Outdoor training

TAKING IT OUTDOORS

Thanks to fresh air and natural light, exercise outdoors can feel less strenuous than similar exercise indoors. Training outside can, therefore, help push the exerciser closer to their maximum performance. Creating an outdoor training area can also provide a solution to facility operators with limited indoor space. SportsNation looks at three recent outdoor training area projects at three very different settings.

Outdoor training areas can add variety to a facility operator’s services

CASE STUDY 1

Public operator

Abbey Stadium Sports Centre

Abbey Stadium Sports Centre, managed by Rubicon Leisure, is in the heart of Redditch and serves a dense and diverse community through a range of health and fitness facilities and services. During the pandemic, Rubicon Leisure established a partnership with Alliance Leisure, through the UK Leisure Framework, to develop an outdoor functional training facility that extends the venue’s capacity to cater for all segments of the local population without undertaking large scale construction works.

The result is a 15m x 6.1m, all-weather, outdoor, open sided, flexible functional training environment designed to accommodate a wide range of abilities and training preferences reflective of the diverse needs of the community.

Branded Area7, each end of the environment is serviced by a fully lit, insulated, container that can be used for equipment storage or small group training. These are connected by a steel canopy providing protection from the elements and covering a Duratrain floor and 10m x 6m turf track.

In the centre the area is a durable, multistation, training rig which integrates six lifting stations and numerous attachments for a wide range of functional training equipment from battle ropes to suspension training straps, creating a flexible training environment perfect for 1-to-1 and mixed ability small group training.

Scott Brinkworth, General Manager, Rubicon Leisure, says: “Once design and equipment were agreed, the outdoor training space was built from scratch in just eight weeks providing a new, highly marketable asset quicker than any other option would have delivered.

“The facility opened in January 2022 and has been incredibly well received. Our trainers also love the creative license the space provides, in terms of workouts and training programmes.

“There is nothing like this outdoor training facility elsewhere in the local area, giving us a much-needed competitive advantage.”

Through the UK Leisure Framework, Alliance Leisure worked with Indigo Fitness to design, install and supply the functional equipment with Surfacing Standards Limited as appointed project manager.

The flexible functional training area has been well received by Abbey Stadium’s customers

CASE STUDY 2

Elite/performance sport

Norwich City FC

After investing heavily in its performance gym and outdoor 3G pitches at the Lotus Training Centre – all within the Colney training ground – Norwich City FC is preparing a Recovery Hub for the 2022-23 season.

Working with its equipment partner, Jordan Fitness, the club has created a world class training facility. Within the gym, the partners have focussed on the club’s brand identity, customising the free weights, turf tracks and an outdoor Ignite Rig, featuring the club’s iconic crest and brand colours of yellow and green.

The special, three-lane outdoor track and outdoor Ignite rig can support multiple athletes at once with a huge variety of exercises and workouts. The track can be used for speed and agility work with cones, ladders, sleds and prowlers – or in conjunction with the rig to increase endurance and athletic performance. The multiple attachments for the rig mean coaches can cater for large groups of players on different individual plans as well as during team sessions. In addition to their more focussed training regimes, players can also make time for Teqball training to enhance their ball skills.

“We feel very privileged to have so many dedicated training spaces for our teams,” says Glyn Lewis, Norwich City FC’s Head of Physical Performance and Nutrition.

“Working with Jordan as our fitness partner has been a great experience. Together, we’ve created a facility with everything we need to deliver individually bespoke programming that can optimise the physical state of our athletes.”

storage solutions. This makes equipment selection safe and easy for members and students, whilst also providing a secure lock-up for kit when the area is not in use.

Walsh says: “The centrepiece is a freestanding Escape Octagon frame, enabling our team of instructors to deliver almost limitless workout types from general, low impact bodyweight programmes for beginners to specific body weight conditioning for high performance athletes. This is complemented by an all-weather speed rack, a training space for grid style workouts and 4 Escape mono lifting stations.”

The Recovery Hub will open in time for the 2022-23 season

CASE STUDY 3

Education sector

Bluecoat Sports

Bluecoat Sports is a dual-use site, situated within Christ’s Hospital independent school in Sussex and open to both the public and students. Operating as a charity, Bluecoat Sports wanted to extend its fitness offer without additional building works. The result is a fullyequipped outdoor training area, called The Yard.

“The Yard has added depth and versatility to our training offer and provided us with a competitive edge over other fitness facilities,” says Caitlin Walsh, Fitness Manager.

“To design and deliver the environment we employed the expertise of Escape Fitness. They walked us through from concept to creation, to ensure the result delivered a durable, weatherproof facility that enables our team of instructors to engage all abilities in 1-on-1 and small group training sessions.”

The training facility incorporates a container, kitted out with Escape’s space saving

The Yard offers a range of training opportunities

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