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An alternative to franchised fitness clubs, PACE provides equipment, training and support to individuals seeking to own and operate circuit training programs without the fees and restrictions of a franchise. Rande LaDue is owner of Hydraulic Fitness Products, the worldwide exclusive distributor for the PACE and Kids PACE Express Circuit Training programs. PACE, originally called Hydra Fitness and dating back to the 1970’s, is the world’s first hydraulic exercise equipment. Some fitness franchises have used PACE equipment (the first Curves club in Harlingen, TX used PACE equipment) over the years, but PACE also provides equipment, training & support to those seeking to open or maintain independent, non-franchised clubs. As the recession has created increased pressure on club owners, Rande is seeing increased interest from people wanting to open independent fitness programs in markets that could not support franchised express fitness clubs like Curves. For information and pricing on PACE and PACE for Kids, email paceequipment@gmail.com. FranBest: Tell us about Hydraulic Fitness Products? How long have you been in business? Rande: I’ve been in the fitness industry 30 years opening my first health club in Upstate New York in 1980. I started selling PACE equipment in the early 90’s when I was hired by Henley Healthcare (the medical company that bought Hydra Fitness) to head up its fitness division. I started distributing PACE myself about 10 years ago as Henley got out of the fitness business. FranBest: What types of customers does Hydraulic Fitness Products serve? At what point do they begin working with you? Rande: Over the years, we have sold PACE to thousands of facilities ranging from women’s clubs, coed clubs, weight loss centers, senior facilities, schools, colleges, physical therapy/rehab centers, community centers, the US military, and even professional sports teams. PACE was originally marketed to larger coed clubs as a means of attracting those people who were too intimidated to join (seniors, women, the overweight, etc.) and as a fun, new program for existing members. The very first Curves club based in Harlingen, TX had our PACE equipment. As the Curves phenomena grew in the late 90’s, our market shifted to independent mom & pop startups who wanted to open a small studio but did not want to get locked into a franchise. There are many happy people out there who did their homework before jumping into a franchise and saw that not only did we offer superior quality adjustable equipment, but we provided the marketing and training tools necessary to be successful without any franchise fees. As Curves saturated the country, more coed clubs added our program as a means of competing against them. Since we are not a franchise, our customers were free to add additional profit centers, services or equipment to offer their members much more than the competition. FranBest: Explain the nature of the Pace Fitness Equipment product line. How does hydraulic equipment differ from typical exercise machines? Rande: Hydraulic resistance basically accommodates to the effort of the user; the faster/harder one pushes, the more resistance they encounter.

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