Equipment Spotlight: Octagon Frame Range
Escape Fitness has expanded its Octagon functional frames range. We’re geeking out and a little obsessed. Here’s why.
Escape Fitness has expanded its Octagon functional frames range. We’re geeking out and a little obsessed. Here’s why:
Bolt-Down.
From body conditioning to HIIT frames, the possibilities are endless.
Freestanding.
This is what we’re really excited about. What if you want to offer compelling HIIT options but your facility has limitations? You don’t have 4+ inches of concrete as a subfloor so bolt-down units are not an option. Or you don’t want to tie yourself to an exact location. Freestanding to the rescue! These units are deeper than their bolt-down cousins getting stability from extended feet. Here are some of our favorites:
MARS.
MARS is the ATM of fitness training. Walkup, learn a move and move over to try it. Add one to a frame, to a wall or to a storage unit.
Attachments.
Choose exactly what you want for your members.
Storage.
With Escape Octagon storage you have more than just a spot to put extra items. You have units that fit your exact needs. They match the rest of your equipment. They add to the look of your facility. Here are some of the configurations:
There’s still more we haven’t mentioned. Endless color options. Flooring with graphics. The incredible array of Escape accessories to load onto your unit. Let’s create the perfect setup for your facility!
Not sure if a frame or a rack is the right fit for you? Check out our post Rigs vs. Racks.
FITNESS TECH SHOWCASE 2019
We’re hosting a fitness tech showcase and a warehouse sale at our corporate offices in Eugene.
NOVEMBER 21 & 22, 2019
EQUIPMENT. DOOR PRIZES. REFRESHMENTS. WAREHOUSE SALE.
We're excited to invite you to our 2019 Fitness Tech Showcase on November 21st and 22nd at our corporate offices in Eugene.
Our showroom is full of the latest advancements from Precor, Escape, Echelon, Aviron, EXOS, Expresso and Hydromassage. Come and try them out for yourself.
In addition to showcasing the latest in technology, we are hosting our annual warehouse sale. You’ll find lightly used demo models ranging from studio kettlebells to touchscreen treadmills. We also have refurbished units, flooring remnants and more.
Commercial Fitness Equipment Corporate Headquarters
4686 Isabelle St. Unit A.
Eugene, OR 97402
If you’d like to join us please fill out the RSVP form below.
MAKE MANAGING EASIER WITH PREVA BUSINESS SUITE
We recognize that your job managing a fitness center is hard work. Preva Business Suite has lightened your load—find out how.
Managing a fitness center is hard work. Your tasks include keeping track of all your equipment, staying on top of maintenance, optimizing uptime, taking care of any technical errors that may occur, and many more responsibilities. It takes a lot to keep things running smoothly. For this tip, let’s talk about some ways Precor has made it easier.
What is Preva?
Preva is the service that powers all Precor networked consoles. With Preva, exercisers can save their workouts, and get access to entertainment apps and RunTV. For operators, this service gives you access to Preva Business Suite, a central web portal where you can observe and manage all Experience series networked equipment, as well as communicate directly with your exercisers. It helps technicians to diagnose problems if needed, and will send you alerts when maintenance is required.
Here are some useful features of PBS:
OBSERVE AND MANAGE EQUIPMENT
This feature allows you to view the equipment that is currently in use, or equipment that is not in use. You can track how often certain pieces are used and which are more popular. This can help you in rearranging your equipment to optimize usage.
KEEP TRACK OF EQUIPMENT USAGE
The Use Trends by Time of Day report shows a line chart with the peak use times for the fitness equipment at a facility, and most popular pieces. With that information, you have a good idea of when the best time to assign pop-up ads to assure that people see them.
RESOLVE TECHNICAL ISSUES QUICKLY
Preva Business Suite can be great assistance to our technicians. It allows you to give service technicians permission to view the status of your Precor cardio equipment online, and the ability to perform common tasks such as renaming equipment. It provides the techs with helpful information for diagnosing and resolving issues. The technician can then log into PBS to view the details they need to possibly take immediate action. The Asset Management Alert is the first communication between you and your servicer.
