Mid Valley gets name change, renovation and new focus.

In order to better compete in an increasingly cutthroat health club industry, Mid Valley Athletic Club in Reseda will be undergoing its second renovation in two years and changing its name to 360 Health Club sometime during the first quarter of this year.

Though the club just had a facelift 2 years ago, it will undergo changes that will cost from $800,000 to $1.5 million. Among them, the club will be adding a center geared to high school athletes. The club's dues will not be raised to cover the cost.

In the last few years, other gyms have surrounded the country club-style health club with competition, causing Mid Valley, which first opened in 1979 to slip from the forefront of the Valley's fitness landscape.

Ray Haizlip, Mid Valley's general manager, hopes the renovations will update the elite health club's image and add some younger members to the 5,000 who belong to Mid Valley.

"We're trying to rebuild our reputation as the No. 1 club in the Valley," Haizlip said.

In addition to all of the facilities and services Mid Valley offer, a major feature of 360 Health Club will be its Sports Performance Center, an 8,000 square foot addition to the health club that will serve to train athletes from junior high school, high school and college teams, as well as professional and amateur athletes.

The club has aligned with the National Academy of Sports Medicine to develop state-of-the-art training techniques designed to enhance sports performance.

"We've worked with the National Academy to develop solution-based programs," said Jade Molina, who acts as the liaison between the NASM as well as 360's fitness director. "It gets very scientific when you get into the program design aspect of what we do."

Athletes from the school teams that work with the 360 program will receive a free limited membership to the health club, a service that 360 hopes will act as exposure for the club and maybe even bring in some of the students' parents, as well as keep kids healthy and off the streets.

"We're looking to increase our membership to 6,000 members," Haizlip said. After that, 360 plans to limit new membership. "Our No. 1 concern is to take care of the members we have instead of just trying to increase our numbers. That's why you won't see us in a price war with a competitor."