The state of research in the global fitness industry (2012)

How can you make a fitness club successful? This question is often asked by entrepreneurs and managers in the fitness sector. The answer is given from all sorts of organizations and perspectives. For example, individual entrepreneurs regularly vent their vision, generally based on personal experiences. Additionally, answers are formulated by training institutes, banks, sector advisors and network organizations. So far, science has only played a minor role. People generally think that little research has been conducted into fitness clubs. However, nothing is further from the truth! A large amount of interesting research exists that can help in finding the answer to the question: what makes a fitness club successful? These studies are not always easy to find, are sometimes hard to read and the practical applicability is often difficult te see. HDD Group and Kennispraktijk conducted a large-scale study into what has been published about fitness clubs in the international literature. This book offers entrepreneurs and managers in the fitness sector a complete overview of a large number of (scientific) studies that have been conducted in the fitness sector worldwide. These fall within categories such as statistics, member profiles, employees, personal training, motivation and retention, and (group) fitness. This book discloses a large amount of relevant fitness literature and makes it accessible for the fitness sector.