The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazineDecember 2012 No 231 £3

FIA is renamedto embrace itsbroader remit

NFA awardwinnersrevealednext issueWATCH out for the next issue ofWorkout where we will berounding up all the action fromthe 2012 National FitnessAwards and revealing the fulllist of this year’s winners.

The awards, organised byScript Events in partnershipwith Workout and headlinesponsor ServiceSport, recognisethe best in the business –rewarding clubs, staff andmembers for their hard workand dedication to the industry.

Several hundred entries werereceived this year and afterdrawing up the shortlist inSeptember, the Workout teamcovered thousands of miles tovisit each of the finalists – clubssituated everywhere fromAberdeen down to Cornwall.

An expert judging panel wasthen given the tough task ofdeciding the winners of almost20 categories.

As Workout went to print, theawards were just days away,with hundreds of visitorsexpected to attend the glitter-ing ceremony at The Athena inLeicester, hosted by TV person-ality and top personal trainer,Charlotte Ord.

Celebrity personal trainers and TV GladiatorsJenny Pacey and Wayne Gordon have launchedtwo new fitness DVDs, designed to help usersget in shape fast. 15 minute Fast fitness – BodyTransformation and 15 minute Fast fitness – Fatburning contain six high intensity all over bodyworkouts. Both DVDs feature bonus materialincluding Jenny and Wayne’s advice on their‘rule of five’ principle – posture, positive atti-tude, resistance training, nutrition and exercise.

By Christina Eccles

THE FIA has rebranded to becomeukactive, in a bid to embrace theorganisation’s broader remit and deliv-er its vision to get more people, moreactive, more often.

The new name, which was unveiled atits annual summit at Congress Centrein London, is part of a wider re-brand-ing exercise, following an in depth con-sultation process which asked stake-holders what they felt the organisationshould focus on moving forward.

The overriding response from thisexercise was that the breadth anddepth of organisations which the asso-ciation worked with and representedwas not adequately reflected in itsexisting name, with the new brandchosen to better represent the fields ofphysical activity, fitness, health andwellbeing.

CEO David Stalker said: “ukactive isour new name and with this comes anew logo, new colour palette and newvibrance, however, I will reiterate whatI have always maintained, that it is notabout our name but about our vision.

“Therefore I can promise that we willalways live and breathe our long stand-ing and uncompromising focus ofmore people, more active, more often

to get the UK active.”Support for the new name has come

from all corners, with Prime MinisterDavid Cameron among the high profilefigures who have got behind the launchof ukactive.

He said: “I am delighted to supportukactive as it launches its plans to helpembed physical activity into the DNAof our communities by getting morepeople, more active, more often.”

Independent operators have also lenttheir support to the new brand.

Club owner and FIA board memberPete Todd added: “I am delighted to bea member of ukactive and representindependent fitness clubs on theboard.

“One of my club’s key objectives is toengage with the local community, tobecome more active, more often and itis reassuring to know that there is anational organisation with the exactsame mission.”

Following the launch, ukactive willnow implement a phased approach toensure all partners are aware of thenew brand and that co-branded mate-rials are updated, with the organisationworking to a deadline of April 2013 tobe fully ukactive across all channels. � For more news from the summit seeinside this issue of Workout.

By Christina Eccles

PARALYMPIC legend Tanni Grey-Thompson has urged the industry to“get off your backside and do it” toensure the country benefits from alasting Games’ legacy.

Tanni was part of a panel at theukactive summit in London, whospoke about their memories of theLondon 2012 Olympics andParalympics and revealed their viewson what the industry can do to createlong term change – and get morepeople active – following the UK’ssuccessful summer of sport.

The panel, which also included MPKate Hooey, Olympian Sally Gunnell,GB Hockey captain Kate Walsh andchairman of the Amateur BoxingAssociation of England RichardCaborn, took questions from theevent’s host, television presenter JohnInverdale, and from delegates, whorepresented all corners of the healthand fitness industries.

