The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazineJune 2009 No 189 £3

‘Industry hasresponsibilityover addicts’By Mary Ferguson

THE fitness industry has been urgedto take more responsibility for help-ing members who put their health atrisk by getting hooked on exercise.

Eating disorder charity Beat hascalled for gym operators to adoptpolicies and safe working practicesthat would reduce the risks to peoplewith compulsive exercising condi-tions, often linked with illnesses likeanorexia and bulimia.

Susan Ringwood, chief executive ofBeat, told Workout: “Our aim is toraise awareness of the problem ofexcessive exercising amongst the fit-ness industry. If gym staff suspectthat someone has a problem, theyshould approach them, even though Iappreciate that it can be difficult. Ifsomeone had a heart condition andwere doing the wrong exercises for itthey would tell them, and this is nodifferent. Staff in the fitness industryshould have training to include infor-mation about compulsive exercising,and how to identify the early signsand symptoms.”

The charity has called for gyms toinclude questions about eating disor-ders and exercise habits in the ques-tionnaires they ask new members tocomplete.

Susan said compulsive exerciserscan be identified by their body shapeand the frequency and intensity oftheir workouts. And following the callfrom Beat, The FIA is putting togetherits own guidelines for operators onhow to identify and deal with thosewho may have a problem.

CEO Andree Deane said compulsiveexercise has been an issue for a longtime, with the association regularlyreceiving letters from operatorsunsure of how to deal with it.

She has even witnessed a memberbeing expelled for continually exer-cising in the sauna, believing the heatwould burn more calories. Faintingduring exercise is also a risk, both tothe sufferer and others around them.

But Mario Pederzolli, owner ofFitrooms in Fulham, told Workoutthere is a clear responsibility on themember to follow advice given tothem by the gym.

He added: “In extreme cases of over-training I agree we have a duty of careto highlight the associated risks,should that behaviour be observedwithin the club. However, we cannotbe held ultimately responsible for anindividual's actions, particularly ifthey have chosen not to follow theadvice given.”� Exercise addiction: Page 21

Sector isboomingdespiterecessionTHE health and fitness sec-tor is booming despite diffi-cult economic times,according to a survey.

The FIA State of the UKFitness Industry survey hasrevealed the sector hasgrown by three per cent inthe last year – with revenueup to an all time high of£3.77bn.

The survey – conductedby The Leisure DatabaseCompany – also revealedlike-for-like membershipnumbers had grown by 0.8per cent to 12.1 per centand 114 new public andprivate facilities openedover the 12 month periodbetween April 1 2008 andMarch 31 2009.

Director of The LeisureDatabase Company DavidMinton said: “TheGovernment’s health mes-sages are being taken seri-ously by consumers whovalue their gym member-ships perhaps over otherleisure spend.

“The fitness industry hasmaintained its perform-ance levels and gained newmembers despite the diffi-cult trading conditions. It’salso heartening to see theindustry realise sustainablegrowth without resorting toprice cutting.”

Ripped gym in Harlow welcomed the TV star ofLast Man Standing when he stopped by to train atthe facilities. Wolé Adesemoye, pictured above,won series two of BBC show after travelling to ten different countries, canoe racing in Brazil, climbingmountains in Nepal and foot racing in Siberia.

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By Mary Ferguson

THE owner of an independent gymin Swindon has rescued a sinkingladies only club by buying it andmoving it upstairs – for just £5,000plus VAT.

Vernon Montgomery, owner of The24 Hour Gym, seized the opportunitywhen The Pink Gym, based down theroad, went into liquidation.

He made the administrators anoffer and the same day, moved all theequipment to the little-used studioabove his main gym. Within two

weeks, the new women’s gym wasmaking a profit.

Vernon said: “The girl that ownedthe gym rang me and asked if I coulddo any special deals for the membersthat would be losing their facilities. Ihad 2,000sq ft of studio space thatwasn’t getting much use so put anoffer in.

“The concept and the equipmentwas fantastic, but the overheadsproved too much, which is the onlyreason it failed.”

50 of the original members havemoved to The 24 Hour Gym, which is

branded in pink, and are paying areduced rate of £20 a month. For anextra £5 a month, they are able to usethe mixed gym downstairs too.

As well as the equipment, pinksofas and database that came withthe deal, Vernon also took on theclub’s manager, Kayla New, who isresponsible for operating the newgym.

The club operates on a circuit basis,using hydraulic equipment thatappeals to women afraid of buildingmuscles, as well as those needingrehabilitation.

Kayla said: “Many women lead verybusy lives, which is why the 30minute circuit system works forthem. “We do have a few who chooseto use the main facilities downstairstoo but for most, the appeal is thatthere are no men around up here.”

As well as the circuit equipmentthere is a punch bag, hula hoops andskipping rope for women to add vari-ety to their workouts.

And because it is open 24 hours –but not always staffed – a panic but-ton has been installed in the newarea, along with CCTV.

Vernon Montgomery, owner of The 24 Hour Gym, seized the opportunity when The Pink Gym became available

Vernon’s tickled pink by his ladies’ club

New range launched to UK marketMATRIX Fitness Systems haslaunched a new range of cardiovascu-lar equipment to the UK market.

The Seven Series includes tread-mills, ascent trainers, ellipticals, hyb-rid cycles, upright cycles, recumbentcycles and steppers, which are avail-able in both the 7xe and 7x models.

Managing director Jon Johnstonsaid: “The launch of our new cardio-vascular range brings a number of

advantages for the customer includ-ing ease of maintenance andadvanced connectivity features. Weare delighted to be raising the bar andchanging customers’ expectations ofhigh specification CV products in themarket. We can now offer a premiumfully integrated entertainment solu-tion with a user friendly interface anda lower total cost of ownership thanour competitors.”

A South London gym catering mainly forthe corporate market has dropped its join-ing fees for people who return to the clubafter leaving.Independently operated Solutions Healthand Fitness, based in Croydon, has seensome of its customers – many who work inthe area – cancel their memberships afterlosing their jobs in the recession.So to encourage them to return once theyhave found new positions, manager Davis

Le Grand has dropped the joining fee of£25. He told Workout: “If someone has losttheir job there’s not a lot I can do toencourage them to stay, so I want to makeit easier for them once they decide tocome back.”David added that despite the economicdownturn the club is still doing well andsince he took over as manager in 2006,membership has trebled.

SHOPPERS did a double take as morethan a hundred people took part in amass fitness class in Sheffield citycentre.

Crowds gathered outside SheffieldCity Hall for the flash-mob eventwhich sees people meeting up in the

same place to do unusual things.The ‘Day Sheffield Moved More’ was

organised by sport and leisure operator Sheffield InternationalVenues (SIV) through social network-ing sites such as Facebook, Bebo andTwitter.

‘The day Sheffield moved more’

UK FITNESS SCENE

Pilates expert Angie Stirland is celebratinglanding a prestigious role within a leadingPilates organisation. Angie, who is theregional Pilates coordinator forBannatyne’s health clubs in the north east,has begun work for Body Control Pilates asone of only seven UK regional student sup-port teachers. She will be responsible forcarrying out students’ initial practicalassessments and provide workshops for thestudents to practice their teaching skillsand develop their knowledge. NigelArmstrong, managing director ofBannatyne Fitness, said: “Being selected byBody Control is clear recognition of theskills and experience Angie possesses.”

Gymshorts

Charity call ...FITNESS First is encouraging itsmembers to get involved in a bigfundraising campaign for the BritishHeart Foundation.The Million Miles Challenge is atwo-month campaign to raise fundsto help beat heart disease andaround 35,000 members and non-members are involved, poundingthe treadmills and clocking up onemillion miles on cross trainers, row-ers and bikes.Fitness First managing director JohnGamble said: “Our members aregreat supporters of the BHF and Iknow they will do all they can tohelp us raise as much money aspossible for this very worthy cam-paign.”

Trio join PulsePULSE has appointed three newsales managers to drive fitnessequipment sales during 2009. Steve Grapes, formerly of LifeFitness, and Ken Wattam, formerlyof Technogym, have joined thecompany as territory sales man-agers.Darren Murphy, who has taken upthe position in Ireland, used to besales executive for O’NeillsInternational Sportswear.Steve Grapes has taken control ofPulse’s existing client base in Waleswhilst Ken will be responsible forcustomers in the North of England.

Festival spreadsthe word aboutmartial artsBy Louise CordellA LEICESTER gym owner has staged ahuge festival to educate people aboutthe benefits of martial arts.

Kwoklyn Wan, owner of the UrbanMartial Arts gym, decided to hold theevent after seeing the popularity ofhis classes rise over the last few years.

He said: “We opened five years agoand by providing access to many dif-ferent styles of martial arts we haveattracted over 700 members.

“With this festival we wanted to pro-vide something that would give peo-ple of all ages and backgrounds thechance to see and try out many dif-ferent styles, some of which theymight never have heard of.”

Kwoklyn is a senior Jeet Kune Doinstructor and his club offers classesfrom boxing, kendo and Thai kick-boxing to wrestling and an ‘UrbanDragons’ freestyle karate class forkids.

The April event was held atParklands Leisure Centre in Oadbyand included fight demonstrations, adisplay of Shastar Vidiya – an ancientIndian system of armed and unarmedcombat – tournaments, workshopsand a range of fund raising stalls.

There were also appearances from

several celebrity guests like Kwoklyn’sbrother, Gok Wan of ‘How to LookGood Naked’ fame, who turned up tosupport the event’s charity, Kidscape.

He helped to raise funds by giving atalk on how martial arts can helpanti-bullying campaigns throughdeveloping confidence and selfesteem in young people.

Other guests included Chris Crudelliof ‘Mind, Body and Kick Ass Moves’and film star Silvio Simac whoappeared in the film ‘Unleashed’ withBob Hoskins and Jet Li.

Kwoklyn added: “I think it is impor-tant that people know that there is abig difference between what is taughtin many clubs – which is more ‘mar-tial arts inspired fitness’ than truemartial arts.

“But people don’t realise how manydifferent options are out there forthem, and how widely they are avail-able – we had people attending thefestival from as far afield as Cornwalland Scotland. So everyone can findsomething that appeals to them.”

He now hopes to make the festival ayearly event, as well as introducing aseries of smaller, spin-off eventsincluding a Bruce Lee conventionlater this year.

Pounds to shed pounds in new schemeTHE NHS has launched a schemeoffering financial incentives to helpoverweight people slim down andshape up.

Those who sign up to Weight Wins,a 13-month slimming programmerun by East and Costal Kent Primary Care Trust, could be paid upto £450.

They have seven months to get down to their target weight,with monthly weighings at their GP surgery or health clinic.

Six months after that they have to show that they haven't increased their weight again.

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UK FITNESS SCENE

By Christina Eccles

THE owner of an independent gym inNorthumberland has committed togiving local students work experienceto encourage them into the fitnessindustry.

Tony Hall – who owns The BuzzFactory in Prudhoe – takes on aboutfour students a year in work place-ments from Prudhoe CommunityHigh School and says it is a good wayfor them to get a feel for a career inhealth and fitness.

And Tony, who is also a formerteacher and youth worker, toldWorkout that he wants to do as much as possible to encourage local kids into the gymenvironment.

He said: “We take an average of fourkids every year and this is somethingI like to do as it exposes young peopleto health and fitness in the commu-nity.

“I used to work at the school withdisengaged kids, helping them getback into the classroom. The gym is afantastic environment and I am reallypleased the school is sending kidsdown.”

As part of his commitment to theproject, the gym also offers cut pricegym sessions for sixth form pupils atthe school costing just £2.50 – some-

thing which Tony said is proving pop-ular. He added: “Kids can’t afford to take out a yearly membership so they pay £2.50 on the door.

“We have got quite a few who comein and it’s good to see young peoplein the gym.”

The gym also recently held a re-launch event so Tony – who took overabout two and a half years ago –

could showcase to the local commu-nity the changes which have beenmade while at the same time attract-ing potential new members throughthe doors.

The event included an appearancefrom actress and TV presenter Denise Welch – a friend of Tony’s whotrains in the gym when she is in thearea.

The gym’s owners Tony and Shirley Ann with Denise Welch.

Tony’s hoping studentswill get industry buzz

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Space to stretchA LONDON leisure centre has intro-duced dedicated stretching zonesto encourage people to stretch dur-ing their workouts.Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre, oper-ated by GLL, has installed two dis-tinctive areas equipped withPavigym’s body mind flooring aswell as accessories including medi-cine balls, Swiss balls and bosus.The areas were created by EscapeFitness.Gary Dark, Camden partnershipmanager for GLL said: “We wantedto reintroduce the importance ofstretching to our members as it hadbecome a forgotten part of a work-out. The area is in constant usenow and has exceeded our expec-tations.”

Coe guests at dinnerOLYMPIC champion Lord SebastianCoe was guest of honour at StAlbans School's 17th sports toursdinner.Lending his support to sportingyoungsters who hope to tour theUK and overseas, he spoke abouthis experiences in the worlds ofathletics, politics and the arrange-ments for the London Games in2012.He was joined by David Bedford,race director for the LondonMarathon, whose son Tom was asuccessful runner for the school.

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UK FITNESS SCENE

By Louise Cordell

A PERSONAL trainer in Ludlow haslaunched a fitness studio that aims toprovide an alternative to the area’smainstream gyms.

Andy Hackney opened Pulse Healthand Fitness last month and is alreadyattracting a wide range of clientshoping to get fit in a laid-back envi-ronment. He said: “I spoke to a lot ofdifferent people and found that whilemany wanted to get fit, they were int-imidated by the big clubs or frustrat-ed at having to wait for machines,especially during crowded periods.

“So I wanted to offer somethingthat was completely different to whatwas already available and that wasappealing to anyone who was inex-perienced or overweight and who

wanted the chance to get in shape.” People can either book one on one

training sessions, or can hire theplace out by the hour with a group offriends or colleagues.

Andy added: “The group sessionsare particularly popular because youcan get all the benefits of personaltraining, but you also get to share thecosts. Working out with people youknow also means you are morerelaxed, work more effectively andeven have fun at the same time.”

There are also no membership feesto pay for access to the studio, whichhas a full range of cardiovascular andresistance machines, free weightsand punch bags. People pay as theygo. Andy added: “I think that this isthe best way of doing things, espe-cially in the current climate when

people don’t want to be careless withmoney - they only want to pay forresults.

“This model offers value for moneybecause while many people feel thatin traditional gyms they pay up oncea month and are then left to them-selves, here I am always on hand tooffer advice and make sure everyonegets the best possible workout.”

Andy is also offering more intensivetraining packages to give people theopportunity to get in shape for a holi-day or wedding, or to get fit for a par-ticular event. He currently has agroup of ladies training weekly beforethey compete in this year’s Race forLife and several teenage boys who arejoining the army and want to makesure they’ll have no problem passingtheir fitness tests.

Andy Hackney Andy and client Marina Ibrahim

Andy’s studio offers alaid-back alternative ...

Gymshorts

Opportunity knocksMORE than 100 public sector pro-fessionals discussed how they canmaximise opportunities presentedby new government initiatives atSIBEC.Held at The Belfry in NorthWarwickshire, the business forumfor UK education and public leisurecentre operators focused on theNew Health Agenda. The speakers, including FIA opera-tions director David Stalker, exam-ined how operators of leisure facili-ties in local authorities, universities,schools and colleges can benefitfrom the new government andindustry initiatives relating to physi-cal activity.

Princess moveWOMEN’S fitness company Fit for aPrincess has added a new venue forits outdoor workout classes.There will be three mid morningclasses per week at WimbledonPark as well as the Fit for a FiverSaturday morning class.The company is also hoping to per-suade the council to open the gatesearlier than 8am so that it can holdbootcamps and early morningworkouts at 6.15am.

Splashing free offerA LEISURE centre in South Yorkshirehas offered a free taster session tohelp both adults and children whowant to learn to swim.The session was held at DearnesideLeisure Centre in Goldthorpe –which is operated by BarnsleyPremier Leisure – and participantshad the opportunity to sign up forlessons afterwards.A similar open day was held atnearby Wombwell Swimming Poolwhich was attended by 38 children– over 20 of them signed up forlessons afterwards.

Loot to limberA Brighton-based sports festival isgiving people money for doingsomething that celebrates active liv-ing. The TAKEPART sports festivalhas announced a grants scheme forlocal groups and community, offer-ing up to £250.The money could be used to organ-ise taster sessions in a new sport, ahealth walk or group cycle ride, orto purchase equipment.

New member package aimed at those hit by redundancy ESPORTA have found a new way ofcashing in on the recession bylaunching a membership packagespecifically designed for people whohave been made redundant.

Fresh Start allows qualifying newmembers to pay reduced rates fortheir first three months’ membership.

It has been designed for people who

want to use their additional free timeto invest in their health and wellbe-ing and to help them return to thejob market with revitalised energyand renewed focus.

Esporta’s CEO, Glenn Timms, said:“Fresh Start is one of a host of valueinitiatives that Esporta has recentlyintroduced in response to the current

economic climate and is our way ofoffering a 'helping hand' to peoplethat have been unfortunate enoughto have lost their jobs. While the ini-tiative may not be appropriate foreveryone, for many in the right cir-cumstances it might help turn whatwas potentially a short-term negativeinto a lasting lifestyle change.”

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UK FITNESS SCENE

By Mary Ferguson

A NEW fitness facility has openedin Surrey, designed to be totallyexclusive.

Wentworth Personal TrainingStudio, based in Virginia Water,was opened by David Richardsonand his business partner.

To maintain exclusivity, groupexercise classes are limited toeight members and no more thanfour personal trainers work out ofthe facility at one time.

David, who has 13 years’ experi-ence working as a personal trainerand gym manager, said: “It wasalways my dream to open my ownstudio. Everyone always askedwhether it concerns me that weare opening in the middle of arecession, but business has beengood so far and I’m not worried.”

The studio is rented to five per-sonal trainers and a limited num-ber of general memberships are

being sold.“We are restricting memberships

to keep the experience personalso members get the full attentionof staff and the very best level ofservice. We want our clients to feellike they are having a personaltraining session every time theyuse the studio.”

The 9,000 sq. ft studio has beenequipped by Matrix FitnessSystems, including Tomahawkspinning bikes and the FunctionalTrainer.

The class timetable includes boxfit, Swiss ball, spin and tone,street dance for adults andPineapple group training.

Giant plasma screens showstructured exercise sessions thatmembers can follow, or they canwork out on their own.

David added: “People get one onone contact during every visithere, whether they are having apersonal training session or not.”

Why Davidchose theexclusive path

This year’s FIBO trade show took place in Essen, Germany and reached a new exhibitorrecord. 517 companies showcased their products and services and there was a three percent growth in visitor numbers. An independent economic survey conducted at FIBOshowed that more than 12 per cent of trade visitors placed orders and next to trainingequipment, demand was particularly high for studio and practice equipment and furnish-ings in the health promotion and wellness segments.

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UK FITNESS SCENE

By Mary Ferguson

AN independent gym in Somersetis reaping the rewards of a weightloss programme designed to intro-duce members to personal train-ing.

Images, based in Yeovil, offers the28-day packages to both new andexisting members as a way of keep-ing them on track and encouragingextra secondary spend.

Manager Della Alonzi said: “Theprogramme has been successfulfor quite a few years and althoughwe have tweaked it here and there,it has pretty much remained in thesame format.

“Most use it as a kick start whenthey first join the gym, but manymembers stay on it month bymonth too.

“It’s been working for us well andhas helped many members achievesuccess, bar the odd few who don’tstick to the diet side.

“The personal training sessionshelp build confidence so they canuse the gym by themselves. It’s agood vehicle to get people into thegym and to encourage them tobook further personal training ses-sions in the future.”

The weight loss programme costs£50 a month and includes four onehour personal training sessions aswell as dietary advice and weeklyweigh-ins. It claims to help userslose up to a stone in one month.

An ‘elite’ membership, sold sepa-rately from the weight loss pro-gramme, includes two one hoursessions a week and costs £75 amonth, on an annual contract.Individual personal training ses-sions are sold for £10.

Della said one of the most suc-cessful members went from a size24 to a size 12 on the weight lossplan and there are many otherswith similar stories.

Although it appeals mainly towomen, men sign up to the pack-age too.

She added: “The programme isn’tdesigned to be a quick fix – we seeit as a sustainable and safe way tolose weight, with the personaltouch of one-on-one training. It’sabout encouraging people to makea lifestyle change and giving themthe confidence and motivation tokick start it.”

Della Alonzi

Gym cashing in on weight plan New productaimed to helpindependentsTHE FIA have launched a new prod-uct designed to save independentgym owners money on energy bills.

The Energy Efficiency Audit hasbeen developed in response to mem-bers’ concerns about rocketing utilities bills and the FIA claim theaudit can cut bills by at least 25 percent.

It covers every aspect of a facility’senergy consumption including heat-ing, lighting, power, ventilation andwater.

David Stalker, operations director,told Workout: “We have been lookingat how we can do more for single siteoperators.

“The audit has already been trialledwith some sites and there have beensome enormous savings made.”

One small group saved 90 per centon their electricity, which saved them£12,000 over the year.

The audit will also check for over-payments.

David added: “In these hard times,operators are concentrating on whatthey do best – offering good facilitiesand service .

“A lot of people are so busy they per-haps miss the little golden opportuni-ties around the edges, so this is a real-ly good way for them to save somemoney.”

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WORKOUT PEOPLE

ANNETTE, who worked her way upfrom part-time crèche minder, wasnamed runner-up in the Employeeof the Year category in the MercuryBusiness Awards.

She was nominated by the club’sgeneral manager DuncanMcSporran and admits that she wassurprised but delighted by therecognition.

She said: “It was definitely thebest experience of my working life,nothing like this has ever happenedto me before. It was like somethingyou’d see on the TV, I was inter-viewed for a video clip that wasshown to all the finalists and it wassuch a different thing for me it wasbrilliant. All the staff here are greatso to be picked out and chosen as acandidate for the award was just anhonour for me.”

After working at the club’s crècheAnnette moved to the main recep-tion desk where she worked fulltime and eventually led a team ofthree other receptionists before tak-ing the role of assistant manager in2006.

“I enjoyed working with the chil-

dren in the crèche but this job ismore me. It’s not pressured and Iwork alongside lovely people everyday. It’s also given me more confi-dence – I get to meet new membersall the time and the members thatare already here, I am already goodfriends with.

”I was taken out for a meal bythem to celebrate my runner-upprize which was good fun. I knowI’ll probably sound sad for sayingthis but I really do love my job.”

The awards were for businesses inall industries and over 100 enteredthis year, with three finalists chosenover six different categories.

General manager DuncanMcSporran, who nominatedAnnette, said: “There’s a saying,‘behind every good man there’s agood woman’, well equally behindevery good manager there mustalso be a good assistant managerand never has that been more truethan in the case of Westside. I canhonestly say that having the sup-port and backing of such a hard-working and loyal work colleague asAnnette is worth its weight in gold.”

After 12 years at Westside Health and Fitness, assistant manager Annette Griggs has been recognised in aprestigious awards ceremony. Claire Lodge reports.

‘Behind every good manager theremust be a good assistant manager’

Annette with her award

Bodybuilder Spencer keeps on training at 80By Mary Ferguson

A HERTFORDSHIRE gym is helping an80-year-old bodybuilder keep in shape,almost 60 years after he competed in MrUniverse.

Spencer Churchill, who used to train with former Mr Universe Reg Park, works out at the Monster Gym in Waltham Cross every day alongside20 year olds, giving them advice andtips.

Steve Collins, who owns the gym, said:“Spencer has been training with us for acouple of years now.

“He trains everyday for about one anda half hours and goes on the bike, doesweights and then a bit of cardio work.”

