If you would like to be a Step by Step columnist, please e-mail Jennipher Shaver at jennipher.shaver@penton.com with your mug shot, a one-paragraph bio and three topic ideas for 750-word how-to articles.

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Hot News

Despite First-Quarter Loss, Nautilus Is Optimistic
VANCOUVER, WA -- Several events in what has already been a busy 2008 for Nautilus Inc. factored into its first-quarter results, which the company recently announced. Read the full story.

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Club Hopping

Snap Founder: Company Not For Sale
CHANHASSEN, MN -- Snap Fitness CEO and founder Peter Taunton rebuked a report last week stating that Snap Fitness is for sale. However, at least one industry observer maintains that the company is for sale. Read the full story.

TSI Surges to First-Quarter Profit
NEW YORK -- Apparently, analysts liked what they heard from Town Sports International (TSI) during the company’s conference call May 1 to announce its first-quarter results. TSI boasted a first-quarter profit and increased revenue, causing at least two of the analysts who participated in the call to raise their profit estimates for the company. Read the full story.

24 Hour Partners with Six Athletes for Beijing Olympics
SAN RAMON, CA -- 24 Hour Fitness announced that four U.S. Olympians and two Olympic hopefuls have joined Team 24 Hour Fitness in preparations for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which take place Aug. 8-24. 24 Hour Fitness is the official fitness center sponsor of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. Read the full story.

24 Hour Launches New TV Ad Campaign
SAN RAMON, CA -- 24 Hour Fitness kicked off its 12 Million Lives campaign by airing its first TV commercial Monday night during the FOX broadcast of “House.” The campaign stars 24 Hour members who have overcome personal challenges through fitness. Read the full story.

Fallen Soccer Post Kills Boy at Arizona Y
PHOENIX -- A 10-year-old boy recently died after a soccer goal post he was hanging on fell at the South Mountain YMCA in Phoenix, according to Phoenix TV's Channel 12. Since the accident, the Valley of the Sun Y, the Y’s Phoenix-area umbrella organization, anchored all portable goal posts at its 80 locations.

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School Days

Central Florida Center Becoming Too Crowded for Some Students
ORLANDO, FL -- The recreation and wellness center at the University of Central Florida has been a major attraction for students, so much so that overcrowding is causing some to shun their campus workout facility to work out elsewhere. Read the full story.

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Boot Camp

Air Force Cycling Event Brings Services Together with Healthy Competition
ARLINGTON, VA -- More than 300 amateur and professional cyclists participated in the U.S. Air Force Cycling Classic, which was held last Sunday in the Washington, DC, area. Read the full story.

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Industry Beat

Exercise Sculpts the Heart
BOSTON -- Exercise doesn’t just strengthen heart muscles; it also changes the structure of the heart, according to a new study.

The study, by Dr. Aaron L. Baggish and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, found that both the left and right ventricles of endurance athletes increased in size after 90 days of team training. Only the left ventricles enlarged in athletes who engaged in strength training alone. In addition, the left ventricle of endurance athletes showed an increased ability to relax between beats, but that ability worsened in athletes who only did strength training. The left ventricle is the main pumping chamber of the heart.

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Fit to Print

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ADVERTISEMENT   Have a question regarding Club Management Software? Ask Jan Harms. Q: What are some of the key membership and operating ratios that I should be calculating on a consistent basis to measure performance in my facilities? A: There are a number of ratios and statistics that are commonly used to measure membership and operating performance in the industry...read more. Submit Your Question Read All Questions and Answers

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