This Week In Fitness: F45 Expands, CrossFit Sale, WHOOP x [solidcore], STRONG Pilates & More

This Week in Fitness brings you the latest business moves, trends, and innovations shaping the fitness industry—all in under five minutes. Hosted by Krissy Vann, this fast-paced update keeps you informed and helps keep your fitness business in shape with key insights from top brands and industry reports.

In This Episode:

• F45 Training launches FIT House of Brands, bringing F45, FS8, and VAURA Pilates under one umbrella to expand into wellness and recovery.
• F45 Training partners with Red Bull, tapping into its global sports marketing power to elevate brand awareness and engagement.
• ABC Fitness releases its Q1 Wellness Watch, reporting a rise in gym check-ins, fitness tech adoption, and consumer trends shaping 2025.
• CrossFit’s majority stakeholder, Berkshire Partners, is seeking a buyer, signaling potential changes for the brand’s future.
• STRONG Pilates announces major U.S. expansion, securing 155+ locations as hybrid fitness concepts continue to grow.
• FIBO expands with Hall 1, a new space dedicated to longevity and wellness, reinforcing the connection between fitness and preventative healthcare.
• WHOOP and [solidcore] partner to integrate biometric tracking into reformer-based workouts, adding real-time data insights to boutique fitness.
• Medtronic and Sperling’s BestPlaces release new longevity research, identifying Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and other U.S. cities as top locations for extreme longevity.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:13 F45 Training launches FIT House of Brands
• 0:58 F45 Training partners with Red Bull
• 1:23 ABC Fitness releases its Q1 Wellness Watch
• 2:13 CrossFit is seeking a buyer
• 2:32 STRONG Pilates announces major U.S. expansion
• 2:57 FIBO expands with Hall 1
• 3:24 WHOOP and [solidcore] partner
• 3:50 New longevity research

Transcript

Krissy Vann: 0:00

Krissy, welcome to This Week in fitness, where we crunch the latest fitness business headlines all in under five minutes. I'm Krissy Vann, and here's what's making news. F 45 training is doubling down on expansion with the launch of fit house of brands. The new company structure unites F 45 training, FS eight and Vora Pilates positioning itself as a broader fitness ecosystem that integrates functional training, wellness and recovery with operations in over 55 countries, fit is designed to capture growing consumer demand for a holistic approach to fitness. Over the past year, F 45 training saw a 12.4% increase in global average unit volumes. FS eight grew by 23.9% and Vora Pilates surged by 51.1% fit also opened 75 new studios across its brands, reinforcing its push for scale and market dominance in boutique fitness. That expansion focus continues through partnerships with F 45 training announcing a collaboration with Red Bull. The deal aims to leverage Red Bull's global sports marketing reach positioning F 45 in front of high performance athletes and broader fitness audiences, while specific activations haven't been disclosed, the partnership signals an effort to enhance brand awareness and engagement across its markets On the data front, ABC fitness has released its q1 wellness watch offering insights into shifting consumer behavior, the report, based on data from 30,000 partner clubs and 40 million members, found that 76% of consumers now identify as physically active, a 2% increase year over year, and a 10% jump Since 2021 in January alone, gyms recorded 106 million check ins and 1.9 million new members. The adoption of fitness tech continues to rise, with 53% of consumers using wearables and 63% tracking their progress with AI based apps, while gyms remain a core part of fitness routines, more than half of consumers also work out at home, and 53% incorporate outdoor exercise into their weekly habits. CrossFit is making headlines with a potential ownership shakeup. Private equity firm Berkshire partners is reportedly looking to sell its majority stake in the company. While CrossFit has long been a leader in functional fitness, affiliate numbers have declined, and competition from emerging concepts has intensified, boutique fitness is still gaining momentum, and strong Pilates is making a big push into the US market. The Australian founded brand known for its blended Pilates in rowing, has secured deals for over 155 locations in the US, after rapid expansion across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, with increasing demand for hybrid fitness models, the company sees North America as a key growth market at the industry's largest trade event, fibo is expanding its show floor with a new hall dedicated to longevity and wellness. The addition of Hall one reflects growing investment in medical wellness and recovery, further blending fitness with preventative health care. The expansion will spotlight innovations in rehabilitation, health tracking and longevity focused training, reinforcing the industry's move toward a more integrated health and wellness model. Wearables are also playing a larger role in boutique fitness, with whoop and solid core partnering to integrate biometric tracking into reformer based workouts, the collaboration will allow solid core members to track metrics like strain and recovery, adding a new layer of performance insights to Pilates training, the deal highlights the increasing demand for data driven personalization in boutique fitness. And finally, could the first person to live to 150 already be among us, according to new research from Medtronic and sperlings, Best Places certain US cities may offer the ideal conditions for unprecedented longevity. Washington, DC topped the list, followed by San Francisco, Bridgeport, Boston and Seattle. Other metro areas making the top 10 include Madison, Honolulu, Portland, Denver and Raleigh. The study ranked locations based on factors like social connections, healthcare access, education levels and wellness indicators such as smoking and obesity rates. 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.