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Strategic intelligence for fitness professionals

Strategic intelligence for fitness coaches, gym owners, and brands. Expert data, analysis, and industry trends to grow your fitness business.


Latest articles (596)

GLP-1 Drugs and Gyms: A Revenue Opportunity Operators Can't Ignore
PRO-GYM · Sep 9, 2026 · 6 min read

GLP-1 Drugs and Gyms: A Revenue Opportunity Operators Can't Ignore

The HFA's June 2026 white paper reframes GLP-1 medications as a gym membership pipeline. Here's how operators can build the programming and revenue model to capture it.

Private Equity Is Buying Gyms: What Operators Need to Know
PRO-GYM · Sep 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Private Equity Is Buying Gyms: What Operators Need to Know

26North's acquisition of Phaze 3 Fitness signals accelerating PE consolidation in fitness. Here's what independent gym operators must do now.

ABC Fitness Buys FitMetrics: AI Moves Into the Gym Floor
PRO-COACH · Sep 7, 2026 · 6 min read

ABC Fitness Buys FitMetrics: AI Moves Into the Gym Floor

ABC Fitness's acquisition of FitMetrics embeds AI directly into gym infrastructure, putting automated program design and tracking in direct competition with personal trainers.

Ultrahuman's $70M Qualcomm Round: Beyond Wearables
PRO-BRANDS · Sep 5, 2026 · 7 min read

Ultrahuman's $70M Qualcomm Round: Beyond Wearables

Ultrahuman's $70M raise led by Qualcomm Ventures signals a bold pivot from wearable brand to human-computer interface company, reshaping fitness tech investment strategy.

Strength Training Is Dominant: How to Monetize the Shift
PRO-GYM · Sep 3, 2026 · 6 min read

Strength Training Is Dominant: How to Monetize the Shift

32.1% of gym members use free weights regularly. Here's how operators can build tiered coaching revenue around the strength training shift.

United PF Debt-for-Equity Deal: What It Means for Operators
PRO-GYM · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read

United PF Debt-for-Equity Deal: What It Means for Operators

United PF Holdings is negotiating a debt-for-equity swap with lenders, a signal of structural stress in mega-franchisee models that every gym operator should take seriously now.

The Gym-as-Clinic Model: Strategic Opportunity or Operational Risk?
PRO-GYM · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read

The Gym-as-Clinic Model: Strategic Opportunity or Operational Risk?

Gyms are bundling GLP-1 guidance, VO2 max testing, and bloodwork into memberships. Here's what that means for liability, revenue, and retention.

Crunch 3.0 and the Boutique-Within-a-Box Franchise Play
PRO-GYM · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Crunch 3.0 and the Boutique-Within-a-Box Franchise Play

Fit Fusion's Denver rollout of four Crunch 3.0 clubs with embedded Reform Pilates studios stress-tests the hybrid big-box-plus-boutique franchise model.

Gold's Gym Bets on Franchise Growth Under New CEO
PRO-BRANDS · Sep 3, 2026 · 6 min read

Gold's Gym Bets on Franchise Growth Under New CEO

Brad Reynolds named sole CEO of Gold's Gym as the brand bets on franchise expansion, with a Dallas flagship set as its live innovation lab for 2026 and beyond.

Fitness M&A Wave 2026: What Operators Need to Know
PRO-GYM · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Fitness M&A Wave 2026: What Operators Need to Know

Three major financial players moved on fitness assets in the same week. Here's what the 2026 M&A wave means for your valuation, leverage, and strategy.

Fitness M&A: Why Consolidation Is Accelerating
PRO-BRANDS · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Fitness M&A: Why Consolidation Is Accelerating

Global M&A volumes rose 44% in H1 2026, and fitness is consolidating fast. Here's how to read the cycle before it reads you.

Urban Gym Group's Dubai Move: The Wellness Club Blueprint
PRO-GYM · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Urban Gym Group's Dubai Move: The Wellness Club Blueprint

Urban Gym Group's joint venture opening of Arkhe in Dubai Marina reveals the integrated wellness club model premium operators must adopt to compete in 2026.