And Tanni, who is Britain’s mostrecognisable Paralympian, urged theindustry not to miss out on whatcould be a massive opportunity toimprove the health of the nation.

She added: “If we sit around andwait, nothing will ever get done. Wecan all be smarter about working inpartnership – get off your backsideand do it.”

Schools – and parents – were also

mentioned as being able to play avital role in encouraging children toform healthy long term habits by pro-moting physical activity from a youngage.

Tanni added: “I am a huge fan of

competitive sport but it’s not the rightoption for a lot of young women. “Weshould look at other things such asZumba and Boxercise – and PEshould be a core part of the curricu-lum.

“I don’t think it’s rocket science, butwe need people who get it.”

Former athlete Sally, the onlywoman in history to have held thefour major titles of Olympic, World,European and Commonwealth cham-pion at the same time, also stressedthe importance of not making healthand fitness appear to be too compli-cated.

Instead she suggested the industrycould help inactive people to improvetheir lifestyles by steadily makingsmall changes to things such as exer-cise levels, nutrition and overall atti-tude, which together add up to bigimprovements.

She added: “There is always going tobe that 20 per cent who are in thegym but it’s how we reach out to therest.

“We are only three months on [fromthe Olympics] but are looking at thisin the long term. Small changes cango a long way.”

UK FITNESS SCENE 3

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EditorialGroup Editor:Judith HalkerstonTel: 01226 734639jh@scriptmedia.co.uk

Chief reporter:Christina EcclesTel: 01226 734463ce@scriptmedia.co.uk

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“Get off your backside anddo it” urges legend Tanni

The Olympic panel, from the left: Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Kate Hoey MP, SallyGunnell OBE, GB Hockey captain Kate Walsh and chairman of the Amateur BoxingAssociation of England Richard Caborn.

MATRIX Fitness has become officialsupplier of fitness equipment to RedBull Racing – the world’s topFormula One racing team.

As part of the three year contract,the company has equipped an on-site gym in Red Bull Racing’s HQ,which will be used by drivers includ-ing three-time world championSebastian Vettel, the race team and

team employees to develop andmaintain health, fitness and physi-cal condition.

Vice president of global develop-ment at Johnson Health Tech DanielClayton said: “Supplying the RedBull Racing team is hugely excitingfor Matrix Fitness and we look for-ward to supporting their ongoingsuccess.”

Matrix supply Red Bull Racing

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Members from UK wide leisure centres managed by Everyone Active successfully cycledtheir way to a new Guinness World Record for the most people to take part in a 24-hourindoor cycle relay. The first cyclists started at 3pm on National Fitness Day, September 28,ending at 3pm the following day. People made a donation to take part in the challengewhile spectators donated additional funds. The money is still coming in but early signsindicate the 24 hour challenge has so far raised £4027.43 for chosen charity DisabilitySport Events.Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock was among those taking part.

INDEPENDENT Operators Unite(IOU) is relocating to the BodyPowerExpo next year – with hundreds ofclub owners and decision makers setto attend.

The event will take place as part ofthe show’s dedicated industry andpreview day on Friday May 17, whichwill welcome trade and industry col-leagues along to experience educa-tional feature areas and hundreds ofcutting edge products.

Playing host to the IOU collective isa massive boost for the show, withcompanies including CybexInternational, Jordan Fitness,Exertrain and Star Trac making up theinteractive exhibition – offering visi-tors the opportunity to see how theequipment or products could work inindependent gyms and increase sec-

ondary spend revenue.CEO of CFM/MYZONE and founder

of IOU Dave Wright said:“Independent operators want to go toan event that they can get advice,information and samples that are rel-evant to their clubs.

“Nutritional and supplementationcompanies and advice on bodybuild-ing, strength training and running aprofitable business is what sits at thecore of BodyPower. Over the past 22years, CFM have worked with over4,500 clubs – majority of which areindependent operators – and as anowner myself, I know that my staffand also my members will enjoy theexperience that BodyPower offers.

“This will be a fantastic event andone that will be extremely beneficialfor all IOU members in the UK.”

