Issue 129 - 17 February 2023
YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE
Operator to invest £1.5m in new gym equipment
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Fitness expert shares his trend predictions
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FREE online fitness platform Couch to Fitness is aiming to break down barriers and make movement more accessible to all with a series of new pre and postnatal exercise programmes targeted at helping pregnant women and new mums to maintain active lives.
Developed by Our Parks with the help of National Lottery funding, the programmes are the first of their kind and have been designed by qualified pre and postnatal expert instructors specifically for new and expectant mothers.
Our Parks founder Born Barikor said: “After months of research and development working in partnership with leading organisations to innovate, we’re excited to launch our pre and postnatal workout programmes on the Couch To Fitness platform.
“A tremendous amount of work has gone into making them appropriate, accessible and inspiring to give women the confidence to be active during and
Led by the latest insights from the This Girl Can campaign, the six-week online programmes enable women to
safely move at their own pace, from the comfort of their homes, regardless of where they live or their income.
“This Girl Can is thrilled to have
supported Couch to Fitness to create a resource to support women during these major life stages as part of our mission to empower women to be active in a way that works for them,” added Claire Edwards, head of campaign activation at This Girl Can.
The workouts have also been endorsed by the Active Pregnancy Foundation, the leading national charity for supporting women to stay active throughout pregnancy and beyond.
The free high-quality on-demand programmes include yoga, pilates and low-intensity workouts suitable for all abilities and aimed at improving mobility and increasing movement, with a preexercise screening process to ensure the programmes are suitable for the intended audiences.
These programmes are the latest addition to the widely successful Couch to Fitness platform which was launched by Our Parks in 2020 and now has more than 150,000 users.
THE government committed to delivering a lasting legacy as part of the £8.8billion London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including increasing the number of adults participating in sports.
But in a report the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee says the benefits have failed to materialise, with the proportion of adults participating in sport at least once a week actually falling in the first three years following the Games.
Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Committee, said: “After the short-term financial boost there’s been precious little to show by way of legacy, even in my immediate area of East London where the 2012 Games were held.
“Resets since 2015 have not begun to bring the levelling-up benefits intended.
“The lack of vision and drive has seen Sport England pay out £1.5billion of taxpayers’ money without knowing where two-thirds of it went, and there’s a paltry 1.2 per cent increase in active
Director of Operations: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
Studio manager: Paul Hopkinson ph@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
Assistant studio manager: Scott Firth sf@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
Sales: Tony Barry Tel: 01226 734605 tb@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
www.workout-uk.co.uk
adults to show for it.
“More waste, more loss of desperately needed public money. As the cost-ofliving crisis bites hard, DCMS must set out what it will do differently to achieve change where it has not succeeded.”
In 2015, government refocused its strategy on local based approaches and the least active having initially relied too
heavily on a national event to deliver increased participation.
But the Committee says this change of tack has not yet resulted in meaningful change in national participation rates.
Community sport and physical activity brought an estimated contribution of £85.5billion in social and economic benefits to England in 2017-18, including £9.5billion from improved physical and mental health.
But despite Sport England spending an average of £323million each year since 2015, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England has made little progress in tackling inequalities and the barriers to participation.
Of £1.5billion in grants distributed by Sport England since 2016 it only knows where £450million went, and the percentage of active adults increased by only 1.2 percentage points from 2016 to 2019.
Nearly two in five adults in England still do not meet the chief medical officer’s
guidelines for recommended activity.
Lead PAC member Nick Smith MP added: “Gyms and parks will be flooded with people resolving to get a bit fitter and more active, we should be better equipped to capture this enthusiasm and support grassroots sports and more active lifestyles throughout the year.
“The committee has challenged Sports England to overcome the barriers that prevent people from having the motivation, confidence and opportunity to get active.
“There are good practice examples such as parkrun, which could be part of the answer.
“As a later-in-life parkrunner and chair of the Parkrun All-Party Parliamentary Group I’ve seen parkrun support people from all walks of life into getting more active.
