Post Date: May 1st, 2013
By Trisha Sarker
Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) announces the launch of National Health and Fitness Day happening June 1, 2013. John Weston, MP for West Vancouver, has spearheaded National Health and Fitness Day 2013 and has the commitment of over 60 members of parliament. These MPs will approach their local governments to promote health and fitness in their communities. Fitness facilities will be highlighted as vehicles for increasing physical activity.
How can you participate? Your facility could offer free tennis lessons, half-price swim times, extended ice time hours or waive your drop-in fee.To date, FIC has registered over 400 fitness facilities that will be waiving their drop-in fees for the day. To register your facility, visit www.GymPass.ca. Once registered, you will receive detailed information about the day and instructions on how to proceed. For the month of May, www.GymPass.ca will be displaying the logos and locations of all participating facilities.
We recently added 6 new videos taken at the 2013 IHRSA Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas.
Check out our walkthrough of the trade show floor and 5 new product demonstrations.
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Brian Gilbank |
| President FitnessFind.ca |
| 5 Tips To Help Your Business Succeed Online |
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| We all know that running a fitness business is tough enough without having to worry about the health and well-being of your website too. Unfortunately, having a great website is essential to your success as it is the first place your potential members will look to see if they want a membership. Then the question becomes what can you do to determine how you website is doing without any graphic design or technical knowledge? More importantly, how can you do this without spending any money? |
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| SPONSOR ANNOUNCEMENT | |
canfitpro International Club Business Conference and Trade Show
Club owners and operators, managers, and anyone who supervise people, departments and the bottom line need to attend this event. The Club Owners' Day and Program Directors' Day are the only ones of their kind in the world! Meet the top industry presenters and learn about profitable programs, best practices, and proven strategies to increase success in your business to make and save more money and members.
Join your peers for networking at the exclusive Facility and Suppliers' Summit and Breakfast and learn from international presenter, Terry Kew, as he reveals how to Ignite Your Business Brain!
To learn more about Club Owners' Day and Program Directors' Day and the other 400+ amazing sessions and to register, visit www.canfitpro.com/Toronto or contact info@canfitpro.com or 1-800-667-5622. Ask us how you can attend the full conference for FREE as a Business Rewards Member! |
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Post Date: May 1st, 2013
By Trisha Sarker
On March 20th, FIC successfully hosted a Canadian Forum to a full room, they were treated to a panel of industry experts speaking about the rising number of fitness clubs in Canada.
In recent years there has been an increase in the number of U.S. fitness chains and franchises to enter Canada. Fitness businesses including LA Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Gold's Gym, and Snap Fitness have been opening across Canada. This expansion into Canada is seen as both an important business move as well as an economic one. Guest speaker, Rick Caro, Founder, Past President, and Director of IHRSA was able to bring forward the likelihood of success that clubs have for a variety of club types and their probability of entering Canada.
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Hans Muench |
| Director of IHRSA Europe |
| Scandanavia's Evo Fitness Expands |
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| New "compact" club chain is making its mark in Sweden and Finland. Number of clubs: 23 clubs in Sweden and two clubs in Finland. Project 32 clubs by February 2014. Twenty clubs opened within their first two years. Clubs are considered "compact" clubs not "budget" clubs. The cost to build each club is approximately 500,000 euros ($665,000 CAD). Breakeven is about 700 members per club, which generally is reached within the first year, sometimes within a few months. Members: 21,000. Two clubs are reaching capacity which will temporarily close their memberships. A waiting list will be generated and prospects will have two days days to join. Forty-two percent are female, more than double the original estimate of 20% (no group exercise classes are offered). The average age is 34.
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Post Date: May 1st, 2013
"In an environment where disposable incomes are under increasing pressure, Planet Fitness says it will expand its brand by offering affordable gym membership with the opening of its first 'no-frills', budget health club, called Planet Fitness JustGym. The company's CEO, Manny Rivera, said recently that Planet Fitness aimed to open up to 100 of these gyms in the country over the next five to 10 years.
'Low-cost gyms across the world are booming and we've chosen to tailor our business model to include a Planet Fitness model to take advantage of this trend...' The health club market in South Africa has proven to be largely recession proof because of the participation of medical schemes in forming partnerships with gyms. But for consumers rising household debt and escalating utility pressures mean little spare cash for pricey gym memberships."
