HOT TOPICS FOR February

24 Hour Fitness renewed its partnership with “The Biggest Loser,” which recently began its seventh season. For the third season running, 24 Hour will send personal trainers to home visits with eliminated contestants and giving them in-home exercise tools in an effort to help them meet their fitness goals.

Gold’s Gym in Tuscon, Arizona, held a grand re-opening celebration last week. The facility added 4,000 more feet of floor space as well as an indoor/outdoor child care playground area. The club says it is the only fitness facility in the country that offers two cardio cinemas.

Planet Fitness has sold World Gym International to the Joyce J. Cammilleri family for undisclosed terms. The new owners obtained the relationships with franchisees as well as the World Gym brand, and former president Mike Uretz will serve as an advisor to the company.

Sport & Health Clubs announced the promotion of Mark Fisher to president and chief operating officer. Fisher has been a long-term employee of the company, and has served as the senior vice president of operations and sales as well as the COO over the past six years.

Town Sports International TSI’s New York Sports Clubs teamed up with Forrest Solutions, a leading employee recruitment firm, for a career workout day, giving people an opportunity to boost their career and their metabolism. The day featured insights on topics like career strategy, upgrading resumes and interview skills, followed by a free workout featuring NYSC personal trainers.

Fitness 21 is trying to help keep its members fit and their resolutions intact with a freshly upgraded 25,000 square foot facility and newly installed Star Trac cardio equipment that includes personal entertainment options.

The gym, located in Sunrise, Florida, recently purchased $200,000 worth of state-of-the-art cardio equipment, in a decision made by Fitness 21 managing partner Rick Bouza in a bid to set his seven year old family owned and operated club apart from larger gym chains. “Contrary to what most businesses do in a tight economy, we’ve decided to spend money to increase our market share and give us an edge on the competition,” he says. “The new Star Trac cardio offerings will play a big part in setting Fitness 21 above other gyms. No other gym in the area provides machines with personal entertainment options like we are.”

The new equipment includes 20 E-Tri treadmills and four E-TBTi Total Body Trainers. In addition to including the standard features Star Trac is known for, both machines feature an integrated 15-inch HD personal viewing screen with channel and volume controls. The machines are also equipped with an iPod doc that has music, video and USB charging station capabilities. Finally, Fitness 21 added 20 Star Trac Spinner Pro bikes.

Beginning this winter, Carole Carson – dubbed “An Apostle for Fitness” by the Wall Street Journal – will be serving as the national AARP Fat to Fit Community Challenge Coach for a new virtual community devoted to healthy weight loss. This innovative program is open to AARP members and nonmembers, as well as all ages. Fitness clubs are invited to participate by signing up teams, organizing competitions, sharing information and resources with members, and competing with other fitness centers. Visit fromfat2fit.com for more information.

1. Heal Mind and Body: Exercise can aid in rehabilitation from illnesses and chronic disease while improving strength and cardio health, reducing stress and easing the effects of depression and other diseases.

2. Practice Prevention: Exercise is a form of preventative medicine that research has shown can lower the risk of many chronic health problems while helping to stave off the effects of aging.

3. Improve Work Life: Exercise can boost employee morale, increase productivity and lead to decreased absenteeism.

4. Save Money: Health club membership remains an incredible value for the cost, and could help members save on medical costs in the long run.

5. Make a Difference: By joining a club and exercising, members are doing their part to reverse the alarming increase in obesity rates in America.

6. Spread the Health: Members can take the lead and be an example of healthy living and wellness for family, friends and their community.

7. Weather the Storm: Health clubs give members a safe, protected place to workout – no matter what the weather is doing outside!

8. Better Together: Health clubs provide a supportive environment for members to meet new people, build friendships and network. Enlisting the support of others can increase motivation and make it easier for members to achieve health and fitness goals.

9. Variety is the Spice of Life: Many give members an array of workout options to choose from in one place, which helps combat boredom.

10. It’s Deserved: A health club membership is not really a luxury – it’s an investment in health – so remind members to look at it this way!

Registration is now open for Chain Reaction, a three-day charity Spinning event benefitting HealthCorps and its fight against childhood obesity. The event is hosted by Star Trac, Spinning, and the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, and is set for March 17th through 19th during the 2009 IHRSA tradeshow in San Francisco.

Chain Reaction was created to help HealthCorps extend its proactive health movement nationally, encouraging and educating high school students to live a healthy, active lifestyle. The event brings together celebrities, fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes and companies for a fun, high-energy event to reach the $1 million fundraising goal to establish HealthCorps’ groundbreaking curriculum in more schools within the coming year.

Star Trac, building on its Expect Different initiatives to encourage all people to live a healthy, active lifestyle, has partnered with HealthCorps to organize the event. Founded by Dr. Mehmet Oz, HealthCorps encourages and educates American youth and families to “Eat Smart and Exercise” by providing them with knowledge, tools and support to make healthy choices.

TSI, the parent company of New York Sports Clubs, Boston Sports Clubs, Philadelphia Sports Clubs and Washington Sports Clubs, has chosen KettleBell Concepts to train their fitness staff on the intricacies of kettlebell training. “Kettlebells are significantly different than other modalities, and can be used effectively to contribute to a facility’s bottom line,” says David Ganulin, CEO of KettleBell Concepts.