The man nicknamed ‘MusclesUnlimited’ has competed in body build-ing championships since the secondworld war and represented Britain in1950 at the Universe Show.

Steve added: “The equipment that heuses is exactly the same as what theyoung lads use, there’s no speciallyadapted equipment or anything likethat, so he’s still got it.

“He used to train with Reg Park whowas like the British version of ArnoldSchwarzenegger so there’s obviously alot of admiration and respect fromeverybody at the gym.”

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UK FITNESS SCENE

A member working out during a CrossFitsession at ConceptFitness

By Claire Lodge

AN independent club in Essex hasbecome one of the first in the countryto offer members a new training pro-gramme designed to change the waypeople exercise in the gym.

ConceptFitness UK has been affili-ated with CrossFit, a workout pro-gramme that incorporates unconven-tional exercises and has been used totrain police forces and elite athletesacross the world.

The idea behind the workout is thatanyone of any age can do it, regard-less of experience.

But because CrossFit is so differentto a conventional gym session, theclub is insisting that all its membersundergo two free CrossFit inductionsessions to teach basic theory andmovements.

Owner Brett Sizeland said: “CrossFitis hugely popular in the States at themoment and is on the brink of break-ing into the industry the same way inthis country, so we decided to sendoff for some information to try tobring it to Essex and it went fromthere.

“CrossFit is a strength and condi-tioning programme designed for themasses and we say the speciality of itis that it doesn’t specialise. It tends tocover people’s differing wants andneeds, for example at the gym wehave a 72-year-old woman and aneleven-year-old girl so it is – and willbe – diverse.”

ConceptFitness UK has only been inbusiness for a year and a half butalready has regular customers comingthrough the door and this latest offer-ing means the company has big plansfor the future.

The family run business in Epping isalso hoping to add to its first yearsuccess by expanding in the future.Brett said: “We do hope to expand,certainly within the next two to threeyears or so. I don’t know about a newsite though as I think we’d look toexpand on the premises that wealready have.

“We haven’t been massively affectedby the credit crunch, but we don’t askfor money upfront either so that’shelped a lot.”

Essex gym tooffer newprogramme

Gymshorts

In the zone ...A LEISURE centre in Watford hasbecome the first in the country tolaunch a reaction trainer zone fromEscape Fitness.Sports and Leisure Management(SLM) has introduced the conceptto Watford Leisure Centre –Woodside – as part of a £23mrefurbishment with its sister site,Watford Central.Located on the gym floor, the inter-active zone comprises four reactiontrainers set in a square. Each one has three vertical poleswith sensors and lights that moverandomly to indicate the targetsthat users should punch. Members can work out in the zonethemselves or in a 30-minute class.

Summer shape-upCELEBRITY personal trainer PhilMcDonnell has devised a new six-week workout package to shapeclients for summer.The programme, run from his stu-dio in London, is based on his mili-tary training and includes a consul-tation with a nutritionist, who willgo through the client’s fridge andthrow out anything unhealthy.Phil has trained WWF superstarwrester Stone Cold Steve Austinand his technique is based on a cir-cuit of weights based and floorexercises combined with aerobicexercise.

FIA summit heads northTHIS year’s Fitness IndustryAssociation industry summit hasmoved out of London and will takeplace at the Reebok Stadium inBolton.

Part of the brand new FIA FlameConference, the summit will run onJune 10 with the theme ‘Stepping upto the mark – the time is now.”

Professor Alan Maryon Davis, presi-dent of the Faculty of Public Health,will be leading the team of speakers.He will be joined by experts includingDawn Primolo, minister of state forpublic health, Mike Penning,Conservative shadow health ministerand Sue Tibballs, chief executive ofthe Women’s sport and fitness foun-dation.

Andree Deane, chief executive of the

FIA, said: “We are pleased that wehave got the politicians involved,especially as we will not be inWestminster. The summit will havethe usual government flavour and theaim, as always, is to ensure the indus-try is lined up with government poli-cies and focused on communityengagement.”

Andree is urging more independentgyms to get involved with the summitand said it has a lot to offer single siteoperators.

She added: “Often independentsdon’t see the relevance of a govern-ment agenda to them, but it’s smallbusinesses that the government isfocused on. The grants on offer andthe ability to engage with local PCTsis a fantastic opportunity.”

Olympic pentathlete Greg Whyte officiallyopened the country’s first ever drop-in fitness and health advice centre, based in aLuton shopping centre.Promoting the Change4life message fromGovernment, the centre is run by ActiveLuton and offers on-the-spot health MOTsand advice, guidance and support on a

wide range of fitness and health issues.Greg – who trained Chris Moyles and histeam of celebrities to climb Kilimanjaro forComic Relief – was joined at the openingceremony by the High Sheriff ofBedfordshire and the Mayor of Luton.Pictured: Greg (right) opens the centrewith the Mayor of Luton

11

UK FITNESS SCENE

By Mary Ferguson

THE owner of a South Yorkshire gymthat moved premises three years agois making plans to expand followingcomplaints the club is too busy atnight.

Damon Brown, who operatesTemple Gym in Barnsley, has hadplans drawn up to extend the gymfloor by 3,000 sq ft, after losing pay-as-you-go customers put off by the number of people training in theevening.

The leg area will be extended and anew row of dumbbells will be creat-ed, to cater for the many membersthat come to use the free weights.

Damon said: “I really need to freesome space up. It’s too busy in theevenings and I see people come, lookthrough the door and then leave.

“I have to wait and see if I’m grant-ed planning permission but if so, I’mhoping to start work on the extensionin September.”

When Damon moved the gym intothe town centre, he increased mem-bership by a third due to an increasein parking facilities and its centrallocation.

However he admitted he is stillstruggling to attract women, whomake up just a tiny percentage of theoverall membership base.

“I went to see a medium and shetold me I would end up with morewomen than men when I moved, butshe was obviously wrong.

“I think the entrance puts them offso I’m thinking of changing it to glass doors and I deliberately put theCV equipment on the upper floor, so they could look down on themen.”

Damon said he did think aboutconverting the bottom floor – cur-rently used as a ‘leg dungeon’ – to aladies only gym.

But instead he has decided to startrunning daytime classes that hehopes will be popular with women.

He added: “They will have to walkacross the main gym floor to get tothe studio so hopefully they willrealise it’s not that scary.

“At the moment I see women lookthrough the door, see all the men andwalk away – and that needs tochange.”

Edward Lim has beenappointed to theposition of swimmingdevelopment manag-er for BarnsleyPremier Leisure (BPL),which runs severalleisure venuesthroughout the bor-ough.Edward’s responsibili-ty will be to overseethe new free swim-ming initiative, inconjunction withBarnsleyMetropolitanBorough Council,which now providesall under 18s andover 60s with freeswimming at any BPLswimming venue.

Damon BrownDamon said the entrance may put womenoff.

Damon gets ready toexpand after complaints over ‘too busy’ gym

Customer First award for centreSOUTH Yorkshire leisure centreBarnsley Metrodome has secured theCustomer First award in recognitionof its customer service.

The award took seven months tocomplete, less than the national aver-age, and covered customer relations,market awareness and people.

It also looked at how an organisa-

tion builds long-term relationshipswith customers and finds creativeways to retain existing customers andto win new ones.

James Starbuck, chief executive ofBarnsley Premier Leisure – who oper-ate the venue – said: “Customers havealways been our top priority and wehave formed some great relationshipswith them over the years.”

Project helps failing US gym ownersONE of America’s most successfulfitness professionals has launched anew project helping failing US gymowners turn their businessesaround.

Celebrity personal trainer Jackie

Warner will whip struggling gymsinto shape for a new televisionseries, helping with equipment,decor, marketing, classes and staff.Jackie’s Gym Takeover will be shownon Bravo.

12

UK FITNESS SCENE

By Mary Ferguson

THE owner of a gym housed in a con-verted pub claims the loyalty of hermembers means she won’t lose out tolocal authority run leisure centres.

Caroline Thomas, who originallyran Weights and Measures from hergarage, has operated the gym single-handedly for 18 years – becausemembers refuse to come when she isnot there.

She said: “I left someone else run-ning the club a couple of times whenI went away but the members justdidn’t go.

“Because they are used to seeing mehere everyday they come to associatethe gym with my face and they don’tlike change.

“I’m going away this summer for aweek and I’ve decided just to shut itup while I’m gone – it’s just not worthpaying someone else to run things ifno-one will be using it.”

Caroline lives above the gym andcompares her role to that of a publandlady, with people expecting herto be there.

“I’ve got at least ten members withme who first joined when I was oper-ating from the garage and because Ioffer the personal touch, I know theywon’t leave just because someone

charges a little bit less.“I offer something totally different

from the local authority run centresand many of my clients are over 50 and wouldn’t feel comfortablein a leisure centre environment any-way.”

Caroline said that over the years shehas managed to fine-tune the gym’sopening hours to suit the members

but also to give herself some time off.Because the gym is located on a com-muter belt, quiet weekends mean shecan shut up shop, without upsettingtoo many people.

She added: “I’m not worried aboutcompetition from local authority runcentres and I’m not finding the reces-sion is affecting me – it just means Ihave to keep an eye on things.”

Why Caroline weighsin and measures up for her regulars

Caroline, who used to compete in bodybuilding competitions

Over 1,400 fitness professionals attendedthe FitPro SpringConvention, held atLoughboroughUniversity.

International presenters includingRobert Capuccio and NicJarvis shared stages andlecture halls and theopening address was

delivered by Paul Chek.50 exhibitors

showcased their productsduring the trade showand a gangsters andmolls’ themed eveningevent provided a networking opportunityfor delegates.� Pictured: Paul Chek delivered the openingaddress

Fitness professionalsmake a date with FitPro

15

UK FITNESS SCENE

By Dave WrightCreative Fitness Marketing

THERE are few members in theworld who have ever cancelledtheir membership because you’vehelped them get into the bestshape of their life and have solvedthe problem that they had whenthey first joined your club. You seein our industry where generally 80per cent of new members comefrom word of mouth, it’s clear toascertain that the best sales andmarketing technique that youcould apply to your club is quitesimple – get members results.

Let’s face it, if we remember thebasic equation of sales being `ifvalue outweighs cost then you getthe sale every time’ then it’s easy tounderstand that people never buyon price alone, but merely onvalue. And when I mean value, I’mtalking about the emotional reasonfor achieving what they want – canyou put a price on someone whosedoctor has told them that they willdie from obesity unless they loseten stone?

Same goes when referring to cost,this is not only the financial impli-cations of the transaction, butmore so (particularly in our indus-try) down to ‘motivation, procrasti-

nation and intimidation’. Put sim-ply, if you had a sign out the frontthat said ‘free’ would we as anindustry get a 100 per cent pene-tration rate rather than the 10-15per cent that we currently have? Ithink not.

Anyone providing a gym servicein a low socio-economic areawould also notice that booze, ciga-rette and fast food sales are excep-

tional. Someone smoking a £5packet of cigarettes a day would beinvesting £1,825 per year on thatactivity – that’s £152.00 per month.If their goal was to stop smoking,and you helped them get thatresult, then you could charge £150per month and it would be a‘cheap’ membership for them.

Do you know how much it costsfor the Tesco diet, cabbage soupdiet, the blood type diet, Special Kdiet, Weight Watchers, SlimmingWorld or the two day diet?

The point is ‘who cares?’ if it pro-motes to get results, then peoplewill pay and subsequently that iswhy this small selection of ‘resultprogrammes’ together earn morerevenue than our industry as awhole!

Thus the focus has to go back tothe root of the problem in that ifwe help people get results, thenthey stay longer, tell their friends,and our revenues increase.

People will never complain aboutprice if they are getting the desiredresults they want, however, irre-spective of whether you are £9 permonth or £150 per month, if peo-ple aren’t getting those results,then good luck in keeping them asclients or attracting new ones.

The best sales and marketingtechnique ever ...