“Coming up with a mix of sporting opportunities which are affordable, local and inclusive could help people sustain their activities through the rest of the year.”
ANYTIME Fitness UK has announced the appointment of Jason Worthy as chief executive officer.
Jason was most recently vice president of international business development for Brunswick Corporation, where he has successfully launched Freedom Boat Club’s international expansion programme, scaling to 33 franchised and corporate locations in 24 months.
Jason said: “It’s a huge honour to become CEO of Anytime Fitness UK and I’m joining at an exciting time.
“We’re seeing a shift to more and more people placing greater value on their health and wellbeing, and understanding the importance of training, nutrition and recovery.
“Anytime Fitness is uniquely positioned to facilitate that shift in people’s mindset and behaviour.
“Looking ahead in 2023 we have a
healthy pipeline of new clubs, exciting innovations, and an excellent team to further drive the business forward.
“We are committed to ensuring members at our clubs get an unrivalled experience to improve their health and wellbeing, which in turn helps create successful, profitable clubs.
“Whilst we have an incredibly strong
business here the UK, we still have lots of potential for growth and I’m excited to get started.”
Jason has more than 20 years’ experience in the fitness sector, having senior roles on both the supplier and operator sides before joining global fitness equipment manufacturer Life Fitness in 2012.
In that time he was promoted through various senior roles, before becoming CEO and president of the global business in 2018, leading the $1bn company through its sale to KPS Capital Partners.
Andy Thompson, chairman of Anytime Fitness UK, added: “I’m delighted to welcome Jason to Anytime Fitness UK. It’s important that we have the right people in place to continue to grow the Anytime Fitness brand and build on the performance of the UK team.”
GYMS at Harvey Hadden Sports Village and Clifton Leisure Centre are in line to receive a share of £1.5m for new equipment over the next few months.
Active Nottingham, which is part of Nottingham City Council, is set to invest the money over five years across all of its six leisure centres – Harvey Hadden, Clifton, Ken Martin, Southglade, Victoria and Djanogly.
Harvey Hadden and Clifton will be the first in line to receive new equipment from the spring.
This £1.5m cash injection will make sure each centre has new kit for gymgoers to use.
Portfolio holder for leisure and culture, Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, said: “I am pleased we are investing in our residents’ mental health and wellbeing by replacing the current gym equipment.
“This will play an important role in the promotion of getting more people active within our community.”
Active Nottingham has set money aside to support the income generated from customers, allowing the investment to be made without the need for
borrowing or impacting on wider dayto-day council services.
With increasing membership numbers and by listening to members, replacing old equipment will improve customer satisfaction as well as mental and physical health and wellbeing.
It will also allow Active Nottingham to remain competitive in an evergrowing sport and leisure marketplace – especially as today’s gym-goer wants to see smart technology on fitness equipment to enhance the gym experience.
John Wileman, head of sport and leisure for Active Nottingham, added: “This is great news for our members and local residents at each of the six Active Nottingham locations.
“We are always looking to improve and replacing our equipment means our gyms are not just great to use, but we are directly helping the city of Nottingham.”
The state-of-the-art fitness equipment will be purchased by Active Nottingham over the next five years, providing an enhanced gym experience to residents and members at the six leisure centres.
ACTIVE Leeds is introducing low sensory gym sessions across some of its gyms. The sessions are designed to offer a safe and inclusive space for individuals with autism, ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions.
Loud music and bright lights can be a trigger for neurodivergent people, making activity in a gym environment very challenging; the aim of the low sensory sessions is to remove these barriers and make the gym space more accessible.
The low sensory gym sessions started at Pudsey Leisure Centre after learning from people with neurodiverse conditions what would support them to access the gym.
And after excellent feedback received from customers they have now been expanded to the John Charles Centre
for Sport, John Smeaton, Middleton, and Pudsey.
Customers visiting during those hours that would like to listen to music are encouraged to bring headphones.
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for public
health and active lifestyles, said:
“Following fantastic feedback from customers at the Pudsey Leisure Centre, I am thrilled to say that we are now rolling out these sessions more widely.
