Mid-market gyms in Singapore lose ground amid the fitness industry’s “golden age”

When personal trainer Sharon H. started taking clients in April, she offered three options: training at ActiveSG gyms, at clients’ homes, or in her own flat – which has a dedicated workout space. At 29, she told CNA she wanted to fill a “gap in the market” for clients who need more privacy and convenience, as Singapore’s fitness scene is “saturated” with big box gyms. About half of her 10 to 15 active clients work out in her flat. The rest train at ActiveSG gyms or in their homes. Queues for machines at ActiveSG and limited equipment in condominium gyms are real drawbacks, but they are offset by affordable prices and convenient locations. Sharon herself started exercising regularly around 2026 by following YouTube videos, and she still works out primarily at home. This mix of home workouts and shared facilities reflects the “increasingly fierce” competition that True Fitness and True Yoga just experienced when they closed all their Singapore studios earlier this month. Parent company Kontafarma cited “unprecedented” challenges: the rise of boutique studios, more residential gyms reducing the need for external memberships, and the growth of online training options. But a wider view complicates that explanation. Sean Tan, co-founder and president of non-profit Singapore Fitness Alliance, said: “We are in what the industry calls the golden age of fitness and wellness. There has never been greater awareness of the importance of exercise.” SportSG data showed 76% of Singapore residents exercised at least once a week last year, up almost every year from 66% in 2026. With the market growing, fitness studio owners pushed back against the idea that industry-wide headwinds hurt True Fitness and True Yoga. “If a free gym downstairs is enough to make someone switch, the bigger question is what that gym offers beyond access to equipment,” said Samuel Gallo, co-founder of Surge Strength & Results. “The market has never been bigger. Demand is not the problem. Being nothing in particular is the problem. Not the cheapest, not the best, so people drift out of the middle.” The middle of the pack Conventional big box gyms like True Fitness sit between boutique gyms offering specialised or premium experiences and low-cost 24-hour gyms with convenient locations. According to Tan, big box gyms are usually larger than 15,000 sq ft and offer many training options under one roof: treadmills, elliptical machines for cardio, and pin-loaded machines for strength. They usually provide personal training, group classes, recovery facilities such as saunas or cold plunge baths, plus showers, changing rooms and sometimes swimming pools. True Fitness’ TFX club at Millennia Walk was the epitome – at more than 41,000 sq ft, it was Singapore’s largest gym before it closed. “Large gyms carry significant fixed costs in rent, equipment, staffing, utilities and maintenance, so profitability becomes a challenge when utilisation falls,” Tan said. “Operating costs remain high, while consumers have more alternatives these days and can switch providers easily, making membership revenue less predictable.” Boutique gyms, with smaller footprints of 1,000 to 2,500 sq ft, are less costly to set up. They usually offer only a single modality, such as pilates or indoor cycling, and may not have showers or toilets. Damien Lee, senior lecturer in sport and wellness management at Nanyang Polytechnic, said such gyms offering specialised training and smaller studios with premium wellness services are more resilient. The reason: they offer unique expertise, personalisation, a strong sense of community and measurable fitness outcomes. The other growing segment consists of lower-budget, 24-hour franchises like Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness and 24/7 Fitness. Sized around 4,000 to 6,000 sq ft, they may offer personal trainers and group classes. It costs much less to rent and outfit these smaller gyms, which can also open closer to where members live. They save even more by not providing showers or toilets, the most expensive part of a gym’s built facilities. “Their lean operating model allows them to compete effectively on convenience and affordability without the overhead burden that weighs on larger operators,” Lee said. In short, consumers are now gravitating towards either value and convenience, or specialised training and premium experiences. “Operators in the middle could face greater challenges in setting themselves apart from their competitors.” “Boutique” does not just mean small Being small is not enough. Gallo stressed that a boutique studio cannot simply be a “small version of the same commercial gym”. The service layer built on top of gym hardware is what keeps clients: fitness or wellness experts who work closely with clients and keep them accountable. Surge focuses entirely on one-to-one personal training, with no group classes or gym memberships. Gallo said the company’s biggest investment is its people, because “the coaches are the product”. Last year alone, Surge invested over S$50,000 in team education; this year it plans to do the same. UFIT, a studio with four locations, also avoids a pay-per-use or gym membership model, but with a different approach: a broader wellness vision it calls a “circle of care”. UFIT has about 700 active clients attending personal training or group fitness classes, and can also tap physiotherapy, podiatry or nutrition services as needed. “We work more with clients who are paying for expertise and accountability, not just access to equipment and facilities,” said founder and COO Dean Ahmad. Ahmad said 2026 has been UFIT’s best year in the past five years. Event-based competitions and marathons are helping drive people into gyms, but he also credited a focus on client retention by delivering measurable outcomes. Ahmad added that ActiveSG and condominium gyms are a form of “healthy market