Workout UK September 2017

September 2017

The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine

National Fitness Awards set to be biggest yet

By Christina Eccles

EXCITEMENT is building for the industry’s biggest end-of-year party, with plans in place to make this year’s National Fitness Awards the best one yet.

Nominations for the 2017 awards are now closed and as this issue of Workout went to print, the team were busy notifying the worthy finalists who will be in with a chance of picking up a trophy at this year’s event.

The awards, which are now in their eighth year, recognise excellence and achievement in all corners of the fitness industry – from independent gyms to local authority facilities, health clubs and hotels – with over 20 hotly contested categories up for grabs.

Organised by Script Media in partnership with Workout and headline sponsor Servicesport, this annual celebration of success will culminate in a glittering ceremony – taking place at the Athena in Leicester on Friday December 1 – where hosts Jenny Pacey and Dean Hodgkin will reveal the lucky winners who will take home an award.

Previous winners have reported a boost in membership numbers, an increase in their club’s profile and positive media coverage;

with sponsors, judges and hosts already looking forward to the big night.

2016 Lifetime Achievement award winner Steve Johnson, who is also a judge on the 2017 panel, said: “Last year was the most amazing experience and to be acknowledged for my work in the industry I love was mind blowing.

“My centre has been lucky enough to win three awards in the past and it certainly helps us to get recognised as a trusted expert in our field.

“December 1, like every other awards evening we have gone to, will be the highlight of our year and a chance to get out of the gym clothes and dress up. Can’t wait” Workout editor Christina Eccles added: “Once again we were overwhelmed with the standard of entries we received and we’re looking forward to visiting each of our finalists over the coming weeks to see first hand just what makes them so special.

“We can’t wait to celebrate with everyone at the awards on December 1, so get your tickets booked now for what promises to be another fantastic night.” n Look out for the full shortlist next issue and see inside for details on how to get your tickets.

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Successful learners to become members

Performance nutritionist and educator Ben Coomber will be among the speakers sharing their knowledge with visitors at the upcoming BP: Fitness Trade Show. Ben will be joining the likes of industry experts Phil Learney, Mark Laws and Emma Storey-Gordon on the seminar timetable at the event, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham later this month.

Following a re-brand from LIW, organisers are promising to offer a strong focus on education at this year’s show, as well as a range of exhibitors and valuable networking opportunities. *Turn to page 52 for our BP:Fitness Trade Show preview.

CIMSPA has partnered with Premier Global NASM, which has joined the institute as a skills development partner.

Premier is the first CIMSPA partner to automatically enter every successful participant of recognised qualifications into membership of the sector’s chartered professional body.

Their level two fitness instructing and level three personal training certificates are now CIMSPA-endorsed and join over 290 other qualifications recognised by the chartered institute.

All learners who successfully complete these qualifications with Premier will gain a 12-month CIMSPA affiliate (exercise and fitness) or practitioner (exercise and fitness) membership included within their qualification.

CEO of Premier Global NASM, Nick Bradley, said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce our partnership and shared vision – together we can make a real difference; creating personal, social and economic value.”

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Duo team up to provide children with physical activity sessions

By Olivia Taylor A GYM owner and an ex headteacher have teamed up to provide children across Gloucestershire with mentally stimulating physical activity sessions.

Mini Rockets is the brainchild of Rockets Health and Fitness owner Andy Griffiths and health and wellbeing specialist and local authority advisor Chris Powell.

Mini Rockets is a physical and mental health, wellbeing and fitness club that gives local children access to physical activity during the holidays and after school.

Andy said: “It’s something I’ve always thought about doing but never really had a way of doing it. We wanted to help children and open their options in terms of physical education.”

Andy and Chris are not only giving local children access to fun physical activity, but they’re ensuring they get to socialise and stay engaged when they’re not at school.

Andy added: “We do after school

“Not only is it just rewarding from my point of view as a gym owner but it’s lovely for people in the community who aren’t members to see what we’re doing.”

classes for primary schools and we’ve started to do some individual classes for vulnerable children too. We’ve had great responses from parents and it’s really nice for them to actually see the improvements in their children.”

Children are involved in activities that are interesting, rather than fitness exercises and activities. One of the pair’s main goals is to get children thinking.

Andy said: “We’re quite lucky in the sense that we live in a rural area, so there’s lots of things we can do with the children. We go on woodland trails and we build dens. We get them engaged, enjoying what they’re doing and we get them thinking for themselves.

“Not only is it just rewarding from my point of view as a gym owner but it’s lovely for people in the community who aren’t members to see what we’re doing.”

The duo have seen the impact the sessions have on youngsters with disabilities and behavioural problems, with parents commenting on the positive change they’ve seen in their children, Chris added: “We have a range of different children, some of them have anxiety and depression, behaviour issues and cerebral palsy.

“We have one lad, he’s nine, his attendance was incredibly poor at school. We introduced him to the gym and it just broke his week up.”

“The young lad with cerebal palsy, it’s just the social side for him, so he’s not on his own during the holidays

At Script Media, we try to get things right but occasionally, we make mistakes. If you have a complaint about a story featured in our magazine or on our website, please, in the first instance, contact us by email: ce@scriptmedia.co.uk We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice as demanded by the Independent Press Standards Organisation. For details on the code and what to do should you be unsatisfied with the way we handle your complaint, please visit www.ipso.co.uk

Youngsters taking part in the Mini Rockets Club that was the brainchild of Andy Griffiths and Chris Powell.

Andy said: “We give away free and he’s not isolated.” memberships to some families just Cost doesn’t have to be a barrier for so we can get the children socialising vulnerable families either, with Andy in the gym and we can improve them opening his gym doors free of charge socially. for locals who can benefit from his “We started the summer camp two services. Schools in the area have also years ago and we’ve just built it up gained funding to send a collection of from there. We want to push it further pupils to Mini Rockets’ after school across the county in the future.” sessions.

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Participation figures reveal rise in outdoor exercisers

AN operator’s campaign to encourage exercisers outdoors is going from strength to strength, with participation figures rising 14 per cent year on year.

FUSION Lifestyle’s Great Outdoors campaign, which sees classes take place outside, was nominated for a Flame award in 2016 and has been further extended this year with the introduction of INTENCITY Bootcamps for the first time.

The number of activities offered in 2017 is also double that of 2016, attracting an increase in both member (14.5 per cent) and nonmember (14.7 per cent) participation.

The INTENCITY Bootcamps have seen Fusion take its popular HIIT brand outside for the first time with two new classes,

INTENCITY CARDIO AND ABS and INTENCITY MAX. These have been complemented with other outdoor activities including buggy bootcamps, run clubs and walking clubs.

Head of product development at Fusion Lifestyle Peter King said: “The Great Outdoors campaign has been popular since we launched in 2011 and we really wanted to make sure we were innovating and adding something different this year to broaden its appeal still further.

“Our unique INTENCITY Bootcamps are proving to be particularly popular.

Our aim is to provide activities that all our customers can take part in in the open air, and we’re delighted that the number of people enjoying the Great Outdoors programme with us is reflecting this.”

Martin Fichter has been appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer of eGym. After almost two decades in the USA and China, Martin returns to his homeland Germany to join eGym, where he will oversee and drive forward the areas of production and procurement, customer management, training management, logistics and supply chain management, as well as human resources. eGym founder and CEO Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer said: “From his time at Silicon Valley, Martin is very familiar with the dynamic and fast-changing environment of highgrowth companies. Therefore, eGym will substantially benefit from his experience, especially in the relevant fields of scaling and growth-management.”

Janine Philp and Emma McCarthy-Jenkins from Crow Wood with youngsters and staff from Casterton Primary School.

Club wins challenge for third consecutive year INDEPENDENT club Crow Wood Leisure has won Technogym’s Let’s Move challenge for the third consecutive year.

816 Crow Wood members took part in the global challenge and clocked up just over 3m moves to finish top in the UK. The Burnley based club posted on social media asking schools why they should win the equipment and, following a huge response, picked Casterton Primary School, which has been awarded £7,000 worth of kit.

Crow Wood health and fitness manager Janine Philp said: “We are absolutely thrilled to win for a third consecutive year.

“We knew that in order to hit 3m moves we had to have plenty of members taking part so the gym team began recruiting a couple of weeks before the challenge started.

“Thanks to all our dedicated members who supported the challenge, sweated and donated their moves to win the equipment for another Burnley school.”

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Gym gets off to a successful start and plans to expand its offering

By Christina Eccles A LEICESTERSHIRE gym has got off to a successful start since opening in January, with big expansion plans underway to further improve the business.

Bluestone Fitness in Ashby de la Zouch is already well on its way to reaching the 1,000 member mark and after such a good response from the local community, the club is ready to expand the services it offers and attract even more people through its doors.

Owner Daniel Ball said: “We’re only using a third of the building, so are expanding by 100sqm. We’re introducing a new weights area, as well as expanding the coffee shop to create a retail area.

“The work should be finished by mid September to early October, which puts us in a really good position for the new year.”

“The thing about our gym has got to be the atmosphere – it’s completely different.”

Expansion plans are underway at Bluestone Fitness in Ashby de la Zouch despite the gym only opening in January.

Aiming to offer a premium, He added: “The thing about our in September and we have big plans boutique health club feel, one of the gym has got to be the atmosphere for the new year. If we can get where facility’s biggest selling points is its – it’s completely different. The fact we want to be membership wise by classes, with a timetable offering that you walk in through the coffee December, we’ll be looking to carry everything from yoga and Pilates to shop means it’s so relaxed and less that on into the new year.”

Clubbercise and circuits. intimidating. n Have you got a success story from Offering a non intimidating “People like to keep things fresh your gym? If you’re expanding or environment is also important and so they’re all excited about the refurbishing your facility, we would Daniel and the team are keen to make expansion. We’ve got fantastic love to hear about it. Send details to sure everyone who trains there feels clientele – we’ve been really lucky. ce@scriptmedia.co.uk and you could welcome and supported.

“Hopefully we’ll have a big month appear in a future issue.

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Victoria’s on a mission to empower town’s women

Participants on the LiveWire and Warrington Wolves’ Fit to Tackle programme celebrate their success.

Scheme’s participants lose 55 stones in total THE latest participants on LiveWire and Warrington Wolves’ Fit to Tackle programme are celebrating success after losing an incredible 55 stone between them.

The 20 men and 20 women – who completed the 18th Fit to Tackle programme – have managed to shed the weight, thanks to the rugby themed sports activities and nutritional advice provided.

Over the last 12 weeks, they’ve been put through the paces with up-to three sessions a week of intense training at both the Halliwell Jones Stadium and Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub. This has enabled at least 35 of the

participants to lose at least five per cent of their body weight.

They also dramatically improved their fitness during the course, with all participants completing a halfmile run at least one minute faster in the final week of the programme compared to the first week.

One of the programme’s coaches Paul Corless said: “We’ve seen an incredible weight loss on this Fit to Tackle programme.

“The participants worked amazingly hard to reach their targets and really enjoyed all of the activities provided.

Hopefully they’ve now got all the skills necessary to lead happy and healthy lifestyles.”

A PERSONAL trainer on a mission to empower women has opened her first gym in Barnsley.

Barbelles and Ponytails is the creation of Victoria Hudson, who after training clients in clubs around the town and at her outdoor bootcamps has opened her own facility in a popular business park.

With a quest to help more women feel fitter and stronger and break the cycle of fad diets, having her own space is helping Victoria reach out to a wider audience; both with her one to one PT and small group training.

She explained: “I’ve had this business model in my head for years.

I knew I wanted graffiti on the wall and empowering quotes.

“I’ve always had the idea and the name. This is an ideal location and it’s got parking – it’s perfect.

“All my clients have come with me.

It’s also given me the opportunity to open up the groups. I have groups on most evenings and some early mornings, so it’s a lot more flexible.”

Sessions are focused around functional training but capping class numbers at a maximum of eight people also ensures each participant gets individual attention.

Victoria added: “I charge more than the average bootcamp, but I limit the numbers because I want people to get that coaching feel. I also help everyone that comes in with their diet. If we had bigger numbers, that

would have to stop. I like to think they’re getting something different.”

Victoria’s aim for the business is to create a community, where people turn up not only for a workout, but also to see their friends. As part of this, she also plans to organise social events and is going on holiday to Majorca with a group of clients later this month.

