From advanced body-composition scanning to personalized services including metabolic testing and GLP-1s, ATN breaks down how fitness facilities across the U.S. are morphing into preventive health hubs
The long-predicted convergence between gyms and health-optimization services is no longer theoretical; it’s here and scaling fast
Across the U.S., fitness brands are morphing into preventive health-tech zones. Access to biomarker testing is now just as important as a posh locker room and sauna, GLP-1s and HRT are becoming as essential as a diverse group-fitness schedule and personalized, testing-informed protocols are the new personal training model.
And all of it, at once, is shifting from premium add-ons to baseline expectations. Instead of tacking wellness programs onto memberships, operators are wiring clinical capabilities directly into their business models.
Here’s how the next stage is taking shape and who is leading the way.
The Luxury Gym Goes Clinical
Equinox has gone from high-performance lifestyle to hybrid fitness-and-health system, and its latest moves show how much the upscale operator is leaning in.
The brand was one of the first in the industry to push into clinically driven wellness, and it’s now expanding its partnership with Function Health, a digital health platform that offers more than 100 biomarker tests and detailed insights based on the results.
The collaboration integrates advanced diagnostics into the Equinox experience, giving members a way to coordinate their health metrics with their training plans.
Equinox is also deepening its women’s health strategy through EQX ARC, a program designed for members navigating hormone health across all life stages, including fertility, postpartum, perimenopause and menopause. Function Health provides the testing and biomarker insights that power the program, ensuring training plans are informed by real data like hormone levels, nutrient imbalances and recovery markers.
Life Time’s Longevity Play
Not to be outdone, luxury athletic country club operator Life Time has stepped into clinical services at scale with Miora Performance and Longevity Clinic, its signature medical wellness concept that gives members access to personalized health guidance, trainers, recovery and longevity therapies and weight-loss medications.
The experience begins with biomarker testing, followed by a personalized protocol built around each member’s data.
The first Miora location launched inside Life Time’s flagship Target Center club in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A second opened this year in downtown Evanston, Illinois, and Life Time says it plans to open four to five additional centers before expanding the concept much more aggressively across multiple markets by the end of 2026.
Former Life Time chief operating officer and president, and current strategic advisor, Jeff Zwiefel, told Athletech news late last year that the Miora concept was created to democratize access to health-optimization services.
“The consumer, now more than ever, is interested in optimal health; they’re interested in looking good, feeling great, and living longer, better … We felt like we could be a tremendous one-stop-shop solution for our customers,” Zwiefel said.
High-End Health, Redefined
The crossover between luxury and longevity is going full throttle.
Monarch Athletic Club, a physician-led health and wellness facility with three California locations, combines clinical care with fitness, recovery and diagnostics.
Members can access bloodwork testing, biometric tracking and body composition analysis as part of an integrated performance-health model. The brand will expand in 2026 with a new location at The Rivani in Miami Beach, a high-end mixed-use development.
Love.Life, co-founded by Whole Foods founder John Mackey, is another model reshaping what a health club can be.
In addition to traditional gym equipment, the 45,000-square-foot space in El Segundo, California, offers advanced medical diagnostics, functional medicine and recovery tools like cold plunges, infrared saunas and red light therapy, along with nutrition and mental health support.
“It’s about being side by side with you through the journey,” Love.Life regional president Michael Robertson told Athletech news. “Most models give you data and leave you to figure it out. We’re building a team that helps you apply it. We’re really leading with prevention. It’s about helping people feel their best before there’s ever a problem.”
Recess Fitness Adds GLP-1s, HRT
Dallas-based Recess Fitness, the gym that takes fun as seriously as heavy lifts, complete with an interior slide and a re-rack fee for the chronically forgetful, is redefining what a modern gym looks like. The fitness operator offers RecessRx, a clinical layer offering weight-loss medications and hormone replacement therapy to members who qualify.
The goal is to support people through medication while preserving lean mass, especially for those on GLP-1s, by aligning training schedules with dosages and ensuring every coach, doctor and trainer is working from the same plan.
“What is really integral is having the physician, the gym and the trainer on the same page,” Recess Fitness co-founder Taylor Metzger said. “That communication helps members keep muscle tissue, which is what helps you burn fat. Most clinics never address that.”
Performance Clubs Enter the Chat
While many operators are racing toward the clinic model, others are carving out a different lane that blends high-performance training with community.
One of the clearest examples is The Kollective, a social performance club founded by Jeremy Hills and Devon Low that has quickly become a standout in Austin, Texas.
The Kollective brings strength and conditioning, preventive recovery tools and on-site wellness providers under one roof. Its first Austin location hit capacity within its first year, building a waitlist of prospective members and prompting the opening of a second club in the same market.
The brand is now scaling into new cities, starting with Nashville, with additional markets in consideration.
“Our model has always been about more than training,” Hills said. “It’s about building an environment where high performers can connect, recover and grow together.”
Looking ahead, The Kollective plans to open two additional clubs within the next 24 months while expanding its digital footprint to extend the community beyond its physical spaces.
Body-Scanning Tech Shows the Journey
It’s not just peptides and hormones. Body-scanning tech partnerships are increasing fast across the industry, giving gyms another way to engage, attract and retain members who want visual feedback on their health journeys.
These tools offer tangible progress cues that traditional check-ins can’t match and, with advancing technology, go far beyond a traditional scale.
Anytime Fitness features Evolt’s body composition scanners across its clubs, giving members a deeper, behind-the-scenes look at their health.
The Evolt system analyzes more than 40 data points in seconds, including skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat, segmental lean tissue and biological age. Coaches use the scans to personalize programs, track progress and guide members through shifts such as GLP-1–related weight changes, menopause or strength-building cycles.
The platform has become a reliable driver of member referrals.
“The reassessment tells you if you’re making progress,” Mitchell Keyes, vice president of operations at Anytime Fitness, said. “If you are, high five, handshake, and that process drives referrals.”
Snap Fitness, meanwhile, has partnered with Spren, the fitness tech company centered on smartphone-based body scans and AI coaching, to bring advanced health insights to more than 1,100 clubs worldwide.
The integration gives Snap Fitness members real-time body composition analysis from their phones, along with adaptive nutrition plans and AI-driven guidance.
Spren’s scans take under two minutes and produce personalized nutrition targets, recovery recommendations and training suggestions, making clinical-style feedback accessible without any hardware investment from the gym.
Catalyst Fitness Adds Physician-Led Care
Catalyst Fitness, a Western New York operator, is also leaning into the gym-as-a-clinic shift. The company has partnered with telehealth provider ApexMD to introduce a physician-led wellness program that places medical care directly inside the gym.
The initiative is overseen by Dr. Jim Bowen, a Mayo Clinic–trained physician with experience in performance and longevity centers. Participants receive virtual consultations, individualized health roadmaps and access to prescription options targeting cardiovascular health, metabolism, visceral fat and sleep, along with lifestyle coaching to align training with medical guidance.
The program operates separately from standard memberships and is open to both members and non-members.
“Our goal is to redefine what a modern gym can offer,” Catalyst Fitness area director of marketing Jenn Trees said. “This program is about combining fitness with trusted medical wellness and innovation to give people the best the industry has to offer in both physical and metabolic health.”
A version of this article originally appeared in ATN’s “Health Tech Revolution” report, which examines how artificial intelligence, diagnostics, wearables and clinical partnerships are reshaping the business of fitness, wellness and preventive care. Download the free report.