In short, Preva Business Suite is a highly effective tool to make managing your equipment easier. If you already have access to Preva Business Suite, we hope this tip has provided more information on just what is available at your fingertips. If not, let’s figure out how we can get some equipment on it’s way to your facility!
ADDRESSING THE TRENDS: HIIT CARDIO
HIIT training has been a top 5 fitness trend since 2014. How can you address HIIT training in your facility?
HIIT(High-Intensity-Interval-Training) has been identified as a top 5 fitness trend by the American College of Sports and Medicine Worldwide Survey every year since 2014. It’s a trend that’s here to stay. That’s why we recommend including options for HIIT training in many of the facilities that we design.
“These exercise programs typically involve short bursts of high-intensity bouts of exercise followed by a short period of rest. Although there are several commercial examples of HIIT, all emphasize higher intensities (above 90%) of maximum during the higher intensity segments followed by periods of rest and recovery.”
- ACSM Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends 2019
HIIT CARDIO
One of our favorite ways to “HIIT IT” is with the Assault Series from Precor:
Assault AirRunner
The Assault AirRunner is extremely popular. It’s completely powered by the exerciser. This is especially great for HIIT training because you can change speeds at will. Since HIIT training is defined by all-out effort followed by brief rests, you can see why that instant speed change is helpful. We also love that you can move it anywhere! It’s lightweight, has a convenient handle and is easy to roll on its front wheels. Since it doesn’t have to be plugged in there are no limits on where you can place it for a special event or class. You can even roll it outside in nice weather to expand your space. Whether your members are newbies to fitness or seasoned athletes, the Assault AirRunner will invigorate their workout and give them something to thank you for.
AirBike Elite
Normally using an exercise bike is just a lower body exercise. Not with the AirBike Elite. Pedal, pull or push for an unlimited variety, full-body workout. Plus, the greater the speed and force, the greater the resistance. Automatically. Once again, a perfect HIIT machine. Self-powered and easy to move, this is another piece to roll outside to expand your space.
AirRower Elite
To complete the trifecta is the Assault AirRower Elite. Thanks to Crossfit, rowing has long been on the rise in popularity. It targets nearly your entire body: legs, triceps, pecs, deltoids, obliques, glutes and abs. Can you see how powerful that is for HIIT training where are all-out effort is a must? And the unique fan-based resistance of the AirRower means your exercisers can’t overpower the machine, no matter how hard they try.
We love that all of these machines are built with the durability that HIIT requires. Sweatproof, corrosion resistant, reinforced, powder coated, sealed and more. All the details are taken care of. Precor knows what it takes to build a piece of equipment that will last and has earned a reputation for doing just that since 1981.
We don’t hesitate to recommend these incredible machines. We know you won’t be disappointed and neither will your members: whether they’re residents, guests, employees or students.
EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT: Escape TIYR Sport
Have you heard about the new TIYR Sport from Escape? Learn all about this awesome new product here.
“A tire represents movement. For you to move your vehicle, a tire lets you do that. It represents progress,” explains entrepreneur, Amen Iseghohi. His family history and childhood inspired him to develop a whole ethos that’s led to an exciting new partnership with Escape.
This is the TIYR Sport. Using his experience with the product expertise of Escape, they’ve added the features – colors, straps, better materials – to provide a more varied, versatile and safe training tool. Amen knows the benefits of the TIYR Sport better than anyone, through testing for over six months with clients. Now your members can discover them, too.
Amen continues: “I use fitness as a vehicle for self empowerment. The truth is: you have to be willing to fail. It’s humbling. That’s how you learn and that’s how you grow.”
With hundreds of combinations for warm-ups, stretches, HIIT workouts, strength training, and sport-specific fitness, the TIYR Sport is the ideal new fitness focus to empower members, helping gym-goers and clients of any ability to better their bodies and minds.
Could you use the TIYR Sport in your facility? We’d love to consult with you, examine your goals and space and budget, and see if this is the solution for you! See the form at the bottom of this page to get started.
CFE EVENT: BattleFit at Turtle Bay
Mike recently went to Turtle Bay on Oahu to prepare them for offering Battle Fit....