She added: “I want this to be somewhere that’s not intimidating, where no one cares how fit you are, how fast you are or what size you are.

“Empowering women is my thing.

I want to give women a haven where they can bring their kids if they need to and they don’t have to worry about mirrors or other gym members.

Everyone really loves being here.”

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Cardiac arrest survivor thanks centre’s staff

By Christina Eccles

FitQuest has appointed Jim Graham as a non-executive director. Jim will assist the business with product and market strategy and will advise the board on scaling the operation to deliver its bold growth plans. Previously he was chief operating officer of The Gym Group, where he was accountable for the proposition, customer management, brand and marketing, technology and HR. Managing director Brian Firth said: “This is a really exciting time for FitQuest and we are pleased to welcome Jim to our team to be a part of our growth strategy. With his impressive background in strategy and private equity, I know he will be an invaluable asset to the team. I look forward to seeing what comes next.”

A KEEN swimmer is back in the pool thanks to the quick thinking of lifeguards and staff at Life Leisure Cheadle.

When Christina Stylianou went into cardiac arrest during one of her weekly swim sessions, staff at the centre – including lifeguards, swimming instructors and managers – administered CPR and used the pool defibrillator to restart her heart; actions which saved her life.

Such was the severity of the situation, it took four shocks before Christina’s heart began beating again.

Duty manager Matt Danby said: “All we knew at first was that Christina was in difficulty. Two of our instructors – Ashley Wedge and William Goodayle – were already in the pool and so went to her aid straight away, quickly followed by lifeguard Daniel Woolley.

“I was poolside with two more of our lifeguards, Zoe Fisher and apprentice Bradley McClendon.

Between us we got Christina out of the pool as fast as we could, where it became clear that she wasn’t breathing.

“We started giving CPR but couldn’t feel a pulse so made the decision to use the defibrillator.

“The paramedics have since told us that if we hadn’t done this, Christina

Christina Stylianou with the team at Life Leisure Cheadle. joking with staff and swimmers at would not have survived.”

Cheadle. She is a fantastic character To recognise the actions of and such a known face at the centre. the Cheadle team who came to And I couldn’t be more proud of the Christina’s aid that day, Life Leisure staff involved in saving Christina’s life presented them with a special award that day. at a recent ceremony for its whole “In the heat of the moment, it is workforce – over 500 employees in easy to forget things we’ve learned total. but these guys called on both their Life Leisure CEO Malcolm McPhail training and their courage to help in added: “We are all so pleased that every way they could.”

Christina has recovered and is back

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Advertiser’s announcement

Fitness Warehouse kits out high-end gym AT Fitness Warehouse we are delighted to have been involved with the new installation at Kinetik Health and Wellness.

Kinetik is a new high-end gym based in Nottingham city centre with an emphasis on providing a very personalised service to help members reach their goals. Situated in the Lace Market area, it is perfectly located to service the local businesses in the city centre.

The main gym is split into three areas: cardio, functional and strength.

The cardio area has state of the art Gym Gear performance series treadmills, cross trainers and bikes with full multimedia capabilities and

entertainment functionality to help motivate and engage with members.

There are also a few unique pieces of equipment including the Jacobs Ladder and Tornado Bike, to give members much greater variety in their workouts and to really challenge themselves.

The functional area is arranged around the Spartan Rig centre piece, with kettlebells, medicine balls, suspension trainers, slam balls and much, much more. Spartan Rig classes are held daily and provide a fun way to improve fitness levels for all abilities.

The strength area has all the main Gym Gear Elite Series strength

machines for upper body and legs, with customised Kinetik branding on all the seat pads. Around the corner, fans of free weights can find dumbbells, benches, and a Sterling Series half rack with lifting platform and high impact bumper plates.

At the far side of the gym is a huge studio, equipped with GymGear M Sport Pro Spin bikes, studio barbells sets, steps boxes, prowler sled and sled track. A wide variety of exercise classes are available to members.

Co-director Ali West said: “We’ve been in contact with Fitness Warehouse from the very beginning before we even found premises.

“Having their advice and guidance

at such an early stage really helped in streamlining the whole process, and gave us confidence in our direction… after all, this is our first gym!

“David met with us several times to go through our plan and fine tune the equipment we required.

“It was really useful to see the 3D gym designs when we were deciding on which equipment to get, how much equipment would fit into the space and how the gym would flow from one area into another.

“We could not be happier with the service Fitness Warehouse provided and the GymGear equipment is absolutely superb; we are already receiving some great feedback!”

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Welcome to WorkOut Weigh In – it’s your chance to have your say and share your views on industry issues. You can email us at ce@scriptmedia.co.uk or you can message us on Facebook or Twitter.

This month’s top Tweets...

Picture of the month A team from Devon Fit Camp has organised a charity bootcamp in memory of friend Laura WeatherallPlane and to raise money for cancer charity, CoppaFeel. The 45-minute outdoor workout took place in Ivybridge, with participants encouraged to dress in pink for Coppafeel or Laura’s favourite colour, turquoise. Everyone who took part also made a donation to the charity.

@clubbercise: This month’s ‪@ WorkOutUK features our new concepts Family, U13 and U18 Clubbercise sessions for families, kids and teens ‪#fitfam ‪#kidsfitness

Look out for the next issue of Workout, where we will be announcing the shortlist for the 2017 National Fitness Awards. Good luck to everyone who has entered and keep checking www.facebook.com/ workoutmagazine and following @Fitnessawards and @WorkOutUK on Twitter for all the latest updates.

Editor’s Comment James_Foley_007: Thanks for the heads up on behalf of ‪@ AllianceLeisure... another great read this month beyond that :) ‪@ WorkOutUK ‪@ChristinaEccles ‪#NFAs @RachelHolmes: YEEEH thanks ‪@WorkOutUK for the article! ‪#LiftLean ‪#strongnotskinny ‪#weightlifting ‪#strongwomen @marathoninaday: We made it into ‪@WorkOutUK today. Did you see? PTs and coaches – great opportunity to engage clients. ‪#personaltraining @ChristinaEccles: Great to visit a new gym in Barnsley this morning! Congratulations on your new venture ‪@the_lady_lifts!

Story coming soon in Workout. @richcallender: Great to be judging the National Fitness Awards again this year.

Massively proud and hoping for some amazing entrants to judge again! @swimmingnature: We’re in ‪@ WorkOutUK magazine talking about launching our first fully operated boutique health club: the ‪@MaqamCentre.

IT’S the most exciting time of the year in the Workout office – and we’ll be non stop now until Christmas!

As our front page story states, nominations are now closed for this year’s National Fitness Awards and it’s all systems go until the big night on December 1 as our events team put plans in place to make the event the biggest and best one yet!

If you’ve been shortlisted – congratulations! Once again it’s been a tough task picking the finalists. The standard of entries just gets better and better and it’s so inspiring to see how much effort you’re putting into your nominations.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be hitting the road; visiting all of our shortlisted clubs, members and personal trainers to see exactly what makes them worthy of being a finalist and finding out why they feel they should pick up a trophy.

It’s a lot of mileage and some very long days, but the warm welcome we get in facilities all over the country makes this hectic time all worth it and it’s always great to see how much pride our shortlisted operators have

in their clubs, customers and staff.

We’re really looking forward to seeing many of our finalists, plus sponsors, judges, special guests and presenters at the big night in December and with ticket bookings open at www.nationalfitnessawards. co.uk you can now head to the website to secure your seats.

Last year, we had over 900 people there, so if you want a table, get it booked sooner rather than later and start looking for your perfect party outfit!

While you’re planning your night in Leicester, why not think about making a day of it and also coming along to the National Fitness Conference at Leicester Racecourse?

Taking place ahead of the awards, we have some great speakers joining us, as well as the latest products and innovations showcased by our specially selected exhibitors. The day also provides the chance to network with other like-minded operators and trainers; forging valuable relationships which can help you boost your business in 2018 and beyond.

Christina Eccles We’ll also be at the new BP: Fitness Trade Show at the NEC later this month and are looking forward to seeing many of you there.

If you’re attending come and see us.

We’d love to chat to you about news from your gym or tell you more about our upcoming events.

And if you’re an NFA finalist, we’ll also be seeing you soon. Good luck with your site visits and have a great month!

This month’s hot topic:

How are you gearing up for the last few months of 2017? Have you launched any big campaigns in anticipation of a September membership boom or are you already looking towards the New Year?

Send your answers to ce@scriptmedia.co.uk or contact us via Twitter or Facebook. We’ll print the best responses next issue.

Follow us on Twitter @WorkOutUK or contact us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/workoutmagazine

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Being the only 24-hour gym in the region has given Gym64’s second site in Kirkcaldy, which opened two years ago and already has more than 1,500 members, a USP.

24-hour gym combines convenience with high levels of customer service

By Christina Eccles A GYM in Scotland is combining the convenience of 24-hour opening with the customer service levels of a traditional independent club.

Following on from the success of its National Fitness Award winning sister club in Dunfermline, Gym64 opened a second site in Kirkcaldy in 2015, which has already attracted over 1,500 members.

Being the only 24-hour gym in the region has given the club a USP, along with its extensive range of classes – including virtual – across five studios

and a popular outdoor area, which is used for bootcamps and features kit such as monkey bars, sledges, battle ropes and tyres.

Regional fitness manager at Gym64 Martin Dickson said: “We’ve been open two years in October and it’s already a great success.

“Our Kirkcaldy branch boasts a timetable of over 140 classes ranging from Les Mills – including Body Combat, Body Attack, Body Pump – HIIT classes like P90x Live, METAFIT, Shred and functional fitness classes like Kettlebells, TRX and Bootcamp.

“Our virtual reality spin classes also

ensure that we have something for members not necessarily working to a normal 9-5 schedule.”

Highly trained instructors are also key to the club, according to Martin, who told Workout staff at Gym64 are passionate about helping members achieve great results.

He added: “They add their own style of teaching to every class and are more than willing to spend one-onone time tailoring plans for members.

This keeps our members motivated and engaged with new initiatives.

“Classes are the foundation of the Gym64 mission and attendance

continues to perform at a high level in all five of our studios every day of the week.”

Supporting the community is also important to the club, which raised nearly £7,000 for charity last year; donating to worthy local causes, including the children’s ward at Victoria Hospital.

Martin added: “Although we have a huge gym, we still want it to be a community gym.

“We’re a huge part of the community.

“I feel we have really built a name for ourselves quite quickly.”

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Neon Personal Training in Alderley Edge includes a state-of-the-art studio space, a juice bar and additional services such as physiotherapy under one roof.

New personal training facility aims to deliver ‘seven-star’ service and results

By Christina Eccles

A PREMIUM personal training facility has opened in Cheshire, with the aim of delivering a ‘seven star’ service and results.

Neon Personal Training in Alderley Edge includes a state-ofthe-art studio space, a juice bar and additional services such as physiotherapy and has been designed to bring everything clients need for optimum health and wellbeing under one roof.

The studio is owned by entrepreneurial couple Joe and Nicole Sealey and run by three leading personal trainers – Drew Roberts, Matt Cresey and Callum Manton – who have already built up a loyal client base, having previously worked in other gyms in the local area.

Matt explained: “We saw a gap in the market for a one to one studio; an exclusive facility for clients to attend where we can pay them 100 per cent attention to get the best results possible.

“We’re aiming to offer everything in

Neon Personal Training has drawn in passing trade as well as the trainers’ existing clients. one facility.

With a highly visible location at the “The fitness and gym side, the juice side of a main road, the studio, which bar and nutrition and physio. We’ve opened in June, has been successfully all worked in the industry for a long drawing in passing trade as well as time and have tried to listen to what the trainers’ existing clients. people want.”

Matt added: “It’s been really good so

far. Because all three of us have been working as trainers around the area for a while now, people are aware of us.

“Here, we get to build a much better relationship with clients and make it more personal to them. That’s what I like about my job.”

After a successful start, the team behind the concept are already looking at an ambitious expansion programme, which will eventually see them opening a chain of sites. A second one in Essex has already been secured.

Matt added: “Location wise, we wanted to stay in this vicinity [for the first studio]. We know people here and we also get quite a lot of traffic going past.

