The fitness club originated in Europe and America. Currently, developed countries like Europe and America have advanced management concepts and business models for fitness clubs, forming a relatively mature fitness service market. Fitness activities have been accepted by more and more people; fitness is no longer just a pursuit of fashion, but more importantly, a means to achieve health. It has gradually become a part of people's lives and a necessity. Now in the United States, 1 in 8 people engages in fitness. After the reform and opening up in the 1980s, Jane Fonda's aerobics were introduced to China, leading to the emergence of gyms focused on equipment training and aerobics studios. During this period, fitness programs mainly included bodybuilding equipment practice and aerobics, requiring minimal investment and operating in small spaces, usually only a few hundred square meters. The clientele mainly consisted of young people pursuing fashion, emphasizing a fit physique, while health awareness was still relatively low at that time.

Entering the 1990s, with the development of China's economy and the improvement of people's living standards, health awareness gradually increased. During this period, Ma Hua's "5-Minute Fitness" made fitness aerobics rapidly popular in China, leading to the emergence of numerous sports clubs catering to mass consumption, and aerobic fitness activities gradually gained acceptance. The Chinese government also fully recognized the positive role of mass sports in enhancing the overall quality and national strength of its citizens, enacting legal provisions and guarantees for citizens' rights to participate in sports. On June 16, 1995, to promote the rapid development of the sports industry, the National Sports Commission issued the "Outline for the Development of the Sports Industry." On June 20, 1995, to more widely carry out mass sports activities and enhance the physical fitness of the people, the State Council issued the "Outline for the National Fitness Plan." Meanwhile, the operating area of fitness clubs began to expand, with clubs of over 1,000 square meters appearing. However, factors such as limited financial strength of investors, outdated management levels, poor equipment quality, and lagging technical service levels restricted the development of clubs, making it difficult to achieve large-scale economic benefits.

Entering the 21st century, with the further improvement of urban residents' living standards and the enhancement of fitness awareness, people's health consciousness significantly increased. The successful bid for the 2001 Beijing Olympics and the 2003 SARS incident rapidly sparked a nationwide fitness craze in China. During this period, large domestic clubs such as Haosha, Yizhao Weide, Qingniao, Lijian, and Yingpais were established, and internationally renowned brands like Beili, California Fitness, and Jiale Feilisi also began to enter China. The fitness market in China entered a rapid development phase, especially after 2004, when the fitness industry experienced explosive growth, with various levels of fitness clubs opening one after another, including many large chain brand clubs. However, China's fitness market was still in the early stages of rapid development, lacking unified industry standards, with low levels of specialization and management, and short-term speculative behaviors being quite common. Homogeneous competition was severe, and the profit model was singular, leading many clubs into vicious low-price competition. At the same time, the main operating costs of fitness clubs—labor and rental costs—continued to rise, causing many clubs to fall into a state of minimal profit or even loss. However, during this period, comprehensive fitness clubs with advanced management concepts, diversified profit models, a focus on core business, and not pursuing blind rapid expansion continued to grow steadily. For example, in 2007, the fitness business revenue was 20.1449 million yuan, with a gross profit margin of 28.56%. With the steady increase in the number of clubs, the continuous enrichment of fitness service products, and the innovation of marketing methods, the company's fitness business revenue increased to 54.4193 million yuan in 2009, with a gross profit margin reaching 47.71%.

In the early 2010s, the temporary closure of some clubs in the fitness service industry brought a certain impact to the industry. According to the data from the "2011 China Fitness Club Survey Report" by the Asian Sports and Fitness Professional College, the total number of fitness clubs in 63 cities nationwide decreased from 3,245 in 2010 to 3,234 in 2011, a decrease of 0.3%; during the same period, the total number of members decreased from 4.5405 million in 2010 to 4.4957 million, a decrease of 1.0%. After 2011, the fitness service industry showed a trend of adjustment and gradual recovery growth. The "2013 China Fitness Club Survey Report" from the Asian Sports and Fitness Professional College indicated that the total number of fitness clubs in 63 cities nationwide increased from 3,234 in 2011 to 3,379 in 2013, an increase of 4.5%; during the same period, the total number of members grew from 4.4957 million in 2011 to 4.9906 million, an increase of 11.0%.

In August 2013, the General Administration of Sport of China announced the results of the "2013 Survey on Sports Fitness Activities and Physical Condition of People Aged 20 to 69" (July 30, 2013). According to the survey results from 10 provinces and cities, including Beijing, 49.2% of people participated in sports fitness activities in the past year. The proportion of urban and rural residents regularly participating in sports fitness reached 32.7%, an increase of 4.5 percentage points compared to previous survey results. The methods of urban and rural residents participating in sports fitness were distributed across 18 major categories surveyed. Among them, brisk walking (39.8%), running (13.9%), small ball games such as table tennis and badminton (11%), and large ball games such as basketball and football (8.2%) ranked in the top four. Compared to previous survey results, the proportion of people choosing brisk walking and running decreased, while the proportion of those choosing cycling, swimming, street dance, and various ball games increased. This indicates that the methods of urban and rural residents participating in sports fitness have gradually shifted from being overly concentrated on brisk walking and running to include cycling, swimming, street dance, and various ball activities. The proportions of overweight and obese individuals were 34.4% and 12.7%, respectively. The obesity rates for different age groups were 11.1% for those aged 20-39, 14.4% for those aged 40-59, and 13.5% for those aged 60 and above. The survey results showed that compared to those who do not participate in sports fitness, those who do have a higher level of physical fitness. Among those who regularly participate in sports fitness, 16.5% reached an excellent level of comprehensive physical evaluation, while 13.4% of those who occasionally participate reached an excellent level, and only 7.1% of those who do not participate reached an excellent level. The disqualification rate among those who do not participate in sports fitness is significantly higher than that of those who do.

