Workout Weekly 11 August

WEEKLY

Issue 147 - 11 August 2023

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

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Nuffield Health join forces with Lionesses trio to inspire more girls to get moving

Freedom Leisure introduces first functional fitness studio of its kind in Worcester – page 4

Nuffield Health join forces with Lionesses trio to inspire more girls to get moving

ENGLAND footballers Rachel Daly, Hannah Hampton and Esme Morgan have showed their support for Nuffield Health’s new Move Together initiative – a programme designed to get more 11–16-year-old girls moving and engaged with physical activity.

As the official health and wellbeing partner of the England teams, Nuffield Health and the Lionesses trio joined three young girls from the programme to try their hand at a social media dance trend, choreographed by the participants, before sitting down to discuss their own personal journeys into the sport.

The three England players talked candidly about their own experiences growing up and the barriers they faced as girls playing football, as well as the ways in which younger girls can be more active and the value that being part of a team brings to both physical and mental wellbeing.

With research showing that girls are more likely to report facing barriers to exercise than boys, this was something that goalkeeper Hannah related to in her own life growing up.

She said: “I remember, every playtime

I was playing football with the lads in school and I got pulled into the head of year with my parents and they told me, “Hannah has to go and play on the climbing frames with the other girls, she’s not allowed to play football.”

My parents were like, “Hannah is going to do what she wants to do.” So, I kept playing football and I think now, hopefully, it is starting to change in schools.”

Esme echoed the sentiment about

giving more young girls the opportunity to follow their passion.

She added: “I think the opportunities should be there for girls to participate in the same sports as the boys and not have old stereotypes pushed onto them.

“If girls aren’t having the opportunity to play football in PE, then how are they ever going to see that as some sort of career possibility if they don’t play outside of it?

“I think it’s really important that

provisions are there for girls to be able to participate in as many sports as possible and be able to choose the avenue they want to take.”

Rachel, meanwhile, discussed the value of being part of a team and how this is fundamental to creating a happy and successful culture: “I think being a part of a team is something so special because those are the people that pick you up,” she added.

“I went through a really tough time a couple of years ago and my teammates were the ones that were there for me and the ones that carried me through.

“Ultimately being a part of a team [is about] having your friends around you. Your teammates become your family because of how much time you spend with them.”

Move Together is hosted in local parks and community venues and run by Nuffield Health fitness instructors in the local community.

The specially designed free classes will build girls’ strength, confidence and get them moving.

It’s also the perfect opportunity to have fun and make new friends in a safe and secure environment.

Most searched for workout routines revealed

CHRIS Hemsworth’s workout routine is the most searched worldwide, a new study has revealed.

The study conducted by Mirafit.co.uk analysed a list of celebrities’ names who are famous for their workout routines and need to stay in shape for different movie roles, as well as those who are fitness-obsessed, to discover which is the most searched for worldwide.

A spokesperson for Mirafit.co.uk said: “This data reveals that people from all over the world are curious about how celebrities maintain their fitness levels, and also how it might be possible for them to achieve the same results.”

“In fact, is very common now for actors, models and so on to share their fitness journey with their fans in order to be an inspiration or for it to be publicised when they go through dramatic

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transformations for various roles.

“Of course, it’s important to remember that only following these star’s pieces of advice is not enough. We all have individual goals and abilities and should take time to understand the type of exercise that is a good fit for our body and mind, combined with an appropriate diet to match.”

Chris Hemsworth’s routine took first place with 13,000 average monthly searches, almost double that of Henry Cavill in second.

The MCU actor is among the fittest actors out there. Apart from working out regularly and staying in shape for his roles as Thor and Tyler Rake, he is also a fitness guru, helping people out with their own bodies thanks to his app “Centr, by Chris Hemsworth”, launched in 2019 and costing $30 a month. He is

known for pushing his body to its limits and outside his comfort zone to test just how much it’s possible to achieve.

Second on the list is Henry Cavill with 7,150 average monthly searches. ‘The Witcher’s star is also widely envied for his body, which he started to bulk by working out 2.5 hours each day while preparing for his role as Clark Kent for ‘Man of Steel’ back in 2011, and that he keeps maintaining for his newer projects.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California governor and Terminator, is in third position with 6,950 average monthly searches.

The 75-year-old actor is still one of the most admired celebrities regarding his fitness journey. Indeed, he is not only an actor, politician, filmmaker, and businessman, but also a retired bodybuilder, considered one of the most

important in the history of the discipline.

