How to Be at The HFA Show 2026 Without Being There

With HFA’s social media channels, newly designed website, and the digital capabilities of Health & Fitness Business, you’ll get more than highlights from San Diego.

T he HFA Show 2026 (March 16-18 in San Diego) began generating buzz months ago and the momentum hasn’t stopped. The trade show has booked nearly 400 exhibitors, ticket purchases are nearing a record in total sales, and the sessions and panels are generating excitement with operators and other fitness professionals eager to learn from top thought leaders on complex subjects like biometrics, supply chain economics, AI integration, and other urgent topics covered in the conference’s six education tracks.

Then there’s the second annual HFA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on March 15, which is nearly sold out. Helping to increase anticipation is a 100th birthday party planned for Elaine LaLanne, wife of the late legendary fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne and a legend herself after co-starring on his long-running television program that made them both multigenerational household names.

“We believe our show coverage will change how you view HFB and HFA’s other communication channels and will excite you about how we can cover the industry in a way nobody else can.”

As you look through this issue, you’ll see just how much The HFA Show 2026 has to offer. We’re aware that not everybody can be there, especially those visiting from overseas. At HFB, we don’t want people who can’t travel to San Diego to miss out.

We’re also aware that after the event’s conclusion on March 18, the show preview content in this issue will lead to many readers wondering, “Love the hype, but how did it go?”

Thanks to HFA’s newly bolstered communication channels and HFB’s new digital capabilities, you’ll get the answer sooner than ever.

So Many Stories to Tell—and Many Ways to Tell Them

When HFA went online-only in January, we said we were now “alive.” We meant it. We’re still in the early stages of this evolution in the magazine’s new digital format, but we’re increasingly embracing the flexibility and immediacy of HFB’s editorial delivery.

This year we’re going to bring you more coverage of The HFA Show during and after the event, so you can get answers to questions like:

· How did Elaine’s birthday party go?

· Was the Demonstration Stage at the trade show rocking?

· What did Winter Olympics legend Apolo Ohno say about this year’s event in Milan?

· What presentations were the most popular, and how did the Financial Panel go without Rick Caro?

HFB will tell you. And because we’re the HFA’s flagship publication, we’ll have exclusives other trade media won’t.

You can get more show coverage as it happens on HFA’s social media accounts and healthandfitness.org. HFA’s communications team is growing, and so are the ways we can tell the stories of HFA, the industry, and the people who make it all happen.

The transition from a print to an online-only publication can be a challenge, especially to seasoned magazine professionals. It can feel lonely at first. Sometimes, like Punch the baby macaque, I want to hug a stuffed orangutan to calm my fears of rejection. We believe our show coverage will change how you view HFB and HFA’s other communication channels and will excite you about how we can cover the industry in a way nobody else can.

So check HFB ’s site often and follow HFA on social media. Or you can send me a stuffed orangutan.

Contributors

Jon Feld

Jon Feld has been writing for four decades. He has a diverse and varied background: editor for Club Industry magazine, publications director at Boston University, director of Content Development at Inc. Magazine, media business owner, and more. One thread has been a near constant for most of his career: He’s been writing for HFA since 1987. He can be contacted at jfeld@oncoremedia.net.

Julie King

Julie King is a freelance writer with more than 30 years of experience in the fitness industry. She’s worked as a content creator, personal trainer, group fitness instructor, fitness director, fitness/wellness coordinator, and health club manager. Since 2002, King has been a contributing writer to Health & Fitness Business. Her work has also appeared in the Journal on Active Aging, Club Solutions, Recreation Management, Campus Recreation, National Fitness Trade Journal, and Fitness Management. Holding a B.S. in journalism and an M.S. in kinesiology, King was a contributing author to The Fitness Handbook, published by Stairmaster Sports/Medical Products. She can be contacted at julie.king1@comcast.net.

Patricia Amend

Patricia Amend, who holds an M.A. in journalism from New York University, has been a writer, editor and author for 30+ years. She took up long-distance running, which piqued her interest in healthy lifestyles and the fitness industry. She also specializes in financial health—small business and personal finance.

In addition to writing some 600 articles about the industry—mostly for HFA—Ms. Amend served as Executive Editor of Health & Fitness Business (formerly Club Business International) and Managing Editor of Club Business Europe, and she produced research reports, newsletters, program guides, and marketing materials for HFA.

Other stories have appeared in Club Industry, ACE Fitness Matters, USA Today, Inc. Magazine, Money.com, AARP.org, and AARP The Magazine. One of her books, The 30-Minute Fitness Solution, published by Harvard University Press, received an Award of Excellence from the American Medical Writers Association. She can be reached at patriciaamend2@gmail.com.

Health & Fitness Business is a publication of

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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