January 24, 2014 – The Breakers, one of the top-ranked hotels in Palm Beach, Florida, has received the local zoning commission’s approval to build a new fitness center. Construction depends on the Town Council, which has the final say; if the plan goes forward, the new center will triple the size of the hotel’s current exercise area. Construction would begin around June 1 and take three to four months to complete.
The hotel’s proposal calls for a 4,190-square-foot fitness center on what is now a rooftop terrace. The center will feature an ocean view and will presumably include a wider range of exercise equipment and machinery than is currently available. The present facility occupies a 1,400-square-foot space on the ground floor and, according to The Breakers’ attorney, James Crowley of the Gunster law firm, is outdated. Meanwhile the terrace area is underused.
However, there is a dispute over the hotel’s zoning rights, because the new fitness center would bring the total size of its beach club area to about 24,000 square feet. That would exceed a 20,000-square-foot limit set by the town in 1998, when it approved demolition of a hotel ballroom and previous beach club facilities. The hotel is seeking an amendment to the zoning rules, claiming it has not yet used 11,621 square feet of accessory space granted it for “future use assignment” during the 1998 ruling.
“Exercise is quite a different thing now from what it was in 1998,” notes Tracey Keats, President of EZFacility, a fitness facility management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Travelers to highly-rated hotels expect a certain level of health club offerings, and it’s clear why The Breakers wants to be able to meet customers’ workout needs. The proposed facility update could attract new hotel guests and keep longtime ones coming back.”
One thing in the hotel’s favor is that the new facility would pose no traffic concerns. It will be open only to hotel guests and members, attorney Crowley explained, and there is ample parking.

January 24, 2014 – Fitness First, the UK-based gym chain with branches throughout Europe and Asia, announced a £225 million brand overhaul. With more than twenty years of business under its belt, the chain is looking to upgrade its look, clubs, and customer service. The first phase of rebranding has begun, with a £1.5 million marketing campaign designed to communicate the new corporate identity to customers.
Advertisements in the new campaign position the club as “rewriting the rules of fitness.” For example, part of the overhaul includes a shift in “fitness philosophy,” with the gym pushing a freestyle fitness regime based on natural movement. An ad titled “Rule #3” features the slogan “Focus on Movement, Not on Machines.” Other ads emphasize the chain’s new embracing of shorter classes (“More Burn, Less Time”), better customer service (“Go Further for Members”), and move toward outdoor training (“With You Outdoors, Not Just on Gym Floors”).
“Fitness First’s foray into a new corporate identity speaks to larger changes within the industry,” says Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager, of EZFacility, a gym management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “In general, focus is shifting to upgraded customer service; body weight training; shorter, more intense workout sessions; and innovations like outdoor training and greater incorporation of technology. In the light of these changes, many fitness facilities are contemplating identity updates. It will be interesting to watch Fitness First’s unfold.”
Additional initiatives for the brand overhaul include a goal for all 2,200 UK staff, “from the chief executive to receptionists,” to attain a certified fitness qualification by 2015; the establishment of a fitness test that measures gym members’ biological ages; and the creation of a fitness app that lets customers track their daily progress. In addition, the gym’s logo will change from blue to red. “…Red is the colour of energy and strength,” said marketing director David Jones. “It is bold and confident and a statement of intent, and it better represents the direction we are taking.”

January 6, 2014 – Fitness industry veterans Jill Kinney and Bill McBride opened a new club at the start of 2014, rebranding the former Club One Petaluma (CA) as Active Sports Clubs. The facility will be managed by Clubsource Development Partners LLC, founded by Kinney in 2006; she serves as the company’s chairperson, and McBride is its president and CEO.
“I made the decision to launch this new company and brand because I felt it was the next step towards delivering my vision,” Kinney told the online magazine Club Industry. Her company, Clubsource, is a development business that specializes in private community centres that provide a for-profit, contemporary alternative to financially strapped neighborhoods. “I truly see our role as one of serving the community, not just the members,” she said. “To take that to the next level, it required that we disengage from the Club One brand.”
Part of the new club’s focus will be to introduce products and services to the Petaluma area, McBride explained. The club will feature a farm-to-table organic café, small group fitness programs, and a series of workshops centered around personal improvement. It also will include a weight loss program that pairs members with personal health coaches.
“Active Sports Clubs promises to establish a unique and interesting facility model,” says Eric Willin, COO, of EZFacility, a fitness center management software developer in Woodbury, NY. “It is entering into a competitive market, but with industry veterans at the helm, it looks poised to succeed.”
The company may add more clubs in 2014, but for now it will focus on its main site while exploring options for expanding.

