Health and Fitness Club Industry News
Tuesday, August 11th, 2026
A New Era of Growth and Leadership at IHRSA
Posted: May 19, 2021 in HFA
BOSTON, MA - The worldwide pandemic has presented unmatched challenges for the health and fitness industry. As it ebbs, we are all critically focused on reopening, rebuilding, and reimagining our businesses and IHRSA. But Covid-19 has laid bare our strengths and weaknesses. On the club level, we now recognize the shortcomings in our business, leases, vendor contracts and membership retention. On the national level, the pandemic allowed the IHRSA Board to reflect on our past successes and reassess our future. As a result, we decided to make significant changes in our operations and goals and recruit new leadership to steer us into the future. Read More...
ACE and WIFA Launch New Opportunity to Support Women in Fitness
Posted: May 19, 2021 in Suppliers
SAN DIEGO, CA - American Council on Exercise (ACE) and the Women In Fitness Association (WIFA) reached a new milestone in their partnership with the launch of the WIFA Growth Grant, a scholarship that provides current ACE Certified Professionals the opportunity to build and grow their careers with a one-year WIFA membership. Read More...
Lou Gehrig Day: Celebrating a Legend of Baseball and a Face of ALS
Posted: May 19, 2021 in Other News
CAMBRIDGE, MA - Lou Gehrig was a renowned baseball player. He was one of the best hitters of all time, a seven-time all-star with a career batting average of .340 and just shy of 500 home runs. He earned the nickname “The Iron Horse” for his legendary durability, setting a record for most consecutive games played, 2,130, that stood for 56 years. He played his entire major league career, from 1923 to 1939, with the New York Yankees. Still, many people remember Lou Gehrig best for the disease that bears his name: Lou Gehrig’s Disease, also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Motor Neuron Disease. Read More...
IHRSA Announces New Partnership With Fitness & Allied Healthcare Professionals Organization, MedFit Education Foundation and MedFit Network
Posted: May 17, 2021 in HFA
BOSTON, MA and COSTA MESA, CA— - IHRSA, a world-leading authority on the commercial health club industry, with the mission to grow, promote and protect the health and fitness industry, has formed a strategic partnership with the MedFit Education Foundation, dedicated to facilitating education and empowering professionals to work with those with medical conditions, chronic disease, disabilities and women’s health issues. Read More...
Crunch Memberships Up Over 5% Despite Pandemic
Posted: May 14, 2021 in Chains
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Ben Midgley, CEO and Founding Partner of Crunch Fitness Franchise, discusses seeing membership grow in the past year due in part to people missing a feeling of community. Read More...
Life Time NoHo Opens as New York Expansion Continues
Posted: May 13, 2021 in Chains
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Life Time, one of the nation's premier healthy lifestyle brands that continues to shape the way consumers move, work and live, digitally and physically, has opened its third New York City location in less than six months, and fourth in the city, as it continues to bring its Healthy Way of Life philosophy to New Yorkers. Life Time is investing in New York City with plans to bring six new clubs to the city by the end of 2022, despite industry bankruptcies and permanent fitness location closures as an outcome of the pandemic. Read More...
Community Gyms Coalition and IHRSA Commend Bipartisan Senate Introduction of Bill to Rebuild Devastated Fitness Industry
Posted: May 13, 2021 in HFA
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Community Gyms Coalition (CGC) and IHRSA, the global health and fitness association, groups representing more than 40,000 gyms and fitness studios across the U.S., applaud the bipartisan introduction of the GYMS Act in the Senate by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Jerry Moran (R-KS). The GYMS Act would provide direct support to rebuild the devastated fitness industry and save small gyms, fitness studios and fitness facilities from bankruptcy. Read More...
Honors Holdings Bolsters Portfolio with Acquisition of 24 Orangetheory Fitness Studios
Posted: May 12, 2021 in Chains
ATLANTA, GA - Atlanta-based Honors Holdings, LLC (Honors), the world's largest franchisee of Orangetheory Fitness studios has acquired 24 studios across six states, including operations in Las Vegas, New York City and the Washington, D.C. metro area. With these acquisitions, Honors now owns and operates 102 studios in Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington state. Read More...
Wellbeats Welcomes Andrea Williamson as Regional Sales Director
Posted: May 12, 2021 in Suppliers
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Wellbeats announces that Andrea Williamson has joined our team as Regional Sales Director. A seasoned industry executive, Andrea was most recently Director of Sales at an early-stage startup that has since dissolved. Previously, Andrea earned top sales performance status at Virta Health, where she brought the type 2 diabetes solution to the enterprise market. Read More...
USPTA and Stā Active Announce a Multi-year Partnership
Posted: May 12, 2021 in Suppliers
LAKE NONA, FL - The United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), a global leader in tennis-teacher certification and professional development, has signed a multi-year partnership with Stā Active, LLC to introduce the Fiix Elbow product to the tennis marketplace. As part of the agreement, the USPTA and Stā Active will work together to introduce the Fiix Elbow product to tennis professionals, clubs and players to enhance player health, enjoyment, and development outcomes as the “Official Tennis Elbow Recovery Device of the USPTA.” Read More...
