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SPONSORED CONTENT Spotlight: Fitness Premier Franchise
The “Just Right” Fitness Model for Fitness Owners
Fitness Premier Franchise bridges the gap between budget gyms and boutiques, offering a proven model focused on retention, predictable revenue, and scalable growth—helping owners break through plateaus and build sustainable businesses that reward leadership and ownership.
Many fitness owners hit a ceiling: growth stalls, margins tighten, and progress requires more effort without more reward. Fitness Premier Franchise was built to solve that problem structurally. Its “just right” model serves the largest segment of fitness consumers, avoiding the churn of budget gyms and the volatility of trend-driven boutiques. The result is predictable recurring revenue, stronger retention, and a system that scales without constant reinvention. With more than 20 years of refinement, Fitness Premier offers a proven path, both ground up and conversion, to grow beyond plateaus, reclaim owner leverage, and build a fitness business designed to last.
Watch the video above to see how the model creates durable growth for owners. You don’t have to do it alone.
Partner News
CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS
American Council on Exercise
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), with the input of the ACE Scientific Advisory Panel, recently released its 10 fitness trends in 2026. On the list: artificial intelligence, better integration of data from fitness trackers, recovery methods, menopause, healthspan and longevity, metabolic health, inclusive fitness, obesity medications, more holistic approaches to healthy living, and exercise communities as third spaces. ACE acknowledges that some trends transcend this label and become mainstays in the fitness industry. Many represent ongoing transformations in how health coaches and professionals support health, performance, and well-being.
National Academy of Sports Medicine
The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) recently released new data indicating an evolution of the personal training profession. Gathered from more than 600 industry professionals, these insights show trainers are expanding their scope to support the entire human experience—from accessible wellness to metabolic health, including a focus on women and GLP-1 users. For the first time, longevity and healthy aging is the fastest-growing client goal, outpacing traditional weight loss and muscle-building goals. “The industry is moving away from the transactional ‘burn calories’ model toward a transformational ‘build life’ model,” says Mehul Patel, CEO of NASM.
EQUIPMENT
EGYM
EGYM and Playlist, the parent brand of Mindbody, Booker, and ClassPass, have agreed to merge. The transaction includes $785 million in new equity investments, with the combined enterprise valued at $7.5 billion. Affinity Partners leads the new investment, with participation from existing investors including Vista Equity Partners, Temasek, and L Catterton. Playlist’s suite of brands will continue its current operations, and EGYM will operate as a subsidiary within the Playlist portfolio. Fritz Lanman, Playlist CEO and ClassPass founding chairman, and Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer, co-founder and CEO of EGYM, will be co-founders of the new Playlist organization.
Intenza
Intenza has launched its commercial Intenza Strength line in North America, which includes three options: the Dezign selectorized line, the Zone plate-loaded line, and the Functional Cube modular line. “We believe a high-performance workout should start with an environment that feels welcoming and intuitive,” says Mark Chang, CEO of Intenza. “These new strength lines help operators reinforce their premium brand promise.” To support this expansion, Intenza has opened a new distribution center in Kansas City, Missouri, that houses both cardio and strength inventory to provide streamlined logistics and faster response time for partners across the United States.
Life Fitness
Life Fitness / Hammer Strength has introduced SYNRGY, a training system with a modular design so facilities can customize setups from single-bay to multi-bay configurations. SYNRGY can be positioned either against a wall or as a center-room showpiece to maximize floor space and support individual, small-group, or team training. Features include integrated cable training with a 4:1 resistance ratio, barbell training, multiple functional movements, and accessory storage. “We listened closely to our customers and focused on making it easy for facility owners to adapt their training area as needs change,” says Jim Pisani, CEO of Life Fitness.
Matrix Fitness
Matrix Fitness received the Silver Award for its Upper Body Cycle in the Recreation and Sport category at the Taiwan Excellence Awards, an annual program that recognizes highly innovative and impactful products from Taiwanese companies. The Upper Body Cycle features a patented bi-directional drive system, which provides consistent resistance in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions to support users with uneven strength or those rehabilitating upper-body injuries. “The Upper Body Cycle serves a wide range of users—youth, athletes, pregnant women, wheelchair users, and older adults,” says Becky Jalbert, senior product manager of group and personal training at Matrix.