January 2, 2014 – Plans for a new baseball and softball complex in Peoria, Illinois, have been under way for some time, but only recently was the partnership behind the complex revealed: Louisville Slugger, the 130-year-old maker of baseball and softball bats, has signed on with developers to complete the project.
Featuring 10 outdoor youth fields, plus a 125,000-square foot dome for year-round play, the new $33 million facility will be called the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex. City officials expect the complex to host between 11,000 and 12,000 games annually, approximately 10,000 games more than Peoria has been hosting for a number of years at an existing facility. Projected to have a core reach of about a 300-mile radius, the facility will also host teams from around the country, including college teams.
“When a high-profile sporting goods company decides to help fund a new, landmark venue, it’s a big deal,” says Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility software management developer in Woodbury, New York. “A deal like this one stands to benefit the company, the complex, the surrounding community, and the athletes who use the facility alike.”
Louisville Slugger products will be sold at the venue, and the atmosphere will be designed to mirror a big-league experience, with walk-out-style dugouts, bullpens, lights, electronic scoreboards, and public address systems. Over a quarter million people are expected to visit annually.

December 20, 2013 – Mossa, the Marietta, GA-based company previously known as Body Training Systems, has partnered with Xbox to create an online fitness service that could eventually lead consumers to the gym and that will promote participating health clubs. Through the partnership, Mossa has launched Xbox Fitness, a library of workout videos from top trainers and brands, including Jillian Michaels and Tracy Anderson, as well as Beachbody’s P90X and Insanity. The videos teach home users workouts they can do at their own pace and then guide them into health clubs by offering a free pass to visit Mossa group fitness classes.
“With this unique Xbox Fitness partnership and the growing popularity of our group fitness programs worldwide, we’re entering a very exciting phase of our business,” said Mossa president Terry Browning.
Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager of EZFacility, a fitness facility management software provider in Woodbury, New York, said the partnership is an exciting development. “We’re at the dawn of an age in which home workouts are easily accessible, personal devices provide data feedback, and trainers work with their clients over Skype,” she said. “Health clubs and other fitness facilities have to find ways to integrate these new technologies. A home workout video library that encourages gym attendance is a huge plus.”
Released in November, Xbox One, the platform that allows users to access Xbox Fitness, features precision Kinect technology, which gives users immediate feedback on form, power, and heart rate. Programs currently offered include Mossa Core Workout, Mossa Fight Workout, Mossa Groove Workout, and Mossa Power Workout.
Over the next four years, participating clubs that agree to honor a free pass given to Xbox Fitness users will be promoted through Xbox One.

December 12, 2013 – Hope College, in Holland, MI, received the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA)’s Outdoor Tennis Court of the Year Award in December. The college’s Vande Poel-Heeringa Stadium Courts were selected out of 14 tennis facilities in the United States that earlier this year were recognized by ASBA for their excellence in design, construction, and renovation.
Jorge Capestany, a manager of Hope College’s tennis center, said the courts, which opened in 2012, have had a noticeable impact on the college. “The state-of-the-art Vande-Poel Heeringa Stadium Courts have already made a difference in recruiting, lesson programs, and enjoyment for the Hope tennis community,” he said.
Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility management software developer in Woodbury, NY, noted the significance of the award. “To be named the top tennis court facility in the country, out of thousands of facilities, is quite an honor,” he said. “The positive effects the facility has had on the college as a whole goes to show how important a solidly engineered sports center can be to local communities.”
Featuring 12 full-sized courts, and designed for competition, instruction, and casual play, the center boasts elevated seating for spectators. Earlier this year, it was named one of the top 20 tennis facilities in the country by the United States Tennis Association. It was built by local firm GMB Architects and Engineers, in consultation with Alex Levitsky of Global Sports and Tennis Design Group in Fair Haven, NJ.

November 25, 2013 – In the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACMS) annual list of fitness trends, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) took the top spot for fitness trends for 2014, knocking out of place educated and experienced fitness professionals, the trend that has topped the list for seven years. This is the first time that HIIT has appeared on ACMS’s list.
“When a trend shoots to the top during its debut year, you’ve got to stop what you’re doing and pay attention,” says Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager of EZFacility, a health club management software developer in Woodbury, NY. “Fitness facilities that haven’t yet incorporated HIIT programming into their offerings should use this news as a prod and start strategizing ways to do so.”
A number of studies in the past year have concluded that HIIT can produce similar—and sometimes superior—gains in fitness compared with longer, more moderate-intensity training methods. Consumers have lauded the technique for the relatively low time commitment it requires and its quick and noticeable results. Some fitness professionals, on the other hand, worry that HIIT is not right for everyone, because it can lead to more injuries and higher risk of heart attack or stroke than other methods, but most acknowledge that clients are demanding it in high numbers.
Other trends to score well on ACMS’s survey include body weight training in the number 2 spot, educated and experienced fitness professionals in the number 3 spot, strength training in the number 4 spot, and exercise and weight loss in the number 5 spot.