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Greg Lawlor |
| Chief Customer Officer of STAK Fitness Int'l Inc. |
| 4 Things To Make Sure You Are Positioned For Success! |
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| We have seen big changes in the last few years in terms of how our businesses operate. On the supply side, for example, it is not good enough to only have a good product to offer. We need to make sure our team are razor sharp in making sure our equipment helps solve the big challenges of our customers. Most often these are new client acquisition, retention and profit. Similarly, in providing fitness, on your side of the equation, it is no longer good enough to simply open up a business and expect folks to show up. Successful operations start with services that allow you to stand out from all the others that are offering similar services in your market. But that is not all that is needed. |
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Post Date: May 1st, 2013
Crunch, has inked a deal with Fitness Holdings LLC & RLB Holdings to open an additional 42 clubs across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
"Our decision to partner with Crunch Franchise is the result of finding a strategic partner that shares our commitment to delivering industry-leading innovation to its customers." says Steve Viscardi, Fitness Holding's CEO.
Crunch Franchise has grown quickly in all areas including units sold, selling over 200 franchises in just over two years, club openings and member growth. Crunch Franchise was recently named one of the "Hottest Franchises" for the second consecutive year by Entrepreneur Magazine and was awarded the prestigious FBR 50 Award by Franchise Business Review for outstanding franchisee satisfaction.
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Jeff Russo |
| President - Pro Fitness Program |
| Did You Know That You're In The Sales Business? |
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| After consulting for over 60 different independent health and fitness club organizations since 1998, I can sincerely tell you that the single biggest problem to their success is the failure to realize that they are in the sales business. Club owners and staff will spend a large percentage of their time on managing facilities and programs and far less on tracking and training sales on a daily basis. We tend to celebrate our education, certifications, conferences and spend the good part of the day patting ourselves on the back in terms of our continuing education as we discuss the latest training and nutritional tips. Yet, if I was to ask the majority of staff including Trainers, Fitness Consultants and Front Desk Staff what the club has on the books in terms of gross sales and dollars in the old bank account for the day, week or month, I would get the same response, "I'm not sure". |
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Post Date: May 1st, 2013
Driven by fierce determination, fitness industry pioneer Augie Nieto, who was diagnosed in 2005 with Lou Gehrig's disease, is working out again – even though he uses a wheelchair, relies on a breathing machine and is unable to speak.
The chairman of the board of Octane Fitness, LLC since 2005, Nieto, 55, is the founder of Life Fitness, a global fitness equipment company that he sold to Brunswick Corporation in 1997. Since his diagnosis, (patients have a typical life expectancy of three to five years), Nieto founded Augie's Quest, a nonprofit foundation that is part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, to raise money for ALS treatment research with the goal of finding a cure. To date, Augie's Quest has generated $37 million. Nieto, with his wife Lynne, serve as co-chairs of MDA's ALS division. In this time, Nieto has written two books: Augie's Quest and Reciprocity.
"Augie's ambitions have always been truly limitless, from the first days of the original Lifecyle to the day he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease," says Chris Clawson, president of Life Fitness. "It was after his diagnosis that the most spectacular Augie came to be, and we're proud to support him in this moment."
Post Date: May 1st, 2013
Life Time Fitness announced its achieved double-digit increase in its fourth quarter and year-end financial results.
Revenue for the fourth quarter finished at $275.3 millon, a 9.7% increase from last year's $250.9 million; end-of-the-year revenue for 2012 came in at $1.127 billion, an 11.2% increase from $1.014 billion.
"For 2012, I am pleased to report double-digit growth in revenue, operating profit, net income, and earnings per share," said Bahram Akradi, chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a press release on the Life Time website. "We also saw total-center revenue growth above 10%, along with solid revenue-per-membership and same-store-sales."
