Movement is medicine

European Spa asks sports scientist Jeff Davis, founder of Reach Wellness, how spas and health clubs can accelerate their wellness programming to meet new demand

INTERVIEW BY SARAH CAMILLERI

As a founding sales director of Technogym UK, sports scientist Jeff Davis has many friends out in the spa and wellness industry and a strong sense of where the market is heading that enables him to create ‘best-in-class’ solutions. When he launched studio fitness solution provider Reach Wellness in 2003, the products it offered used the latest ‘whole body vibration’ technology of the day to create a new genre of personal training that is still offered in many spa facilities around the world.

In fact it was Jeff’s wife, Sandra, who proved to be the inspiration for the business, which aimed to bridge the gap between fitness and wellness. Suffering from a debilitating back injury sustained in lifting the couple’s twin daughters, she successfully completed the brand’s first corrective rehabilitation programme to achieve a full recovery.

CHEST allows active muscle length training focusing on the intercostal, thoracic and respiratory muscles

It is always challenging to innovate when it comes to new fitness solutions, but never one to rest on his laurels, Jeff says he finds it infinitely more rewarding to be able to ‘move the dial’. We ask him how Reach Wellness’s new FIVE Concept can allow spas to help people back onto the path to wellness.

What fitness-based opportunities do you feel can specifically enhance the spa sector?

There has been minimal innovation over the past 15 years when it comes to mainstream fitness offerings for spas, but this is set to change. FIVE Concept from Reach Wellness uniquely bridges the gap between fitness, wellness and therapy on the gym floor by facilitating a combination of movement preparation, mobilisation, recovery, regeneration, flexibility and stretching.

Spas these days need so much more than one or two stretch mats located in the corner. FIVE Concept literally provides an intuitive framework in which mobility exercises can be performed. There is also an opportunity for the provision of coordination and balance training through the inclusion of Sensopro (Switzerland) and CoreTex (USA).

SPLITS provides actice longitudinal training of parts of the anterior and posterior muscle chains with an emphasis on hamstring andhip-flexing muscles

To meet the demands of an ageing population there are proven benefits to combining cardiovascular training, such as on treadmills, cross-trainers or bikes, with proprioceptive exercises to improve cognition and mental dexterity. Moreover, this type of simple, rhythmical exercise is fun. It also challenges the mind and body to react positively to instability, resulting in adaptation for objectives such as fall prevention.

How can Reach Wellness help spas and health clubs to refine their fitness offering?

We can bring together the right mix of world-class products to supplement and complement existing gym equipment. Traditionally, spas have only offered cardiovascular and resistance equipment, which don’t cater for new demand.

Cardiovascular training is vital for conditioning the heart and lungs while strength training is essential for maintaining muscle mass, which naturally diminishes with age, but there is a latent demand – and indeed a physical requirement – for enhanced mobility and flexibility as well as balance and coordination training.

The MULTI can be used as a room divider as well as a base for performing a variety of FIVE and free exercises

We can also design fitness spaces to provide an optimally planned layout that combines cardiovascular and resistance equipment with mobility, flexibility, coordination and balance so that spa guests or health club members can really reach their fitness potential.

What other emerging wellness demands do you think will shape the spas of the future?

Post-pandemic, people are cautious about returning to a gym environment. But we are also more aware that we need to take responsibility for our own health and wellbeing.

There is an increasing trend towards mindfulness, breath training and recovery and regeneration as prerequisites to ‘full-on’ exercise programmes. It feels like we need to go back to basics with an eye on the future. Products like the Swiss-made IDIAG P100 allow users to uniquely train their breathing muscles with inspiration, expiration and interval training programmes. Inevitably there is also a supporting app as the digital drive continues to gather momentum. Similarly, the German-engineered Cardioscan with mescan can provide a personal snapshot of heart health and body composition.

Reach Wellness founder Jeff Davis

How can our readers maximise their wellness programming?

As science and medicine progresses, it is a fact that people are now living longer but with more ailments. This provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that spa operators can grasp to make a meaningful difference. The ageing population needs spas to broaden their wellness offering to include diagnostics that can provide an appropriate pathway for personalised wellness. There is a gap in the market between conventional

gyms and medicine that spa operators can claim. For example, if FIVE Concept is used prior to a massage it is likely that the session will be more effective and enjoyable as it will facilitate alignment of the muscle fibres and fascia in advance of hands on treatment. Movement is medicine! Everyone should be practicing mobility and movement preparation on a daily basis. FIVE Concept allows spa operators to provide a dedicated space where they can encourage guests to take care of their personal recovery and regeneration.

www.reach-wellness.com

Fast Facts: FIVE Concept

1. FIVE Concept was designed and developed by physiotherapists and manufactured in the Black Forest of Germany from best quality materials including oak and stainless steel, making the products aesthetically appealing, non-intimidating and comfortable to use.

2. Modern lifestyles mean many people are in constant forward flexion of the spine due to desk working, driving and ‘sofa slouching’. FIVE Concept aims to remedy the poor posture and lower back pain this causes.

3. FIVE can be considered a new type of body hygiene, as necessary and repeatable as brushing your teeth.

5. In December 2019, Milon acquired FIVE Concept as a perfect complement for mobility exercise to add to their digital solution for strength training equipment.

Sport scientist Jeff Davis BSc. (Hons) established Reach Wellness, based in Retford, UK in 2003. With over 30 years’ experience in the fitness and wellness industry, Reach Wellness supplies world-class equipment manufactured to the highest standards. Its clients include David Lloyd Leisure Clubs (also DL Meridian Clubs Germany), Nuffield Health Clubs, Third Space London Clubs, Places Leisure, Everybody Sport & Recreation and Pan Pacific Hotels (London).