This Week in Fitness: IKEA Sleep Study, Pickleheads Funding, TRX & Planet Fitness Leadership Moves

This Week in Fitness: Crunch the latest fitness business headlines in under 5 minutes with host Krissy Vann. IKEA’s sleep study reveals a global rest crisis, Pickleheads secures $2.5M to fix pickleball’s growing pains, TRX targets physical therapy, and Planet Fitness reshapes its leadership team.  

IKEA Sleep Study Reveals Global Rest Crisis
IKEA’s largest-ever sleep study finds people worldwide lose an average of 1 hour and 20 minutes of rest per night, adding up to 20 full days of lost sleep per year. Stress, screen time, and financial concerns are top disruptors.  

Pickleheads Secures $2.5M to Solve Pickleball’s Growing Pains  
With 36.5 million U.S. players, pickleball is booming—but crowded courts and mismatched games are a challenge. Pickleheads, the leading pickleball app, just secured $2.5M to enhance game organization, matchmaking, and facility management.  

TRX Expands Into Physical Therapy Market  
TRX is positioning its functional training tools as rehab solutions for physical therapy clinics. Its new initiative includes PT-approved equipment, an online education program, and app-based recovery content to help patients regain mobility.  

Cold Plunge Hype Faces New Scrutiny
Cold water immersion is trending, but a new *PLOS One* review questions its long-term benefits. While stress levels drop 12 hours post-exposure, no lasting effects have been confirmed, raising doubts about its role in long-term recovery.  

Planet Fitness Restructures Leadership Team  
Planet Fitness announced leadership changes, appointing a new COO and Chief Strategy Officer to align with its 2025 growth strategy. The restructuring follows a series of executive appointments in 2024.  

Perspire Sauna Studio Expands in California  
Perspire Sauna Studio is capitalizing on the booming infrared sauna market, adding 13 new locations in California, including San Francisco, San Diego, and Pasadena, as consumer demand for wellness-focused recovery services grows.  

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:13 IKEA Sleep Study Reveals Global Rest Crisis
• 1:05 Pickleheads Secures $2.5M to Solve Pickleball’s Growing Pains
• 1:48 TRX Expands Into Physical Therapy Market
• 2:33 Cold Plunge Hype Faces New Scrutiny
• 3:20 Planet Fitness Restructures Leadership Team
• 3:56 Perspire Sauna Studio Expands in California

Transcript

Unknown: 0:03

Krissy, welcome to This Week in fitness, where we crunch the latest fitness business headlines all in under five minutes. I'm your host, Krissy Vann, and here's what's making news, a new global study has revealed just how much rest people are missing, and the numbers are staggering. IKEA's latest sleep report, the largest ever conducted, surveyed over 55,000 people across 57 markets, and found that, on average, people are losing one hour and 20 minutes of sleep per night. That adds up to more than 20 full days of lost sleep per year. Mainland China leads in sleep quality, while Norway and the US rank the lowest, pointing to a growing sleep crisis that impacts health, productivity and overall well being, stress, excessive screen time and financial concerns are the biggest culprits behind disrupted rest, with sleep playing a crucial role in recovery and performance. Fitness businesses have an opportunity to step in offering recovery focused programs, sleep education workshops and tailored Fitness Plans that help members optimize their rest. Pickleball continues its meteoric rise, now boasting over 36 point 5 million players in the US, more than golf, tennis and basketball, but with that growth comes challenges overcrowded courts and long wait times are frustrating players making it difficult to find well matched competition. That's where pickle heads comes in. The tech platform designed to streamline the pickleball experience, just secured 2.5 million in funding to enhance its offerings with nearly 9 million users and the top rated pickleball app on iOS and Android, pickle heads is evolving beyond just a court finder. It now enables players to organize structured games, manage payments and set up level based match ups to ensure competitive and social play. Physical therapy clinics are facing mounting financial and operational challenges, from low reimbursement rates to rising co pays. TRX is positioning its equipment and education resources as a solution, helping clinics integrate functional training into rehab programs. The company has introduced a three part initiative featuring PT approved tools, an education program for practitioners and rehabilitation content on the TRX app to support at home recovery used in settings like VA hospitals. TRX products such as the suspension trainer and why Bell are now being actively marketed to physical therapists looking to optimize patient care. With healthcare and fitness becoming more intertwined, expect to see more brands targeting this space. Cold plunges have exploded in popularity, fueled by social media hype and high performance recovery claims. But while fitness facilities are incorporating cold immersion as part of premium wellness offerings, new research suggests the benefits may be short lived. A systematic review published in PLOS ONE analyzed data from 11 clinical trials and found that while cold plunges can temporarily reduce stress, especially about 12 hours post exposure, the effect doesn't seem to last. The study also raised questions about inflammation, noting that cold water immersion initially increases inflammatory markers before they eventually return to baseline with consumer interest still strong. Jim's offering cold immersion may benefit from demand, but the long term benefits remain an open question. Planet Fitness is shaking up its executive team with key leadership changes set to take effect in March 2025 Bill Bode currently, division president of us franchise will step into the role of Chief Operating Officer, overseeing operations for both franchise and corporate owned clubs. Meanwhile, Jennifer Simmons, the division president of corporate clubs, will transition to Chief Strategy Officer focusing on data driven growth initiatives. These changes follow a series of executive appointments made in 2024 signaling a larger strategic shift as Planet Fitness looks to refine operations and expand its market presence in the coming year, the global sauna and spa market is on a steady climb, projected to grow from 859 point 5 million in 2023 to 1.2 7 billion by 2030, as consumers continue prioritizing wellness, companies like perspire, Sona studio are capitalizing on demand. Perspire, the largest full spectrum infrared and red light sauna therapy franchise in the US, is expanding its presence in California, the brand has secured four franchise agreements, adding 13 new studios across the state, in key markets like San Francisco, San Diego and Pasadena. With wellness focused services gaining traction, Infrared Saunas are becoming a sought after amenity in fitness and recovery spaces. That's This Week in fitness. I'm your host, Krissy Vann, and remember, stay fit, stay informed and keep your fitness business in shape. You.