Health and Fitness Club Industry News
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026
Gold’s Gym Chapter 11 Restructuring: Official Statement
Posted: May 4, 2020 in Chains
DALLAS, TX - GGI Holdings, LLC and its affiliates (“Gold’s Gym”) filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 in an effort to facilitate the financial restructuring of the company. This pre-negotiated filing will enable us to emerge stronger and ready to grow, and it is our intent to be on the other side of Chapter 11 by August 1, if not sooner. Read More...
IHRSA Joins America’s Recovery Fund Coalition
Posted: May 4, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) announced it has joined America’s Recovery Fund Coalition, an alliance of more than 100 trade associations and business organizations advocating for a grant-based federal assistance program to power the resilience of American enterprise. Together, the coalition’s members span 30 business sectors and employ 45% of the nation’s workforce, more than 58 million workers. Read More...
FlexIt’s Virtual Personal Training Gathers Momentum
Posted: May 4, 2020 in Suppliers
NEW YORK, N.Y. - FlexIt, the pay as you go fitness app, previously announced a new offering that lets individuals access 1-on-1 live personal training from their favorite fitness brands, all from the comfort of their own homes. In the few weeks since its launch, FlexIt’s Virtual Personal Training has gained steam with broad user activation and new fitness club partner additions, including Blink Fitness. Read More...
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Offers Guidance on Safe Return to Training For Athletes Following COVID-19
Posted: May 4, 2020 in Suppliers
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - The National Strength and Conditioning Association announces new guidelines on the safe return to training for athletes following the current COVID-19 pandemic. Read More...
Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Mindbody Announce “Relay for Relief”
Posted: April 30, 2020 in Suppliers
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Men's Health and Women's Health, the most established wellness media brands published across six continents, and Mindbody, a leading technology platform for the wellness industry, has announced “Relay for Relief,” a global 24-hour relay initiative taking place on Friday, May 15 through Saturday, May 16, 2020 to benefit COVID-19 response and recovery. Read More...
USPTA Hires James Burke as Director of Marketing & Communications
Posted: April 30, 2020 in Suppliers
LAKE NONA, FL - The United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) has hired James P. Burke as its new Director of Marketing and Communications. In his role, Burke will work with senior leaders and industry stakeholders to increase brand awareness of the USPTA and the new certification pathway. Additionally, Burke will assist in planning the annual USPTA World Conference, collaborate with national committees and coordinate the awards program with the national awards committee. He will also direct the Association’s national and division communications, including publishing ADDvantage Magazine. Read More...
83 EXOS-supported Athletes Selected in the 2020 NFL Draft
Posted: April 29, 2020 in Chains
PHOENIX, AZ - EXOS had another great year of combine training. Between the 95 athletes who went to the combine, they snagged over 200 performances in the top 15. Their hard work began to pay off in round one of the 2020 NFL draft, and they made up 43% of first-round picks. By round seven, 83 EXOS athletes became professional players, making up 32% of the total draft. Read More...
COVID-19 – The Coronavirus Crisis: The Membership
Posted: April 28, 2020 in Chains, Independents
As a supplement to our Special Edition Two-Part Cover Story on COVID-19, the Coronavirus Crisis (Click Here to Read Part I), Club Insider presents the following participant responses about their Membership. In this supplement, you will hear from Pat Laus and Kevin McHugh, Greta Wagner, Mike Alpert, Geoff Dyer, Carol Nalevanko, Jim Worthington and Linda Mitchell, Larry Conner and Rich Nelsen. Next week, we will be presenting participant responses and inspiring news items about various Communities around the country. Stay tuned, and stay safe and healthy! Read More...
Power Wellness’ Membership Engagement Tips
Posted: April 28, 2020 in Suppliers
LOMBARD, IL - Power Wellness is happy to share the following member engagement tips with our fitness industry partners... Read More...
Social Media Marketing Tips to Get You Through COVID-19
Posted: April 28, 2020 in Suppliers
With everything that’s going on, people have loads of time on their hands to consume digital content. Everyone is relying more heavily on their phones and social media (Facebook alone saw a 70% increase in its member usage last month) for coronavirus-related news, positivity and reigniting a sense of community that seems to have been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have put together some dos and don’ts for your social media strategy that will keep you on track through COVID-19 and could even gain you new, quality leads in the process... Read More...