“Regular exercise is crucial to the physical and mental wellbeing of
people, and we want to ensure that we are providing a space in our leisure centres which is accessible to everyone and where customers feel comfortable and supported.
“We are continuing to work closely with partners to offer as much support as possible for neurodivergent people across our service.
“Working with Advonet, People in Action and Public Health we are delivering specific disability awareness training to gym instructors and staff.
“We are also working closely with Breeze Leeds to support autistic and disabled children when activities are held in our facilities.”
Session times across all centres will be Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8pm and Sunday from 1pm to 2.30pm.
MILON Industries GmbH has appointed InSpace Fitness as its exclusive UK distributor following a hiatus of almost a decade.
InSpace will also take on the relationship with operators who have existing Milon equipment to reinvigorate the brand for members.
Over the past 50 years, Milon has seen great success in more than 26 countries around the world.
More than 2,500 health clubs, gyms and healthcare facilities offer Milon’s market leading smart exercise equipment.
The German-based company has chosen to turn its attention to the UK after recognising a growing interest in Intelligent fitness equipment:
Bernd Reichle, CEO of Milon Industries GmbH, said: “After almost a decade focusing on our European business we are delighted to be reestablishing a presence in the UK via our partners InSpace Fitness.
“The Milon Circuit has been greatly enhanced and developed over the last 10 years. With both strength and cardio stations, a marketing leading
interface and app, we encourage the industry to reintroduce themselves to our equipment.”
The Milon Circuit is made up of eight cardio and resistance stations. Operators create a personalised circuit to meet the needs of their members by selecting from a total of 18 machines in the full range.
At each resistance station the user is provided with real time feedback
on factors like range of motion, power and movement speed, while the CV stations automatically set up a personalised programme, which adjust throughout the workout to ensure members stay in the right training zone for their goals.
The circuit delivers a full body workout in a simple, safe and effective way in 40 minutes or less.
Milon’s Intelligent exercise
equipment provides operators with a solution for a wide range of member groups, from beginners and deconditioned individuals to older adults and even high level athletes looking for marginal gains.
Jo Weelen, sales director at InSpace, added: “Operators recognise that they must continue to develop the gym floor to meet the changing needs of the consumer and Milon has a significant role to play in supporting members by delivering time efficient, effective workouts, which offer real time feedback, progress data and personal statistics.
“We are looking forward to working closely with Milon to significantly grow the intelligent fitness market.”
Since launching in 2021, fitness equipment supplier, InSpace has made a name for themselves by providing bespoke fitness solutions to a wide range of operators from boutique gyms to leisure trusts. Their network of commercial clients and industry expertise will be integral in building Milon’s presence in the UK fitness market once more.
WITH climate change and the energy crisis firmly on the agenda, both the industry and its consumers are looking for cost-effective, sustainable ways to work out, along with ways in which we can transform the fitness industry for the better.
Dean Zweck, product development manager at Total Fitness, shares his predictions for the fitness trends set to get 2023 off on the right track:
Greener ways to train
As technology within the fitness sector continues to advance, we have seen a rise in the development of greener gym equipment.
With many companies utilising reusable energy designed to keep costs down, we’re seeing a growing trend for self-powered treadmills and exercise bikes – giving both at home gyms and fitness centres the ability to reduce their electricity intake, which is a huge benefit during the current cost of living crisis. Meaning both consumers and businesses have the opportunity to incorporate new and innovative ways to become more sustainable in 2023.
Outdoor fitness
Getting outdoors first thing in the
morning allows people to feel refreshed and boosts their vitamin D levels, which improves their mood and keeps them motivated during the darker months. Training outside has many benefits, as not only is it a cost-effective way to work out, but it’s also greener and comes with many additional health benefits –including lowering blood pressure and heart rate, which in turn makes exercise feel less strenuous compared to indoor workouts.
Incorporating a hybrid exercise plan creates a flexible workout environment which can help keep individuals motivated to reach their goals within their busy work-life schedule.
Taking part in outdoor bootcamps and fitness, from yoga in the park to low maintenance exercises, such as running and cycling, makes fitness much more inclusive.
