Product Showcase
Most vital piece of functional fitness equipment found under foot
The inclusion of functional training into a healthy lifestyle does not stop when traveling for business or pleasure, and may influence a traveler’s hospitality selection.
By Bo Barber
VP of Marketing and Sales, Ecore
Today’s health-conscious consumers on the cutting-edge of fitness are realizing the limitations of stationary strength and cardio machines, and are opting instead to focus on functional strength and conditioning exercises such as high-intensity interval training. This evolution in fitness was documented in the American College of Sports Medicine’s worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2016, which ranked high-intensity interval training as the no. 1 choice by consumers who now want more open spaces to exercise to boost long-term wellness.
The inclusion of functional training into a healthy lifestyle does not stop when traveling for business or pleasure, and may influence a traveler’s hospitality selection. To appeal to the modern consumer and stand out from competition, many in the hospitality industry are offering a customizable approach to staying fit while away from home that includes a full-scale gym and wellness center to support functional fitness activities such as jumping, sprinting, throwing and crawling.
To ensure these facilities meet the high expectations of today’s fitness enthusiasts, contract architects and specifiers are opting for flooring that positively influences safety, ergonomics and acoustics to provide users with force reduction and energy restitution throughout each workout.
How Flooring Impacts Functional Fitness
During functional training, people use their bodies and weights to perform exercises, making the surface underneath their feet more critical than ever before. In response to the functional training trend, fitness centers nationwide are removing some of the standard equipment and adding open space and more supportive flooring for interval training.
Hilton Hotels is taking the functional fitness trend one step further by offering open space with athletic flooring in individual hotel rooms. The Hilton Five Feet to Fitness project offers fitness-minded guests with a functional fitness nook in their rooms, equipped with Ecore ergonomic flooring, functional training equipment and a video kiosk with a library of guided exercises. The specially-designed flooring keeps guest workouts quiet and non-disruptive to neighboring rooms while providing support underfoot for a variety of fitness activities.
Unlike traditional fitness center flooring, functional training flooring has a direct impact on the performance of the athlete, providing stability and support to protect from injury. Functional fitness flooring must withstand heavy weight drops, ropes, medicine ball slams and repeated jumping, all while providing a comfortable, ergonomically sound and quiet environment. Architects and designers should keep in mind these three important factors when specifying a functional fitness facility:
Safety
Athletes of all levels – weekend warriors to Olympic champions – train to improve their abilities and reach new achievements. With each push toward greatness, athletes put their bodies at risk of injury that could set back their efforts temporarily or permanently. Thus, measures are taken to protect athletes’ bodies to ensure they are able to perform at peak levels – including proper nutrition, adequate sleep and high-quality equipment. Flooring is a key piece of equipment for athletes, playing a role in nearly every activity from start to finish. To keep safety a priority, fitness facilities should invest in surfaces that mitigate injury, protect the body and promote ultimate and healthy performance.
Ergonomics
Once the athlete’s body is protected, the focus turns to enhancing and improving performance. Functional fitness calls for intense activities to be performed in different frequencies and directions over and over. No matter the intensity, the repetitive motion, swift movement and constant impact takes a toll on the body and the quality of the workout. Ergonomic flooring helps diminish fatigue, minimize discomfort and enable athletes to perform at their highest levels longer and more efficiently. The right flooring enhances longevity of athletes by absorbing force and providing a return of energy through innovative engineering and design.
Acoustics
While acoustics may not be the first thing that comes to mind when brainstorming a state-of-the-art workout facility, it has a surprisingly significant impact on the overall fitness experience. A room full of athletes performing various activities involving fast movements and heavy weights can become a noisy mess fast. Using a flooring surface that absorbs energy, vibrations and sound can greatly reduce the ambient noise and create a more pleasant experience for the user and those around this space, while also greatly increasing the longevity of the flooring and fitness equipment.
Additional Flooring Selection Considerations
There are many different flooring materials to choose from when designing a fitness facility – some offering more benefits than others. While the flooring should be selected to meet the needs of the fitness center user first and foremost, the durability and sustainability of the product should play a role in decision making as well.
The use of environmentally-conscious and sustainable materials – such as tire scrap, recycled rubber, bamboo and cork – renders high-quality products for modern flooring demands without leaving a detrimental carbon footprint on the environment. Ecore’s Performance Collection, for example, features a durable top layer made of sustainable materials that is slip resistant when wet or dry, as well as fade resistant to hold up against the toughest workouts. The base layers provide significant sound and force reduction while delivering energy restitution, enabling the materials to last longer without additional repairs. These types of materials, when utilized properly, often exceed customer expectations in performance and durability, while greatly reducing maintenance costs over time.
