JCC Receptionist Pleads Guilty
EAST HILLS, NY -- The former receptionist at the Sid Jacobsen Jewish Community Center in East Hills, NY, recently pleaded guilty to stealing the credit card information of 18 JCC members. After stealing the information, Elizabeth Young and others used the stolen credit card numbers to purchase more than $15,000 in high-end merchandise, according to a statement from the office of Nassau County (NY) District Attorney Kathleen Rice. ...
Wisconsin Club Closes After 22 Years of Operation
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
EAU CLAIRE, WI -- Unity Health & Fitness, formerly known as Eau Claire Athletic Club, closed its doors Thursday after 22 years of operation in Eau Claire, WI. ...
Cameras Installed at Kentucky Rec Center
LEXINGTON, KY -- The University of Kentucky installed two rotating cameras in its student recreation center last month, the Kentucky Kernel reported....
World Gym Unveils Name of Key-Card Clubs
By: By Stuart Goldman, managing editor
DOVER, NH -- Although World Gym’s new key-card club model is open 24 hours, seven days a week, its name, World Gym 1440 All Axcess, doesn’t initially seem to imply that. That is, until you understand that there are 1,440 minutes in a day....
Ohio Y Tightening Security After Major Break-in
SIDNEY, OH -- The Sidney-Shelby County YMCA in Sidney, OH, is on alert after thieves broke into the facility earlier this month, stealing computers that contained the personal information of about 1,000 members, according to the Dayton (OH) Daily News. ...
Bush Visits Fit to Win Course at Fort Jackson
FORT JACKSON, SC -- President George W. Bush stopped by Fort Jackson, SC, in early November to observe soldiers in their first week of basic combat training go through the Fit to Win training course. Bush was the first president to visit the installation in more than 50 years....
TSI Revenue Tops $118 million in Third Quarter
NEW YORK -- Town Sports International Holdings Inc. (TSI) had an 8.7 percent increase in revenue in the third quarter 2007 compared to the third quarter of last year, the company announced on Nov. 1. Third quarter 2007 revenue was $118.9 million compared to $109.4 million in third quarter 2006. ...
Augie Nieto Releases Book
By: By Pamela Kufahl, editor
NEW YORK -- Augie Nieto, founder of Life Fitness, released his book “Augie’s Quest: One Man’s Journey from Success to Significance” on Wednesday, making an emotional appearance on “The Today Show” with his wife, Lynne. Nieto was diagnosed with ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2005. After attempting suicide soon after the diagnosis, he has focused his life on raising funds to cure the disease. Proceeds from the book, which goes on sale Nov. 13, will go to find a cure. ...
Health Up, Fitness Down for Health Fitness Corp. in Third Quarter
MINNEAPOLIS -- Revenue for the third quarter increased 5 percent at Health Fitness Corp., the provider of integrated employee health management programs announced earlier this week. ...
Health Clubs Removed from Maryland Tax Bill
ANNAPOLIS, MD -- The Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted Tuesday to remove health clubs from a list of services to which a proposed expansion of a sales tax would be applied....
Report: Nation’s Health Declines
WASHINGTON, DC -- The overall health of the nation declined over the past year despite progress made in some key health indicators, according to a report released this week by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention. The report indicates that the overall health of the nation declined by a rate of 0.3 percent since last year....
Older Adults Benefit from Functional Training
SAN DIEGO -- Functional fitness programming works for older adults, and most of them see real-world benefits relatively quickly, according to a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, upon the request of ACE, examined physical improvements associated with functional training. ...
UMass Breaks Ground on New Student Rec Center
AMHERST, MA -- The University of Massachusetts (UMass) broke ground last week on a new $50 million student recreation center that is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2009....
Tennessee Y Fires Employees Over Noose
CLEVELAND, TN -- Earlier this week, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga’s Cleveland (TN) branch fired three employees who were involved with leaving two nooses at its facility. ...
More Unfit Airmen and Sailors Being Discharged
WASHINGTON, DC -- Government officials say fitness programs are working to make the military healthier despite the fact that more airmen and sailors are being discharged because they are unfit and overweight. ...
AMA, ACSM Promote Exercise as Prescribed Medicine
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) teamed up to launch Exercise Is Medicine, a program that encourages doctors to prescribe exercise to their patients as a way to prevent chronic conditions, obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Physicians should advise patients to incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise and 10 minutes of stretching and light weightlifting at least five times a week, according to the program. ...
American Fitness Founder Dies
Jim Booker, founder of American Fitness Centers, passed away of pancreatic cancer at his Alpharetta, GA home on Oct. 6. He was 76....
Pulliam Leaves Gold’s Fold
By: By Pamela Kufahl, editor
LEXINGTON, KY -- Royce Pulliam, formerly the largest Gold’s Gym International franchisee, has left the Gold’s brand behind to create his own brand, Urban Active Fitness, the company announced today. ...
The Rush to Open Four More Clubs
GREENSBORO, NC -- The Rush Fitness Complex, a Tennessee-based health club company, has chosen North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad—Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point—for its first expansion outside the Volunteer State. ...
MRSA Cases Prompt Action By University Rec Centers
NATIONWIDE -- Student recreation centers across the country are taking precautions to help stop the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)....
Women-only Club Closes
SAN MATEO, CA -- Inches-A-Weigh, a women-only fitness club, abruptly shut down its operation Monday, and many members say they were overcharged for membership dues in recent weeks, according to InsideBayArea.com. ...
Senior Fitness Franchise Expands
By: By Kelsey Garrison
GARDEN GROVE, CA-- Nifty After Fifty, a fitness and wellness company that caters to seniors, has been given the go-ahead by the California Department of Corporations to begin selling franchises. ...
Nautilus Appoints CEO as Trouble Continues
By: By Pamela Kufahl, editor
Robert S. Falcone, who has been interim president and CEO of Nautilus since August 2007, was appointed as CEO of Nautilus this month, just two days before the company announced a net loss of $13 million in the third quarter 2007. Net sales for the third quarter were $134 million, compared to $159.6 million for the corresponding period last year, down 16 percent. ...
Cybex Revenue on the Rise
Third quarter 2007 net sales for Cybex International increased by 9 percent to $32.6 million, the company announced. The figures compare to $29.9 million for the corresponding 2006 period. The company attributes the growth to strong sales of the company’s cardio products and continued growth in the commercial equipment market. ...
Matrix Third Quarter Sales Grew 98 Percent
Matrix Fitness Systems’ U.S. third-quarter sales increased by 98 percent over the corresponding 2006 period, the company announced. Over the same timeframe last year, global sales grew 55 percent....
