SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The holidays are officially here and the fitness experts at 24 Hour Fitness are offering insider secrets to avoid the season’s dreaded weight gain. It’s an exciting and happy time of year, but regular fitness routines are often set aside due to holiday shopping, traveling to see family and attending parties where healthy-eating rules are broken. To address this problem, 24 Hour Fitness has launched its virtual Holiday Fitness Center, an online resource that offers tips, recipes, prizes and more for a happy and healthy season. The Holiday Fitness Center identifies common winter weight gain challenges and provides tools to help people stay on track with year-round health and fitness goals, such as:
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Challenge #1: You are going out of town and staying with family or
friends.
Join them when they head to their local 24 Hour Fitness® club. From December 23-31, locations will allow their members to bring a friend or relative as a guest for complimentary workouts. Guests who are unable to go with a family member can also download a free pass to visit a nearby club on their own. Or, give them the gift of health! 24 Hour Fitness gift cards are available in $50 and $99 denominations, and can be applied to in-club purchases, memberships and personal training sessions. The gift cards can be purchased from 24 Hour Fitness clubs, 24 Hour Fitness MyStore, Amazon.com, Safeway and other retailers.
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Challenge #2: You have a busy holiday schedule full of shopping,
parties and cooking.
Check out Holiday Fit Tips—a series of brief video tutorials—and learn how to manage portion control, get tight abs on a tight schedule or sneak in a workout while you’re standing in line.
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Challenge #3: Your holiday gatherings with family, friends and
co-workers center around food and fewer activities.
Take advantage of the Treat Trade-Off tool where you can find exercise tips for burning off calories from popular holiday treats, such as pecan pie or mashed potatoes. If you’re cooking, check out the Healthier Holiday Nibbles tool, which offers alternative, healthy recipes in place of traditional holiday fare such as stuffing and pumpkin dessert squares.
“At 24 Hour Fitness, we know holiday festivities and treats can set any fitness routine off track,” said Tony Wells, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, 24 Hour Fitness. “By identifying some of the specific challenges we face every year, we hope our members and online visitors will have the necessary tools to stay healthy and fit while still enjoying the holiday season.”
In a continued effort to help all Americans fit fitness into the holidays, the 24 Hour Fitness Holiday Fitness Center is available online to both members and non-members. A full list of its resources available include:
- Holiday Fit Tips – These videos tutorials offer tips to stay festively fit. Share them with Facebook friends in need of exercise motivation directly from the Holiday Fitness Center.
- Treat Trade-Off – Suggestions for specific exercises to burn off the amount of calories gained from your favorite holiday treats.
- Healthier Holiday Nibbles – A healthy holiday doesn’t mean a flavorless holiday. The Holiday Fitness Center features an assortment of healthy alternative holiday recipes, along with nutritional information for each tasty dish.
- The Gift of Fitness - Members can bring a guest for complimentary workouts at their 24 Hour Fitness club from Dec. 23 through 31. Non-members can also try out 24 Hour Fitness by downloading a free pass at 24hourfitness.com.
- Holiday Fitness Feed – Check out this Twitter news feed where fitness tips, inspiration and a little holiday cheer is shared through @24hourfitness using the #holidayfitness hashtag.
In addition to the Holiday Fitness Center, 24 Hour Fitness members can participate in “The Weekly Holiday Giftaway.” Throughout the month of December, members who work out two or more times a week at any 24 Hour Fitness club will to be entered in a weekly drawing for prizes such as heart rate monitors, a Samsung Galaxy Tab™ or a $100 Target gift card. Rules and details for participation in The Weekly Holiday Giftaway, including free method of entry, can be found on the 24 Hour Fitness website.
For more holiday health and fitness tips, visit the 24 Hour Fitness website at 24hourfitness.com or the Holiday Fitness Center at 24hourfitness.com/holidayfitness.
About 24 Hour Fitness
Headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., 24 Hour Fitness is a leading health club industry pioneer, serving nearly four million members in approximately 420 clubs across the U.S. Founded in 1983 as a one-club operation, the company is dedicated to helping members change their lives and reach their individual fitness goals. With convenient club locations, personal training services, innovative group exercise classes and a variety of strength, cardio and functional training equipment - 24 Hour Fitness offers fitness solutions for everyone.
Through its support of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and many U.S. National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport, 24 Hour Fitness is one of the largest supporters of amateur athletics in the country and will serve as the Official Fitness Center Sponsor of the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams. The company is committed to being a good neighbor in its communities via charitable and in-kind donations to groups focused on both helping Americans get healthy and improving youth fitness. The company’s national accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, which includes A+ ratings for all club locations across the U.S., demonstrates the organization’s ongoing commitment to member satisfaction. Please call 1-800-224-0240 or visit 24hourfitness.com for more information and to find the club nearest you.