How Green Is Your Workout?

Thanks to the greening of the fitness industry, folks who aren't quite ready to give up their gym memberships can feel better about the hours they spend on the elliptical machine while watching overhead televisions or listening to their iPods. Keeping pace with society's environmental concerns, health clubs are going the extra mile to clean up their image as gluttonous energy consumers. For several years, the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association has offered sessions at its annual trade show on how to operate an environmentally friendly facility. Participation has been so high that the March 2009 trade show will feature an entire educational track on "going green," which includes measures such as installing low-flow faucets, showerheads and toilets to achieve water savings of 25 percent to 60 percent and buying cardiovascular equipment and appliances that bear the federal ENERGY STAR label for energy efficiency. ‘Going green is an advantage as far as cost but clubs are also seeing it as a competitive advantage because more consumers are insisting on eco-friendly facilities,’ says IHRSA president Joe Moore"

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