In The Media

FROM GROUP FITNESS INSTRUCTORS TO PERSONAL TRAINERS, TO CEOS OF FITNESS FRANCHISES, TO FEMALE-DRIVEN FITNESS NICHES, ONE COULD ARGUE THAT WOMEN DOMINATE OUR INDUSTRY. Within the Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC), many of the top roles are held by women - a large percentage of board members, provincial council leaders, and the executive team are women. “Women are able to multitask, and in this day and age if you are running a fitness business, lobbying the government for provincial tax credits, and driving kids to hockey practice, you need to proficiently multitask,” quips Sara Hodson, President of FIC.
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In early February, the Fitness Industry Council of Canada submitted yet another proposal to governments across Canada, imploring them to make gym memberships tax deductible. It’s the third straight year — first in 2021, then in 2022, now in 2023 — that the FIC has urged governments to move forward with the initiative, said council president Sara Hodson. The organization represents about 6,000 facilities with six million members nationwide.
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When we want to invest our money, we look to experts who undersand        When we want to invest our money, we look to experts who understand the risks and opportunities, the potential windfalls and pitfalls, the ebbs and flows of the stock market, and most importantly the patience that is needed to see our investments grow. The same is true of our health.    
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It's been one year since fitness clubs in Ontario were allowed to open without strict masking requirements and COVID protocols. While many businesses faced difficulties during the pandemic, gyms were hard hit after being told they had to stay closed for 410 days. "We were in that zone where we were the first to close and last to open. It was really tough,” said Chief Operating Officer Jason Sheridan of Goodlife Fitness, which has 200 locations across Canada. Sheridan said that it’s been difficult for the fitness industry but he estimates about 75 per cent of his chain’s members have returned and he is hopeful more members will also rejoin the gym throughout the year.
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We look forward to the holiday season all year long! As the treetops glisten, it is wonderful to spend time with those you love and be inspired for the year ahead. Amidst all of this, your healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to take a holiday.  While in the past we might have used the holidays to overindulge in rich food and alcohol, times have changed. At LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic, we remind our members to stick with a routine as much as possible over the holidays — and it is a lot easier than you think. Here are five ways to avoid the unhealthy landmines the holiday season places in our path, and finish 2022 brimming with health and positivity. 
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The hospice, as well as fitness studios and gyms joined forces July 15 through 17 to run fitness classes dedicated to raising funds for pediatric palliative care. Canuck Place is B.C. and the Yukon’s only pediatric palliative care service program, providing care for more than 800 youth (up to age 19) and families while operating 13 patient beds and eight family suites through two hospices in Vancouver and Abbotsford. Participating studios included Innovative Fitness, Movement by NM, Pure Barre, Barre Fitness, F45, Body and Soul, Groundwork Athletics and more. A child is in Canuck Place care for an average of seven years, and their family is on the bereavement program for three years. More than 800 children are living with life-threatening illnesses and there are families from five provincial health regions receiving Canuck Place inpatient and community care (in-home/in-hospital). The Children’s Hospice says they empower children and family to have power in making decisions a
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Seniors of White Rock walked together for the inaugural Walk for Heart event after raising money for five weeks for Heart and Stroke Foundation. LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic partnered with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to raise money for the charity and promote good heart health through exercise for National Health and Fitness Day. To celebrate, members of the White Rock Clinic came together to complete a 3 km, heart-shaped walking route together on Sunday morning (June 5).
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As we celebrate National Health and Fitness Day on Saturday, June 4th, we are inspiring Canadians to move! The Fitness Industry Council of Canada – and some gyms acrosscanada – are offering free fitness events all day.  Exercise is medicine for our bodies and our minds and the research shows that 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise is needed to prevent chronic health conditions and improve our mental health.  That sounds a little overwhelming, doesn’t it?  This number could be something that stops people – literally – in their tracks, and we know that while some Canadians embraced exercise during lockdowns, many Canadians became more sedentary. It doesn’t matter where you were on your health journey- it matters where you are today and the fitness industry is celebrating movement as medicine for all Canadians this week! 
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Did you know there are 6.3 million Canadians over the age of 65 living with chronic health conditions, obesity, chronic pain or mental health conditions? We've all been told 150 minutes of exercise weekly prevents and treats chronic health conditions and is essential for anxiety, stress and depression. And during the pandemic, all Canadians (and especially seniors) became more inactive, making a return to exercise that much more important now. 