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Robert Foster |
| President and Owner of Trainers On Site |
| Picking Your Fitness Niche |
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| Picking your fitness niche is a crucial step for all fitness individuals when formulating a new business. Without a true niche, a fitness pro could potentially be spending plenty of money and end up wasting a lot of time. Sure, when starting out you might be broke or "below broke" as I like to call it. Anyone who emails in a request for personal training, calls your phone or walks throughout that front door – you think is a potential client? Potential client means possible revenue. It sure does, but be careful! This is what I call passive marketing. Just by chance they came upon you. Don't think what you are doing for marketing works - until your ideal client signs up. |
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May 1st, 2013
On behalf of a new client, 360impact Group is currently recruiting for a very high end group of international health clubs will be opening a club later this year in Toronto. This luxury brand is exciting, innovative and will be a market leader. We are seeking highly qualified individuals to become part of the senior management team. These positions include a General Manager and Personal Training Manager.
The ideal candidates for these roles have extensive and proven leadership experience including a minimum of 3 years of experience managing teams. Key components of these roles will be meeting revenue and performance targets, developing a superb team of service and performance minded individuals, creating innovative programming and systems to achieve results. The successful candidates must be truly passionate about fitness and delivering world class service. The compensation for these positions will be extremely competitive and commensurate with experience and qualifications. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to open a club for an epic brand!
If you know of someone who would be a good fit for either of these positions, please have them send a resume and cover to careers@360impactgroup.com.
The CoreFitnessRoller™ from Balanced Body® combines the comfort of a foam roller with three weight level resistances for a challenging and diverse group exercise option. The CoreFitnessRoller will improve strength, flexibility and balance, and is easily incorporated into Pilates and other existing fitness routines - all in a very small footprint. It can also provide full workouts for eight body positions, including: standing, sitting, kneeling, lying supine, lying prone, perpendicular, ballet barre, extension arm.
For more information, visit pilates.com.
10th Anniversary Mississauga Marathon
May 4th - 5th, 2013
The 10th Anniversary Mississauga Marathon will take place on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th, 2013 and offers "A Run For Everyone". Events include the Marathon, Petrillo Law Marathon Relay, Recharge with Milk Half Marathon, Valeant Pharmaceuticals 10K, 10K Student Relay, Starbucks Coffee Hazel 5K and SUBWAY® Restaurants 2K Fun Run/Walk.
A Runner's Expo is also part of Race Weekend, a mandatory stop for all participants to pick up their race kits taking place on Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th, at the Port Credit Memorial Arena, in downtown Port Credit. Sign up today at: www.mississaugamarathon.com
Dare To Be Excellent
CPTN Conference - Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre
May 30, 31, June 1st, 2013
Featured topics include: Fascial Fitness, NASE Speed Certification Clinic, Barefoot Training, Dietary Trends, Conquering Metabolic Syndrome.
Featured Speakers: Thomas Myers (author of Anatomy Trains), Maureen Connolly (PhD, CSCS, CPTN-CPT), Reed Ferber (PhD, CAT(C), ACT), Heather Westway (RK, CDE, CPT), Jennifer Sygo (MSc, RD), George Dintiman (PhD).
For more information visit: www.cptn.com
ACE Symposium West
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina
May 16 – 18th, 2013
The three-day event is more than just a place to explore new products and hear the latest industry news. It's a place where you can connect with fitness professionals just like you – personal trainers, group fitness instructors and health coaches who work every day to help people live their most fit lives. Learn from experts in the industry, explore our vendor showroom, and experience our pre-conference workshops, early morning workouts and an exciting line-up of speakers. Educational sessions throughout the event will feature new equipment to use in one-on-one or group settings, nutritional products, apparel and marketing strategies that will help build your business.
In a effort to share all the ideas of ACE Symposium with fitness professionals across the country, we're holding ACE East form Oct 17 – 19th in Orlando.
Stay up to date at acefitness.org/symposium
Fitness Business Canada (FBC) is the trade magazine for owners, managers, directors and staff of health and fitness facilities in Canada. FBC is the primary trade publication for health
and fitness facilities across Canada. Since its first issue FBC has earned outstanding reviews and respect from facility operators to its first issue in January 2000.
To get your copy, call our office at 888-920-6537 or email us at fbc@fitnet.ca.
Next Issue: July / August 2013
Special Features: Toronto Conference Spotlight
Product Focus: Interactive Fitness
Editorial Highlight:Marketing / Sales
plus much more...look for it in July!
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