After posting record numbers in 2019, the U.S. health club industry was off to a promising start last year. No one would have imagined that by spring, virtually all gyms and studios would be closed. The pandemic took a harsh toll on fitness club operators, employees, and consumers. And it may take years for the…
Up until very recently, it wasn’t that hard to find specs for sizing a group fitness room. The late club industry icon Michael Scott Scudder put them as follows: First, establish your Maximum Room Capacity (MRC). Take that number less 100, divide it by 35, and you get the maximum number of participants per group…
Updated February 12, 2021. As the COVID-19 pandemic—including new, more transmissible variants—continues to spread, health authorities emphasize the importance of wearing masks or cloth face coverings in indoor settings, and even crowded outdoor settings. This is because masks can be an important strategy to reduce the spread of the virus in the community, given the…
The author of this article, Paul Hackett, is a chartered safety & health practitioner and OSHCR registered consultant with extensive international experience and a former sports, fitness, and aquatics facilities operator. He is also a member of the IHRSA-led experts group who developed the key considerations and risk assessment tools to help clubs reopen and stay…
We’re testing a new feature. Click the play button above to listen to this article! Updated January 5, 2021 Note: Important further updates have been made to this article as more research and data becomes available around COVID-19, including the latest statement and infographic from the World Health Organization (WHO), which reiterates that swimming pools…
We know that ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian cultures practiced forms of body-weight and yoga-based exercises. The ancient Greeks developed among the first free weights, hand-held weights with a hole for gripping rather than a handle, called “halteres.” As history goes, fitness and the tools we use to achieve it have been somewhat of a…
This is an IHRSA featured article, brought to you by Matrix Fitness. Throughout the travails of the last year, two certainties have emerged: the future of the health club industry is closely tied to increasing inclusivity, and clubs need to strengthen their alliance with wellness and healthcare. These are not new concepts. In fact, earlier…
Updated September 22, 2020 As an industry, we want people to encourage each other to be more active. Not just people who are already healthy, but all people—the young, old, healthy, chronically ill, and those with and without disabilities. “Inclusivity is everything,” says Tiphany Adams of Freemotion and a wheelchair user. “We can do everything…
According to a report, Jillian Michaels, a personal trainer who gained fame on the NBC game show The Biggest Loser, has contracted COVID-19. Fortunately, Michaels is on the road to recovery, but her conclusions and advice regarding the disease are counterproductive to public health, her supposed area of expertise. In short, Jillian Michaels doesn’t know what she’s…
In most developed markets, health clubs reach fewer than 20% of the population. This leaves a large number of people who could benefit from exercising in your health club but aren’t currently. As the world copes with an ongoing viral pandemic—one that has hit people with chronic health conditions and obesity the hardest—the importance of…
Whether or not a person should resume exercising in a fitness center will depend on several factors. Some populations, such as those at higher risk for complications from COVID-19, have been advised by health authorities to continue taking extra precautions, which may mean staying at home even as some activities resume. But for most people,…
Update: The Peloton lawsuit was settled out of court in late February 2020 for an undisclosed amount of money. Peloton and the National Music Publishers Association have entered into a collaborative agreement to “further optimize” Peloton’s music licensing process. The other terms of the settlement agreement are not open to the public. In March 2019,…