FitSugar

24 Hour Fitness Sued By Female Employees For Discrimination

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:00:12 PDT

In a class-action lawsuit, 24 Hour Fitness is being sued for discrimination against minority and female workers. The workers claim they are being passed over for managerial promotions and are underpaid compared to their white male colleagues. The lawsuit asks that the fitness chain giant put an end to its unfair practices and provide these workers compensation in the form of back pay and damages.

Plaintiffs claim that even though females and minorities make up the majority of 24 Hour Fitness employees, their presence is lacking amongst management. In a statement, 24 Hour Fitness responded by saying, "24 Hour Fitness makes its hiring and promotional decisions without regard to race, national origin, gender or any other protected basis. We firmly deny the allegations made in the complaint and we expect to prevail when all the facts are heard."

Nike+ Gym Equipment Coming to a 24-Hour Fitness Near You

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:00:00 PDT

In March, Nike and Apple announced they were working to integrate their Nike + iPod system with cardio equipment. The idea being that you could hop on a treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper, or stationary bike, track, and record your workouts in the same way that the Nike+ Sports Kit for the iPod works. The largest chain of gyms in the US, 24-Hour Fitness, just announced that in July, they'll be the first to offer this new Nike+ iPod compatible gym equipment. You'll see them in gyms located in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Denver, Portland, and Salt Lake City.

This is great news for people who love to mix up their cardio routines and want to know exactly how many miles they've gone and and how many calories they've burned. They'll be able to upload their data to the NikePlus.com website to keep track of all their workouts. Hopefully, in the near future other gyms will offer these NIke+ iPod compatible cardio machines, too.

Source

Nike RockStar Workout @ 24 Hour Fitness: Dancehall

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 11:25:44 PDT

Do you often think it would be great if your workout could improve your nightlife as well as your health? You know, like directly translate to making you not only svelte but hip too. Well the latest class in the Nike Rockstar series - "Dancehall" now offered at 24 Hour Fitness, might be just what you are looking for.

The new Dancehall workout was choreographed by Jamie King who has created moves for Madonna, JLo, Britney and Shakira. Now you can move like a rockstar too!!! The Caribbean style moves, inspired by the latest music videos and dancehall steps, will not only challenge your sense of coordination but your heart rate as well. If you want a little primer before heading to class, you should check out the video. They look incredibly fun - the video is truly motivational.

If you don’t like step or dance aerobics this class might be frustrating for you at first. The challenge, however, will keep you motivated and engaged as you get or stay in shape. Learn the moves at the gym and then take them out for a night on the town (another great way to burn calories).

If you aren't a member of 24 Hour Fitness yet, don't worry, right now you can try it out for 10 days for FREE. To get your free 10-day pass, check out 24hourfitnessoffers.com.

Fit's Tip: To find a class at a club near you, check out this class schedule and locator. Remember ladies - ROCK ON!!!!

24 Hour Fitness: Camp24

FitSugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:14:49 PDT

I wanted to give a shout out to 24 Hour Fitness and say thanks for sponsoring the pages of FitSugar. They even gave me a t-shirt and they would like to give you 10 free days of their group series classes. Talk about Spring Training. So, if you're looking for a group class that is a well rounded workout and fun, Camp24 is a great bet.

Camp24 is 24 Hour Fitness's answer to boot camp. Your trainer is the drill sergeant and you're there to do as he/she says (don't worry, it's not that scary). You can pace yourself, or go the limit in this ultimate circuit workout, though you'll definitely be encouraged to go the limit. Improved cardiovascular abilities, muscular strength and endurance are to be gained from this class that, I would say, is suitable for all levels. You'll be using dumbbells (you pick the weight), a step and a mat throughout the class. There are a lot of 3-minute interval circuits -- For example 3 minutes of jumping jacks, 3 minutes of bicep curls, 3 minutes of dips, etc.

I've got to say, I feel great! My arms feel fatigued which means they got a fabulous workout and I can't imagine how my booty is going to feel the next few days. My favorite part about Camp24 is that there is not much thinking involved; the trainer tells the class what to do and when to do it. You're not left wandering around the gym wondering what you should do next and how (and why), which can be a downfall for many of us. What's more? I was forced to work parts of my body that I often neglect (like my deltoids).

If you aren't a member of 24 Hour Fitness yet, don't worry; right now you can try it out for 10 days for FREE. To get your free 10-day pass, check out 24hourfitnessoffers.com.

Fit's Tip: If you're used to doing long cardio workouts, then you need to engage your arms as much as possible during the cardio intervals to really get that heart rate up.

A Reader Shares Her Tabata Workout Video

Fit Community — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:09:21 PST

Reader FitFabCities loves intervals, and wants to get you in on the fun, too! She shared her own Tabata workout in our Community.

I love workouts that get you in and out of the gym quickly and this high intensity training (HIIT) Tabata workout does just that. So here is how it works: Tabata protocol has you do 20 seconds of high intensity work followed by 10 seconds of rest and you can do any kind of intense interval from sprints to burpees to pushups. You complete that pattern back and forth for a full four minute block, take a much needed break then put those four minute blocks together to make up an 8, 12, 16 or 20 minute workout.

Another great thing: Tabata protocol has been scientifically proven to be the workout that burns the most calories in the least amount of time and high intensity interval training is one of the best ways to flatten your abs and reshape your body. (I'm not kidding, click here and check out the benefits section.) The whole workout is complete in 16-24 minutes. Oh yeah, and if that wasn't enough to make you fall in love with Tabata, it also raises your metabolism for the next 24 to 36 hours so you burn an additional 100 to 150 calories watching Emily take down the Graysons on Revenge (my new obsession) or someone start a fight on Real Housewives (my forever obsession). Who doesn't love that?

