Press Room

ACE expands growth in Middle East region

Posted: Mar 02, 2022 in ACE Press Releases

San Diego, Calif., March 2, 2022 – American Council on Exercise (ACE) expands its partnership with Inspire Fitness Academy, who will serve as ACE’s new international agent. Inspire Fitness Academy will expand ACE’s growth and impact in the Middle East region, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon. This is ACE’s first-ever agent in the region and builds upon ACE’s global effort to increase physical activity and fitness around the world. 

“Advancing our efforts with Inspire Fitness Academy, to get more people moving in these countries, is an exciting educational opportunity,” said Anthony J. Wall, ACE senior director of global business development and professional education. “With the region’s growing focus on fitness and addressing challenges associated with physical inactivity, it’s an ideal time to provide resources and guidance to promote more active and healthy lifestyles.” 

Inspire Fitness Academy provides science-based educational programming to exercise professionals, health coaches, amateur athletes and other individuals seeking the highest quality resources to guide and help clients become more fit, healthier and happier. 

“With locations in Beirut and Dubai, we are honored to continue and deepen our partnership with ACE,” said Patrick Bejjani, director of the Inspire Fitness Academy. “Together, we will raise education standards for exercise and health professionals to build healthier communities.” 

Inactivity and related conditions are prevalent in the Middle East and North African region, where half of women in the Middle East are deemed physically inactive based on WHO guidelines (NIH, 2017; WHO, 2018). Many countries in the Middle East and North African region are experiencing increased demand for health and fitness. Some highlights of recent growth in the Middle East region include: 

• Saudi Arabia - Health club operators expanded during the first year of the pandemic unlike other organizations across the world who were forced to close permanently (IHRSA, 2021). In addition, the Saudi Arabian government began to allow female-only gyms in 2017, which also helped the market swell (Report Linker, 2021). 
• United Arab Emirates (UAE) - The UAE fitness industry is expected to exceed $600 million by 2025 (Sportz Business, 2021).
• Egypt - The Egyptian fitness market is projected to grow 8.8%, bolstered by government initiatives to combat its population’s high rates of obesity (Ken Research, 2021).  

 

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About the American Council on Exercise 

Since 1985, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) has been the leading non-profit education and certification provider for health coaches and exercise professionals in the United States and around the world.  

With more than 90,000 highly respected certified health coaches and exercise professionals, ACE Certified Professionals are on the ground daily helping people move, stay active and make lasting lifestyle behavior change to build healthier communities.  

Headquartered in San Diego, ACE collaborates with public health partners to educate people of all backgrounds about the importance of physical activity and other healthy lifestyle behaviors; advocates for public policies to increase physical activity opportunities; and supports scientific research that investigates the efficacy of behavior-change interventions and the effectiveness of exercise practices and trends. 

For more information visit www.acefitness.org/about-ace/. AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE, ACE and ACE logos are Registered Trademarks of the American Council on Exercise. 

 

About Inspire Fitness Academy 

Inspire Fitness Academy’s vision is to build a community of individuals who are committed to implement their passion in their workplace and turn what piques their interest into a career. By granting experienced coaches or even amateurs more education, knowledge, and skills and keeping them up to date with recent studies, research, and continuous education, they will be able to change their lives by becoming fitter, healthier, and psychologically positive to help other people change theirs. Hence, we can change our society into a physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy one.  

The mission of Inspire Fitness Academy is to provide their learners the best quality education with the latest available evidence in the field of fitness, guide and help them throughout their education journey, and help them change their lives so they can change the lives of others and make them healthier, happier, and fit. 

For more information call +971 5 26 70 450 or email info@inspire.edu.lb.