CFE BATTLEFIT TRAINING AT TURTLE BAY
The coolest fitness equipment in the world is only as good as what people do with it. That’s why we believe in education and programming. Mike Reis, our Central Oregon Territory Manager, is a Master Trainer for Escape Fitness programming. He recently went to Turtle Bay on Oahu to prepare them for Battle Fit....
WHAT IS BATTLE FIT?
BattleFit programming is described by Escape as:
“A team-based programme developed by former British Army officers, based around high-intensity 35-minute workouts. Tapping into the popularity of bootcamps, it pushes participants past their comfort zone to their best ever fitness levels.”
In a word: Intense.
This “programming in a box” package is designed for those clients who want to work out at extreme intensity. In fact, the goal is for clients to workout at 80% of their max for 35 minutes! Despite the high intensity of the workout, the program still emphasizes safety and flexibility for different fitness level participants. Trainers can ramp up the intensity for more advanced members, while at the same time instructing less able participants in a way that matches their capabilities. Even with drastic differences in fitness levels in the same class BattleFit trainers are able to create an environment of teamwork and camaraderie that people are looking for in group training.
Plus, Escape programs certify the facility, not just the trainers. Things change but no matter what happens with training staff, Turtle Bay has the tools to continue to offer BattleFit classes to their guests. The BattleFit box comes with instruction manuals for the trainers who will be teaching the class, 35-minute workout routines, fitness tests, product-specific training workshops and an exercise library covering all of the workout components. All backed up with an online library of training videos in the Escape Training Portal.
Turtle Bay took it to the next level by taking advantage of an in-facility training with our in-house Escape Master Trainer. Mike certainly didn’t mind going to Hawaii to work with the great trainers at Turtle Bay!
WHY BATTLE FIT?
Turtle Bay already had an impressively robust class offering. Tabatas, yogas, spin, suspension, and more. They were looking to offer HIIT training to their guests. But not just any HIIT training, they wanted to offer an experience. And they didn’t want the quality of that experience to change with future trainers. That’s why BattleFit was the perfect fit. By choosing Escape “programming in a box,” the quality of their offering wouldn’t go down with future staff changes and doesn’t require yearly licensing fees. BattleFit, and all Escape programming, comes with all the tools for in-house certifying of future trainers. Online modules and tests to certify new trainers help to ensure the program is always delivered in the way it was designed. Mike spent extra time with Turtle Bay’s head trainer so that she is prepared to certify all future trainers. And if sometime down the road Turtle Bay wants a refresh, Mike will head back out to coach future trainers.
The BattleFit experience is also unique. Instead of just providing a workout with exercises chosen at random by the trainer, there is a battle scenario for each class. A mission of the day. Today your unit is taking heavy fire and has to move to safety but stay low and slow. All the exercises center around the mission of the day.
BattleFit also requires minimal equipment, is meant for smaller groups in a smaller space and can easily be taken outside. All of those things made it ideal for the space available at Turtle Bay.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE?
The 2-day BattleFit training course was intense and very comprehensive.
The class covered:
BattleFit workout examples
How to best utilize the BattleFit accessories
Class format
Setup how-to
Fitness Tests: How and Why
Delivery and coaching techniques
The Turtle Bay staff started as trainees but by day 2, they were taking the lead as the trainers and pushing their colleagues to their limit!
GOING FORWARD…
The challenge with offering great programming long term, is having trainers that are actually trained to deliver the kind of experience you want for your clients. This challenge has been overcome by the Escape programming solution. Turtle Bay’s trainers are now fully ready to push their guests to accomplish more than they ever have in a fitness class. That will just keep those guests coming back for more. And Turtle Bay has all the tools, no matter what, to continue this amazing class for all their guests on into the future. If they lose a trainer? They can deactivate their portal. They’ll certify the new trainer in-house with Escape’s online portal, complete with tests that must be passed. Then that new trainer gets registered with Escape and has access to all the materials, including classes that earn them CECs.
Plus, the Escape portal is always expanding. All certified trainers get access and content is being added to train them on new products and methods. Escape is helping trainers to always be improving.
