Types of Gyms To Consider For Your Fitness Business (2025)

The fitness industry is booming. The United States hit a record 55,000 fitness facilities in 2024, and the global health and fitness club industry is expected to reach $125 billion by 2030. If you’re a fitness enthusiast with an entrepreneurial mindset, you may have considered starting your own commercial gym.

You can launch a website with a reliable platform like Shopify and use the numerous Fitness Hub functionalities to manage bookings and client communications. But this still leaves the question of what kind of gym you should open. What you decide depends on your interests, target audience, and location. From rock climbing gyms to yoga and Pilates studios, there are several types of gyms to choose from.

Here are some popular types of gyms you can consider:

Powerlifting gyms

Powerlifting is a strength-training sport where athletes attempt to lift the maximum weight in the squat, the benchpress, and the deadlift. Clients come to powerlifting gyms to train with free weights and strength-building machines. Typical gym equipment includes barbells, weight plates, squat racks, and workout benches. The pricing model for powerlifting gyms is usually membership-based, with clients paying on a monthly basis. Powerlifting gyms can also offer personal training for an extra fee.

If you’re starting your own powerlifting gym, you’ll need to invest in various free weights, such as kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, fitness benches, rubber mats, and a range of different weight plates. Unlike other big-box gyms and yoga studios that require a lot of space, powerlifting gyms can be smaller, with just enough room for benches, racks, and smith machines.,

Yoga studios

Yoga, originating in ancient India, combines postures, breathing, and meditation to promote wellness and physical health. The Centers for Disease Control reports that roughly one in six adults ages 18 and up practiced yoga in 2022, showing its growing popularity in the United States. Yoga studios offer a place for clients to take yoga classes from instructors, which can range from 30 minutes to 90 minutes or more for advanced classes.

Entrepreneurs who want to start a yoga studio need to find a building with enough space to host classes. Additionally, yoga studios need to provide a comfortable environment for breathing and meditation, meaning relaxing décor, natural light, and proper airflow. When picking out a studio and purchasing equipment, consider the type(s) of yoga you intend to teach and the equipment and setup required.

Most hot yoga studios, for example, must have a reliable heating system, a quality sound system, and ambient lighting. Clients also expect yoga studios to offer yoga mats and support blocks. Yoga studios can use a variety of pricing models, including a pay-per-class model, a subscription model, or a bulk package structure with different prices depending on the number of classes a client purchases.

Personal training gyms

Personal training gyms are spaces designed to offer personal training sessions. In these sessions, a certified trainer works with clients on a customized fitness plan based on the individual’s goals. Although other types of gyms, like boxing gyms or CrossFit gyms, do personal training, these types of gyms are created solely for personal trainers to offer their services.

The business relationship between the owner and trainers may vary, including arrangements where trainers rent the space or work as employees of the business owner. In other cases, the owner also works as the personal trainer.

Equipment and space requirements for personal training gyms can differ depending on the type of training. For example, a personal trainer offering one-on-one training for bodyweight exercises like squats and jumping jacks will require less space and equipment than a personal training gym focused on small-group sessions or equipment-based training that requires machines like treadmills and stair climbers.

The pricing model of a personal training gym can range from session-based payments to memberships or packages.

Rock-climbing gyms

Rock-climbing gyms feature manufactured climbing walls with holds arranged in various routes that climbers can take, with paths mapped in different colors. The two main types of climbing walls are shorter bouldering walls without ropes and taller climbing walls with ropes that connect to safety harnesses.

You’ll have to make a significant upfront investment for a space large enough to accommodate climbing walls and equipment, like harnesses, crash pads, chalk, and ropes. Climbers need different kinds of rock walls depending on the discipline: bouldering, top-rope, lead, and more. Depending on the styles of rock climbing you want to offer at your gym, you may need a space that can accommodate rock walls up to 50 feet in height. The floor space should be at least 4,000 square feet.

Rock climbing gyms use a membership-based pricing model, although they can also make money from selling day passes or gear, like climbing shoes and chalk bags.

Big-box gyms

Big-box gyms are fitness centers owned by a large corporate entity with multiple branches. They have a wide range of fitness equipment, like free weights and resistance bands, as well as exercise machines such as treadmills, stationary bicycles, stair climbers, leg presses, and rowing machines. Big-box gyms usually make money via memberships, with add-ons such as personal training and group fitness classes.

