Gym Sensitivity

What Does Being Sensitive Have to do With Running a Gym?

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Gym Sensitivity In a recent post on the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) blog, fitness consultant Michael R. Mantell discussed “the 4 S’s” of membership retention. To keep members — and keep them happy — you have to pay attention to four things that begin with the letter S, Mantell says: Social, Success, Sensitive, and Science. Three of these are pretty intuitive: For the “Social” element, you have to have a friendly, well-trained staff; for “Success,” you have to find ways to motivate your members toward meeting their own goals; for “Science,” you have to pay attention to new advances in technology and how the rest of the fitness world is putting them to use. But what’s this about “Sensitive”? What does being sensitive have to do with running a gym and keeping membership retention high?
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Too Much of a Good Thing

Too Much of a Good Thing

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Too Much of a Good ThingHaving dedicated members is every fitness facility’s dream — the ones who come in regularly, several times a week, pushing themselves through a routine that leaves them feeling good about themselves and good about the place where they choose to work out. But what if members become not so much dedicated as compulsive? Is that good for them? And is it good for your facility?
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California Ripped Fitness Plans New Branch in San Jose

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August 14, 2013 – California Ripped Fitness, a low-cost, full-service health club chain based in Lincoln, California, is opening a new location in San Jose this fall. A relative newcomer to the competitive California health club scene, the company signed a 22,000-square-foot lease and aims for an early October launch. Membership pre-sales begin this month.
“We’re looking to come in pretty aggressively and are actively looking for spots in other locations,” Nicholas Trosko, director of operations at California Ripped Fitness, told the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Competitors nearby include City Sports, which is owned by LA Fitness and operates several branches in the area; 24 Hour Fitness, another company with multiple locations near San Jose; Retro Fitness; and Total Woman.
“California Ripped Fitness is entering a highly competitive market,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a fitness center management software provider based in Bethpage, New York, “but the company has a sound strategy and could help lift the quality of offerings in the area even higher. Given the population density in and around San Jose, it’s nearly impossible to saturate that market. Opening a location there is a smart move.”
Led by gym-industry veteran Pat Accettura, California Ripped Fitness plans to offer memberships in the $15- to $20 range — with special deals, such as a $1 enrollment fee for premier membership — while also offering many of the amenities found at more costly clubs. The new location, the company’s second, will feature personal training, group classes, tanning, and on-demand digital instructors, along with traditional weight training equipment and exercise machines.

New Health Club for Baby Boomers Only

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September 12, 2013 – A new fitness facility in Fargo, North Dakota caters solely to clients age 50 and up. Welcyon Fitness After 50 offers older gym-goers an opportunity to work out without the intimidation that might attend exercising among younger patrons. Featuring low-impact equipment and a program that pairs each client with a personal trainer and a dietitian, the club aims both to help fit clients maintain healthy habits and to introduce longtime non-exercisers to new habits.
“You go to some workout clubs, you almost feel like you have to be in shape to get in shape,” Bill Rodriquez, a corporate Welcyon spokesman, told the North Dakota online news portal InForum. “We have an alternative to that.”
Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager of EZFacility, a health club management software provider in Bethpage, NY, said that Welcyon is part of a growing trend. “More and more clubs are recognizing the powerful presence of the over-50 crowd, and are gearing up to better serve that crowd,” she said. “In the years to come, as the baby boomer demand grows stronger and the subsequent generation begins to follow in their footsteps, we will see many more facilities like Welcyon open up.”
Already, baby boomers make up the fastest growing segment of the fitness population. Over the last decade, the number of health club members over the age of 50 has grown exponentially, vastly outnumbering members in other age groups. This is not surprising, given that the baby boomer population comprises the largest demographic in the United States — one in every fifty people in the nation is over the age of 50.
Moreover, the fitness industry seems uniquely positioned to benefit from the resources of the 50-plus population. Janis Cheney, state director for AARP North Dakota, said she is not aware of any other businesses or industries, aside from the housing industry, that specialize in serving the baby boomer generation. Because that generation is invested in the idea of living longer after retirement, she suggested, it is especially focused on remaining healthy for many years.

