Author: ezfacility

October 4, 2013 – This fall, Spike TV will start production on a new show geared toward the fitness industry. Gym Rescue, a reality television series created to help document and fix the problems of failing gyms, will feature former Ultimate Fighting Championship winner and owner of Xtreme Couture, Randy Couture. Couture will locate struggling gyms, assess their core problems, and design solutions aimed at making them successful.
“Gyms [for the show] can be of any type: fighting or fitness, climbing, gymnastics or yoga,” Scott Hiller, the casting producer working with the show, told FightLine.com. The problems [can be] of any kind and combination too, such as failing marketing strategies, equipment in disrepair, staffing issues, poor management.”
Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager, of EZFacility, a gym management software developer in Bethpage, New York, said the show will highlight the challenges of running a successful gym and may help gym owners around the country figure out how to turn around their own businesses. “As with any business, gym ownership and management is a challenge,” she said. “A national television show that presents the difficulties in a dramatic format and demonstrates how to analyze the problems that lead to failure, and how to fix them before failure happens, could be hugely valuable to the industry.”
Initially, Spike TV is looking for facilities in Colorado and Minneapolis and in and around Philadelphia, New York City, and New Jersey. However, Hiller stressed, the gyms featured will not be limited to those areas. Gyms owners interested in appearing on the show should contact Spike TV directly or via Facebook.

October 1, 2013 – Auburn University, Auburn, AL, reopened this fall with a new addition to its campus: a 240,000 square-foot Recreation and Wellness Center.
The new $72 million facility features a five-story rock climbing wall, a PGA golf simulator, a one-third mile indoor track, and a tiger-paw shaped hot tub — a tribute to the school’s mascot — designed to hold up to 45 people. Other amenities include a multipurpose court; group fitness studios for yoga, cycling, and other classes; equipment for outdoor recreation, such as canoes and kayaks; cardio training areas; locker rooms; a game room; six regulation-size basketball courts; racquetball courts; and a pool.
“Auburn University’s new facility sounds like a state-of-the-art building that has all the elements needed to serve a population interested in fitness,” said Hugh McEvoy, Director of Sales and Operations, of EZFacility, a fitness facility management software developer in Bethpage, NY. “We’ve seen an encouraging trend on campus lately, with colleges and universities establishing innovative new spaces that show a real concern for student, faculty, and employee health. This is an exciting instance of that trend.”
The center complies with LEED standards. Construction began in 2011, after Auburn students voted to raise their fees to help fund the project.

August 29, 2013 – In-Shape Health Clubs recently opened its sixty-fifth — and largest branch — in its hometown of Stockton, CA. The new facility positions itself as the company’s flagship location, with a focus on providing services for entire families, including a “Kids Club” facility and an indoor swimming pool. Other amenities include group exercise studios, a 29-minute workout circuit, a cardio theater, exercise machines, a free-weight room, two racquetball courts, sauna and steam baths, and tanning beds.
“We’re just trying to cover all the… aspects for the community,” Rob Farrens, In-Shape’s executive vice president, told online news outlet Recordnet.com. Other In-Shape clubs also have top-quality offerings, he said, but not to the caliber, extent, and size of the newest branch. “It is just nice to have a flagship to show Stockton what we’ve been doing, where we’ve been going.”
Begun in 1981, the company has locations throughout northern and central California, and has built itself, in terms of revenue, into one of the largest clubs in the country. Though In-Shape does not disclose its financial data, Club Industry magazine pegs its 2011 revenue at $90 million. At the time, the company operated 47 locations.
“When a company as large and accomplished as In-Shape opens a new flagship location, it’s a significant event,” noted Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager of EZFacility, a health club management software provider in Bethpage, NY. “For the industry at large, it could be taken as a hopeful sign of continued growth and expansion.”
In-Shape will employ about 40 workers at the new facility, with the aim of attracting 3,000 new club members. The company plans to open five additional new branches in the near future, and to renovate some existing facilities.

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.

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.

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.