Author: ezfacility

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.