How often should gym owners service and replace gym equipment?

For the long-term success of your fitness business, it is essential for you as a gym owner to ensure a remarkable fitness experience for your members. This can only be achieved by understanding and meeting the needs of your target audience. From fitness exercises to effective gym management software, all these decisions are important in ensuring the remarkable experience your members deserve. 

Furthermore, gym equipment is a crucial component in ensuring a remarkable fitness experience for your members. According to the Health and Fitness Association report, the right fitness equipment in a gym significantly impacts the member retention rate. Therefore, ensuring your gym is equipped with the right tools for the exercises you offer is imperative. Failing to do so could result in a service that falls short of your members’ expectations. 

Apart from having the right equipment in your gym, it is also important to ensure that all the fitness equipment in your gym functions properly. Broken or malfunctioning gym equipment interrupts the work routine and hinders your business success. So, you have to make sure that your gym equipment is fully functional and replaced on time when required. 

However, this might raise the question of how often you should service or replace gym equipment to ensure a remarkable fitness experience for your members. Deciding when to replace gym equipment depends on finances, safety, and member satisfaction. But, still, you don’t know the exact time when you should replace or service the equipment.  Here, we are going to discuss when exactly your gym equipment requires service, signs of replacement, and the time when you actually replace equipment. 

How long does gym equipment last? 

The average life span of gym equipment depends on several factors, including the type of equipment, its usage, the supplier from which you buy it, mechanical and software elements, and the number of members using it. Moreover, your gym’s environment also impacts your fitness equipment’s longevity. If your gym equipment is not properly cleaned, it is more prone to damage and needs replacement before time. 

As per Allianz’s research, the average life span of fitness equipment is around 10 years. Thus, if you ensure regular cleaning of your studio equipment, your equipment will complete the average life span. Otherwise, you need to replace the equipment 10 years from now. Moreover, this life span also changes depending upon the frequency of usage. Here is the life span of various fitness equipment if proper maintenance is carried out on time. 

• Cycle machine: 5 to 7 years 
• Cardio equipment: 7 to 10 years 
• Strength equipment; 10+ years 

How often should I inspect fitness equipment? 

If you want your fitness equipment to survive and aid you in ensuring the success of your fitness center, you have to conduct regular inspections and cleaning. Otherwise, you will have to make a huge investment in replacing or repairing the equipment. Thus, you have to make sure that your staff regularly cleans the equipment after each use so that no dirt or dust remains on it. 

Moreover, you have to inspect equipment based on its usage. If fitness equipment is used by 100 members daily, it requires more frequent inspection than a piece of equipment that only 10 members use. It is usually recommended that fitness equipment be inspected once a week. If fitness equipment is used more frequently, you can inspect it twice a week to avoid the cost of replacement. 

3 signs gym equipment needs replacement

Usually, regular servicing of equipment aids you in elongating the life span of your fitness equipment. However, some equipment requires replacement after regular intervals. Here are the 3 signs that can indicate that your gym equipment requires replacement instead of servicing. 

1. Safety concerns 

As a gym owner, it is your prime responsibility to ensure safe environment for your members. From safe equipment to access control, you have to make sure each aspect that poses safety concerns should be tackled. Otherwise, you have to face legal troubles that might lead to the closure of your studio. 

If any piece of equipment poses safety concerns for your members, you must replace it immediately. Otherwise, any injury that occurs due to the faulty equipment may lead to legal action against your gym. So, to meet the safety standards, you must ensure that if equipment poses safety concerns, you immediately replace it with a new one. 

2. Poor condition 

Another sign that leads to the replacement of fitness equipment is poor condition. Poor conditions don’t help ensure a remarkable fitness experience for your members, and equipment cannot deliver the quality of service that your members have paid for. 

If fitness equipment lasts 10 years or more, you have to replace it. As such, equipment can cause safety concerns and may not deliver the quality that your members want. So, you have to replace all the equipment that does not offer the desired quality due to poor condition. 

3. Constantly need repair 

If fitness equipment in your gym constantly needs repair, it is time to replace it. Constant repair can lead to equipment unavailability for your members, which may not be a good gesture. Moreover, constant repair can cost more than the actual price of the new one. So, you have to make sure that you replace all such equipment that constantly needs repair. 

How often should I replace the equipment

Each piece of machinery, accessory, and gym equipment is different. Each machine is designed for a different purpose. Here are replacement times for some of the essential fitness equipment. 

Cardio equipment 

Cardio equipment is specially designed to strengthen the hearts of the members. These equipment are intended for walking, jogging, running, sprinting, etc. So,  stamina increases when your members start to use cardio equipment. Some important cardio equipment are: 

• Treadmill 
• Elliptical trainer 
• Stationary bike 
• Rowing machine 
• Stair climber 
• Cross-trainer 
• Ski ergometer
• Air bike 

All cardio equipment has to perform mechanical movements to give the desired results. So, to give your members a remarkable fitness experience, you need to inspect all equipment twice a week. Moreover, you also have to make sure that you update cardio equipment after 5 years, as such equipment begins to deteriorate due to consistent mechanical movements. If you don’t replace cardio equipment after 5 years, cardio equipment cannot deliver the quality your members have paid for. 

Strength training equipment 

If strength training equipment is given proper maintenance, these fitness equipment can last indefinitely. These pieces of equipment are specially designed to give strength to different body parts. Here are some essential strength training equipment a fitness studio requires: 

• Dumbbells 
• Kettlebells 
• Medicine balls 
• Benches
• Press machine 
• Curl machines 

However, if the cleaning condition of your gym is not good, you need to replace it once. Otherwise, if proper cleaning is done, these essential gears can be welded for a lifetime. 

Functional fitness accessories 

Functional fitness accessories can be customized according to fitness training requirements. Your members wear these accessories when they need to perform extensive workouts.  

However, these accessories are made from soft materials and need to be replaced after one year of use. So your members can use them to achieve the required fitness results. 

Final thoughts!

As a gym owner, you want your fitness studio to be successful while ensuring a remarkable fitness experience for your members. Gym equipment plays an important role in ensuring this. 

If the fitness equipment in your gym is up-to-date and delivers high-quality service, your gym becomes heaven for fitness freaks. Otherwise, your competition will take the competitive edge. So, it is essential for you to ensure that your gym equipment is replaced when needed and that proper servicing is performed.