State-of-the-Art, and Luxurious, New Sports Center Opens at University of Oregon

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August 9, 2013 – This month, the University of Oregon, in Eugene, Oregon, unveiled its new Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, a sports center that took eight years and approximately $68 million to complete. Dedicated to the university’s football team, the 145,000 square-foot center features two theater rooms, a barbershop, a cafeteria, state-of-the art locker rooms, a workspace for pro scouts, meeting spaces, instructional rooms, luxury offices, dining facilities, and numerous lounges.
Visually stunning, the facility was designed with two driving principles: It had to be comfortable, and it had to sustain people working very long hours. Architects and interior designers worked together to create a space that anticipates the needs of its users and provides a sense of luxury, while also allowing for both work and rest. In the coaches’ locker room, for example, a selection of aftershave and other men’s care products line the counter in front of the mirror. Televisions are embedded in the mirrors.
In the players’ locker room, each locker holds its own ventilation system in order to ensure an odor-free environment. The players’ lounge contains sofas that recline into beds, gaming stations branded with the football team’s logo, and custom-made pool tables and foosball tables. Enclosed in glass, the lounge opens onto a terrace.
“The new complex at the University of Oregon is beyond impressive,” said Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager, of EZFacility, a sports facility software company in Bethpage, New York. “It pushes the envelope in terms of what university-based sports centres can be. It’s a place for serious work, and its beauty and embellishments will only push players to become even better. The school’s recruitment efforts will also be aided.”
Some of the other embellishments the building features include floors and walls made of walnut, pantries located in meeting rooms, the pro scout rooms, coaches’ offices, and elsewhere; blackened, magnetic, glass walls that can be written upon, and restrooms that feature wall-sized hand-laid tile mosaics that portray the team’s winning bowl game rings.

Video Games and Exercise

Video Games and Exercise

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Video Games and Exercise A friend of mine told me recently about a deal she cut with her twelve-year-old for the summer: He’s allowed to play video games for an hour a day, provided he spend at least two hours running around outside first. She was starting to get worried about how much time he spent indoors in a sedentary position.
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What Kind of Happiness Can You Offer?

What Kind of Happiness Can You Offer?

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What Kind of Happiness Can You Offer? In this industry, there’s a lot of talk about happiness – as well there should be. In recent years, studies have suggested that the presence or absence of happiness affects us at a cellular level: When we’re happy, our tissues suffer less damage, our bodies have less inflammation, and our immune systems are stronger. Because we know that regular exercise contributes to greater happiness, we remind our clients that coming to the gym is good for them, that it’ll make them happier. But, in the light of a recent study, maybe we should wonder whether we’re giving happiness enough thought.
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The Fittest Cities

The Fittest Cities-They Are Worth Paying Attention To

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The Fittest CitiesBack in June, for the third year in a row, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, won the American College of Sports Medicine’s number-one ranking for fittest metropolitan area. Last week, Virginia Beach, Virginia, won Facebook’s number-one ranking for the same title. But were these rankings based on the same factors and set to be used for the same purposes? Club Industry took a good look at both claims and explained the differences.
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Blue Goji Announces New Video Game Accessories for Exercise Machines

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July 31, 2013 – Kai and Charles Huang, co-inventors of the popular video game Guitar Hero, recently announced a new package of games they will launch this year as fitness accessories. The games, designed for enhancing and rewarding exercise, will track physical activity while users play on mobile devices.
“The objective,” said Kai Huang, CEO of Blue Goji, the company created in 2011 to launch the workout games, “is to make [the games] so fun that you want to come back, and you want to play them, and fitness becomes a byproduct.” The games, Huang said, will be more immersive and habit-forming than other workout distractions.
An article about Blue Goji in the online tech news outlet All Things, D reported that the current prototypes for the company’s game accessories include a small activity tracker that can be clipped onto clothing, a game controller consisting of two black bands with buttons, and two lightweight batons. For bikes and ellipticals, the controller bands strap onto the machines’ built-in handles, but the batons can be used in conjunction with the bands, so that exercisers can reach all buttons without holding on to the treadmill. Both the tracker and the bands communicate wirelessly with mobile devices via Bluetooth.
Although Blue Goji has not yet named a price point, its first bundle of games is slated to come out before the 2013 holiday shopping season begins.

Gym Gadgets

Gadgets in the Gym

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Gym GadgetsWristbands that count your steps, clothing that monitors your heartbeat, watches that know when you’re asleep — in a market continually and increasingly flooded with fitness gadgets, it’s useful to keep track of the latest ones and to consider what, if anything, is the role of gyms and fitness centres in relation to them. When your clients have them, how can — and should — you make use of them?
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