Clubindustry

Technology and social media can be your club’s friend or foe. Just ask Life Time Fitness. The Chanhassen, MN-based company employed a group cycle instructor at one of its clubs in Rockville, MD, who tweeted a picture of a McDonald’s sack on the desk of a Life Time Fitness employee with the words: “A McDonald’s bag sits on the desk of a Life Time employees (sic) desk at @lifetimefitness aka ‘the healthy way of life company.’ Ah the irony.” more

Last week, a video of a woman dancing on a treadmill at a Planet Fitness in El Paso, TX, went viral. The woman, Nicole Harris, has gotten a lot of interest from the media since the video was posted. She started treadmill dancing after a martial arts injury to her knee. She had heard that walking sideways on the treadmill could help, accidentally did a spin and the idea was born. more

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’ve come across two stories of fitness club employees at Planet Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness who saved two members’ lives with the aid of an AED. Both saves were recognized on Tuesday. more

The past 10 days have been a bit of a whirlwind that has kept us hopping trying to cover it all. The event that likely will have the most significant effect on the industry is LA Fitness’ acquisition of 171 Bally Total Fitness clubs. Once this deal is finalized, it puts LA Fitness ahead of 24 Hour Fitness in number of clubs—and likely in revenue. more

Chuck Runyon is a busy man these days. He’s got a book coming out with a title that’s sure to get your attention, he’s going to be profiled in a major business magazine (bigger than ours, if you can imagine) and he’ll be starring in a network TV show. more

You may have been wondering about the connection between the Cardinal Fitness clubs that closed in Indianapolis and the Cardinal Fitness clubs that were converted to Charter Fitness in Chicago. We’ll try to explain. more

When celebrity personal trainer Chris Powell spoke to Club Industry prior to his appearance at the CI 2011 show in Chicago last month, he told us that diet and workout plans aren’t enough when it comes to helping overweight clients. more

Curt Beusman, founder of Saw Mill Club in Mount Kisco, NY, is on a winning streak. Well, that may not be quite accurate. Stuart Goldman, managing editor for Club Industry, is really the one on the winning streak. more

Chris Powell sure knows how to make an entrance. When he was introduced last Friday at Club Industry 2011 in Chicago, Powell came all the way from the back of the room, ran up the center aisle, and jumped with both feet onto the stage. more

You’ve heard of Groupon, haven’t you? Have you ever tried to unsubscribe from those emails? Go ahead, try it. You’ll be glad you did. more