“We want to try to create a brand which we can transfer across the country and expand around the UK. “We’re all on the same page. We know each other outside the gym and all aspire to the same goal.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of a studio – I’m living the dream.”

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Darcey to lead workout on National Fitness Day

By Christina Eccles

Women’s fitness portal Healthista has launched a new FIT HIIT app, containing over 200 workouts lasting from five to 60 minutes. The app uses video content to demonstrate moves and has a range of workouts from beginner to intermediate and advanced. Users can also choose from whole, upper or lower body or core workouts, with hundreds of combinations meaning they will rarely do the same one twice. Leading personal trainer Kelly Du Buisson has created the app for Healthista based on her extensive experience of HIIT workouts, aiming it at people too busy to commit to the gym regularly, as well as those who want to work out while away; making every exercise easy to do without equipment.

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Darcey Bussell will lead a mass workout in central London to kick start the fittest day of the year on September 27.

The star will be joined at Paddington Recreation Ground on National Fitness Day by hundreds of participants for a 7.30am dance fitness session – ‘Wake up and Work out’ – based on her DDMIX training concept.

Darcey will be joined by stars from the venue operator Everyone Active’s Sporting Champions programme, with Olympic silver medallist hurdler Colin Jackson and Olympic gold medallist hockey player Alex Danson among those taking part.

The day, co-ordinated by ukactive, will see the nation celebrate physical activity through a range of free events and activity sessions.

Last year’s National Fitness Day got over 1m people active across 18,000 events – making it the most active day of 2016 – with the aim for it to be even bigger this year.

Gym operators and physical activity providers across the UK will once again play a central role on the day, opening their doors to offer the public a range of free taster sessions and gym passes.

Event partners AXA PPP healthcare

Darcey Bussell and her team at last year’s event. and Argos will also be getting “The day also offers a fantastic involved; taking National Fitness opportunity for the physical activity Day into workplaces and high streets sector to unlock new markets and respectively. attract new members by promoting ukactive CEO Steven Ward said: the broad benefits of movement to “National Fitness Day is a fantastic the length and breadth of the British chance to spotlight physical activity nation.” and the role it plays in creating a n Are you taking part in National healthier nation. These free events Fitness Day? Let us know your plans across the country provide a chance and you could feature in a future for everyone to experience the fun issue. of fitness and carry forward healthy Email ce@scriptmedia.co.uk or habits. contact us via Facebook or Twitter.

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Researchers help digital currency users get more rewards for exercising

Bannatyne chief executive Justin Musgrove, group HR manager Helen Seddon and director Ed James with some of the head office team

Group achieves Investors in People accreditation THE Bannatyne Group has been recognised as an outstanding employer after achieving Investors in People accreditation.

The group, which employs about 3,000 people across the UK, received the award from the Governmentrecognised body following surveys of staff who were picked at random.

Chief executive Justin Musgrove said: “I’m delighted that The Bannatyne Group has secured Investors in People accreditation,

especially as this is the first time we have applied.

“Our colleagues receive continual training in a bid to become the employer of choice in the health and fitness industry. Investing in our staff demonstrates that we appreciate their hard work and commitment to our members.

“We understand that happy staff make for happy customers, so given this accolade, it is no coincidence that our membership is growing.”

Conference to examine outcomes A CONFERENCE to examine how operators and active communities teams can increase participation and reduce inactivity in line with the Government’s latest sports strategy will take place in October.

Making it Happen, the third Active Communities Conference organised by Quest, Sport England’s industry improvement and quality assurance model, will see input from high profile speakers such as Sport

England’s head of research and evaluation, Darcy Hare.

Also taking to the stage will be Neil Watson, director of head of programmes at research and technology company Substance; Jane Ashworth and Gary White from StreetGames and Steve Towns and Mark Fosbrook from the English Federation of Disability Sport.

The conference takes place on October 3 at Stoke City FC.

RESEARCHERS have been awarded a grant to help further develop an innovative app which enables users to earn rewards from exercising.

Sweatcoin, a digital currency generated by physical movement captured on a smartphone, has already converted more than 80b of its users’ physical steps into virtual coins in reward for their exercise – walking and running.

For now, Sweatcoin’s proprietary algorithm verifies outdoor movement using a number of other sensors, including GPS, to prevent potential ‘gaming of the system.’

The company now wants to expand the app to allow users to earn digital currency while cycling and when inside buildings, including activities such as running on a treadmill or simply walking around while at work. With the help of an Innovate UK grant, they are working with researchers in the Institute of Digital Healthcare in WMG at the University of Warwick to develop a solution, while blocking any methods to cheat through the use of computer validation techniques.

Co-founder of Sweatcoin, Anton Derlyatka, said: “Despite all the successes by many organisations in promoting healthy living, the existing solutions like gyms, activity trackers and many games fail to address the growing rates of obesity.

“That is because they fail to create a sustainable motivation to be physically active for the majority of us, and not just for the ones that do it already. Over 60 per cent of the UK are classed as physically inactive. The vast majority can’t find motivation to exercise enough. Sweatcoin has developed a digital platform that makes physical movement immediately valuable through the

generation of currency from activity.

“The currency can subsequently be exchanged for goods, services or experiences or donated to charities.

Our collaboration with Warwick researchers will help us develop algorithms that will make Sweatcoin available to a greater number of people, in particular those that run/ walk indoors or cycle outdoors.”

In addition to the verification algorithms, the project aims to investigate behavioural change in physical activity following use of the platform. This will also be coordinated by WMG researchers, who will analyse app data and run focus groups with invited Sweatcoin users.

Lead investigator Dr Mark Elliott, who is assistant professor of healthcare technology and behaviour change at WMG, added: “Generating currency, while maintaining its value, requires intelligent algorithms to ensure only real steps or distance are converted into Sweatcoins. The company currently uses a verification algorithm to prevent cheating. The problem is, for now, it can only verify outdoor steps as it relies on a GPS signal.

“We are helping Sweatcoin test and validate approaches that will verify the users’ actual movement using the available sensors on a smartphone, so the app is not just reliant on GPS. “These new algorithms will allow the users to generate currency through steps captured indoors and extend the currency generating activities to include cycling. We will also be helping Sweatcoin to analyse their data and run focus groups to understand how rewards and incentives can create behavioural change in physical activity.”

The project will run until May 2018.

UK FITNESS SCENE

Seizing the opportunities created by the boom in outdoor fitness

By Matthew Januszek WHEN I started working in the fitness industry some 20 years ago, organised outdoor training was a relatively niche pursuit.

There have always been athletes, fun runners and sportspeople of course, but for most people fitness was very much something you did in the confines of the local gym.

Fast forward a couple of decades and the story has changed.

Every weekend, thousands of people around the world are heading out to their next event from the likes of Spartan Race and Tough Mudder.

Others are hitting the park, hills or woods for regular training as part of group bootcamps, in one-to-one PT sessions, or on their own, perhaps with the help of a specialist outdoor fitness app.

In his excellent book ‘Sweat Equity’, Jason Kelly emphasises the fact that people are embracing opportunities to ‘run, swim, and crawl in the mud’.

Activities that were once considered extreme, like open water swimming, triathlons and military assault courses, have now moved into the mainstream.

Many drivers are at play here.

There’s a desire to stay fit of course,

fundamental about us humans; the fact that we evolved to be outdoors, to run, jump, lift and move.

Add in the social aspect of outdoor training, from a local bootcamp to a Bear Grylls Survival Race, and you have a powerful recipe.

Matthew Januszek and recognition that doing something extreme in the outdoors might achieve more than the usual ‘half an hour on the treadmill’ routine.

The availability of a variety of portable functional training tools that can be used just about anywhere is also a factor.

Just as importantly, there is a reconnection with something

An all-weather experience There can be a tendency to think that outdoor training will only have broad appeal in the summer, especially in the UK with its unpredictable weather.

But as the thousands of people pushing themselves through cold, wet and muddy obstacle courses have shown, nothing could be further from the truth.

There’s a willingness to train in the elements, no matter what time of year. Maybe that’s because people understand that temperature changes can strengthen their immune system.

But more likely, what’s attractive is the fun and challenge of escaping your comfort zone for a more primary experience.

How can clubs capitalise?

Clubs may not be able to host huge obstacle races every day, but they can certainly deliver great outdoor training experiences.

Turn unused outdoor space into a training area, either at the club or a third party location, and you will create the potential for an additional revenue-generator.

Think of it as a separate businesswithin-a-business to bolt onto your existing facilities.

But if you want that space to be more than just an extension of your indoor offering outside, you’ll need to deliver something special.

The components of the experience all need to be outstanding: great equipment, storage that’s safe, secure and weather-proof, all-weather flooring, and brilliant programming to bring it all to life.

Get all of that right and you will have something attractive to offer new and existing members – an ideal outdoor destination and an experience like nothing else.

As you can tell, I’m incredibly excited about the way that clubs can get on board with the growth of outdoor fitness experiences.

Escape is launching a new solution for it at the BP: Fitness Trade Show at Birmingham NEC this month. Visit us and find out more about this exciting new opportunity. n Matthew Januszek is customer solutions director at Escape Fitness.

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Mountbatten Leisure Centre (left) and Portsmouth Tennis Centre (right) are two of the city’s venues taking part in the schemes implemented by BH Live.

New schemes get thousands of Portsmouth residents active

By Christina Eccles

LOCAL people in Portsmouth have been inspired to get fit after a new range of offers and free activities were launched in the area.

Since Portsmouth City Council awarded the contract to manage seven of its leisure, sporting and event venues to BH Live, the operator has implemented a number of payas-you-go sport, concessionary and free fitness activities, which residents have been snapping up.

Success stories include delivering hundreds of free swim sessions for kids; a rise in pay-as-you-go gym visits and an uptake of more than 4,000 memberships including concessionary packages for students, the over 60s and people on low income.

800 five-day activity guest passes have also been given to local residents and a quarter of those have

gone on to use the venues regularly.

In addition, over 100 people, who are living with a health condition or illness have embarked on a subsidised exercise referral scheme.

Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and sport, councillor Linda Symes, said: “These results are phenomenal.

“When we appointed BH Live the aim was to get more people in the city active and to achieve so much in the first few months is fantastic.

Thousands of people in Portsmouth have been inspired to get up and get active and if that becomes a regular thing for them it can have great benefits for their health and wellbeing. “In turn that can benefit the entire city with healthier people meaning less pressure on health services and if people are walking or cycling rather than driving it can help improve air quality.”

The range of activities available to local people has also increased. New additions include Ashtanga yoga, bootcamp, seafront fitness and BH Live’s unique brand of gym-based classes; Primal, Power, Play and Pulse.

New gym equipment has also been installed at Wimbledon Park and Charter Community Sports Centres and energy saving activities, including new LED schemes at Mountbatten Leisure Centre, have been completed in partnership with Portsmouth City Council.

Developing participation in sport across the city remains a priority too.

BH Live has created a grass roots sports development programme to encourage young people to benefit from the city’s tennis, gymnastics and swimming facilities. Introductory sessions to promote participation are seeing more people showing an

interest in sport, getting involved and trying our new activities.

BH Live’s director for sport and leisure Mike Lyons added: “It’s very encouraging to see the positive impact we are making across the city.

“Enabling more people to do more underpins our social mission to get more people more active. We are really focusing on providing access for all whether that’s through our multi-site membership offer, pay as you go schemes, health programmes or concessions for people on low income. We are now working with partners to develop the venues’ public spaces, further the sporting and aquatics programmes and create an even wider appeal for all.”

Future plans include a new programme of activities for families and children, such as family yoga, and improvement works to Mountbatten Leisure Centre.

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Provider expands network of pools by 40 per cent SWIMMING Nature has expanded its network of swimming pools by 40 per cent, winning contracts across 15 new pools to deliver its premium one-toone and one-to-two sessions.

Among the new operators, Swimming Nature has partnered with are Q Hotels, Hilton, Mosaic, Jurys Inn and a selection of premium independent locations.

Swimming Nature has also secured a contract with local authority leisure operator, Hertsmere Leisure, and will be trialling at Bushey Grove Leisure Centre.

As part of their expansion, Swimming Nature will also be fully operating two of its own facilities, The Maqam Centre in Queens Park, London and the pool at St. Richard’s Primary School in Richmond under the “Powered by Swimming Nature” banner.

