Esrawi said there aren\u2019t many options to go elsewhere.<\/p>\n
![\"Personal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/JBV7O47KPDJNACNFT42CJCO5FY.JPG\")
Personal trainer Zack Niziolek coached Jessica Good during a training session at the Life Time fitness club, on Jan. 23.Erin Clark\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need a personal trainer, I don\u2019t need a ton of workout classes,\u201d Esrawi said. \u201dI\u2018m looking for something that\u2019s under $100, that has the amenities I like, and that has a good crowd.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like Boston lacks that,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Esrawi is not alone. Increasingly, many gym-goers are having to choose between cheap budget gyms they don\u2019t want, or paying a premium for boutique amenities they don\u2019t need. Those who can afford to pay more are upgrading, and those who can\u2019t are pivoting to budget options. <\/p>\n
Joshua Bold, 22, gets access to classes, towels, a sauna, steam room, pool, and sports courts at luxury Equinox Sports Club, where memberships start around $200 monthly<\/a>, though he noted he doesn\u2019t regularly use all these facilities. Comfort and cleanliness are where he gets value \u2014 all things he felt were lacking at his last gym, which cost $50 to $55 a month. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d rather overpay and be comfortable than cheap out and dread going,\u201d Bold said, adding that he\u2019s \u201cpaying for the things I don\u2019t want to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n Mid-budget gyms are disappearing in Boston as low-cost and high-end chains grow<\/p>\n New York Sports Club spokesperson Kari Saitowitz said that while the pandemic may feel like \u201cancient history,\u201d it was an inflection point for NYSC and many other Boston gyms. For one thing, weakened attendance made it harder to justify expensive rents, such as for the Downtown Crossing location that closed in May.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t easily just contract your square footage when membership softens,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A former Boston Sports Club in the South End underwent a similar transformation. Now a SoWa Health + Wellness<\/a>, its memberships are $190 per month. Meanwhile, other BSC locations have been supplanted by low-budget alternatives, with New Hampshire-based Planet Fitness<\/a> filling one in Back Bay and another in Central Square, and Crunch Fitness ($9-$19 per month) taking over spaces in Allston and Dorchester.<\/p>\n Other gyms with similar offerings and price ranges, such as the sprawling Boston Athletic Club<\/a> in South Boston, have also closed. The YMCA still operates 10 mid-priced locations in the city, though some locations tend to draw large crowds at peak hours. Aside from those, alternatives are few and far between. <\/p>\n Esrawi said his priorities are twofold: affordability and accessibility. But cheaper options, he said, are often too crowded at peak times for his taste. And for someone who\u2019s still in school, more expensive options are out of the question.<\/p>\n It\u2019s part of a national trend, according to financial analysis firm William Blair<\/a>: The mid-tier has lost market share to \u201chigh-volume, low-price\u201d options, the Planet Fitnesses and Crunches of the world.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s almost a premium brand expectation on a mid-price gym because they are seen as a full-service gym,\u201d Saitowitz said. \u201cClean locker rooms, good hours, great equipment, a strong staff, knowledgeable trainers.\u201d<\/p>\n Oftentimes, she said, low-budget gyms don\u2019t carry those same expectations, while premium players charge higher fees to help cover those expenses. <\/p>\n At the same time, many younger gym-goers are choosing to shell out more money for premium gyms and boutique fitness studios, while spending remains strong among Millennials and older patrons. <\/p>\n Though some luxury clubs don\u2019t have a strong footprint in New England as a whole, they are highly concentrated within the city. Equinox, one of the most visible brands in the premium fitness world<\/a>, operates four of its five Massachusetts locations in Boston; the fifth is in Newton\u2019s Chestnut Hill.<\/p>\n Life Time, another luxury fitness outfit, costs $349 a month for its amenities, which include a cold plunge, red light recovery, and two floors of workout equipment at a former Boston Sports Club in the Prudential Center mall.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a higher price point initially when you look at it,\u201d said Kyle Hollander, the club\u2019s general manager. \u201cBut if you\u2019re coming consistently every day, you get a lot more than what you would [anywhere else].\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Batchelder, a 24-year-old South End native, said his Life Time membership is his highest monthly expense. But as an online fitness coach and daily gym-goer, the value is more than worth it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my new country club,\u201d Batchelder said.<\/p>\n Batchelder, Bold, and other luxury gym-goers who spoke to the Globe said socializing and community were main drivers in their decision to join a higher-end club. That much is backed up by a recent report<\/a> by industry firm Les Mills, which found that \u201cexperience and ambiance\u201d are core drivers of attendance for younger fitness enthusiasts.<\/p>\n John Atwood, a Natick-based fitness industry consultant, said the thinking is simple, for those who can afford it: \u201cIf this is incredibly important to your lifestyle, if you\u2019re going to come to this place three times a week, then isn\u2019t it worth it to spend a little bit more money?\u201d<\/p>\n How young people choose to spend may matter a lot to the fitness industry. A 2025 report<\/a> from the Health & Fitness Association, a Boston-based industry group, found that 25- to 44-year-olds now represent the largest gym-going population, or roughly a third of all membership. Millennials still buy the most premium gym memberships at 48 percent, though the large size and spending habits<\/a> of Gen Z suggests that trend may soon skew younger.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trend where that age group is seeing this as a necessity and not as a luxury is definitely accurate,\u201d said Parham Javaheri, president of club operations and chief property development officer at Life Time.<\/p>\n Data also shows Gen Z lean toward the kinds of workouts that can get pricey, with 43 percent of boutique studio membership being 25-and-unders.<\/p>\n Saitowitz, of New York Sports Club, said despite the brand\u2019s struggles there will always be demand for a full-service gym for those who decide against, or can\u2019t afford, premium options. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re looking to do is provide enough value to that consumer, that they want to and can justify spending what we charge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen if that will be enough to keep members like Esrawi. For now, he\u2019s content paying his $55 membership. But as for when he\u2019ll consider somewhere else?<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I start making money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism<\/a>. Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq<\/a> and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BBSP22Y2DJHSPAMP5V6Y6GP2OY.jpg\")
A Boston Sports Clubs’ empty parking lot after closing in Methuen, on April 9, 2020.Jim Davis\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n![\"Gym](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MVAROZLQTCVPM6RXSXPNH6KXZQ.JPG\")
Gym members worked on laptops in a shared lounge and workspace at the recently opened Life Time fitness club, on Jan. 23.Erin Clark\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n![\"Carina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5TOFWVRBNSNB4SXX4TVFLSTX3E.JPG\")
Carina Siolfi (left) used a leg press machine as Mia Dyman looked on at the Life Time fitness club, on Jan. 23.Erin Clark\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n