Marsh Founder and Industry Veteran, the Beloved Ruth Stricker, Passes Away at 85
Posted: April 27, 2020 in Independents
MINNETONKA, MA - March 12, 1935 - April 14, 2020 - Ruth Ann Stricker of Deephaven, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on April 14, 2020. Connected in love and gratitude for her immeasurable contributions over the course of a remarkable life, Ruth's family, friends and professional colleagues around the world honor this visionary of the health and wellness industry. Founder of The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness in Minnetonka, Ruth was an industry icon and pioneer in mind-body work. She integrated Eastern and Western practices in her personal and professional life; her philosophy offering a "liberal arts approach to health." In Ruth's words, "The resiliency of the human spirit makes it possible for us to find a sense of well-being in our lives... that our challenge is to be emotionally resilient and physically healthy to handle change and stress." Ruth believed, "health and fitness are not the chief goal in life but rather the potential to be good citizens of the earth." Read More...
Fitness Industry Contacts State Governors on Safely Reopening
Posted: April 27, 2020 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - After approximately a month of forced closures, states are slowly but surely opening for businesses. To help the more than 40,000 U.S. clubs, employing nearly 800,000 Americans pre-shutdown, open as soon as is safely possible, IHRSA is reaching out to governors across the country. These efforts are putting the health of staff, members and communities first. When reaching out to each state’s governor, IHRSA shared the following rationale for the importance of health clubs to the health of the state... Read More...
COVID-19’s Impact on the Global Fitness Industry – Weight Training Equipment Sales Grow by 307% Due to the Mass Closures of Gyms & Fitness Centers
Posted: April 27, 2020 in Suppliers
DUBLIN - COVID-19 has forced the closure of gyms and fitness centers to reduce the risk of infection. As a result, there has been a surge of interest in home fitness equipment and online coaching sessions. Some gyms have responded to this trend by offering to rent exercise equipment to members who are social-distancing and by offering online personal training sessions. Weight training equipment in particular has seen a huge rise in sales, as consumers try to replicate their gym workout at home. Sales of other exercise equipment such as rowing machines, exercise bikes and elliptical machines have also grown. Leading companies in fitness equipment include... Read More...
TSG Announces Acquisition of TrueCoach
Posted: April 27, 2020 in Suppliers
BOULDER, CO and LONDON - TSG, an Advent portfolio company and a leading global provider of business management software, integrated payments and value-added services to the Health and Fitness, Childcare and Early Education, and Boutique markets, announced that it has acquired TrueCoach, a U.S.-based software company powering the businesses of over 15,000 trainers worldwide. Read More...
PTR Hour en Español and PTR Webinars in Spanish Debut
Posted: April 27, 2020 in Suppliers
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - With the overwhelming success of the new PTR Hour, Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) is launching PTR Hour en Español. With many hundreds of tennis coaches and fans around the world listening and live chatting during PTR Hour every Thursday, or watching it later on ptrtennis.org, adding PTR Hour en Español is an obvious program extension. Read More...
ClubCorp Partners with American Red Cross and Other Regional Blood Donation Organizations to Encourage Blood Donations
Posted: April 24, 2020 in Chains
DALLAS, TX - ClubCorp – The World Leader in Private Clubs – announces a new partnership with the American Red Cross and other regional blood donation organizations, hosting member blood drives in over 50 clubs, in 14 states across the country, and the list is growing. The Red Cross needs the help of blood donors to maintain a sufficient blood supply for the weeks and months to come. Read More...
Navigating How to Re-Open Your Gym in Phases
Posted: April 22, 2020 in Chains, Independents, Suppliers
I recently had the opportunity to speak to a large operator in China as that country begins to reopen. My goal was to understand how they navigated the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The learning was extremely valuable, and I thought I’d synthesize it and pass it along... Read More...
ACSM Celebrates Member Volunteers During National Volunteer Week
Posted: April 22, 2020 in Suppliers
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - In celebration of National Volunteer Week, the American College of Sports Medicine acknowledges the more than 5,000 volunteers who serve countless hours in furthering ACSM’s mission and vision. Read More...
COVID-19 – The Coronavirus Crisis: Staffing
Posted: April 21, 2020 in Chains, Independents
As a supplement to our Special Edition Two-Part Cover Story on COVID-19, the Coronavirus Crisis (Click Here to Read Part I), Club Insider presents the following participant responses about their Staffing. In this supplement, you will hear from Pat Laus and Kevin McHugh, Greta Wagner, Mike Alpert, Geoff Dyer, Carol Nalevanko, Jim Worthington and Linda Mitchell, Larry Conner and Rich Nelsen. Next week, we will be presenting participant responses about their Membership, followed by their Community the following week. Stay tuned, and stay safe and healthy! Read More...
Power Wellness’ Employee Engagement Tips
Posted: April 21, 2020 in Suppliers
LOMBARD, IL - Here are some employee engagement ideas to consider and tips that may be helpful as you plan to reopen... Read More...
