Weekly Workout

ISSUE 1 May

WEEKLY

Issue 25

06 November 2020

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

Millions are inspired by National Fitness Day

page 3 Rowvember for Movember to help raise awareness of male suicide during Covid page 5 Study reveals new generation yoga is ideal antidote to the stress of modern living page 8

Today’s Workout Destination

Mount Killimanjaro Italian Dolomites Moab, Utah Mount Kilimanjaro Scottish Highlands Venice Iceland Hawaii Easter Island Antarctica Patagonia Bora Bora New Zealand Egypt Machu Picchu Paris Swiss Alps Grand Canyon Rome Glen Coe Kenya Swiss Alps INTERACTIVE WORKOUTS Workout in breathtaking locations with world-renowned coaches who auto-adjust the incline, decline, speed, and resistance of your machine to create an immersive experience.

FREEMOTIONFITNESS.COM/22-SERIES

WORKOUT WEEKLY

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Technogym launches Let’s Move Week full of fitness challenges TECHNOGYM’S worldwide social campaign promoting wellness and fight sedentary lifestyle is back with a new format developed for fitness and wellness clubs.

Let’s Move For a Better World is the most awaited event of the year for thousands of fitness facilities around the world, and 2020 will not be an exception.

Technogym, a world leader brand in fitness, wellness, sport and health, announces Let’s Move Week 2020, a new format full of fitness events, challenges, online and offline activities.

From November 9 to 15 people from all over the world will join forces to promote wellness in all its forms and places. Let’s Move Week 2020 announces itself as one of the most attended fitness events of the year.

During Let’s Move Week 2020, fitness clubs by joining the global campaign will be able to engage their members with custom on site events, create live and on demand workouts thanks to the new streaming opportunities offered by mywellness 5.0, promote the event with social media activities and challenges and take advantage of Technogym workouts available on mywellness and Technogym social networks.

Technogym will offer the clubs joining the campaign the possibility to download the Let’s Move Week marketing kit with all the promotional contents artworks: images, videos, posters and more.

Within the actual scenario, the aim of the campaign is also to support the fitness industry to regain momentum after these months, involve members and activate new ones, promote the physical and mental health of people by expanding the fitness community.

Whether working out in the facility or at home, it is possible to take part in Let’s Move Week.

The engaging aspect of the initiative also shows how it can help in increasing customer loyalty, motivation, and attendance.

By focusing on the community of Group Editor: Judith Halkerston Tel: 01226 734639 jh@scriptmedia. co.uk Group production editor: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmedia. co.uk

Sales and marketing director: Tony Barry Tel: 01226 734605 tb@scriptmedia. co.uk Sales manager: Louise BristoweHarrison Tel: 01226 734699 workout3@ scriptmedia.co.uk

Studio manager: Stewart Holt sth@scriptmedia. co.uk

www.workout-uk.co.uk

Millions are inspired by National Fitness Day each centre, the campaign helps in boosting team spirit by encouraging the achievement of a common goal.

The 2019 edition led to important developments for the participating gyms showing how attendance increased on average by 26 per cent, new memberships by 15 per cent and 86 per cent of the people involved in the centre (trainers and staff) noted an improvement in team spirit during trainings, which consequently enhanced the working environment and ensured a better atmosphere among customers.

Alongside its important social message, the campaign also represents a very effective tool for fitness centres to increase activity.

Thanks to the online communication plans, both on the web and social media, the campaign has proven to attract new members through participants sharing their training experiences online.

The “Let’s Move for a Better World” campaign perfectly sums up the Technogym mission of spreading Wellness on a global scale.

Technogym believes that educating the younger generations is essential to reach this goal and to create a more sustainable society that has well-being as one of its founding values.

More info on www.technogym.com/ letsmove-week-2020/

NATIONAL Fitness Day 2020 inspired a record number of people to be active, with 19.1 million people more active on the day as a result of the national celebration of physical activity, smashing the campaign’s 10 million target and making it the most successful National Fitness Day to date.

A national poll from Savanta ComRes showed a record 8.7 million children took part in physical activity on the day – an increase of more than six million on the previous year, partly inspired and driven by schools taking part in a synchronised 10 minutes of activity at 10am – the ‘10@10’ initiative.