It also provides people with the opportunity to mix up their routines and get outside in the fresh air as well as visiting the gym and taking part in classes – which benefits them mentally and physically.
We’ve recently seen a growing trend for
inclusivity within the fitness sector, such as dedicated women’s only gym spaces which has seen the creation of strength training areas to allow women to feel more confident throughout their fitness journey.
Demand for dedicated, safe spaces to workout is on the rise in the fitness sector and gym members are increasingly asking for their clubs to be adapted to address this.
Listening to what members want and need for their fitness journey is high on the agenda for 2023, and I predict that there will be further exciting developments around diversity and inclusion within the fitness industry for years to come.
As the wellness industry grows, I predict that people will start to realise and embrace the importance of rest and recovery, taking a more balanced approach to fitness.
We saw the rise of massage guns and specific recovery equipment in 2022, which allow users to get the most out of their routine, making sure they understand how to take care of their body when injury strikes – allowing
them to progress through their fitness journey without roadblocks.
I believe this commitment to recovery will continue to grow throughout 2023. These regenerative processes are highly accessible through mid-market gyms who offer a wide range of recovery focused workouts such as yoga.
Yoga helps improve mobility and extends far beyond a relaxing stretch –helping improve both mind and body.
At Total Fitness we also have a selection of heat treatment facilities including hydro pools designed to aid strained muscles, along with saunas and steam facilities to help relax the body post-workout.
These amenities offer more than just a place to destress and re-charge, they also help to improve circulation, lower blood pressure and loosen stiff joints – allowing people to push themselves further to reach their health and fitness goals.
Gyms to focus on health, not just fitness Members will begin to see a rise in the reinforcement of health within their fitness facilities, as technology continues to evolve, and many people are now invested more than ever in their health and wellbeing.
As gyms begin to branch out of their fitness bracket and focus on health too, this investment within the industry will help to ease the burden on the NHS.
Fitness facilities are starting to offer their services to help people with a wide spectrum conditions, such as obesity, cancer, long Covid, cardiac rehab and more, as well as investing in training across the sector.
Many individuals are now investing in a personal trainer to not only help them feel fit and strong, but to maintain a healthy and steady progression which allows them to see improvements they might not have gained otherwise.
Along with the incorporation of body composition technology and the wide range of health data it comes with, such as muscle, fat, visceral fat, water and metabolic age, members can use the data to understand their body further, allowing them to target certain areas and increase their health.
THE Parkwood Group has acquired long standing leisure management contractor 1Life Management Solutions Limited.
1Life will retain its separate identity but will be driven and powered by Parkwood Leisure’s senior leadership team utilising its innovative support services.
Glen Hall,managing director of Parkwood Leisure, said: “This acquisition is a unique opportunity to share our experience to benefit more communities across the country.
“Both companies work in partnership with local authorities to benefit the health and wellbeing of local users and we are excited to welcome the 1Life team into the Parkwood family.
“Parkwood Leisure has invested significantly in customer focused initiatives and the 1Life acquisition opens up many exciting opportunities to improve the customer experience as well as improving efficiency through economies of scale.
“Recognising the need to tailor
delivery to local circumstances, Parkwood Leisure has developed innovative and scalable support services, which can now be offered directly to local authorities and other
leisure operators.
“I hope operators who are feeling the strain and local authorities will reach out to discuss our exciting product offering which delivers
improved value for money and customer service.”
The new structure will ensure 1Life can continue to deliver leisure provision and maximise local opportunities to support community health and wellbeing.
As such, the acquisition will further enhance the working relationships with partner councils, customers and colleagues.
Ian Hendrie, CEO and CFO of 1Life, added: “This acquisition is great news for 1Life, its customers and clients, with 1Life becoming part of a much larger, secure and market leading operator in the sector.
“Following recent events that have impacted the entire sector it was important to secure a strategic outcome and destination for the company that would be in the best long term interests of all stakeholders.
Glen confirmed services will run as normal for customers, with new developments scheduled in coming months.