Are you tough enough to workout at Turtle Bay? Are you sure?
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER OPTIONS?
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. BattleFit isn’t for everyone and isn’t for every facility. Maybe you’re looking for HIIT training that appeals to a wider demographic of fitness levels? Consider MoveIt with MyZone where participants can see their heart-rate and progress side by side with the rest of the class. MoveIt focuses on circuit training and suspension training and can accommodate larger class sizes. What if your clients are new to HIIT and functional training? HIIT the Deck programming is a great way to get people exploring the special combination of cardio, strength and functional training that define HIIT.
When you invest in programming it needs to be there for consistent delivery over the long term. That’s why all of Escape’s programming, including Battle Fit, meet these core principles.
FLEXIBLE. By offering you a suite of programming styles, you can select which ones suit your brand and are right for your target audiences.
SCALABLE. By including trainer education as well as the programming itself, we’ve guaranteed that all your trainers can deliver the programmes. This means you can grow the frequency of classes, either on a single site or across multiple locations.
PROGRESSIVE. All of the programmes can be shaped to suit people fairly new on their fitness journey, and change with them as they develop their ability and needs.
VARIED. Variety is one of the things that makes functional training such a great experience, so our programming includes multiple different workouts to keep people coming back.
FUN! Working out should push people hard, but most people also need a sense of fun to keep them motivated. So we include teamwork, partner drills, tests and challenges to create a real buzz during the workout.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? ARE YOU READY FOR PROGRAMMING AT YOUR FACILITY? LET US KNOW, WE’D LOVE TO ASSIST YOU IN TAKING YOUR FITNESS OFFERING TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
How Can I Create Experience and Build Community?
How can you build community in your apartment facility?
How do you change an apartment complex from a facility, into a home? The simple answer: Build community and create experiences for your residents. That feeling of homeyness is something everyone desires in a residence.
“Without social interactions, an apartment is only a place to exist for a portion of the day. But with meaningful experiences and lasting friendship, it becomes a home.”
But what does that have to do with your fitness center?
Building community means bringing residents together and giving them meaningful experiences outside their apartment walls. Your fitness offering can have the power to do these things and beyond - with the right tools.
We partner with brands that bring you industry leading technology, management, and programming so that it engages your residents and strengthens the feeling of community. Pull your residents out of their apartments and into your fitness center to enjoy the offering. The following are some of the tools we love to use to bring in residents to create genuine experiences and build community.
What Is It?
Wellbeats is an on-demand fitness provider that delivers fitness classes, workout plans, and fitness assessments to users anytime, anywhere.
How Does It Work?
You have a choice of anywhere from a 22” to a 70” touch screen. You install the screen in your fitness room in a more open space, with a couple accessories nearby. Then your residents can walk up at any time and benefit from one of the 450+ Classes, 12+ Workout Plans, or even 3 Fitness Tests! Additionally, group training classes are available, which means residents can mingle in a group training session. With regularly refreshed content, there will always be new classes to choose from!
What if you set up and advertised a Wellbeats class every week at 5 PM? This is a great way to motivate and bring your residents together. This makes Wellbeats a highly effective tool for building community.
What Is It?
In an industry where technology is gaining traction, networked fitness is becoming a must, something residents will look for when searching for their new home. More people coming to your fitness center means more people gathering in a common space, meeting their neighbor and their neighbor’s neighbor!
How Does It Work?
All Precor Cardio with P62 and P82 networked consoles gain access to a whole new fitness experience and offering. Powered by the Preva network, operators can monitor their equipment, communicate with exercisers, and personalize exerciser experience with innovative features, like RunTV.
One great feature is in-workout messaging. Have a social event planned in your community center? Advertise it in an in-workout message! It will pop up on your resident’s screen as they’re working out. If they didn’t know about it before, they know about it now!
Technology has transformed engagement. By including networked fitness in your offering, you’re attracting residents to increase usage of the fitness room, maximize your investment, create new and unique experiences, and build a sense of community and connectedness.
What Is It?
