The Club Insider Archives: May 2017
Play On at Little Rock Athletic Club
By: Justin Cates
Justin Cates"It's what we do. We're a big, diverse family of tennis players, swimmers, runners, CrossFitters, cannonballers, stairmaster-ers, weekend warriors, big kids, little kids and kids who never grew up. We love to run, jump, serve, swim, splash, sweat, lap, lunge, squat, compete and do pretty much any other verb you can associate with fitness. We believe that fitness and fun not only can co-exist, but that they are soul mates that should never be apart. It's why this club exists. And it's why we come to work. It's why more than ever we're committed to helping you, our members, play often, play hard and Play On."
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Exercise IS Medicine!
By: Denise Johnson
Denise JohnsonI have been the Director of Wellness at The Claremont Club for 19 years, and in that time, my role has expanded and grown to include many more responsibilities. The one which has inspired me most is community outreach. In my position, this translates to finding a place in our facility to accommodate everyone, including those with spinal cord injuries, ALS, PLS, MS, TBI, Cerebral Palsy, Stroke and a host of other special populations. The Claremont Club is a place that able-bodied, as well as the disabled, feel safe, welcomed and accepted... a home away from home.
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How to Develop a Fitness Center Business Plan
By: Jim Thomas
Jim ThomasRunning a gym or fitness center is a dream for many people. The work is rewarding, and you are your own boss. However, having success is harder than many people realize. Although your work is important, you must make a profit when running your business. Developing a fitness center business plan will take some work. But, it is well worth the effort because it should become the road-map for your business. If you want to have success running a fitness center, you need to follow three key principles...
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Mining for "Sales Gold"
By: Casey Conrad
Casey ConradFor many readers, spring has sprung, and that means consumers are coming out of winter hibernation! Shorts are being tried on, and soon enough, bathing suits will be worn. As a result, spring is a time when many consider re-starting the exercise program that has fallen by the wayside. For health and fitness facilities, this means that spring is an ideal time to tap into databases of prospects and former members who have had some exposure to your business. As we know from published studies by IHRSA, a person is 300% more likely to join a fitness facility that he has been exposed to as compared to an advertisement he sees or receives.
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Do Your Due
Are Your CPTs Still Certified?
By: Angie Pattengale
Angie Pattengalet's not enough to check if your new hire is a currently Certified Personal Trainer (CPT), you should do this on an ongoing basis. In this industry, we know that a certification credential has a shelf life which requires continuing education. As a CPT, it is necessary to continue a course of educational experiences, which can be found in many forms. Some trainers attend seminars at trade shows. Some get their continuing education credits through online coursework or hands-on training events. Either way, or all of the above, it's a requirement for recertification through any certification agency (any credible one anyway) to continue a learning path that keeps knowledge fresh and the trainer on the up-and-up. But, how do you know if your club trainers are keeping up on the up-and-up? Do you check?
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Is Your Organization Culturally Congruent?
By: Karen Woodard-Chavez
Karen Woodard-ChavezWhat??? Is my organization culturally congruent?? What does that even mean? It means that the stated culture and the existing culture are the same. It means we walk our talk at all levels, guaranteed, rather than just talk our talk.
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Utilizing a Cease and Desist Letter to Enforce Your Legal Rights and Protect Your Interests
By: Paul R. Bedard, Esquire
Paul R. Bedard, EsquireWhat is one of the first things you should do upon learning that one of your former employees is in violation of their non-compete agreement, soliciting your current and former clients while working for your greatest competitor? What actions should you initially take upon discovering that another health club is using your protected logo or engaging in any activity that violates your legal rights or damages your protected interests?
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The Customer Experience
The New Competitive Battleground
By: Stephen Tharrett
Stephen TharrettAccording to research conducted by Gartner, the world's leading information technology research company, 64% of consumers indicate that the customer experience is more important than price when it comes to the brand they choose. Hence the quote from Jerry Gregoire of Dell that says, "The customer experience is the next competitive battleground." To further drive home the point that it's the customer experience, not the tangibles of the offering, that provide brands a competitive advantage is data from another Gartner study conducted in 2016 that shows 87% of firms in the future expect to compete on the basis of the customer experience.
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"Diet" Products Can Make You Fat, Study Shows
ATHENS, GA - High-fat foods are often the primary target when fighting obesity, but sugar-laden "diet" foods could be contributing to unwanted weight gain as well, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. Researchers found that rats fed a diet high in sugar but low in fat, meant to imitate many popular diet foods, increased body fat mass when compared to rats fed a balanced rodent diet. The high-sugar diet induced a host of other problems, including liver damage and brain inflammation.
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FDA Approves Radicava (Edaravone) as Treatment for ALS
CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Food and Drug Administration announced it has granted approval to MT Pharma America to begin marketing Edaravone as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The approval of Edaravone marks the first new treatment to be approved for ALS in the United States since Rilutek (Riluzole) was approved in 1995.
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Instinctive Insights Passes 30-Club Milestone
New Club Launches Up 55% Year-To-Date For 2017
COLUMBUS, OH - Instinctive Insights, a high-tech direct-engagement marketing agency, has just added its 34th health and fitness club customer. Instinctive Insights uses proprietary, predictive-modeling algorithms and expansive demographic and psycho-graphic data elements to intelligently target consumer households most likely to be active, thinking about fitness and interested in the types of services and amenities a Club offers.
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Inclusive Fitness Coalition Launches New Partnership for Inclusive Health
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Inclusive Fitness Coalition (IFC) launched a new charge focusing on building inclusive health communities that provide the 54 million people living with disability in the United States equal access and opportunities for healthy living. This announcement comes as the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) are celebrating 10 years of promoting physical activity inclusion under the IFC.
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National Survey from Parker Finds Majority of Americans Hopeful and Optimistic About Aging
HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. - Most Americans appear hopeful and optimistic about aging according to a new, national study from Parker, one of America's leading aging services organizations that, this year, celebrates its 110th anniversary. Key findings from Parker's "Aging in America Survey," which examines the nation's changing attitudes and opinions around growing older in the U.S., include...
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acac Fitness & Wellness Centers Raise More Than $90,000 for the Focused Ultrasound Foundation
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The Focused Ultrasound Foundation announced the donation of more than $90,000 from acac Fitness & Wellness Centers. The money was raised during acac's most successful "Work Out and Give Back" campaign to date.
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Norm's Notes for May 2017
By: Norm Cates
Norm CatesHello Everybody! This is your Club Insider Publisher and Tribal Leader Since 1993 checking in with our 281st monthly edition! Hmm... Hmm... Hmm!!! I love being in touch with YOU! Don't HOLD your NEWS! SHARE your NEWS! Send YOUR NEWS to me, Norm Cates at: Norm@clubinsideronline.com or call me at (770) 635 - 7578, and let's talk.
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