Modern athletes are looking for fitness equipment and accessories that not only accommodate their physical activities, but work equally hard to enhance performance and safety. Likewise, fitness center managers want to protect and support their members by investing in innovative equipment that will withstand heavy demands. Building up fitness and reaching new physical limits starts with the right foundation: quiet, safe, resilient, ergonomic flooring designed specifically to meet the needs of athletes and fitness centers.
Bo Barber is the Vice President of marketing and sales for Ecore, a company that transforms reclaimed materials into performance surfaces that make people’s lives better. Ecore’s products align substantial force reduction with a balanced amount of energy return to create surfaces to meet virtually every commercial flooring application need.
Product Showcase
Sun Life appoints Bianca Ilibasic as Managing Director, Sun Life Global Solutions
She will lead SLGS across India and the Philippines, providing strategic direction to multi-functional teams spanning Technology, Operations, Analytics, Actuarial, HR, Finance, and Risk & Compliance.
Sun Life has appointed Bianca Ilibasic as the Managing Director for its global capability centre, Sun Life Global Solutions (SLGS). She previously served as Vice President & Chief Operations Officer, Sun Life Asia.
In her new role, Bianca will lead SLGS across India and the Philippines, providing strategic direction to multi-functional teams spanning Technology, Operations, Analytics, Actuarial, HR, Finance, and Risk & Compliance. Her mandate is to further scale SLGS as a high-impact, enterprise capability supporting Sun Life across 28 markets.
During her time in Asia, Bianca advanced straight-through processing, accelerated digital adoption, and shaped a forward-looking AI roadmap to drive business growth — strengthening shared platforms and enabling scalable outcomes.
Commenting on the appointment, Laura Money, EVP and Chief Information and Technology Innovation Officer, Sun Life, said, “Over the past four years, Bianca has been a driving force behind operational excellence and digital transformation, leading with clarity, courage, and a deep commitment to our Purpose. Advancing our AI roadmap and scaling impact across common platforms, Bianca has been consistently delivering results while building strong, empowered teams. She is a visionary, insights driven leader who brings energy, heart, and ambition to everything she does, and I could not be more thrilled to see her step into this role.”
Reflecting on the opportunity, Bianca added: “I am excited to begin this new chapter. Sun Life Global Solutions is more than a capability centre — excellence, innovation, and dedication are consistently demonstrated via brilliant, passionate teams across India and the Philippines who support our Purpose and our Clients every single day. What excites me most is the opportunity to build on our foundation and deepen partnerships, accelerate transformation, and relentlessly focus on outcomes that truly matter to our Clients.”
Bianca’s appointment marks a defining moment for SLGS, strengthening its role as both a strategic engine for enterprise value and a platform where empowered teams can shape what’s next for Sun Life. We look forward to everything Bianca and the SLGS team will achieve together.
Product Showcase
Manulife continues legacy of service in PH with Impact Week 2026
All five Manulife organizations in the Philippines—Manulife Philippines, Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corporation (MCBL), Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation (MIMTC), Manulife Business Processing Services (MBPS), and Manulife IT Delivery Center (MITDC)—held activities that advanced environmental, educational, and social causes.
Manulife hosted its inaugural Impact Week, a global volunteer initiative designed to strengthen well-being, build social connection and unite teams through purpose-driven community action.
All five Manulife organizations in the Philippines—Manulife Philippines, Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corporation (MCBL), Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation (MIMTC), Manulife Business Processing Services (MBPS), and Manulife IT Delivery Center (MITDC)—held activities that advanced environmental, educational, and social causes.
“Manulife’s Longevity ambition is about helping people live longer, healthier, and more financially secure lives—and we believe that starts with strong, resilient communities,” said Rahul Hora, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Philippines. “Impact Week brings this to life by mobilizing colleagues across our Philippine entities to volunteer at scale, working side by side with our community partners and reinforcing the shared purpose that strengthens long-term well-being. Through these collective actions, we are creating immediate impact and helping build a more sustainable and inclusive future for the communities we serve.”
Results and Highlights from Impact Week 2026
During Impact Week, more than 1,200 colleagues participated in volunteering activities, logging more than 4,700 volunteering hours.
Beyond the numbers, Impact Week strengthened connection across teams, bringing colleagues together around shared purpose and reinforcing a culture of inclusion.
- Ongoing tripartite impact: As part of a tripartite collaboration with the Corazon Sanchez Atayde Memorial Foundation (CSAMF) and Haribon Foundation—combining Manulife’s community investment commitments, CSAMF’s financial literacy program, and Haribon’s biodiversity and environmental work—Manulife Philippines, Manulife China Bank Life (MCBL), and Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corporation (MIMTC) led the on-ground activities in Infanta, Quezon Province.
