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Three days in Los Angeles covering the conversations reshaping fitness in 2026
The Connected Health and Fitness Summit ran February 18 through 20 in Los Angeles, its seventh year and still one of the few industry gatherings that earns its own momentum. The event brought together coaches, studio operators, investors, and technology founders under a theme that matched where the most pressing industry conversations actually live: uniting fitness, health, and technology for club and community success.
What the Summit does well is create space for both the formal session and the conversation it generates. A Networking Zone, Expo Hall, and Movement Zone ran throughout a packed but paced schedule, so attendees weren’t choosing between a panel and a meaningful introduction. That design is harder to get right than it looks, and it’s a large part of why the people who show up here tend to come back.
Here’s what coaches and studio operators should take from three days in Los Angeles.
The Summit assembled voices from across the operational range of the wellness industry, from boutique operators to enterprise brands to emerging technology. Each brought a perspective shaped by a different set of pressures, which made the programming more useful than a room full of agreement.
Hal Hargrave | The Perfect Step
Adaptive fitness and community-driven programming, relevant for coaches building inclusive client rosters and operators expanding their programming reach.
Charles Rosenblatt | Butter Payments
Payment infrastructure and revenue optimization for fitness businesses, directly applicable to studio operators managing subscription and membership models.
Jeff Zwiefel | Life Time MIORA Longevity and Performance
High-performance longevity programming at scale, relevant for coaches positioned at the premium health optimization end of the market.
Laura Wilson | Natural Pilates
Boutique studio growth and retention philosophy in a competitive urban market.
Ruth Sylvia | VP of Product Management, MyFitnessPal
Consumer behavior data and digital health integration, with implications for coaches managing client tracking and engagement outside the gym.
Steve Padis | CFO and EVP of Strategy, Barry’s
Financial strategy and brand expansion at franchise scale, with lessons applicable to any operator thinking about sustainable growth rather than fast growth.
A virtual keynote featuring Anthony Geisler and Gary Brecka extended the programming to remote attendees and added perspective on where the fitness and wellness industries are converging at the ownership and investment level.
The Summit’s panel programming covered four areas that map directly to decisions coaches and studio operators are making in 2026. Below is each topic with the practical implication that matters for the Coach360 audience.
| Panel | What It Means for Coaches and Operators |
| Designing Desire: The Next Evolution of Prestige in Fitness | Premium experience is being redefined beyond equipment and square footage. Coaches operating in the boutique or high-touch space need to understand what clients are willing to pay for now, and what they are comparing you against. |
| Adapting Your Offerings for the GLP Era | GLP-1 medications are already in your client roster, whether you know it or not. This session addressed how to program, communicate, and structure training for clients whose body composition is changing through pharmaceutical intervention alongside exercise. |
| The Business of Women’s Health: What Will Define 2026 | Women’s health is the fastest-growing programming conversation in fitness. Coaches who understand hormonal periodization, perimenopause programming, and life-stage-specific training are positioned ahead of a market that is actively looking for this expertise. |
| The Community Catalyst: How Connection Drives Retention, Revenue and Reach | The retention data is consistent: clients who feel connected to a community cancel less and refer more. This session examined what building that connection actually requires operationally, not just philosophically. |
GLP-1 medications have moved from a niche topic to a mainstream coaching reality in the past 18 months. The Summit dedicated a full session to it because the clients are already there. Coaches who have not developed a framework for programming alongside GLP-1 use are behind conversations their clients are already having with their doctors.
Coach360 will publish a dedicated GLP-1 programming guide in the coming weeks. If this is a gap in your current practice, it is worth addressing before clients bring it to you.
The Innovation Showcase is one of the most useful segments of Connected each year. Emerging companies pitch directly to a room of decision-makers and investors. For coaches and operators, it is a preview of the tools that will be part of standard conversations within two to three years.
Coach360 won the Innovation Showcase at the 2025 Summit, a recognition that validated FitHire and the Coach360 media platform as a meaningful development in how the fitness industry approaches staffing and talent. Watching the next round of companies step up carries specific weight when you have been in that position.
Related: Career Lab by Coach360 and FitHire by Coach360 built on the foundation that earned that recognition.
