Not even cold winters and lazy Sundays could prevent Massachusetts residents from working out, according to a recent study conducted by the International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
The study suggested that the Bay State comes out on top for gym memberships, with one in four residents belonging to health-clubs.
According to the study, in 2010, 25.1 percent of Mass. residents worked out at their fitness centers about 97.5 days during the year, while men went 101.8 times and women went about 93.4 times.
The nation as a whole had a record-high of 50.2 million gym-goers, with memberships averaging $39.66 per month in 2010, the study suggested.
In a breakdown of fitness activities, treadmills and weight machines were the most popular— about 60 percent of gym-goers used the machines— while about 40 percent of members attended group classes.
With dozens of health clubs in the area, Bostonians are well equipped for working out, said Phil Meather, a membership consultant at the Fenway Boston Sports Club. He said that the high level of health-conscious people makes Mass. the top-rated state for gym membership.
“Boston is definitely flooded with young people, college students and professionals,” Meather said. “People are pretty well educated.”
Meather said three types of people come into Boston Sports Club: those who do cardiovascular training, those who take classes and those who do both.”
“We also have a ton of people who do personal training,” Meather said.
There are about 2,500 members at Boston Sports Club Fenway, Meather said, and the most popular class is spinning.
Kimberly Mavroides, the membership director at the Back Bay Healthworks, said Boston is full of residents who maintain a healthy way of life.
She said that Healthworks in the Back Bay has thousands of members, all at different levels of fitness. Along with the majority of members who use cardiovascular and weight machines, classes are common activities.
“Our most popular class is Body Defined, which is full-body strength-training,” Mavroides said.
Matthew Harrington, the president and co-owner of GymIt, said that the seasonality of the climate in Boston adds to the large volume of people with gym memberships. He said that many people exercise outdoors in warm weather, but when snow hits the ground, they tend to use gyms instead.
Harrington also said the age range of Boston is a reason for high interest in fitness.
“Boston in general is pretty young and active, which adds a lot to why so many people go to gyms,” he said.
Students exercising at the Boston University Fitness and Recreation Center said that living in Boston makes healthy decisions easy.
“I think BU encourages a very healthy lifestyle with Sargent food choices, and the facilities are top-notch,” said Jessica Owen, a College of Communication senior.
Owen said cardiovascular training, such as the treadmill or elliptical, is important to her workout routine.
Ali Kuriyan, a COM junior, said Massachusetts is healthier than her home state.
“I’m from New Mexico, which isn’t as health-conscious – people drive everywhere,” she said. “People here have a lot more resources for walking.”
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