Hundreds to attend as IOUmoves to Bodypower

Register for aquaticssector to be pilotedA NEW register has been created,designed to build on the success ofREPs, and drive professionalism inthe aquatics sector.

The Register of AquaticProfessionals (RAPs) has been devel-oped by the SkillsActive Board andkey industry partners; the SwimmingTeachers’ Association, AmateurSwimming Association and Royal LifeSaving Society.

The register will be piloted inJanuary and will deliver:� A single qualification entry pointfor the workforce.� Career pathways based on qualityassured training.

� Recognition for professionals with-in the aquatic industry.� Registration subject to continuedprofessional development (CPD).� A public search function enhancingpublic and employer confidence inthe quality of wet-side professionals.

Chief executive of SkillsActive IanTaylor said: “RAPs marks a significantdevelopment for the aquatic industryand supports employers, individualsand the general public.

“For the 160,000 people who cur-rently work in the industry includingswimming teachers and lifeguards, itprovides clarity and consistencyacross the sector.”

DETAILS have been announced forFIBO 2013, with changes including anew venue and an increased focus onthe show’s conference and seminarprogramme.

Next year’s FIBO will take place fromApril 11 to 14 at the CologneExhibition Centre, moving to the cityafter 20 years in Essen.

Seminar highlights will include thefirst FIBOmed Congress in conjunc-tion with institutions such as the

Federal Centre for Health Educationand the German Society for SportsMedicine and Prevention. OrganiserReed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbHexpect about 650 exhibitors and80,000 visitors to attend the show.

New venue announced for FIBOCologne Exhibition Centre will host next year’s FIBO.

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By Christina Eccles

A NEW independent gym has openedin Nottingham which aims to focuson function and fun.

The team behind H3 Performanceplans to bring something new to thelocal area – with key selling pointsincluding the club’s unique trainingfloor, based on the style of Americanperformance gyms.

Instead of more traditional work-outs, the club specialises in deliveringsmall group personal training ses-sions, which according to managerToby Liddiard will help them standout in a crowded marketplace.

He said: “There are a lot of budgetgyms in Nottingham which arefocused on price.

“We offer group personal trainingand coaching sessions and have over40 per week, focusing on differentthemes such as strength training andboxing. Our idea is to take anyonefrom any background and make thembetter. The focus for us is functionand fun – we want people to returnback to basics with their training.”

Some of the more unusual featuresat the club include a sprint track,climbing wall and monkey bars, pro-viding members with a range of func-tional kit for their workouts.

Toby added: “We are offering some-thing very different and unique toanywhere else. Within a two mileradius, there are six or seven gymspriced below £20 per month.

“We priced ourselves at £45 permonth but are offering great levels ofservice and a unique atmosphere. Wewant people to experience exercisethe way it should be. We have to keepthings fresh. People train in theirspare time and want to have fun whilethey are exercising.”

The club opened at the end ofSeptember and has already attractedabout 70 members, with Toby hopingto eventually reach a target of 200.

But he admitted, although things aregoing well, it hasn’t always been easyto get potential members to lookbeyond the price of membership tosee what they will actually get fortheir money.

He added: “There is an element of aculture shock. People need to get pastthe price point, but they are gettingused to the model. It’s not a massmarket model – our target is to haveabout 200 members.”

Future plans include organisingmore fitness challenges and eventsinvolving the local community,installing the MYZONE system andpotentially opening another site.

Gym to focus onfunction and fun

App lets you engage withyour PT between sessionsTHE Register of Exercise Professionalshas launched a free health and fitnessapp to help users engage with theirpersonal trainer between sessions andtrack their diet and fitness goals.

The app includes an exercise log,run tracker and timeline, which accu-rately records training activity (suchas gym programmes or outdoor exer-cises such as running, cycling andwalking) as well as a dietary log allow-ing users to monitor their progressagainst their end goals.

REPs registrar Jean Ann Marnochsaid: “Our all new app is a great toolfor the public and the REPs trainers,allowing individuals to gain invalu-able motivation and advice betweenface to face sessions.