Dave Wright

Gymshorts

New series with styleLIFE Fitness have launched a newstrength training solution that adds20 pieces to their product range.The Optima series offers single andmulti-exercise machines as well asbenches and racks.The first 13 pieces in the OptimaSeries line were debuted at the2009 IHRSA trade show with sevenmore strength-training machinesthat will be introduced later thisyear. John Stransky, president of LifeFitness, said: “Through research wefound that facilities were lookingfor a strength solution that was notonly easy-to-use and space effi-cient, but was also durable. “The Optima Series integrates styleand reliability into a comprehensiverange of strength equipment thatcan be configured to meet anyspace requirements.”

Membership offerTOTAL Fitness Leisure Clubs haslaunched a new offer to get peoplethrough the doors.The company – which operates 24gyms around the country – is offer-ing special membership packagesfor those signing up to 18-monthcontracts.The deal involves paying full pricefor 12 months membership andgetting the next six months halfprice.

16

UK FITNESS SCENE

By Louise Cordell

A WELLNESS centre in Birminghamhas attracted new members bybranching out from personal traininginto a complete health and wellnessservice.

Osmosis has recently expanded tocater for customer demand and nowoffers a one-stop shop for members,giving them access to physiothera-pists, doctors, psychologists and spe-cialised trainers.

Manager Garry Davis said: “Havingall this expertise to hand means thatwe can get the job done.

“There is no waiting betweenappointments and referrals, and sosuccessful treatment and recoverycan be achieved much more quickly.

“We want to offer a holistic

approach because that is what getsthe best results and our membersknow they are getting the best possi-ble care.”

There are a range of membershipoptions available and clients can takeadvantage of everything from person-alised training and nutrition pro-grammes to full health and fitnessscreenings.

The club has a state-of-the-art stu-dio gym, recently refitted by FitnessSystems, a salon for beauty treat-ments and spaces for its range ofrehabilitation treatments.

Garry added: “Lots of people arecoming to us from other clubsbecause they can’t believe the qualityof care they are getting for a competi-tive price.

“We hand pick the best trainers whoare able to get results – so we canalways give members an honestanswer when they ask us what theycan achieve.”

The club is now set to launch aseries of radio and print marketingcampaigns to bring its uniqueapproach into the public eye.

It has corporate memberships start-ing from just £17 a month, but alsowants to let people know there is nocompromise on quality.

Garry added: “What we want to dois bring as much expertise as we cantogether for the benefit of the mem-bers. Having the right informationwill always help people get the bestresults – and great results are the bestkind of advertising.”

Garry’s complete health and wellnessservice attracts new members

Gymshorts

Visits soar after refurbA MASSIVE refurbishment of a university gym in South Yorkshirehas resulted in an extra 2,000 vis-its each month.The Club Hallam Fitness Suite atSheffield Hallam University’sCollegiate Crescent sports facilityhas received a £2m investment,which included the addition offree weights, flooring and func-tional training equipment includ-ing barbells, weightlifting bars,rubber matting, x-racks, dumb-bells, stability balls and Olympicbars.Equipment was provided byEscape Fitness.The fitness suite also offers a SAQ and plyometric area whichincludes a cable motion dualadjustable pulley, speed ladders,integrated force plate and plyo-metric platforms.

Studio in a spinA POLE dancing studio in Hull hascelebrated its refurbishment withan open day.Visitors were invited in to lookround the Pole 4 Fitness facilityand watch demonstrations in poledancing and martial arts.They were also given the opportu-nity to sign up to its new poledancing course.

Sarah Kinniburgh, GymPlus general manager, with Tracy Archer, Alice Maher and VictorBonett from Malta Tourism Authority.

A LUCKY gym-goer is set to swapdumbbells for seashells after winninga Mediterranean break to Malta.

Sheffield-based Tracy Archerscooped the prize in the GymPlusMalta Challenge, after completing aseries of health and fitness challengesdesigned to encourage members totry new ways of keeping fit.

The competition was a joint venturebetween Sheffield United FC, theMalta Tourism Authority and

GymPlus, the club’s new fitness facili-ty based next to their ground.

Tracy took part in a five-week pro-gramme of activity at the gym beforehaving her name pulled from the hatin a draw of fellow successful mem-bers.

Almost 300 people took part in thechallenge, which included simplemethods of getting fit, including eat-ing their five-a-day and attending thegym at least twice a week.

Challenge works out wellfor lucky gym-goer Tracy

18

UK FITNESS SCENE

EXCESSIVE exercise is often linkedto eating disorders like anorexiaand bulimia and according to thecharity Beat, the fitness industryhas a responsibility to intervene ifthey suspect a member is suffering.

They claim operators have a dutyof care to protect a member’shealth and that they should act inthe same way they would if a mem-ber had any other health conditionsuch as asthma or diabetes.

A Beat spokesman said:“Compulsive exercising is poten-tially dangerous if a person is in aphysically weakened state from a

restricted diet or excessive purging.Bones, heart muscle and kidneyfunction can all be seriously dam-aged, and the harm can be longterm or even fatal.”

The charity is calling for operatorsto include extra questions in thehealth questionnaires they ask newmembers to complete, so they canidentify those who may be poten-tial exercise addicts.

They suggest questions including:� Do you continue to exercisewhen you know you are ill orinjured?� Do you often exercise to com-

pensate for eating too much orinstead of having a meal?� Do you feel very anxious if youcan’t take exercise when you haveplanned to?

Beat claim that answering ‘yes’ totwo or more of these questionscould indicate a risk of compulsiveexercising, and say it would begood practice in these cases to askfor a GP’s approval to exercise.

The spokesman added: “We knowthat exercise has benefits beyondphysical fitness, but the potentialrisks to those people affected bycompulsive exercise are high, andneed to be addressed urgently.”

Psychotherapist Adrianna Irvinespecialises in addictions and toldWorkout that asking the fitness

industry to take some responsibilityfor members who over exercise is‘as mad as asking an off-license totake responsibility for alcoholics’.

She said: “A major symptom ofaddiction is denial, so staffapproaching someone when theydon't even think they have a prob-lem just won't work.

“As a member of a gym myself, if Ithought someone else there had aproblem I wouldn't march up tothem just because I'm a psy-chotherapist.”

She added: “Gym staff are notqualified in psychology and I thinkit would cause untold distress tosomeone and could result in themcancelling their membership.”

As gym operators come under pressure to identify members withexercise addiction, Workout investigates the signs to look out for.

Charity claims operators haveduty of care to exercise addicts

“I HAVE battled anorexia for 19 years and beganlying about how much exercise I was doing at 11.At 16, I was using my local authority run centreto swim for 90 minutes followed by 45 minutes’cardio work in the gym, every day. I weighed fivestones and one day a member of staffapproached saying someone had expressed con-cern that I may have an eating disorder.

“Then she laughed and said she had told herthat couldn’t be true, as I could swim and workout at such a good pace. I was pleased, as itmeant I could keep exercising without staffthinking I had a problem. When I moved house Ijoined a large health club and spent four hours aday exercising there, swimming and doing cardiowork. Despite my low weight, because I couldrun on the treadmill for two hours at a time, staffkept asking me to join the running club,

triathlon team and swimming clubs. But I wasbelow six stone and obviously unwell.

“I was actually rewarded for being one of theclub’s highest users of the year by receiving freeguest passes, coffee and merchandise.

“When I was persuaded by family to see my GP,I explained I had a problem with anorexia andexercise addiction and they offered me a freegym pass to my local leisure centre. So I’d doclasses there, and cardio work at the health club.

“Two years ago I was admitted to The Priory forten months and had to suspend my membershipwhile I was there. I told them why and yet hadregular voicemails asking when I was going tocome back.

“While I was there they told me if I had carriedon exercising the way I was I would be in awheelchair within three months because I had

osteopencia.“When I was discharged I did go back to the

club and they offered me personal training. Iexplained my problems to the trainer and said Iwanted to stick to weights.

“But eventually I began doing cardio again,without my trainer, and although he saw medoing it he never intervened.

“I’m recovering now but I don’t know how Iwould have reacted if gym staff did approach meback then, asking if I had a problem. Because Ididn’t really think I had one, I imagine I wouldhave been angry and defensive.

“But everybody is different and I think it isworth staff stepping in, even if it’s just to makethem aware of the damage that too much exer-cise can do to your body. I believe that is part oftheir job.”

Claire Harris – not her real name– is a recovering exercise addictand anorexic. She said despitedaily workouts lasting up to fourhours, instead of intervening,gym staff encouraged her to domore. She shared her story withMary Ferguson

‘I was actually rewarded for being one of the club’s highest users’

21

UK FITNESS SCENE22

Launch ofUK surveyTHE sixth UK Working in FitnessSurvey – the largest annual survey ofpeople working in the health and fit-ness sector – has been launched.

Working in Fitness gives an insightinto how the fitness industry rewardsits workforce by examining salary lev-els, job satisfaction and spending ontraining and development.

The survey is conducted online bySkillsActive and the Register ofExercise Professionals (REPs).

Liz Smith, research manager atSkillsActive, said: “In previousresearch for our Sector SkillsAgreement we estimated an average8,500 job openings a year in the fit-ness industry to meet staff turnoverand the creation of new positions.One of the survey aims is to find outwhether the industry is doing enoughto attract new, as well as retain exist-ing staff to meet these futuredemands.”

New strategyinvitation forindependentsINDEPENDENT gyms have beeninvited to get involved in a new strat-egy to introduce inactive people toexercise.

The MoreActive4Life campaign hasbeen designed by the Department ofHealth and the FIA and will run forthree years, targeting those who dolittle physical activity.

It is hoped that by running walking groups and ‘taster’ gym sessions, operators will be able toattract new members who may nothave previously thought about joining.

Matt Reents, public affairs and poli-cy officer at the FIA, told Workoutthey are hoping to get 81,000 peopleto take part during the two monthsthe campaign will run over the sum-mer.

He said: “The aim is to attract thosewho may be alienated by the gym butafter taking part in this programme,may have gained the confidence toconsider joining.”

FIA members can sign up to the campaign for free and willreceive promotional material whichcan be joint branded with their ownlogo.

By Claire Lodge

TREATING members more likefriends than customers is the way toa successful business according to anindependent gym owner.

Mark Hockin, who has owned TheFitness Mill in Gloucester for 14years, says little touches such asarranging bowling nights and mealsout with gym users pays off.

Mark Said: “I think a large part ofwhy we’ve managed to be successful

is because of the relationship wehave with our members. We socialisetogether, go out on bowling nightsand have even gone out for meals asa group. When they come to the gymwe even have chats over cups of teaand give advice on what kind oftraining they want. We rely complete-ly on customer closeness.”

The family-run gym is also home tosome of the country’s up and comingsports stars.

Olympic runner Dan Robinson uses

freeweights at the gym, which hasproven to be one of the most popularareas for the company, as well as pro-fessional and academy rugby players.“The freeweights are definitely themost popular thing at the gym, we dobeauty treatments such as facials andmanicures which isn’t a massive areafor us but we do like to try to addsomething different. In fact theatmosphere is quite funny at timesbecause at one side there will be theprofessional rugby players lifting

weights and at the other end therewill be 75 year old women doing theirthing, so there’s always a good con-trast.”

Mark said of the recent recession:“If I’m honest, it’s not affected us thatmuch, business is pretty much thesame as always. Saying that though,we have tried to make it easier forothers who may be struggling tocarry on coming to the gym by lower-ing certain prices and offering specialdeals to help out if need be.”

Treat your members like friends says Mark

Why is group indoor cycling sopopular?Since it was launched in Europeand the UK from USA, indoorcycling has had a great impact onthe cycling world and it has shiftedall those who took part in groupstudio classes from pounding(impact) the floor to a non-pound-ing (no-impact) movements.Another reason is because it reach-es everyone, not just the condi-tioned athlete and sporty personbut also the low fitness level andalso allows people to use it as partof rehabilitation after coming backfrom injuries.

How does a gym operator benefitfrom adding studio cycling to thetimetable?There is no doubt that more andmore health and fitness clubs,gyms or even private studios areadding the programme to theirtimetable, and the main reason isthe demand to the popularityindoor cycling is having.

