健身房定律：一次性付清年費不利於健身
People who fork out for the gym fortnightly rather than annually will turn up for workouts more often, according to new Australian research.
People who fork out for the gym fortnightly rather than annually will turn up for workouts more often, according to new Australian research.
Behavioural specialists say that members who pay an up-front yearly fee go less frequently because they don't have a regular reminder of their commitment printed on their bank statements.
A team from the University of Wollongong compared people who paid for a year's gym membership in advance to those who signed a contract but paid by fortnightly salary deductions.
The results, published in the international journal Marketing Theory, showed annual payers worked out five times a month on average, compared to eight monthly visits for those on fortnightly schedules.
This second group were motivated by regular reminders of the real cost of missing a visit, said Professor Sandra Jones from the university's Centre for Health Behaviour and Communication Research.
"People look at their pay slip and think to themselves 'I paid $20 this fortnight and didn't get anything for it,' which motivates them to go to the gym more often and get their money's worth," Prof Jones said.
"But if they pay in advance it isn't until they get the renewal bill at the end of the year that they realize how much money they've 'wasted' and by then they are out of the habit of exercising."
This proves that the method of gym payment can seriously affect people's activity levels in this study, at least, by up to 50 per cent.
The findings have important implications for the promotion of physical activity and support a change in the way gyms operate, the researcher said.
"I am not suggesting that facilities shouldn't charge up-front fees , as these are often necessary to cover equipment and running costs," Prof Jones said.
"But since we seem to be dealing with a reminder mechanism, up-front payers could be sent a regular reminder of what the last month has, in effect, cost them and encouraging them to make full use of their membership."
This would benefit gyms, too, because members who attend more regularly are more likely to sign up for another year, she said
澳大利亞一項最新研究表明，與一次性付清年費的健身者相比，每兩週預付一次健身費的人更經常去健身房鍛鍊。
行爲研究學家說，會員預付完年費後，就沒了定期的銀行帳單"任務"提醒，由此，他們去健身房鍛鍊的次數會少許多。
伍倫貢大學的一個研究小組對兩類健身會員進行了比較，一類是提前支付一年費用的會員，另一類則是辦了一年制會員卡但可每兩週分期付款的人。
研究結果表明，一年一付的人平均每月鍛鍊5次，而兩週一付的人每月鍛鍊8次。此研究在國際期刊《營銷理論》上發表。
該大學"健康行爲與交流研究中心"的桑德拉·瓊斯教授說，兩週一付的人會定期被提醒"少去一次浪費多少錢"，因此有動力去鍛鍊。
"人們看到帳單的時候就會想，'我這兩週花了20美元卻什麼都沒得到'。這種想法會促使他們更經常去鍛鍊，讓錢花得有所值。"
"但是，如果他們是提前一次付清的話，他們只能到年底看到帳單時纔會意識到自己浪費了多少錢，而那時支付者已經沒有鍛鍊的習慣了。"
這一研究證明，健身房的支付方式極大地影響人們鍛鍊的程度，至少50%的人會受此影響。
研究人員說，這一發現對促進人們鍛鍊身體有很大的指導意義，並且爲改變健身房的運作方式提供了支持依據。
瓊斯教授說，"我不是說健身房不應該要求預付費用，顯然，他們需要用這些錢來購買健身器材和維持運作。"
"但是因爲我們似乎是要解決一個提醒機制，所以預付費用的人應該定期接到通知，提醒他們上個月花了多少錢，鼓勵他們充分利用他們的健身卡。"
她說，這種做法也將使健身房受益，因爲經常健身的會員更可能續辦年卡。