October 31, 2013 – Chuze Fitness, a California-based health club, today announced the opening of a new facility in Garden Grove, CA. An expansion of the usual Chuze model, the new location offers the company’s typical slate of classes, including yoga, barre, pilates, zumba, kickboxing, and toning, among others, in addition to personal training, indoor cycling, a lap pool, and a Jacuzzi. The facility also features massage, tanning, a childcare center, and a cardio court.
With 12 locations throughout California and Arizona, Chuze operates on a graded pricing model, offering membership rates as low as $9.99 for month, up to $19.99 per month. The Garden Grove facility opens on Mondays at 4:30 a.m. and remains open twenty-four hours a day through Friday at 10:00 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, it opens from 6:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m.
Chuze has built its brand on two main selling points: cleanliness and a neighborhood feel. The company prides itself on spotless facilities and on a staff that knows members’ names and make members feel at home.
“We’re starting to see a move toward more compact facilities with a localized feel, like the ones Chuze offers,” says Hugh McEvoy, Director of Sales and Operations of EZFacility, a fitness club management software developer in Bethpage, NY. “We’re curious to see how the company will grow and how it will continue to do in the competitive market it’s based in.”
Chuze has another new location slated to open in Westminster, CA, later this year.

October 31, 2013 – Crunch Fitness recently launched Crunch Live, an online fitness portal that provides users with access to virtual workouts for a monthly fee. According to the company, the new program marks the first time a national gym brand is delivering online videos of actual class formats offered in the gym.
The available videos range across types of classes, with labels that match those offered in the company’s bricks-and-mortar facilities, including Barre Assets, Rear Attitude, Gospel House Aerobics, Diesel, Yoga Body Sculpt, Fat-Burning Pilates, and Aerobics with an Attitude. Instructors are high-profile experts, such as Irini Res Eckes, a former prima ballerina; Deborah Sweets, a former Crunch member turned instructor; and Craig Smith, a well-known choreographer and dancer. Many of the videos feature actual Crunch members as back-up participants.
“Crunch Live is a digital extension of our brand and will…make Crunch classes accessible to everyone regardless of location,” said Crunch CEO Keith Worts. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to give everyone access to the evaluated workout experience our members benefit from in our gyms every day.”
“Crunch’s creation of an online library of workout videos marks the start of a trend,” says Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager, of EZFacility, a gym management software developer in Bethpage, NY. “Such an offering is overdue, and clients who are traveling or who have difficulty carving out time to make it to the gym are likely to jump on the chance to sign up for the program. Other gyms are sure to follow suit soon, and it will be interesting to see how online workout videos grow as a source of revenue for the fitness industry.”
The online video model calls for continual updating, and Crunch plans to add new class videos on a regular basis. The program offers subscribers the ability to mark favorite class videos, create customised lists of videos based on goals or interests, and post completed workouts on personal social media pages.

October 28, 2013 – A study released recently by the Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) shows that a proposed tax credit for adults who exercise could result in $2.5 billion in health care savings. The study counters opponents’ argument that the new credit could cost Canada up to $50 million a year in losses in tax revenue.
The proposal would allow citizens to claim up to $500 on gym memberships, classes, skiing, and similar activities. On tax forms, the credit would be $75. In addition to cutting Canada’s health care costs, the credit would encourage one million more Canadians to become active, according to the FIC study.
“It will be interesting to watch how our neighbors to the north handle the question of a tax credit for physical activity,” said Eric Willin, COO, of the fitness facility management software developer EZFacility, in Bethpage, New York. “From an industry perspective, I’d want to know whether fitness facilities in the country experience an increase in membership and retention rates after the credit is in effect.”
While a children’s fitness tax credit has been in place in Canada since 2007, with the same parameters — families can claim up to $500 spent on fitness programs for a child and receive a tax credit of $75 — no statistics exist yet to show whether the credit has increased children’s participation in exercise programs, and whether health costs savings have resulted.
The campaign for an adult fitness credit was introduced in April, 2011, and supporters hope the credit will be implemented when the government’s budget is balanced, which is projected to occur in 2015.