According to new data from Fitness Quarter gym, Cardiff’s gym habits are changing, with women increasingly embracing strength and resistance training and growing numbers of members turning to functional fitness and HYROX-style training.
Fitness Quarter, which is located in The Red Dragon Centre in Cardiff Bay, has highlighted the changing way people train as it prepares to mark National Fitness Day on Wednesday 16 September.
Fitness Quarter’s latest data shows that women now account for 48.1% of its membership, compared with approximately 43% when it opened in 2024.
Among women who have remained active members since it launched, there has been a significant increase in gym usage with visits rising from approximately 3.9 visits per month in September-November 2024 to 4.7 visits per month in 2026, which is an increase of 20%.
Strength-based training is also seeing significant growth. Fitness Quarter’s Strength & Conditioning classes have almost doubled in average attendance since launching.
Women are playing a particularly prominent role in Fitness Quarter’s class programme. Of the gym’s current active members who have recorded class attendance, approximately 77% are women, while women account for around 79% of all recorded class attendances.
Fitness Quarter has also seen rapid growth in HYROX, reflecting the wider shift towards functional fitness and training with a specific goal in mind.
Since introducing its HYROX programme in May, Fitness Quarter has recorded more than 650 HYROX class attendances and now offers nine regular weekly sessions.
To put members’ functional fitness to the test, the gym will be holding an all-day Hang Challenge on National Fitness Day, encouraging members to see how long they can hang from a bar.
The challenge will run from 6am until 10pm, with a leaderboard updated throughout the day and prizes of three months’ free membership for first place, two months for second and one month for third.
The challenge is a test of grip strength, muscular endurance, shoulder stability and core control all key components of the functional approach to training that has grown increasingly popular, from strength and conditioning to HYROX-style fitness.
Lee, General Manager at Fitness Quarter said: “What we’re seeing is a real change in how people are approaching their training. Members are becoming much more goal-focused, whether that’s improving strength, increasing their fitness, preparing for an event or simply wanting to see measurable progress. That shift in mindset is influencing both how often people train and the types of training they choose.
“What we’re seeing is a real change in how people are approaching their training. Members are becoming much more goal-focused, whether that’s improving strength, increasing their fitness, preparing for an event or simply wanting to see measurable progress. That shift in mindset is influencing both how often people train and the types of training they choose.
“We’ve recently expanded and upgraded our Women’s Only Area, adding more cardio equipment alongside new fixed barbells, dumbbells and additional training space. The aim is to give members greater choice in how they train and to create an environment where women feel confident progressing into different forms of strength and resistance training.
“The response to HYROX has been particularly strong. Since introducing the programme in May, we’ve recorded more than 650 class attendances and have expanded the timetable to nine regular sessions each week. I think that reflects a wider appetite for training that combines strength, endurance and functional fitness while giving people a clear goal to work towards.
“National Fitness Day is a good opportunity to celebrate how varied fitness has become and to encourage people of all abilities to get involved. The Hang Challenge is deliberately simple and inclusive, but it still tests things such as grip strength and muscular endurance, so it fits well with the type of functional training we’re seeing more members interested in.”