Jim Crowell, Eloiza Tecson, Eric Bormel, Nate Kline, and Alex Alimanestianu reviewed the presenting lineup, which brought five distinct approaches to the near future of fitness technology.
| Presenter | Company | Relevance for Coaches and Operators |
| Ivan Tchatchouwo | The Zone | Performance analytics and zone-based training protocols for group fitness environments. |
| Meridith Cass | Nix Biosensors | Real-time sweat biomarker monitoring for hydration and physiological load. Relevant for coaches managing high-output training populations. |
| Raj Sareen | Styku | 3D body composition scanning and data visualization. Directly applicable for coaches doing body recomposition work with GLP-1 and non-GLP-1 clients. |
| Scott Dickens | FORM Swim | Smart swim goggles with real-time performance metrics, expanding data-driven coaching into a significantly undertapped modality. This year’s Showcase winner. |
| Sukemasa Kabayama | Uplift Labs | AI-powered movement analysis for identifying compensation patterns and injury risk, with applications across performance and rehabilitation coaching. |
FORM Swim · Presented by Scott Dickens, VP of Global Sales Channels and Partnerships
FORM Swim’s win is worth examining beyond the recognition. Swim is the most underserved modality in coaching technology. The gap between data tools available for strength, conditioning, and cycling versus what exists for swimming has been significant for years. A wearable that delivers real-time metrics inside the water, without disrupting the session, closes part of that gap and opens the coaching conversation in a pool environment that has largely operated on feel and stopwatch timing.
For coaches who program multi-sport or triathlon clients, and for facilities with pool access, FORM Swim is worth evaluating before wider adoption makes it a standard expectation.
Three themes from Connected 2026 carry enough weight that they will show up in coaching conversations, hiring decisions, and facility programming decisions over the next year. None of them are speculative. Each reflects work already underway in the rooms that were in Los Angeles.
The Summit surfaces conversations that are already happening in the rooms most coaches and operators do not have access to. These three themes were not predictions. They were observations from the people building businesses around them right now.
Identify one of these three themes that applies to your current client roster. Spend 30 minutes this week mapping what you already know, what you need to learn, and what you would tell a client if they asked about it tomorrow.
FAQ · CONNECTED HEALTH AND FITNESS SUMMIT 2026
The Connected Health and Fitness Summit is an annual conference bringing together fitness coaches, studio operators, investors, and technology companies. The 2026 event was the seventh annual Summit, held February 18 through 20 in Los Angeles under the theme “Uniting Fitness, Health and Tech for Club and Community Success.”
FORM Swim, presented by Scott Dickens, VP of Global Sales Channels and Partnerships, won the 2026 Innovation Showcase. The selection committee included Jim Crowell, Eloiza Tecson, Eric Bormel, Nate Kline, and Alex Alimanestianu. Coach360 won the Innovation Showcase at the 2025 Summit.
The 2026 Summit covered prestige experience design in fitness, GLP-1 programming adaptation, women’s health as a business category, and community-driven retention strategy. The Innovation Showcase featured five technology companies presenting tools across performance analytics, biomarker monitoring, body composition scanning, swim coaching, and AI movement analysis.
GLP-1 medications are already present in active training populations. Coaches who have not developed a programming framework for clients using these medications are behind a conversation that is accelerating quickly. The Connected Summit dedicated a full panel session to GLP-1 adaptation, reflecting how central it has become to fitness business planning in 2026.
About Elisa Edelstein
Elisa is a curious and versatile writer, carving her niche in the health and wellness industry since 2015. Her lens is rooted in real world experience as a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder and extended out of the gym and on to the page as a writer where she is able to combine her passions for empowering others, promoting wellness, and the power of the written word.
Discover how shifting the focus from weight loss to personal achievement can transform the fitness experience, promote body positivity and address the deep-seated factors influencing body dissatisfaction among menopausal clients.
Let’s take a moment to step back from the conventional goals often set within the fitness industry. While many chase the ideals of weight loss and aesthetic perfection, it’s time to explore a deeper, more meaningful approach to fitness, especially when working with menopausal women.
This article delves into the importance of understanding the unique perspectives and underlying motivations of our clients. By focusing on performance and personal achievements over mere numbers on a scale, we can help foster a healthier, more positive relationship with exercise and body image.
Let’s dive into how tailored questions and a shift in focus can redefine success in fitness, leading to a more satisfied and empowered clientele.
Recognizing that the pursuit of exercise solely for weight management, aesthetic reasons or attractiveness can correlate with heightened levels of dissatisfaction with one’s body, engagement in disordered eating patterns and diminished self-esteem is crucial for health coaches (Vartanian, Wharton & Green, 2012). This underscores the necessity for program designs that prioritize performance-based objectives over weight-centric goals. It becomes imperative to consider the perceptions of body transformations when engaging with menopausal clientele.
To gain deeper insights into your clients’ perspectives and driving forces, tailoring open-ended questions is invaluable. Examples include:
Such inquiries help redirect focus and stimulate introspection. The objective is to pivot attention away from weight and body size, guiding clients towards setting goals that gauge achievements based on capabilities rather than pounds shed or physical appearance. Celebrating milestones tied to performance, like mastering five pushups from a starting point of none, reinforces this shift in perspective.