Both these sites mark an additional arm for the business as they develop their aquatic management services.

The Maqam Centre will become Swimming Nature’s flagship location.

Swimming Nature’s business development director Michael Clark, who led on the new partnerships added: “Our personal training style tuition experience is very different to the market norm and has been really well received by operators.

“What’s unique about our service is that it can work independently or augment their existing provision.

We often find that operators aren’t maximising their aquatic real estate and we are a great partner to help them enhance their overall consumer experience and create a formidable revenue stream that is low maintenance and high return.”

DinoGym co-founder Sam Beagley models one of the vests.

DinoGym announces entry into Kickstarter funding platform GYM apparel start-up DinoGym has launched a £20,000 Kickstarter campaign to fund expansion of its product range.

DinoGym is the brainchild of Sam Beagley and Alex Stewart and was borne from their love for dinosaurs and working out.

The pair, who are both originally from Perth, Australia, came up with puns merging dinosaur names with muscle groups and explained their ideas to a cartoonist to create the first designs.

The aim of the campaign is to fund expansion of the product range from vests and shorts to other sportswear such as running shirts, hoodies, sports leggings and T-shirts.

Sam said: “Feedback from friends and contacts has been really positive so far, people seem to get the joke; we have already doubled our sales in the past year and ship merchandise all over the world.

“If you like dinosaurs and you like working out, DinoGym is the place to get your gym wear.”

A new range of energy and protein bars have launched made from cricket flour. The team behind SENS bars is aiming to make crickets a more mainstream food choice; highlighting that they contain the same quality protein as beef or fish but produced with 12x less feed and 100x less greenhouse gasses. The energy bars come in two flavours – dark chocolate and orange and pineapple and coconut – with the protein bars available in dark chocolate and sesame and peanut butter and cinnamon varieties.

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Advertiser’s announcement

What would you say if we doubled your club’s revenues this year?

AS one of the leading Direct Debit collection and software companies for independent gyms and health clubs, Ashbourne Membership Management services are constantly developing to provide a better service for their customers.

Clubs that use Ashbourne for their software and payment collections can now access an advanced online digital marketing platform to gain more members and increase your club’s revenue.

The Ashbourne Online Marketing Campaign consists of a platform of over 25 unique and distinct promotions, individually branded for you and ready to perform.

The Ashbourne Digital Promotions programme is designed to effectively double your club’s revenue.

It does so by helping you do more of three things: 1. Get more leads and convert more to members and reactivate your ex members.

2. To help you add value to your member journey where you can charge more and sell more things to your existing customers.

3. To give you engagement tools that extend the life time of your members.

By achieving these three points clubs normally achieve EXPONENTIAL financial growth!

With three packages from a single, monthly promotion using Facebook ads, Ashbourne design and manage it all for you including gathering up the leads.

The Gold Package combines a number of monthly promotions to different audiences and again is designed for you and managed by Ashbourne. You control how much you want to spend and Ashbourne help you maximise the results.

The VIP package is a blue-ribbon product and is guaranteed for 60 days. It combines lead generation, conversion, maximising your member value and retention promotions. The great thing about this offer for you is that if you DON’T FEEL YOU HAVE RECEIVED ENOUGH VALUE from it in 60 days, Ashbourne will REFUND YOU 100 PER CENT OF THE FEES! The campaigns drive significantly more leads every day than you

ever thought possible using a comprehensive range of online promotions. The leads will be high quality and allow you to close them quicker and in greater numbers than before. The programmes and services make your club even more attractive to audiences that you’ve always wanted to get to, but weren’t sure how.

As a club owner, you will be shown: n How to attract and service the high paying deconditioned market. n How to make it easier to make more money off your new customers than ever before. n How to generate additional joining fees without losing sales volume. n How to retail your fitness services to deliver big cash windfalls.

Visit Ashbourne (Stand E2) at the Body Power Trade Show (LIW) at the NEC Birmingham on September 12-13 to find out more and ENTER their competition to win a fully supported 12 week digital campaign including £1,000 of Facebook advertising. A prize worth over £3,500 that could generate £40,000 - £50,000 in the 12 weeks.

For more information on using Ashbourne for your club’s payment collections, software and accessing the online digital marketing platform call 01564 741837 or visit www.ashbourne-memberships.co.uk

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UK FITNESS SCENE

More than 100 Body Design F.I.T members and staff completed the Total Warrior challenge.

Members and staff complete challenge A TEAM of over 100 members and staff from independent gym Body Design F.I.T have successfully completed a Total Warrior challenge.

A total of 132 warriors from the Pontefract based club took on over 30 obstacles – held back by ice and mud – in order to raise funds for the Prince of Wales Hospice.

The team was formed by gym owner Simon Longstaff, who has been raising funds for the hospice for over 20 years after his mum passed away there.

He said: “It always astounds me how much our

Body Design family come together each year for such a great cause.

“The team grows year on year and next year we hope to top 150 entries.

“This is testament to the fact that, at Body Design, we are not just a gym but a family community that work hard and play hard. It’s just great that this time the hard work means we have raised funds for the hospice.”

The total raised is yet to be finalised but the team is looking to add to their previous fundraising efforts, which have totalled over £15,000.

Operator awarded contract EVERYONE Active has been awarded a new contract with Barking and Dagenham Council to manage its leisure centres across the borough for the next 10 years.

The announcement comes as Barking and Dagenham Council aims to get more residents into shape and tackle the borough’s poor health rates.

As part of this drive, the council has tasked Everyone Active with increasing activity levels within the centres by 35 per cent, and bringing in 2m visitors a year to their leisure centres and athletics stadium.

Everyone Active will be managing the Abbey and Beacontree Heath Leisure Centres and the Jim Peters Stadium from September 4. As part of the contract, all existing staff at the centres will be kept on by the operator.

Managing director of Everyone Active David Bibby said: “It is a really exciting time for sports and leisure, and we are delighted to have been chosen by the council to use our extensive skills and experience to get more people active.

“We are very much looking forward to working with them to improve the health and wellbeing of the borough by offering an extensive range of

David Bibby, managing director for Everyone Active and Anne Bristow, deputy chief executive and strategic director for service development and integration at Barking and Dagenham Council. sports and activity opportunities.

“By investing in the fantastic facilities and delivering exceptional services, we will support the council’s healthy weight agenda and help them achieve their goals.”

Join the professionals that trust InBody InBody, the global leader in body composition analysis, has launched direct operations in the UK. Founded in the 1990s, the InBody was created to overcome the limitations of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and transform how body composition was measured.

Today, InBody devices utilise world-class technology to provide the easiest, quickest and most precise BIA body composition analysis in the industry and is already in a rising number of UK gyms, including Third Space, Bannatyne’s, Equinox and easyGym, as well as health, wellness and elite sport facilities.

Rob Thurston, former commercial director at Cybex UK, was recently appointed UK country manager for InBody.

He said: “Body composition analysis is a very effective means to determining how healthy someone is, but only now is it becoming increasingly accessible to the mainstream health and fitness market.

“The InBody has proven itself to be revolutionising the field of body composition analysers and offers fitness professionals and gyms alike a competitively priced solution to customise and support clients’ training.”

The InBody 270, 570 and 770 models are currently available in the UK. For more information visit www.inbody.com

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EMD UK signs partnership agreement with DataHub EMD UK has signed a partnership agreement with DataHub to receive data for all group exercise classes across the UK. Working with the DataHub will enable EMD UK to develop its existing group exercise insight work, including its annual Participation and National Surveys.

These surveys provide essential group exercise insight; key participant motivators and challenges, along with a nationally representative view of group exercise participation levels and habits.

The partnership with DataHub adds a further dimension to this, allowing EMD UK to look at the participation

trends of a bigger sample between and within styles.

Head of business development at EMD UK Jade Moulden said: “We are really excited to be working with 4global as the keepers of the DataHub group exercise data.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to work more closely with leisure operators to understand and support their customers.

“It also gives us, our members and partners access to a unique insight set that is unavailable elsewhere. Our aim is to understand the journeys of our customers across their group exercise lifecycles; the DataHub will help us to achieve this.”

Pivotal Fitness’ Rob Newton and Abbey Clayton with Allan Wood from UKSE, a subsidiary of Tata Steel.

UKSE funding to expand Rotherham-based gym

By Christina Eccles A GYM in Rotherham has expanded its services after receiving funding from UK Steel Enterprise Kickstart Fund.

Rob Newton bought Pivotal Fitness in February, with the aim of developing the club and improving the range of classes on offer.

The UKSE funding has allowed him to purchase MYZONE equipment, as well as invest in new signage and branded items of clothing for members to purchase.

Rob said: “There has been a real improvement to the ways in which we operate since receiving the £500 funding from UKSE – we’ve been able to focus on making our services better, but also getting our name out there with branded kit and marketing collateral.

“We have introduced a new class timetable with a greater number of

classes each day, which has allowed us to increase the number of clients and booked classes significantly, utilising social media to really push our brand.

“The £500 investment from UK Steel Enterprise has really helped us mature our services and we are all looking forward to seeing how much progress we can make in the coming year.”

The Kickstart Fund consists of a £40,000 pot dedicated to supporting people looking to establish a business in the area, with grants available between £500 and £1000.

Allan Wood of UKSE, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, added: “Rob has demonstrated an admirable drive to expand Pivotal Fitness and ensure he puts the investment to great use, keeping his clients at the core of his focus. We’re very much looking forward to see how Pivotal Fitness grows over the next year.”

Charity Shelter has launched its 2017 Urban Rush; a 15-mile race through the streets of London to raise money to help fight bad housing and homelessness in the capital. The race takes place on Sunday October 1 and starts at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. It takes runners on an urban adventure, winding along the Thames and through the East End, finishing in Putney. Entrants can sign up as a solo runner or a team of four and all runners are kitted out with a technical running top, provided with chip-timed results. They also receive a medal and free sports massage at the end of the event.

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UK FITNESS SCENE

Getting the best out of your swimming pool and wetside area can be a challenge for any club, but those who get it right can reap the rewards. Here, sales director at Parkwood Leisure, Chris Rinder shares the secrets of the operator’s success.

Make the most of your pool

Swimming pool provision The number of public swimming pools has remained fairly static in the past few years, and swimming remains the most popular participatory exercise activity amongst adults. Whilst we appear to have enough water space to accommodate demand, with overall occupancy levels at around 25 per cent of capacity, real pressure remains during peak usage periods, particularly Monday to Friday 5pm to 8pm. This is when multiple competing interests require the same pool space at the same time, including junior Learn to Swim classes, adult lane swimming, aquatic fitness classes and club swimmers.

There is a move towards more programming of water space. The increased popularity of private Learn to Swim lessons and aquatic fitness classes brings with it reductions in the amount of unprogrammed water time. Adult swimmers can no longer just show-up for a casual swim; they have to work around the preprogrammed activities. This coupled with ever more hectic lifestyles makes fitting a swim into a busy schedule even more challenging.

We have seen an increasing demand for Learn to Swim classes, both in children’s and adult lessons. There has been a 20 per cent increase in junior numbers over the last couple of years and a 100 per cent increase in adult lessons. The popularity of outdoor swimming and triathlons is feeding a demand for technique improver sessions and adult one-toone lessons. We are also seeing more demand for aquatic fitness classes, with the likes of Aqua Zumba and Aqua Circuits proving very popular, and attracting users away from the busy dryside classes and into the pool.

Competing user groups A big challenge is balancing the demands of the very different user groups, and ensuring a balanced timetable gives opportunities for all user groups to enjoy the swimming pool environment. Increasing costs continue to put a real challenge on

the viability of swimming pools.

Rising energy and staffing costs, coupled with a desire to keep any price increases to a minimum, are forcing leisure operators to programme pools for maximum revenue opportunities, rather than more customer choice. Hence the increase in structured sessions, such as junior Learn to Swim classes, which provide all year-round revenue certainty. It’s still very difficult for any swimming pool to generate enough revenues to cover its basic costs, which means most are subsidised by revenues made elsewhere within the leisure centre, such as leisure memberships, or still through local authority subsidies. The real cost of a public swim, can be as high as £10 per person per session, which is more than twice what’s currently charged by leisure centres, hence the need for revenues to be subsidised.

