SCHILLER PARK, IL--(Marketwire -03/08/12)- Life Fitness, a global leader in fitness equipment manufacturing, will debut a system for personal trainers on March 15th at IHRSA, the world's largest fitness trade show. The new Synrgy360 combines several popular total-body, dynamic exercises into a system that helps personal trainers more effectively train individuals and groups, giving users fun, unlimited ways to exercise.

"Synrgy360 capitalizes on major worldwide fitness trends synergized in one solution with unlimited variety," said Dan Wille, vice president of global marketing and product development for Life Fitness. "This system helps create a personal training focal point to facilitate individual personal training and small group training. It includes accessories, flooring and educational materials together in one complete solution."

Synrgy360 can facilitate eight of the top 20 trends highlighted in the 2012 annual American College of Sports Medicine survey of fitness trends, including functional fitness, strength training, exercise and weight loss, personal training, core training, group personal training, boot camp and sport-specific training.

Synrgy360 supports exercisers of all fitness levels in accomplishing a wide variety of training goals, including metabolic weight loss and improved balance, coordination, speed, agility, flexibility, power and strength. To achieve these goals, the system combines several popular training applications, including functional training, boxing, suspension training, core training, reaction training, sports-specific training and strength training.

The modular design of Synrgy360 makes it possible for customers to choose a configuration that meets varying training philosophies. Gyms can choose four customizable exercise spaces on the Synrgy360x, like a boxing space, rebounder space, cable motion space, versa space, and versa cable space. It also features a monkeybar zone and two TRX Training Zones. The Synrgy360s has three customizable spaces with optional TRX Training Zone suspension bars. Depending on the configuration selected, Synrgy360x covers a minimal live training area from 720 to 802 sq. feet and accommodates up to 16 people at one time. The Synrgy360s also ranges in size but can occupy a live training area from 330 to 344 sq. feet -- the ideal size for an old racquetball or squash court -- and includes 3 exercise spaces.

Both Synrgy360x and Synrgy360s products were created in collaboration with the Life Fitness Academy and come with three recommended configurations, accessories, flooring, and educational materials designed to optimize training on the product. All product configurations include built-in accessory storage to keep facilities organized and maximize space. Each exercise space is designed with the appropriate storage for the space's required accessories. This allows trainers and users to focus on the workout rather than trying to find the right accessory.

IHRSA attendees can try out the new system by participating in a 30-minute express group fitness class during the show. Life Fitness trainers will host classes on Friday, March 16 at 6:45 a.m. 7:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. To register for a Synrgy360 class, visit http://www.LifeFitness.com/IHRSA. Space is limited.

Booth attendees can also take on a Synrgy360 Challenge, which takes place on March 16th during early morning workouts and from 11:00 - 3:00 p.m. One male and one female winner will be awarded prizes.

The Synrgy360 will be on display at IHRSA, March 15 and 16, 2012 at the Life Fitness Booth #2001. For more information about Synrgy360 and events at IHRSA, visit http://www.lifefitness.com/IHRSA.

[Editor's note: To obtain an image to accompany this story, contact Lauren Kamm at lauren.kamm@lifefitness.com]

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Life Fitness Debuts Personal Training System at IHRSA

NEW YORK, March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- iCrossing (http://news.icrossing.com), a global digital marketing agency, today announced the opening of its 10th annual Client Summit at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, March 7 9. The invitation-only event brings together CMOs and top executives from global brands to share insights on how data can enable connectedness or more personal relationships between brands and consumers.

The theme of iCrossing's 2012 Client Summit is "Connectedness gets personal." Participants will explore what it means to create "connected moments" and how audience data can be used to create more personal experiences.

The agenda features presentations by the CMOs of iCrossing clients, including The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the California State Auto Group, a major provider of AAA-branded insurance, and TXU Energy. In addition, Michael Greene of Forrester Research, Inc., will share how data management platforms (DMPs) are influencing the shift from channel-centric to customer-centric marketing strategies and Cecelia Wogan-Silva of Google, Inc., will discuss how agile risk takers can drive the future of creativity.

Summit attendees include approximately 50 senior marketers from brands such as The Coca-Cola Company and LG Electronics USA. Roundtable discussions will be hosted by iCrossing media partners, including Facebook and Google.

This topic of data-driven marketing is particularly relevant for iCrossing, as it recently announced the acquisition of Red Aril, a leading data management and audience optimization platform (DMP) company. The acquisition enables iCrossing to build connected brands at a more personal level with clients' most valuable audiences in real time.