Big-box gyms are the most common and popular type of gym on the market. In 2024, Life Time Fitness reported an annual revenue of $1.52 billion, and 24 Hour Fitness reported around $1.2 billion. You can open a big-box gym on your own, although developing a model with multiple locations will likely require a significant financial investment. You’ll need to consider upfront costs for space, equipment, marketing, and operations.

A less expensive option may be the franchise method, where you pay an established big box gym brand a fee to use the name and business model.

Pilates studios

Pilates is a low-impact, mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century. It focuses on core strength and balance through slow, controlled movements. Pilates studios host group fitness classes with students following an instructor, as well as more expensive one-on-one training sessions. Although Pilates can be performed without any equipment, it can also involve tools to help with movement, like exercise balls, foam rollers, and reformer machines.

The size of studios varies depending on the modality and class size. Mat Pilates requires just enough room for clients to exercise on a yoga mat, while reformer Pilates needs a space that can accommodate large reformer machines. Pilates studios can use a subscription-based payment model or a per-session pricing model.

CrossFit gyms

Launched in 2000, CrossFit is a fitness program built around high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves an intense full-body workout followed by periods of rest. Clients work on cardio, strength, and coordinated movement, with exercises such as burpees, pull-ups, and box jumps. Unlike traditional gyms, CrossFit gyms use specific equipment, like battle ropes and gymnastic rings, rather than exercise machines that target single muscle groups, like a leg curl or leg extension machine. This means you’ll likely need a large, warehouse-style space for group training and equipment.

If you want to start your own CrossFit gym, you can apply to become a licensed affiliate on the CrossFit website. You’ll need to obtain the CrossFit Level 1 Certification and pay an initial $1,000 application fee. If approved, affiliates pay an annual fee of $4,500 to run their gyms with the CrossFit brand name. CrossFit gyms use a range of pricing models, including tiered memberships and class packages.

Martial arts studios

There are several different types of martial arts studios, including karate, taekwondo, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu studios. The spatial requirements for your martial arts studio will depend on the styles you’re teaching. For example, mixed martial arts (MMA) gyms require larger spaces for training areas and rings for fights, whereas other styles can use a smaller studio with a few foam rubber mats for practicing.

Equipment requirements also vary. An MMA gym typically requires punching bags, boxing gloves, and other training equipment, whereas karate has simpler equipment requirements, like mouthguards and shin guards. Martial arts studios can use a variety of pricing structures, including membership-based monthly payments or pay-per-class payments for specific training sessions.

Senior fitness gyms

These fitness facilities offer specialized equipment and training programs designed for older adults trying to achieve their fitness goals. Senior fitness gyms have specific safety equipment requirements, like stationary recumbent bicycles with seats and walking treadmills with long handrails.

Senior fitness gyms can also include swimming pools for water aerobics, which offers the physical exercise of a cardiovascular workout without as much strain on the joints. Senior fitness gyms typically use a membership-based pricing model and require a fair amount of space for special equipment.

Dance studios

Dance studios are spaces designed for holding dance classes for paying clients. There are different types of dance studios, including aerial and pole studios, ballet studios, and tap dance studios, to name just a few. The equipment used changes depending on the type of dance studio. For example, a ballet studio needs a horizontal ballet barre, whereas an aerial and pole studio needs aerial apparatuses, like silks and poles, as well as safety mats.

Dance studios require a large enough space for group classes and typically include a dance floor (often hardwood with sprung flooring to absorb shocks) and a full wall mirror so participants can watch their movements. The pricing model for dance studios can be on a membership or per-class basis.

Types of gyms FAQ

How many types of gyms are there?

There are several different types of gyms, including powerlifting gyms, dance studios, rock climbing gyms, Pilates gyms, and martial arts studios.

What is the big 3 gym?

In the fitness industry, the “big three” refers to gyms that emphasize these types of exercises: squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Clients who want to learn how to perform these exercises properly can learn from an expert at a powerlifting gym.

What is the most common gym type?

The most common gym type is a big-box gym, with leading health clubs like Life Time Fitness running more than 150 fitness centers across the United States in 2024.