With Millennials viewing their smartphones as an extension of themselves, apps are becoming less of a nice-to-have and more of a must-have. But who can health club operators turn to if they want to create an app for their members? Kath Hudson reports
By Kath Hudson | Published in Health Club Management 2016 issue 11
Booking classes on the go is still the most popular app function / PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Alex PeacockVP internationalNetpulse
Alex Peacock
Netpulse offers white-labelled apps which can be launched with the club’s own branding and user interface in under six weeks. We’ve invested heavily to ensure our platform can integrate with all member management software, fitness equipment and wearable devices, offering clubs maximum flexibility.
We work with thousands of health clubs worldwide, from single sites to some of the largest fitness operators in the world including 24 Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness, Orangetheory, DW Sports, Nuffield Health and énergie Fitness.
Netpulse is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) product, so clubs can pick the features that are right for them without paying any upfront development costs – just a monthly licence fee for the app as a fully managed service. Clubs wanting to build their own unique features can just add them on top of the standard platform. Packages for individual club operators start from £200 a month.
We’ve seen clubs triple their referrals by having a quick, frictionless way of referring friends digitally. Another powerful advantage is that, because mobile devices are location-aware, your app will know when members are in the club and will be able to send them targeted push messages based on their behaviour.
Tim WilliamsBusiness developmentInnovatise
Tim Williams
Innovatise launched myFitApp in 2010. An off-the-shelf, customisable app, it has broad functionality including easy updates for news and the option for members to share information on social media and recommend friends. It can also market to users based on their location.
Depending on requirements, it typically costs a few thousand pounds to set up the apps and then around £100 per site, per month, for multi-site operators to run them. It’s well worth the investment, because an app can play a major role in retention, branding, new member acquisition, new revenue sources and building and monetising an audience.
Our customers are worldwide but mostly in the UK, US and Europe. We have over 330 sites in the UK using Innovatise technology with over 250,000 downloads.
Hugo BraamCEOVirtuagym
Hugo Braam
Virtuagym started out as a consumer app, so our system has been designed for ease of use.
We offer seven software solutions in one integrated offering, for which the apps serve as a mobile interface: membership management and billing, access control, point of sale, scheduling, nutrition coaching, exercise prescription and an online community.
But an app must be aligned with the goals and needs of the business: clubs should ask themselves what their members need and expect from the app and how it could improve the customer journey.
With that in mind, alongside our default app options, we can also customise the experience like we did for Dutch gym chain Trainmore. Trainmore has a great business model that rewards people who go to the gym more often, by discounting their membership based on how regularly they attend. Trainmore clients can see how much discount they’re getting in real time thanks to a discount tracker in our mobile app.
We call our license model ‘pay-as-you-grow’, which means smaller businesses pay less than larger ones. A trainer can offer a branded app experience from €39 a month. Clubs typically pay around €150 to €250 for our full solution, depending on size and modules used.
Antony DaviesNational sales managerGladstone
Antony Davies
The Mobile Pro app can be bespoke branded for the club and enables customers to book and pay for classes in real time. Easily managed via the web cockpit, it includes a full schedule module, with opening hours and class timetable.
Soon to be released will be a news feature with push notification functionality, which will allow an operator to publish a news article and send to all members in less than a minute.
Members can tag favourites and share bookings, news and information across social media platforms, and the ‘refer a friend’ lead generation module allows operators to promote offers to members in return for referrals.
When The University of Portsmouth launched the app across its three leisure centres, it saw a dramatic boost in online transactions and a drastic drop-off in phone call bookings, freeing up its customer service team for other duties. Class bookings are the most popular use, accounting for 64 per cent of hits.
Paul BowmanCEOWexer
Paul Bowman
The success of a fitness-focused app lies in its ability to track everything in one place, and then extract meaningful insights. We work hand-in-hand with clubs to ensure the app is integrated into their digital ecosystem. The Wexer app is also compatible with Apple Health and Google Fit, so integrates with any health or fitness app linked to these platforms.
Our app has been designed to engage members and encourage behaviour change. For example, members can live-stream group exercise classes from the gym to their mobile device, allowing them to take part wherever they are. They can also create personalised workouts based on factors such as skill level, equipment availability and workout length.
For members who require feedback, there are a number of ways clubs can celebrate success, one of which is through the ‘challenges and leaderboards’ feature.
It’s possible to live-stream classes from the gym to people’s mobiles / PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy. [more...]
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]
With Millennials viewing their smartphones as an extension of themselves, apps are becoming less of a nice-to-have and more of a must-have. But who can health club operators turn to if they want to create an app for their members? Kath Hudson reports
By Kath Hudson | Published in Health Club Management 2016 issue 11
Booking classes on the go is still the most popular app function / PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Alex PeacockVP internationalNetpulse
Alex Peacock
Netpulse offers white-labelled apps which can be launched with the club’s own branding and user interface in under six weeks. We’ve invested heavily to ensure our platform can integrate with all member management software, fitness equipment and wearable devices, offering clubs maximum flexibility.
We work with thousands of health clubs worldwide, from single sites to some of the largest fitness operators in the world including 24 Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness, Orangetheory, DW Sports, Nuffield Health and énergie Fitness.
