We round up the expansion plans of a selection of key private sector operators around the world, and offer a snapshot of upcoming UK public sector developments

Will 2015 prove to be a turning point for the fitness and physical activity sector? ukactive CEO David Stalker offers his thoughts

Sports Direct Fitness will offer gym memberships from as little as £5 a month. Jak Phillips asks an expert panel for their thoughts on the implications for the rest of the sector

MD Chris Johnson explains why Pulse is about so much more than just equipment

Targeting older members and focusing on social interaction are among Dr Melvyn Hillsdon’s top five tips for boosting retention in 2015

Health Club Management recently revealed how online gym pass provider PayasUgym will soon begin testing Bitcoin, potentially paving the way for the cryptocurrency to become an accepted form of payment across more than 2,000 UK gyms in the PayasUgym network.

Online retailer Amazon appears poised for a further push into the wearable technology sector, with the company poised to increase investment and staff at its secretive hardware operations unit Lab126.

David Hopkins, MD and founder of mystery shopping and research company Proinsight, on turning everyday insights into profits

Alison Bledge examines how the offshore industry is managing the wellbeing of its workers, and looks at a gym installed onboard the floating hotel Safe Scandinavia

An upcoming report promises to put a true value on the fitness sector, say ukactive’s David Stalker

Virgin Active has unveiled plans to launch two new ‘technology-focused’ clubs in London during early 2015.

EuropeActive and Deloitte share the topline findings from their new European Market Report

46 Promotional feature: Matrix The opportunity to work out while on the move has become an expectation – Matrix Fitness can help you turn it into an experience for staying guests

The chair of Health & Fitness Nordic talks to Kate Cracknell about the disruptive influence of technology and the fundamental need for businesses to be useful

Kath Hudson reports on payment trends in health and fitness

Molly Crockett on precommitment

The joint MD of 3-1-5 Health Clubs talks to Julie Cramer about creating an exclusive family of X-Force ‘negative training' facilities in the UK

Les Mills International has today launched a brand new “immersive fitness” product in an initiative it’s calling The Project.

A number of devices are currently in development that could be used to provide real-time data and metrics specific to individual players partaking in sport, giving audiences and commentators more detailed information on performance levels during contests.

IHRSA Annual Convention & Trade Show, IHRSA 2014, Sally Hogshead, Gary Vaynerchuck, Dan Heath, Luke Williams

ukactive has launched a business performance benchmarking tool for gyms and leisure centres, enabling them to compare how their facility is performing against the industry average and rival establishments.

Functional training is generating a real buzz both for members and for the balance sheet

Dirk Kemmerling gives an overview of Germany's fitness market

Lauren Applegarth looks at a council scheme to open multiple sites, each with their own specialism

In the second part of our management series, Carl Bennett looks at the importance of understanding a community's needs

Online gym pass provider PayasUgym has today announced a £1.6m raft of venture capital funding as it seeks to continue growth across the UK market.

The industry has gone mad for functional training, but what do members really think?

In the final part of his series looking at member retention, Dr Paul Bedford takes a look at the reasons why members leave

The CEO of Fitness First talks to Kate Cracknell about putting behavioural psychology at the heart of the business, in a £270m repositioning and rebrand

Scientific and technological developments are becoming increasingly important in contributing to the success of athletes, as recent medal triumphs in the Sochi Winter Olympics have shown.