Get the workout breakdown and video after the break.

Little Daily Tricks to Wake Up Slimmer

Health — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:01:00 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Jessica Girdwain

We get it: you want to lose the jiggle but don’t want to blacklist your favorite eats, count every single calorie, or overdose on gym hours. The great news is, you can drop weight without dieting: experts say making small change-ups to your day is one of the best ways to lose.

We grilled health and fitness pros for the tweaks that will help your shape the most. Road test a few, and you could shed five (this week!), 10, or even 20-plus pounds without a whole lot of effort.

Health.com: Diet Tricks the Pros Tell Their Friends

Power up PB
"Buy natural varieties of peanut butter and pour off the oil sitting on top. Each serving will have 20 fewer calories and two to three fewer grams of fat. It’s a small difference that'll add up to a couple of pounds per year."
-Amelia Winslow, personal chef in Los Angeles and founder of the healthy food blog Eating Made Easy

Pop to It
"Skimping on fiber will make you gain weight. Forget the pretzels and go for a bag of low-fat popcorn. It has five times the fiber and only 90 calories for six cups, so it’s filling and satisfying.

A recent study found that when women doubled their daily fiber intake from 12 to 24 grams, their bodies absorbed 90 calories less per day. You could lose almost 10 pounds in a year!"
-Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD, author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss

Health.com: Fill Up on Fiber

Dance Your Butt Off
"Kick up your heels and go dancing with your girlfriends - or have a solo dance session at home. Fast-tempo dances are not only a blast to do, but in an hour you’ll torch 400 to 500 calories. That’s equivalent to light jogging on the treadmill, but it’s way more fun!"
-Christine Avanti, author of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food: Lose the Fake Food and Kickstart Your Weight Loss

Keep on reading for great slimming tips!

Keep Your Fitness in Check With Jawbone UP

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:45:51 PDT

As 2012 approaches, you'll no doubt have some sort of resolution to get healthy. Rather than go it alone, why not employ some kind of smart technology to keep you at the top of your game? The UP might be just what you need. The Jawbone UP (yes, that Jawbone) is your wearable fitness monitor - it tracks your fitness levels, monitors your sleep and eating habits, and keeps you challenged with community activities.

Built with something called MotionX technology, the UP is said to be wicked accurate for monitoring your daily activities like walking, your pace, distance, calories burned, but also gets really detailed with your sleep habits since you wear the thing 24/7 (even in the shower - it's water-resistant!). No kidding - the UP doesn't just monitor the numbers of hours you've slept, but can also pinpoint how long it took you to fall asleep, the various different phases of sleep, and your overall sleep quality. The band even vibrates to "nudge" you awake at the optimal time during your natural sleep cycle. So thoughtful.

And as you may have guessed, the UP integrates with your iPhone to provide you with on-the-go stats and totals, but you can also use your camera to snap pics of the food and snacks you eat to compile your own virtual food journal. Fact is, when you know you have to take a picture of what you're eating, you're more likely to skip that piece of pie at the office potluck. Speaking of office, you can set the UP to remind you to get up and away from that computer screen during specific intervals throughout the day to get the blood flowing.

Coming in seven colors - blue, white, silver, brown, black, and two tones of red - the Jawbone UP seems to be the front-runner in the wave of new fitness gadgets, and by far the most wearable for the ladies. Get yours (or add it to your wish list) on Nov. 6 for $99.

Why You Shouldn't Always Be Sore After a Workout

Leta Shy — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:51:38 PDT

"No pain, no gain" may be a common mantra in the fitness world, but it shouldn't always be that way. Sure, delayed muscle soreness (DOMS) means that you're building muscles that you may not be using regularly (a good thing), but it's not always ideal to feel sore after a workout. Read on for reasons why.

It could be an injury: While you may be used to that dull ache after an intense workout, make sure you understand whether or not the pain you're experiencing is normal DOMS and not an injury. Usually you can tell by whether or not pain is sharp or happens during your workout, since it can take 24 to 48 hours for normal DOMS to set in, or whether it's happening only on one side - if only your right shoulder hurts after lifting weights, for example, it could mean you've injured yourself.

More reasons why it's not always good to be sore after a workout after the break.

3 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight at the Gym

Michele Foley — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:06:14 PDT

You go to the gym, work out, but you still aren't losing any weight. What gives? It's a frustrating scenario but not an impossible one to change. Here are three reasons you aren't losing weight at the gym and what to do about them.

You're Not Doing Enough (Intense) Cardio
Aerobic activity is the most efficient way to burn calories, so make sure you are consistent with cardio workouts. We recommend doing at least 30-45 minutes of cardio, three to four times a week. It's also important to pick the right kind of cardio workout. Studies show that faster-paced workouts help release fat-burning hormones in the body and that interval training is key to losing unwanted belly fat. Still not convinced that you should step up your gym workouts? A recent study said that a 45-minute vigorous workout gets three times the net calories burned compared to the same 45 minutes spent walking; it also increases metabolic rate for up to 14 hours post-workout. To melt away unwanted pounds, choose high-intensity workouts like intervals, running, boot camp, or spin.

Find out the other reasons you aren't losing weight after the break!

iPhone Event Live Updates

GeekSugar — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:13:38 PDT

Since news of today's iPhone event was made official, we've been anxiously waiting for Apple's unveiling of an updated iPhone.

Here's the latest from the event: