Crunch Gym app lets you avoid check-in lines
Crunch Fitness unveils its first app, created with IdeaWork Studios, enabling iPhone and Android users to find locations, see class schedules, and check in.
Fitness chain Crunch today unveils its first app, which is free, for iPhone and Android users to more easily find locations, see class schedules, and avoid the lines by checking in remotely.
Not that Crunch gyms, of which there are roughly two dozen throughout New York, California, Florida, and Oregon, are boasting terribly long lines these days. Founded in 1989 by former stockbroker Doug Levine, the chain was bought by Bally in 2001 and filed for bankruptcy in May 2009, at which point it was acquired by New Evolution Fitness Company, which in turn was co-founded by one of the co-founders of 24 Hour Fitness. (Perhaps it's time for an app enabling the exploration of the inbreeding of gyms.)
As for the new Crunch app, features include searching for nearby locations and classes via GPS (with a gym amenity and program filter), checking in remotely via its mobile bar coding system (you can shout out on Twitter and Facebook that you were there even if you weren't), and connecting to Google maps, Yelp, and the chain's very own social media, blog, and event pages (just in case you need another social media domain and log-in to memorize).
The Crunch mobile app can be downloaded at http://www.crunch.com/Home/Crunch/Mobile.aspx. According to its news release, Crunch is already working on version 2.0 with added capabilities and functionality in addition to expanding its base to new locations across the US and the world.