Netpulse is a SaaS (software-as-a-service) product, so clubs can pick the features that are right for them without paying any upfront development costs – just a monthly licence fee for the app as a fully managed service. Clubs wanting to build their own unique features can just add them on top of the standard platform. Packages for individual club operators start from £200 a month.
We’ve seen clubs triple their referrals by having a quick, frictionless way of referring friends digitally. Another powerful advantage is that, because mobile devices are location-aware, your app will know when members are in the club and will be able to send them targeted push messages based on their behaviour.
Tim WilliamsBusiness developmentInnovatise
Tim Williams
Innovatise launched myFitApp in 2010. An off-the-shelf, customisable app, it has broad functionality including easy updates for news and the option for members to share information on social media and recommend friends. It can also market to users based on their location.
Depending on requirements, it typically costs a few thousand pounds to set up the apps and then around £100 per site, per month, for multi-site operators to run them. It’s well worth the investment, because an app can play a major role in retention, branding, new member acquisition, new revenue sources and building and monetising an audience.
Our customers are worldwide but mostly in the UK, US and Europe. We have over 330 sites in the UK using Innovatise technology with over 250,000 downloads.
Hugo BraamCEOVirtuagym
Hugo Braam
Virtuagym started out as a consumer app, so our system has been designed for ease of use.
We offer seven software solutions in one integrated offering, for which the apps serve as a mobile interface: membership management and billing, access control, point of sale, scheduling, nutrition coaching, exercise prescription and an online community.
But an app must be aligned with the goals and needs of the business: clubs should ask themselves what their members need and expect from the app and how it could improve the customer journey.
With that in mind, alongside our default app options, we can also customise the experience like we did for Dutch gym chain Trainmore. Trainmore has a great business model that rewards people who go to the gym more often, by discounting their membership based on how regularly they attend. Trainmore clients can see how much discount they’re getting in real time thanks to a discount tracker in our mobile app.
We call our license model ‘pay-as-you-grow’, which means smaller businesses pay less than larger ones. A trainer can offer a branded app experience from €39 a month. Clubs typically pay around €150 to €250 for our full solution, depending on size and modules used.
Antony DaviesNational sales managerGladstone
Antony Davies
The Mobile Pro app can be bespoke branded for the club and enables customers to book and pay for classes in real time. Easily managed via the web cockpit, it includes a full schedule module, with opening hours and class timetable.
Soon to be released will be a news feature with push notification functionality, which will allow an operator to publish a news article and send to all members in less than a minute.
Members can tag favourites and share bookings, news and information across social media platforms, and the ‘refer a friend’ lead generation module allows operators to promote offers to members in return for referrals.
When The University of Portsmouth launched the app across its three leisure centres, it saw a dramatic boost in online transactions and a drastic drop-off in phone call bookings, freeing up its customer service team for other duties. Class bookings are the most popular use, accounting for 64 per cent of hits.
Paul BowmanCEOWexer
Paul Bowman
The success of a fitness-focused app lies in its ability to track everything in one place, and then extract meaningful insights. We work hand-in-hand with clubs to ensure the app is integrated into their digital ecosystem. The Wexer app is also compatible with Apple Health and Google Fit, so integrates with any health or fitness app linked to these platforms.
Our app has been designed to engage members and encourage behaviour change. For example, members can live-stream group exercise classes from the gym to their mobile device, allowing them to take part wherever they are. They can also create personalised workouts based on factors such as skill level, equipment availability and workout length.
For members who require feedback, there are a number of ways clubs can celebrate success, one of which is through the ‘challenges and leaderboards’ feature.
It’s possible to live-stream classes from the gym to people’s mobiles / PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
The UK's four Chief Medical Officers have published a refreshed edition of Physical activity
guidelines: UK Chief Medical Officers' report, updating the evidence that underpins the nation's
physical activity recommendations and placing greater emphasis on strength, balance, reducing
sedentary behaviour and, for the first time, supporting people taking weight loss medications.
Places Leisure has exchanged contracts to build and operate a flagship £60m water and leisure
destination on behalf of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The Republic of Ireland will become the latest market in PureGym’s expanding international
portfolio, with the first launch planned for Dublin in 2027.
Anytime Fitness opened more than one club a day in 2025 and is on track to maintain this rate
of growth this year, as parent company Purpose Brands targets further international expansion.
The £33.9 million Leighton Leisure and Community Centre has opened in Leighton Buzzard, UK,
creating a next-generation public leisure, health and wellbeing hub for the local community.
Walnuts Leisure Centre in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, has reopened following
a £17m transformation designed to secure the long-term future of the public leisure asset and
reposition it as a community wellbeing hub.
The Gym Group, has announced that it's sustained positive trading momentum has continued
through the first half of 2026 and the company remains confident about the outlook.
Luxury boutique Pilates and wellness studio, X-Club, officially launches a
4,000sq ft flagship at
Marylebone on 16 July Built around X-Club’s four pillars of wellness – mind,
movement,
nutrition and therapy – the facility features two group exercise studi
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy. [more...]
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the
stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod. [more...]