Further down on the list, is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in fourth position, with 3,990 average monthly searches. His nickname is not random, as before he was a movie star, Johnson was a professional wrestler, making his debut in the World Wrestling Federation in 1996. “The Rock” was a reference to his physical prowess as well as his commanding and endearing personality.

The top five closes with two celebrities with 3,910 average monthly searches each: Kendall Jenner, one of only three women in the top 15, and Michael B. Jordan. As a model, Kendall is overwhelmingly famous for her slim and slender figure and is known to head quite often to Pilates classes in Los Angeles, where she has been photographed by paparazzi.

My ingredients for a top group training studio

By David Benham

1, Community

YOUR members, coaches and staff absolutely make your community.

It’s essential to try and get everyone involved in your fitness business, this will massively help with retention and in turn cashflow. Remember it’s better to keep a member than replace one, from a financial and time perspective.

members and this helps build confidence for coach and member.

connected.

www.workoutuk.co.uk

My top ways of doing this are, the obvious one – interaction on the gym floor pre and post session or class. Getting to know names and treating members as individuals is key, for example some members may enjoy the direct and ‘beasty’ style of coaching, others need a gentler approach.

Ensure your coaches take the time to learn names at the very least, We have a pre session register where our coaches will call out the names of the booked

The second way of building a community is to have a private Facebook support group. This will give your members the sense of having support and help even when they are not physically at your facility.

You can add content as much as you like and ask more confident members to post regularly, things like meals, post session feedback or just a general ‘Hello’. We also host Facebook Live’s in the group as a way of staying

Lastly, having a ‘social calendar’ is fantastic at getting your members together in a more relaxed atmosphere away from the fast paced and noisy gym. Summer barbecues with a bouncy castle so your members can bring down their families too, Snowdon treks or sponsored walks and runs. We even have an annual summer ball and awards ceremony which is amazing at making people feel part of something special.

Your members and coaches are your community, your team. Make sure they know.

In the next edition we will discuss the importance of having the right systems for a top and efficient group training gym.

n David Benham is the managing director and co-founder of Core 300 Strength and Conditioning Gym.

David Benham

FREEDOM Leisure has introduced a unique functional fitness training studio at St John’s Sports Centre, becoming the only facility of its kind in the Worcester area.

Embracing the growing trend of bodyweight training, the innovative new fitness experience accommodates a wide range of users allowing the centre to attract a broader demographic.

Known as the Elevate Experience, the facility has been developed in conjunction with health and wellness brand Ethics Leisure, which supplied the five Elevate and two Encompass machines for the studio.

Freedom Leisure decided to develop the facility after witnessing the success of the equipment at Applemore Health & Leisure. However, instead of integrating it into the existing gym, they believed a separate studio would maximise the impact of the equipment.

A former party room at St John’s Sports Centre underwent renovations, including new lighting and flooring as well as the new kit.

The result is the Elevate Experience, which offers a dynamic and engaging

fitness experience for all ages and abilities throughout the day. Mornings primarily serve older adults aged 50 and above as well as mums who have finished the school run.

In the afternoons from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, juniors aged 14 and above can use the equipment after an initial introductory session, while the evenings tend to attract users their 20s to 40s.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to offer Elevate to the community of Worcester and to work again with the team at Ethics Leisure,” said Matt Wickham, chief operating officer at Freedom Leisure.

“The Elevate equipment has enabled so many users including young and old or new and experienced exercisers as well as those suffering with a wide range of health conditions to participate in exercise.

“The range of equipment and training provided will enable the product to develop over time and will benefit so many people. This is key to Freedom Leisure to ensure that we can continue to improve lives through leisure.”

The studio offers something

completely different from other gyms in the area. With a focus on safe bodyweight movements, it serves as an ideal starting point for beginners and a stepping stone into the main gym. It is also popular with experienced exercisers looking for efficient and time-effective workouts, customers can complete a quick circuit in just 30 minutes.

The studio offers a variety of instructorled classes, ranging from 45-minute sessions to the 20-minute Elevate Blast and Elevate Core classes during lunchtime, the studio has already expanded its offering and plans to introduce an Elevate Pilates class in the near future due to the high demand.

“Elevate Experience has increased monthly participation in our group exercise classes and provided the leisure centre with a unique selling proposition,” added Jamie Hyde, area fitness manager Worcester contract – Worcester, Malvern and Tenbury.