"CMOs need data-driven strategies to build connected brands," said Don Scales, president and CEO, iCrossing. "At this year's Client Summit, top marketing minds will discuss how to use data to get closer to their audiences."

About iCrossing

iCrossing is a global digital marketing agency that combines talent and technology to help world-class brands find and connect with their customers. The company blends best-in-class digital marketing services - including paid search, search engine optimization, Web development, social media, mobile, research and analytics - to create integrated digital marketing programs that engage consumers and drive ROI. iCrossing's client base includes such recognized brands as The LEGO Group, Epson America and Toyota, and 40 Fortune 500 companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, MasterCard and FedEx. Headquartered in New York, the company has 750 employees in 18 offices globally. iCrossing is a unit of Hearst Corporation, one of the nation's largest diversified media companies. For more information, please visit http://www.icrossing.com.

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Connectedness Gets Personal at the 10th Annual iCrossing Client Summit

Some consumers are shying away from plastic and instead turning to personal loans and lines of credit to gain more control over their financial life -- perhaps using them to pay down credit card debt, pay their tax bills or finance a trip down the aisle.

At the beginning of each year, "we see demand increase" for the products, says Todd Denbo, a Wells Fargo senior vice president within the personal credit management group. "Consumers start the year fresh with their personal finances in mind."

Wells Fargo's Debt Pay Down Solution is particularly popular among consumers who want to consolidate their credit card debt into a fixed loan, which runs for a fixed amount of time at a fixed interest rate, Denbo says.

Demand for personal loans at Wells Fargo "has been on an upward slope since the recession really started," he says.

How personal loans work Personal loans and lines of credit are unsecured, so there's no collateral such as a house or car required for approval, and in most cases they can be used for any purpose the borrower desires.

With a personal loan, a consumer borrows a set amount of money for a certain amount of time at a set interest rate and pays a fixed monthly payment.

A personal line of credit is similar to a home equity line of credit, and borrowers can tap into it as needed. The payment will vary based on the amount owed; the annual percentage rate may also vary with the borrower's credit rating.

The rate a consumer pays varies based on credit history and credit score, and may also be influenced by the borrower's relationship with a particular financial institution or purpose for using the money. Your income and assets may also be looked at.

Total value of market unknown The total value of personal loans and lines of credit is hard to come by. Personal loans are made by a host of institutions, large and small, and the Federal Reserve's statistics lump them in with other types of lending, making it tough to measure separately.Along with banks and credit unions, social lending is gaining ground. With social or peer-to-peer lending, there's no traditional financial institution involved. Instead, individual borrowers are connected to individual investors through sites such as Lending Club and Prosper.com .

At credit unions, unsecured loans are broken down between credit cards and "all other unsecured loans," with personal loans accounting for the vast majority of those. In National Credit Union Association data, the total value of "all other unsecured loans" was $25.58 billion in December 2011. That's a slight uptick from $25.47 billion in December 2010.

Originally posted here:
Personal loans on the rise, but are they right for you?

STUART, FL--(Marketwire -03/07/12)- Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group, Inc. (Pinksheets: CTYX.PK - News) ("Connectyx") http://www.connectyx.com, the manufacturer and distributor of the MedFlash, an innovative Personal Health and Wellness Management System (ePHM) designed for maintaining personal health records (PHR), announced today that Connectyx Technologies has initiated development of its PHR for pets, MyPetsPHR, using the Internet Web domain http://www.mypetsphr.com. Similar to MedFlash, the MyPetsPHR will offer a secure web portal suite for a pet's medical information (shots, vaccines) in addition to a USB flash drive and smartphone applications with Scan code capability. The MyPetsPHR will include the pet owner's contact information to expedite a pet's recovery when lost. MyPetsPHR will also include Pet Benefits, Pet Insurance, Access to Pet-Friendly Hotels, Dog Parks and more.

It is an inescapable observation by both pet owners and non pet owners that many pet lovers care about their pet and treat them just as a child or partner. With this in mind, a product like MyPets PHR that offers convenience and added benefits for the pet owner along with safety for their pet is a compelling addition to the pet care marketplace.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spend more than $60 billion on their pets annually. The average annual cost per pet is from $355 for a small dog to $650 for a large dog. Cat owners spend about $495 annually.

Ronn Schuman, CEO of Connectyx Technologies, said, "The applicability of product similar to MedFlash with pets is obvious. Anyone who has taken their pet to be groomed at a PetSmart or PetWorld has had the experience of being asked for all immunization records that are necessary for review for the protection of the groomer. With MyPetsPHR, this requirement is easily fulfilled without having to remember to take paper files on your pet's medical history down to the store."