On September 28, 2013, the State Council issued the "Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Health Service Industry" (Guo Fa [2013] No. 40), which proposed to further carry out national fitness activities, promote and popularize scientific fitness knowledge, enhance the public's awareness of sports fitness, and guide sports fitness consumption. It emphasized strengthening the construction of multifunctional grassroots fitness facilities, aiming for over 80% of cities (districts) and counties (cities, districts) to have "National Fitness Activity Centers" by 2020, and over 70% of streets (towns) and communities (administrative villages) to have convenient and practical sports fitness facilities. Measures were to be taken to promote the opening of sports venues and school sports facilities to the public. The government supported and guided social forces to participate in the construction and operation management of sports venues. It encouraged the development of various forms of sports fitness clubs and organizations, as well as services such as sports fitness training and fitness guidance consulting. Strong support was given to youth and children's sports fitness, encouraging the development of sports fitness services suitable for their growth characteristics. On October 20, 2014, the State Council issued the "Several Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Industry and Promoting Sports Consumption" (Guo Fa [2014] No. 46), elevating national fitness to a national strategy and nurturing the sports industry as a green and sunrise industry, further broadening the investment and financing channels for the sports industry, supporting qualified sports products and service enterprises to go public, and supporting qualified enterprises in issuing corporate bonds, company bonds, short-term financing bonds, medium-term notes, collective notes for small and medium-sized enterprises, and private bonds for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The current status of the development of the fitness service industry.

1) The profit model is becoming more diversified, and comprehensive fitness and leisure clubs across different industries have strong profitability. In the early development of the fitness industry, due to the limited disposable income of urban residents, only a small portion of people participating in sports competitions had a demand for fitness. At that time, the main purpose was to shape a fit body, with sports focusing on high-intensity, high-volume, and short-duration activities. After a period of development, as people's living standards improved and fitness awareness increased, fitness clubs targeting the general public began to emerge. A portion of the middle and high-income population started to enter fitness clubs to achieve a healthy body through sports, such as participating in aerobic and anaerobic equipment training, group exercise classes, and individual sports. In recent years, as urban life pressure has increased, more and more middle and low-income individuals have begun to enter fitness clubs to participate in fitness activities. Meanwhile, the urban middle and high-income population has developed a demand for a healthy lifestyle beyond just fitness activities. This healthy lifestyle includes not only maintaining scientific exercise but also daily skin care, healthy eating, a positive mindset, and a fulfilling social life. Influenced by the current demand of the urban middle and high-income population for a healthy lifestyle, large commercial fitness clubs in first and second-tier cities have gradually started to increase extended services such as health lectures, beauty services, large member activities, and in-club dining services, providing services that help clients relax both physically and mentally beyond fitness activities. Experiences from developed countries like the United States have proven that fitness and leisure clubs offering comprehensive services, with a wider range of services and more charging items, have stronger profitability compared to those providing only single fitness services.

Strengthening the construction of grassroots public sports facilities and meeting the basic needs of the people for cultural and sports activities has become an important measure for the government to improve people's livelihoods and promote national fitness. Premier Li Keqiang clearly proposed the requirement to improve the national fitness service system in the "Government Work Report" at the second session of the 12th National People's Congress in March 2014. At the same time, according to the "Regulations on Public Cultural and Sports Facilities" and various provincial and municipal national fitness regulations, when new, renovated, or expanded residential areas are planned, planning departments and construction units should plan and construct supporting national fitness facilities according to relevant regulations. From the perspective of urban development in China, most citizens are increasingly concentrated in communities. At the same time, with the improvement of living standards and the popularization of health concepts, community owners are also paying more attention to their living conditions and health status. In August 2013, the General Administration of Sport of China announced the results of the "2013 Survey on Sports Fitness Activities and Physical Condition of People Aged 20 to 69" (July 30, 2013), which showed that the highest proportion of people exercising in "sports venues in units or communities" reached 23.1%, followed by those exercising in "public sports venues" at 15.2%. Whether a community has a fitness club has now become an important indicator of community quality. Therefore, high-end communities have become important target locations for large club operators, and community clubs have achieved rapid development in recent years, with high-speed growth expected to continue in the future.

The development of personal training services is accelerating.

With the increasing awareness of health consumption, the demand for personal training services is also rising, leading to a rapid growth in the number of personal trainers. According to the "2013 China Fitness Club Survey Report" issued by the Asian Sports and Fitness Professional College, by the end of December 2013, the number of fitness clubs in 63 cities across the country (covering 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions excluding Taiwan, including all provincial capitals) increased from 3,346 in 2012 to 3,379, a growth of 0.99%. The number of practitioners increased to 83,850, up 0.75% from 2012. While the number of regular coaches has decreased, the number of personal trainers (excluding regular coaches) has maintained a continuous growth trend, increasing by 3.28% to 16,071.