Workout Weekly June 30

WEEKLY

Issue 143 - 30 June 2023

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

Operator opens first-of-a-kind wellbeing drop-in hub at Havant shopping centre – page 3

Campaign promotes muscle strength as a ‘building block’ for healthy ageing women – page 5

Operator opens first-of-a-kind wellbeing drop-in hub at Havant shopping centre

HORIZON Leisure, a charitable health and wellbeing provider in Havant, has opened a wellbeing drop-in centre for local residents at Meridian Shopping Centre.

The Horizon Wellbeing Hub is located on the ground floor of the shopping mall.

The drop-in centre will offer the local community:

n Free health checks.

n Health interventions, such as weight management programmes.

n Exercise orientation through its ‘Foundations Programme’, which has been designed as a supportive route into physical activity.

n Small group exercise classes.

The hub is an informal, welcoming and relaxed safe space to access exercise and advice, staffed by Horizon Leisure’s team of professionals.

Horizon Leisure is committed to inspiring healthier and happier communities and, as part of that, is keen to increase public accessibility to physical activity in a wider range of places and spaces.

CEO Mike Lyons said: “We are

committed to providing community health initiatives for the people of Havant, and this first-of-its-kind outreach programme, which was funded through Havant Borough Council, is designed to connect with anyone and everyone.

“We understand that coming to our leisure centres may not suit everyone, and so this drop in centre allows local

people to pop in and meet with our team of experts, helping them to access physical activity and positive lifestyle choices in an environment that’s familiar to them.

“Everyone is welcome, but we are particularly keen to target those who are not confident with physical activity, and particularly those who find the leisure

centre a daunting space.

“Health and wellbeing should be available to all, whatever your age, background or ability, and this initiative reduces barriers by meeting people where they are.

“We urge the local community to pop in on their way to the shops or on their way to meet a friend.”

The launch was attended by the Mayor of Havant, Rosy Raines, the Mayor’s Consort Mr Graham Raines and Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Gwen Robinson.

Attendees to the launch were shown around the facility and received health checks from Horizon Leisure’s team of experts.

Councillor Alex Rennie, leader of Havant Borough Council, added: “I’m delighted to see the launch of the Horizon Wellbeing Hub, and proud to have worked in partnership with Horizon Leisure to provide such a fantastic facility. The council recognises the tremendous benefits this can provide to the health and wellbeing of our residents, and I look forward to seeing the hub flourish.”

BPL appoints Joni as its new head of operations

AWARD winning charitable trust BPL has appointed Joni Millthorpe in the newly created role of head of operations.

Joni has worked for BPL for almost 20 years, starting as a sales advisor at Hoyland Leisure Centre.

She previously worked as contract manager across BPL’s Barnsley-based sites, and in her new role will be covering the full portfolio of the operator’s facilities across Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

Joni said: “BPL is a great place to work. It’s such a diverse organisation where no two days are the same. This is a unique role, looking after a huge remit across our contracts including our fitness facilities, waterpark and events arena.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity to do something different and I’m looking forward to a new challenge.”

The head of operations role has been created at a

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

www.workoutuk.co.uk

pivotal time for BPL, as the trust looks to set out its new strategy and vision for the future.

Joni added: “We’re consulting with local partners and stakeholders to look at our vision and purpose moving forward and the positive contribution we can continue to make to the health of our communities.

“There are some fantastic opportunities. Our teams and facilities are a huge part of the solution to helping reduce health inequalities, so we’re looking forward to continuing to strengthen pathways with our partners and ensuring we’re integral in making our communities feel good.

“This is a pinnacle moment for BPL, as we set our direction as a force for good.

“I’m really excited about what that will bring for us. To be able to make a difference to people’s lives as part of your job is amazing.

“I love this industry. I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

Absolute

Performance and Hawkin Dynamics collaborate

ABSOLUTE Performance, the Cardiff based gym design and installation business, has announced a new collaboration with US movement solutions specialist Hawkin Dynamics.

Hawkin Dynamics is world-renowned for its range of athlete testing products that make the most of technology.

Products such as force plates are used for the measurement of ground reaction forces for example power, displacement and asymmetry during movements such as jumping, the latest wireless force plates enable the user to see accurate data output on a paired mobile device.