As a business, Parkwood’s Aquazone swimming lesson programme, represents a large growth opportunity. Demand has outstripped the ability to deliver and the availability of pool space is restricted. What Parkwood Leisure has done over the last few months is to remodel its swimming pool layout in terms of lessons. We are using the same water space but more creatively so we can hold between 30 – 40 per cent more lessons in the same water space and service latent demand.

Direct Debit to improve retention Moving to Direct Debit is one of the key drivers to improve retention rates for swimming. The objective is twofold: firstly, we want to keep people engaged longer in our Aquazone programme. We are seeing an industry trend for parents to take children out of lessons once they have attained the basic skills and can reach 25m in the pool. This is disappointing for the sport and doesn’t help support Parkwood’s business. Children are taught to be confident around water but most importantly, they need to have the competency should they get into difficulties. Swimming in a 25m heated pool is very different to getting into difficulties in a lake,

Chris Rinder canal or quarry, where they might be in cold water. We want to encourage children to stay in lessons longer and by moving to direct debit, we have a continuous assessment programme in place. This allows children to progress faster, it is easier for us to manage as a business and we avoid having large amounts of time when people stop lessons and then make the decision to renew; traditionally, this is when most parents will drop out of enrolling their children for classes.

We now run lessons 50 weeks a year where historically, lessons would stop for the summer and Easter holidays.

This benefits the child as they are not stopping for a five to six week holiday period and they can progress faster and their enjoyment of swimming is maintained.

Working with Zoggs Parkwood Leisure has enjoyed a long-term agreement with preferred supplier Zoggs which spans over 10 years. Over this time, the relationship has developed as we have refined the retail offering at our centres.

Zoggs provide us with merchandising materials to ensure we have the right displays and refined the product to meet the needs of our customers.

We have three main types of swim product customers. The first can be best described as the ‘distressed purchase’, when a customer forgets an essential item such as swimwear and goggles. To meet this need, we offer a basic range which is keenly priced. Secondly, we meet the needs of customers who want more

on-trend swimwear or costumes with the latest fabric technology.

Buying specialist swimwear can be challenging, especially as many sports retailers focus on volume and the number of specialist sports shops is in decline. We can address this niche in the market by stocking good quality items and change the range seasonally. Thirdly, we have extended our range of children’s swimming accessories. Having leveraged our agreements with Zoggs and Swim England, we are now working with companies such as Disney. Last year, our ‘Finding Dory’ campaign, was extremely successful. Along with stocking a range of Dory toys, we activated the promotion poolside by holding Dory family swim sessions.

We have also extended our Aqua shop range to include Peppa Pig so children can enjoy using the accessories featuring their favourite characters both in the pool and at home during bath time.

Five years ago, the ‘distress purchase’ was the only type made by customers. Now, consumers are shopping in a different way and our relationship with Zoggs has supported this transition. Rather than making a stock purchase at one time of the year, Zoggs can hold stock for Parkwood Leisure so if we sell out of a popular line, they ensure it is continually replenished all year round. Investing in software has also enabled us to automatically re-order so will have all the sizes and styles to meet demand.

Working with Zoggs, we have leveraged retail spend through promotions and activities which keep our offering vibrant and interesting.

It’s important for operators not to allow stock to become stagnant so products just sit in corner. At our larger centres, we maximise opportunities by using retail displays as part of the queuing process so barriers are used for merchandising.

Again, Zoggs have been particularly helping in supporting us with new ways to creatively display stock and showcase the high-quality range of products we offer customers.

UK FITNESS SCENE

Operator awarded contract

Some of the members who took part in Barnsley Barbell’s fitness bootcamp in aid of a local homeless charity.

Bootcamp raises over £100 for charity AN INDEPENDENT gym has successfully organised a fitness bootcamp in aid of a local homeless charity.

16 people took part in Barnsley Barbell’s event, which also attracted a group of supportive spectators, and included warm up games, fitness challenges and a larger group workout.

Peter Shaw, who co-owns the gym with business partner Ashley Beaumont, said: “The response we had was amazing and every single

person that visited loved the day.

They said it was hard work, but fun and enjoyable at the same time.”

The bootcamp raised over £100 for the Barnsley Churches Drop-In Project charity, with participants also bringing donations of food and clothing.

Peter added: “We wanted to support the cause as I’d done some volunteering at the shelter, and it opened my eyes to the issue that we have right here in our own community.

“Seeing what they do live and in action, and understanding exactly the problem some individuals face dayto-day brought about this event.

“It was with the idea that, even if we just help one person, or can pay for one extra meal, or clothe someone who has nothing, then we’ve made a start. We’ve made a difference.

“It was amazing to see the true generosity and support shown by our local community, and we are proud to say these people are from our town.”

EVERYONE Active has been awarded a new contract with Bromsgrove District Council to manage its leisure facilities across the district for the next 21 years.

The operator will manage the new Bromsgrove Sports and Leisure Centre when it opens to the public in autumn this year.

As part of the contract, all existing staff at the centres will be kept on

by Everyone Active.

Managing director of Everyone Active David Bibby said: “Our new contract in Bromsgrove adds to our growing presence in the West Midlands area, with nearby contracts in Stratford and Warwick.

“As our fifth contract win this year, we are pleased to be working in partnership with the council to deliver improved leisure facilities across the district.”

Jake gives energy boost to team JAKE Woodall has been appointed UK territory manager for Nutrabolt; tasked with helping to expand the reach of its Cellucor, FitJoy and Scivation brands into the region.

Working alongside new Nutrabolt Europe director, Joao Da Silva, Jake will help grow the company’s market share in the UK. His main responsibilities will include working with Body Temple, the sole distributor for the Cellucor

range of products in the UK, and generating new business among sports nutrition shops and gyms.

He will also work on the launch of the refreshed C4 range into the UK this autumn.

A premium performance energy product aimed at everyone from beginners to elite competitors, C4 is currently the number one selling preworkout brand in the United States — and Nutrabolt has ambitions to make

it the market leader in the UK. Jake said: “It’s great to be able to bring three global brands to the UK and work for a company with such international outreach, high end products and brilliant packaging – it makes my job that little bit easier.

“I’ve already been over the United States to meet the teams and receive training and I’m now looking forward to being part of Nutrabolt’s impact in the UK.”

A new protein drink has launched, becoming the first sports nutrition product to be certified sugar free

by Sugarwise. Vieve is available in strawberry and rhubarb; citrus, apple and mint and coconut and honey flavours and each bottle contains 0g sugar, 0g fat and 20g protein.

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Physical Company joins forces with Bio-Synergy

thé Yard is énergie Fitness’ new high intensity training ‘playground’.

Group launches thé Yard ENERGIE Fitness group has revealed its new signature gym training concept – thé Yard.

Launched in conjunction with the opening of énergie Fitness, Sheldon, Birmingham, the new high intensity training ‘playground’ will become part of the fitness franchise’s rebrand for énergie and Fit4less clubs across the UK. Set behind an urban-style fence, thé Yard consists of a circuit-based studio with individual suspension training stations, sprint lanes, a dual-level plyometric platform and a boxing zone with punch bags.

Designed as group sessions, thé Yard classes combine a high intensity, fun and challenging routine – using

top of the range equipment from Hatton Boxing and Jigsaw Fitness.

Members can also track their workout data and progression via MYZONE. Head of fitness, training and innovation at énergie central, Ian Rushbury, said: “This motivational training tool keeps you on top of your game during every workout, enforcing an element of competition between each class participant to encourage maximum performance.

“The Sheldon club opening is only the beginning of a continued expansion for the énergie Fitness brand, with thé Yard concept adding a new dimension in today’s health and fitness club market.”

PHYSICAL Company has joined forces with sports nutrition brand Bio-Synergy in a collaboration which will see the two brands work closely together, share best practice and ensure their respective customers and ambassadors enjoy combined support.

At the heart of the partnership is the Bio-Synergy gym, which has been kitted out with the latest Physical Company equipment to allow Bio-Synergy trainers to put their ambassadors, case study participants and customers through their paces.

Working carefully to maximise the modest city gym space at the BioSynergy Hampstead HQ, Physical Company supplied a range of functional training, strength and conditioning equipment.

Bio-Synergy gym users will also be among the first to use the new Physical Company PBX bags which are NFC enabled, giving users access to a complete library of exercises by simply holding their NFC enabled device over the tag embedded in the bag.

As new kit comes online with Physical Company, the Bio-Synergy trainers and team will be road-testing it in their gym.

The two companies will also maximise the joint opportunity to film and share key moves and workouts on social media, appealing to the growing number of PTs and

Physical Company MD John Halls. fitness enthusiasts who take to Instagram and Facebook to seek inspiration and motivation.

Physical Company managing director John Halls said: “There is definitely a synergy between our brands.

“We are both UK-founded family businesses, share similar customer values, respond quickly to market demands and enjoy strong relationships with sports ambassadors, PTs, trainers and fitness enthusiasts.

“We are looking forward to enhancing our respective relationships and opening more doors for each other by collaborating and offering a complete set of solutions to meet people’s fitness and nutritional needs.”

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Cameron and Alasdair Mitchell transformed a former disused car rental business in Burscough into Volt Gym, investing more than £200,000 in Life Fitness equipment.

Gym opening fulfills brothers’ dream

By Christina Eccles A PAIR of entrepreneurial brothers have opened a gym in West Lancashire, fulfilling a dream to have their own business.

Cameron and Alasdair Mitchell launched Volt Gym in January, investing over £200,000 in Life Fitness kit and becoming one of just four Official Hammer Strength Training Centres in the North West.

The site – a former disused car rental business in Burscough – has now been transformed into a premium fitness facility after the brothers identified a gap in the market for a different type of gym

to what was already available in the local area.

Alasdair explained: “We are both really into training and always wanted to open our own business.

“We always had it in our mind that the area needed a better gym space and we thought we could make a good go of transforming it.”

The club has already attracted over 300 members including high level powerlifters and bodybuilders, as well as local people who want to improve their overall fitness.

Its offering includes products from the Life Fitness Discover SE3 cardio range and Insignia Series, as well as Hammer Strength plate-

loaded pieces, three HD Elite racks, a SYNRGY360XS functional training rig, Cybex SPARC trainers and IC6 indoor Cycles powered by ICG. Cameron added: “My brother and I both recognised that investing in premium Life Fitness sets us apart so it was a simple decision when selecting a fitness supplier for Volt Gym. “The result has been the creation of an exciting and dynamic training environment and we hope our new members will see the hard work and dedication it has taken us to put this idea in practice.”

Things are going so well that the brothers are already thinking of

expanding and what else they can implement to improve the member experience.

They have also set themselves a goal of helping local employees get fitter; promoting the club to the many businesses on the industrial estate where they are based.

Alasdair added: “We’re now looking at expansion as we would like a bigger class space.

“We’ve had a lot of interest, especially from female members, to add more classes.

“More than anything people really like our relaxed atmosphere. We’ve had brilliant reviews and word of mouth has really helped.”

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Trio promoted to director level to support strategy

Personal trainer Marina Cornwall has bounced back from adversity; winning a world title after recovering from a car accident. Last year, Marina was unable to compete after breaking her nose and injuring her shoulder in the incident.But after regaining her fitness, she won the world title and four gold medals at the World Classic Powerlifting championships in Belarus. Winning in Belarus completes a successful few months for Marina who also recently won a European title in Pilsen and an All England event earlier this year.

FUNCTIONAL fitness specialist Escape Fitness has promoted three of its sales management team to director level in a move designed to support its global growth strategy.

Jonathan Fekete, formerly regional sales manager for Asia/Pacific, becomes sales director for Asia Pacific; Matt Morton, formerly head of global partnerships, becomes director of global strategic solutions and partnerships and Raimo Treffers, formerly sales and distribution manager EMEA, becomes sales director for EMEA and UK.

Co-founder of Escape Matthew Januszek said: “Adding Jonathan, Matt and Raimo to the board brings us the talent and experience at senior level we need to continue our growth in markets around the world.

“We have ambitious plans for growth through the second half of 2017 and beyond, with new products training solutions being launched each quarter.

‘Strengthening sales representation at board level will help us maintain our focus on meeting the needs of our customers and distributor partners throughout these exciting times.”

Fitness fans are getting snap happy at the gym

By Christina Eccles FITNESS fans are turning to social media to show off about their workouts to friends, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 UK adults, carried out by training and course provider Beabetteryou.com, found almost two thirds (62 per cent) actively use social media while working out.