Schuman continued, "The obvious benefit of having a convenient pet owner contact is a clear plus too. All contact information can be included, not just what can fit on a small dog or cat identification tag. Whether it is both owners' cell phones and business phones, any and all helpful information can be accessed to contact the worried pet owner as soon as possible."

In addition to the initiation of development for http://www.mypetsphr.com, Connectyx has contracted with a web development group, Winduppixel.com in Chicago, IL, to update and modernize the MedFlash consumer website, http://www.medflash.com. Ronn Schuman, CEO of Connectyx Technologies, said, "We expect to unveil the new MedFlash website over the next 60 days as we collaborate with Winduppixel's web developers to add a fresh updated look designed for easier navigation for our consumer portal."

Interested investors and shareholders are invited to be added to the corporate e-mail database for corporate press releases and industry updates by sending an e-mail to investorrelations@connectyx.com

About Connectyx Technologies

Connectyx Technologies provides unique products for the healthcare market including MedFlash, the electronic Personal Health Manager (ePHM). The MedFlash PHM is an easy to use Personal Health and Lifestyle Manager that is accessible using a powerful web portal suite. The MedFlash PHM also features a 24/7/365 call center, a USB flash drive and our smartphone applications with Scan code capability. The MedFlash PHM provides member benefits including instant access to your Emergency Medical Profile and Personal Health Record in the event of an accident or a medical emergency. Whether traveling, at work, or at home, First Responders have an invaluable advantage when they have access to this time critical information. Far more than just an emergency flash drive, the MedFlash PHM can be accessed on any computer, securely and with complete privacy. There are also lifestyle and wellness features that provide significant health benefits to members and risk mitigation for employers and insurers alike. Connectyx products are developed with the needs of patients, families, doctors and First Responders in mind. For more information, please visit our websites at: http://www.connectyx.com, http://www.phrtoday.com and http://www.medflash.com

About Winduppixel.com

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Connectyx Technologies Announces Introduction of MyPetsPHR for Veterinary Records

THE Speakmans Nic and Eva are psychotherapists and personal development coaches. You might have spotted them on Fatima Whitbreads Fat Fighters on ITVs This Morning.

On twitter, they tell their followers:

If you can conceive it in your mind, then it can be brought to the physical world.

Anorak has conceived a cloud that rains Cherry Cola, Prince Charles being replaced by a giant grasshopper that eats bricks, and France floating into the Atlantic.

Says the Speakmans:

In addition to sharing the true life stories of amazing people in the world, who too decided they did not want to just settle and thus they made the decision to become the best that they could ever be, people like Lance Armstrong, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joanne Rowling, Sylvester Stallone, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Irwin, Richard Branson, Mahatma Gandhi to name a few, we too can share our personal true life experiences and adversities, and give you our personal recipe for success, forgiveness, acceptance, focus, inner peace, passion, drive and true happiness.

Thats an impressive list.And though they might not have treated any of those stella names, the Speakmans have , as the Sun reports, cured This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby of a fear of ghosts andcured Kym Marshof a fear of motorway driving.

As Eva once said:

Back in the 50s, it was believed that it was impossible to run a mile in under four minutes. Then Sir Roger Bannister came along and did it. That year, a further five people did it as well and that was all because Roger proved it was possible. We are pioneers in what we do and we want to be like Roger Bannister.

To help you, the Speakmans have listed 10 OF FEBRUARYS MOTIVATIONAL TWEETS:

Continued here:
Living life with Nic and Eva Speakman – conceiving a talking cloud that rains Cherry Cola

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goOZQh0xhU4

13-10-2011 13:18 http://www.antoinettecapri.com Antoinette Capri...Speaking with Girls Fashion Camp on self esteem

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Personal Development: Nobody's Perfect - Video

NEW YORK, March 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 70% rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well"; among those interested in digital wallet, 74% would choose their primary bank as their preferred provider versus digital or retailer providers

While early adopters ranging from large retailers to digital brands and telecom-led consortiums are aggressively pursuing a "digital wallet" solution, retail banks still hold a significant advantage over these new players when it comes to consumer trust. Seventy percent of consumers rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well," and among those interested in using a digital wallet, 74% would prefer that their primary bank serve as the provider, compared to 23% who say PayPal and 15% who say Google. That's according to a study released today by AlixPartners LLP, the global business-advisory firm.

Meeting fast-evolving consumer expectations in mobile shopping and payments will be imperative for financial services providers looking to stay ahead of their competitors in the race for the digital wallet, says the new whitepaper -- The Mobile Shopping Revolution, How Mobile is Redefining Shopping and Payments.