Alistair Rosier, head of sales and marketing at Absolute Performance, said “The collaboration with Hawkin Dynamics is a great demonstration of the growing appreciation there is for Absolute Performance in the strength and conditioning industry.

“It allows both businesses to benefit from knowledge sharing and product development which will ultimately mean we bring even better products to our customers.”

The collaboration between the two companies sees Hawkin Dynamics

select Absolute Performance’s Isometric Pull Rig with Back Squat Extension as their preferred product for European distribution. The Iso Pull Rig has been through several stages of advancement with development input from leading universities and Premier League football clubs.

When combined with the force plates, the rig allows athletes to develop strength and power and be able to test and show development progress.

At 65kg the rig is relatively lightweight, easily transportable and simple to pack away when athlete testing is completed. A recent improvement to the rig is the introduction of a Belt Squat attachment. Hawkin Dynamics has chosen to take advantage of Absolute Performance’s European distribution network as it continues to expand product availability beyond its traditional US home market.

Joni Millthorpe

Trio added to ukactive’s executive team

ukactive has formally announced three new additions to its executive team –Clemency Lion (neé Huggins), Marianne Boyle and Jules Booker.

Clemency is the latest executive to be appointed, taking over from Jack Shakespeare as director of research, policy and communications as he ends six years with the organisation and joins ukactive partner, 4Global,.

Clemency has spent the past year working in government as a special advisor and in Parliament as a chief of staff, building on three years of parliamentary experience.

She has also held a variety of policy, public affairs and strategic communications roles, both inhouse and as a consultant, delivering campaigns across a range of sectors.

Clemency said: “I am looking forward to using my experience of government and parliamentary campaigns to drive ukactive forward in achieving its policy goals, delivering results for members and the wider sector.

“During times of political and societal uncertainty I will be keeping my finger on the pulse to provide strategic guidance and deliver exceptional results for ukactive and our members.”

Marianne Boyle has been promoted to director of membership and sector development following three years as head of partnerships and strategic lead for infrastructure. She takes over from Steven Scales, who recently joined ukactive partner, Gladstone.

With more than 15 years’ experience in the fitness and leisure sector, including senior management roles delivering multi-million-pound projects in public health and leisure services and higher education, Marianne brings extensive knowledge and experience to the role.

She said: “It is an absolute honour to be stepping into the role of director for member services and sector

development. The last three years at ukactive have enabled me to witness the vital role our members play in contributing to the health of the nation, from suppliers, to the independent, budget, public and private operators, whose facilities are at the very heart of local communities across the UK.

“My promise on behalf of ukactive is that we will continue to keep our members at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make.

“I am excited to play an integral role in supporting our sector to thrive, by providing outstanding member experience, impactful events and marketing, and expertise and research across health, inclusion, digital, children and young people, infrastructure, and policy.”

Chartered certified accountant Jules Booker joined ukactive in 2019 as head of finance and, after leading several successful finance transformation projects, was promoted to finance director in 2022, before this year becoming director of business operations.

As well as driving operational improvements at ukactive, she has been a key contributor to the organisational business plan and strategy and brings substantial senior experience from the non-profit and charity sectors.

Jules said: “I am excited to progress ukactive’s strategic priorities by developing highly efficient business operations, systems and processes to support high-quality services for our members, and to ensure ukactive

continues to be a great place to work for our colleagues.”

CEO of ukactive, Huw Edwards, added: “I am delighted to welcome Marianne, Jules and Clemency to our executive team, marking the next phase in our organisation’s evolution as we strive for the highest possible standards for our members and society.

“Each of these individuals brings the experience and knowledge to drive us forward at a pivotal time for our sector’s development, growth, and ambition to lead a more active, healthier population.

“We are excited about their contribution to ukactive’s Vision 2030, and I am confident they will help ukactive and our members to go from strength to strength over the coming years.”

Brand goes from strength to strength

STRENGTH and fitness brand PRIMAL has delivered its most successful trading period to date with £17million of new business wins.

The business has also seen a substantial boost in invoiced sales revenue over the past five years, with annual turnover reaching £15.5million in the year ending April 2023, a 400 per cent increase from 2019.

