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December 2014
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
Industry has to play its part on inactivity, claim By Christina Eccles INACTIVITY is killing us, according to an expert, who is calling on the industry to play an important role in helping to address the scale of the problem. Speaking at the ukactive National Summit in London, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, Professor Kevin Fenton, told an audience of industry professionals that activity levels are continuing to fall; something which is costing us as a nation and having a massive impact on society. He explained: “Levels of activity have been declining. Since the 1960s, there has been nearly a 25 per cent reduction and trends suggest this will continue. “Inactivity is costing us as a nation. That means it has an impact on society. We are the lazy man of the Western world.” As part of a drive to improve the nation’s health, PHE has co-produced Everybody Active, Every Day; a framework for national and local action to address the physical inactivity epidemic, which will focus on four key areas of action to make active lifestyles a reality for all.
These are: Change the social ‘norm’ to make physical activity the expectation. Develop expertise and leadership within professionals and volunteers. Create environments to support active lives. Identify and upscale successful programmes nationwide. Now, following the launch, PHE is calling for action from providers and commissioners in: health, social care, transportation, planning, education, sport and leisure, culture, the voluntary and community sector, and public and private employers to get behind the initiative. Kevin added: “I’m passionate about physical activity. That elixir of life we all strive for is for living longer and healthier, so this is something we all need to be passionate about. “Physical activity underpins everything we do. We will continue to be part of the change we want to see. Our ask of you is to please keep speaking to us. Be part of the change you want to see.” *What part do you think gyms can play in solving the inactivity problem? Email our editorial team at scriptmedia.co.uk or contact us via Facebook or Twitter.
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‘Wearable technology’ among new 2015 trends
Thousands of group exercise instructors and enthusiasts met in Liverpool for the final event of the Les Mills GFX series. Attendees enjoyed the hottest dance, high intensity interval training, martial arts and mind body workouts, as well as the final of the Les Mills GRIT championships. Also on the day, local charity the Steven Gerrard Foundation received a £3,500 donation from the Les Mills Fund for Children. The cheque was personally accepted by the footballer, pictured here with CEO of Les Mills UK, Keith Burnet. *For full story see inside.
WEARABLE technology, functional training and fitness professionals becoming more business savvy will be among trends in 2015, it has been claimed. As the industry gears up for another busy January rush, Workout asked a range of operators, suppliers and well known industry figures for their thoughts on what to watch out for over the coming months. Among those we heard from was fitness entrepreneur Katie Bulmer-Cooke who predicts, in order to thrive next year, clubs and trainers will need to become all-round business experts, as being able to offer great fitness knowledge won’t be enough. She added: “In 2015 it isn't enough to have fantastic fitness knowledge and be a great coach if you want to have a successful fitness business. “You also need to be crazy hot on customer service and truly know your customer inside out; understanding their wants, needs, barriers and pain points, and most importantly find a solution to these.” For more, see our feature starting on page 38.