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No one will argue that exercise is medicine. Repeated studies in scientific and medical journals for the last three decades have proven that over 50% of our health can be attributed to unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, diet, and physical inactivity.  Exercise can be used for both the prevention and treatment of chronic health conditions, such as heart disease — the number one killer of Canadian women — diabetes, and obesity. It can also be as effective as antidepressants and is an antidote for the stress and anxiety we are experiencing in this challenging world. Exercise is essential and we need to make the fitness industry an essential part of our healthcare system. Keep Reading 
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced expanded benefits Wednesday for small businesses hit by new COVID-19 shutdowns, and B.C.’s deputy premier, Mike Farnworth, will make an announcement Thursday on relief support for local business. The federal government announced expanded eligibility for the Local Lockdown Program to include employers subject to capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more; and reduced the current monthly revenue decline threshold requirement to 25 per cent. The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit will also be expanded to include workers in regions that have introduced capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more. Sara Hodson, founder and CEO at the Livewell exercise clinic and president of the Fitness Industry Council of Canada, said a patchwork of federal supports isn’t adequate. “Landlords are calling for their money. Banks are calling for their money. If we are going to be closed with no revenue, can’t there be an order for landlords to fr
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While many fitness facilities have permanently closed since the pandemic started, Cortney Lessard and his investors opened two more F45 Training gyms, with a third launching soon, bringing their total to five franchises across Vancouver and Squamish, B.C. “Definitely a leap of faith,” says Mr. Lessard, who is also the global fitness company’s sales director for Western Canada. The bet was that people would emerge from the pandemic with a renewed focus on their health and a reinvigorated social appetite. That’s despite a surge in more convenient, less expensive online fitness options over the past 20 months, including the launch of Apple Fitness+ alongside dozens of small boutique gyms offering their own online options. It’s a gamble that Mr. Lessard says has paid off as more people crave in-person connection as they sweat.
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Sara Hodson is CEO of LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic, an ultra-private gym franchise with 15 locations. She knows that exercise is a miracle drug, and everybody needs a prescription. “Exercise is medicine and is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle,” says Hodson. “If you could bottle exercise in a pill, it would be one of the most effective medications on the market for the prevention and treatment of chronic health conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. It is also more effective than antidepressants for mental health. You can change your body and your mind with only ten minutes of exercise.”
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Businesses are preparing to adjust to another new normal as B.C.'s vaccine card comes into effect Sept. 13. The B.C. vaccine card is a digital or printed document that people will need to access non-essential businesses, services and activities, such as restaurants, movie theatres and gyms.  From Sept. 13 until Oct. 24, partially and fully vaccinated people will be able to enter these settings and events. From Oct. 24, people will need to be fully vaccinated with two doses at least seven days before access will be granted. Sara Hodson, CEO of Live Well Exercise Clinic and president of the Fitness Industry Council of Canada, says the fitness industry is prepared and getting their systems ready.
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Brian D'Souza, Sara Hodson and Moe Hedayat speak with Stephen Quinn about frontline workers and the responsibility they are about to take on.
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Sara Hodson, CEO of LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic, has been elected to lead the national trade association, representing more than 6000 fitness facilities across Canada. 
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A Semiahmoo Peninsula fitness expert has been named president of the Fitness Industry Council of Canada.
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Sara Hodson, who is part of a fitness industry working group that consults with the provincial government, expects if Henry does want gyms to require proof of vaccination in the future, it would be discussed with stakeholders first.
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Sara Hodson, from the Fitness Industry Council of B.C., explains how the industry is welcoming the public back to high-intensity fitness facilities across the province.
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After the B.C. government announced a restart plan last week, the phone has been ringing off the hook, said LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic President and CEO Sara Hodson.
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“The U.K. is reporting that group fitness is back 600 per cent – this is a massive increase,” Hodson said. “People are flocking back to fitness. We see that fitness in B.C. will be a thriving industry in two, three, six months from now.”
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Diabetes Canada, Heart & Stroke and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society also all endorse the idea of allowing Canadians to shave exercise membership costs off their tax bill. “We are thrilled to have these health advocates on board,” Sara Hodson, the Fitness Industry Council’s federal advocacy lead, said in a press release in late March.
