Choosing which equipment to stock in your gym is one of the many huge decisions you must make as a business owner. Especially when your budget and floor space are limited, the pressure is on to make your selections carefully. This week, we'll be looking at some of the pros and cons of popular cardio equipment, so you can evaluate them based on your own priorities. Treadmills Regarded as of the most ubiquitous cardio machines out there, treadmills are popular for a reason. Running (or even walking) in and of itself is a fantastic, effective cardio workout that the majority [...]
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The CrossFit program uses some unusual movements that you might not be used to seeing in your gym. One such movement is known as a "thruster". You might still hear non-CrossFitters calling this movement a thruster, but the name was made official by CrossFit in 2001 and has stuck ever since. Unless you're familiar with the CrossFit library of exercises, this particular movement might catch you by surprise. If you see someone on your gym floor doing a fluid combination of a front squat and a push press, you've just come across a thruster in the wild. In fact, outside [...]
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You would be hard-pressed to find a more polarizing and controversial modern exercise trend than CrossFit. Known for extremely intense workouts that combine core concepts from weightlifting, cardio, gymnastics, and even yoga, CrossFit is a "love it" or "hate it" experience. Regardless of your personal feelings on the topic, we're here to examine whether CrossFit as a business model could benefit your gym in the long run, or whether you should steer clear and stick to more traditional methodologies. Since every gym owner has different needs, financial situations, and business overhead to consider, this decision is often a personal one. [...]
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The Niche Gym Business That Works For You If you're starting your own business, there are lots of fitness niches that you can pursue. CrossFit is but one of many. However, the CrossFit concept is the perfect example of a gym model that finds the strongest motivation for a specific type of gym membership prospect. It has been about four years, maybe more, since I first noticed CrossFit boxes. I was suddenly aware they were popping up in storefronts, industrial spaces, and old service stations around here. I have to say that I am impressed by the resilience of this [...]
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OK so it is about time to start looking at the trends for fitness in 2015 and the ACSM has released their most recent survey of club owners. There were not a lot of surprises but there are some interesting conclusions from that report and some other things that come up elsewhere that are really worth taking a look at. The trends for High Intensity Interval Training, bodyweight training and an increasing demand for trainer professionalism all seem to be holding course and continuing onward. It's like there is no real change from last year but that is sometime how [...]
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Fitness trends have had lots of ups and downs that are related to culture and fashion. But there is also an influence on trends that comes from the innovations of technology. Still it's hard to read the tea leaves out beyond a year or so, as the apparent trend today can quickly show itself to be a fad that disappears overnight. In the gym business we always have to keep a lookout for what is coming because it can determine the capital investments that we would make and nobody wants to take six months to refurbish for the latest thing [...]
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It seems like lately I can't help but notice that workout spaces have been popping up with the name CrossFit displayed in bold letters across the front of the building. Gyms that offer this new workout system have been spreading like wildfire. Because it's such a mixed and intense way of working out, CrossFit licensees, or affiliates as the brand calls them, need to be expert at fitness, personal training and injury prevention. It appears to present a huge opportunity for trainers to become owners. However, the question remains: Is it a true fitness trend or is it a fad [...]
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