"Early development efforts at the digital wallet gained little traction with consumers, as most offerings were focused primarily on the technical features of delivering payment capabilities to the point of sale, rather than addressing the shopping and purchasing needs of consumers who are increasingly turning to their mobile devices as a source of value and convenience. However, with the recent integration of shopping capabilities into the digital wallet concept, there is now a much more compelling 'use' case for consumer acceptance of the digital wallet's payments capabilities," said Bob Hedges, managing director in AlixPartners' Financial Services Practice.

"Today's consumers are not solely motivated by the idea of replacing their leather wallet with a mobile device; rather, they are interested in a digital wallet solution that can offer an integrated shopping experience. Consumer engagement is focused on the many potential value-added capabilities of a digital wallet, such as storing and managing gift cards, hosting a receipt vault, managing post-purchase warranties, organizing coupons or optimizing which payment card to use to maximize reward points," said Teresa Epperson, managing director in AlixPartners' Financial Services Practice.

Consumers' increasing use of their mobile devices for shopping is fueling interest in the digital wallet concept. According to the study, 25% of consumers with a mobile device are aware of the digital wallet concept, with the highest awareness levels among consumers between the ages of 26 and 44, where levels exceed 30%. Consumer interest in the digital wallet concept will continue to grow as mobile devices play an increasingly important role in consumers' shopping and purchase decision-making, says the study.

With consumer interest rising, a wide variety of firms have stepped forward to be potential digital wallet providers. According to the research, banks and other financial services providers are currently well-positioned to deliver a digital wallet offering, as consumers are quite discerning between banks and other providers such as digital firms and retailers when it comes to trust ratings. In the results, 70% of consumers rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well," versus just 29% saying the same for large retailers, 26% for both Google and Apple, and 15% for Facebook. Further highlighting consumers' current trust in banks, only 3% say their primary bank "does not safeguard" their personal information at all, while 26% say the same for Facebook, 15% for Apple, 14% for Google and 10% for major retailers. In regards to using their personal information, 56% of consumers believe their primary bank "always" or "mostly" uses personal information in the customer's best interest, while only 30% believe this is true for large retailers, 27% for Google, 25% for Apple and 19% for Facebook.

"Consumers are drawing a clear distinction between banks and other digital providers, and banks are scoring high as firms that consumers are comfortable sharing their confidential, personal information with," said Hedges.

More importantly, banks are right now clearly the consumer's provider of choice for the digital wallet. According to the AlixPartners survey, when consumers who expressed an interest in the digital wallet concept were asked from which type of provider they would be interested in receiving digital wallet offering, an overwhelming 74% said their primary bank, compared to 23% for PayPal and 15% for Google.

"Financial services providers must get in the digital wallet arena to both stay relevant with consumers and protect their existing customer relationships. Assuming equal feature and functionality, it seems very clear that consumers will choose a digital wallet offered by their primary bank over one offered by non-bank competitors. However, if banks do not move forward quickly to exercise leadership in this space, and instead allow competing digital technology firms to surpass them, consumers may not wait for the financial services industry to move. For banks, the strategic imperative is profound," said Epperson.

The rest is here:
Banks Need to Leverage Their Trust Advantage to Stay in the Race for the "Digital Wallet,"(TM) According to ...

NEW YORK, March 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 70% rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well"; among those interested in digital wallet, 74% would choose their primary bank as their preferred provider versus digital or retailer providers

While early adopters ranging from large retailers to digital brands and telecom-led consortiums are aggressively pursuing a "digital wallet" solution, retail banks still hold a significant advantage over these new players when it comes to consumer trust. Seventy percent of consumers rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well," and among those interested in using a digital wallet, 74% would prefer that their primary bank serve as the provider, compared to 23% who say PayPal and 15% who say Google. That's according to a study released today by AlixPartners LLP, the global business-advisory firm.

Meeting fast-evolving consumer expectations in mobile shopping and payments will be imperative for financial services providers looking to stay ahead of their competitors in the race for the digital wallet, says the new whitepaper -- The Mobile Shopping Revolution, How Mobile is Redefining Shopping and Payments.

"Early development efforts at the digital wallet gained little traction with consumers, as most offerings were focused primarily on the technical features of delivering payment capabilities to the point of sale, rather than addressing the shopping and purchasing needs of consumers who are increasingly turning to their mobile devices as a source of value and convenience. However, with the recent integration of shopping capabilities into the digital wallet concept, there is now a much more compelling 'use' case for consumer acceptance of the digital wallet's payments capabilities," said Bob Hedges, managing director in AlixPartners' Financial Services Practice.

