Strength equipment is the heart and soul of any fitness center. Not all brands are created equally, though, Some have a well-deserved reputation as the top in the industry. Consider two that meet that standard.

Matrix Fitness

Matrix is a child company of Johnson Health Tech founded in 1975 by Peter Lo. Today, Matrix is an award-winning manufacturer of strength training products. In 2017, they won the FirtProf brand of the year award and in 2018, the Plus X Best Customer Satisfaction award.

Matrix Fitness offers both residential and commercial strength training equipment. They make single-station and multi-station products along with free weights, plate-loaded and accessories.

What Makes Matrix Stand Out?

It’s the intuitive design that puts Matrix strength equipment at the fore the front in the industry. There are five series and each comes with distinct features. The Ultra and Versa series offer ergonomic grips, for example. Aura, on the other hand, is known for its aesthetic designs and Urgo Form cushions. With the Magnum series, you’ll be impressed by the Breaker Benches which eliminating the need for assistance to break the bar.

Atlantis Fitness

For 35 plus years, Atlantis has been making only strength equipment. That singular focus has made them one of the best in the industry. The company was founded by Canadian bodybuilding champion Raymond Sansoucy and today it is Canada’s largest commercial strength equipment manufacturer.

There is a broad range of Atlantis strength equipment choices, most made with welded frames, heavy gauges of steel and high resistance levels. Each unit is designed to help you find the perfect blend.

What Makes Atlantis Stand Out?

Atlantis is known for its ergonomic designs and expert biomechanics. Their line is so extensive they list it by body part to make it easier to navigate.

The Atlantis’ Performance series offers sturdy machines that come with standard and heavy weight-stacks. The Power series features adjustability and user profiles. Natural Motion is made up of 12 units with enough freedom to allow the user to define their own path.

Each one of these companies manufacturer strength products designed to give you flexibility as you select your equipment.

For more information contact Opti-fit.

The smoother a multi-family fitness center runs the more value it offers. How do you get to that level, though? Programming your fitness center is about getting the most value out of it. Here are some suggestions.

Hire a Management Company

The organization is an absolute in the fitness industry but not that an easy thing to accomplish. A multi-family fitness center management company can help a several areas.  They can provide social programming, group exercise class, staffing and operational hours, pool operation and more.  These additional services will enhance the residence expierence and increease retention. The management company also understands the local regulations and how to follow them.

Personal Trainers

Why would someone consider joining a gym instead of using your fitness center? Two words: personal trainer. Once upon a time having a personal trainer was a luxury but today’s fitness consumer expects it.
Adding one or two personal trainers to a fitness center is just one more amenity that stands out. If they can save money and get the added benefit of a personal trainer, they will throw away the gym pass forever.
Consider partnering with personal trainers. They provide their clientele and use your space for the workout. They generate revenue for the business without adding to your labor costs.

Take it Online

Online apps like More Active , My Fitness Pal, Fitbit and more, provide fitness centers with everything they need for success in one place. Set residents, frequent travelers and center members up with a personal online fitness plan. They can access nutrition plans and workout guides, too.

Apps will offer business tools, as well, like website design and a full array of marketing tools. Set up an email campaign and center newsletter. Create class schedules and event notifications. Build plans for training and fitness that target your audience. Access a content management tool that will have you blogging in no time. While you are at it, create a new logo fo the center that makes the brand stand out and use it on all your marketing material.

Take a multifaceted approach to programming your fitness center try all three. Individually or in combination, they will give you what you need to build, run and grow your facility efficiently and effectively.

For more information concerning multi-family fitness centers contact your Opti-Fit professional near you.

The pool isn’t just about swimming anymore. A multi-family environment can introduce new amenities into the community by turning the pool into an aquatic gym. Water workouts are trending right now and promise to be something that will turn potential residents’ heads.

Flow Motion

They said it couldn’t be done. They were wrong. Make your next community yoga class one that happens in the pool with Flow Motion fitness mats. They are inflatable and easy to store. When in the water, the mat is stable enough to allow residents to workout doing sit-ups, yoga poses — whatever you would normally do on a yoga mat. FlowMotion also comes with teacher training and certifications as well as programs like:

Floaty fun while you exercise.