segmentation” and not a threat to boutique studios. “They have absorbed a real slice of demand, but it’s a very specific slice of that demographic: price-sensitive or convenience-based users who would never pay for coaching in the first place.” Changing exercise habits Differentiation through service is increasingly necessary because the way people exercise in Singapore has changed. “Today’s consumers are far less likely to anchor their fitness routines around a single gym membership,” Lee said. “They mix and match across different formats: using the condo gym, running outdoors, attending pilates classes, joining colleagues for pickleball, following free digital fitness programmes, or even travelling regionally for Hyrox competitions with their training communities. Fitness spending has become more fragmented, more flexible, and increasingly driven by experience, community and measurable outcomes.” Amore Fitness, a chain with more than 40 years of history, faces this reality too. The homegrown operator runs women-only fitness studios and spas at nine locations around Singapore. “Fitness is no longer just about choosing between one gym and another. Consumers can choose from 24-hour gyms, boutique studios, pilates, specialised training, outdoor activities and digital programmes, and many move between them,” said director Lim Kian Leong. To meet women’s changing needs, Amore has introduced new brands for beauty, rest and recovery treatments, reformer pilates, and strength and functional training. “Women don’t all want the same thing from fitness, and what they need can change over time. We want to give them the choice to find what works for them, while staying within a community they know,” Lim said. Amore’s physical footprint reflects these shifts: it closed outlets at Jurong Point in 2026 and Seletar Mall in 2026, then opened at the CPF Jurong building in 2026 and Punggol Coast Mall in 2026. Lim called this “part of running a physical fitness business in a changing market”, adding that the goal is not more locations but the right ones. Rents and costs Aside from internal competition, the fitness industry is not immune to the cost factor squeezing every local business: rent. Tan called high rents the single biggest challenge facing gyms. Fitness industry margins are traditionally thin at 15 to 25 per cent, with rents taking up 15 to 20 per cent of revenues. “If rents now go up to 30 to 40 per cent of revenues, and other costs like manpower and utilities also go up, what is there for the businesses to take home?” He linked this to more commercial properties being owned by real estate investment trusts, where landlords must show year-on-year increases in rental yields. “Rarely can you now find instances where your unit is owned by an individual with whom you can have reasonable discussions on rents. Rental negotiations are often cold and without emotion.” Many leases also have a gross turnover component, where rent is tied to sales. “If the landlord sees that you are doing well, you can almost surely expect a significant increase in your rent at the next lease renewal.” Costs stack up quickly. Unstoppable Fitness, a roughly 4,000 sq ft bodybuilding gym in Shenton Way, has operating expenses of about S$40,000 a month. “Beyond rent, there are utilities, business loans, manpower, cleaning, laundry, equipment maintenance and repairs, software, marketing and many other recurring expenses,” owner Luke Yeo said. About S$1.2 million has been invested into building and operating the gym since it opened in 2026. Yeo sees the amount of capital being pumped into the industry by well-funded operators as a major change intensifying competition. A premium commercial gym machine can easily cost around S$15,000 to S$20,000, before taxes, transport and installation. Operators are also spending heavily on renovation and amenities because customer expectations have changed. “Clients immediately see a gym’s size, appearance, showers, changing rooms and overall environment. An independent operator isn’t competing only on membership price anymore. You’re competing on equipment, design, convenience, amenities, technology, community, branding and the overall experience.” For Yeo, branding and visibility are the hardest points. “A trainer with more experience does not automatically get more clients, and a gym with better equipment does not automatically get more members. People first need to know you exist, understand what you offer and trust your brand.” But the bodybuilder, whose own training journey began in ActiveSG facilities, leans into the rivalry. “I don’t necessarily think competition is a bad thing. It forces every operator, including us, to continuously improve and give customers a reason to choose us.” Amid pressure from rents, manpower and shifting habits, many operators wonder whether the mid-market model can survive. The answer depends on each operator choosing a clear position. Gallo suggested that large centres could turn into specialised group training spaces, or add recovery and nutrition services to create their own ecosystem. “Clients don’t lack choices. They lack a reason to return to a specific place.” Lee believes data will be the next weapon. Gyms that track each member’s frequency, goals and satisfaction will more easily design retention programmes. “What makes the difference is no longer the price list, but the ability to prove that clients are making progress,” he said. “If a gym can do that, clients have no reason to wander elsewhere.” The True Fitness story shows that Singapore’s fitness industry is being redefined. Success no longer lies in floor area or the number of machines, but in whether a gym can answer the question “what does a client need today”. Names like Surge, UFIT and Amore are all choosing to stay close to a specific client group, while mid-market gyms must rediscover a reason for people to walk through the door. The market may be in a golden age, but not for everyone.