Science Confirms: 96% of people will quit going to the gym in the first year

03 Sep Science Confirms: 96% of people will quit going to the gym in the first year

A recent study that spanned over a decade, and observed over 5,000 people found that 63% of new members abandoned their gym within the first three months, and less than 4% remained active for more than 12 months [1].

Factors such as age, starting body mass and previous levels of activity played a significant role in predicting the likeliness of ongoing attendance, or rather, how soon the gym-goer would quit.

Only 1 out of 10 people will remain as an active member after 12 months.

Western Australia’s Curtin University found that focusing on personal reasons for attending a gym, instead of the reasons for exercise alone, was a strong predictor of gym attendance [2]. For example, a holiday, an important event or just improving your quality of life!

Conversely, a team of researchers suggested that extrinsic motivators, such as money, can increase an individuals level of physical activity [3]. This study employed a sample of only 30 people, which isn’t large enough to draw any real conclusions about factors such as financial gain, and levels of physical activity.

Keeping motivated to go to the gym is a difficult task, but the good news is that focusing on the personal benefits of exercise may just be the drive you need to keep going. So before you head out to the gym, think about your next holiday, your next swimsuit purchase or simply just having a better, longer life.

Looking for more motivation?

Check out our sale on Pre-Workout and Intra-Workout Supplements!

Citations

1. Adherence to physical activity in an unsupervised setting: Explanatory variables for high attrition rates among fitness center members. [2016]

2. The effect of men’s body attitudes and motivation for gym attendance. [2016]

3.The Feasibility of Financial Incentives to Increase Exercise Among Canadian Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients. [2016]