“We know that 35 per cent of fitnessinstructors in the UK are not REPsregistered, meaning that their qualifi-cations are questionable, so it’s cru-cial that people maintain regular con-tact with their REPs trainer to reducerisk of injury.”

A nationwide petition calling for more resources to be put into tackling eating disordershas been launched following a special reception at the House of Commons. More than 50people, including those recovering from eating disorders, families of people who havedied from anorexia, MPs, doctors and health professionals met in Westminster at an eventorganised by Anorexia and Bulimia Care. The charity has now launched the petition callingon parliament to provide resources for better treatment and training of staff to deal withthe issue.

H3 Performance in Nottingham.

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By Christina Eccles

A NEW centralised customer contactcentre is helping Oldham CommunityLeisure sites to deliver a more effi-cient service – and aid retention.

Based within Oldham Sports Centre,the concept is designed to providecustomers with an easy,accessible onestop shop for bookings, queries,memberships and information.

Staff handle calls redirected fromeach of OCL’s sites and since the sys-tem was introduced, the call answerrate has more than doubled from 40per cent to 85 per cent.

OCL’s chief executive StuartLockwood said: “The industry is infa-mous for the way we handle tele-phone enquiries and Oldham was nodifferent – receptionists always feelcompromised in the service they canoffer on the phone when there arequeues to deal with and commonsense says that’s not good for busi-ness. Prior to the contact centre open-ing it had been estimated that the rateof answered calls for the companywas less than 40 per cent.

“Within one month of opening wesaw the call answer rate more thandoubling to 85 per cent, a figure that

we have managed to sustain over thefive months the centre has been open.Customers phoning in get more quali-ty time from the team and the recep-tion staff can now give an improvedservice face-to-face.”

According to a recent survey, overallcustomer feedback on the servicelevel from the contact centre wasrated excellent.

Stuart added: “With the contact cen-tre open seven days a week, handlingcalls re-directed from every one ofOCL’s sites, and offering one centralemail address, we are making it aseasy as possible for our customers toget the information they need.

“They take bookings for all sites, soif someone wants to book a court attheir home site and it’s already taken,the team have the opportunity to sellthem a court at an alternative site. Aswell as handling thousands of callsevery month, the team at the contactcentre also proactively contact can-celling members to try and recover apotential cancellation.

“As a result of this work in resolvingissues and offering alternatives theteam has already saved more than 20direct debit members from cancellingtheir membership.”

Customer centreaids efficiency and retention

LOCAL residents have been invited totry out the new facilities at SouthgateLeisure Centre, following the comple-tion of improvement work worth over£5.5m.

Major new additions to the centreinclude a 95 station gym, two new fit-ness studios, an indoor cycle studio,activity room and on site café withviews over the poolside.

An eco friendly roof has also beeninstalled on the newly built section ofthe leisure centre, which will be plant-ed with grasses and plants designedto promote nature diversity on thesite, as well as reducing the amount ofrain water that goes to drainage.

The renovations represent an invest-ment by Enfield Council in partner-ship with sport and leisure manage-ment charity Fusion Lifestyle, whomanage the centre.

Fusion Lifestyle CEO Pete Kay said:“Southgate Leisure Centre has beenone of our most ambitious redevelop-ment projects to date and representsa significant reinvestment of profitstowards improving leisure facilities forthe local community.

“The upgraded fitness and swim-ming facilities along with a brand newcafé and extended parking areashould make a real difference tomembers of the centre.”

£5.5m facility is showcasedSouthgate Leisure Centre

Olympic gold and silver medallist Zac Purchase will officially open a new David Lloyd clubin Worcester later this month. One of Britain’s most successful rowers, Zac will cut the rib-bon to launch the club, the group’s 81st site in the UK. The £8m club will include threeindoor and five outdoor tennis courts, 25m indoor pool, children’s pool and 20m outdoorpool, 900sqm gym and DLicous cafébar lounge.

