Photo By: Diana CoxGet fit
Free weights and an exercise ball line one of the walls inside Cutting Edge.
The Cutting Edge has given Molalla residents a place to actively improve and maintain a healthy lifestyle since 2001, however general manager Sheldon Sanders sees the long-term nature of the recession as a real threat to the club.
And he’s not alone. According to a global trade association that represents clubs like Cutting Edge Fitness and other health club owners, gyms all over the nation are experiencing the same phenomenon: people seeing their memberships as a luxury that they can cut to save some money – without regard for the negative effects it could have on their health.
Business was good for Cutting Edge during their first seven years in business and in August of 2008 they were experiencing their best year yet.
By September of 2008 business had slowed considerably and the number stayed down until January, as is typical after New Years.
Most gyms see a spike in memberships and Cutting Edge was no exception. Business stayed good following the New Year’s resolution growth for about five months but then began dropping again in May. For the last six months it has continued to get worse with October being the worst month Cutting Edge has seen so far.
According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, a fitness industry global trade association which represents over 9,750 for profit health and fitness facilities and over 740 supplier companies in 78 countries, the first members to drop off in tough economic times will be the ones who only used their memberships sporadically to begin with.
Diane Hart of Albany, N.Y., owner of Hart to Heart Fitness and the regional director for the National Association of Health and Fitness notes that people see a gym membership as an unneeded expense in times when they must tighten their wallets.
Hart is in her 50’s and works out daily. She has the bone density of a 20 year old and believes spending money on a gym membership is an investment in your health and is a needed expense.
“It’s about quality of life,” she said. “What legacy of health and fitness do you want to leave in your life?”
The national average cost of a gym membership is $55 per month and the IHRSA notes that people in the workforce who exercise regularly are happier employees, more productive, less stressed and miss fewer work days than those who do not.
Sanders is taking steps to keep the club open and bring in more members by offering the popular Zumba aerobics class, deals on current fitness classes for non-members and specials on membership rates.
Right now fitness classes for non-members are $5. Anyone buying a new membership for one year will not have to pay sign-up fees, a savings of $40 for individuals and $50 for couples.
Three month, six month and year long single memberships, when paid in full, are now only $95, $168 and $270. Three month, six month and year long couples memberships are now $150, $270 and $425. The savings range from $55 to $185 and put the club’s monthly prices on average $20 below the national average.
Right now Sanders’ goal is to keep the gym open until January in hopes of seeing another rise in memberships after the New Year’s holiday.
One of the things Sanders is hoping to accomplish with the specials is to get new members to pay all at once.
Cutting Edge also gives it customers the option of paying for a contract on a monthly basis and Sanders notes a fair portion of those memberships are no longer being paid for.
Members are not actually canceling, but the money is no longer coming in. He also says he has seen a drop in the number of non-members who use Cutting Edge’s tanning beds.
Sanders has tried to lessen the amount of operating costs of the gym by cutting out five hours a week that the gym was open. He chose to cut hours during the times when the gym received the fewest number of patrons, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Sanders is also concerned about the current members who will be affected if the gym is forced to shut down. Cutting Edge is the only co-ed health club in the city.
“We have almost 350 active members,” he said. “If this place closes there will be no gym in Molalla, where will those people go?”
Without a co-ed health club in Molalla, residents would be forced to drive to Canby, Woodburn or Oregon City to find the nearest exercise establishments.
Many people terminate a gym membership or never purchase one in the first place because they intend to work out at home with items such as the WiiFit or free weights that can be purchased at a retail store.
“The problem with working out at home is there are many things at home that get in your way,” Hart said. “When people work out at a gym they usually stay longer than they anticipate, endorphins kick in and seeing other people working out is a motivator.”
Sanders understands people cutting back on spending during tough economic times but hopes Molalla residents will not neglect their bodies in doing so.
Current data available from the IHRSA shows that obesity rates in the United States are higher than ever.
“You have to think about your health,” Sanders said.
Cutting Edge Fitness is currently open seven days a week, offers a range of fitness classes from yoga to body sculpting, a weight room and a cardio room.