How important is it to get theequipment right and how shouldan operator go about it?Very important indeed. To havegood equipment in your club is like

having good foundations whenbuilding a house. Unfortunatelysome clubs have made or are goingto make wrong decisions whenbuying new or replacing gymequipment. The main issue is qual-ity versus cost and very few choosequality.

What are the most common mis-conceptions about indoor studiocycling?Where shall I start? For many yearsit has been said that you are notdoing it properly if you don't sweatbuckets or if you don't pedal at

100mph or do some press ups onthe handle bar or riding with onehand on the bar and the otherbehind your back while standing.The bike should be used like a bike.If we need to strength the upperbody then we go to the gym anduse the right strength equipment,or core training equipment.

Will its popularity continue do youthink?I have no doubt. In the last severalyears I have seen more and morenew Schwinn instructors comingout from our ranks of all ages.

The popularity ofindoor cycling willcontinue to growat the same paceas it has over thelast 20 yearsaccording to oneindustry expert.Workout caughtup with SchwinnMaster TrainerStefano Ruggerito find out more.

Why studio cycling hasreached everyone ...

Schwinn Master Trainer Stefano Ruggeri

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

ITS city centre location means the gym attractsprofessionals and city dwellers but with two largeuniversities in Sheffield, over 50 per cent ofmembers are students.

Heavily discounted prices and its proximity tohalls of residence makes it attractive to youngpeople aiming to offset their unhealthy lifestylesand Stuart is reaping the rewards.

He said: “We actually fell into the student mar-ket – at first we weren’t really bothered by it andwere not going out of our way to sell to students.But we realised the university intake to the citywas growing every year so being a businessman,I thought it would be a good idea to try and get apercentage of them.”

Despite the success that came from that, Stuartsaid he builds the business on its full-payingmembers and sees the student stream as abonus.

“Our aim from the beginning was not to differ-entiate between students and ‘regular’ members– we want to treat them the same. The £10 mem-bership gives students the same access to every-thing as everyone else, we just wanted to make itaffordable for them.”

The £10 membership is only available on a 12month contract and other packages are set

around the term dates. Full membership fornon-students is £26 a month and Stuart said theheavily discounted student rate reflects the factthat they are not always in the city for the fullyear: “We appreciate that many go home for thesummer but will still be paying for the gym, and£10 a month hurts a bit less than £30.

“In the summer months the gym’s use goesdown by 50 per cent but during term time, thestudents keep the gym busy during the day whenmany other clubs are quiet. Because they havemore time, it means the club is then clearer forthe city workers who want to work out in the

evening.”The Fitness Club’s main competition comes

from the gym run by Sheffield Hallam University,based a few hundred yards away. They chargesimilar prices, but Stuart said a lot of studentslike to have choice and are put off by how busy itgets. The University of Sheffield’s gym, S10,charges three times the price.

Stuart added: “We don’t expect student mem-bers to stay for more than a year as they are sotransient, often moving across the city. So whenit comes to September, we always start with aclean slate.”

STUART and his partner ChristineGreenfield-Day took over the gym in1998, after working as leisure centreconsultants in London.

Previously called The Fringe, theclub had changed hands numeroustimes and eventually shut, leavingpeople out of pocket and a bad rep-utation in its wake.

Stuart said: “After it went bust, theclub was bought by some membersand I came up here with the view ofhelping them make it work, but

ended up buying it off them instead.The place was basically falling apartand although we didn’t have hugeamounts of money to throw at it, weknew it needed a fresh look.”

Over the last ten years, Stuart saidthe aim has been to modernise theclub and move with the times.

“The first two years were toughand the wolves were at the door allthe time. We spent a long timebuilding up its reputation, changingits name and trying to rebuild the

brand. Our objective was to create aclub we would like to work out inourselves, with a big emphasis oncustomer care. We know that we liveor die by our service.”

The gym floor has been extendedinto what used to be a large bararea, the Jacuzzi has been mod-ernised and a comprehensive classtimetable now operates in the stu-dio. A beautician and hairdressersupstairs provides extra revenue.

The gym is housed in a listed

building, rented from the pub nextdoor, so there is little chance of anextension. Instead, light colourschemes and large mirrors installedon the gym floor create the illusionof space.

Stuart added: “Because there isnowhere to expand to we have tomake things look as light and openas possible. We want to continuemodernising but I like to think wehave created a good model here andthe aim is to keep on tweaking it.”

‘We know that we live or die by our service’

Half of the members atThe Fitness Club arestudents, with somepaying just £10 amonth. Mary Fergusonspoke to owner StuartBaywater to find outhow he makes themodel work.

Stuart offers degree of flexibility

24

UK FITNESS SCENE

Greg keen to takestreet schemein new directionBy Christina Eccles

A FITNESS instructor who launched apilot scheme to get a local street intoexercise has revealed the changes hewould make if the programme wasrepeated.

Greg Lourens – fitness manager atEZE Fitness in Redditch – created FitStreet with the aim of encouraginglocal residents to take part in a six-week exercise programme to boosttheir fitness levels.

However, he was disappointed withthe number of people who took partand the lack of media coverage gen-erated by the programme and he toldWorkout that although he is keen todo it again, he will be making somechanges.

Greg said: “We decided personallyto contact local streets to get peopleinto the campaign but we found thatwe could not get enough people fromthe streets to make the campaigneffective. Our aim was to get 20-30people, but only managed 10.

“I would definitely like to try it againbut would like to get involved withplaces like Tesco and Sainsburys andmarket it from a different angle.”

Greg added that after not being ableto recruit sufficient numbers, the gymdecided to focus specifically on theover 50s market and achieved greatersuccess in this area.

He added that if the gym was to dothis again, he would consider market-ing it at one particular group ratherthan everyone on a street.

He added: “This was received quitewell.

“Sometimes the gym is quieter inthe morning or afternoon and theycould come at that time.

“I think from that angle it workedquite well and we have generatedsome membership from the schemeand had some good feedback.”

New fitness suite opens at hotelThe Royal Chace Hotel in Enfield,Middlesex has recently opened a new fit-ness suite featuring SportsArt Fitnessequipment.The cardio-vascular room has nine individ-ual fitness stations including treadmills,cross-trainers, exercise bikes, a stepper, arower and Power Plate.A resistance multi-station machine, freeweights and a stretching area are locatedin an adjacent room.Brian Nicholas, hotel MD, said: “The newfitness suite was part of our long termexpansion plans to maintain our regularclientele and also to attract new cus-tomers, by providing additional facilities

and a perfect venue for residents to exer-cise without having to leave the hotel.”

26

PUPILS on study leave in NorthLanarkshire Council secondaryschools will get free gym membershipand access to swimming and classesto help them cope with the stress ofexams.

North Lanarkshire Leisure hasteamed up with the council to offerfree all-inclusive health and fitnessmemberships at 11 leisure facilities,through its Access NL scheme, forthose on study leave in school yearsS5 and S6.

Although the free membership peri-od will come to an end after exams,pupils will be able to continue theirprogramme by taking advantage of aspecial promotional offer.

Chief executive of NorthLanarkshire Leisure Blane Doddssaid: "We are confident that pupilswill benefit hugely from this scheme,both in terms of their physical fitnessand from the added mental edge thatcan come from exercise during theirall important study period.”

Study leave pupils to getfree gym membership

By Mary Ferguson

GYM operators are not spendingenough time with their clients to beable to offer them effective nutri-tional advice, it has been claimed.

Cain Leathem, director of GBFitness and a practicing nutrition-ist, told Workout that when itcomes to diet advice, trainers arestill simply handing out generalguidelines.

He said: “It shouldn’t be a case ofone size fits all. Everyone is differ-ent and I don’t agree with a lot ofmethods, for example metabolictyping, that simply try to pigeon-hole people.

“It’s not necessarily about doinglots of expensive tests, but simplyspending more time talking to yourclients will help you understandmore about their lifestyles and eat-ing patterns, enabling you to givebetter advice. More time needs tobe invested and standards need tobe raised.”

And when it comes to trainingstaff, Cain said learning aboutnutrition face to face is the onlyway to do it.

“I don’t believe in the currenttrend of correspondence courses,it’s important to sit in front ofsomeone and interact, like you willdo with a client. In order to gainthat trust with someone you alsoneed to learn about reading bodylanguage and how their mind workswhen it comes to their eating pat-terns. The two areas being hugelyneglected in the fitness industry arepsychology and nutrition.”

To get enough information from aclient, Cain recommends spending

a total of two hours with them,exploring the principles of nutritionso that they understand why youare asking them to make changes totheir diet. The problem, he said, isthat not many gyms can afford thetime or money to do this.

Cain suggested a way for gyms toeducate both members and staff innutrition is to hold seminars withinthe club, hosted by experts, for bothto attend together.

Empowering clients with knowl-edge about nutrition will help themmake their own choices, meaningthey will see quicker results.

He added: “I tend to only see myclients once or twice as I give themthe tools to make changes them-selves. If someone keeps comingback to you with the same prob-lems, then you haven’t done yourjob properly.”

‘We decided personally tocontact local streets to getpeople into the campaign butwe found that we could not getenough people from the streetsto make the campaign effective’

‘It shouldn’t be a caseof one size fits all’

Cain Leathem

BOXING

Sponsored by:28

THUMP Training Systems has been amajor player in the fitness industrysince 2001, developing boxing for fit-ness courses and workshops basedon a unique system of teaching.

Founder Christian Marchegianinoticed a massive cultural shiftin group exercise and personal

training which prompted him todevelop multi level courses forinstructors.

THUMP Boxing is now taught inover 1000 gyms across Australia, NewZealand and the UK meaning thatTHUMP is committed to providingthe most up to date research andeducation to all fitness and healthprofessionals.

Industry associations throw weightbehind course providers who offer

quality programmes and education tofitness industry professionals.

Industry regulations are also mak-ing it compulsory for all trainers tohave completed a boxing accredita-tion course to be able to obtain insur-ance for utilising boxing for fitness intheir sessions.

Enquiries: 01253 392802 Website:www.thumpboxing.co.uk

The future of fitness gets THUMPED

A masterclass designed to help Boxerciseinstructors brush up on their skills washeld in London in May.Organised by Andy Wake, director ofBoxercise, the event saw almost 250 pro-fessionals come together at BrunelUniversity.It was the first training class run independ-ently by Boxercise and plans are already in

place for a similar event next year.Andy said: “We chose to deliver the masterclass independently so that it couldbe free for instructors, some of whomcame from as far afield as Italy andAustralia.“It was a huge success and if we weren’tso busy delivering training courses, we’dlike to do even more similar events.”

By Mary Ferguson

A BOXING professional tak-ing classes in an independ-ent gym is set to open herown training studio inHebden Bridge.

Kate Dakers has joinedforces with another boxinginstructor to launch thefacility, which will be basedat the site of a former chil-dren’s nursery.

She has been workingfrom Waterside Gym forthree years, taking mixedand ladies-only Boxerciseand boxing circuits session.

She said: “I came overfrom Zimbabwe a few yearsago and have never beenable to find a club I wouldlike to train in, which is whyI am opening my own.”

The new club will offer

training for men andwomen, as well as female-only sessions. Kate attrib-utes much of boxing’sincreasing popularityamong women toHollywood actress HilarySwank, who transformedher body when training forher role as a boxer in MillionDollar Baby.

She added: “I think thefilm has really inspiredwomen to get involved andfor both men and women,nothing beats boxing whenit comes to combattingstress.”

As well as a ring and bags,the new facility will includea full set of weights, barbells, medicine balls andareas for shadow boxingand skipping.

Kate packs a punchin Hebden Bridge

Kate Dakers Actress Hilary Swank transformed her bodythrough boxing.

29

BOXINGwww.workout-uk.co.uk

PADBOX is a course designed by IanBurbedge and Andy Scott for person-al trainers and fitness instructors toteach realistic and safe methods ofusing boxing pads.