“The studio’s popularity has resonated with customers as well as new prospects by enhancing our sales tour experience.

“Customers have responded positively to the new studio. They appreciate its

simplicity, ease of use, and the variety of exercises they can do on each piece of equipment.

“The low-impact nature of the workouts is particularly appealing to the morning demographic of older adults. The studio has also helped to develop a sense of community and camaraderie among participants, who often gather for coffee after classes.”

Personal trainers use the studio to train their clients, and members can use the equipment independently after an introductory session or attending classes. QR codes on the machines provide guidance on exercise routines.

Andy Gill, founder and CEO of Ethics Leisure, concluded: “By launching the Elevate Experience at St John’s Sports Centre, Freedom Leisure has successfully introduced a unique and engaging fitness experience to the Worcester area.

“By embracing the trend of bodyweight training, providing a diverse class offering and fostering a supportive community environment, the studio has become a popular destination for individuals seeking an effective and enjoyable fitness solution.”

Freedom Leisure introduces first functional fitness studio of its kind in Worcester Centre rated ‘outstanding’ by quality scheme

LEE Valley White Water Centre has been recognised as an ‘outstanding’ venue in a tough, new two-day assessment by Sport England’s continuous improvement tool for leisure facilities, Quest.

Quest was first established more than 20 years ago to measure how well a facility is operating and how effective organisations are across a range of topics.

The renowned award has evolved over the years to keep pace with the ever changing sport and leisure industry, and is still the sector’s bestknown improvement programme, with its rigorous assessments challenging even the best UK leisure centres.

Quest’s operations director Caroline Constantine said: “Quest Plus is such a demanding process. By meeting Quest’s high standards for ‘excellent’ centres and achieving an overall accolade of ‘outstanding’, Lee Valley White Water Centre has shown its commitment to providing quality facilities and service to its customers.

“In these tough economic times it is more important than ever that local

leisure facilities can demonstrate their value, and the Quest process helps them do just that; enabling facilities and their teams to have the quality of their work both recognised

and nationally accredited, as well as showing how they measure up against national standards.”

Lee Valley White Water Centre, managed by GLL, a charitable

social enterprise and worker-owned cooperative, operating under the community-brand, Better, underwent the Quest Plus assessment; a twoday evaluation including a number of compulsory modules on day one, including Tackling Inequalities and Environmental Management, as well as a variety of topics to help the facility make progress in specific areas of its business on day two.

The venue also went through a mystery visit.

By achieving an overall rating of excellent in both Quest Plus and its Mystery Visit, the former Olympic Games venue has been awarded the accolade of Quest Outstanding.

Jon Lea, general manager at Lee Valley White Water Centre, added: “We’re delighted and immensely proud of the entire Lee Valley White Water Centre team for this exceptional achievement.

“Their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts in preparing for the assessment have paid off, and we are elated to have earned the coveted ‘Outstanding’ rating.”

InBody UK strengthens its customer service support with new team

InBody UK has strengthened its client services offering with a new service support team.

The body composition company has invested in a specialist team who will be responsible for responding to all customer enquiries from anything related to operation of the devices through to the integration of third-party software.

Service supervisor Hayley Fowler joined InBody UK at the end of 2022, while technical support lead Adam Pankhurst started in January this year. With a range of experience in customer and technical service, both Adam and Hayley are well versed in customer relations and understand the importance of service for InBody customers.

Since joining InBody UK the pair have worked closely with the European team to mirror their success. Head of service Harm Koks has been instrumental in helping the team to refine its existing processes.

To further cement their commitment to InBody customers, both Hayley and Adam have achieved an advanced Level 3 Technical accreditation, with Adam securing top marks for the European class, while Hayley has become the first woman in the UK to complete any technical accreditation like this.

Francesca Cooper-Boden, InBody UK

co director, said: “I am incredibly proud of the effort and application shown by both Hayley and Adam. Service is an important part of InBody’s offering and being able to support our customers through education and service support remains a strong focus – it’s what makes the InBody device a top choice for many.

“With the new team in place, some of the recent changes we’ve made to improve our customer service is creating a new ticket booking system and improving our team’s knowledge to an accreditation level they’ve not worked at before.

“Knowledge sharing and learning with our European and global teams ensures we’re up to speed with any changes

as soon as they happen which means they can be implemented with our UK customers from a UK base.

“With a robust process in place we can focus on ensuring we can quickly respond to customer queries and have the right answers to the questions we’re asked.

“Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis is an ever advancing learning curve and we must not only keep up in service but also strive to lead.”

With clients spanning across the UK, InBody now outsources a third-party to complete some minor device repairs and servicing.

To guarantee clients receive the best experience, the team launched a

bespoke training accreditation for our outsource engineers.

Francesca added: “From working closely with the European division, we have created a bespoke Level 4 Service training course and all of our third-party engineers must complete and pass this training to be able to work on our devices.

“Our body composition devices are incredibly high quality and so the relationships we have with these partners is essential as is their control and management under the new UK service team.”

Committed to delivering a complete service, InBody UK has also developed a robust after-care programme to help maintain ongoing relationships with its customers.

“We encourage all of our customers to invest in an annual service so they have confidence that the device is operating as it should,” added Francesca.

“Plus, we provide a two-year standard warranty and peace of mind packages, for up to five years, to ensure longevity and operational success.

“We have aspirations to be the go-to brand for body composition across the UK so it’s essential that our machines are well looked after and continue to be as accurate and effective as when they were first installed.”

Active IQ and Future Fit join forces to launch new management qualifications

ACTIVE IQ, a leading awarding organisation in the UK physical activity sector, and Future Fit, one of the UK’s foremost providers of education and learning and development solutions in the health and physical activity sector, have announced their partnership and the development of two new management qualifications set to launch later this year.

The collaboration between the industry giants brings together their shared vision and values, aiming to address the skills gap and elevate the professionalism of the sector.

Launching later this year, the Active IQ Level 3 Award in the Principles of Management is designed to provide learners with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of management principles.

Throughout this qualification, learners will cover essential topics such as effective decision making, leadership styles and models, the role and processes of management, performance measurement, and equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

The second qualification, the Active IQ Level 3 Certificate in the Principles of Management and Business, builds upon the foundation of the Level 3 Award and expands the scope to include additional critical areas.

Learners will delve into topics such as business innovation and growth, budgeting and finance, recruitment processes, performance management, and how to facilitate professional development and implement a performance appraisal.

These new qualifications have been developed in response to the need for a structured pathway to professional management roles within the physical activity sector. By partnering with GM Active, a group of operators representing the twelve councils in Greater Manchester, who are responsible for 99 leisure and sports facilities, Active IQ and Future Fit have identified a gap in business and management experience among individuals working in these roles.

The qualifications aim to bridge this gap and create a pipeline for progression from gym instructor and personal trainer positions to junior leadership roles within GM Active.

Stuart Liversedge, business development manager at Active IQ, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Future Fit, one of the leading providers in the industry, to create these innovative management qualifications.

“Our shared vision and values have allowed us to develop qualifications that address the specific needs of the sector and offer learners a

comprehensive understanding of management principles.”

Future Fit has played a significant role in the development of these qualifications, with their expertise and insights directly informing the content and structure.

Tom Godwin, group operations director at Future Fit, added: “Our relationship with Active IQ and our combined commitment to excellence in education has paved the way for this partnership.

“These qualifications, tailored to the needs of GM Active and the sector as a whole, represent a significant step in professionalising management roles and ensuring the highest quality service for the public.”

The Active IQ Level 3 Award in the Principles of Management and the Active IQ Level 3 Certificate in the Principles of Management and Business are the first of their kind, specifically written to meet the needs of a major leisure trust.

What sets these qualifications apart is their bespoke nature, providing relevant and practical skills that directly improve the success rate for learners.

The target audience for these qualifications includes organisations like the aspiring leadership team within GM Active, with the aim of enhancing their professionalism and

career prospects.

By closing the staffing gaps across the leisure trust, GM Active has ensured the continued delivery of the highest quality service to the general public across their leisure centres.

With approximately 50 managers enrolled, these qualifications have the potential to impact as many as 500800 individuals within the sector.

Future plans include the nationwide rollout of these qualifications, extending their impact across the UK.

The partnership between Active IQ and Future Fit is built on the goal of championing quality education and thought leadership.

Together, they aspire to expand their collaboration and explore opportunities in the international fitness market, making bespoke training available to major organisations in the health and wellness space. These qualifications are particularly relevant in the current landscape, where many individuals have found themselves in management roles without the necessary background or skills.

The aim is to reward and recognise these “accidental managers” by providing them with the appropriate training and promotion opportunities.

Further information will be available when these qualifications launch later in the year.

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Please return to: Megan Prince, Script Events, Script Media Group LTD, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS

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