How Crunch Fitness Stayed in Shape During Covid

Fitness clubs have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

State and local governments shut gyms for months as the virus spread, with 17% of facilities in the U.S. closing down permanently last year, according to IHRSA, a health and fitness association.

Crunch Fitness has been spared much of the pain. Only six Crunch clubs have closed permanently during the pandemic (four of them in Canada), out of a current total of 386.

It lost about 2% of its pre-existing members between March 2020 and January 2021. But overall membership rose 6% in that period, and by the middle of this year, it was up 11% from March 2020. Crunch opened 40 clubs last year and expects to launch 70 this year.

The Wall Street Journal spoke with Ben Midgley, chief executive of Crunch Franchise, which oversees the company’s franchise network, to discuss trends in the industry, and Crunch’s plans for continued growth. Here are edited excerpts of that conversation.