FranchiseVerdict
THE EXERCISE COACH logo
FV-02632·STRONGExcellent91

The Exercise Coach

Education - Tutoring & Test PrepFranchising since 2011Website
Investment
$260K – $390K
80th pct Tutoring & Te…
Avg revenue
$291K
9th pct Tutoring & Te…
Royalty
Units
215
88th pct Tutoring & Te…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $260K – $390K including a $50K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $291K/year (median $279K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 39/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 174 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 27.1% CAGR over 3 years with 215 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Exercise Coach USA, LLC
Incorporated in
Illinois
HQ
531 Telser Rd., Lake Zurich, Illinois 60084
Auditor
CYGAN HAYES, Ltd.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$6.9M
vs $7.5M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one THE EXERCISE COACH unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $291,424
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $260K–$390K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$45K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

13%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$47K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$362K
Payback
93 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 THE EXERCISE COACH units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$525K

on $2.6M purchase

Total debt

$2.1M

SBA $1.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

The Exercise Coach franchisees operate personal training studios offering AI-powered, one-on-one strength training workouts. Day-to-day operations include client consultations, conducting 20-30 minute personalized training sessions, membership management, facility maintenance, and marketing to acquire and retain members in protected territories.

CEO
Brian R. Cygan
Founded
2009
FDD year
2025
States available
37

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$260K – $390K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $45K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
Greater of (a) 6% of Gross Sales or (b) $1,000 per month
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$291K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$279K
Item 19 type
Gross Sales and Select Operating Expenses
Sample size
182 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$69K$560K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank9th
vs Education - Tutoring & Test Prep peers
Investment cost rank80th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank65th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank88th
vs Education - Tutoring & Test Prep peers
Risk score rank1th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
215
Opened
28
Last reporting year
Closed
8
Turnover rate
3.7%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+10.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+27.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
211+20
Franchised units
2024
191
Franchised units
2025
166
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 17 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
174
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

39
Risk · 0-100
STRONG39 / 100

Moderate-to-caution risk profile: missing profitability disclosure, modest growth trajectory, and capital-intensive model with unclear unit economics create validation gaps.

Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims against $259k-$390k investment
  2. 02MINORAverage revenue of $291k generates only ~$17.5k annual royalties at 6%, creating thin margins for franchisor support
  3. 03MINOR10.5% YoY unit growth is modest for fitness/wellness sector; no disclosure of unit closures or turnover rate
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment ($259k-$390k) with $1,000/month minimum royalty creates break-even pressure on slower-growing locations
  5. 05MINORFitness/wellness category historically dependent on membership retention and local competition — no market saturation data provided

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Household Count
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Texas

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
90 hrs
On-the-job training
10 hrs
POS system
HubSpot, QuickBooks Online
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

100 numbers

Locked
(256) 464-••••
AL
(561) 272-••••
FL
(316) 978-••••
KS

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

THE EXERCISE COACH · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above