Merrithew
To meet sustained demand for Reformer Pilates, Merrithew has expanded its distribution network in New Zealand through a partnership with Blue Fitness Ltd. “Blue Fitness manages operating in New Zealand, from sales cycles to installation and service expectations,” says Jim Heidenreich, CEO of Merrithew. “That allows Merrithew to scale responsibly in this priority market without building fixed infrastructure locally, balancing global manufacturing and education with local execution.” Adds Ben Davies, managing director of Blue Fitness, “Merrithew brings a global equipment and education platform that enables local distributors to scale with consistency, credibility, and operational depth.”
RECOVERY/WELLNESS
Hyperice
Hyperice has formed a partnership with Myndstream, a music provider. Users of Hyperice’s Normatec compression boots, which stimulate circulation and ease muscle soreness, can enjoy an enhanced experience with Myndstream’s soundscapes designed to calm the nervous system, deepen relaxation, and enhance recovery outcomes. Using The Stream, Myndstream’s streaming platform, Hyperice customers can access three soundscapes—Rest, Recovery, and Revive—or all three during a 60-minute Full Mind/Body Sync session. “True health and wellness optimization is about much more than function; it’s about creating experiences that move both body and mind,” says Freddie Moross, founder of Myndstream.
WellnessSpace Brands
WellnessSpace Brands has debuted PolarWave Dry Plunge, which delivers the benefits of a full-body ice plunge in a dry environment. Designed for convenience and simplicity, it doesn’t require plumbing, maintenance, or clean-up—with no downtime between users, and no sanitation concerns. Each self-guided session ranges between three and seven minutes, simulating a full-body cold immersion and a float-like sensation, while users stay fully clothed and completely dry. For a personalized experience, users can adjust the temperature in the arm and neck regions and activate an optional compression feature to boost the impact of the cold in the arms and legs.
TECHNOLOGY/PROGRAMMING
ABC Fitness
Through a new partnership, ABC Fitness is Your Reformer’s exclusive club management software partner, offering studios and gyms a solution that combines equipment, intuitive scheduling, billing, and member management in one system. Your Reformer enables studios to offer on-demand classes in a controlled, in-studio environment through its connected equipment. Through this integration with ABC Glofox, members can book, unlock, and activate their reformer for on-demand sessions without having to log in separately. “Studios can launch faster, operate smarter, and scale confidently, with everything they need in one place,” says Mohammed Iqbal, chief strategy officer of ABC Fitness.
Daxko
Daxko is reorienting its core member management platforms around AI to move from traditional click-based workflows to intent-driven interactions, where staff and members tell what they need and the system completes the workflow automatically. Embedding intelligence directly into the platform, which powers workflows like check-ins, billing, reservations, and more, allows AI to act instantly, securely, and with context. This results in reduced friction and greater efficiency. “AI becomes truly transformative when it’s tied directly to the systems and data that run the operation,” says Jeff VanDixhorn, CEO of Daxko. “Faster answers. Easier booking. Smarter retention. Better personalization.”
Jonas Fitness
Jonas Fitness, Inc., has been named a Trusted Technology Partner of the Medical Fitness Association (MFA), offering its members technology and operational expertise tailored to medically integrated fitness environments. The organizations will share best practices and resources that help strengthen operations and modernize the member experience, including education on medical fitness technology, insights on reporting and analytics, and support for MFA events and initiatives. “We focus on providing MFA member facilities with the software, billing services, and data insights they can rely on for efficient operations and a connected member experience,” says Sandy Crutcher, president of Jonas Fitness.
Zumba
Zumba recently launched “Your Song Is On. The World Can Wait,” a global campaign designed to reframe fitness through the emotional power of music and the results that come from moving to it. It is based on the universal experience that when the right song hits, suddenly you push harder, move faster, and stay longer. The right beat fuels intensity, increases endurance, and helps people work out longer and more effectively while having fun. “In every Zumba class, we see how music changes the way people show up for themselves,” says Carolina Moraes, chief marketing officer of Zumba.
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Health & Fitness Business (HFB) is the leading health and fitness industry publication. Published monthly by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) and distributed free to the industry, HFB offers analysis of the opportunities, challenges, issues, and news that impact the industry.
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