The UK-based company, which specialises in the manufacture of premium strength equipment and the design of bespoke fitness spaces, is now working towards its ambitious threeyear plan to reach revenue of more than £25m.

Founded in 2016, PRIMAL has a growing portfolio of high-profile clients in the domestic and overseas markets. It counts JD Gyms and Energie Fitness as customers, as well as having PRIMAL Performance Centres at Celtic and Burnley football clubs.

It has also fitted out bespoke home gyms for major sports stars and film personalities including James McAvoy, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Robinson and Sam Warburton.

The fitness brand, which is led by founder and CEO Steven Rinaldi and backed by Flywheel Partners, links its recent success with the growing strength training trend around the world. In the past year, PRIMAL recorded its largest

growth in the international sphere, expanding into 25 countries worldwide including in Europe, United Arab Emirates and South Africa where it is set to install its equipment in more than 100 locations for Virgin Active.

Steven said: “The way people perceive fitness has changed massively in the last decade. Gyms used to be stacked with rows of running and cardio machines, but now there is a real appreciation and understanding of the benefits of weight training.

“Strength work is essential for improving fitness and can help to prevent injury. It also burns calories and

improves heart health. There has been a distinct surge in this type of training in recent years, particularly amongst females.

“We pride ourselves on being an industry-leading and innovative brand, which provides first-of-its-kind equipment. This mindset has allowed us to stay ahead of industry trends and coupled with the growth in working out at home, has created a fantastic opportunity for a premium brand like PRIMAL to flourish.”

PRIMAL’s strategic focus is now on further penetration of commercial gym spaces in the UK as well as continued

growth in selected global territories through exclusive distribution relationships. It will also target sales to home consumers through its refined online platform.

During Covid the business saw an opportunity to expand into the home gym market and began creating compact equipment that fits seamlessly into the home space.

With demand for home gym spaces continuing, today its Personal Series accounts for 30 per cent of its total business.

Steven added: “PRIMAL is driven by a belief that ‘strength is in us all’, and we have set out to create world-leading functional spaces that anyone can use.

“We are on an upward trajectory with the best team in the business and after a few years of establishing the brand, we’re now making our mark on the domestic and global stage.

“We have a number of strategic partnerships in place, which we will continue to grow and maximise as we work towards our vision of making PRIMAL a household name and Europe’s leading strength and fitness brand.”

With the backing and support of Flywheel Partners, PRIMAL is also selectively evaluating strategic acquisition opportunities that may further enhance the company’s scale and customer offering.

Marianne Boyle, Clemency Lion and Jules Booker.

Campaign promotes muscle strength as a ‘building block’ for healthy ageing women

SHEFFIELD Hallam University has secured £125,000 of URKI funding for a healthy ageing project to make muscle strength training easier for women in midlife.

It is recognised that strength declines with age but can be maintained through exercise.

Half of women over the age of 45 years old do not undertake any regular strength exercises.

Strength training is a low-cost exercise intervention that has a ‘powerful impact on women’s health’.

It maintains function and independence as women age, and improves mood and sleep, maintains muscle and bone strength and helps maintain a healthy weight.

The project, delivered by Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Westfield Health, aims to create an accessible, codesigned app that helps to democratise the health benefits of strength training and meet the specific exercise needs of women in midlife.

The goal is to address a gap in existing wellbeing offers for women at work, by co-designing an app that will make it easier for women in midlife to improve their wellbeing by engaging in a personalised exercise programme.

It will integrate behaviour change and exercise science to address major barriers and help women arrive at the ‘start line’ of later life in better health and with greater physical reserves.

Dr Anna Lowe, project lead at Sheffield

Hallam University, said: “Working women in midlife face a unique set of challenges including stress, burnout and musculoskeletal problems, all of which can be compounded by perimenopause.

“Work becomes challenging for many women in midlife and evidence suggest that many women consider leaving work at this time because of health-related issues.

“Exercise is a powerful way to manage symptoms and improve wellbeing, but it is often overlooked and under-used.

“We are delighted to be working with Westfield Health to explore the exercise

needs of working women in midlife and to co-design an app that makes it easier for busy women to get the health benefits of exercise.

“Our overall aim is to help women to be happy, healthy and productive in the workplace for as long as they want to be.”