Modernized fitness moves now shies away from the crowdedness of too much selectorized strength equipment and favors a more open floor plan. Providing open spaces for stretching and functional training is the way to accomplish this.
Including open spaces encourages gathering. A couple people will be stretching at the same time and strike up a conversation. A few in the building decide to exercise in a HIIT circuit using functional accessories. Create a space that promotes fitness as a social activity.
We are experts at building a space for your unique needs and goals. We know how to create a space ideal for strengthening a sense of community and engaging your members. We’d love the opportunity to hear from you and start a conversation about your goals! Ready to get started? Fill out the form and see our solutions at commfitness.com/multifamily.
EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT: Networked Consoles
What are networked consoles? Would they make a good addition to your facility? What’s the benefit?
What are networked consoles? Would they make a good addition to your facility? What’s the benefit?
To be competitive in a market that is consistently growing and modernizing, why not look into networked consoles on your Precor cardio equipment? With networked consoles, unlock increased engagement and retention, and a specialized means to monitor your facility and improve operational efficiency. Networked consoles could be a great option to meet your facility’s unique goals and objectives. Through the Preva network, operators can monitor their equipment, communicate with exercisers, and personalize exerciser experience.
Monitor your equipment
With Precor networked consoles, you gain access to a central web portal where you can observe and manage all Experience Series networked equipment with Preva Business Suite. You can track usage by model and time of day, view workout summary reports, and keep track of the life of your equipment. You can see which pieces are used the most and arrange your equipment accordingly so as to maximize your equipment’s lifespan. Receive alerts when maintenance is needed, and get explanations for error codes. These features and more keep you alert and in tune with your facility and the operations of your fitness space, keeping you in the loop with your exercisers and your facility running smoothly!
communicate with your exercisers
Send your exercisers in-workout messages about anything from upcoming events at your facility to property updates. Also, you can create custom Walk-Up screens that are designed specially for your facility. Receive feedback and understand your exercisers, keep them involved in the conversation and engaged with your offering. Here are some examples of what this would look like:
In-Workout Messages
Walk-Up Screen Customization
Preva Business Suite Reports
Personalize Exerciser experience
Networked consoles means networked fitness powered by Preva. With Preva, exercisers can save their workouts, and get access to entertainment apps and RunTV. Through automatically updated content and on-demand, personalized workouts, the exerciser has a lot of options! With apps like Netflix and YouTube, they can stream TV shows and movies and videos during their workouts. These kinds of features keep your exercisers engaged and wanting more, keeping them coming back to your facility!
Precor organized their three consoles by the following:
WHAT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
When it comes to your decision of whether to incorporate Networked Fitness into your facility, which console to choose, and additional features to add on, that is a collaborative decision process that we can help you through. We will take into consideration your facility’s specific goals, your business objectives, and the space’s technological capabilities. These and other topics of discussion will help us tailor a solution that fits your priorities just right. To get this conversation started, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page. We look forward to hearing from you!
Does Flooring Matter?
As the most used piece of equipment, flooring should be high in priority, as well as quality! Explore the importance of flooring and how to make the best choice.
Would you say that fitness equipment matters in a fitness center? The two go together; fitness equipment = fitness center. To function properly, a successful fitness center must have well-chosen equipment. Interestingly, there is one piece of equipment that every gym goer uses every time: the flooring. With athletes spending more time on the floor performing functional training movements, the floor really becomes another piece of equipment in your gym.
The flooring of your facility's fitness center must be safe, properly durable, ergonomically sound, and have the right acoustic design. We partner with Ecore Athletic flooring because we’ve seen how their flooring meets all these requirements, and then some.
Essentials to successful flooring in a fitness center:
1.) Safety
Your fitness center should be safe for your exercisers. If your floor performs poorly, it increases risk of injury, which is the last thing you would want to happen in your facility.
Should one fall, Ecore is designed to minimize risk of injury and keep joints, muscles, and bones safer during repetitive workouts. It uses recycled rubber composite to mitigate both immediate and long-term problems.
