Marshall University Going Forward With Project
HUNTINGTON, WV – After Monday’s unanimous vote by the Huntington (W. Va.) City Council to override the mayor’s veto, Marshall University will move forward on a $90 million construction project to build a new student recreation center and new residence halls, the Huntington Herald-Dispatch reported....
McDonald’s Awards $15,000 to Philadelphia-area School Health and Fitness Programs
PHILADELPHIA – McDonald’s of the Greater Philadelphia Region Inc. has selected 15 schools in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware to receive $1,000 each through the McDonald’s Go Active! Academic Awards Program....
Syracuse to Add More Fitness Facilities
SYRACUSE, NY – Syracuse University will have another fitness center available to students when the fall semester begins in August. The university is opening a 3,700-square-foot fitness center in the Marshall Square Mall, and another fitness facility will follow in August 2009, according to the Central New York Business Journal....
Overweight People Show Fewer Strength Gains than Lean People
WASHINGTON -- Your overweight and obese clients may have to work harder than lean people to see results from strength training, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research....
Questions Raised Over Pole Dancing Parlor
CHICAGO – Pole dancing is heating up the Windy City, but not everyone is enamored with the new exercise craze....
Minnesota Becomes First State to Make PCI Compliance Law
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota recently became the first state to turn a core requirement of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) into a law for all companies—including fitness clubs—that handle credit and debit card data....
Lesbian Couple Ready to Take Des Moines Y to Court
DES MOINES, IA -- Nearly five years after a Des Moines lesbian couple’s YMCA family membership was revoked and a city human rights commission ruled that the membership policy could be illegal, the issue is back in the news. The couple recently picked up support from a Des Moines city councilwoman who said the controversy could jeopardize a $102,000 YMCA grant scheduled to be awarded next month, according to the Des Moines Register. ...
Navy Fitness Not Beat by the Heat
SANTA RITA, GUAM -- The summer heat isn’t slowing down sailors when it comes to fitness. Sailors swam, ran and competed under the sun at Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s (MWR) Admiral’s Cup Summer Sports Day June 15 at Polaris Point, Guam. As a salute to deployed service members in Iraq, members of the U.S. Transportation Command Joint Intelligence Operations Center at Scott Air Force Base decided to run, walk, swim, bike or rollerblade 6,681 miles, which is the distance from their drill location at Scott Air Force Base to the heart of Baghdad, during June and July. ...
Strength Training for the Brain
WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Can a fitness program for your brain improve thinking and concentration the way lifting weights can increase muscle strength? Early results from a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center study suggest that attention training can change brain activity so that older adults can block out distractions and improve concentration. ...
Bally Moves Closer to Bankruptcy
CHICAGO – Bally Total Fitness announced an agreement today with noteholders that brings the company closer to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which Bally expects to happen “in the near future,” according to a press release....
Chef Harry to Help Fight Childhood Obesity With Watermelon
LOS ANGELES – Celebrity chef Harry Schwartz will be introducing children to his “Fitness from the Start” program—based on his upcoming book and PBS series—to help combat childhood obesity by promoting watermelon....
YMCA of Greater St. Louis Receives $250,000 in Tax Credits for Expansion
ST. LOUIS -- The YMCA of Greater St. Louis will use $250,000 in Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits approved by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) to expand its Four Rivers Area Family Facility in Washington, MO. ...
New Pentagon Channel Show Helps Troops Get Fit for Duty
WASHINGTON, DC – Starting Monday, service members won’t have to leave the comfort of their own room to get fit. For the first time, the Pentagon Channel will air a fitness show, “Fit for Duty.” The show takes viewers through a high-energy, 30-minute workout led by service members with expertise in fitness training. ...
Coalition Tackles Obesity
WASHINGTON, DC— One of the legislative priorities of a new anti-obesity campaign is to require insurance coverage for prevention, screening, diagnosis and multi-treatment programs for obesity that are coupled to measurement of health outcomes. ...
Speakers, Seminars Highlight Club Industry East Show
ORLANDO – The Club Industry East Conference and Exposition attracted 115 exhibiting companies that filled 250 booths last week at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort....
Shareholder Threatens to Sue Bally
NEW YORK -- It has been an active period for Bally Total Fitness since the company announced on May 31, plans to restructure under Chapter 11 protection. Liberation Investment Group, Bally’s second largest shareholder, threatened to sue the company in a letter sent Wednesday to Bally’s board of directors. In the letter, Liberation says that Bally’s pre-packaged bankruptcy plan was “draconian” because it cancels all existing equity. The company is expected to file for bankruptcy next month....
Benefits Of School-Based Fitness Programs Fade After Summer, Study Shows
CHICAGO -- A study of 17 middle school students suggests that physical fitness gains made by obese children who participated in a lifestyle-focused physical education class during the school year were lost after the three-month summer break, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)/Archives journals. ...
'Magic' Happens at Club Industry East Show
ORLANDO -- The Club Industry East Conference and Exposition opened Wednesday in Orlando. The show will continue through Saturday at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort....
Equity Firms Eye Bally
NEW YORK -- Bally Total Fitness, which announced plans for Chapter 11 restructuring last week, are reportedly being sought after by private-equity firms....
Short, Low-Intensity Exercise Has Benefits
BATON ROUGE, LA -- Daily, mild exercise—walking or bike riding—improves the fitness of post-menopausal women who are currently sedentary, overweight or obese, according to new research reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. ...
Air Force 'Perspective' Discusses Fitness Standards
SAN ANTONIO -- The Air Force's top enlisted airman focuses on the importance of physical fitness and discusses how meeting current fitness standards are individual Airman responsibilities in the latest "Enlisted Perspective," a written senior leader viewpoint....
Y Activates Fort Wayne Kids
FORT WAYNE, IN -- The YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne in Indiana and other local organizations helped begin Activate Fort Wayne, a new initiative financed by a $10,000 grant from the national YMCA to fight childhood obesity, according to The Journal Gazette. The Y, Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, IN, and the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department will help teach 10,000 local kids about nutrition and exercise through free programs this summer. ...
Bally Plans Chapter 11 Filing
CHICAGO—After months of speculation about a possible bankruptcy filing, Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. says it plans to file Chapter 11 restructuring....
Several Rec Centers Under Construction
NATIONWIDE – The spring semester has ended, but several colleges and universities are still hard at work planning, constructing or adding to their student recreation centers....
Oklahoma Club Owner Allegedly Sold Steroids
MUSKOGEE, OK – Prosecution witnesses described during a Tuesday hearing undercover drug buys allegedly made during a five-month investigation by a Muskogee, OK, fitness club owner, the Muskogee Phoenix reported....