29 per cent confess to checking in on Facebook while at the gym, while 23 per cent say they upload pictures to Instagram or Snapchat during a workout.

With the rise in fitness apps that sync with social media such Fitbit, Strava and Map my Walk, gymgoers are able to share their fitness achievements with a single click of a button.

When quizzed on the reasons for doing so, 18 per cent of respondents say they feel they needed to post evidence of their efforts on social media when working out in a bid to impress their followers.

Half of Brits say they regularly look at fitness influencers while working out to inspire them, suggesting social media is playing an integral part in our fitness routines.

Managing director at Beabetteryou. com Simon Bubb said: “Social media is such a huge part of our daily lives now, it’s to be expected that our fitness routines would somehow integrate with our social network.

“That said, it’s important for Britons to remember that working out should be about personal development and health. It’s not a competition and it shouldn’t be about impressing others.

“While being proud of our efforts at the gym is a positive thing, and using this to inspire others is also great, we need to be mindful not to show off or appear to be doing something for social recognition alone.”

Figures showed locals in Birmingham are most likely to use social media while breaking a sweat as 73 per cent confess to doing so, followed by those in Liverpool.

Technogym kits out new club TECHNOGYM has supplied state-ofthe-art equipment and its open cloud platform solution to the new £55m University of Birmingham Sport and Fitness Club.

The £800,000 gym has over 200 Technogym stations including a wide range of top-of-the-line ARTIS cardio and strength equipment; athletic performance training solution, SKILLMILL Connect; and a dedicated Group Cycle Connect studio.

To enhance the member experience, University of Birmingham has also invested in Technogym’s open cloud platform, mywellness.

This Android-based open platform integrates with third party apps and devices – including Runkeeper, Strava, Garmin and Polar – to give

both members and the fitness team an all around understanding of their health and fitness, beyond just their activity in the gym.

From monitoring their body composition metrics using Tanita, to tracking their outdoor bike rides with Strava and recording their gym and class sessions, mywellness provides members with one central hub for all their lifestyle data.

Technogym UK managing director Steve Barton said: “We are incredibly proud to have worked with University of Birmingham on their impressive new facility. This state of the art centre will give university students and local residents the opportunity to get active using the best equipment and software.”

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New swimming pool roof is completed at Neighbourhood Hub

By Olivia Taylor

Life Fitness has installed a wide range of equipment at Leith Victoria Swim Centre, following a £180,000 investment in a full gym refurbishment by Edinburgh Leisure. The refurbished gym has reopened with improvements in space, functionality and variety, and investment in the latest kit spanning strength and conditioning, cardio and resistance as well as technology including Discovery SE consoles. Group fitness manager at Edinburgh Leisure, Dave McLean, said: “We’re delighted with the installation of the new Life Fitness equipment and were impressed with the professionalism and efficiency of the Life Fitness Academy who held training sessions on the equipment for all our instructors. The new diverse range of equipment means our members can have a varied workout experience, helping them achieve their fitness goals.”

IATP partners with Independents THE International Association of Trampoline Parks has partnered with Independents as its UK insurance partner.

The partnership places Independents as the trade association’s first choice insurance specialist for trampoline parks across the country.

Director at Independents, Frank

Adebowale, said: “We work closely with the IATP, recognising the valuable support the association offers to members, helping to drive growth, quality and efficiencies.

“Now that our partnership has been formalised, we look forward to providing IATP members with the advice and support they need to protect their business from risk.”

THE new swimming pool roof has been completed at Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub in Warrington, after the construction team overcame unexpected challenges with the building work.

The glass roof has now been installed, with a new viewing gallery also soon to be complete, providing the opportunity for spectators to observe the action in both the main and training pools, which have been upgraded.

The construction work to refurbish the existing pool roof and viewing gallery had significant challenges, which have caused considerable delay to the project and additional cost to its refurbishment.

Initially, the existing pool hall roof was going to be recovered and treated. However, once work started to remove the internal ceiling, it was clear that it needed far more work than initial surveys indicated.

The construction team discovered the failure of the concrete ring beam supporting the roof trusses, which occurred during the building’s original construction in the 1970s.

This meant that work on the pool below had to be halted, whilst temporary props were installed to support the roof structure.

As a result of this, both the pool roof and viewing gallery had to be redesigned to introduce additional permanent steel frames to support the affected area of the concrete beam.

Managing director of LiveWire Emma Hutchinson said: “The existing

Councillor Tony Higgins and Emma Hutchinson from LiveWire. leisure centre was built in the 1970s and like any well-used building of its age, had deteriorated over time.

“Since construction work began on this project, it became apparent that additional work was needed to refurbish the existing building in a way which brings it up to the high specification of the new build element of the scheme.

“Additional survey works have been carried out on the remainder of the pool hall to check for other areas of structural failure and I am pleased to say that no other issues have been found.”

The two new pools are just one element of the multi-million pound development that will bring a range of leisure, health, library and cultural services to the area, in what will be LiveWire’s first dementia-friendly facility.

Kelly Baker has opened the CrossFit gym in Carlton with fellow CrossFit coach Tony Parrott.

Former midwife opens gym A FORMER midwife has opened a new gym in Barnsley, which she hopes will help the local community get fitter and healthier.

Kelly Baker has opened the CrossFit gym in Carlton with fellow CrossFit coach Tony Parrott.

Kelly has always been interested in sports, and has tried gymnastics, snow boarding and swimming.

She discovered CrossFit in 2013 and became hooked.

She has competed at European competitions and in January competed in the English championships.

She decided to give up midwifery because she felt she was working to mask conditions such as obesity and wanted to work towards preventing

them.

Kelly said: “I’m ecstatic that we are finally open and happy that we have got there. It has been two years in the making and there have been so many obstacles to overcome.

“The thing that got me hooked was the feeling you get after a workout.

The motto is be prepared for anything because you never know what you’re going to be doing.

“Everyone supports each other no matter how old, fit or unfit, or over or underweight you are, and no one is allowed to put their equipment away until the last person has finished.”

The gym recently held a fun day to celebrate its opening, which included workout demonstrations, a barbecue and bouncy castle.

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Pioneering health programme gets seniors moving

By Olivia Taylor

UK dance fitness phenomenon Clubbercise has held its first instructor training course in Australia. The course was led by master trainer Jade Purdie who has been running Clubbercise classes herself in Melbourne since December 2016. The course was attended by an initial nine fitness instructors who all passed successfully and are now qualified to teach Clubbercise in Australia, in areas across Victoria, Melbourne, Bairnsdale and Adelaide. Clubbercise founder Claire Burlison Green said: “The reception we’ve received from the Australian market is incredible, we’ve already launched two more courses in Sydney and Perth to meet demand for instructors, with more to follow. We’re also going to be running masterclasses in big cities so the Aussies can get the full experience!”

Investment ensures firm’s growth THE Training Room has secured investment to ensure its continued growth.

The Management Buy Out via new Holding Group, Route2Work, brings investors Rakesh Bhasin, formerly CEO of Colt Technology Services, Philip Blackwell, an entrepreneur skilled in educational publishing and Piers Marmion, an expert in global human capital and technology, to the Training Room board.

The Training Room’s CEO Andrew Powell said: “The MBO,

the acquisition of a new board with international business pedigree, plus an injection of growth capital, highlights how committed the management team are to the success and future growth of the business.

“We are working toward The Training Room becoming internationally recognised for the positive social and economic impact that it has on communities by opening up vocational education to everyone.”

A PIONEERING health programme which prescribes exercise as medicine has transformed the lives of over 1,700 GP patients.

The Let’s Get Moving programme – currently working in Essex and run by ukactive in conjunction with Active Essex – targets patients in need of activity interventions, giving them the tools and confidence to develop positive lifestyle habits and make new social connections.

Participants have reported successes such as lower blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol, which research showing an average 75 per cent increase in physical activity levels by the end of the programme.

Let’s Get Moving uses proven motivational interviewing techniques by community exercise professionals to give patients the motivation and opportunity to get active, reaching over 20,000 people since its conception and working with several regional councils. ukactive strategic projects director Will Smithard said: “We are paying a heavy price for inactivity in the UK, and we need to look at every possible way we can embed movement into

our most inactive communities.

“LGM is a fantastic programme reaching the people that need it most, providing them with the tools, confidence and motivation to build physical activity into their lives.

“The evidence is clear, this programme is truly life-changing for its participants, improving their physical and mental wellbeing while building active, cohesive communities.”

Chair of Active Essex, Azeem Akhtar, added: “It’s fantastic to see the impact that the Let’s Get Moving programme is having on the local community.

“Projects like this, which are happening across the county, will help us achieve our ambitious goal of changing one million lives by getting people across Essex active.”

Retreat offers fitness, sun and healthy food ARE you someone that loves fitness, sunshine and eating great healthy food?

Then our Ibiza health and fitness retreat may be for you!

Richard Morris, who runs the retreats, said: “A typical start to our days would be an early morning HIIT session on the kitted out astro turfed rooftop of the villa, offering panoramic views of Ibiza town.

“After a healthy breakfast to re-fuel your body we head out for a daily walk to take in some of the beautiful scenery and fantastic views the island has to offer.

“After lunch we spend the afternoon chilling on the beach or by the pool, before taking on the second metabolic training session of the day, finishing with an evening sunset yoga session to help with recovery, flexibility and help reduce stress levels. We would then have an evening BBQ by the pool.”

We have two health and fitness retreats running this year in Talamanca, Ibiza.

Dates are October 15-20 and October 22-27.

You will receive: n Five nights accommodation in a luxury villa in Talamanca, Ibiza. n Private chef cooking a range of healthy meals, juices and smoothies. n Twice daily group personal training sessions per day to improve muscle

tone and drop unwanted body fat. n Sunset Yoga Sessions to increase flexibility and decrease aches and pains whilst helping to reduce stress levels. n Daily walks to take in some of the beautiful scenery and fantastic sea views the island has to offer. n Healthy cooking, juicing and smoothie lessons to teach you how to make quick healthy meals. n Evening BBQs on the terrace. n Outdoor cinema experience We also reward any personal trainers or fitness instructors with a £100 referral fee if any of your clients book on to the retreat.

For more information email Rich@thefitbodybootcamp.co.uk, visit www.richardmorrisfitnessretreat.com/ luxury-rereat-ibiza-offer or phone 07990 517520.

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MoD reappoints Pulse Fitness

Trust reveals £1.1m gym refurb plans FIFE Sports and Leisure Trust is investing £1.1m to refit 11 of its gyms across the region in a three-year programme.

Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline is the first of the trust’s facilities to unveil its new-look gym, with a major refurbishment including new equipment and a more customer focused, zoned approach to the gym layout.

Gym manager for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, Stuart Bizzarri, said: “By changing the layout we have created more space and been able to add more equipment by including HIIT self-powered machines and an enhanced functional training zone with rig.

“We were able to add more free weights equipment and add an extra power rack as well as a new assisted chin and dip and a glute machine.

“Working with both Technogym and Origin Fitness has given us the flexibility to add a wide range of equipment to provide our customers with an exciting and varied training environment that is effective and results based.”

Area leisure manager James Dunbar added: “As a charitable trust, we need to deliver an outstanding customer experience to rival competition from the private sector – this means not just delivering outstanding facilities, but also supporting customers with professional, highly-trained gym staff so they can work out in confidence.

“We are very pleased with the new gym and the extremely positive reaction it’s already having with our customers – it’s very rewarding for all of us as we look forward to delivering upon even more gym upgrades in the coming weeks and months.”

PULSE Fitness has been reappointed as a preferred equipment supplier for the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice for the next four years, making them the only equipment supplier to retain the contract.

As part of the contract, Pulse Fitness has also been named as the exclusive supplier of leased fitness equipment to the entire MoD. Pulse has been working with the MoD over the past four years, during which they have supplied over £7m

worth of award-winning equipment to military bases in the Ascension Islands, Germany, the Falkland Islands and the UK. The contract also allows the MoD and MoJ to procure flooring, MyZONE products, training and branding and design support, from the Pulse Group, as required.

MD Chris Johnson said: “We are delighted to be continuing our relationship with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice and look forward to building upon this.”