The course can be done by begin-ners through to experienced coacheswho are looking to add to the skillsthey already have or do somethingnew in their sessions.

Everything from the basic punchesand footwork through to the shadowboxing and padwork is taught fromboth Orthadox and Southpaw boxingstances.

Ian said: “We believe that coachesshould have the ability to work fromboth stances to enable to adapt theirfootwork to that of their client toensure the client gets the best out oftheir session.”

Ian has been involved in boxing fornearly 30 years competing as an ama-teur and training alongside a range ofprofessional champions, currentlyworking with former British light wel-terweight champion Lenny Daws.The course is all practical, and taughtin a relaxed atmosphere.

Telephone: 07930 376 995 Website:www.padbox.co.uk

Serious about your boxing training?

Virgin Active has launched a boxing classaimed at those who may be intimidated bythe sport.The Punch classes focus on body condition-ing and burning calories, using high repeti-tion combinations to create muscle tonerather than bulk.The class uses the idea of the boxing roundformat by including 12 three-minuterounds of sparring and pad work in a one-hour class. They include combinations of

the three main moves employed in boxing;hooks, jabs and upper-cuts.Carl McCartney, national group exercisemanager for Virgin Active said: “Boxing isoften perceived as being all about testos-terone and can sometimes be seen as anintimidating activity to participate in.Punch is the perfect class to combat thatmentality as it gives every type of membera fun, stimulating and energising work-out.”

Taster sessions designed to introduceteenage girls to boxing were held at awomen-only gym in Sheffield. The AmateurBoxing Association of England (ABAE)teamed up with the club to offer the ses-sions as part of the FIA’s Go programme,designed to encourage girls in years 10and 11 to take up sport. Go Box was heldat Ladyzone, with Silverdale School girls

and the gym’s own staff taking part.ABAE President and MP Richard Cabornalso attended the session to see how theycould encourage women and girls to getinvolved in the sport. Information on box-ing clubs was distributed following thesession, and it is now hoped that Go Boxtasters will be included in other Go pro-grammes across the country.

Cruiserweight champion boxer DavidHaye delivered a keynote address at theFitPro Spring Convention.Along with trainer Adam Booth he pre-

sented Outbox – a boxing skills coursefor fitness professionals – and auto-graphed a pair of boxing gloves for char-ity.

UK FITNESS SCENE30

by Dave Cartwright, businessdevelopment manager,Thomson Fitness Consultants

BEING involved with the fitnessindustry for over 25 years I’ve learnedthat this business isn’t easy. Clubowners often believe that simply fill-ing a room full of equipment encour-ages members to queue up and join.In reality you need to be skilled inmany facets of business to be suc-cessful. Implementing Thomson sys-tems has enabled clubs to dramati-cally increase income, and results fortheir members, as well as consider-ably increasing retention and refer-rals. We have found that to rely on

just memberships, clubs are missingout on the biggest income streamsavailable to them. By offering ourunique services and systems thatguarantee results, subsequently cre-ates a unique niche in the marketthat the big chains cannot competewith, and can more then double yourcash flow.

For a free business consultation contact07717 827 173 or 0208 553 5572

Increasing club income through ‘guaranteed results’

Struggling gymscould add valuefor membersBy Christina Eccles

GYMS struggling to bring in new cus-tomers could earn extra cash byencouraging existing clients to spendmore on membership packages,according to the operator of a ladiesonly club.

Martin Greene’s gym, FountainLadies Health Studio in Nottingham,already has three levels of member-ship – bronze, gold and platinum –but Martin has recently introduced‘plus packages’ where members payan extra £10 per month on top oftheir existing package in return for a30-minute personal training sessiononce a fortnight.

Martin – who owns the gym with hispartner Caroline – told Workout thatin challenging economic times, get-ting people to upgrade their member-ship, is a good way for the gym tobring in more money.

He said: “With an apparent down-turn in the market, to expect newmembers just to walk through thedoors might be foolhardy. If we getthem that’s great, but if not we haveto create new income streams whilealso adding value for members.

“We decided that you can ‘plus’ onany of the memberships andlaunched this just after Easter. 36members have taken it up so far.”

The gym is also achieving great suc-cess with its latest piece of equipment– a vibration plate. The plate has onlybeen installed for a few days but bycharging a fee to use it, Martinbelieves it will provide another sourceof income for the gym.

Members are charged a rate of £3.50for a 15-minute session but are beingencouraged to book in blocks of 12sessions for £30 in order to make asaving.

The equipment is also being openedup to non members at a cost of £5 persession – meaning that taking out amembership package becomes anattractive option for regular users.

Martin added: “If we carry on at thisrate, we could easily earn about£2,000 per month from it.

“It is early days and it could settledown but we are trying to tie it intopeople’s programmes so that they useit once or twice a week so that it haslongevity.”

WOMEN-ONLY gym chain Curvesswapped money for morsels duringits annual charity food drive.

For one month, all the clubs world-wide waived the joining fee for newmembers and instead asked them todonate a bag of food, which wasgiven to local organisations that helpthe homeless.

The Cullercoats club in the northeast collected £3,000 worth of foodfor youth homelessness charityDepaul, and owner Sholeh Cox told

Workout most of the donations camefrom existing members.

She said: “The gym here is like acommunity and whenever anythinglike this comes along everyone pitch-es in.

“It’s a win-win situation for every-one, and we’re very proud to partici-pate.”

Last year, the Curves Food Drivecollected over 6 million kilograms offood for local communities all overthe world.

Chain swaps money for morsels

Company offers automatedretention programme for clubsRETENTION Management have con-ducted proven research into retentionstrategies to provide an automatedcommunication and retention pro-gramme for health clubs.

For example, the new member inte-gration element automatically sendsmotivational tips via email to newmembers on how to make exercisepart of their daily, weekly and month-ly lifestyles with a positive supportivemessage based on members’ individ-ual attendance patterns. These newmember support messages are deliv-ered each week for the first eightweeks of membership.

Once members complete the inte-gration programme they receive fort-nightly health tips via email, with asupportive message based on individ-ual attendance patterns. Focus is on

communicating in a timely and moti-vational manner with every memberthroughout the term of their mem-bership.

Special attention is given to low andnon users – those most in danger ofcancelling. Clubs that utiliseRetention Management’s automatedmember support service take all thepraise from members as RetentionManagement is invisible to the clubmembers with email messages beingspecifically branded to each club andhaving their ‘from’ and ‘reply’ emailaddress.

To complement these memberfocused emails, RetentionManagement has recently imple-mented a sales prospecting elementto further assist their customers inacquiring new members.

PERSONAL trainer Tom Eastham iscelebrating after being awarded thetitle of Fitness First UK PersonalTrainer of the Year.

Tom – a trainer at the TottenhamCourt Road club – was awarded thetop spot after the judges considered anumber of factors including clienttestimonials, representation ofFitness First, personal and clientdevelopment and growth of business.

Tom said: “It means so much to winthis award against so many good per-

sonal trainers and for my hard workto be rewarded. I look forward to con-tinuing to make a difference for myclients and Fitness First.”

Tom’s prize was a week’s holiday fortwo at the Amathus Beach Hotel inLimassol, Cyprus. Pictured from left: PT and product development manager Alan Holl, TomEastham, George Kyriacou (business development manager Europe for AmathusBeach Hotel) and UK managing directorJohn Gamble.

Top spot for trainer Tom

31KIDS’FITNESS

Sponsored by:

INDEPENDENT gyms now have theopportunity to tap into the fastestgrowing sector in the market withSHOKK, The Youth Activity People.

It is vital that clubs consider theiroptions for the youth sector, positive-ly impacting on retention and tap-ping into the lucrative family market.

SHOKK provides solutions on alllevels to take the headache out of thisprocess, from training on your exist-ing equipment, specialist youthoptions, all the way up to a completefranchise set up.

Having launched the franchise over12 months ago, SHOKK has proven itssuccess both within an existing cluband as stand alone. The revolutionaryoffering provides a safe and motiva-

tional environment for young peopleto get active, meet friends and havefun. From dance mats, to streetdance and cheerleading classes thereis something that appeals to all. Eachcustomer is supported throughoutthe process.

Enquiries: 0161 8777870 Website:www.shokk.co.uk

SHOKK provides independent operatorswith simple solutions for family market

Schools shunoffer of workout for pupilsBy Christina Eccles

A PERSONAL trainer is fuming aftertwo local schools shunned his offer tolet students work out in his studio.

Jamie Sutherland, who works atCitigym in Fife, said the studio hadcontacted the schools to ask if theywould like to bring pupils in to sam-ple classes such as aerobics and corestability – but they both turned himdown.

Jamie said: “The feedback that wegot from local schools was that theythought it wasn’t necessary to showthe kids anything else.

“Our argument was that the chil-dren would like to do other things,not just what they do in PE. We wereoffering to give them something extrathat the schools could not provide.

“We were totally disappointed. Weare the second most obese nation in

the Western world so for schools togive us something like that isabsolutely ridiculous. But we are abusiness and we can’t spend a lot oftime chasing these people.”

He also revealed that the companylooked into trialling some items ofchildren’s fitness equipment and con-tacted primary schools in the area tosee if they would be interested in thisbut again had no luck.

He added: “We contacted about adozen primary schools but had noresponse. Our first contacts were theactive schools co-ordinators but theynever got back to us. This is down to alack of knowledge and a lack of train-ing and local authorities need to stepup to the mark.”

Jamie added that the studio wouldconsider contacting schools again infuture and they are hoping for a morepositive response next time.

Gyms in East Sussex have teamed up with the local fire service to offer theirfacilities to a new initiative that combinesfitness with fire safety messages forteenagers.BLAZE (Believe, Learn, Achieve, Zest,Explore) is being delivered by East SussexFire & Rescue Service and targets 13-25year old children with health issues.Freedom Leisure are one of the partners

that have helped to provide a series of sixweekly sessions which feature activitiessuch as street dance, circuit training andmountain biking, as well as classroom-based activities that discuss subjects suchas healthy living and bullying.Once the programme has been successfullycompleted, each participant will receiveeither a Freedom Leisure pass or a placeon a water sports course.

Former Gladiator andathlete Kate Stapleshas revealed plans toopen a bootcamp dedi-cated to children’s fit-ness.Kate who already runsan adult version –Adventure Boot Camps– is hoping to expandinto the kids’ fitnessmarket after achievingsuccess with her exist-ing camps.Olympic athlete DaleyThompson – who isone of the companydirectors – is alsoinvolved in the project.

IFI/REHABILITATION

www.workout-uk.co.uk32

CENTRAL YMCA has joined forceswith Westminster NHS to offer a newlocation where patients can accessadvice on physical activity in order tomanage health problems and aidrecovery.

The partnership is designed toenhance an existing exercise referralscheme, which has been operating inthe borough since 2003.

Participants are referred to theCentral YMCA Club where a person-alised mini-fitness assessment is

made, followed by four one-hourone-to-one sessions with an NVQLevel 3 trained fitness instructor.Participants then take part in sixsupervised gym sessions before com-pleting a further questionnaire to re-examine fitness levels.

To keep activity levels up, those whocomplete their ten weeks are invitedto join the club at a reduced rate,with a supporting programme of freeupdates and classes to keep activityvaried, interesting and effective.

Central YMCA’s programme manag-er Declan Duncan said: “We providereferrals with a realistic way to exer-cise – producing an personalised,varied programme with which theycan engage and enjoy. This is notabout achieving a ‘body beautiful’but about encouraging healthy livingand improving all round wellbeing.”

Central YMCA hopes to work withother boroughs in London to contin-ue to grow and expand the reach ofthe programme.Declan Duncan

Partnership to enhance referral scheme

ACCESSIBLE fitness facilities madetheir mark during Inclusive FitnessWeek, which ran from May 11-17.

The event aimed to provide as manypeople as possible with the opportu-nity to experience new activities andunderstand that activity is for every-one.