After the Boutique Boom: What Consolidation Means for Coaches
PRO-COACH · Aug 31, 2026 · 7 min read

After the Boutique Boom: What Consolidation Means for Coaches

Boutique fitness consolidation is accelerating in 2026. Here's how independent coaches can capture displaced clients and protect their income.

Home Gym Market: $13.57B Today and 52% of Americans Training at Home
PRO-BRANDS · Aug 31, 2026 · 6 min read

Home Gym Market: $13.57B Today and 52% of Americans Training at Home

52% of Americans now train primarily at home. The $13.57B home fitness market is growing to $22.99B by 2034. Here's what that means for brands.

Reformer Club's EUR 2.34M Round: The Studio Scale Model to Study
PRO-COACH · Aug 29, 2026 · 7 min read

Reformer Club's EUR 2.34M Round: The Studio Scale Model to Study

Reformer Club's $2.57M raise reveals the exact playbook coaches need to scale a boutique fitness concept from solo practice to multi-site or franchised delivery.

Activewear Is Splitting Into Use-Case Categories
PRO-BRANDS · Aug 29, 2026 · 6 min read

Activewear Is Splitting Into Use-Case Categories

The global activewear market is fragmenting into use-case categories. Brands without specific performance positioning are losing shelf space and repeat orders in 2026.

Sports Coaching Platforms Hit $2.13B by 2034: The Coach's Playbook
PRO-COACH · Aug 27, 2026 · 7 min read

Sports Coaching Platforms Hit $2.13B by 2034: The Coach's Playbook

The sports coaching platforms market is set to reach $2.13B by 2034. Here's what the data means for coaches evaluating platforms right now.

GIGAFIT Goes International: What Franchise Expansion Means for Coaches
PRO-COACH · Aug 27, 2026 · 6 min read

GIGAFIT Goes International: What Franchise Expansion Means for Coaches

GIGAFIT's international expansion into the Middle East reshapes coaching markets globally, raising credential standards and creating new franchise and employment opportunities for prepared coaches.

Gen Z Chose the Gym Over Nightlife. Here's the Operator Play.
PRO-GYM · Aug 25, 2026 · 7 min read

Gen Z Chose the Gym Over Nightlife. Here's the Operator Play.

53% of 18-34 year olds now choose fitness over nightlife as their primary social outlet. Here's how gym operators should respond.

Postbiotics: The Supplement Category Brands Are Racing to Own
PRO-BRANDS · Aug 24, 2026 · 6 min read

Postbiotics: The Supplement Category Brands Are Racing to Own

Postbiotics are moving from fringe science to mainstream supplement strategy. Here's why brands are racing to own the category before it fills up.

Mark Mastrov Buys Back 24 Hour Fitness: What a Founder's Return Signals About the HVLP Market
PRO-GYM · Aug 24, 2026 · 5 min read

Mark Mastrov Buys Back 24 Hour Fitness: What a Founder's Return Signals About the HVLP Market

Mark Mastrov bought back 24 Hour Fitness in 2026 — the chain he founded in 1983. What this founder-return pattern signals for HVLP gym operators and the consolidating market.

NBJ 2026 Supplement Report: The US Market Hits $74B and the Categories Driving Every Dollar of Growth
PRO-BRANDS · Aug 24, 2026 · 5 min read

NBJ 2026 Supplement Report: The US Market Hits $74B and the Categories Driving Every Dollar of Growth

NBJ 2026 Supplement Report: US market at $74.15B in 2025, heading toward $100B by 2029. Weight management leads at +17.9% CAGR. Detailed category analysis.

EōS Fitness Acquires 14 Gyms in Q1 2026 and Reinvests $10M in Existing Locations
PRO-GYM · Aug 24, 2026 · 3 min read

EōS Fitness Acquires 14 Gyms in Q1 2026 and Reinvests $10M in Existing Locations

EōS Fitness completed 14 acquisitions, signed 11 new leases, and opened 3 new locations in Q1 2026 — while reinvesting $10M in existing facilities. The HVLP model is running at full speed.

PRO-GYM · Aug 24, 2026 · 6 min read

July 2026 Gym Traffic: Studios Lead as HVLP Hits Records

HFA FIT Tracker's July 2026 data shows studios outgrowing traditional gyms while HVLP clubs hit record traffic, squeezing mid-tier operators on both ends.

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