How Cardio Kickboxing Pays for Itself

Are you suffering from Cardio Kickboxing Envy? This is the feeling you get when you see other gyms’ fitness kickboxing programs – with their upbeat music, high-energy instructors, and participants who leave sweat-drenched and grinning – and not having anything comparable at your own gym.

Well, what’s stopping you?

With the popularity of these classes on the rise, chances are, it’s not lack of desire on your part or lack of customer interest that’s holding you back. One of the most common objections to adding a new class is the cost.

But! What if there was a way to add a new class with new gear, all for free? As your luck would have it, there is! When you invest in a cardio kickboxing class, the pro shop sales generated by that class can pay for it completely. Here’s the breakdown:

Initial Costs

Before you can start your class, you’ll need some heavy bags – freestanding bags are the best for this, since they won’t require wall- or ceiling-mounting and can be easily moved to clear floor space when not in use.

A freestanding heavy bag, like the Wavemaster 2XL Pro, costs $304.99. At bare minimum, your class should have six of these bags. That’s one bag for every two to four people, plus a few other people doing sit-ups, squats, or another non-bag activity. The cost of six 2XL Pro bags, including shipping, is $1,830.00 (by contrast, just one Life Fitness Club series treadmill costs over $5,000).

Along with bags, you’ll need gloves for your kickboxing class. It’s completely reasonable for you to require that each participant bring their own, personal pair, for both injury-reduction and sanitary reasons. Make buying gloves convenient for your members. Stock them in your pro shop.

Gloves like Century’s Strive Washable Boxing Gloves are perfect for fitness gyms. They feature multiple designs, all with bright, eye-catching colors, and best of all are machine washable and dryer safe. These will appeal to any busy fitness-focused individual!

Along with gloves, your pro shop should carry hand wraps. Wraps are worn under gloves for extra wrist support. They’re smaller, cheaper, and a good add-on purchase.

Math Time

Word problems are no fun, but this one’s worth it, I promise.  

The wholesale cost of one pair of Strive gloves is $29.99, and the retail cost is $49.99.

The wholesale cost of one pair of hand wraps is $2.99, and the retail cost is $5.99.

Gloves are most easily shipped in sets of 28, and wraps in sets of 36. This is a total investment of $947.36. However, selling both cases will yield a revenue of $1,615.36. The total profit made from selling these gloves and wraps is $668.

It’s realistic to assume you’ll sell more pairs of wraps than gloves, so the 28:36 ratio works well. Once you’ve sold three rounds of gloves/wraps at this rate, you’ll have more than covered the cost of bags.

Return on Investment

Is this scenario feasible? The answer is, absolutely yes! A 2017 IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) Health Club Consumer Report showed that 43% of health club members participated in group exercise. This is over three times the number of members who use personal trainers (13.5%), and nearly half of all total club/gym-goers!

Let’s assume a gym has 1,000 members – not a shockingly high number, by gym standards. Out of those, 430 participate in group fitness. Those people represent 430 chances to sell gloves and wraps. That gym only has to sell 84 pairs of gloves and 108 pairs of wraps to cover the cost of bags.

Depending on the size of your gym, it could take longer for you to pay off the cost of your bags – or, it could take less time. The above equation is just an example, not a guarantee. However, you will likely discover that adding a cardio kickboxing class is well worth the upfront costs, for yourself and your members.

Want to get more info on how to start a cardio kickboxing class? Check out our other blog entries on how to promote your glove sales, the benefits of custom gear, and different varieties of gloves you need if you plan on offering multiple bag-based fitness classes.