Bodypower co-founder Ollie Upton (pictured left) has stepped down as chief operating officer to take a break from the business and spend more time with his young family.

10 years after BodyPower was launched by Ollie and events veteran Nick Orton, he has completed a sale of half his holding to a private investor. Ollie said: “I plan to enjoy as much time with my wife and kids as possible. I’m not ruling out a return to the industry, but it’s not a priority right now. I’m still a shareholder and director of BodyPower, so it’s not the last you’ve seen of me.”

Advertiser’s announcement

Technology – the key to providing an enhanced member experience TECHNOLOGICAL innovation and an enhanced consumer experience has helped the UK health and fitness industry to gain greater market value over the past year.

This increase shows encouraging growth and highlights the true value of the health and fitness sector to the UK economy.

However, the IBISWorld group, one of the UK’s most trusted independent sources of industry and market research, recently took a closer look at the current status of the gym industry in the UK recently and it was noted that although the industry increased its revenues over the last five years, the entry of many new low-cost ‘budget’ gyms now poses a real threat to the health of existing gyms, which have already been operating in a highly competitive environment.

The Retention Battle In this environment, retaining members is crucial if independent gyms are to survive.

The challenge lies around the level of support and resource that is required by each gym member, to ensure they receive an enhanced consumer experience, reach their goals and stay motivated and on track.

As a membership base grows, the challenge is magnified.

The level of resource warranted is simply not realistic for many independent clubs fighting against low cost alternatives.

ClubWise has played a huge part in bringing

fresh technology, vision and innovation into the fitness industry, allowing the smaller gyms and clubs the opportunity to embrace the technological and member experience revolution, with scalable and cost effective solutions.

Owner of ClubWise, Julian Matthews, said: “It’s important not only for customers but for the industry in general, that we continue to

innovate and look ahead at technologies that can simplify the means of how clubs operate and assist in creating more stimulating member experiences, which allow clubs to compete and sustain membership growth.”

FitSense, the latest innovation from ClubWise, is a member app that has been developed to boost retention through continued effective engagement, that fully integrates with the ClubWise system.

It’s club branded, simple to set up and will generate increased revenue and happier, more engaged members.

FitSense provides clubs with the ability to digitally connect with their members regularly, and facilitates regular, quality interactions designed to keep the member engaged and on track, as well as providing crucial data insights into individual member activity.

Features include: n Booking and Scheduling. n Club Community. n Challenge and Reward. n Workouts. n Check In. n Nutrition. n Credit system. n Online Coaching.

For a no obligation demonstration, contact us today on 01844 348300, info@clubwise.com or visit www.clubwise.com/fitsense

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Advertiser’s announcement

How healthy is your gym?

CUSTOMERS may join your gym for myriad reasons; from improving their general fitness or preparing for the summer season to looking for a healthy midweek hobby in the form of a fun exercise class.

Indeed, an estimated 5.4m Brits are currently using health and fitness clubs across the UK and this is expected to rise to 6.5m by 2020 (Mintel, 2016) which is great for business.

But if you’re not careful you may find that your customers leave with more than they signed up for, and as a gym owner you might be left dealing with some pretty serious consequences.

No we’re not talking about free PT sessions, we’re talking about germs, and lots of them. Recent research from Fitrated and Channel 4’s ‘How to Stay Well’ series showed that everything from treadmills, exercise bikes, mats and free weights are all teeming with germs. In fact 70 per cent of gym equipment harbours over 360 times more bacteria than a loo seat.

Studies showed traces of the potentially life-threatening bacteria Klebsiella and Staphaureus as well as gut bacteria from faeces.

Shocking right?

This means you could be inadvertently putting your customers at risk of illness or infection.

How about a skin infection with that six pack sir? Or what about a cold to accompany those crunches? Not exactly the health and fitness package your customers were expecting!

A nasty infection or

serious illness due to dirty equipment could result in a lost customer, as well as a bad reputation spreading in your local community as rapidly as those germs.

In this new world of social media, one bad experience can erupt into a PR disaster quicker than a HIT session.

With all this news about the cleanliness of gyms, clearly it’s not enough to rely on guests cleaning equipment by themselves anymore. As a gym owner you need to be proactively addressing these health concerns head on, providing the latest equipment and facilities

available and enabling easy use and access at the point of need.

So what can you do about protecting gym goers and protecting yourself? n Have wipes or spray so customers can disinfect machines both before and after use. n Provide free antibacterial gel to enable quick and easy hand washing. n Post reminders about clean exercising practises around your facility, including changing areas and bathrooms. n Ensure staff are trained to regularly clean down

equipment rather than relying on customers themselves.

Alcohol-based antibacterial gel is preferable to hand washing with soap and water as it is generally more effective at killing microorganisms.

Providing this free of charge could give your gym that subtle point of difference from competitors as well as reassuring current and prospective customers that you take their health, in all forms, seriously.

So stop, take stock, and think about how you can enhance the health of your gym today.

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BP FITNESS TRADE SHOW PREVIEW Formally LIW, the new BP: Fitness Trade Show debuts at the NEC this month, with a strong focus on education and driving professional development. Workout previews what to watch out for at the upcoming show.

BP: Fitness Trade Show will have a strong focus on education and driving professional development and has already attracted over 6,000 registrations.

Show set to deliver stellar education line-up rife with CPD opportunities BODYPOWER Expo announced the acquisition of LIW from UBM in mid-2015 and after a two-year period of consolidation, which has seen a small but significant footfall increase, BodyPower has now moved into the second phase of the event revitalisation, beginning with a name change – BP: Fitness Trade Show.

BodyPower is inextricably linked to fitness, as organisers of the world’s largest indoor consumer fitness expo.

It is that link, according to director, Steve Orton, which has driven the shift in focus for the trade event from leisure to the business of fitness.

Steve said: “The breadth and ambiguity in the term leisure, in the sense that it means different things to different people, was a contributing factor. BP: Fitness Trade Show encapsulates exactly what the show is about, which is exploring fitness solutions and the business of fitness.

“We expect to have thousands of fitness professionals, health club operators, independent gym owners and commercially focused trade in attendance as well as 80-100 quality exhibitors.

“We developed a very successful model in a previous business, The Dentistry Show, whereby the show was built around world-class education and we feel that’s what the market needs, quality education

which focuses on fitness and commercial benefits.”

In principle, BP: Fitness Trade Show will be built around six education streams, each housed in a festivalstyle contemporary event structure to address previous concerns from both exhibitors and delegates about decibel levels. These are: Fitness Business School – focusing on marketing, sales, retention and new ideas to grow businesses in the fitness sector.

Practical Coaching – equipment and functional demos from leading trainers designed to offer fitness professionals new options and practical application for the benefit of clients and members.

Fitness Professionals Forum – look at the theory and commerciallyfocused advice delivered specifically for fitness professionals aimed at

IHRSA partnership boost BP: Fitness Trade Show has received a boost after announcing a partnership with IHRSA. As part of the relationship, IHRSA will provide the likes of thought leaders Killian Fisher and Gerard Masdeu to deliver a seminar to operators on why Inclusive Fitness Is Good For Business, covering both member and staff retention.

Show director Steve Orton said: “BP: Fitness Trade Show may be a renamed event, but it retained a privileged position as a staple of the trade show calendar after nearly three decades in the guise of LIW.

“The rebrand represents a shift in focus and we believe that veering away from discussions on policy and physical activity is the correct strategy.

“IHRSA are a partner who will bring expertise and they share our viewpoint that our industry is about looking commercially at fitness and delivering accessible education that will improve CPD and day-to-day performance.

“Delegates can enjoy world class education, which IHRSA will contribute towards, and come away with dozens of new ideas for taking your club to the next level.”

enhancing CPD and upskilling.

BP Nutrition – exploring nutrition solutions for all businesses including healthier menu choices and using nutrition as a key secondary spend opportunity.

50+ Fitness – Britain’s ageing populous is a massive market and older adult programming is explored alongside the provision of a wellequipped fitness area in new and existing residential care facilities.

Workplace Fitness – develop a fitter, healthier workforce for improved productivity, energy and wellbeing.

BP: Fitness Trade Show has already attracted over 6,000 registrations, with that figure set to rise in the weeks leading up to the show.

The seminar programme will mix round table and panel discussions with lectures and practical demonstrations featuring the likes of Elena Lapetra from Stages Indoor Cycling, Broga UK founder Matt Miller, Rob Beale (Third Space, David Lloyd), Chris Burgess (Lift The Bar), Jamie Alderton (Grenade Fit), Ian Rushbury (Energie Fitness), Natalie Jane Summers (Bear Grylls Fitness), Phil Learney (Advanced Coaching Academy) and many, many more.

The guarantee of quality delegates has also attracted an excellent list of exhibitors as well as event partnerships including REPS, ACA,

WorkOut Magazine and Pure Gym, Britain’s biggest gym operator.

Exhibitors include Escape Fitness, Eleiko, Wattbike, Octane Fitness, Keiser, Jordan Fitness, Physical Company and Primal Strength.

Events veteran and BodyPower CEO Nick Orton added: “I’m immensely excited by the BP: Fitness Trade Show concept. Our goal is to deliver an unrivalled education programme to draw delegates, which is clearly working.

“I can’t wait to see the new aesthetic with the festival-style seminar and workshop areas as well as practical demonstrations. The exhibitor lineup is excellent and we’re set to make a real statement to the industry with a top-quality event.”

Registration to BP: Fitness Trade Show remains free of charge, offering industry decision makers the chance to network while their team members enjoy the educational offering.

Tuesday evening will see a drinks reception held within the expo for an informal networking event, showing further commitment from BP: Fitness Trade Show organisers to ingrain and integrate with the industry to drive development in the future.

To find out more about the event visit www.bodypower.com/bp where the speaker line up and exhibitor list is online.

Registration can be done at www.ttfexpo.com/bp

Firm offers marketing avenues THE national governing body for group exercise, EMD UK, will be among the partners supporting this year’s show; providing speaker and participation opportunities for members.

As a voice for class participants, instructors and organisations, EMD UK are set to provide participation opportunities to their members, both in terms of exhibition space and speaking engagements in any number of the six educational streams.

Show director Steve Orton added: “Once again, our outreach for strategic partnerships has led us to another organisation with clear synergy.

“EMD UK will offer us marketing

Show director Steve Orton avenues to the group exercise sector both for delegate registration and stand enquiries and we’re delighted to be able to partner with a very credible NGB. “I look forward to welcoming EMD UK on board and I’m already looking forward to seeing some of the sessions and content that they will help us curate.”

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Advertiser’s announcement

The truth about gym floor users and wearables ...

GYMETRIX is in the fortunate position that it does a lot of face to face surveys on gym floors so it is relatively easy to add questions to the end of a survey and collect data from many gym floor users.

It must be noted that these are only customers who are on the gym floor, it does not include studios, pools or any other parts of a leisure facility.

GYMetrix has been developing the next version of its system and one of the things we were curious about was the importance of any future system being able to link to customers wearables, so we asked over 2,000 customers.

What statement best describes you? n I have never bought a wearable device – I am not interested. n I have never bought a wearable device but I am interested. n I have bought a wearable device but I stopped using it. n I have bought a wearable device and I am still using it.

Interesting facts about gym users and wearables n Only 16 per cent are using a wearable. n 40 per cent more women than men use a wearable. n Although less interested in wearables if never bought one, over 35s use them more ... and carry on using them, more than under 35s.

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PRODUCT NEWS

Is Phase Angle the new fitness biomarker?

THERE is a new body measurement increasing in popularity, called Phase Angle.

It is currently used in hospitals to monitor nutritional assessment and recognised as a general ‘wellness’ biomarker, however this measurement has found its way into the fitness industry with huge intrigue.

There is a statistical significant correlation between Phase angle and muscle strength (lean muscle mass).

Could this be another way to accurately measure muscle strength and prevent over-training and injury?

Measuring a person’s Phase Angle is simple, quick and noninvasive, much like measuring body composition.

Recent exciting research has lead Phase Angle to be accepted as a global health marker. Although there are no cut-off points or normal ranges as yet, there is a certainly a general trend that individuals can follow.

A lowering of Phase Angle reflects a deterioration of health, whereas an increased Phase Angle indicates an improvement of health, often related to an increase in lean muscle mass through strength training, eating healthily or general fitness and wellness.

