{"text":[[{"start":8.21,"text":"Hold tight to your free weights — the Ozempic revolution is coming to a gym near you. "}],[{"start":13.74,"text":"The runaway success of “GLP-1” weight loss and diabetes drugs, which also include Wegovy and Zepbound, is hard to overstate. "},{"start":21.532,"text":"Sales are expected to approach $50bn this year, making them the top-selling class of drugs worldwide. "},{"start":27.837,"text":"That is despite global shortages, high prices and the fact that the drugs are largely available only in injectable form so far. "},{"start":34.692,"text":"Sales are expected to more than double to $130bn by 2030 and could soar higher if the makers win permission to sell them as a preventive tool. "}],[{"start":43.92,"text":"For pharma groups Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, soon to be joined by others, this is fabulous news. "},{"start":50.199,"text":"For others, it is likely to be really bad. "},{"start":52.942,"text":"Diet company WeightWatchers recently changed chief executives as it struggles to adjust, and soft drink, beer and snack company shares have been on a wild ride as investors try to figure out who will be hurt the most when consumers taking the drugs eat healthier food and fewer calories overall. "}],[{"start":68.36,"text":"For gyms and health clubs, the impact is going to be huge but complicated for an industry that is still rebuilding after Covid. "},{"start":75.164,"text":"The pandemic put a quarter of US fitness centres out of business and reshaped commuting and exercise patterns. "},{"start":80.819,"text":"Weight-loss drugs are likely to supercharge a consumer rush towards strength training equipment that has been gaining force for more than a decade, and many gyms are still ill-prepared. "}],[{"start":90.4,"text":"Ten years ago, most health club floors were seas of treadmills, elliptical machines and stationary bikes, with fixed weight machines along the edges along with a free weight area geared towards power lifting, mostly by men. "},{"start":102.71700000000001,"text":"But the pandemic and concurrent rise of apps and YouTube videos that gave people access to personalised fitness routines has made that configuration all but obsolete. "}],[{"start":111.51,"text":"Customers still use treadmills but both sexes now seek out a wider range of strength training equipment, including barbells, dumbbells, medicine balls and the like. "},{"start":120.589,"text":"Clubs, seeking to boost membership, have also leaned into the social aspects of in-person fitness, from group classes and personal trainers to cafés and hang-out areas. "}],[{"start":130.21,"text":"Gyms are pushing their stair climbers and fixed weight machines to the periphery and replacing them with open space for body-sculpting classes, free weights and individual training sessions. "}],[{"start":139.84,"text":"“We’re seeing a greater demand for space for strength,” Colleen Keating, CEO of Planet Fitness, one of the largest listed gym groups, told analysts in August. "},{"start":149.007,"text":"Even Peloton, famous for its cardio-intensive bikes, is testing an app focused on strength training. "}],[{"start":155.97,"text":"The shift takes time and money. "},{"start":158.037,"text":"The now less-popular cardio machines are often sold on multiyear leases, while strength training equipment generally requires an upfront investment. "},{"start":165.554,"text":"The delay is leading to uneven usage and customer complaints at clubs that have not made the shift. "}],[{"start":171.43,"text":"Weight-loss drugs will exacerbate the pressure. "},{"start":174.347,"text":"As the drugs gain acceptance, fewer people are likely to rely on exercise as their primary weight loss tool and the drugs’ side effects, nausea and intestinal distress, can make high-impact cardio activities uncomfortable. "}],[{"start":187.06,"text":"However, GLP-1 users still need the gym. "},{"start":190.702,"text":"Studies suggest that the drugs cause significant muscle loss along with fat, leading to problems with balance and mobility as well as saggy skin sometimes dubbed “Ozempic butt”. "}],[{"start":200.36,"text":"Strength training seems to be the answer not just for GLP-1 users but everyone else. "},{"start":205.52700000000002,"text":"A growing body of medical literature suggests strength training cuts mortality, particularly for women, while also helping to prevent osteoporosis and relieving the symptoms of depression. "}],[{"start":215.35000000000002,"text":"“It’s gone from being health and fitness to health and wellness, which is a lot more holistic” says Eleanor Scott, a partner on PwC’s leisure strategy team. "}],[{"start":224.57000000000002,"text":"Foot traffic to popular US gym chains Crunch Fitness and EoS Fitness is up by double-digits year on year, according to data provider Plaicer.ai. "},{"start":233.11200000000002,"text":"Planet Fitness has added 2.7mn members since the start of 2023 and improved its profit margins. "}],[{"start":240.20000000000002,"text":"For all of them, the combination of strength training with prevention creates a chance to win, or win back, older customers still wary of gyms post-Covid. "},{"start":248.854,"text":"Although 80 per cent of baby boomers participate in fitness activities, just 42 per cent belong to a gym, compared to nearly three-quarters of active Gen Zers and millennials, according to ABC Fitness. "},{"start":260.072,"text":"But growth will not follow if newcomers end up fighting the regulars for access to the dumbbells. "}],[{"start":264.96000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftmailbox.cn/album/174076-1727953946.mp3"}