Posted by on July 16, 2021 — Updated on December 22, 2023
If you’re a fitness business owner or professional, the Association of Fitness Studios may help grow your career! Learn more in this Association of Fitness Studios review.
In any occupation, it’s beneficial to collaborate with other professionals to exchange ideas that grow your business. Continuing education helps professionals grow in their field so they can best help their customers. Fitness is no exception!
However, many business owners and fitness professionals rely on social media groups, local associations, or CEUs to guide their growth. Luckily, the Association of Fitness Studios (AFS) has thousands of members and seeks to support fitness businesses, fitness professionals, and suppliers through education, business templates, and expos.
In this Association of Fitness Studios review, we will examine how the AFS may help grow your business. But the best fitness center management software from Exercise.com offers a comprehensive approach to business growth. Book a demo today to learn more!
The Association of Fitness Studios (AFS) is a membership organization for fitness studios, gyms, and fitness professionals that provides quality education to inspire fitness professionals and business owners to be the best for their clients and grow their businesses.
The AFS connects all aspects of the fitness industry: fitness businesses and professionals, suppliers, and consumers. The AFS aims to give fitness businesses and professionals all the latest knowledge, education, and tangible resources for the benefit of the customer. This, in turn, grows your business as satisfied customers remain loyal to your business.
Additionally, the AFS community forms one voice to fight against any negative press, law, regulation, or policy that harms your business.
The AFS is made up of a panel of industry leaders who bring quality education and knowledge to the members of the AFS so their businesses and professions can thrive in a competitive market.
Chuck Leve spent 28 years in management at the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). This gave Chuck’s son, Josh, an up-close experience with the fitness industry. Josh followed in his father’s footsteps, working for and becoming the general manager of two fitness clubs.
However, Josh noticed that even the best fitness businesses and professionals lacked experience and understanding in delivering fitness options to their customers. After researching the industry, Josh discovered that each studio or gym had different fitness activities and training protocols. They also shared common business struggles.
It became Josh’s mission to help business owners and fitness professionals give the best to their customers through education and quality business practices–and thus AFS was born. AFS took off and soon had over 70,000 members. However, over half of AFS’s members were non-studio fitness business owners or operators. To better meet the needs of its members, AFS decided to rebrand into the Fitness Business Association.
Although AFS has been rebranded to FBA, for the purpose of this article, we will refer to FBA as AFS.
How does a membership with AFS enhance your business or profession? AFS offers a variety of educational resources, but it has other benefits, as well:
While AFS makes huge strides in supporting your business and trainers, it is limited in giving you all the tools your business needs to succeed. This is where Exercise.com comes in!
With our gym management software, you can effectively manage your business, trainers, members, and customers. Our workout software and personal training software enable trainers to create highly personalized workouts that generate the greatest client results. Our gym ecommerce software has dozens of ecommerce options that increase your revenue and your customer pool.
Additionally, you get a fully custom branded fitness landing pages and a branded app for personal trainers and gyms that keep customers engaged with your brand and boost sales.
The best way to grow your business is by partnering with Exercise.com!
Membership to the AFS is open to anyone interested in growing their business or profession. Members can be businesses such as fitness studios or gyms, or individual fitness professionals in any discipline such as personal training, cycling, yoga, Pilates, MMA, and more.
Vendors, suppliers, and sponsors are also welcome to join the AFS; however, they should contact AFS directly to learn of opportunities to reach members.
The regular price for an AFS membership is $59 for six months. AFS offers discounts and a trial, but these are available at certain times each year.
The Association of Fitness Studios offers many benefits to fitness businesses and professionals. There are a variety of resources to help jump-start a business, market effectively, and keep things organized with templates. Fitness professionals can grow in their skills and be inspired through the SUCCEED! conference, earn their CE/CEUs, and have support from the AFS community. Businesses and professionals alike have access to new vendors, suppliers, and sponsors.
Additionally, the price for an AFS membership is reasonable, especially if you join during a promo or trial time.
While the Association of Fitness Studios does offer many beneficial resources, in the end, it’s customized software like Exercise.com that will help your business succeed. AFS doesn’t include fitness business management tools, workout or assessment software, gym ecommerce software, or customized fitness websites and apps like Exercise.com.
To learn more about how Exercise.com can help grow and manage your business, book a demo today!