"Today's consumers are not solely motivated by the idea of replacing their leather wallet with a mobile device; rather, they are interested in a digital wallet solution that can offer an integrated shopping experience. Consumer engagement is focused on the many potential value-added capabilities of a digital wallet, such as storing and managing gift cards, hosting a receipt vault, managing post-purchase warranties, organizing coupons or optimizing which payment card to use to maximize reward points," said Teresa Epperson, managing director in AlixPartners' Financial Services Practice.

Consumers' increasing use of their mobile devices for shopping is fueling interest in the digital wallet concept. According to the study, 25% of consumers with a mobile device are aware of the digital wallet concept, with the highest awareness levels among consumers between the ages of 26 and 44, where levels exceed 30%. Consumer interest in the digital wallet concept will continue to grow as mobile devices play an increasingly important role in consumers' shopping and purchase decision-making, says the study.

With consumer interest rising, a wide variety of firms have stepped forward to be potential digital wallet providers. According to the research, banks and other financial services providers are currently well-positioned to deliver a digital wallet offering, as consumers are quite discerning between banks and other providers such as digital firms and retailers when it comes to trust ratings. In the results, 70% of consumers rate their primary bank as safeguarding their personal information "extremely well" or "very well," versus just 29% saying the same for large retailers, 26% for both Google and Apple, and 15% for Facebook. Further highlighting consumers' current trust in banks, only 3% say their primary bank "does not safeguard" their personal information at all, while 26% say the same for Facebook, 15% for Apple, 14% for Google and 10% for major retailers. In regards to using their personal information, 56% of consumers believe their primary bank "always" or "mostly" uses personal information in the customer's best interest, while only 30% believe this is true for large retailers, 27% for Google, 25% for Apple and 19% for Facebook.

"Consumers are drawing a clear distinction between banks and other digital providers, and banks are scoring high as firms that consumers are comfortable sharing their confidential, personal information with," said Hedges.

More importantly, banks are right now clearly the consumer's provider of choice for the digital wallet. According to the AlixPartners survey, when consumers who expressed an interest in the digital wallet concept were asked from which type of provider they would be interested in receiving digital wallet offering, an overwhelming 74% said their primary bank, compared to 23% for PayPal and 15% for Google.

"Financial services providers must get in the digital wallet arena to both stay relevant with consumers and protect their existing customer relationships. Assuming equal feature and functionality, it seems very clear that consumers will choose a digital wallet offered by their primary bank over one offered by non-bank competitors. However, if banks do not move forward quickly to exercise leadership in this space, and instead allow competing digital technology firms to surpass them, consumers may not wait for the financial services industry to move. For banks, the strategic imperative is profound," said Epperson.

Continued here:
Banks Need to Leverage Their Trust Advantage to Stay in the Race for the "Digital Wallet," According to AlixPartners ...

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwHwq4HJvA0

24-10-2011 13:35 http://www.antoinettecapri.com Antoinette tells what men need from their faith.

Continued here:
Personal Development - Men need to be Covered - Video

Published: Monday, March 5, 2012 at 10:54 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, March 5, 2012 at 10:54 a.m.

Stacy Sevin never planned to get involved in small-business development.

But when the BP oil spill hit, the Chauvin resident found herself assisting various family seafood businesses navigate the disaster's impact.

My whole family is pretty much in the seafood industry. I was basically consulting for about a year to help them get through that time, said Chauvin, 28, who spent her childhood working on her grandparents' dock in Cocodrie.

Her parents, who own Bait House Seafood on Little Caillou Road, devised a business plan and calculated their spill-related losses with the help of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Nicholls State University.

The organization gets its money from state and federal grants, and provides free, confidential services and low-cost business classes and training. It was designed to help offset the effects of hurricanes, Sevin said, but happened to open up the day after the spill.

Everybody in this area was affected by this spill, either directly or indirectly, Sevin said. Services like private consulting, or even having a CPA do an assessment for you, are very expensive. The claims process required detailed monthly loss documentation, and many fishermen don't normally do their books monthly.

Having helped her family with claims and development plans after the spill, Sevin realized she had a knack for small-business development work. In August, she started working as a consultant for the center which had helped save her parents' business.

Andrew and Christine Blanchard, who own Indian Ridge Shrimp company in Chauvin, have worked with Sevin for two months.

Stacy's been a big inspiration to us with all her help and ideas, said Christine Blanchard. As far as our website, we didn't know how to post things so we would get hits on Google. We didn't know you could do a Facebook page for a business and use that to get your name out there. She's helping us with our business plan now. Everyone else charges a fortune for all this, and she does it for free.

Continued here:
Local turns personal experience into business venture