Is your gym offering Zumba classes?

It seems zumba has taking over all other types of exercise.

While promising to be more of a way of having fun rather than an exercise, zumba has found its way into most people who exercise.

Zumba Fitnessworkout involves variety of dance steps derived from cumbia, merengue, salsa, reggaeton, hip hop, mambo, rumba, flamenco, and calypso & Salsaton with body sculpting movements.

The zumba workout provides all of fitness benefits since it includes interval training sessions with slow and fast resistance training.

Currently zumba classes are offered in gyms, dvd´s and short video lessons online.

So, where to open a gym?

Did you know that according to men's fittness magazine Miami, FL was the fattest,  that´s right the FATTEST city in 2009!

And all this time when we thought of Miami, we thought of beaches, bikinis and the south beach diet. Who would have ever guessed Miami was the fattest one?

Take a look at the list of the top 3 fittest and fattest cities in 2009:

Top 3 Fittest Cities:

1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. Colorado Springs, CO
3. Minneapolis, MN

*Boston is ranked number 14 in the top fittest cities :)

Top 3 Fattest Cities:

1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX

However it is not all lost for Miami, CNN video: fattest city opens outdoor gyms shows how Miami has open outdoor gyms for people to exercise. This is a respond to the trend of being healthy and fit, that we hope lasts forever.

In this case, if you are looking to open a new gym, but don´t know yet where? You could use the above information to create basically two strategies:

1.     Open a gym where people are already involved in being fit.

2.     Open a gym where people are not fit, but are starting to get involved in the whole fitness is good idea.

Let me know what would you do and why? 

IPOD apps your new personal trainer

Who said technology wouldn't change the way you exercise?

Many fitness magazines and gyms are now offering the option to download fitness apps for your ipod. With low prices they aim to get everyone in the market even those who don't regularly exercise but have had the motivation to star "tomorrow".

The apps vary from yoga, cardio, abdominals, weight-loss, pilates and others. Prices vary from $2.00 to $15.00

This revolutionary idea gives consumers the option to have a “personal trainer” everywhere they might go with their iphone, ipod, or ipad.

Currently the apps are only for the apple devices, but probably in no time we will be hearing about apps for blackberrys, androids and all other cell phones.

So now that your personal trainer follows you everywhere, I guess we won´t be able to find a reason for not to exercise?

If you want to buy these apps for your ipod you can find them in the following link:

http://www.iamplify.com/fitness-magazine/?cid=fm0009

Good luck!... and let me here your comments on these apps

Influencing factors on fitness industry growth

• Recession: has caused consumers who found large, all-inclusive gyms too expensive to shift to smaller gyms with fewer ammenities; helping to sustain industry revenues.
• Health consiousness increase: an increase in obesity and heart diseases has caused for consumers to consider fitness a necessity rather than discretionary.
• New fitness trends: meditation exercises such as Yoga and Tai-chi have been in fashion for several years now, motivating gyms to have a greater variety of classes.

 

Almost forgot!
Here is a chart showing the project revenues for the Fitness Industry

Important Fitness Industry Facts



Revenues in the United States were expected to reach $23.9 billion in 2010.


This number is projected to increase to $24.9 billion in 2011
woww! not a small industry at all.
(IBIS World in December 2010 by Gym, Health, and Fitness Club)



What about industry growth?
Gym, Health, and Fitness Club revenues in the United States experienced a 1.4% growth from 2009 to 2010. This growth rate is expected to reach 3.6% between the years 2010 to 2011 and an average of 3.3% annually between the years 2010 and 2015



So it appears we are exercising more and more. Look for next post on the why of this growth and the current fitness trends.