American Fitness blog (Beta)

More Changes Coming Up

2008-09-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Who said working at a publication was boring?American Fitness may be no New Yorker, but it helps to have an open-minded boss to keep things interesting around here. Coming soon, our magazine is going to change up some of its pages.It's already in the works—our Professional Edge section is getting bigger and moving to the front of the magazine. To emphasize our commitment as a "fitness industry"

Fitness Magazine: Change is in the horizon

2008-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, without giving away many details let's just say that the magazine is about to get upgraded. Starting with our January/February 2009 edition, we're going to see some pretty dramatic changes in the magazine's content, layout and overall feel.The goal is to make the magazine truly invaluable for our readers: fitness professionals. We know there are many sources of fitness industry news out there

Sporting Goods: sales slow, according to survey

2008-09-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey, prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau, reported sales in sporting goods stores of $3.51 billion (preliminary) for the most recent reporting month (June), a 0.7 percent increase from $3.49 billion in June 2007. This follows a 5.7 percent increase in May. Sales growth year-to-date is behind the first six months of last year. Sales for the first six months of 2008 were

Blogging on hold

2008-08-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. It's been very hectic at work, handling a million tasks and meeting deadlines right before I go on vacation Friday, Aug. 22.As of right now I'm working on an article about the benefits of technology in health clubs and whether technology can attract/retain customers. If anyone knows anything about the subject matter, please contact me before Sept. 15.Thanks and see

China Olympics: A look behind the ever-breaking Olympic Record

2008-08-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

Science Daily posted an interesting article Wednesday on what's behind an olympic record.The article begins:"The world-record pace for the marathon continues to improve for both men and women. For men, the record pace for the marathon is now about as fast as the record pace for the 10,000-meter run just after World War II. Today, champion athletes are running more than four times farther at

China Olympics: A 21st Century China

2008-08-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, the 2008 Beijing Olympics began today.It's incredible how far China has come along with it being one of the very few communist countries. I have seen the making of the two buildings (the Bird's Nest and the Aquatic Center) in Beijing. Such an amazing architecture.We'll keep an eye out for any news regarding our athletes, including Amanda Beard, who appeared as our cover girl

IHRSA Lobbies for Physical Activity

2008-08-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

IHRSA Calls for Greater Focus on Preventing Physical Inactivity, Chronic Disease, and Chronic Healthcare CostsBOSTON- August 5, 2008- The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) announced today that it has urged the Republican and Democratic national committees to adopt pro-prevention and healthy living language in their official party policy documents when the national

Fitness Technology: The Future of Health Clubs?

2008-08-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Recently we have taken notice of the many ways the fitness industry is integrating technology to go beyond its call to provide health to everyone--more often, at no cost.One example that was recently brought to my attention is the online community introPLAY, allows casual or avid athletes can track, share and compare stats of their own day-to-day fitness accomplishments. The Web site CEO, Anil

Fitness Industry news: Club Industry in October

2008-08-04T14:25:00.002-07:00

One of the things I appreciate of this industry is its willingness to invest in growth and innovation. And nothing shows it more than industry conferences and shows.So far, the only conference I've attended was the IHRSA show in San Diego this past March. Before the show, I'd never seen so many people gathered in one room to show off their new gadgets. I was too overwhelmed to absorb a fifth of

Fitness Equipment: Office Gym

2008-08-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've come across smaller versions of these at my gym, but none as big or sturdy enough to hold a laptop. I saw this featured in the Los Angeles Times last week and I meant to blog on it earlier.This is its short description: SurfShelf is a laptop mount for treadmills/cardio machines.This is a neat way to make good use of your time.

Economy: Positive Earnings at Health Sports Clubs

2008-07-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

As the economy (and news of the economy) glooms like a bad hangover, there's at least one report of good news within the fitness industry.A recent survey found that 18 leading United States health and sports clubs had a good start this year with plenty of green in the quarter ending March 31, according to Industry Insights, Inc. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA)

Re-certification: CEU via E-mail.

2008-07-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm getting word that our new CEU will be delivered via e-mail to all fitness professionals. How AFAA plans to do that is beyond my pay rate. But it sounds like a good idea.Because fitness professionals often have to be re-certified after some time, they look for ways to save money and get their education in tip-top shape. And a lot of people (I don't know the exact figures) do seem to like

Why Personal Trainers look for American Fitness

2008-07-23T14:25:00.002-07:00

That's the question I asked when I began working at AF.And sure enough there were many answers: It's the articles. It's the glossy pages. It's the celebrity cover stories--Jennifer Love Hewitt, John Schneider, Kristi Yamaguchi, etc. And finally, it's the CEU Corner.CEU--an acronym for Continuing Education Unit--is what fitness professionals are required to earn (about 15, my guess) to RE-certify.

Magazine cover design for fall

2008-07-23T14:25:00.001-07:00

We got a peek of the Sept/Oct 2008 cover and inside layout of AF yesterday. The designers at Barbara Brown Marketing & Design (BBMD) did a great job.As part of the process to put together a magazine, designers have to spend a lot of time putting together the pieces that make the magazine look nice: the colors, the fonts, the images, the layout of the text, etc. It's not an easy task.During the

Mark Consuelos lands on American Fitness

2008-07-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Our September/October 2008 edition went to the designers about a month ago and we should be getting a preview of the cover in a few days.That's always something exciting because we don't always know what to expect. Sometimes we must make last-minute changes to photos, articles and pagination. Our managing editor, Kevin, has the difficult task to make these make-it-or-break-it decisions. This time