Having been crowned Gen Z’s favorite way to workout, strength training continued to make impressive gains in 2023. So how can your club maximize this trend in 2024?
The phenomenon shows no sign of slowing down, with club members around the world flocking to the squat racks and the club studio to get their strength fix. Gen Z are driving the trend but they’re not the only ones who love lifting. Members of all ages are taking to strength training in their droves to tap into its myriad benefits.
In particular, the upsurge has been bolstered by the growing numbers of women taking up strength. Social media savvy strength lovers are taking to TikTok for inspiration, with the hashtag #girlswholift sitting at a whopping 12.8 billion views as of November 23. Similarly, the search term ‘weightlifting routine for women’ has risen by 350% over the past three months, capturing the appetite that exists for guidance in this space.
The 2023 report Gen Z Fitness: Cracking the Code found that 64% of Gen Z exercisers have a strong preference for choosing different workouts, as well as discovering new ones. Their enthusiasm for strength and conditioning workouts has led to sculpt workouts — such as stretch, yoga and Pilates classes — experiencing a resurgence in clubs as a complementary training modality for building and toning muscle. The Cracking the Code report showed strong appetite for sculpt workouts — with 63% of Gen Z exercisers enjoying reformer Pilates, 57% doing yoga, and 55% taking part in mat Pilates – suggesting there’s plenty of demand for more strength variants in 2024.
If you’re considering how to maximize the category in your facility, here are three ways to win with members:
Fundamental Strength for Beginners
Fundamental strength is the ground floor of strength training, covering movements like squats, lunges or hinge exercises like kettlebell swings. These activities are great starting points for members new to strength, helping them replicate how their bodies move in everyday life, to improve stability and power. For those new to strength, easing them in with small group sessions alongside others who are also new to the category removes any perceived judgment and allows your instructors to pay close attention to encouraging confidence and good form.
Explosive Strength
Once members have established their confidence, they can begin to increase their speed and power by training for explosive strength. This helps members enhance their strength, power and speed, achieving all-round increased athleticism. Plyometric exercises like box jumps, plus weighted step-ups and jumps can be complemented with speed-based activities like sprints to generate quick bursts of maximum effort.
Endurance Strength
Unlike pure weight-based strength workouts, endurance strength targets a healthy core for improved balance, posture and stability. Yoga and Pilates are both popular core workouts that are suitable for members at every stage of their strength journey. For beginners, there’s the opportunity to tackle breathwork and adjust to training that requires mental, as well as physical, strength. And for those who are more experienced, tougher endurance exercises like mountain climbers and side planks with rotation will begin to challenge muscles in more complex ways.