By associating positive sentiments and reactions with accomplishments beyond weight loss, gradual reprogramming of thought patterns occurs, reframing success as multifaceted. Equally critical is aiding clients in identifying and halting negative self-dialogue. I establish a “judgment-free zone,” where derogatory remarks regarding body weight or age are strictly prohibited.
For instance, training a client prone to remarks like, “I can feel my fat jiggle during jumping jacks” or “I despise how my belly fat feels during certain exercises—it’s repulsive,” provides an opportunity to redirect conversations towards achievements and progress made since the initial session. Emphasizing advancements in strength and proficiency shifts the narrative from appearance to capability.
Kilpela et al. (2015) outline five key psychological factors contributing to body dissatisfaction among older women:
Thin-Ideal Internalization: Reflecting the extent to which individuals adopt societal standards of attractiveness, often leading to hyper-awareness of body shape and frequent monitoring. In a study of over 1,800 women aged 50 and above, 40% reported daily scrutiny of body shape and weight (Lewis-Smith et al. 2016). This internalization fosters discontentment, given the near-impossible standards set by the thin ideal.
Cultural Perspectives on Aging and Self-Objectification: Cultural influences shape women’s perceptions of their bodies, perpetuating the objectification of women’s appearances. This phenomenon, termed self-objectification, prompts individuals to evaluate their worth based on external attractiveness, particularly valuing thinness and perpetual youthfulness.
Importance of Appearance: Society’s emphasis on youthfulness complicates the acceptance of aging bodies, pressuring women to defy natural aging processes. Advertisers capitalize on these concerns by promoting products promising revitalization, perpetuating the notion that the ideal body is attainable with sufficient effort and investment.
Fat Talk and Old Talk: These terms denote dialogues that either explicitly or implicitly endorse societal ideals of thinness and youthfulness. Beyond active participation, childhood weight-related teasing and negative feedback from peers and partners in adulthood contribute to present-day body dissatisfaction among middle-aged women.
Recognizing and addressing these underlying factors is essential in fostering a more positive body image and promoting holistic well-being. Through a thoughtful and inclusive approach, we can guide our clients toward a fulfilling and empowering fitness journey, where success is measured not by the scale, but by the strength, confidence and joy they gain.
Foster Performance-Based Goals: Encourage clients to set objectives that are unrelated to weight, such as improving strength, flexibility or stamina. Celebrate non-scale victories like completing a set number of pushups or mastering a new yoga pose.
Incorporate Tailored Inquiries: Use open-ended questions to understand clients’ unique motivations and feelings towards exercise. Ask about what activities they enjoy, how certain exercises make them feel, and goals they aspire to achieve beyond physical appearance.
Establish a Judgment-Free Zone: Create a safe and supportive environment where clients feel comfortable discussing their struggles without fear of judgment. Prohibit negative self-talk related to body weight, age or appearance in your sessions.
Shift the Focus from Appearance to Capability: Highlight the importance of what the body can do rather than how it looks. This can involve emphasizing how strength training enhances daily life, or how cardiovascular health improves endurance and energy levels.
Educate on the Psychological Factors of Body Dissatisfaction: Inform clients about the impact of thin-ideal internalization, cultural perspectives on aging and self-objectification. Understanding these factors can help clients recognize external pressures and focus on their own health and well-being.
Combat Fat Talk and Old Talk: Actively listen for and challenge instances of fat talk or old talk. Encourage positive self-talk and reinforce the idea that self-worth is not tied to physical appearance.
Promote Body Positivity: Encourage clients to appreciate their bodies for their functionality and the journey they’re on. Introduce practices that enhance body positivity, such as gratitude journals or mindfulness exercises focusing on bodily sensations during exercise.
Highlight the Benefits of Exercise Beyond Physical Appearance: Educate clients on the mental health benefits of exercise, including reduced stress, improved mood, and better sleep. Help them see fitness as a tool for overall well-being.
Personalize Exercise Programs: Tailor exercise programs to fit the individual preferences, fitness levels, and goals of your clients. Personalization can increase engagement and satisfaction with the fitness journey.
Encourage Community and Support: Recommend group classes or online forums where clients can share their experiences and achievements. A supportive community can provide motivation, accountability and a sense of belonging.
By integrating these strategies, health coaches can play a pivotal role in reshaping the fitness narrative for middle-aged women, leading them towards a healthier, more positive relationship with exercise and their bodies.
Maria Luque, PhD, MS, CHES, is a health educator, fitness expert, presenter, writer and USAF veteran. She created Fitness in Menopause, a company dedicated to helping women navigate the challenges and rewards of menopause. Her course “Menopausal Fitness: Training the Menopausal Client” is NASM-, AFAA- and ACE- accredited. She holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in health sciences and teaches at the College of Health and Human Services at Trident University International. Learn more at drmarialuque.com.
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