The social bonds forged by collective exercise have long held health and wellbeing benefits, but now as the global fitness obsession proves no fad, the communal workout experience also represents big business.

‘Team training, life changing’. ‘Work hard, have fun, find your strength, be your best’. ‘A healthier, happier planet’. All of these debatably motivational taglines belong to real fitness companies that, aside from espousing the benefits of an exercise routine, are part of the ever-growing global health and wellness trend. The other fundamental part, of course, is us.

How has the fitness industry grown?

The number of exercise fans worldwide is rising at a rapid rate. Global gym memberships alone grew 28 per cent in the decade to 2020, and that does not take into account any of the independent studios, teams, groups, or solo practitioners that make up a generation more proactively health-conscious than any before.

It is worth asking why we exercise. The most common answers include wanting to feel healthier, to look better, to live longer. But reasons frequently include those related to mental health and wellbeing, revealing the psychological benefits of exercise, particularly when done with others. This phenomenon, long-understood by anthropologists and psychologists, shows the close relationship between all types of ritual movement, be it sport or dancing, and their benefit to social cohesion and community spirit.

Recent research has shown that ritual movement, or, more commonly, dancing, has been an integral part of fostering social cohesion throughout history. But why? “What we think is happening here,” explains Dr Bronwyn Tarr, a behavioural scientist at the University of Oxford, “is that the same chemical networks used by primates to establish their bonding are being activated for us too.” These are the networks that involve pleasure-pain circuitry and allow us to enjoy a positive, natural high in the presence of others that reinforces the sense of belonging.

The same networks also increase pain tolerance. These aspects could also explain why many of today’s fitness instructors exert us to be better, faster, stronger, accompanied by pumping soundtracks, and the endorphin rush we receive from being in a room full of others.

Tech unicorns of fitness?

The uptake of fitness as a lifestyle in the past few decades has sparked near-spiritual levels of devotion to physical performance, ever more intense workouts, and fitness brands with valuations more suited to tech unicorns.

Fitness bootcamps, spin classes, hybrid group workouts, and countless more gyms and studios have grown devoted communities as well as big businesses to match. Many big winners of the sudden boom were founded in the United States, which is no coincidence: the country is by far the world’s biggest market for health and wellbeing. And the industry as a whole is estimated by McKinsey to be worth USD 1.5 trillion globally, growing at between 5 and 10 per cent annually.

A real joint effort

In the past few years, the value of fitness to our wellbeing and longevity has been starkly underlined, with exercise no longer providing just a physical return. For many adherents of gym routines, the workouts represent everything from ‘strength’ and ‘community’ to ‘therapy’ and ‘escape’.

As many people hunted for our fitness tribe, business quickly capitalised on our endorphin craving. Whereas a traditional gymnasium was merely a room with equipment for physical activity, today’s fitness spaces offer a mind-boggling array of options for the athletically inclined, from aerial Pilates and Brazilian jiu jitsu to paddleboard yoga and cardio barre. They have also adapted to recent changes in consumer habits, with a huge increase in streaming and on-demand training. This was initially prompted by the pandemic but embraced as part of a hybrid approach to in-person and online classes once restrictions lifted.

That the physiques of these companies’ finances have since become considerably less impressive does not deter from the fact there is little sating our hunger for fitness and its effects on body and mind. The primary driver behind this, according to NielsenIQ, is to live a longer, healthier life as we all become acutely aware of the need to be ‘fighting fit’. But reasons also range from a pure desire to look and feel healthier, or caving to influence from social media, to sensing the burden of rising healthcare costs.

Benefits to mind and body

As fitness is increasingly absorbed by the broader idea of ‘wellness’, consumers will continue to spend on products and services that emphasise physical and mental health, according to McKinsey research into the future of wellness.

Their fitness journeys are being driven by the primal power of social motion and the togetherness that comes from shared exertion. Additionally, in a world where levels of loneliness are on the rise, the value in cultivating a group sense of connection cannot be underestimated.

In 1912, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim used the term ‘collective effervescence’ to explain the catharsis and exaltation gained from congregational worship, but as modern research shows, the theory also applies to the communal endorphin rush experienced at the end of an intense workout or gruelling sports match. This feeling, largely absent from our lives during lockdowns, serves to bind people together through a sharing of pain and fatigue, before revelling in joint achievement and relief.

So, we exercise, it seems, because of the enhanced sense of belonging that moving together brings, as well as the physical and mental returns of our efforts. And whether you have embraced health and wellbeing or not, social motion will long play an integral role in the human experience, be it as a member of a congregation, a sports team, or a flash mob.

Why is this an important megatrend for investors?

As part of Julius Baer’s ‘Shifting Lifestyles’ megatrend, digital health is arguably one of the most promising growth sectors in the healthcare industry. Dr Damien Ng, our Next Generation Research Analyst, explains that an ageing global population is putting increased stress on healthcare systems, so a greater focus on technologies can provide viable, long-term solutions for tackling some of society’s pressing health challenges and advancing well-being.

In a world increasingly focused on personal well-being and healthy living, there is ever-growing demand for wearable devices that track fitness and performance and analyse complex medical data more efficiently and quickly than humans. The popularity of wearable technologies reflects their ability to serve as personalised clinics for health-conscious consumers by tracking their health-related behaviours.

This article was originally published as part of our award-winning Vision magazine, available for download below.