WAVE was developed by medical and fitness specialists to help users achieve the results of vibration exercise in as little as 15 minutes, three times a week and with less stress on joints, ligaments and tendons. WAVE Pro Elite’s patented Air Wave Technology self-calibrates, adjusting vibration forces to each user’s weight, size and fitness level. The device also features a large exercise surface area, intelligent touch screen interface, optional password protection, preset programming, and variable frequency training, designed to challenge and stimulate muscles, preventing complacency.

Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center may be able to help physicians predict the likelihood of patients developing breast cancer in the opposite, unaffected (contralateral) breast, helping doctors stratify risk and counsel patients on their treatment options. Researchers reviewed the risk factors of 542 women with breast cancer in only one breast who received a mastectomy of the contralateral breast because they feared having their breast cancer return. The study revealed that patients who had a five year Gail risk of 1.67 or greater, an invasive lobular histology, and multiple tumors in the original breast were all strong predictors for breast cancer to occur in the contralateral breast. Race, estrogen receptor status and progesterone receptor status were not associated with increased risk

Life Fitness has announced that three new products have been awarded accreditation under Stage Two of the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI). The products, which are from the company’s new Elevation Series, are the 95C Inclusive Upright Lifecycle Exercise Bike, the 95R Inclusive Recumbent Lifecycle Exercise Bike, and the 95T Inclusive Treadmill. The Inclusive Signature Series Cable Motion Dual Adjustable Pulley already received accreditation from IFI earlier this year.

Life Fitness has been involved with IFI since its inception and is committed to providing equipment that is suitable for exercisers of all abilities. Lawra Joseph, marketing manager for Life Fitness in the United Kingdom, explains, “This is the first time that our IFI accredited products will have fully integrated inclusive features. The new approach demonstrates the company’s continued dedication to the IFI and also reflects its growing importance for operators.”  The new developments to Lifecycle Exercise Bikes and the treadmill include a new console overlay and a keypad with dome switches accented by brighter colors, making it easier for people with visual impairment to navigate the console. Modified level controls on the bike’s handlebars allow users to more easily identify and reach level controls. The Lifecycles also feature a new color for the seat height adjustment mechanism, a tactile label for the seat positions and a pedal with a heel strap. In addition, there are now contrast lines and a larger logo on the edge of the treadmill’s running belt to assist all exercisers in identifying when the belt is rotating.

Peaksware and Future Apps announce the addition of support for Peaksware’s online training log TrainingPeaks.com to Distance Meter Pro, a popular GPS activity tracking application for the iPhone. This easy-to-use combination brings a powerful new convenience to fitness tracking on the iPhone.

Users of Distance Meter Pro will be able to create accounts, upload their workout data to TrainingPeaks.com, and use the advanced suite of online tools to add a new dimension to their workout tracking and training. TrainingPeaks users with an iPhone 3G may now use their phone’s internal GPS to easily measure and keep track of their workouts using Distance Meter Pro, without the need to carry multiple training devices with them.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis poses a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans (or 55% of people aged 50 or older). In addition, the NOF estimates that in the U.S. today, 10 million people already have the disease, while almost 34 million have low bone mass, placing them at risk for osteoporosis. Bone mass density loss often comes from or is aggravated by a lack of activity, and one way to increase bone density is by engaging in weight-bearing exercises like walking or weight lifting.

The new Xlerator hand dryer completely dries hands in 10 to 15 seconds and uses 80% less energy than traditional hand dryers. In addition, Xlerator delivers a 95% cost savings when compared to paper towels and eliminates the maintenance they require while also creating a more hygenic restroom environment. Xlerator is Made in the USA certified and is the first hand dryer to achieve the GreenSpec approval. It also helps facilities qualify for LEED credits by the U.S. Green Building Council, which has installed the dryer in the restrooms at its LEED Platinum headquarters.

For the last six years Trixter has provided exciting and innovative fitness solutions for a variety of clients, including club owners, champion athletes, teams, schools, and even cancer rehabilitation programs. Now, the company is concentrating its efforts on schools and the gym market in the U.S., and facilities are seeing this as a way to stand out from the crowd.

California Family Fitness (CFF) in Sacramento, California, has had 50 of Trixter’s X-Bikes installed in their state-of-the-art facility for six months, and the X-biking programs are proving to be the most popular group fitness classes offered at the gym. Melissa Thomas, the club’s group fitness director, says, “We were looking at ways to differentiate CFF from the competition and the link up with Trixter has been perfect. The bikes offer us a number of different programs, including traditional group classes, a virtual reality X-biking class, elite athlete training and a kids program.” Trixter’s patented X-bars and free wheel drive train not only give this bike the feel of an outdoor bike, but provides a full-body workout that, according to Bath University, burns up to 55% more calories than a regular indoor bike, allowing for shorter class times with better results.

The company has just signed a deal with the Ocshsner Clinic Foundation in Louisiana to provide bikes not only for the wellness center, but also for their mobile gym, which will visit over 100 schools every month in the New Orleans area. This program will enable a large number of school age children in the area to get access to state of the art exercise equipment