Rocky trained for fights by running up steps and chasing chickens, but some of us need fancy equipment and every permutation of ESPN on mounted televisions to get off the couch. A Minnesota-based chain of resortlike health clubs, Life Time Fitness spares no expense in the effort to make exercising as pleasant as possible. The company spends a reported $27 million on each new building. The OP location, Life Time's first in this area, sports 400 pieces of equipment, climbing walls, squash courts, an indoor/outdoor aquatics center, child care, a yoga room, a café and a salon. An around-the-clock fitness Xanadu, Life Time also offers competitive rates, and the club doesn't require new members to sign commitments that sound more like car leases. The approach seems to be working. Life Time is a
profitable company that one stock analyst
has called "the Whole Foods of the
fitness industry."