time, even as operators navigate a more demanding consumer environment.

Outlook and Key Drivers

The outlook for China’s fitness market in 2026 and beyond will depend heavily on the stability of the broader economy and the recovery of consumer spending power. In the short to medium term, these factors will shape both the industry’s growth potential and its principal risks. Operators that can deliver affordable, flexible, and clearly differentiated services are likely to be best positioned in this environment.

The market’s structural transition is expected to continue. Smaller clubs, 24-hour access, technology-enabled operations, strength-focused concepts, short-term memberships, and more flexible personal-training models are likely to remain important. Growth will increasingly come from meeting the preferences of younger consumers who value autonomy, convenience, and lower-pressure fitness environments.

Over the medium to long term, population aging and changes in the overall size of China’s population will become increasingly important. These demographic shifts may create new demand for health-oriented and age-appropriate exercise services, while also affecting the size and composition of the potential member base. Therefore, China’s fitness industry is moving into a period defined less by the expansion of traditional large clubs and more by adaptation to changing consumer, economic, and demographic realities.

ChinaFit supports industry development through education, exchange, and international engagement. It has co-organized the ChinaFit-HFA Management Forum for 14 consecutive years, hosts several annual industry conferences and exhibitions, organizes club visits across China, and leads delegations to major fitness events in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia.