GoodLife Fitness named title sponsor for HYROX Toronto 2024

Legendary indoor fitness race comes to Canada, adds a second day

Toronto, June 26, 2024 - HYROX, the World Series of Fitness Racing, today announced GoodLife Fitness as its official title sponsor for HYROX Toronto 2024, the first ever HYROX indoor fitness race in Canada happening October 5 and 6, 2024 at Enercare Centre.  GoodLife’s sponsorship unlocks an extra date for the previously sold-out competition, creating capacity for 9,000 competitors and 10,000+ spectators.

GoodLife members and employees will have special access to the HYROX Toronto events with a member lounge and other promotional programs. GoodLife will sponsor athlete communications and pre-race check-in, as well as event rankings, individual results and finisher certificates.

“As Canada’s largest fitness club chain, GoodLife offers the widest selection of training programs, amenities and equipment to train for HYROX, including strength, functional, and cardio equipment, Turf Zones for sled pushes, REGYMEN classes and more,” said Tammy Brazier, senior vice president of marketing, partnerships & external relations with GoodLife Fitness.  “Our associates and members are already training for HYROX, so it was a huge opportunity to be able to bring the event to Canada and open the door for more competitors and spectators to join this mass participation fitness event. HYROX is truly an event for all ages and abilities.”

HYROX chose to work with Canada’s largest fitness chain for its first Canadian event because of GoodLife’s network of well-equipped clubs and its huge member base across Canada.  

“GoodLife Fitness is an amazing partner for us as we continue to build our presence in Canada, a household name with over a million members at all levels of fitness, said Douglas Gremmen, managing director, HYROX USA & Canada. “As a mission-led business that aims to give everyone in Canada the opportunity to live a fit and healthy life we knew from our earliest conversations that we were aligned not just as partners but in our respective philosophies.”

HYROX combines both running and functional workout stations, where participants run 1km, followed by one functional workout station, repeated eight times. This race  format remains consistent across the globe, enabling global leaderboards and a cumulative World Championships at the end of each race season. HYROX athletes aged 16-89 can compete at their own pace. Participants do not have to qualify or meet entry criteria to take part, and there are no cut-off times.

Race Tickets: Tickets for HYROX Toronto go on sale June 29 at 8 a.m. EST. Interested participants are encouraged to sign up on the waitlist before that date at HYROX Toronto | HYROX. 

Location: Enercare Centre in Toronto’s Exhibition Place (1-100 Princes’ Blvd, Toronto)

Date: October 5 and 6, 2024

Ticket Price:           

Singles: CAN $ 150

Doubles:  CAN $ 140

Relay: CAN $ 60

About HYROX:

HYROX is the Global Sport of Fitness Racing, inspiring people worldwide to engage in the healthiest form of training and competition on earth. HYROX connects the world’s training communities with a sport, a training methodology and a lifestyle that is accessible to all and conveys the transformative benefits of training and competition to a globally connected audience. www.hyrox.com

About GoodLife Fitness:

GoodLife Fitness started in 1979 in London, ON, and has since grown to become the largest chain of fitness clubs in Canada and the fourth largest in the world. Founder and CEO David 'Patch' Patchell-Evans started the business with one purpose…to give everyone in Canada the opportunity to live a fit and healthy good life. Membership to GoodLife Fitness gives access to clubs, amenities and virtual workouts that help to achieve this purpose. With hundreds of clubs from coast-to-coast, the GoodLife team is helping to transform the health and fitness of people across Canada every day. www.goodlifefitness.com

Canadians favour fitness over finances when it comes to 2017 resolutions

Research highlights motivations, plans to achieve fitness/nutrition goals

One in three (33%) Canadians say improving their personal fitness and nutrition is their top new year's resolution, compared with only 21 per cent who chose to focus on financial goals, based on a recent Ipsos survey.

The survey, conducted on behalf of GoodLife Fitness, also found 13 per cent of Canadians resolved to dedicate more time to travel and leisure, 11 per cent plan to quit bad habits like smoking or drinking, and 10 per cent would spend more time with family and friends.

"It's great to see more Canadians choosing fitness and nutrition as their number one resolution for 2017 because it suggests people are making positive choices when it comes to eating well and being active, with the goal of feeling better overall," said David 'Patch' Patchell-Evans, founder and CEO of GoodLife Fitness.

More than half (53%) of Canadians say improving their overall quality of life is the primary motivation for pursuing a health and wellness resolution. Preventing health risks (45%), losing weight (42%) and increasing their energy (41%) ranked as other top reasons to exercise more and eat better.

Many Canadians say they're willing to make lifestyle changes to achieve their fitness and nutrition goals. Nearly half (45%) say they would plan to change their eating habits by developing a healthy meal plan, while one in three (34%) say they would set a weight loss goal for themselves.

Other Canadians are looking to become more active. Four in 10 (41%) would spend more time outdoors, while one in four (24%) say they'd find a friend to be active with. One in five Canadians (18%) say they would join a gym.

"These are all concrete steps toward a healthier lifestyle. Whether it's joining a fitness club, consulting with a personal trainer, making a meal plan or just getting out for a walk, Canadians are finding ways to eat healthier foods and exercise more in 2017," said Patch. "The important part is to build healthier habits into your daily routine. That way you're more likely to stick with your resolution beyond the first few weeks."

