Assessment of the State and Effectiveness of Fitness Centres in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Commercial fitness centers represent one opportunity to be physically active .This study is a descriptive survey with a population comprising all fitness centres in Ilorin metropolis. Convenience sampling method was used to select 11 registered and functional fitness centres in the metropolis. A pilot study was done across Ilorin metropolis to ascertain the number of fitness centres. Modified National Science Foundation’s Checklist (NSF) and ACSM Health/Fitness Facility Standard and Guidelines (2019) was used for data collection. The researchers matched the available facility and equipment in the various fitness centres against the responses on the checklist in order to avoid response bias from the fitness instructors. Percentile ranking were used to analyse the collected data. The results from the study showed that only one fitness centre met up with the standard of having at least 80% required strength training equipment while three fitness centres did not meet up with the standard of having over 70% cardiovascular equipment to accommodate clients need. It was also discovered that majority of the fitness instructors are not professionally certified to handle health and fitness related physical activity judging from their lack of certification from professional bodies. Based on this premise, it was recommended that certification of fitness trainers be deemed important and more fitness centres be opened to accommodate the teeming population.