Powerful Functional Fitness Statistics for Gym Owners

Last Updated on 4 April, 2025

Functional fitness is practiced by millions of people in over a hundred countries around the world.

It has become a massively popular workout style because of the focus on functional movements and high-intensity workouts. Functional fitness also offers a sense of camaraderie and community—as well as plenty of healthy competition.

If you’re an established functional fitness gym owner looking for industry statistics—or if you’re wondering whether this fitness program is still worth pursuing as an entrepreneur—then keep on reading.

Our functional fitness statistics cover:

• Who participates in functional fitness?
• What types of injuries do people get doing functional fitness?
• What kind of health results can you expect doing functional fitness?
• Is opening a functional fitness gym worth it?

Who participates in functional fitness?

Over the past 24 years, functional fitness has gone from a small competition at a California ranch to an international fitness movement. Some interesting global functional fitness statistics include:

1. An estimated 4 million people do functional fitness around the world.
2. Functional fitness is practiced in 120 countries (CrossFit).
3. Approximately 73% of the 15,000+ gyms are affiliate gyms, which highlights the strength of the brand (CrossFit).
4. Based upon functional fitness gym finder, 43% of affiliate gyms are in North America and 37% are in Europe (CrossFit map).
5. In 2014, 72% of affiliate gyms were located in the U.S. alone—highlighting the rise in international popularity over the past ten years (Rally Fitness).
6. Between 2021 and 2022 there was a 15% increase in affiliates from 9,400 to 10,800 (up by 1,400!) (Morning Chalkup).
7. Male and female participation is split at 50% (Quantcast).
8. In the U.S., 40% of functional fitness athletes have post graduate degrees
9. Almost 60% of functional fitness have children (Quantcast).

What types of injuries do people get doing functional fitness?

Functional fitness is a high intensity sport with a high variability of exercises. As such, injuries are bound to happen. Surprisingly, functional fitness is not as dangerous as it may seem. Here are some notable functional fitness injury statistics to consider:

1. One study of 500 participants in Poland revealed 48% had suffered at least one injury during their functional fitness training history (NCBI).
2. Another study examining 12-month durations for 3049 participants found 30.5% had suffered an injury because of their functional fitness training (NCBI).
3. Injury rates are 0.27-3.1/1000 training hours (Amy West).
4. Injury rates are 22.8% less than track and field athletes (Amy West).
5. 39% of injuries are to the shoulders and 36% are to the back (Midwest Orthopedics at Rush).
6. Participation in functional fitness competitions can increase the potential for injury by approximately 21% (NCBI).
7. Average injury results in approximately 2.7 missed days of training (NCBI).
8. 24% of injuries require physician care (NCBI).

What kind of health results can you expect doing functional fitness?

As with almost any exercise, regular functional fitness training will improve your health. By combining aerobic and anaerobic elements functional fitness training can improve your cardiovascular fitness, body composition, and anaerobic capacity. Another positive aspect is the improvement of mental health through the strong sense of community and physical accomplishments that arise from functional fitness.

While the level of quantifiable information is limited regarding functional fitness health statistics, some small studies have revealed:

1. The average calorie burn rate is 16 calories per minute doing functional fitness workouts (ACE).
2. Most people reached 90% of the maximum heart rate for two popular workouts (ACE).
3. One study of an 8-week trial on Australian teens showed an 82.3% retention rate and an average satisfaction score of 4.4 out of 5 for the participants (JSS).
4. After 8 weeks the participants of the study resulted in: 1.2-inch reduction in waist circumference; 1.38 reduction in BMI; 1.2-inch increase in sit and reach; 3.9-inch increase in a standing jump; and a 10.3 lap increase in the shuttle run (JSS).
5. Another study of 52 Ukraine teenagers aged between 16 and 17 saw their physical health transition from “below the average” to “average” standards after the introduction of functional fitness into their physical education (Kharkiv).
6. A Canadian study examining the influence of functional fitness on women’s self-esteem saw a 22-point increase after 4 months of training based on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (lager numbers equate to higher self-esteem) (Windsor).

Is opening a functional fitness gym worth it?

With the high popularity and continued success of functional fitness gyms, it is safe to say that functional fitness is here to stay. But is it worth opening a gym of your own? These functional fitness gym statistics might help you decide:

1. The annual affiliation fee is $4,500 (CrossFit).
2. Opening a new functional fitness gym costs between $20,000 and $100,000 (Gymdesk).
3. Monthly functional fitness gym membership fees average at $150 (CrossFit).
4. The churn rate of functional fitness gyms is 7.63% (1.3% lower than the national gym average) (Bar Bend).
5. Estimated failure rate of opening a functional fitness gym is 2% (Channel Insights).

As you can see, functional fitness isn’t just a trend. It’s still going strong and is still a viable business opportunity.

If you’re starting or growing a functional fitness gym, make sure to check out WellnessLiving for the backend of your business and FitBUILDER for workout planning.

Schedule a demo to see how our software can help you get more athletes for your studio.