To find out more about what helps Canadians stay motivated to work out, GoodLife Fitness polled 1,100+ longer-term members who have work out at the gym a minimum of 10 times per month, over the past two years or longer.

GoodLife Fitness' research experts conducted a topic-modelling analysis on the responses, and found the top three motivating factors for long-term members are:

  • The positive feeling or emotional boost that occurs after exercise – whether it's more energy, a productivity boost, a better mood or a sense of relaxation.
  • The community and people they meet when they go to the gym: their personal trainers, the group class instructors, the team trainers, the people in their group classes, and their friends. The members often looked to others for accountability and motivation.
  • The long-term benefits of exercise, including that chance to feel younger and have a better quality of life as they age.

 

When asked about the secret to long-term fitness success, the most popular response was to rely on a personal trainer or group fitness instructor to motivate them and keep them accountable. Another secret was to make exercise a non-negotiable part of the daily routine. Finding something you love to do is also a major part of success – whether it's running, yoga, weights or group fitness classes.

"Making a personal connection at the gym, by bringing a friend, taking a group fitness class, working with a personal trainer, or by signing up for a team training camp seems to be an essential step in establishing a fitness routine," explained Tracy Matthews, GoodLife Fitness Executive Director of Member Services. "We heard repeatedly that members feel better after a workout, and would actually push themselves to go to the gym to boost their mood and productivity. These immediate emotional and psychological benefits are major drivers in helping members stick with their routine."

About the research
Ipsos survey
Ipsos conducted a poll on behalf of GoodLife Fitness. A sample of 1,000 Canadians were interviewed between December 15 and December 19, 2016 as part of Ipsos' online panel. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval.  In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled.

GoodLife Fitness long-term member survey
The survey of long-term members was led by Scott Leith, Ph.D, data scientist and research psychologist with GoodLife Fitness. GoodLife received 1,120 responses to an online survey of long-term active members, who have worked out a minimum of 10 times per month for two years or more. Members were asked a series of closed and open-ended questions and a topic-modelling analysis was performed to determine overarching themes in the open-ended questions. The average age of respondents was 45, and the 25th percentile age was 33. Respondents were approximately 55 per cent female and 45 per cent male.

About GoodLife Fitness
Proudly Canadian since 1979, GoodLife Fitness is the largest fitness company in Canada and the fourth largest in the world. With over 375 clubs from coast-to-coast, including 40 Énergie Cardio and ÉconoFitness Clubs in Quebec, approximately 14,400 employees and more than 1.3 million Members, GoodLife is helping to transform the health and wellness of one in 28 Canadians every day. GoodLife also provides workplace wellness programming and services to more than 3,000 corporate partners across Canada. www.goodlifefitness.com

SOURCE GoodLife Fitness

Alicia Bell - Train It Right - Stretch

January 1st 2015 - What I Saw At The Gym

Almost every year after the holidays people make a "resolution" and most of the time it involves healthier eating and regular gym attendance. There is almost always a spike of personal training sessions, gym memberships, and gym goers. And it almost never lasts.

Today on January 1st 2015 I went to the gym (which I obviously do often). The gym was not very busy at 10:30am. However for the first time I saw quite a few interesting characters. First there was a man in red tie dyed pants and a beanie. His outfit was a bit strange for the gym (but who am I to judge). I respect everyone who makes an effort to be healthy. HOWEVER, mr. dyed pants was bare foot. Trapping through my big box chain gym shoeless. I had to do a double take. Yep there he was walking from the stretching area to the free weights and back barefoot. Not socket, but his gross feet touching places where I sometimes put my hands or body. ARE YOU SERIOUS BUDDY!? OF course I was in the middle of a huge super set so I a) couldn't say anything to him and b) couldn't go tell one of the workers. GROSS! Ugh why why why? Why on earth would anyone do that? And the worst part the whole time Im watching this guy. Maybe 5-10 minutes NO ONE.....and I mean NOBODY said anything to him. Am I seriously the only one who thought it was gross? Unsanitary? Or was everyone else like me and "busy" too busy to care or say anything. It's weird how we can care but still be too wrapped up in what we are doing personally to care to disturb our workout to interject.

Anyway I moved area's and never saw the bare foot wonder guy again. After my workout it was time for my cardio. I headed to the back of the cardio area where the Cyber Arc Trainer that I wanted to use was. About 10 minutes into my workout I hear a loud thud. I look up and some big guy that clearly was either a) not paying attention or b) passed out flew off of his treadmill and on to the ground and smashed his face along the way. Again I though "holy f%&*" but did not stop in my stride at all. No one else around me did either. About 30s later a woman on a treadmill walked up to the guy and asked if he was ok. Helped him turn the machine off, and then helped him to the water fountain. Mind you the front desk was a mere 15-20m away and do you think any of the chit chatty little girls moved from their posts to see if they were ok? NOPE! I wonder if any of them have their first aid or CPR? Probably not. But I was slightly in shock that non of them went to see if this guy was ok or not.

Wellllllllll needless to say I finished my workout and got my first workout of 2015 in! And what an interesting morning at the gym it was today. If this is an indication of what the gym will be like in 2015 I can't wait to watch all of the madness for my own personal entertainment.

If you saw anything at the gym today that was interesting like this comment below. Or tell me a good gym story that you have and want to share!

#trainitright