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Upcoming Fitness Industry in India


                              The minute we come across the     this  sector  stand  in  the  overall  Indian  market?
                              term ‘fitness’, we think of men    According to many studies and articles by eminent
                              and  women  of  almost  all  age   fitness cognoscenti, in India, the total market for
                              groups  sweating  it  out  in  the   fitness is valued around Rs. 4,670 Cr, growing at
                              gym,  with  their  personal       17-19 per cent and was estimated to cross Rs. 7,000
                              trainers,  yoga  sessions,        Cr by 2017. Modern retail is estimated at 28 per
                              aerobics, Pilates, and so much    cent of the total market and is expected to grow by
              Noopur Bhonsle  more.  The  fitness  industry,  in   24-30  per  cent.  Fitness  centers  are  increasing
            India and in the overall global context, has evolved   rapidly due to the increasing incomes of people and
            and expanded to great horizons in the past few years   their increasingly sedentary lifestyles which lower
            and will continue to do so in the coming years.     the  immunity  of  today’s  youth.  Body  Building
            Fitness enthusiasts have been offered lots of new   training has increased amongst men and aerobics
            opportunities and trends to look forward to, which   and strength training amongst women.
            have  helped  in  making  it,  grow  further. We  can   Another question is that, how has it increased so
            definitely say that the fitness sector in India has   rapidly  in  the  past  couple  of  years?  The  Indian
            come  a  long  way  from  the  local  ‘akhadas’  to   fitness  industry  is  going  through  a  revolution
            swanky  gyms,  yoga  studios  and  posh  health  &   spiked  by  the  increasing  number  of  cases  of
            wellness centers. Today, fitness industry in India is   corpulence,  diabetes  and  many  other  lifestyle
            going towards health, well-being, good looks and    diseases.  If  you  look  around,  you  will  find  that
            confidence. Resistance training, aerobics, Zumba,    weight loss advertisements are everywhere. This is
            aerial yoga, Pilates, MMA, kickboxing etc. have     one  of  the  reasons  why  health  clubs  and  gym
            become the fitness trends over a few years in India.  memberships are increasing. Spending on gym was
            The market is looking up to India with today’s fast   earlier seen as a luxury, but now it is a way of life.
            and hectic lifestyles, which allow a person to work   Also, in tier 2, tier 3 cities, people are increasingly
            out actively or follow a fitness routine. Nowadays,   going for wellness and fitness. Today’s generation
            gyms, fitness studios and also brands such as Nike   wants to look and feel good at any cost, also with
            have  their  own  workout  apps.  This  has  made  it   the  rise  of  ‘Instagram  models’,  fitness  blogs  are
            possible for people to work out anywhere and at any   providing  the  readers  with  a  great  deal  of
            given time, in order to keep themselves fit. Apart   ‘fitspiration’,  this  is  further  fueling  the  overall
            from physical activities we can also see a positive   growth of the fitness industry.
            shift in the food industry, with the advent of newer   Careerwise  too,  the  fitness  industry  provides
            concepts  relating  to  nutrition  such  as  protein   myriads of opportunities to the youth. Many are
            shakes,  pre-workout  drinks,  energy  bars  and    using the franchising model to enter the market and
            supplements.  Muscular  &  toned  physiques  of     also  to  tap  into  a  larger  client  base. Apart  from
            celebrities  and  fitness  icons  mixed  with  healthy   individual  freelancers  and  start-ups,  big  fitness
            lifestyles are making Indians embrace fitness. The   chains and gyms are also expanding their products
            trend is making people take out time from their     and services to tap into the market in each and every
            busy schedules and visit the gym and take personal   way possible and reach out to potential customers.
            training services. Also, a study states that people   Overall,  the  Indian  fitness  industry  seems  to  be
            who exercise regularly are happier and healthier    doing just great at the moment. It is vital now for the
            compared  to  those  who  don’t.  Also,  regular    whole  industry  and  the  government  to  come
            workouts  help  in  reducing  stress,  anxiety  and   together and catapult the industry to a stage where it
            depression and keep away from many maladies.        can flourish even more. Due to its vast potential and
            There is also an increase in strength, energy and   ample opportunities, the fitness industry is a sunrise
            stamina that come with working out regularly.       sector and is here to stay.
            This brings up the question of where exactly does



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