Crunch Franchise opened its first-ever national training center in April, the company announced.
The Crunch National Training Center is part of Crunch University, which offers onboarding and educational programming. It is the setting for multi-day, in-person classroom and hands-on in-gym training and development sessions for franchise owners, executives, general managers, member service representatives, trainers, and cleaning staff.
The facility is in Jacksonville, Florida, and is part of the new 34,000-square-foot, $4 million Crunch Harbour Village location.
Franchisees and their staff will receive instruction covering gym operations, including planning, pre-sale, construction, marketing, sales, operations, group fitness, personal training, and fitness education. This fully operational gym brings classroom training to life with real-time, hands-on training in a gym environment, according to the announcement.
"There is truly nothing like the level of training, development, and support that we provide our franchise network here at Crunch," said Craig Pepin-Donat, Crunch executive vice president. "The investment in our National Training Center has dramatically elevated the support we provide to our franchise partners and their teams. Our goal is to create as many training 'touch points' as possible from the moment they sign a lease, move into pre-sale and buildout, and then into a fully operational gym."
Fitness trainers and class instructors receive specialized training through proprietary classes developed by Crunch for Crunch and an Approved Continuing Education Provider by the American Council on Exercise, the Athletics and Fitness Association of America, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. This training also provides Crunch team members with continuing education units toward their certifications and includes the official accreditations for the HIITZone, the Ride Studio, group fitness, personal training and nutrition.
The National Training Center opening coincides with the launch of Crunch Connected, the brand's online learning-management system curriculum, classroom training, webinar series, and team communities for sharing best practices. The platform also offers additional support, resources, and networking opportunities that all team members in the Crunch system can access 24/7.