- Supporting financial resilience through Peso Smart: Volunteers supported Peso Smart Pinoy (PSP) through challenge-based activities in Brgy. Alitas, Infanta, culminating in a graduation ceremony recognizing PSP participants and their progress toward greater financial confidence. Peso Smart is a financial literacy program that has reached more than 4,000 learners across 18 schools nationwide since 2017,
- Contributing to a healthier planet: Volunteers, together with Haribon Foundation and the Alitas Farmers Folks Association (AFFA), planted 2,500 mangrove seedlings, advancing the Ridge-to-Reef Reforestation Initiative and adding to Manulife and Haribon’s total of more than 31,000 trees planted since 2023.
- Prioritizing health and well-being: Volunteers partnered with Rise Against Hunger Philippines and Waves for Water Philippines to support food security and water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. Together, they packed 17,700+ rice meals, rescued 1,200+ kg of surplus food, distributed 500 hot meals, produced 3,300 mushroom bags for livelihoods, assembled 150 water filtration kits, and developed 100+ concepts for food bank and mobile kitchen initiatives.
- Supporting community education: MITDC delivered its Code4Future program to 28 young learners from St. Martin de Porres Kid’s Home—using coding and creativity to build problem-solving skills and digital confidence.
Extending Impact Together
In addition to the company organized activities, individual colleague teams across the Manulife organizations were supported in leading their own volunteer initiatives with local non-profit partners. For each eligible team-led initiative, Manulife provided a $1,000 donation to the partner organization, extending the reach of Impact Week.
“The most meaningful work is often personal. At Manulife, volunteerism grows when people are trusted to lead on the causes they care about,” said Ardhi Siregar, Chief People Officer, Manulife Philippines. “That’s why we empowered our teams to identify a community impact need, choose a local non-profit partner to collaborate with, and lead the effort themselves—with team grants helping extend that impact through added support where it matters most. That sense of ownership and purpose is what fuels deeper engagement and inspires our colleagues to drive impact that endures.”
With more than 13,000 volunteering hours logged across all Philippine entities in 2025, Impact Week 2026 reflects Manulife’s growing culture of service in the communities where it operates and stands to make a difference.
Volunteering: A Longevity Driver Impact Week aligns closely with the work of the Manulife Longevity Institute, a global research, thought leadership, innovation, advocacy, and community investment platform that will help people thrive at every age. The Institute’s work will support Manulife’s Impact Agenda strategy as our always-on commitment to drive better outcomes for our customers, our communities, and the world we share. We believe collective action can accelerate change and, by collaborating with like-minded partners, we can make a meaningful impact.
Product Showcase
Manulife launches GoalReady health solutions
GoalReady for Health combines investment-linked savings with critical illness and life protection—helping customers build their funds while protecting their goals if a serious illness strikes.
Manulife Philippines and Manulife China Bank Life (MCBL) today announced the launch of Manulife GoalReady for Health, an investment-linked savings plan with comprehensive critical illness and life insurance coverage.
GoalReady for Health combines investment-linked savings with critical illness and life protection—helping customers build their funds while protecting their goals if a serious illness strikes. Designed for Filipinos who want to stay on track with their long-term goals, it helps manage the potential financial disruption caused by health setbacks.
As more Filipinos plan for longer lives, staying on track with their life goals increasingly means being prepared for rising healthcare costs, prolonged illness, and the financial strain health setbacks can place on families. The plan addresses the growing gap in financial preparedness for health emergencies among Filipinos. The recent Manulife Asia Care Study revealed that about four in five Filipinos believe their financial wellbeing has great impact on their health span (both physical and mental) and lifespan.
The financial stakes are steep: A study on the economic impact of cancer in the Philippines found that Filipino patients spend an average of ₱181,789 out-of-pocket within the first year of diagnosis, highlighting the significant financial burden of treatment. Yet Filipinos remain financially underprepared for these possibilities. According to latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Filipinos’ household out-of-pocket for medical expenses stood at 42.7%, while a recent Manulife study found that 33% of Filipinos feel they have insufficient insurance coverage.
GoalReady for Health enables customers to build a dedicated pool of savings for future health needs through professionally managed, investment-linked fund options designed to support long-term goals. At the same time, it provides built-in critical illness protection, helping customers stay on track with their plans even when a serious health event occurs.
“Many Filipinos work hard to build toward their goals, but a serious illness can quickly turn years of progress into an unexpected financial burden. Manulife GoalReady for Health brings together critical illness protection and investment-linked savings for future health needs, helping customers stay financially prepared while protecting what they’ve worked hard to build,” said Rahul Hora, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Philippines.
“With Manulife GoalReady for Health, we want Filipinos to move forward with confidence, knowing that a health shock need not become a financial setback—so they can focus on recovery while keeping their savings and life goals on track, and live better for longer,” Hora added.
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