Kate Platts, head of research and innovation at Westfield Health, added: “We are ambitious and determined in our desire to bring impactful, evidencebased health and wellbeing solutions into the workplace, and we are delighted to be working with the AWRC on this

ground-breaking project.

“Targeted solutions for women in the workplace, especially those in midlife, are not always readily available to those who need and want them.

“An app that provides simple, yet powerful instructions related to strength-training for women is muchneeded.

“Through this work we hope to support our female colleagues, customers, and communities in achieving a high-quality mid- and later life, enabling people to work healthily and happily for as long as they choose.”

Falls in later life are a major threat to healthy ageing and can lead to pain, injury and loss of independence.

Falls also have a significant impact on health services, both immediate hospital care and long-term aftercare.

The 60+ age group is growing faster than any other age group, therefore it is anticipated that problems related to falls will increase.

Research has found that women express more of fear of falling than men, and sustain more hip fractures from falls, but current approaches focus on older people who have had a fall or are at risk of falling.

The funding has been awarded by UK Research and Innovation as part of the Healthy Ageing Challenge.

UKRI creates knowledge with impact by investing over £8bn a year in research and innovation through the UK’s nine leading funding councils.

Kirkby Leisure Centre car park is handed over by contractor

KIRKBY Leisure Centre’s new car park has opened after it was officially handed over to Ashfield District Council by contractor, Kier.

The new car park has spaces for 89 cars, including disabled parking and six electric charging points. It will also accommodate greener transport methods with 10 cycle hoops and lockable cycle storage.

The old Festival Hall was

demolished in February and material from the demolition was crushed to form a recycled aggregate that has been used in the construction of the new car park.

The £15.5million leisure centre has welcomed more than 207,000 visitors through the doors since opening in August. Kirkby Leisure Centre provides leisure and sport facilities for the whole community and

includes a new swimming pool.

Jason Zadrozny, leader of Ashfield District Council said: “Kirkby Leisure Centre is now a modern landmark in Kirkby and has been welcomed by residents and users of the centre.

“It is fantastic to see the final phase of the project completed and we know how invaluable the larger accessible car park will be for leisure centre visitors.”

The significantly changing role of a personal trainer

By Katie Bulmer-Cooke

I CAN say whole heartedly that I love being a personal trainer as much now as I did 15 years ago when I proudly received my Diploma in Personal Training, but my view on my role and the ‘job’ has changed significantly.

In my early days as a trainer I was convinced that the most important things I could give my client were their workout programmes alongside some nutrition recommendations.

Now, I know that there are three things I can give my clients that are much more impactful than these things.

Of course I still pride myself on well constructed programmes, carefully planned sessions and nutrition support and resources, but these things can only be at their most effective when the elements that clients really need help with are in place.

First up, clients need help to

implement change.

Using body fat reduction as an example goal, let’s face it, most people know what they should be doing to get their desired results.

They know about a calorie deficit, workouts are just a scroll away on Instagram and there are countless recipe

ideas online, but where they need our help as fitness professionals is to take that information and implement it into their life specifically.

They need to know how to weave these new behaviours and actions into their life.

It is our job to listen and coach clients to find the answers to questions like, ‘how will I fit my workouts around my job and my kids after school activities, without it feeling overwhelming?’

Next, clients need accountability.

Accountability is defined as being responsible for one’s actions, something which is generally heightened when another person is involved.

Typically we are more likely to do the things we say we will if someone else is holding us accountable, but for me, accountability is about that and more.

Working with a trainer should feel like having someone else on your team, someone in your corner, cheering you on

and believing in you, much like a boxer has someone in their corner.

Once we’ve found a way to successfully implement a personalised plan and create accountability, we are much more likely to achieve the thing that really is the difference between short and long term results…the holy grail of consistency.

Ultimately, as trainers, we can write the most incredible programme in the world and deliver 10/10 sessions, but without appropriate implementation, accountability and support, and consistency, the long term results that clients crave will remain out of reach.

When the changes are gradual, personalised to the individual, and they feel supported, clients feel unstoppable and as a client-trainer team life-changing things can be achieved.

n Katie Bulmer-Cooke is an awardwinning fitness trainer, speaker and consultant.

Katie Bulmer-Cooke

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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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