Spin Class in the Pool

Aquacycling is the newest water-based fitness craze. It takes the low-impact benefit of bike riding and adds the resistance that comes with moving underwater. The combination is a workout that is easy on the joints and won’t leave you with sore muscles the next day.

Water Workout Tools

Both the mat and the bike are an investment that any residential complex will find beneficial but if you were thinking about something smaller then water resistance training tools are a cost-effective option. Think kettlebell that goes in the pool. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. For instance, the Push Plate by Speedo is an all-in-one workout tool that uses water resistance to build muscle. Speedo also offers the Hydroshredder that channels the water to provide the most resistance. You put one on each hand and push to turn the water into weights.

Aquatic

Of course, you could go old-school and offer Aquatic classes to the community. Aquatics is simply exercising in the water. Residents can learn to do everything from water walk to water dance. Aquatics is a good cardio workout that also uses water resistance to safely tone muscles. Today’s apartment dweller wants more, so put that pool to work and add more fitness options to your amenities.

Contact Opti-fit for additional information.

The key to filling up a fitness center with the right fitness equipment is finding a balance. Your goal is to consider what someone might look for in this particular fitness center. What are some things you should consider when buying fitness equipment?

Know Your Target User

The most important part of strategizing your fitness center inventory is your audience. If you cater to a younger group, focus on high-tech, state-of-the-art equipment. An older crowd will want user-friendly workout resources. One thing you do know is most people will look for cardio equipment and a strength training section first.

Block Out Your Space

Design for function based on your users’ needs. What should go near the front of the room and what should be near the windows, for example. Ask yourself what else your gym user might need. For example, do you want to make room for lockers, a water station, classes or personal training spaces? If you want the room to do more than hold equipment, plan on using 60 percent for actual exercise machines. Block out percentages for equipment space next. Do you want to divide the equipment area 50/50 for cardio and strength training or is it going to be more like 60/40? Older targeted users might want more strength training equipment than cardio.

Visualize Your Cardio

Now, block out the cardio section. This will allow you to visualize the types of equipment you want for each. For example, how much space do you have for treadmills and how many treadmills will fit into it.  If the answer is not many then maybe you want to consider a more diverse inventory of cardio equipment. Leave room for one or two treadmills and then figure out what you could put around them like ellipticals or steppers. Consider high-intensity equipment that takes up less room like an S-Force Performance Trainer if you plan to service younger people.

Visualize Your Strength Training Area

Free weights are a given, so figure out where they will go. Plan for one or more:

Diversity is the best policy when it comes to strength training equipment, so a multi-use station combined with targeted pieces for the core, legs and upper body makes sense. To find out more about what equipment works best for your target audience contact Opti-Fit at 888-601-4350 or info@opti-fit.com for a FREE consultation.

Whether you have purchased or plan to buy high-performance gym equipment from Matrix, you should know that Matrix equipment makes it easy for you to maximize your ROI. Most of the equipment out there will eventually earn its keep over time, but there are very few manufacturers that will further help you make the purchase worth the effort.

Asset Management

Many gym owners don’t bother to think about the life of their equipment. They hope that it will last for a long time and they repair it when something is broken. Matrix equipment will monitor itself for you. As your machine ages, it will alert you as to when you need to think about updating something, or if a part is nearing its expiration. The monitoring function will also tell you when something is wrong or not functioning properly. You can also get instant access to the product information for the equipment. Here are some handy tools that you will have when you purchase Matrix equipment:

Of each piece and your gym as a whole. This feature will tell you which pieces are members favorites, it can also tell you what product mix you should keep on the floor.

Marketing

Your Matrix equipment will even do some of the marketing work for you. Members that sync up to use the workout-tracking and personal training features will receive messages when new workout tracks, trainers, or classes are uploaded to their favorite machines.

You can also allow members to personalize their experience, or you can customize it for them. These are just some of the ways that Matrix will help you to keep your gym on your member’s minds. The ore that they are thinking about it, the more likely they are to post something about it to their friends on a social media platform like Instagram or Facebook.

Matrix equipment has a lot to offer as far as maximizing your ROI on the pieces that you purchase. We strive to make our high-end workout experience the best on the market so that your members stay fit and happy at your gym. Give us a call today to find out more about maximizing your ROI.