The day kicked off with Bear Grylls and Be Military Fit leading a sociallydistanced group workout in front of the iconic Battersea Power Station.

Before the workout, Bear shared his message about the incredible mental and physical benefits of getting active on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

He said: “The country has never needed the message of physical activity helping our physical and mental health more than we do now.

“It was great to see people training with their friends, within the communities, at free events across National Fitness Day in order to keep active and help them stay physically and mentally strong.”

The workout was streamed online, along with hundreds of other workouts throughout the day, powered by open data, to support people in getting active, and thousands of free activities took place in parks, gyms and leisure facilities

up and down the UK, offering Covidsecure taster sessions.

The media reach for the campaign was 29.15 million people, on top of 23.4 million through social media, driving the campaign’s tagline for 2020: ‘Fitness Unites Us’. This reach and message helped showcase the important role gyms and leisure facilities play in communities across the country.

National Fitness Day is coordinated each year by ukactive, which was part of the inaugural Great British Week of Sport.

This was the tenth edition of National Fitness Day, having been originally created in 2011 by fitness operator, énergie Fitness.

The Great British Week of Sport inspired further activity through headline events each day, in collaboration with partners including Mind, StreetGames, RED Together, ParaDance UK, Ordnance Survey and Fulham Reach Boat Club.

The week began with a poll from ukactive and Savanta ComRes which found that people believe the best way to support the NHS is to be physically active. Being physically active is linked to a reduction in a number of lifestyle diseases and better recovery rates from Covid-19.

Will Smithard, ukactive’s strategic projects director, added: “We are delighted that National Fitness Day inspired millions more people to be active on the day this year, showing how much our nation loves to move and how our sector coming together can support people to do so.”

Platform helps owners to be heard AS ONE of the sectors hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, gyms, spas and health clubs now have a FREE tool through which their voices can be heard in both the local and national media.

The Great British Bounce Back, which launched during lockdown, is a FREE membership platform that alerts gym owners to relevant breaking news stories in the media and then puts their views in front of local and national journalists at no cost.

The platform was created by established PR firm, Rhizome Media, to help businesses in the hardest hit sectors of the economy bounce back and, at the very least, to have a voice and a way to get their stories told.

To date, The Great British Bounce Back has secured publicity for hundreds of small and micro businesses and charities from all sectors but is now

focusing its efforts on the hardest hit areas of the economy, which includes health and fitness.

Liverpool-based gym owner and TGBBB member, Mick Povall, recently featured on the BBC website, giving

his views on the Tier 3 lockdown in the Liverpool City Region.

Dominic Hiatt, founder of The Great British Bounce Back, said: “Gyms, spas and health centres have been one of the hardest hit sectors of the UK economy during the pandemic to date and while we can’t solve the problems they face, we can at least ensure their voices are heard, especially now with the country seeing ever more regional lockdowns.

“With The Great British Bounce Back, we want to give gym and health clubs a free platform through which they can have the choice to comment on news stories that are relevant to them in both their local and the national media. “ The Covid-19 pandemic is an unprecedented economic event and it’s vital that those business owners impacted the most by it have their stories told.”

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WORKOUT WEEKLY

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Rowvember for Movember to help raise awareness of male suicide during Covid A GROUP of men with differing fitness levels will take on the daunting challenge of indoor rowing the distance of Land’s End to John O’Groats, totalling 1,348km – aiming to complete the task in 90 hours with an average speed of 1:59.9/500m.

TEAM MEN runs daily online fitness sessions that can be joined from anywhere in the UK, and also twice weekly men only group sessions in a private gym based in Cheshire.

The aim of TEAM MEN is to make regular exercise more fun by offering group sessions which involve real fitness progression, encouragement from your TEAMmates and having a great laugh with a group of great guys.

The exercise sessions give men a healthy outlet for stress and allow all men to participate, whatever their fitness level.

“We believe in bringing men together – to hang out, get physical and have fun,” said TEAM MEN founder Paul Connor.

“We try to encourage guys to choose this type of training, rather than spending too much time going to

pubs, binge watching TV, gambling or gaming,” This ROWvember challenge is all part of Paul’s ambition to support men’s mental health and bring attention to the number of male suicides nationally and globally, as part of the annual Movember campaign.