GRAVITY unveils newhigh intensity classGRAVITY has launched a new classwhich applies high intensity intervaltraining principles to group exer-cise.

The class consists of Tabata styleintervals with cycles of 20 seconds’work and 10 seconds’ rest repeatedeight times to complete a fourminute round. Each round targetsone muscle group with four differ-ent exercises repeated twice, per-formed on Total Gym equipment.

After each round there is a 60 sec-ond rest period before the nextround starts for a new muscle

group.Partner at GRAVITY Greg Sellar

said: “Studies are finding that meta-bolic adaptations resulting fromHIIT enable you to use more fat asfuel, improving your athleticendurance and your fat-burningpotential whether working or at rest.There is also considerable evidencethat it can reduce the risk of majorhealth problems.

“The appeal is massive – this issomething of real, proven healthvalue that will continue to deliverresults for all users.”

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Centre’s fitness suiteand changing roomsto be refurbished By Christina Eccles

THE fitness suite and changing facili-ties at a Cumbrian leisure centre areset for a major revamp thanks toinvestment from Carlisle LeisureLimited and Allerdale BoroughCouncil.

The gym area at Moorclose LeisureCentre is being extended upstairs intowhat used to be the centre’s kitchen toform a light resistance area, with itsexisting spinning room gaining somespace from the removal of an old bararea.

Downstairs, a meeting room anddisused crèche will be made into abespoke weights and heavy resistancespace and the existing weights areaand gym space will be joined togetherto form a spacious area for cardioequipment, stretching area and twonew Power Plates.

Male and female dry changing facili-ties are also being gutted and com-pletely refurbished and the club willalso benefit from new equipmentfrom Pulse Fitness.

Area manager for CLL Martin Horne

added: “We’re really happy to getthese vital improvements under way.Moorclose is an old facility now andwe are committed with our partnersin Allerdale to helping facilitate a newcentre for the region as soon as prac-ticable.

“In the meantime we have to takeaction to ensure that existing andhopefully new members get a decentservice and good facilities to usewhilst we do this work.

“ At Moorclose this has been difficultdue to the age of the building and theneed to get the balance right betweeninvesting and maintaining standardsversus spending money in what arechallenging times.

“We’ve been conscious for a whilethat our dry side changing facilitiesweren’t really good enough and thisinvestment gives us an opportunity toput that right. We will be reinstatingthe ventilation systems and replacingvanity units, WC’s, showers and cubi-cles and redecorating throughout toprovide a modern, pleasant refurbish-ment.”

Two outdoor green gyms have been installed at Gateshead Council’s Saltwell Park andWindy Nook Nature Reserve, each including 10 pieces of fitness equipment. Able to accom-modate up to 42 people at a time, kit includes airwalkers, leg presses, bikes and steppers.The free gyms can be used by anyone aged 14 and over.Coun Linda Green is pictured testing out the new Green Gym in Saltwell Park with localresident Lesley Rutter.

Ladies only gym opensA NEW independent gym hasopened in Essex after the ownerspotted a gap in the market to createa ladies only facility in the area.

Shamir Choudhury has investedover £80,000 in Energise Health Clubin Goodmayes, choosing Star Tracequipment to kit out the club.

Other facilities available include acreche, personal training, nutritionaladvice, health checks and body mas-sage therapy.

Shamir said: “Working out in acomfortable environment is a reallyimportant factor for a lot of women,especially if they’re insecure abouttheir bodies or are new to exerciseand are not sure what to expect.

“There are so many barriers towomen exercising, so I wanted tostrip all that back and create aninviting, welcoming space wherethey want to spend time workingout.”

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Elms Personal Fitness in Stanway, Colchester.

Franchise is ‘a greatopportunity’ for PTsBy Christina Eccles

A GYM that offers members unlimitedpersonal training has expanded withthe launch of its own franchisescheme.

Elms Personal Fitness launched itsfirst 2,000 sq ft franchise in Stanway,Colchester, in November, and a sec-ond franchise is in the pipeline.

