经济学人精读 The Economist [49]
选自 | January 13 2018 | Business | 商业版块
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#Eva导读#
有众多数据显示，低端和高档健身俱乐部在一月的收益最好，使用率也最高。其主要原因在于人们在圣诞节和新年，虽怀揣懊悔之心，但却坚定地走着“每逢佳节胖三斤”的路线。因此，在这之后，减肥的决心最为强烈，购买运动装，办健身卡的需求凸显，当然，其中很大一部分是女性。但，好景不长，这些刚刚办健身卡的人，马上会经历再一次后悔。因为，在接下来的时间中，他们很有可能会在大多数时候缺席健身房。而下一个健身周期的开始就要等到明年1月了。
#以上，个人总结和理解，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论
#有输出才有进步
Peak season for health clubs[健身俱乐部的高峰期]
The squeezed middle[拮据的中端市场]
Low-cost gyms and luxury ones will profit most from the Januaryrush[低端和高档健身俱乐部将在一月的健身高峰期中受益最多]
EVERY year, like clockwork[极为准时], swathes of[一部分]humanity go through the same routine[每年，一部分人会极为准时的经历相同的日常]. On December 26thand January 1st, as the fog of cheese, chocolate oranges and champagne lifts, remorse[懊悔]creeps in[逐渐显现][在12月26号和1月1号，随着奶酪，巧克力橘子，和香槟的迷雾升起，懊悔之意也逐渐产生]. Online searches for “get fit” and “lose weight” surge (see chart)[网上对“瘦身”和“减肥”的搜索增加（见图表）].
Health clubs of all shapes and sizes stand ready to respond[各种形式和规模的健身俱乐部都已经做好准备接客]. “Intent typically takes seven to 14 days to turn into reality,” notes Humphrey Cobbold, chief executive of PureGym, Britain’s largest gym chain[英国最大的健身连锁店PureGym的首席执行官，HC声称“通常决心需要7-14天的时间转化为行动”]. So this week will be one of the busiest for the gym industry globally[因此，这周将是全球健身行业最忙的时期之一].
There will be other ripple effects[连锁反应], too[也会有其他的连锁反应]. According to recent data from Cardlytics, which monitors spending in Britain, people spend18% more in sports shops the week before joining a gym (compared with the week prior), and 16% more in speciality health shops[根据Cardlytics监控英国开销的最新数据，人们在加入健身房的前一周，在运动品商店的开销增长了18%（与前一周相比），在专业健康商店的开销增长了16%]. Spending on fashion items also increases around the time of joining agym[在要加入健身房是，在时尚物品上的花费也有所增加].
Many gym recruits[新成员]will wear their new togs for an ordeal[考验]known as high-intensity interval training[很多健身房的新成员都将穿上他们的新衣服，接受被称为高强度间歇训练(HIIT)的考验]. In the basement of Another Space, a “boutique” club near London’s Leicester Square, music pumps and lights flash as a trainer shouts instructions to a group of mostly youngwomen[在伦敦Leicester 广场附近的一个“精品”俱乐部Another Space的地下室中，放着音乐，灯光闪烁，一个教练正向以女性居多的一个团队喊着口令]. They are pushed through bursts of burpees, handclap push-ups and various kicks and punches at boxing bags[她们被训练做一组组波比跳，拍手俯卧撑，和击打拳击袋]. The regime[组织方法，管理体制]is murderous[非常难受的], but the club’s luxurious changing rooms and made-to-order-smoothie bar soothe some of the pain[训练方法让人难受的要命，但是俱乐部的豪华更衣室和按需特制的沙冰吧缓解了些许的疼痛]. Such high-end gyms can charge up to eight times as much as low-cost ones, based on two visits a week over a year, estimates RayAlgar, an industry analyst[行业分析员RA估计，像这样的高端健身房是那些低端健身房收费的8倍]. Boutique venues such as SoulCycle or Pure Barre are popping up[突然出现，发生], particularly in big cities and often backed[支持，资助]by private equity[像SoulCycle或是Pure Barre这样的精品场所正在闪现，尤其在城市，通常有私人股本的资助].
They are at one end of a bifurcating[分支]fitness market[它们是健身市场分支的一个极端]. At the other are budget gyms, which have accounted for the bulk of[一大部分]gym growth in recent years[另一个极端是中端健身房，它们在近几年占据了健身房增长的一大部分]. America’s market leader, Planet Fitness, promises “the best value on the planet”, and has over 10m members; its shares soared[骤增]in 2017[Planet Fitness美国市场的领头羊，承诺是“地球上最物有所值”的健身房，拥有超过1亿的会员；它的市场份额在2017年骤增]. One in seven people in Britain is a gym member, and 35% of private memberships are low-cost, up from 14% in 2013, according to Leisure DB, a data firm[根据Leisure DB一家数据公司，在英国，每7个人中就有一人是健身房会员，其中35%是低端健身房的私人会员，由2013的14%上涨至此]. Mid-range clubs, meanwhile, have fared[遭遇]less well[与此同时，中端俱乐部的境况不佳]. Virgin Active recently sold its less luxurious facilities in Britain to avoid being squished in the middle[英国Virgin Active最近卖掉了它的不那么高端设施，以避免被挤到中端市场].
Pure Gym expects soon to reach 1m members[Pure Gym希望很快就能达到1亿会员]. Part of its appeal is that, unlike traditional gyms, members are not bound by a long contract[它的吸引力一部分在于，不像其他传统健身房，会员没有被捆绑长期合同]. “We have taken a£500 decision and turned it into a £20 decision,” says Mr Cobbold[C先生说，我们收下了一个价值500英镑的决定，并把它转变为价值20英镑的决定]. That will be good news for some gym converts[改变（习惯/生活方式）的人]because many will soon suffer a second round of regret[这对于一些刚刚加入健身房的人是一个好消息，因为他们很快会经历第二轮后悔]. Most new joiners do not plan to squander[浪费，挥霍]money[大多数新加入者都不想浪费钱]. But gyms thrive onnon-attendance[但是健身房靠缺勤致富]. According to theIHRSA, an industry body based in Boston, fewer than half of gym members in America hit the treadmill[跑步机]at least twice aweek—until the exercise cycle begins anew[重新，再]the following January[根据位于波士顿的行业组织IHRSA的说法，美国少于一半的健身房会员在一周至少使用两次跑步机，一直再到接下来的一月才会重新开始运动周期].
Jan 14 | 511 words
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我是Eva
一个认真学习英语的美少女