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“I don’t think it’s the role of the fitness industry to necessarily dictate what the consumer needs to provide in order to enter our facilities, it really is our national mandate from the Fitness Industry Council of Canada to get people physically active,” Sara Hodson with LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic said.
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LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic CEO Sara Hodson pitched idea to deputy prime minister.
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Healthing.ca spoke to Sara Hodson, a clinical exercise physiologist and the CEO of Live Well Exercise clinics, to get tips on how people diagnosed with Type II diabetes can start exercising.
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With a 16-year career in chronic disease and exercise, Sara is a leader in the movement of clinically-based medical fitness programs. 
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LIVE WELL is a medical fitness clinic that’s built on the belief that exercise is medicine.
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While raising her family, Brenda Yungwirth put her children first and her own health last, but as she aged and became aware she was at risk for heart disease, she knew that needed to change.
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Sometimes we just need to mix things up, so for advice on how to start a new fitness routine, we turned to Sara Hodson, founder and CEO of Live Well, a Vancouver-based exercise clinic concept. She breaks her advice down into five simple steps.
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“We’ve had patients come off their blood pressure medications, stop taking insulin and go off antidepressants,” says Sara Hodson, president and founder of LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic, whose 11-year career in chronic diseases led her to found the private clinic. It isn’t just about the amazing, long-term effects of exercise; it has an instantaneous effect on our health.
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Tory Brooks-Hill and Andrew Taylor, owners of LIVE WELL Vancouver locations in East Van and Kerrisdale, are featured in this article about being in the business of caring for seniors
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LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic CFO Morna Creedon Sileika was honoured as one BC's most influential women in Corporate & Entrepreneurship
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Founder and president Sara Hodson on LIVE WELL'S new in-house training course for kinesiology grads to groom them to become certified clinical exercise physiologists to coach members inside LIVE WELL clinics.
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LIVE WELL President and Founder Sara Hodson got the idea for her chain of clinics while working in cardiac rehab. To increase access to exercise for these types of patients and others, she opened her first LIVE WELL clinic in 2011, the first of its kind in Canada.
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BC's former heatlh minister and retired doctor credits LIVE WELL with helping shift her sedentary lifestyle
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“We have many members who came to us suffering from depression and anxiety who have been able to reduce or get off anti-depressants and get their lives back on track via regular exercise,” says Sara Hodson, founder and president of LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic.
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Individuals with chronic health conditions can exercise in a fun and safe way at LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic Kerrisdale (pg. 14)
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Founder and President Sara Hodson on why she started the company, the secret sauce behind LIVE WELL'S culture and how LIVE WELL is different from its competitors
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Surrey’s Ted Myrah walks away from depression, diabetes and obesity thanks to LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic
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Broadcasters Christine Bentleyand Kate Wheeler on How Canada’s LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic uses #exerciseasmedicine to prevent and treat chronic disease, with founder Sara Hodson. https://www.livewellclinic.ca
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Traditional gyms aren’t designed with people with chronic conditions in mind. But LIVE WELL strives to meet the needs of those who may not feel welcome at commercial gyms by delivering evidence-based exercise programs specific to each individual’s condition.
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Expanding Surrey-born company is brainchild of city’s 2017 Business Person of the Year, Sara Hodson
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Sara Hodson of LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic and others celebrated at annual gala hosted by Surrey Board of Trade
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LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic's medical director Dr. Ali Zentner was interviewed on why yoga can help reduce stress and lower your blood pressure.
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According to some experts, fitness can cure much of what ails us. Read on for your prescription for a longer, happier, healthier life
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LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic Abbotsford owner Julie Elliott wrote an article in The Pulse health supplement, about using exercise as medicine. (Click to page 10 to read how good exercise can be for your body.)
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LIVE WELL Exercise Clinic was profiled by Novus TV. Watch Founder Sara Hodson talk about how to stay active and healthy as you age  
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LIVE WELL founder and president Sara Hodson shares her expert tips on getting healthier and becoming less sedentary
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BT Vancouver’s Live Eye Host Dawn Chubai  spends a morning at LIVE WELL Exercise & Medical Clinic to learn why exercise IS medicine for those living with diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Watch the video!
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