Contact Opti-Fit for more information on high performance fitness equipment.

Healthy cities have healthy people that create a healthy economy. Obesity costs money directly and indirectly. Influencing people to want to take better care of themselves will lower costs, create a more vibrant population, and increase tourism.

The Cost of Obesity

Direct Costs

The direct costs of obesity are medical treatments and examinations that people receive directly due to their condition. This will cost the city when municipal workers are being treated for being overweight. It will also cost the city when people need emergency or ambulatory care due to their obesity and are unable to pay for it.

Indirect Costs

Insurance 

Insurance for the municipality will cost proportionally more the larger the number of obese people. Local businesses will also have to pay more in insurance costs, which is less money they have to put into their establishments and give their employees.

Wages

Wages in areas with large obese populations tend to be lower than in areas where more people are fit. This has to do with insurance costs as mentioned above, as well as lower overall productivity due to missed work and premature death.

Lost Work

Obese employees miss more work on average than employees that are not obese. They also use more short and long term disability. Overweight workers are also said to have higher rates of presenteeism, resulting in lower productivity.

As you can see, the costs of obesity are high to the entire population of any area. Municipalities with large populations of obese citizens should work to help the community become healthier. Doing so will increase productivity and juice up the economy in the medium to long-term.

Current costs are a concern, but another thing to keep in mind is that healthcare costs will continue to rise as they have been. Spending increased 3.9% over 2017 and 4.1% over the year of 2018. These are massive year over year cost increases. Can your city afford not to get healthy?

A healthy population will be less of a drain directly and indirectly on the wealth of a city. A healthy community can help a city to grow and attract more business than a population of people that are not taken care of. Think about the future and encourage health!

Contact Opti-Fit for more information about how they can help your city become healthier.

There are pros and cons to running a fitness center on a multi-housing property. The advantages can allow you to bring in more revenue, and the disadvantages can cost you. Are your cost benefits for that fitness center balanced in your favor?

Pros

Tenants will pay higher rent to live in a building with a gym.

Tenants love to think that they have the opportunity to better themselves even if they never do and will pay up to live in a place that has a fitness center.

Enhanced Community Experience

You can enhance the community living experience by offering group classes, weight loss clinics, new equipment from time to time, and other incentives at your fitness center.

Cons

Cost

You mainly have the cost to create and keep up the facility. If you do not put the fitness center together properly or you fail to keep up with maintenance, you could face liability costs as well.

Liability Costs

As far as liability is concerned, you will want to see what your current liability insurance will cover. What exculpatory clauses are in your rental agreement and what exactly do they cover? Have you listed an indemnification agreement often called a hold harmless agreement that extends to the gym in you lease as well?

If you have these in place, your extra liability costs to run a fitness center will remain only the cost you pay to your insurer for liability insurance; AS LONG AS you design the center properly and keep the center in good working order. If a tenant or guest gets sick or hurts themselves, and it is a result of your negligence, you do risk a lawsuit.

Before adding a fitness center to your multi-housing facility, talk to a lawyer about your current lease agreement, and if it needs to be amended. Look for qualified fitness center design services to build the safest and easiest to upkeep gym possible.

Opti-Fit can help you design a safe and clean gym that your tenants will love, and do it on budget. We also offer equipment servicing and will help you plan and replane as new equipment is released and trends come about. Visit the Opti-Fit website today for more information.

We all know that motivating yourself to hit the gym several times a week doesn’t come easy. In any health club, there are three primary spaces. The strength training areas (for free weights and machines), the cardio part and the group fitness studios. Each of these can truly help improve your workout routine.

Group fitness programs not only offer standard health-related benefits but can also augment key aspects of your social life. A study conducted by the Nielsen group indicates that 36 percent of people who exercise regularly prefer to do so within groups or class activities.

That’s why having groups or gym-wide fitness challenges can help increase retentions of customers like:

Bolster Retention

Most of the attrition in the fitness industry comes from individuals who leave the program before they get started. The goal is to retain them from the first day, and the secret is good customer services. Study shows 81 percent of members are more likely to come back to a company after good service.

