However you define “wellness,” it’s becoming a central attraction for many who visit today’s fitness facilities. Such activities as yoga and Pilates are leaders in a category that bridges the physical workout and mind-body concept, but there’s much more that today’s operator can offer to promote holistic health.

The 2025 US Health & Fitness Consumer Report: Expanded Insights provides the lowdown: “Yoga remained the most widely practiced activity among members in 2024, with 21.8% participation, up 1.6 percentage points from 2023. … Pilates also gained ground, rising to 8.2% participation in 2024, up nearly a full point since 2021. This is nearly double the general population’s engagement with Pilates, according to national Physical Activity Council data, suggesting fitness facility members are particularly drawn to mind-body programming.”

Another incentive is the benefits that exercise contributes to mental health. According to a 2022 Mintel research report, 78% of exercisers said mental/emotional well-being was their No. 1 reason to work out.

Cognitive and mental wellness are a part of what’s fueling the growth in recovery products and services. Nearly half of fitness facilities—including major chains like 24 Hour Fitness, Crunch, Planet Fitness, and Equinox—offer recovery services, sometimes as add-ons for a non-dues revenue stream or packaged as part of tiered membership options.