This year marked the second annualawareness event which was devel-oped by the Inclusive FitnessInitiative (IFI) in 2008, bringingtogether IFI accredited facilities.Focusing on introducing disabledpeople to local leisure and physicalactivity opportunities, the eventplaces inclusion firmly at the fore-front of the fitness and leisure agen-

das. This year’s event focused on thenine facilities that have recentlyachieved IFI Mark accreditation andwho officially launched as accreditedfacilities throughout the week.

Through attaining the IFI Mark,facilities have been assessed in theareas of facility and service provisionincluding accessibility of facilities,provision of inclusive fitness equip-ment and staff training and ensuringthat staff are trained in disabilityequality.

They are also required to have suit-ably qualified fitness instructors inexercise programming for disabledpeople.

Accessible fitnessfacilities highlighted

Escalade International Ltd has launched a new collection of light commercialproducts targeted at rehabilitation facilities and personal trainers.The range features four multigyms from Inspire Fitness as well as a light com-mercial cardio collection including upright cycle, semi-recumbent cycle, ellipticaltrainer and stepper trainer.

Sports medicine centretreats 60 patients a dayMATRIX Fitness Systems hasequipped the Bupa Wellness SportsMedicine Centre to help assess clientinjuries and assist with recovery.

The centre in London’s Barbican hassix treatment rooms and employsaround 20 clinicians including char-tered physiotherapists, sports andorthopaedic physicians, orthopaedicsurgeons, osteopaths, rheumatolo-gists, podiatrists and sports massage

therapists.They treat an average of 70 clients a

day with problems ranging from backand neck pain, work-related overuseconditions, sports injuries, upper andlower limb problems, arthritic pain,traumatic injuries and postural re-education.

The services are available to thegeneral public and those with privatehealth care.

FREEDOMLEISURE Sandwich hasrelaunched its GP Referral schemewith a special concessionary mem-bership, in association with local GPsand the Primary Care Trust.

The scheme, which runs at a num-ber of other freedomleisure centresacross the South East, supports peo-

ple and helps them to feel comfort-able with the idea of exercise afterillness or injury.

GP referral clients are beingoffered a concessionary prepaid rateof £45 for the programme, or analternative 12-week pay as you gooption.

Referral scheme relaunched with special offer

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT

Sponsored by:

By Mary Ferguson

AN independent health club withadjoining training academy is push-ing forward plans to promote itscourses.

Simone’s, based in Stroud, has beenworking towards an official launch ofthe academy for two years and thecourses have now been recognised byCentral YMCA Qualifications andREPS.

The first ever winner of REP’sLifetime Achievement award in 2004,Simone Price has also worked as atutor for Fitness Wales and has beenrunning the health club for six years.

She said: “I used to do some work inadult education and someone I metsaid that because I knew so much, Ishould set up an academy by myself.I thought it was about time I sharedmy knowledge.”

The courses have been advertisedwithin the gym and some of thetrainees are members who havetaken an interest in the industry.

One of the academy’s most recentrecruits is an 84-year-old gym mem-ber training for a level one qualifica-tion in lifestyle management.

“We had one guy with an injurywho started exercising with us as partof a rehabilitation programme and

after completing one of our courses,he is now working as a fitnessinstructor himself. It’s a great resultand hopefully his story will be one ofmany.”

The first aid programmes haveattracted interest from the localcouncil as well as the fitness industry,and Simone has even worked trainingfuneral directors.

She added: “We would ideally likeREPS points attached to the first aidcourses but I know it’s a very longprocess and being a small business,we don’t have the administrationsupport to do that.”

Courses on offer at the academyinclude exercise to music, studioresistance training, circuit trainingand Pilates mat instruction.

SIMONE is aiming to offer more levelone qualification courses in a bid toattract more people to the industry.

She said: “Many training providersdon’t bother with level one but I wantto get that side of the academy flying.There are a lot of people out therewho are very practical but don’t havethe maths or English skills that theyneed to get them into level two suc-cessfully. By offering level one, I’d liketo think I’m opening up the industryto more people – for example gymcleaners or receptionists, who wouldlike to dip their toes in the water.”

Simone said ultimately, she wouldlike to be able to employ some of thepeople who pass through the trainingcourse.

She is working on making a formallink with the local college and saidshe has already had interest from stu-dents there. She added: “Some pupilsdoing BTECs come to me on theirown accord saying their courses don’tconcentrate enough on gym work.Some of them have done the CYQ’swith me and then been ahead of oth-ers doing the BTEC. They have had topay for it themselves but they will bethe ones out working while the restare thinking about applying for yetanother free course.”

Bid to attractmore people

Course delegates during training

Simone Price

Academy’s on the ball

33

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT

www.workout-uk.co.uk34

By Lyndsey Smith

A GYM in Harlow has partnered upwith a local college to help studentson fitness courses understand theindustry before entering employ-ment.

Ripped will help students with prac-tical areas of their course and theywill be allowed to use the gym fortheir own college assessments.

Owner Michelle Meade said: “I con-tacted the college and discoveredthey run levels one, two and threehealth and fitness diplomas, andthere are plans to begin personaltraining courses too.

“We have teamed up and now havetwo groups of 26 students coming inwhen one of our personal trainerswill deliver a fitness assessment

demonstration – one session wherethey are shown and perform the teststhemselves, and another where theydeliver the tests to each other. Thiswill complete part of their unit on fit-ness.”

The tests they have to do are sit andreach, the Havard step test, BMI,skinfold, one minute sit-up test, oneminute press-up test and the V02treadmill test. The two top markedstudents will have the opportunity forwork experience, shadowing thegym’s personal trainers, and Michelleadded: “We are delighted to be ableto help out and put something back.We will do whatever we can to ensurethe quality, knowledge and experi-ence of the students who are studyingin sports and leisure achieve the bestpossible grades.”

Harlow gymteams up withlocal college

From left, Charlie Coleman (student), Steve Blaney (Harlow College), Ben MacIntyre(Ripped Gym personal trainer) and Chloe Fisher (student).

Students will be allowed to use Ripped for their own college assessments.

THE National Skills Academy forSport and Active Leisure hasannounced two new additions toits regional business developmentteams.

Peter Cooke, pictured above, hasjoined as business developmentdirector for London and JuliaWhitehead has joined as businessdevelopment manager for theSouth East.

Peter has over 25 years’ experi-ence in the sector, holding varioussports development roles at SportEngland in London and the North

West for 13 years, before joining anNGB for disability sport where hehelped set up the EFDS (EnglishFederation of Disability Sport).

He said: “I have experience ofworking across the industry andthis has given me a good under-standing of the key partners andstakeholders in London and thepolitical environment in whichthey operate. I hope this will beinvaluable for the development ofthe Skills Academy and the deliv-ery of a highly relevant pro-gramme of work.”

New additions to Academy team

35TRAINING – ADVERTISER’S ANNOUNCEMENT

By Alan Runacres, director oftraining, WABBA Qualifications

IN this article, we are going to lookat some of the most importantaspects of training and nutrition usedfor building mass. Undoubtedly, theconcept is open to many interpreta-tions, which may lead to over train-ing or zero results.

Advanced training strategies play ahighly important role in the cycle oftraining progression, and as alwayswe are assuming the client has nocontra-indications to undertakingthe programme, and will have beenshown correctly how to perform therelevant exercises and strategies in aslow and controlled manner.

Firstly as nutrition plays a massiverole in both energy provision andrepair processes, let’s ensure clientsare getting at least two grams per kiloof body weight in quality proteineach day as an absolute minimum.This should be equal to between 30per cent of the daily calorie intake,with between 50 & 60 per cent ofcalories coming from carbohydrates.

Supplementation should be treatedas just that, and not a convenientreplacement for most meals eachday. I have personally seen peoplehaving as many as four or even fivesupplement meals each day and onlyone actual food meal, which defeatsthe whole value of quality foodintake.

Branch chain amino acids havebeen proven to assist in the preven-tion of muscle tissue breakdown

from intense anaerobic exercise andif used should be ideally consumedthem between 30 and 45 minutesbefore exercise and again immediate-ly afterwards.

In the first month taking a proteinand carbohydrate blended drink onehour before and again immediatelyafter the intense training and onemore elsewhere making three shakesper day plus also a minimum of threequality meals per day would be agood starting point.

Consuming protein drinks during aworkout actually detracts from exer-cise performance, as the digestivesystem recruits 40 per cent of thetotal blood volume to function effi-ciently, whereas when not beingutilised only five per cent of bloodvolume goes through the intestinaltract, leaving an additional 35 percent of blood volume to be directedto the working muscles.

To compensate for larger than usualamounts of protein intake and thesubsequent excess Nitrogen produc-tion in the body, it is wise to increaseyour fluid intake of low sodium waterto a minimum of between two andthree litres per day to reduce kidneyfiltration stress levels when the nitro-gen fractions pass into the Uric Cyclebefore excretion.

The training should primarily bebased around heavy traditional com-pound weights for around eightweeks before changing to overcomeadaptation to overload principles. Atthis stage bring in isolation exercises

before compound movements for thenext 8 weeks to create a more intensestimulation on the compound exer-cises.

It’s not really any good just sayingI’ll keep adding more weight. Therecomes a time when this is just notpossible each week or month, so anew kind of muscle stimulus is need-ed.

During the next eight week trainingphase we could bring drop sets onthe last set and eventually the lasttwo sets of each major compoundexercise after the Isolations withnever more than two pyramid setsbefore the two drop-sets on this partof the training cycle.

Finally for the last eight week train-ing cycle we could dump the dropsets strategy and bring in pre-exhaust

super sets onto certain exercises.These will give an intense ‘barbecueeffect’ on your aching muscles.

Now when you go back to yourbasic compound – heavy weighttraining with low reps your recoverywill be awesome and after about fourweeks your strength will shoot backup and overtake where you had gotto the previous year.

This almost creates a complete new‘cheat’ on the muscles to do morethan they have been able to do any-time before. Watch your resultsimprove and better still watch peoplewatching you. Until next time, spreadthe word and keep training real.� Alan Runacres has over 35 years’ gymexperience, been WABBA director of train-ing for 14 years and is the author of threebooks and over 100 published articles.

Improving your size and strength

Alan Runacres

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT

www.workout-uk.co.uk36

THE very first SMARTFitness FunctionalTraining Summit tookplace at The Falcon’sStadium in Newcastle.

Over 30 strength andconditioning coaches andfitness professionals madethe trip to the North Eastto hear top speakers sharetheir knowledge.

After a brief introductionfrom SMART Fitness man-aging director NickGrantham, the summitkicked off with a three-hour presentation bycoach Robert DosRemedios.

Throughout the weekendEXF supplied the equip-ment for all demonstra-tions whether Olympic lift-ing, speed training or coreconditioning.

FirstSMARTtrainingsummit

BRITISH Wheelchair Sport haslaunched a brand new facility,designed to unite education with dis-ability sports.

The Stoke Mandeville Institute ofSport and Education will provide aprogramme of sports, education andtraining opportunities for disabledpeople working in the industry.

The aim of the facility is to enablethem to become involved in sport asathletes, coaches, administrators andofficials in order to contribute to theLondon 2012 Paralympic Games.

Andrew Marshall, managing directorof the Stoke Mandeville Stadium, said:“We are proud to be a partner in thisproject which promises to open manydoors for those passionate aboutinclusive sports and encourage newlydisabled people that there are plentyof opportunities out there for themwithin disability sport.”

Educational courses available willinclude ‘An Introduction to DisabilitySport’, ‘Certificate in Sports

Leadership’ and ‘WheelchairBasketball Coaching Assistant Grade 1’,as well as technology based modulesthat will allow students to attend ‘vir-tually’.

Martin McElhatton, chief executive ofWheelPower, said: “The Institute willsupport sports bodies to develop their

workforce and provide an educationalpathway from NVQs up to degree levelcourses.

“Through these wonderful opportunities, disabled people andthose who want to get involved in dis-ability sport will be able to enhancetheir skills.”