Phase Angle is a measurement from a specific and advanced bioelectrical impedance device specially designed to measure Phase Angle.

It has been described as a direct measurement of the integrity of the cell membranes within our body.

Thus healthy body cells are reflected through a higher Phase Angle, and likewise a lower Phase Angle will reflect unhealthy cells or disease

(acute or chronic).

In some hospital settings, clinicians have used Phase Angle to monitor the growth or recovery of tumour cells, particularly breast cancer (International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences • Vol. 3 • Issue 1 • Jan-Mar 201) As well as the numerous benefits in a clinical setting, Phase Angle is increasingly becoming known as an indicator for muscle strength and nutritional status. In fact, most dietitians and nutritionists have now heard of Phase Angle in some sense.

This has potential for a wide variety of potential applications such as sports injury, rehabilitation and tracking of strength training, including injury prevention.

A study based on elite Brazilian athletes depict a strong correlation between Phase Angle and increased muscle strength, and in fact noted that “intense physical training may affect cellular membrane stability” as shown by the Phase Angle marker. This has led to the question whether Phase Angle can actually predict injury? (Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2008), 67 (OCE8), E332) The Olympian rowing team in Slovenia used Phase Angle in Rio as part of their training, and it was found that an unusually high Phase Angle (>10) indicated over-training, and poor performance due to muscle fatigue.

So should we be tracking our Phase Angle instead of our weight if our aim is for holistic wellness as well as an increase in muscle strength? Could this simple measurement be giving us more value than we realise?

If you want to find out more, go to www.bodystat.com UK leaders in this technology, or call them on 01624-629571.

How can gyms use Direct Debit as a marketing tool?

DIRECT Debit is the simplest way for fitness businesses to collect money off their members, especially as payments can be varied in line with membership downgrades and fee changes.

Direct Debit also provides a fantastic opportunity for leisure facilities to broaden their marketing scope and improve customer acquisition and retention.

Here’s why: n Everybody loves discounts: Special offers for people signing up by Direct Debit will make your gym more attractive to prospects and fend off local competition. It’s a fantastic opportunity to shift members away from pay-as-you-go to annual memberships. n Paperless joining: Online joining

portals like DFC’s FastDD give people 24/7 access and the opportunity to sign up quickly through your website. n Direct Debits sell themselves: Direct Debit is as convenient for you as it is for your customers.

Late payments are a thing of the past, people can spread costs easier (ensuring a continuous source of income for your business) and everything past set up is automatic.

Amongst the most trusted payment methods in the UK, Direct Debit takes away the financial burden of going to the gym so members can channel all their focus onto fitness. www.debitfinance.co.uk

Cybex seminar programme is a hit at Progress Gym

PROGRESS Gym in Yeovil, Somerset, will host a series of REPs-accredited seminars run by premium fitness equipment manufacturer Cybex, following the success of the gym’s inaugural event in July.

Aimed at health and fitness professionals, the Cybex seminar programme covers a selection of the industry’s key trends and Progress Gym recently welcomed more than 20 attendees – including staff from the gym – for a day-long seminar aimed at helping gym instructors and PTs increase their exercise physiology knowledge and practical application into clients’ programming.

The seminars are led by Cybex master trainer, Julia Dalgleish, a highly experienced trainer and tutor who specialises in the application of biomechanics, human physiology and psychology.

Owner of Progress Gym Rob Harris said: “Julia was a big hit with my team.

“They really enjoyed her style of

presenting and found the information valuable and accessible. Finding experienced educators who have retained the energy to enthuse others is a challenge and she is a real asset to the Cybex Seminar Programme.”

The next seminar, using biomechanical analysis to achieve greater strength gains, will be held at Progress Gym on Thursday September 21.

For more information visit www.cybexintl.com

Industry’s best kept secret GAVIN Townsend has been a successful personal trainer for over 13 years.

And, after helping thousands of clients transform their lives for the better, Gavin is at the top of his game with a full diary, multiple personal trainers working within his studio and he owns a successful sports nutrition store. Gavin is the owner and founder of GT Personal Training studios, GymBeing gym clothing brand, Muscle Treats and more.

After many years of helping clients transform their lives for the better, Gavin is now reaching out to help other personal trainers across the UK to transform their businesses.

If you are a personal trainer

interested in growing a successful £100,000+ turnover personal training and fitness store business, get in touch. Gavin is offering the first 10 personal trainers who contact him 50 per cent off his mentoring programme.

Email gtptltd@gmail.com or visit www.gavintownsend.com www.gymbeing.com Offer: five T shirts or gym vests for £35 online for a limited time only.

Provide an essential sports massage therapy service for your members and clients AS people train more, stretch less and don’t always allow sufficient recovery from training sessions and minor injuries, treatments like sports massage are an essential service for gym facilities to offer their members.

Many clients are looking for a ‘quick fix’ when it comes to changing their physical appearance and therefore many training sessions are becoming more intense, let alone the continuous poor postural positions some people are putting themselves through on a daily basis.

Sports massage helps with the healing process of soft tissue from intense training, helps relieve general aches and pains caused through exercise, poor posture and general muscle tightness.

Sports massage can help people train better as it increases flexibility

and therefore increases range of movement and nowadays it’s not just for athletes.

Offering a sports massage service at your facility can be a great way to not only earn a secondary income but it’s also a means for staff such as personal trainers to offer extra services to their clients.

Next Generation Training are offering the Active IQ Level Three Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy for ONLY £695 and we will travel to anywhere in the UK to train your staff (minimum of two) on site.

Contact us today on 0845 299 3008, email info@nextgenerationtraining.co.uk or visit www.nextgenerationtraining.co.uk

PRODUCT NEWS

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Why are mirrors needed in a gym?

EVERYBODY, regardless of workout type or level of personal fitness, benefits from mirrors in a gym, whether to check your postures, selfcorrect, self-motivate, or simply check your appearance on the way out.

There are two main reasons for needing mirrors in gym design: 1. Practically, it makes a work out space much safer.

2. Aesthetically they create a professional environment, make the most of the room’s natural or artificial light, and give the appearance of making the space feel larger than it actually is.

So where should we position mirrors in the gym?

Consider where they can be positioned to reflect natural light into the space, i.e. opposite windows. If you require the room to be used as a dance studio you may require full length mirrors so you can see your body position and alignment at all times. Often it is not beneficial to have full length mirrors as some of the wall space will be taken up by equipment or storage, in which case mirrors can be placed horizontally, usually 50cm from the ground.

Most importantly, when choosing mirrors for a public area, consider safety. You must make sure you choose safety backed mirrors. This is a special film attached to the mirror that ensures pieces of mirror broken from an impact will not fall out onto the floor.

Mirrors for Training’s system of installation is unique and has the added benefit of enabling the mirrors to be easily moved. Whether your project requires a single mirror installation or several walls of a largescale commercial development, our optimally functioning mirrors and great value deals are guaranteed to meet the most quality conscious demands with flawless fulfilment.

For more information visit www.mirrorsfortraining.co.uk

Origin increases portfolio with Intenza Fitness kit partnership ORIGIN Fitness has announced its product portfolio expansion through a new partnership with Intenza Fitness – a forward-thinking brand of eco-friendly fitness equipment – to pursue commercial market growth opportunities in the UK and Ireland.

For facility owners who want to attract a wider demographic and retain members, Intenza Fitness offers a one of a kind solution.

The brand has earned a reputation as an industry pioneer and leader by offering the finest high-end cardio equipment which combines technological innovation with aesthetic design and product touch and feel quality.

Escalate, the world’s only adjustable step height stairclimbing machine delivers the benefits of both cardio and strength training and is suitable

to support the progressive goals for everyone.

Origin Fitness managing director Paul Bodger said: “We’ve been aware of Intenza for some time now and are incredibly excited to make their products part of our offering.

“We believe there is nobody in the industry doing what Intenza are in terms of sustainability, quality control and innovative product design.

“That’s why we’re thrilled to be their new exclusive distribution partner in the UK and Ireland and are looking forward to working with them. We also recognise Physique Sports and their efforts in introducing Intenza to UK customers and look forward to a strong partnership with Physique Sports as an authorised reseller.”

For more information contact Origin Fitness on sales@originfitness.com

Firm opens Scotland branch GYM Upholstery UK is to open a dedicated branch in Scotland after an increase in business from Scottish fitness facilities.

Within the last couple of years, the company has seen a dramatic increase in on-site fitness equipment upholstery repairs in Scotland.

Customers in Scotland include Fife Leisure and Sport Scotland sites, as well as many other independent gyms and leisure centres within the region.

The opening of the new permanent base on October 2 will create faster

lead times and cheaper repair costs for Scottish customers.

General manager Daniel Boyle said: “Our aim is to create a healthier, more hygienic environment within the gym industry. We want to help our clients maintain a smart, professional appearance which will not only attract new members but create positive experiences for existing members during their daily workouts. Nobody wants to workout on ripped or damaged equipment.”

Visit www.recopad.co.uk/gymupholstery

StairMaster HIIT programme helps you test your members Life Fitness introduces HD to its most advanced console

HIIT as a category is here to stay and when it comes to HIIT products and programmes, StairMaster High Intensity Interval Training offers the complete solution to help you test your members and promote your facility.

Core Health and Fitness’s newly released StairMaster HIIT programme is proving to be some seriously tough SHIIT. The hard-hitting, gruelling and yet rewarding workout has been proven to challenge members to push themselves to their limits and utilises some of the toughest workouts in the gym.

HIIT Solutions by StairMaster is a turnkey, training system that can be customised to work with other modalities. This programme provides a framework of 30-minute workouts for users of all fitness levels.

High Intensity Interval Training has been around for years, but with the growth of Cross Fit and other

facilities, HIIT Programmes and HIIT sporting events have increased in popularity, opening consumers’ eyes to the benefits of this type of training.

This fierce StairMaster programme promises to leave your members hurting for more. The programme gives clubs the ability to showcase StairMaster’s unique line of High Intensity equipment including the HIITMill and HIITMillX, BoxMaster, AirFit Bike and Upper Body Ergometer.

These pieces of equipment will not only promote your facility and attract new members but allows the flexibility to incorporate a range of other equipment such as free-weights, rowers and other cardio and strength products; meaning you can tailor your programme around your existing equipment and members’ needs.

For more information visit https://corehandf.com/shiit/

LIFE Fitness has stormed to the forefront of the digital fitness world with the introduction of high definition to its most advanced console – the Discover SE3 HD Tablet Console.

Engaging layouts, entertainment apps including Netflix, YouTube and BBC, and internet accessibility, make for a captivating experience and allow users to stimulate both their bodies and minds whilst exercising.

Exercisers can even compete with friends or meet new people half way across the globe through RunSocial, exclusive to Life Fitness and Discover SE3.

With the larger, 21” treadmill consoles and 16” bike, cross-trainer and PowerMill consoles, Discover SE3 HD provides customers with an image and video resolution that is substantially higher than standard

definition, allowing for true 1080p television viewing.

Coupled with new user interface that was launched in 2016, the Discover console provides the most engaging and customisable workout available on the market.

For more information about the Discover SE3 HD Tablet Console, visit www.lifefitness.co.uk

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Warrior CRUNCH™ bars launched in Spar Warrior CRUNCH™ bars have just launched in certain Spar forecourt locations across the North.

This follows fast on the back of being picked up for distribution

by Europe’s leading distributors – Prometeus, BodyTemple and Tropicana. Warrior CRUNCH™ is fast becoming the ‘must have’ low-sugar, high protein bar within the fitness and convenience sector.

Kieran Fisher, Warrior® founder, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the growth Warrior® has seen this year – we are on track to double sales year over year, and it’s all down to the connection Warrior® has with our customers.

“Consumers love the Warrior® brand ethos, the look and feel, and most importantly the quality of our products.”

Warrior CRUNCH™ bars are now available in over 20 countries around the World, and the best-selling protein bar in hundreds of sports

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nutrition retailers throughout the UK. With another three new flavours launching in October, and a sixth flavour scheduled to launch before Christmas, we can’t see this growth stopping anytime soon.

For wholesale and distribution opportunities, contact your preferred distributor and ask for Warrior CRUNCH™, or email trade@bodybuilding warehouse.co.uk (0161 236 1588).

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