Most fitness facilities transform the orientations process from a single-day activity to daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly challenges. This includes different activities and milestones such as introduction to the facility, a thorough fitness assessment, and opportunities for social interaction.

Fine-Tuned Programs for Business Growth

Nearly every fitness center, large or small has personal trainers to help in creating realistic and customized exercise plans that help clients achieve their goals safely and effectively.

With a member’s body compositions result such as their health profile, interests, and fitness goals, then the fitness coach can develop a personalized small group training plan that works for them.

By designing personalized workouts that match the current body composition of your customer, they will be able to form a regular workout schedule and achieve the expected results faster.

When members achieve their goals, they create huge trust in what your program. You create excellent customer service, which 86 percent of customers are happy to pay up to 25 percent more for, which leads to reputation growth. They are also likely to recommend their friends, which translate to more revenue from members subscription.

Occasional social nudges such as text messages, phone calls, social media, and face-to-face communication can help increase attendance among members. In addition to social connection, most gyms offer special discounts and coupons for new and existing members as a retention’s strategy.

If you want to build a group campaign with outstanding group fitness equipment and workout programs that are built around members interests, contact Opti-fit and explore the available offers for California and Nevada areas.

It’s the amenities that make a multi-housing unit stand out for people who live in Sin City. Tourists come to Las Vegas for pampering and fun but do the residents deserve any less? What are the top amenities the people of Las Vegas want n their housing communities?

1. 24-Hour Fitness Center

They are not looking for a room with a few dumbbells, either. Las Vegas multi-housing unit dwellers want something comparable to commercial gyms. The best fitness centers offer top-of-the-line equipment with high tech features like virtual instructors and multi-station or single- selectorized strength training units.

2. Outdoor Theaters

Today’s rental consumer wants to do things outdoors. An outdoor theater gives neighbors a chance to spend time together lounging in the yard and watching a movie. Add to that other outdoor spaces like a plush seating area for conversation and an outdoor club room that connects to an indoor kitchen — these are amenities that make a multi-housing unit a luxury home.

3. Cyber Cafe

Cyber Cafes provides tenants an office away from home where they can enjoy a cup of Java. It could be a mixed-use space that doubles as a sports bar in the evening. The complex brings in new revenue streams with they give tenants a way to buy something near home that they would likely get anyway somewhere else.

4. Amenities for the Pets

Multi-housing units have a lot of options when it comes to treating tenet pets like royalty. They can go all out with a pet spa on-property. It would be a spa-like room with easy to clean tiling. It should include things like large tubs and drying stations for bathing. The property might even bring in professional services two or three times a month.

Of course, most pet owners today will also expect a dog park. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just a fenced in area with benches for pet moms and dads and plenty of running space for dog socialization and play.

5. Electric Car Charging Stations

As the world becomes more environmentally friendly, the need for charging stations will increase. Housing management companies can get a step ahead by creating tenet-only charging stations.

Without amenities, one Las Vegas housing complex looks just like the other. It’s the amenities that will draw the attention of future tenants starting with a top-notch fitness center. Check out Opti-fit to see the latest in fitness products for multi-housing units.

Ecore offers a range of sports and athletics flooring choice for your gym, fitness center, or outdoor area. People expect to see specialized flooring in places they use to workout or practice in. With options that range from rubber, to rug, to fully poured synthetics Ecore has all of your fitness flooring needs covered.

Everlast Collection

The Everlast collection comes as rolls or tiles that have been made of specially designed rubber for your fitness center. There are three levels of the Everlast fitness flooring product:

Performance Collection

The performance collection consists of flooring applications that include shock absorbent padding underneath. They all come in a range of color choices, except the turf; the turf is available in grass green only. The flooring choices include:

Elevate Collection

opti-fit sells flooring for corporate gymsThis collection is meant for areas of the gym that still need that shock absorbing feel that you would like to make more aesthetically pleasing for customers. These flooring choices will go in entryways, locker rooms, auxiliary rooms (game, meditation, or yoga) and the like.

If you are looking for the best sports and fitness flooring in the business check out the Opti-Fit’s website today. You will find all of the choices above as well as additional products such as fillers, pads, poured systems, and how to go about customizing your selections. If you have any question give Opti-Fit call today at 888-601-4350.