Life Time, Inc. is a chain of

health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

Life Time Athletic - Fitness Center in Chanhassen, Minnesota

Life Time Fitness, Alpharetta, GA Oct 2017

The company was founded by chairman and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, Bahram Akradi. The company was incorporated in 1990 as FCA, Ltd., a Minnesota corporation, and registered the name Life Time Fitness in 1992. In 2017, the word "Fitness" was officially dropped from the brand name, and the company became simply Life Time, Inc. The first club opened in

Brooklyn Park, Minnesota Brooklyn Park is a suburban city on the west bank of the Mississippi River, upstream from (north of) downtown Minneapolis in northern Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County. It is the List of cities in Minnesota, sixth-largest city in the U ...

. Several locations were added to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area before the chain expanded to suburban communities in other states. As of mid-2021, the locations include 156 athletic clubs, 3 apartment home residences, and 10 coworking locations. Most Life Time locations are located in exurban or suburban areas in medium to large-sized metropolitan areas, with some locations in central city or inner suburban areas. The oldest facility is in Eagan, Minnesota. In December 2019 they opened up a new facility inside of the Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota, replacing the former tenant

J.C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

. In addition to its health clubs, the company has created or acquired, as of 2012, more than 200 annual races in the United States. These include the

Life Time Tri Series The Life Time Triathlon Series is a set of Olympic Distance triathlon races held annually in the United States and organized by Life Time Fitness. The series began as a single race, the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon, in 2002 in Minneapolis, Minnesot ...

, the

Leadville Race Series The Leadville Trail 100 Run (aka The Race Across The Sky or the LT100) is an ultramarathon held annually on rugged trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. First run in 1983, the race course climb ...

, the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in

Hayward, Wisconsin Hayward is a city in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States, next to the Namekagon River. The population was 2,318 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sawyer County. The city is surrounded by the Town of Hayward. History Early h ...

, the Unbound Gravel gravel bicycle race, and the

Miami Marathon The Miami Marathon is an annual marathon racing event hosted by Miami, Florida, since 2003. The marathon course also runs through the city of Miami Beach, Florida. The race is typically run on the last Sunday in January or the first Sunday in ...

. In August 2014, Life Time, a publicly traded company, considered becoming a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in response to pressure from its largest shareholder, Marcato Capital Management. In March 2015, Life Time was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners in a leveraged buyout.

Controversies

Lawsuit

Several employees of Life Time Fitness took the firm to court for withholding wages in 2004. In 2009, a court ruled in favor of employees in the case of ''Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc.'', with a judgment that employees must be paid in accordance with federal and state wage-and-hour laws which require overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.

References

External links

Life Time Website
{{Leonard Green Health care companies established in 1990 American companies established in 1990 Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Health clubs in the United States 2015 mergers and acquisitions Private equity portfolio companies TPG Capital companies Medical and health organizations based in Minnesota 1990 establishments in Minnesota Chanhassen, Minnesota Privately held companies based in Minnesota

History

Controversies

Lawsuit

See also

References

External links