“I want more men to understand how physically training together regularly and in groups can significantly improve their mental health,” he added.

“There’s an awful lot of pressure on men at the moment to speak up, to not suffer in silence.

“But some men just aren’t comfortable talking about their feelings, no matter how much you encourage them.

“By training together, hanging out, working towards common goals, men form bonds and release some of those feelings.

“It’s a form of therapy that doesn’t require words.”

Right now, in the UK two people take their life every hour and globally around 60 men die every hour from suicide.

These alarming figures are what

has caused Movember to get behind the issue of men’s mental health and encourage challenges like this to raise awareness and funds to support their mental health programmes.

The TEAM MEN challenge squad is currently made up of eight men who will take turns on Concept2 rowing machines virtually and physically over the course of November to make up the full distance, but they say, there’s always more room on TEAM MEN and more arms will make the challenge that much more manageable!

“By individually rowing a part of 1,348,000 metres this November we will be together on our solo machines even if we are apart,” said Paul.

“At a time where we are being told to stay at home, away from others and to limit our social contact, it has never been more important to find a way to stay connected and feel like you belong to something. “ We are a TEAM who want to be fit, healthy and above all happy. We may not be able to go to the match, the pub or play indoor sports but what we can do is

form groups and work together towards common goals.”

According to the Clinical Journal of Psychiatry ‘the beneficial effects of physical activity on mental health include distraction, self-efficacy, and social interaction’.

It also says ‘Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function,” and “Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal’.

You can support TEAM MEN by donating to the team’s Movember Donation profiles on Facebook and you can follow the team’s progress on Facebook.

To find out more about more about Team Men visit https://www.team-men. com/ Online group sessions run every day UK time at 6.30am and 7.30am and you come to as many sessions as you like, from wherever in the world you like, each week to suit your work/family commitments.

Inspiring Carol is our latest lockdown hero

DURING lockdown and through Oldham’s extended localised restrictions, Wellbeing Leisure, part of Oldham Community Leisure, has taken its weekly social Friday Club online, to help combat loneliness for its most vulnerable customers.

OCL has nominated Friday Club member and OCL volunteer Carol Wheeler, who is widowed and lives alone, to be a lockdown hero.

Carol, 74, who suffers with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is an inspiration to the Oldham Community; volunteering, keeping active and exuding positivity.

The Friday Club is a community-based group, set up in October 2019 to reduce levels of social isolation within the community through physical activity.

Friday Club members are often vulnerable with chronic health conditions and disabilities.

During lockdown, OCL’s Friday Club adapted its format to digital to help its members stay connected and engaged.

Its main focus is to keep members talking and interacting, to offer a friendly ear and to give participants a

physical routine.

The virtual Friday Club is continuing to ‘meet’ every Friday at its usual time of 10am.

The Zoom technology allows everyone to have a proper chat and a giggle, and includes an exercise session.

Members have also taken part in a quizzes and other entertainments.

Over the months, Carol has taken over running the quizzes and often sets

health challenges and activities with the help of a fitness instructor.

She is there to offer advice, and is always there to be kind and to listen to people’s worries and concerns.

With the support of the OCL family, she continues to keep active through online sessions and completes at least 15,000 steps a day, every day, in the confines of her small terraced home.

She sets herself little challenges, breaking the steps down into segments and completes them throughout the day.

She walks from the front of her house to the back, and then repeats. She’s very focussed.

One day she managed 23,000 steps.

She has challenged other Friday Club members to have a go. Can they beat her 23,000 steps?

OCL is extremely proud of Carol and believes she should be recognised for her zest of life.

She is a well-loved volunteer and member. She has helped inspire and motivate the most vulnerable members in the Oldham community to keep going.

She will be first in the line to return to the leisure centre she loves, once it is safe for her to do so. She will be there encouraging and giving other vulnerable members the confidence to return when the time is right.

Please send your nomination to events@scriptmedia.co.uk and we will be featuring some more of your stories in WorkOut magazine, and our WorkOut Weekly digital newsletter.

Closing date for entries is Friday December 4.

Ready, steady, get nominating …

WORKOUT WEEKLY

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Advertiser’s announcement

FitBag measures power, speed and accuracy and allows users to compete against others online EXERCISING at home keeps people safe.

