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Comprehensive Research Project on How to Create an Exercise Habit

24 Hour Fitness® is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Change for Good Initiative [BCFG] to support research into what works best for creating lasting exercise habits. With an interdisciplinary team of world-renowned researchers, the BCFG addresses the broader question of how to make positive behavior change stick in aspects of life related to health, education and savings.

Sexual Harassment and the Fitness Industry

One day, while stretching my client Jim, I was taken aback when I realized he wasn’t wearing underwear. His shorts were swim trunks with interior netting. I quickly looked away and continued to stretch him. This happened with Jim on several other occasions, but I never mentioned it because I wasn’t sure how to broach the matter. I also didn’t feel as if he was doing this intentionally, nor did I believe he meant harm.

Corporate Fitness Evolves

Employers are looking for partners to provide experiences and solutions in social, emotional, financial, family and career growth and well-being,” says Grace DeSimone, national group fitness director with Plus One Health Management, an Optum company, in New York City. Companies are also embracing mindfulness, meditation and virtual solutions for telecommuting employees, according to DeSimone. All these changes represent an evolution from programs aimed primarily at improving physical health and controlling healthcare costs.

Helpful Productivity Apps

Do you struggle to stay focused or cross off items on your to-do list? There are apps for that. Here, five successful business owners share their favorite apps for getting things done:

Learn, Connect and Thrive at the IDEA® World Convention

Education is the foundation of the IDEA World Convention, but this fitness event offers plenty more than stellar instruction. For Jonathan Bernath, publicist-turned-personal-trainer, it’s where he discovered the “fitness family” that would guide him in his new career.

How to Find Your Epic

The fitness industry is a rewarding and inspiring place to be. However, it’s not without its challenges, and getting ahead with passion alone can be difficult. The most successful fit pros know that to build an epic life and career, they must invest in education and learn from those who’ve been there and done it.

Fitness Facility Membership by the Numbers

In 2016 America, traditional commercial health clubs—multipurpose, fitness-only and corporate facilities—served 32.2 million members, a 3% decline from 2015, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. Studios served another 18.2 million, a 15% improvement.
Nonprofit facility membership rose 6.9% from 2015 to more than 24 million. Collectively,
studio facilities claimed 40.7% of total membership.

Most Popular Club Activities

The three types of workout equipment used most often in health clubs in 2016 were treadmills, resistance machines and free weights, according to the IHRSA 2017 Health Club Consumer Report. Among group exercise and training programs, yoga topped the list, with 36% of members reporting participation. Stretching (24%) and calisthenics (23%) ranked second and third.

TGIF! The New Happy Hour

As a fitness entrepreneur, you may have noticed that Fridays are clients’ least favorite days to exercise. Your studio is packed on Mondays but nearly empty on Fridays—especially in the evening. Why?

Get in the Game!

Fitness facilities compete to offer cutting-edge movement trends, but what about cutting-edge technology? The fitness world is becoming ever more virtual, and incoming clients are looking for more than a fun indoor cycling class or a cool cardio machine; they want to play a game!

Sustainability Important For Gym-Goers, Says Survey

When it comes to exercise, people might give greater effort if there’s more at stake than calories or improved performance. A recent survey suggests that gym-goers might be motivated to work harder if their energy is converted to power for the gym.

Least Active Cities in the U.S.

Each year, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association conducts national online interviews to determine activity participation, activities of choice, and other sport- and fitness-related statistics throughout the U.S. One data point involves activity levels by city. After compiling and analyzing responses from 32,658 interviews for the 2016 Tracking the Fitness Movement report, SFIA determined which parts of the country could need extra motivation to move in 2017. Here is SFIA’s list of the 10 least active cities/metropolitan areas:

How to Market Exercise Classes for Older Adults

The image of the cookie-baking, rocking chair–bound, bespectacled grandma is about as outdated as, well, leg warmers. It’s no secret that today’s older adult is “not your grandpa’s retiree.” Among people retiring now, many are socially, mentally and physically active. And that’s why fitness facilities that want to attract this cohort need to be particularly careful about marketing language and schedules.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

At several City Surf Fitness locations in Texas and Louisiana,

City Surf

offers participants the benefits of surfing—even though there aren’t any waves nearby. According to the website, the class is taught on SURFSET® RipSurfer X boards and features “fun surf-inspired movements, utilizing surfer-specific muscle groups.” Classes are open to every fitness level, and instructors provide modifications for more or less intensity.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

While not exclusive to men, Yo-Bro YOGA at RIO Pilates & Yoga
Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a high-energy class that allows
practitioners to explore their physical limits. Catering to the
masculine energies of both men and women, the program offers
techniques for strength building and endurance—as well as opportunities
for arm balances and inversions. Participants are rewarded for their
efforts with craft beer at the end of class.

Adaptable Program Design

A perfect match. Sometimes, in what seems a stroke of kismet, a
perfect client-trainer relationship begins. Several years ago, Eran, a
longtime dancer for Paul Taylor’s American Modern Dance Company, moved
to Brooklyn in New York City. She had been working with a personal
trainer in Harlem until the commute from Brooklyn became too much of a
struggle.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

At multiple locations throughout the country, Equinox offers

The Pursuit,

an indoor cycling experience that combines video game technology and visuals to create a competitive and interactive ride. There are two class options available—

Burn,

which aims for maximum calorie expenditure, and

Build,

suited for cyclists who focus on distance and endurance.