The scheme sprang out of The ElmsPersonal Fitness Club owned andmanaged by Chris Elms, who current-ly has three clubs in Chelmsford,Braintree and Burton. Launched in2003, the clubs are based on a person-al training concept and have around350 members each – and the franchis-es are along the same lines.

Chris said: “This is a great opportu-nity for personal trainers who may bethinking about their next step. For aninvestment (franchise fee) of around£15,000 they get the chance to earn£60,000 a year.

“They get full support from us at theElms Fitness Group so don’t have tonavigate through all the business offinding a unit, negotiating finance,leases and supply of equipment. Wehold their hand through the wholeprocess. Our first Colchester fran-chisee is actually someone who usedto work in my Braintree club.”

The franchise idea comes from whatChris learned in his previous career asa personal trainer.

He added: “The franchises arecapped at about 300 members,because in this business model, weneed to get to know every individual.”

Elms Personal Fitness attracts main-ly members aged 35 plus who may benervous about joining a gym for thefirst time, may lack motivation ordon’t enjoy the traditional gym work-out.

“We do have 70 and 80-year-oldswho may have had a hip or kneereplacement, but saying that, we havea Royal Marine who is training for amarathon,” said Chris.

His clubs work by offering an unlim-ited amount of personal training for amonthly fee (from £49 to £59) in smallgroup environments.

“It can be difficult to find staff in amore conventional arrangement but afranchise provides an owner/operatorto be the engine behind a club yetallows us to keep it within our brand.We have had quite a bit of interest –our second franchise is being lookedat now by one of our members andsome of our trainers are interested.”

He is promoting the franchisesthrough newspapers, leafleting, andfree trials for businesses.

A free open weekend at Loughborough Leisure Centre gave local people the chance to tryout the club’s new facilities. Fusion Lifestyle, along with Charnwood Borough Council, invit-ed residents to see the results of the £2.1m makeover, with highlights including a newgym and indoor cycling studio and refurbished exercise studio. The final phase of the rede-velopment is due to be completed later this month and will see the launch of a refur-bished main exercise studio, fully equipped disabled changing areas, contemporary gymchanging and toilets.

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Science throws coldwater over theoryBy Christina Eccles

ATHLETES who use ice baths afterintense exercise are not getting anybenefits – and may even be puttingtheir health in danger – new researchhas claimed.

Scientists at the University ofPortsmouth found cold water immer-sion was no more and no less effec-tive in helping an athlete recover aftersport than light cool-down exercise.

The study, which is published in theEuropean Journal of Sport Science,also warns the practice of plunginginto ice baths, common among eliteathletes, might do more harm thangood.

Lead author Jo Corbett said: “Icebaths are frequently used by sports-men and women to help them recov-er after exercise but our results showthey don’t work. They also pose anumber of potentially serious healthrisks.

“If people using ice baths are receiv-ing no real benefit then they shouldbe probably be advised to stop usingthem.”

The scientists tested 40 male ath-

letes after 90 minutes of intermittentshuttle running. After running, themen were divided into groups with 10stood in cold water for 12 minutes; 10stood in warm water for the sameperiod; 10 sat in cold water for twominutes; and 10 walked slowly for 12minutes.

Muscle performance was measuredbefore exercise and afterwards at 12hours, a day, two days and five days.

No differences were found betweenany of the groups in terms of athletes’perception of pain or in their bio-chemical markers of muscle cell dam-age.

Jo added: “Cold water immersionhas been used since Greek andRoman times.

“The practice has become increas-ingly popular in recent years thankslargely to high profile sportsmen andwomen doing it, but how it helps hasnever been entirely clear and the rea-sons given are largely speculative.

“The findings of our study do notsupport it as the most effective way ofspeeding up recovery. It might be thatprevious studies have used as a con-trol group athletes who do nothing towarm down versus those who areimmersed in cold water.

“We found athletes who cooleddown using light exercise recovered atthe same rate as those in cold water.”

The research team suggest furtherstudies need to be done to reconcileconflicting findings from a number ofstudies and to establish if cold waterimmersion is ever effective given thepotential dangers associated with it.