2.) Ergonomics
Ergonomics have to do with the intricate balance between energy absorption and energy restitution, or “give-back.” Ecore has successfully struck this balance. Ecore Athletic has designed their flooring to diminish fatigue, minimize discomfort, and maximize performance. The ergonomic design of Ecore athletic flooring supports your exercisers’ muscles and joints, to sustain their passion for your fitness center. Keep your exercisers healthy and coming back!
3.) Acoustics and Sound Reduction
Acoustics are extremely important in specific environments (multifamily facilities, hotels), but in every fitness space, the feel of the room and the quality of the workout is dependent on acoustics.
Ecore athletic flooring is firm, yet energy and sound absorbing. On top of checking all physical requirements, it meets the acoustic needs of a successful flooring.
How to choose the right flooring for YOUR space:
This has to do with the balance between force reduction and energy restitution. Force reduction is the amount energy the surface absorbs, whereas energy restitution is the amount of energy the surface “gives-back.”
This infographic gives an example to help explain force reduction vs. energy restitution:
For successful flooring, you’ll need the right balance between safety (which increases with force reduction), and performance and durability (which increase with energy restitution). The “perfect” balance between the two depends on what your facility’s specific goals are. For example, if your facility will have a lot of dropped weights, you’ll want a flooring with a higher durability that can withstand the pressure of repeated heavy impact; however it needs to absorb the sound and the impact of the weights without risking injury to the exerciser. For a mixed or multipurpose space, an almost equal balance between the two would be ideal.
We’re here to help you wade through all this technical mumbo jumbo. We’re all about finding you solutions that meet all your facility’s fitness needs and goals; which is another reason why we partner with Ecore. With so many flooring options, there is a flooring solution for any need you may have. Looking for flooring for your high traffic areas? Low-impact fitness? Slip-resistance for locker rooms or showers? Ecore athletic has a flooring solution for these specific circumstances and many more.
We can help in directing you to the flooring that provides the solution you need. Contact us and we can get started on meeting your goals for your facility and help find you a flooring to exceed your expectations!
EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT: QUEENAX
As functional training deepens its influence on the fitness industry, know what you’re up against by educating yourself on the Queenax functional training unit.
Increasingly, as functional training grows in its impact on the fitness industry, people are walking into the fitness center of your facility and expecting to see a setup for functional training. Functional training is a type of exercise that holistically trains the body in the way we naturally move. A unique proprietor of functional training is the Queenax, a fantastic functional training tool that advocates a new and exciting way to include functional training in your facility.
What Is It?
The Queenax is, as it says on the Precor website, a “unique functional and suspended bodyweight training system.” It can be used for both individual training and group training. Accessories (or “Optionals”) can be added onto the unit to create more optional activities.
There are multiple models of Queenax (The One, The Corner, Wall Solution, The Open Format, and The Bridge), all varying in size and customization. However, all share similar traits that make the Queenax a practical addition to your facility.
Why Incorporate in Your Facility?
Here are a few great reasons:
1.) Fully Utilize your space
While it is a large unit, the Queenax is highly space efficient. Every foot of the space it takes up is functional. In addition, it has functional storage; you can store medicine balls, kettlebells, dumbbells, and more, and all at easy access. The varying of size between different Queenax models also allows for the Queenax to find a place to fit in most facilities and spaces.
2.) Increase Member Attraction and Retention
Gyms that cater to current fitness trends attract new members and tenants, and make sure people stick around. More and more, members are demanding versatile training options. When they walk into your facility and see the Queenax, it meets and exceeds that demand. It means you will get a great return on your investment, adding long-lasting value to your facility.
3.) Offer a fitness experience that sets your facility apart
Engaging your tenants or members is essential for increasing business, and for setting you apart. Beat the competition by creating a space that, not just fulfils the needs of your targeted clientele, but surpasses their expectations. The Queenax offers not just solutions, but a fitness experience.
And so much more; to find out more, visit https://www.precor.com/en-us/commercial/strength/queenax, and read all about this fantastic piece of equipment.
How Can You Incorporate It?
Work with us! We will help you figure out what unit will work best for your facility and your goals, and we will install and maintain the unit. Through Precor, we can also offer education for training on the Queenax. Follow the prompts below to request an assessment. We look forward to hearing from you!