May 2016
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
Study finds almost half of Brits do no cardio
Entries flooding in for National Fitness Awards By Christina Eccles
ENTRIES are flooding in for the 2016 National Fitness Awards, with our expert judges urging operators who haven’t yet put themselves forward to get involved and tell us why they are the best in the business. This year’s panel, who will have the tough task of picking the winners, includes training academy manager for Strength and Conditioning Education Mark Laws and David McCorkindale – head of leisure at double NFA winners Inverclyde Leisure. David said: “The NFAs are a fantastic way for private leisure operators, leisure trusts, local authorities and hotels to showcase and be recognised for the outstanding work they continually deliver and develop within the industry “I am delighted to be asked to help with the judging of the NFAs as this celebration event continually goes from strength to strength every year and also allows a wide range of networking and team building amongst employees and suppliers.” The awards take place on Friday December 2 at The Athena in Leicester, organised by Script Events in partnership with Workout and headline sponsor Servicesport. There are over 20 trophies up for
grabs, recognising gyms, staff and members from all corners of the industry. Nominations can be made via the website www.nationalfitnessawards. co.uk Mark added: “Social media has made the world a much smaller place and it gives us all a platform to show people what we offer and how we can benefit them. “Well rather than just telling us what a brilliant job your facility, team, or organisation does, you need to show us by entering yourself or your organisation for one of the awards. “I am excited to see the nominations and to make my decision as to who is the most worthy winner in December.” Event director Judith Halkerston added: “There has been an excellent response so far with nominations coming through on a daily basis – we’ve certainly got a lot more entries at this stage of proceedings than in previous years. “And there’s a great mix of operators, both large and small, new names and previous entrants. “We’re proud of the fact that the Fitness Awards are for every club – they are free to enter and our judging criteria means that it’s not down to the size of your facility but how you run it!”
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Yoga fans have been urged to get involved in Yoga for Alzheimer’s – a nationwide event raising money for Alzheimer’s Research UK. The event is taking place in 16 major cities across the country from June 12 to 21 and is being supported by TV presenter and interior designer Linda Barker. Chief executive at Alzheimer’s Research UK, Hilary Evans, said: “We are very proud to be hosting inclusive events and those signing up to Yoga for Alzheimer’s are going to have a fantastic afternoon of yoga taught by some very skilled teachers. We hope supporters will grab their yoga mats and join Linda and Alzheimer’s Research UK in the fight to defeat dementia.”
ALMOST half of people do no cardio exercise at all and more than two thirds don’t train with weights, according to new research. The study, undertaken by YouGov on behalf of sports nutrition company Predator Nutrition, looked at the lifestyle habits of more than 2,000 men and women across the UK. 48 per cent said they did no cardio exercise at all, with a further 25 per cent saying they did one hour a week or less. Just 31 per cent said they trained with weights and 19 per cent said climbing an average flight of stairs would leave them out of breath – three per cent said they would be gasping for air by the top. A spokesman for Predator Nutrition said: “With obesity on the rise in the UK it is disappointing to discover that so many of us are still not finding the time to exercise. “We were shocked to discover that only about half of Britons bother to get any form of cardio exercise at all. “We hope our study will highlight that more needs to be done to encourage people to quit their bad habits and adopt a healthier lifestyle.”