Niche Gyms: Tailored to Fit, Tuesday, January 25, 2005

WHAT AND WHY Personal training-only gyms, kids' gyms, women's gyms, Pilates-only studios, and other facilities that deliver a narrow slice of fitness or exercise experience. Buoyed by the success of Curves, the 30-minute circuit-training centers for women, many operators are seeking to simplify, either to save themselves money (by investing less in space and equipment) or differentiate their businesses from the big clubs and community fitness centers.

BEST FOR Those who want to avoid the crowds and social milieu of big health clubs.

DETAILS Many facilities are sanctuaries, offering customers a clutter-free, single-focus environment and close attention from instr uctors. Others are high-intensity, sculpting competitive athletes and encouraging over-achievers. SomaFit (www.somafit.com), located in the D.C.'s Glover Park neighborhood, is a prime example: It offers only personal training and exercise classes in a tony, semi-private environment. No membership is required; services are available to any cash customer.
" We have seen some of these [niche fitness centers] explode," says Bill Howland, spokesman for the International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association. Express workout centers, he says, now account for more than a third of all commercial health clubs in the United States. Other growing formats: Kickboxing studios, sports training clubs and facilities for those 50 and older, he says.

John Briley

For full details see The Washington Post website:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33522-2005Jan24.html