To make it more enjoyable, exercise tool innovator Fitness Interactive launches FitBag, its latest product.

FitBag is an interactive punch bag that measures power, speed, and accuracy of user’s hits.

It allows them to compete against themselves or others with its leaderboard, locally, or online.

FitBag products are manufactured to the highest standards in the UK, where they were developed over 10 years.

Each product comes in a FitBag System that fits over a Wavemaster XXL, which can be purchased as part of the package or retrofitted if clients already have it.

The FitBag app links to the product via Bluetooth Low Energy and comes free with no subscription.

The app runs on IOS, Android, and various digital media hubs.

According to Fitness Interactive, FitBag is ideal for exercising while staying safe.

People can also use it during their High Intensive Interval Training to burn calories as they exercise at home.

FitBag measures various statistics of its user’s hits against professional drills designed for exercise and the development of muscle memory and stamina.

The product’s sensitivity can be adjusted to allow the youngest member of the family to train using it.

Users can calibrate their FitBag to a

professional mode for maximum power settings.

For those who want more challenge in playing can compete among members of the product’s exclusive FitBag Club.

Users can design their fight combinations and post them on the club’s online community to challenge other members.

With the product, anyone can compete with friends or family members without being hit or hurt.

Today’s technology has allowed Fitness Interactive to deliver an affordable product. FitBag combines sports science and gaming technology to enhance players’ skills and help them achieve higher outputs.

The product also provides a user with great features and a system to enable them to enjoy boxing, mixed martial arts exercises and training packages only available previously to top-performing athletes.

“FitBag is a great way to help me get back into shape without the fear of going to the gym,” said one user.

FitBag testimonials online show that the introduction of this interactive punch bag helps people to push themselves to a higher performance level.

It offers fitness enthusiasts worldwide a pathway to a healthy and fun way of life.

The website offers boxing wraps and gloves for users worldwide.

For more information on Fitness Interactive visit http://www.fit-bag.com

In partnership with

Friday 26th November 2021, The Athena,Leicester NOMINATIONS WILL REMAIN OPEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR CLOSING ON AUGUST 31 2021.

WWW.NATIONALFITNESSAWARDS.CO.UK

SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES ARE AVAILABLE Call 01226 734605 or email tb@scriptmedia.co.uk for details

Roll of

HONOUR 2020 WO R KO U T M AG A Z I N E

Have you nominated your lockdown hero?

Nominate your lockdown hero who has gone over and above in these most testing of times in the WorkOut Magazine 2020 Roll of Honour.

We want to hear from you, if you know someone who has gone above and beyond in 2020, to make a difference and help their members and colleagues get through these harrowing times.

The WorkOut Magazine 2020 Roll of Honour will appear in our January 2021 issue Send your nomination to events@scriptmedia.co.uk and we will be featuring some of your stories in WorkOut Magazine and our weekly WorkOut digital newsletter.

Closing date for entries is Friday December 4.

We can’t wait to read your stories ‌ Sponsorship opportunities are also available by calling 01226 734 605

WORKOUT WEEKLY

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Advertiser’s announcement

Study reveals new generation yoga is ideal antidote to the stress of modern living NEW research by Les Mills has found that regular sessions of new-generation yoga classes can help banish the lockdown blues, increase sleep quality and boost mental health.

This timely research delivers key insights into one of the most popular programmes in the world, demonstrating the power of newgeneration yoga when recovering from life during such a turbulent year.

A study found that just six sessions can increase participants’ Heart Rate Variability enough to gain the following key benefits: n 15 per cent improved sleep quality. n 39 per cent increase in positive feelings relating to confidence. n 39 per cent decrease in feelings of sadness and negativity. n 29 per cent increase in motivation. n 26 per cent decrease in negative emotions, anxiety and tension. n 18 per cent increase in satisfaction with daily life.

HRV is the measurement of interval variation between each beat of the heart.

It is the tiny difference in the length of these intervals that are a sign of a healthy cardiovascular system and that a person is in an optimal state of recovery.

The higher the HRV, the more likely we are to be better equipped to cope with the pressures of daily life.

Conversely, studies show that low HRV correlates with anxiety and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

BODYBALANCE™ by Les Mills is a newgeneration yoga practice which blends elements of yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates with mindfulness, in a workout format.