Pictured, from left: Prof Chris Kemp, Lee Mason, Blair MacGillivray and front: MartinMcElhatton

Uniting education with disability sports

Life Fitness renews official sponsorship agreementLIFE Fitness has renewed its officialsponsorship agreement with highereducation sports sector BritishUniversities & Colleges Sport (BUCS).

Under the terms of the partnershipLife Fitness has been named the‘Official Fitness Partner of BUCS

Professional Advisory Groups’. Thisagreement enables Life Fitness to workclosely with experts from the universi-ty sport and physical activity sector,understand their needs and deliver tai-lored fitness solutions.

Lawra Joseph, marketing manager atLife Fitness, said: “We believe it is our

responsibility to help individual uni-versities and colleges achieve a healthycampus and to meet their participa-tion and performance targets.

“We are delighted to have the oppor-tunity to partner with BUCS and towork closely with the university sectorin meeting these goals”.

SUPPLEMENTATION AND NUTRITION

37www.workout-uk.co.uk

‘Sports drink benefitswithout swallowing’EXERCISERS can gain benefit fromsports drinks without even swallow-ing them, new research has revealed.

Investigations by the University ofBirmingham and ManchesterMetropolitan University have shownthat if athletes simply swirl the drinkaround their mouths then spit it out,their performance is still boosted –because the sugar sends pleasure sig-nals to the brain.

Researchers believe that chemicalreceptors in the mouth respond tocarbohydrates in the drinks by send-ing signals to the brain that makeexercise feel easier. As a result, ath-letes are able to work their bodiesharder.

Researcher Dr. Ed Chambers andhis team not only showed that sugarydrinks can significantly boost per-formance in an endurance event, butso can a tasteless carbohydrate – andthey do so in unexpected ways.

The researchers prepared drinksthat contained either glucose, mal-todextrin or neither, then carefullylaced them with artificial sweetenersuntil they tasted identical.

They asked endurance-trained ath-letes to complete a challenging time-trial, during which they rinsed theirmouths with one of the three concoc-tions.

Athletes given the glucose or mal-todextrin drinks outperformed thoseon ‘disguised’ water by two to threeper cent and sustained a higher aver-age power and pulse rate, eventhough didn't feel they were workingany harder.

Dr. Chambers said: “Much of thebenefit from carbohydrate in sportsdrinks is provided by signaling direct-ly from mouth to brain rather thanproviding energy for the workingmuscles.”

Their findings support the theorythat it is not the muscles, heart orlungs that ultimately limits perform-ance, but the brain itself – based onthe information it receives from thebody.

It is claimed that sports drinks still work even if they are not swallowed.

UK sports nutrition company Sciencein Sport has partnered with GBRowing and the Amateur RowingAssociation (ARA) to supply its rangeof energy and sports drinks.

The four-year agreement seesBlackburn-based Science in Sportbecome the official sports nutritionpartner for GB Rowing and will supplyits range of energy, hydration andrecovery products until March 2013.

Peter Slater from Science in Sport,said: “Rowing is extremely demandingphysically and requires hours of train-ing on a daily basis – therefore sportsnutrition is essential to performance.”

Richard Eggington (silver medal men'seight in Beijing), Annie Vernon (silver medalwomen's quad in Beijing) and AnnaBebington (bronze medal women's doublein Beijing) chatting to Pete Slaterfrom Science in Sport in the boathouse atthe GB Rowing training base inCaversham.

Firm landsrowing deal

NATROL UK Limited has announceda strategic alliance with CLFDistribution, the Wiltshire-basedhealth food and pharmacy whole-saler.

They will help the company achieveits long term plan to take Natrolproducts, especially sports brandsProlab and MRI, to a wider audience.

Robin Holiday, managing director ofCLF Distribution said: “This alliancefits in perfectly with our growth andexpansion plans. Retailers can restassured that continuity of service andany fixed term agreements already inplace will remain unaffected.”

As part of the alliance, KarenWilson, marketing manager and

James Baker, product training manag-er, have made the move to CLF.

Robin added: “They bring with themexcellent industry knowledge that notonly complements our organisationbut will help to ensure brand supportand continuity for Natrol brandedlines.”

CLF Distribution has added themulti award winning CytoSport to itssports nutrition portfolio.

The company has produced some ofthe most recognisable sports nutri-tion products on the US market andthe range – including signature brandMuscle Milk – will be available in theUK via CLF from the end of June.

Firmsunveilstrategicallianceas part ofgrowthplans

Robin Holiday

38www.workout-uk.co.ukSUPPLEMENTATION

AND NUTRITION

MUSCLE Finesse is the place in theUK for discount bodybuilding supple-ments.

They stock whey protein, mealreplacement powders (MRPs), proteinand energy bars, creatine, weight lossaids and much more, from the mostreputable bodybuilding and fitnessnutritional supplement manufactur-

ers including EAS, Met-Rx, CNP,MuscleTech, Reflex Nutrition, USN,Maximuscle and BSN.

Visit their website to enjoy the bestproducts, great discount prices andfree for the UK mainland on allorders.

Enquiries: 01733 553420 Email: info@musclefinesse.com

The place for supplements ...

Business goes from strength to strengthOVER the last year, Mark Dawson andwife Helen have been concentratingon boosting revenue for their clubthrough sales of supplements.

And after five years of experimenta-tion, the pair claim they have finallygot things right and business isbooming.

Mark said: “When I opened the gymfive years ago I started selling bits andpieces but I set the prices too high sowas forced to drop them.

“Now we are doing really well with

sales, especially online. At the start ofthe year I wondered whether wewould be affected by the recessionbecause supplements are not essen-tial, but it’s not turned out that wayand business is actually gettingstronger.

“We have put a lot of work inthough and have spent a lot of moneysponsoring various online forums,including UK Muscle. It works for usbecause we are quite active, postingcomments and advice. We don’t just

stick our banner on the sites.”70 per cent of the gym’s supplement

sales come via the website but theonsite shop also does a good trade inboth gym members and others.

“We are located in a small markettown so don’t get tons of walk in-business but we get orders nation-wide on the website. Everyone seemsto buy online these days, so I keepthe prices on the site and in the shopthe same, and don’t charge for postand packaging.”

Mark said that supplement salesmake up around 20 per cent of hisoverall income from the gym and heis hoping to boost the percentage bythe end of the year.

As well as supplements themselves,the gym sells branded clothing by themanufacturers, as well as customisedt-shirts and vests designed by Helen.

The gym and site stock a wide vari-ety of products and Mark claims theyare the cheapest place to go for CNPprofessional products.

“I have a friend who is a distributorand he carries thousands of lines so ifI don’t have something I can get itfrom him. a lot of it is about makingconnections and having good work-ing relationships with people.”

Mark said his enthusiasm showswhen he is talking to prospective cus-tomers about the supplements andsaid he genuinely cares about helpingpeople get the most out of their train-ing.

He added: “If making money wasmy main objective I would neverhave made it this far – I’m just in lovewith the iron.”

With an onsite supplements shop and online store, family-run New Image Gym is squeezing the most out ofsecondary spend. Mary Ferguson reports.

Mark and Helen

PRODUCT NEWS 39

A sunny recession beaterfor Workout readersWITH increased concerns aboutmember retention and decreasedcash flow but with increased costs,Helionova have come up with aninteresting proposal for Workoutreaders.

Helionova will deliver and install atno charge (to a suitable and electri-cally prepared site) one of its standup sunbeds, which complies with thenew regulations (0.3 watts per squaremetre output) for a nominal, refund-able deposit on a fixed charge of just£10.00 + VAT per hour usage.

So if you charge 50p per minute,you will take £30 per hour, or if youcharge 75p per minute you will take£45 per hour.

Helionova have been supplying topquality Ultrasun sunbeds for over 25years and have their equipment withLivingWell Health Clubs, Esporta,Energie Fitness and ParkwoodLeisure.

Richard Warden, managing directorof Helionova and chairman of theUK’s Sunbed Association said: “Likegym equipment and weights,sunbeds work, if used. There is a bigopportunity for gyms and fitness cen-tres to install sunbeds into their com-plex now as many of the stand alonetanning shops have closed down dueto their high street locations and toospecialised appeal.

“Clients want to go to a centrewhere they can work out, relax, havea sunbed and a swim or sauna if theyare available.”

For further information please telephone01603 789 010, quoting ‘Workout offer’.

AS one of the UK’s leading suppliersof audiovisual, telecom, datacom andaccess-control solutions, Hutchison’spride themselves on delivering quali-ty technical solutions, tailor-made tomeet the most stringent of perform-ance standards.

Hutchison Technologies haveresearch and development facilitiesat their headquarters in Dundee,Scotland.

This resource allows them to offer abespoke service, in addition to amuch-acclaimed standard productportfolio.

Research and development workplays a vital role in ensuring thattheir clients have access to state-of-the-art technology which has the potential to make their facilities the envy of the health, fitness and hospitality industries.

Hutchison’s skilled in-house designers and engineers manufactureinstall and maintain a wide range of technological solutions, including:

� Telecoms and IT networks rangingfrom small business to enterprise IPcommunication solutions

� TV and video distribution systems

delivered over RF, HDMI and IP net-work infrastructure – CAI Approved

� Audiovisual solutions ranging frombackground, foreground, and studiosolutions

� Access control systems for membercontrol, security and convenience atany entry point.

Hutchison have a wealth of experience and knowledge and can expertly deliver solutions across a wide range of different sectors.

They are specialists within the health and fitness, spa, hospitality, premium restaurant fine dining, education and retail sector.

Whether you’re an internationalhotel chain or a small private gym,Hutchison Technologies provide aservice and offer a choice of innova-tive IT, audiovisual, lighting andaccess – membership control solu-tions.

Enquiries: 01382 835007 Website: www.hutchison-t.com

Technical solutionsfrom HutchisonTechnologies ...

Drinking Water Fountains and Plumbed-inWatercoolers from Glug Glug Glug. We offerreliable, modern designs at extremely com-petitive prices.UK local call centres.One monthly fixed cost.We pride ourselves on our exceptional serv-ice and professional installations. Contactus for a quote for a new machine and payless than you currently do now.Enquiries: www.glugglugglug.com or call01932 873366.

Splash outon a waterfountain ...

THE Ultim8 Pro + is thetop of the range vibra-tion plate and designedfor use in fully commer-cial gyms, studios,sunbed centres, beautysalons, clinics and hospitals and has a fullprofessional warranty.

It is made from solidsteel and not plastic andhas a large wide plate to enable you tohave a full workout.

The computer allowsthechoice of a wide rangeof frequencies and thereare 2 large motors

to ensure the vibrationsare strong enough tostimulate the largest user.

Corporate customersreceive a full ‘train thetrainer’ programme in-house or at a trainingcentre. Buy the bestsolid steel Vibrationtrainer available today.Buy the Ultim8Vibration Plate.

Commercial leases arefrom £110 a month overfive years.

Enquiries: 0845 226 0067 Email:

sales@ultim8fitness.co.uk

Top of the range vibration plate

DALESAUNA have helped redevelopthe swimming pool at Whitley BayLeisure Centre.

North Tyneside Council haverecently spent £6m on redevelopingthe facilities as part of the £30m over-all investment on sport and leisure inthe area.

The old facility included a tradition-al sauna suite complete with twoAerotone baths, more suited to theantiques road show than a modernfitness facility, and when it was decid-ed to completely refurbish the suite,Dalesauna were invited to becomeinvolved in the design process.

The interior design for the spa areawas worked on by Dalesauna’s ownspecialist, Lynn Russell-Hanson whomanaged to provide a design that isboth contemporary whilst still main-taining a subtle theme of the seasidewith pebbles, sand and colours of thesea.

To replace the Aerotone baths,Dalesauna were asked to supply two“state of the art” Caracalla Hydro-baths.

Enquiries: 01423798630 Website:www.dalesauna.co.uk

Steamy new design for centre

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Finance solutions for the fitness industry…As the fitness industry’s preferred finance partner, Shire hasdesigned innovative leasing packages that allow you to acquirenew equipment to expand or upgrade your facilities right now,rather than waiting until you can afford to pay cash.

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