Elyse McNergney is to Pilates what Bikram Choudhury (Bikram yoga) is to yoga. She has re-engineered, re-energized and re-branded the physical fitness system Joseph Pilates developed after World War I--a system that attracts an estimated 11 million regular devotees and 14,000 instructors in the United States.

Part jock, part dancer, part academic and part entrepreneur, McNergney has an intense interest in fitness, posture, strength training and the mechanics of making healthy bodies, which led her to devise "the next evolution in Pilates training." It also compelled her to earn both an M.Ed. in exercise physiology from Columbia University and an M.A. in movement sciences from New York University. Her work with private exercise clients, from professional athletes such as Orel Hershiser and JoJo Starbuck to elderly people with back pain and regular folks looking for improved fitness, inspired her to develop the IM=X (pronounced IMX) system in 1996.

Today, she has eight proprietary instructor/personal trainer certification programs, patented equipment, a DVD series and a franchise system. IM=X Pilates is now offered at 27 locations--gyms, independent exercise studios and medical centers--across the U.S.

"Many of my clients had a history of back pain and were in sedentary jobs," McNergney remembers. "I had a hunch that there were better ways to use and augment the body's natural mechanics to stretch, extend, tone, strengthen and relieve muscles, so I started digging through alternative approaches. I studied the work of my predecessors and the latest scientific advances for clues to quantifying movement decisions."

She credits her dance teachers, J.H. Pilates, F.M. Alexander, Paul Hodges, Stuart McGill (along with hundreds of researchers) with the IM=X Pilates solution. "Our system simply is more complete and provides a more integrated approach to spinal mechanics, strength and cardiovascular training," McNergney says. "And it offers a wide variety of routines, so no one is bored." In fact, the IM=X system encompasses more than 75 workouts.

McNergney began training clients in fitness and dance in 1991, after receiving her master's degrees. Certified at The Pilates Studio in NYC in 1992, McNergney rewrote the classic "Pilates Principles" in 1996 by creating new foundations, orchestrating different sequences, creating new exercises and upping the intensity of the movements. She adapted and rebuilt the reformer exercise device and choreographed exercises using the machine to help clients strengthen their core, become more agile and achieve greater overall flexibility and stamina. After assessing the program, Self magazine said, "In two weeks, you'll have better posture and more powerful muscles."

"The business grew in concentric circles," McNergney says, beginning with the clients she knew from her days as a trainer at Chelsea Piers and at medical centers in New York City. "Then it expanded to their friends and their friends' friends. I went from training clients in my apartment to pay for my education to a small, rented space." She soon needed a larger space--and an even larger space. "Soon friends and frequent clients were asking me to train them to be trainers."

After a while, she had enough material and enough routines to create a franchise system and a training academy. "Then we wanted to address our competition, such as the Bar Method, and create an IM=X version of indoor cycling," McNergney says. "The IM=X Yoga, Ballet Bar and Cycle/Tower have been added to continue challenging the tens of thousands of members across the country."

McNergney started franchising in 2005 because she believes so strongly in the IM=X program. "My personal goal has always been to help change back treatment in the U.S. by introducing an alternative exercise system that can offset the aging process and make the nation healthier. Franchising clearly is the best way for our unique service to thrive and retain quality," she says.

In order to help people with back problems, she says, "There need to be standards set in place that are obligatory." Franchising permits that. Franchising ensures that her trainers know the IM=X routines and are always conscious of client safety.

"Certification in the fitness community is not standardized," McNergney says, "and the quality is completely dependent on the programs and education given." The IM=X system "is very specific," she says, comparing it to the Starbucks franchise. "Coffee is sold everywhere, so why Starbucks? The reason is that they have specific training and operations that provide customer experience and consistent delivery."

IM=X similarly supports each franchisee with a standardized process of delivering many workout formulas and a strict protocol for education not typically found in the Pilates or the back-exercise industry, McNergney says.

She acknowledges that building a self-funded business is a challenge. McNergney says it took nearly $1 million to finance the franchise business. Much of it was done in small increments over time while operating her own studio and training clients. Without the capital to hire, she had to do everything herself, all while learning how to be a franchisor. "On any given day, I have been the website developer, the bookkeeper, a salesperson, a marketer and a manufacturer," McNergney says.

McNergney says now that she made some errors that added to her expenses. She wasn't always satisfied with the first vendor she hired, and had to hire another individual or firm to do the job to her satisfaction.

Her expenses included the following:

• Legal fees for setting up the franchise
• Marketing materials, including a website and videos
• Fitness and business training, and development costs
• Research and development
• Equipment patents and production

IM=X Pilates Inc. and its franchise affiliate, The Xercize Studio LLC, have thrived in a bumpy economy. But building a franchise system requires different muscles and a different mind-set.

"You think you know what you're getting into," McNergney says. But there were unanticipated challenges, such as rewriting legal contracts, confronting franchisees who don't want to follow the system and coaching those who aren't on track.

On the other side of the equation, however, are "the customer testimonials, amazing instructors, grateful franchise owners, fabulous staff and support system. I am grateful to have a team," she says.

McNergney's latest initiative--to reach the physical therapy and chiropractic market--is taking flight. Her company is also reaching out to primary care physicians and sports medicine specialists who want to expand their wellness-management programs, improve back treatment and increase cash-based services as well as to solidify patient retention and compliance.

"Wellness has become a watchword in the medical community, and our new IM=X Pilates Express Franchise is designed to easily fit into an array of medical practices and treatment philosophies," McNergney says. "This package allows them to expand their services to better serve their patients by integrating diagnosis, well care and medical management with a lifestyle-oriented fitness program."

Sharon Kohn is a freelance writer and former fitness professional.