Crunch Fitness invests in its indoor cycling offering and hires a fit-tech startup to enhance the class experience with music and strategies to increase participation
Struct Club, a music-focused programming platform and app for gyms and trainers, has partnered with Crunch Signature, the No Judgments gym brand’s line of 27 premium facilities that include dedicated fitness areas, Woodway treadmills, Boot Builder equipment, saunas, steam rooms and on-site shops.
The Los Angeles-based fitness tech startup, which is considered the “secret sauce” for the most memorable fitness classes, plans to further enhance Ride, the indoor cycling class at Crunch Signature, by giving instructors access to software to enhance the participant experience.
“Consumer expectations are higher today than ever before,” said Amira Polack, founder and CEO of Struct Club. “Impeccable quality, unique experiences and freshness have become a given – every class, every instructor, every time. The food and beverage areas adjacent to the fitness business have embraced technologies that allow frontline employees to impress customers, but the fitness area is lagging behind. Together, Struct Club and Crunch Signature are making it easier than ever for group exercisers to stay ahead.”
As part of the partnership, Struct Club and Crunch Signature are also introducing a certification program that gives instructors a head start on advanced music programming techniques based on behavioral science and strategies to engage class members and maximize attendance. Continuing education workshops will also be offered for new and existing indoor cycling instructors.
Polack knows firsthand the importance of leading a class with perfect choreography and finesse, having once been an indoor cycling instructor himself and having to deal with the frustrations of class preparation.
“I spent countless hours taking notes and memorizing my playlists, which proved to be an inadequate teaching aid. I learned that I was not alone,” she once shared in a blog post. Polack founded the startup in 2018 during her final semester at Harvard Business School. The platform offers pre-built lesson templates with workouts, playlists and cues, as well as the flexibility to design a class from scratch.
Beyond its Crunch Signature locations, Crunch Fitness is delivering on its promise that 2024 will be the strongest year ever for the high value, low price (HVLP) gym brand in terms of growth.
One of Crunch’s largest franchisees, JF Fitness of North America, received new private equity money to expand its presence in the Southeast by opening new gyms. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, on the other hand, recently partnered with CR Fitness Holdings, the largest operator of Crunch Fitness franchise locations, to expand the gym brand in Dallas and beyond.
Crunch CEO Jim Rowley believes the fitness provider could one day reach 1,500 locations in the U.S., and that number could double (or even triple) given the international potential of the low-cost, high-quality fitness brand.
While Crunch has a presence in Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica and Australia, the big-box brand is about to enter new international markets with the help of former Xponential Chief Development Officer John Kersh, who Crunch recently hired for a similar role.