It is one of the world’s most popular yoga programmes, with more than

10,000 fitness clubs across the globe running the specialist class weekly.

The study found that participants who incorporate regular 30-40-minute sessions of this specialist stretching and meditation into their daily life, experienced significantly improved sleep and cardiovascular health, enhanced recovery from mental and physical stress and boosted positive feelings.

The Les Mills BODYBALANCE and Heart Rate Variability Study measured a range of responses.

The research team collected heart rate variability and survey data related to life satisfaction and sleep quality for this research.

The study was presented by Associate

Professor Jinger Gottschall at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Conference in 2020.

“The study findings show BODYBALANCE is a useful active recovery solution for improving physical and mental health, with participants reporting feeling more positive, confident and motivated,” she said.

Bryce Hastings, head of research at Les Mills, added: “We need to understand that we need recovery from life, not just exercise.

“This study demonstrates that we can enhance recovery from everyday stress and exhaustion through simple and targeted movement and mindfulness training in the form of BODYBALANCE.

Advertiser’s announcement

“The increased popularity of “recovery” is often misdirected; it assumes that only athletes and high-performance individuals need recovery.

“Thanks to the collective trauma our population has experienced in 2020, we are starting to understand that increasing positive emotional, mental and physiological transformation can occur with small but consistent changes that are accessible to anyone.

“We’re pleased to show that our evidence-backed workouts offer this.”

Central to the results was a statistically significant increase in HRV, an accurate measure of the body’s ability to regulate vital health factors such as anxiety and sleep.

Professor Gottschall concluded: “You don’t need to be a particular level of fitness to start BODYBALANCE and by doing it on a regular basis, you can start enjoying the same benefits the study participants gained.”

Furthermore, many studies and research articles investigate sleep and sleep awareness with passive approaches as solutions.

This research study shows that an active approach is beneficial and positive to participants too.

It’s time to combat the collective exhaustion, tension and sleeplessness we face as a nation. 2020 is the year of discovery and action – so take control and try BODYBALANCE™ classes to see how it can positively affect your life.

As we face a second lockdown classes can be accessed via Les Mills’ on demand subscription platform, LMOD (14-day free trial, then £11.95 per month), and once gym’s are able to open again can be found in club at most gym-operators across the country.

New Freemotion 22 SERIES puts the “interactivity” into connected fitness FREEMOTION has launched its iFit®powered 22 SERIES – a revolutionary cardio range that puts the “interactivity” into connected fitness.

Featuring industry-leading products – including the REFLEX™ Treadmill, Incline Trainer, and CoachBike™ – 22 SERIES will be available from late 2020.

The content powering the 22 SERIES comes exclusively from iFit – the world’s leading on-demand fitness platform – providing users with access to an unparalleled, ever-expanding library of thousands of coach-led workouts.

Filmed in breathtaking locations from Paris to Patagonia, as well as in-studio, the workouts offer almost limitless training options to motivate, engage, and inspire members.

Users can even select worldrenowned race routes, such as the 2020 Tour de France, for an extra level of challenge.

Featuring auto-adjusting technology, which – in sync with the coach’s

commands – controls speed, incline/ decline and/or resistance, the 22 SERIES can accurately simulate the topographies of iFit Global Workouts, offering a uniquely true-to-life experience.

“The 22 SERIES provides the first truly interactive, connected fitness experience,” said Dan Toigo, managing director and senior VP for Freemotion.

“Because the equipment interacts seamlessly with the content, you feel like you’re actually there – the perfect way for operators to keep members coming back for more.”

Google Maps™ integration further boosts the interactivity of the 22 SERIES. Exercisers can map their own routes and/or select prestigious race routes, with the equipment automatically matching the on-screen terrain – making the world their workout zone!

To learn more about the 22 SERIES, visit www.freemotionfitness.com/22-series

14-15 SEPTEMBER

2021

THE FITNESS EVENT OF THE YEAR Visit Tomorrow’s Workout 2021 at Bolton’s Macron Stadium and you could find all that you need in one place - in one day • Over 50 key exhibitors with the latest equipment and services • 8 great seminars packed with ideas for your business • New products to improve your spend per member

Register before 31st July for FREE at:

www.tomorrowsworkout.co.uk Brought to you by

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