We're all shaping up

By Jules Quartly
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Jan 20, 2005, Page 13

PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Rewind 20 years to when Candy Tang (唐雅君) started in the fitness business. There weren't many gyms and the bodybuilders who used them were often viewed as freaks. For women, there were few dance studios and the music was traditional. Most exercise, if it happened at all, took place in parks at an early hour or in the evening.

Fast to today. Exercise has shaped up into big business and working out is seen as the norm rather than the preserve of muscle-bound steroid abusers. From the dance studio Tang began in 1982 she has formed the Alexander Group, which now has 33 clubs in Taiwan and China, with 280,000 members and 1,900 employees. Over 1,600 classes are offered each week. Alexander Group had revenues of NT$3 billion last year and aims at 30 percent to 40 percent annual growth.

Tang off a list of reasons why fitness is such a big business. "It's a global movement and it's not difficult to see why gyms have become popular. First, they were seen locally as being trendy but this attitude has changed and now everyone sees the benefits, from housewives to young men. Students are a `new power' in our business."

The gym is no longer a place where men simply lift weights, Tang said. "We provide something for everyone. In the mornings we now get the older guys and women who used to go to the parks or up the mountain to exercise. Housewives come in later and office workers come in at lunchtime or in the evening. Students come in after college."

Half Alexander Group's members are women. There is body pump and step aerobics, spinning (bicycling nowhere, to the beat of techno music and flashing lights), Pilates (physical and mental conditioning) and many other tailored programs catering to the fat, fit and in-between.

Annie Yin, a personal trainer at Alexander Group; and Iven Huang, at California Fitness. PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Gyms spas, beauty treatments, personal trainers and weight-management consultants. There are clubs geared toward executives, families and the elderly. Jacuzzis, massages, facials and more have become the norm at many of the larger gyms. Juice bars and cafes provide a space to socialize. Wireless Internet access attracts techies and there are shops to buy the latest line of leotards or high-tech sportswear.

"It's all about lifestyle," Tang said. "More people think about their body and their health because they have an idea about the kind of life they want. Membership of a gym is like a lifestyle card."

A Chinese-language paper reported earlier this week that around 600,000 people regularly work out and this number is growing. Behind the figures is a change in lifestyle. The more we eat and the less we exercise, the worse we look and feel. Yet we want to look good and live well. Gyms bridge the gap between what we are and who we want to be.

Annie Yin and Iven Huang work out.

California Fitness is one of the biggest gym operators worldwide and has been operating for over 20 years in the US, where there has been "straight growth" in the market each year, according to Steve Clinefelter, the president of California Fitness in Hong Kong. In an e-mail interview he said, "The Taiwan health club market has matured significantly over the past five years."

"Furthermore, the vast majority of the general public has been indoctrinated with an enormous amount of media information about the multitude of positive benefits that result from regular exercise. This all contributes to a rapid maturing of the health club market."

"The media reports daily on the enormous mountain of evidence that supports the notion that regular exercise is an essential ingredient in a balanced and successful life. Virtually everyone wants to get the most out of life and you simply get more out of life when you exercise regularly. It's not just our pitch, it is the truth and the truth is very, very good for our business."

These business opportunities have in the past five years led to rapid expansion, and government health initiatives backed by the media have promoted a culture that is exercise friendly. The newly formed Taipei City Gym Association, of which Candy Tang is president, is a collective of the 10 major local and international gyms operating in the capital city.

It intends to wrest tax breaks and reduce water and electricity rates for gyms so that there will be greater incentives to expand the fitness industry. This will lower government costs on health programs and bring benefits to everyone, Tang said, since it will reduce workout costs and help business.

Keeping may be a global movement but there are local differences. Earlier this week at the Alexander Group gym opposite Taipei Train Station on Zhongxiao Road, it was 11am and personal trainer Jones Hu (胡定宇) was pointing out the various rooms in the gym dedicated to certain exercises. He used to be a bodybuilder, he said, and was over 100kg. Now he is a buff-looking 80kg. "Taiwan women don't like really big muscles," he said. "It's not like America. Here women think that look is a bit scary. Looking and feeling healthy is better."