San Diego hits differently in March. The air is warm and the harbour is impossibly blue. It was the perfect backdrop for one of the biggest moments in the global fitness calendar, The HFA Show 2026, and I was lucky enough to be there for all of it.
I'm Sam, CloudFit's Marketing girl, and this is my honest account of what it was like to be on the ground in San Diego for a few days that genuinely reminded me why I love this industry.
First Things First.. What Even Is The HFA Show?
If you haven't heard of it, The HFA Show is the Health & Fitness Association's annual conference and trade show. Think of it as the place where the global fitness industry comes together in one room, gym owners, operators, equipment brands, tech companies, researchers, and everyone in between.
There are keynotes from world-class speakers, education sessions across tracks covering everything from staff management to AI and technology, and then there's the trade show floor, which is honestly a world of its own. Hundreds of exhibitors. Live demos. New product launches. And more conversations than you can possibly fit into a few days.
It moves cities each year, and in 2026 it landed in San Diego. Honestly? Great choice.
And if the numbers are anything to go by, this industry is well worth showing up for. According to the HFA 2026 Buyer's Guide, US fitness facility memberships hit a record 77 million Americans in 2024, with membership penetration reaching nearly 25% among members aged 6 and older. Gym visits rose 3.5% in just the first half of 2025. The industry is growing, and HFA is where you feel that momentum in person.
I Made A Decision Early: Stay On The Floor
Some people split their time between sessions and the trade show. I decided early on that I was going to plant myself on the floor and not leave. Maximum coverage, maximum conversations, that was the goal.
And I'm so glad I did.
There's something about a trade show floor that you just can't replicate anywhere else. You turn a corner and stumble into a conversation that completely shifts how you're thinking about something. You watch a live demo and suddenly a product you'd written off makes total sense. You reconnect with someone you met two years ago at a different event and it turns into a 45-minute chat about where the industry is heading.
The Moments That Stuck With Me
A few brands deserve a proper mention because they genuinely made an impression. FitBench unveiled their new gloveless boxing bag. It drew a crowd and it was one of those product reveals that makes you think "yeah, that's going to be everywhere in two years." Functional training continues to evolve in really exciting ways and FitBench are right at the front of it.
Les Mills were there doing what they do, reminding everyone why group fitness built around community and great programming still sits at the heart of the member experience. And honestly, if you ever needed proof that group training is worth investing in, the data makes it hard to argue: group exercisers are 26% less likely to cancel their memberships than gym-only members. Group training participation is holding strong at 32.3% of members, and small group training has grown steadily from 28.1% back in 2019. The "tribe" effect is real, and it's one of the most underrated retention tools in the business.
Yanga brought the hydration conversation front and centre. Your Reformer had people talking about the unstoppable rise of Pilates, which saw participation jump to 8.2% in 2024, nearly double where it was in 2021.
What The Industry Is Talking About Right Now
Walk the floor long enough and the themes start to reveal themselves. Not because anyone is repeating talking points, but because the same ideas keep coming up organically in different conversations, at different booths, with completely different people.
Here's what the fitness industry is clearly thinking about right now:
Recovery, longevity, and wellness are the new frontier. This was everywhere on the floor and the numbers back it up. Yoga remains the most widely practised activity among members, Pilates has nearly doubled its participation since 2021, and 78% of exercisers say exercise contributes to their mental health. Members aren't just coming in to get fit anymore, they're coming in to feel better, live longer, and manage stress. The facilities responding to that are the ones replacing traditional spa zones with infrared therapy, cold plunge, red light therapy, and guided mobility zones. And here's the thing, these aren't luxury add-ons for high-end clubs anymore. Nearly half of major fitness chains are now offering recovery products and services as part of their core offering, and recovery zones are increasingly being positioned as a genuine member retention play, not just a nice-to-have.
Data is changing the operator game. Gym owners are getting genuinely sophisticated about how they use member data, not just to report on what happened, but to predict what's coming and act before a member goes quiet. The most forward-thinking operators on the floor weren't just collecting data; they were using it to personalise the entire member journey, from onboarding through to retention alerts and programming recommendations.
AI is no longer a concept, it's already here, and it's moving fast. This was probably the most striking shift from previous years, and the one that generated the most energy in conversations across the floor. The AI and wellness market is projected to hit $46 billion by 2034, a 16.8% compound annual growth rate, and you could feel the momentum of that everywhere. What struck me most was how the conversation has matured. Nobody was talking about AI in the abstract. The discussions were specific: AI in marketing, AI in CMS software, AI for predictive analytics, AI for equipment maintenance, AI for member retention. In fact, 78% of personal trainers are already using AI in some capacity when working with clients. The next wave isn't AI arriving, it's AI becoming invisible, seamlessly woven into every part of the member experience. Operators who aren't thinking about this now are going to feel it.
Strength is taking over the floor, literally. Strength training areas have grown 22% in square footage in modern gym layouts, while cardio sections continue to shrink. With 32.1% of gymgoers training with free weights or dumbbells, and more women than ever picking up a barbell, the shift to strength is undeniable. FitBench's new boxing bag felt right at home in a show where functional training was everywhere.
Corporate wellness is booming. Multiple conversations pointed to employer-funded fitness partnerships as one of the fastest-growing opportunities in the industry right now. It's a space worth watching closely, and one that CloudFit is paying close attention to.
Community is still everything. For all the talk of tech and data and AI, the thing that kept coming back was this: people come to gyms for connection. Gym design is evolving to reflect that too, overflow lounges, outdoor terraces, social spaces, and community-first layouts are becoming the norm. The in-person experience, the belonging, the culture, the community, is still the most powerful retention tool any facility has, and that's not going anywhere.
On The Side: San Diego, You Were Brilliant
Between the long days on the floor, San Diego more than held its own as a city. A few things worth putting on your list if you ever find yourself there:
🏃♀️ Run along the Harbour – flat, scenic, and the best way to start a day at the show.
🌆 Explore the Gaslamp Quarter – good coffee in the morning, great food at night, always something on.
⚾ Catch a game at Petco Park – beautiful stadium right in the heart of the city, even if baseball's not your thing.
⚓ Visit the Midway Museum – an aircraft carrier on the waterfront. You'll plan for an hour and stay for two.
🌅 Sunset from Pacific Beach – non-negotiable. San Diego does sunsets like nowhere else.
What I'm Bringing Back
HFA 2026 was one of those events that leaves you with a full notebook and a head full of ideas. The themes that dominated the floor, data, AI, community, longevity, recovery, aren't abstract trends for us at CloudFit. They're the exact conversations we're in every single day with the gyms and facilities we work with around the world.
The numbers coming out of HFA's own research make it clear: this industry is growing, members are demanding more, and the operators who are leaning into technology, wellness, and community are the ones pulling ahead.
Being at HFA reminded me why getting in the room matters. You can read every industry report going, but nothing replaces standing on a trade show floor, talking to real operators about real problems, and feeling firsthand where things are moving. If you've never been to The HFA Show, put it on your radar for next year. And if you're ever in San Diego… don't skip the sunset.
Stats and data referenced throughout this post are sourced from the HFA 2026 Buyer's Guide, published by the Health & Fitness Association (healthandfitness.org).
