Keeping fit enters the sharing market
Print Edition
Mini-gyms are the latest in a growing list of amenities smartphone users can unlock through QR codes, joining bikes, umbrellas, phone chargers and sleep pods.
The self-service gym pods, which resemble large phone booths with basic fitness equipment inside, have popped up in Beijing and Chengdu.
The service requires users to download an app and pay a deposit. They can then book a booth and scan an access code via their mobile phones.
China’s sharing economy had a total transaction volume of 3.45 trillion yuan (US$517 billion) last year, more than double that of 2015, according to the State Information Center.
It will grow at an average annual rate of 40 percent over the next few years and account for more than 10 percent of GDP by 2020, it said.
The mini-gyms also reflect the central government’s heightened attention to health. A national guideline issued in October 2016, “Healthy China 2030,” aims to have 435 million people exercising regularly by 2020 and 530 million exercising regularly by 2030, up from 360 million in 2014.
Gym pods developed by the Beijing-based startup Misspao debuted earlier this month in some residential communities in the capital. The 5-square-meter mini-gyms are equipped with a treadmill, an air conditioner, an air purifier and a television. The cost is as little as 0.2 yuan (3 US cents) a minute.
Bi Zhen, founder of Misspao, said it plans to install the pods in 1,000 communities in Beijing by the end of the year.
Beijing resident Li Tianqi said: “I have spent some time after work jogging here. The weather won’t be a problem, and it really works for busy people, such as office workers and new dads like me.”
LePao, a Chengdu-based mini-gym startup, is building two pods in the city, and that may grow to 20 to 30 by the end of the year. Compared to the Misspao pods, the LePao gyms will have more equipment and showers, and cost 20 yuan a day.
Li Guannan, executive director of LePao, believes the biggest advantage of the new facilities is their proximity to residential neighborhoods, while traditional gyms are usually concentrated in shopping areas, Li said.
“A workout site that can be reached in five minutes is a much better option for those who only have a bit of time here and there,” said Li.
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