The contemporary fitness movement is rooted in the 1960's counterculture, which — among many other "radical" values — gave rise to a new focus on psychological and physical self-improvement. Physical self-enhancement branched off on its own, evolving into one of the most dramatic cultural changes of the 20th century — the fitness revolution. This remarkable history begins with the running boom of the 1970's, and in the racquet-dominated "health clubs" of the same decade; it then proceeds to the aerobics boomlet of the early 1980's, and a few years later, ushers in a third generation of low-impact activities, such as fitness walking, soft aerobics and treadmill exercise. Low-impact is the real revolution, because it makes fitness available to everyone.

In the 1990's, physical fitness began to redefine itself — both demographically and topically. The new exploding genre of potentially less strenuous, or otherwise user-friendly equipment included steppers, recumbent bikes, light hand-weights, and — toward the end of the decade — elliptical trainers. More than 20% of all health club members were now over 55 years of age.

By the turn of the Millennium, the megatrend of physical fitness had lost its 1970's innocence. Many of the spartan gyms of that era were replaced by lavish fitness palaces; and coming full circle, weight training (the proto-activity of health clubs) had returned to rival CV exercise as a dominant fitness form. But the most important contemporary subtrend is probably the new genre of kinder and gentler fitness: stretching, flexibility, balance and relaxation techniques. By integrating the mental and physical, some of these new mind-body incarnations defy traditional categorization as "fitness" activities.

Our new 410-page report begins with this thumbnail history of the American fitness revolution, but contains much, much more — even a glimpse into the future of our industry.

In 2003, most Americans are persuaded that physical activity is essential to good health, and over 50 million adults are frequent exercisers, participating over 100 times a year in at least one fitness activity. From a baseline of near-zero in 1950, a logarithmic curve makes the near-vertical ascent to a fitness utopia of 2050: daily workouts are the norm for every able-bodied American; and those who desist are social outcasts — not unlike the rare misfits who refused to brush their teeth everyday back in 2003.

But there is a competing scenario in which people never exercise. In this alternative future, technology — for centuries the natural enemy of physical activity — is finally triumphant, inventing a "magic pill" which supplies all nutriment, prevents weight gain, and otherwise ensures perfect health.

As always, reality is far more complicated than science fiction. While a sizeable element of the U.S. population currently favors a magical weight loss drug, the threat of such a Viagra-like bombshell appears — at least momentarily — to be subsiding. In 1996, 46% of the population endorsed such a hypothetical panacea; by 2002, support had eroded to 38%.

But neither is there evidence that Americans are becoming more physical. In 2002 there were 50.9 million frequent exercisers — nearly identical to the 51.5 million reported in 1990; on a per capita basis however, the percentage of frequent fitness participants in the U.S. has declined from 23.2% to 19.8%. Far worse, the media informs us daily, American eating habits are out of control — and the country is on the brink of an obesity epidemic. Ironically, people have finally recognized their need for structure, information, stimulation and external discipline; and in the midst of a stalled fitness movement — health clubs and personal trainers — the two venues that address these needs, are flourishing.

All this sounds (and is) confusing, but the immediate future of fitness is relatively straightforward — and herein lies the value of this absolutely unique (and user-friendly) report. While the vast majority of Americans are fitness-conscious, behavior continues to lag enlightened attitudes — a finding which replicates the surveys of 1996 and 1998. 80% of all Americans are sold on the idea of fitness, but only 17% describe themselves as Hard-Core Participants — dubbed "Consciousness IV" in the study.

The majority of Americans (63%) recognize the importance of being fit, but don't get enough exercise. This "Consciousness III" segment, tagged "Uninitiated Believers", represents the near-term future of both the health club industry and exercise equipment business. The report not only provides its demographic and psychographic profile, but tells you exactly how to market and retain this group. Hint: the new fitness prospect is overweight, unathletic, self-conscious, intimidated, and not surprisingly…requires easier exercise, user-friendly equipment and lots of handholding!

Consciousness II types are "Indifferent", while Consciousness I (only 2% of the population) depicts the near-extinct species of "Non-Believers". Neither group is important to fitness marketing.

The research contains even more good news for health clubs:

• Clubs across the U.S. are apparently doing the right things, and earning the grades to prove it. On a satisfaction scale of 1-10, the 2002 sample of health club members registered a mean rating of 7.81, compared with 7.40 in 1998 and 7.29 in 1996 — a statistically significant increase.

• For losing weight, a health club is the place to be. Whereas only 17% of all those in the general population who try to lose weight are successful, the success rate climbs to 23% among health club members, soaring to 30% among frequent exercisers who are also club members.

If you're a health or fitness professional, you may have already sensed that the Comprehensive Study of American Attitudes Toward Physical Fitness and Health Clubs will be an invaluable marketing tool and information resource. In addition to what you've already seen, the report contains sections on psychological stress (and its antidote); dieting and weight loss; the "fat and fit" philosophy; fitness technology; new dimensions in fitness measurement; public opinion on the subsidization of healthy lifestyles, and much more. Please examine the full table of contents at (www.americansportsdata.com/consumer_attitudes.asp) and if you have any questions, call me immediately at (914) 328-8877.

You may order the report ($795.00) by one of three options:

Order by phone (914) 328-8877 — Credit card required.

Fax order form with credit card information to (914) 328-1823.

Mail check with completed order form to American Sports Data, Inc.,
234 N. Central Avenue, Hartsdale, N.Y. 10530.

Also, take a minute to visit our home page (www.americansportsdata.com) to find out about the entire fitness collection, and other ASD reports.

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