1. VivaGym Appoints Luis de Mello as Portugal CEO to Accelerate Regional Growth
VivaGym, a leading fitness platform operating across Spain and Portugal, has appointed Luis de Mello as its new Managing Director in Portugal and as a member of the company’s Executive Committee. Reporting directly to VivaGym CEO Cristina Burzako, de Mello is tasked with overseeing the brand’s strategic expansion in the booming Portuguese fitness market. Operating on the ground from Lisbon, de Mello’s responsibilities include expanding VivaGym’s center network, upgrading current gym facilities, and tailoring services to local consumer demands. This executive move follows VivaGym’s recent gym renovations and successful M&A transactions in the country, cementing Portugal as a core priority for the brand. De Mello brings valuable corporate experience to the table, having previously served as VivaGym’s Corporate Development Director and Chief of Staff between 2019 and 2022.
2. MYDO Sports Secures Slider Machine Patent, Expanding Portfolio Past 150 Patents
Xiamen Mydo Sports Equipment Co., Ltd (Mydo Sports) announced that China’s National Intellectual Property Administration has authorized Utility Model Patent No. CN224484815U for a novel “Slider Machine Structure.” Co-developed with Beijing Kingsmith Technology Co., Ltd., the newly patented design introduces a two-stage transmission system that improves how slider machines generate magnetic resistance. By utilizing a drive disc, a magnetically controlled flywheel, and calibrated magnets, the structure multiplies the gear ratio between the sliding carriages and the flywheel. This creates higher rotational speeds and stronger eddy-current resistance, allowing for highly challenging workouts without the need for bulky electromagnetic assemblies or loud friction-based components. This filing brings Mydo Sports’ innovation portfolio to 154 patents, underscoring a growing industry trend of investing in highly differentiated hardware for the mid-to-high-end home fitness market.
3. SHUA Fitness Names Ken Pearson US Country Manager to Drive North American Footprint
SHUA Fitness has appointed industry veteran Ken Pearson as its new US Country Manager, signaling a deliberate push to accelerate its commercial footprint in North America. Pearson joins the global fitness equipment provider with over 30 years of executive leadership experience across the fitness and wellness sectors, having previously held senior positions at prominent brands including Technogym, SCIFIT Systems, Johnson Health Tech, Matrix Fitness, and Total Gym Commercial. In his new capacity, Pearson will focus on scaling SHUA’s corporate presence, cultivating strategic local partnerships, and establishing regional capabilities in the highly competitive US market. The strategic hiring comes at a crucial time as SHUA increasingly relies on overseas sales as a primary engine for its long-term corporate growth.
4. China Approves National Fitness Plan (2026–2030) to Drive High-Quality Market Growth
The State Council of China, chaired by Premier Li Qiang, officially approved the National Fitness Plan (2026–2030) on July 10, 2026. Designed to expand the supply of physical fitness facilities, bolster sports programs in schools, and encourage grassroots tournaments, the plan aims to shift the domestic wellness market’s focus from rapid volume expansion to premium service quality. Over the last five-year cycle ending in 2025, public and private sectors rapidly expanded the country’s fitness infrastructure, building over 1,500 dedicated sports parks and growing the per capita sports area to 3.11 square meters. While 38.52% of residents now exercise regularly, the new 2026–2030 blueprint targets remaining structural challenges. This includes addressing regional distribution imbalances, training certified professional coaches, and establishing sustainable grassroots service models to meet high-quality demand.
5. Guwow Fitness Backs 2026 Olympia China Station as Exclusive Title Equipment Sponsor
The 2026 Training Monster Guwow Olympia China Station concluded its two-day bodybuilding competition in Beijing on July 12, 2026, with Guwow (Guwu) Fitness serving as the exclusive title sponsor and designated professional equipment provider. Hundreds of athletes utilized Guwow’s full line of commercial strength equipment—featuring reinforced A-type steel frames and champion-calibrated ergonomic paths—for pre-competition warm-ups and staging. Operating a 200,000-square-meter intelligent production facility in China, Guwow manufactures over 300 equipment models exported to more than 100 countries. By aligning with strict, high-load event standards, the brand is actively targeting facility operators, personal training studios, and hardcore commercial gyms with its specialized, factory-direct Asda Master and Heavy-Duty Commercial equipment series.
6. SHUA Sports Forecasts H1 2026 Net Profit to Surge Up to 141% on Strong Overseas Sales
SHUA Sports Co., Ltd. (605299.SH) released its financial performance forecast for the first half of 2026 on July 13, 2026, projecting a sharp increase in profitability. The company expects its H1 2026 net profit attributable to owners of the parent company to fall between RMB 39.00 million and RMB 48.75 million. This represents a substantial year-on-year increase of 93.27% to 141.58% compared to the RMB 20.18 million reported in the same period last year. Net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is anticipated to hit RMB 37.00 million to RMB 46.25 million, marking a year-on-year surge of up to 163.58%. SHUA Sports attributed this rapid financial acceleration to robust business growth and a significant expansion in overseas sales revenue within its commercial and consumer fitness equipment divisions.
7. China Launches Three-Year Action Plan (2026–2028) to Upgrade Rehabilitation Devices
Fourteen Chinese government agencies, including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, jointly issued the Three-Year Action Plan for Expanding and Upgrading the Rehabilitation Assistive Device Industry (2026–2028) on July 13, 2026. The plan aims to scale China’s domestic rehabilitation sector to over 500 major enterprises by 2028, focusing on cutting-edge sub-sectors like brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), healthcare robotics, and bionic prosthetics. To transition laboratory prototypes into commercial products, the policy prioritizes medicine-engineering integration, the creation of regional industrial clusters, and tax incentives for manufacturers. Additionally, authorities plan to progressively integrate therapeutic rehabilitation and smart assistive devices into basic medical and long-term care insurance systems to support an aging demographic.
8. Keep Showcases In-House AI Agent Equipped with Over 200 Athletic Skills
At the 14th CHINAFIT Beijing Fitness Conference, Chinese sports technology firm Keep showcased the latest capabilities of its proprietary AI agent built on the “Keepace.ai” architecture. According to the company, Keep has packaged its decade of accumulated sports science data into over 200 specialized fitness and athletic skills, enabling automated calling and nested workflows. Supported by a global database containing parameters for over 2,000 distinct fitness machines, the AI agent is designed to manage the entire “recognition-parameterization-coaching” loop. Keep’s leadership noted that this development marks a transition for AI from a simple tracking tool into an active “workout partner,” with plans to continuously scale these skills to cover more commercial and home-training scenarios.
9. FITBENCH Introduces FITRACK™ to Maximize Small Group Training Spaces
On July 14, 2026, commercial fitness equipment manufacturer FITBENCH launched the FITRACK™, a multi-person, multifunctional training system designed to optimize underutilized gym floor space. Engineered to address the rising demand for small group training and functional fitness, the compact unit combines six integrated workout stations with premium equipment storage. The triangular-shaped structure occupies less than one square meter of floor space while expanding to accommodate up to 12 users simultaneously across 14 square meters of active training space. Manufactured in the USA, the system supports exercises ranging from landmine and conditioning work to wall ball training. FITRACK can also be integrated with digital interactive displays or customized to fit brand aesthetics, helping club operators maximize their square footage utility.
