Lazy Aussies wasting $1.8 billion on unused gym memberships

MILLIONS of Australians could be a whole lot richer if they made one simple phone call.

If you bother going, a gym membership could be good value. But for those who rarely use it, each session can cost over $100.

AUSSIES, it’s time to quit the gym.

Non-fitness junkies around the country are wasting nearly two billion dollars a year on gym memberships they barely use, research shows.

Around 30 per cent of us have a gym membership. But an exclusive poll for news.com.au shows that out of those with a membership, 27 per cent barely use it — going less than once a week.

For these people, their wasted fees add up to a staggering $1.8 billion, according to finder.com.au.

Many people struggle to find the time to go to the gym, but seldom do they cancel their memberships, leaving almost 1.5 million of us paying for memberships used less than once a week, according to Finder’s Bessie Hassan.

Of those with gym memberships, 56 per cent do actually use it, going at least twice a week.

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But there’s another group of about 553,000 Australians who don’t even go once a month.

Finder research shows these people would spend on average $144 each per visit. And around seven per cent go about once a month, costing them $96 per visit.

Imagine how crowded the gym would be if all those who had memberships used them.

They look happy. They must be getting value for money for their gym memberships. Picture iStock

The average joining fee for a gym runs at $1148 for one year, making it almost always cheaper to pay per visit for those unlikely to take full use of a membership.

This means those who don’t use their memberships much go to subsidising those who do.

Obviously a huge amount of money, $1148 could go a long way towards other living costs.

In comparison — the average person spends $1576 on energy each year, meaning cutting the gym membership you’re not using goes two-thirds of the way paying for your power bill.

Data showing too many Australians aren’t using their gym memberships.

Latrobe University Centre for Sport and Social Impact director Matthew Nicholson told news.com.au it was unsurprising so many didn’t use their memberships.

“For many the gym is an environment full of the fear of judgment,” he said.

“There’s also a feeling of failure of keeping up that habit despite the research that shows keeping up that habit is extremely difficult.”

He said for these people, keeping their memberships was a way of “cutting themselves a bit of slack”.

“There is a vision of the healthier self for everyone,” he said.

“Maybe the promise of starting again is enough for keeping the membership going.”

Despite what you hope, just paying a membership doesn’t make you fit. Picture: iStock

Professor Charles Abraham from the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne, said many people who held memberships but didn’t use them, still had intentions to use them.

“Intention or motivation is really critical about whether or not we act,” he said. “But the problem is that the intentions are not enacted on.”

He said that those who experienced regret from not following through on those intentions were the ones most likely to use their memberships.

“People need to believe they can do it,” he said.

“We don’t keep doing things we don’t believe we can do.”

Even the least expensive gyms aren’t ‘cheap’. Especially if you never use them.

Previous research from Fitness Australia found women were more likely than men to go to the gym.

They also found financial hardship and time factors were some of the biggest reasons for people to give up their memberships.

Fitness Australia told news.com.au that 56 per cent of people kept their gym memberships for longer than 12 months, suggesting a good number of us recognise when we’re not using them.

Australians are increasingly time poor, and the gym is one of the first things to go when you’re out of time.

Australia has about 5500 gyms, according to an IBISWorld Industry Report, while industry revenue is expected to grow 7.5 per cent over the next five years. That’s not to mention the countless apartment buildings now springing up across the country with gym and exercise facilities.

An American survey found 82 per cent of apartment renters across the US say an on-site fitness centre is an important building amenity — with 55 per cent saying they wouldn’t rent in a building without one. These come without the added membership costs of formal gym memberships. However, 42 per cent of respondents said they rarely or never use their building’s gym.

- David Ross is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Twitter @FakeDavidRoss