Life Time Fitness

Weight room.
Cycling Studio.
Life Time Fitness fitness machines.

Life Time Fitness (stylized as LIFETIME FITNESS) is a chain of fitness centers (or health clubs) operating in the United States and Canada, based out of Chanhassen, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb. Many of its large high-end facilities operate 24/7 and feature personal fitness instruction, salons, food courts, large child centers, and indoor/outdoor pools.

History

In 1992, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bahram Akradi, founded Life Time Fitness and has been a director since its origin.[1] The Company was incorporated in 1990 as a Minnesota corporation under the name FCA, Ltd., and subsequently registered to use the name of Life Time Fitness in 1992.[2] The first club opened in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.[3] Several locations were added to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area before the chain expanded to suburban and exurban communities in other metropolitan areas across several states. Most Life Time Fitness centers are located in exurban or fringe suburban areas in medium to large-sized metropolitan areas, with a handful of locations in central city or inner suburban areas. The oldest Life Time facility is in Eagan, Minnesota.

In August 2014, Life Time Fitness, a publicly traded company, began pursuing entering into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) following pressure to do so from its largest shareholder, Marcato Capital Management. In March 2015, Life Time agreed to be acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners in a leveraged buyout.[4][5]

Facilities and amenities

Life Time Fitness's large multi-level facilities have locker rooms and common areas that are typically outfitted with high-end materials, many utilizing natural stone giving members a high end experience. Life Time also provides its members with an in-club daycare option called the Kids Academy at many of its locations. Children ages 3 months to 12 years are permitted to be in the KidsAcademy for up to 2 hours at a time while their parent or guardian is in the club. In most clubs, the Kids Academy includes an infant room with age appropriate toys and play structures, including swings and exersaucers, a large playroom for older children, a large indoor play structure that includes slides, and an outdoor playground with a sandbox. The child center is staffed with a ratio of 1:12 for the older children and 1:4 for infants under 1 year. Lifetime fitness also includes two studios for group fitness classes, a cycling studio, squash courts, basketball courts, a yoga and pilates studio and a whole floor with exercise equipment like treadmills, bikes, stair climbers, elliptical, and weight machines. Clubs also include indoor and outdoor pools, a spa and a cafe. [6]

Controversies

Several employees of Life Time Fitness took the firm to court regarding a matter of wage withholding during the year 2004.[7] In 2009, a court ruled their favor in the case of Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc., with a judgment that employees must be paid in accordance with federal and state wage-and-hour laws which require overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Who's Who in Fitness". fitnessbusiness-pro.com.
  2. ↑ "Twin Cities health clubs go national". bizjournals.com/twincities/.
  3. ↑ "Fact Sheet". lifetimefitness.com/aboutlifetime/company.
  4. ↑ Tan, Gillian (March 16, 2015). "Leonard Green, TPG to Take Life Time Fitness Private". wsj.com. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  5. ↑ Waite, Kirstin (March 16, 2015). "Life Time Fitness sold to private equity firms in deal valued at more than US$4 billion". triathlonbusiness.com. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Child Care Center and Fun Play". Life Time Fitness. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  7. ↑ Mark Tabakman (June 8, 2009). "Salary Deductions Can Make Workers Lose Exempt Status". Wage & Hour. Retrieved 2012-08-20. ... For example, in Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that deductions made by a health and fitness center employer from the base salaries of department heads to recoup portions of paid bonuses when the employees’ performance fell below a certain prescribed level caused the workers to lose their exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. ...
  8. ↑ Griffing, Marjorie (November 1, 2009). "Not making the case for recovering overpayments from exempt employees.". Payroll Manager's Report. Retrieved 2012-08-20. Employees must be paid in accordance with federal and state wage-and-hour-laws, including laws requiring overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek ... Baden-Winterwood et al. v. Life Time Fitness Inc. ...

External links

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