Dr Jo Corbett

Organiser Sarah Donohue is celebrating the success of the Miss Galaxy Universe show, which took place at The Alban Arena. The finalesaw placings of one to 10 for many of the classes, with accolades including yummy mummy, best newcomer and most motivated. In MissWorld style, there were also flowers and sashes, bespoke medals and tiaras, as well as a pyrotechnics display and confetti. Among theaward winners was Katie Chimes, who was crowned ‘supreme champion’ having never entered a show like this before. The next competi-tion takes place on June 1 2013.

REVIVAL aims to educate clientsA NEW boot camp business haslaunched which aims to educateclients about the importance ofexercise and healthy eating – whilemaking it fun.

REVIVAL boot camp has been setup by Paul Young and GeraldineCopley-Smith after they spotted agap in the market to create a busi-ness which helps participants getresults and kick start long termchange.

Geraldine said: “Having gone onboot camps myself I found it reallydisconcerting to see how little atten-tion was being paid to the clients'individual welfare, health and fit-ness.

“I would like to see my clients

leave REVIVAL boot camp with afuller understanding of how impor-tant it is to lose weight sensibly, tobe more knowledgeable on nutritionand to realise how fun it can be toexercise and keep fit.”

For those taking part in the boot-camp, a typical day is no more thanseven and a half hours long.

Exercises vary and include any-thing from running, swimming andZumba to team games, circuit train-ing and cycling.

Geraldine added: “Like most bootcamps we do offer that kick startinto losing weight but what we alsodo is take the time to know ourclients individually, their fitness andeating habits and how we do this is

we get the clients to have a one toone with the trainer and the nutri-tionist to discuss their goals andneeds.

“I as boot camp manager am thereto make sure they are well lookedafter and I also take the time to talkwith them individually.”

The business has got off to a suc-cessful start, with clients being givenevaluation sheets at the end of theirstay, which Geraldine says have con-tained some great feedback aboutthe trainers and nutritionists.

She added that long term, shewould like to own her own propertyenabling her to hold boot camps allthroughout the year.

UK FITNESS SCENE 13In the last issue of Workout, we reported on gym owner Steve Hammond’s campaign for a more level playing fieldfor independent operators. Here’s what our readers had to say on the issue.

INDEPENDENT gym owners havebeen eager to respond to November’sfront page story, with many sayingthey feel frustrated at the lack of sup-port for their clubs.

We reported how operator SteveHammond, who owns SundanceLadies Health and Fitness in Bristol,has urged the government to recog-nise the struggles faced by manyindependent gyms, like his own, sur-rounding issues such as paying VATon gym memberships and the risingcost of business rates.

Since then, many independentoperators have contacted Workout –all of them backing Steve’s campaignfor fairer treatment and more recog-nition for the important role they playin helping their local communities tolead more active lifestyles.

Owner of First Class Health Club inBridgend, Paul Evans, has been fight-ing for a fairer playing field for thelast 15 years.

And he told Workout he would like

to see the VAT issue addressed bychanging the system so every gympays the same rate of five per cent.

He added: “It can be very frustrat-ing. We need to push for either noVAT, which isn’t going to happen, or aflat rate where everybody pays thesame.”

Greg Dalgleish, co owner of ThinkFitness in Hawick also feels frustratedat the lack of support for independentclubs.

Over the years, he has written sever-al letters to his local MSP JohnLamont and although the politicianhas tried to help with his campaign,Greg is no closer to solving the prob-lems he faces.

He explained: “I sympathise withSteve as we are in the same position.Our rates went up by 40 per cent lastyear. We have appealed but have beentold that the assessors can take up toDecember 2013.

“Competition is healthy but it needsto be on a level playing field. And it’s

far from that in this industry.”Mike O’Hagan from Gym Extreme in

Worthing also wrote to Workout toexpress his concerns about how anew leisure centre opening up nearbynext year may affect his business andother independent gyms in the area.

He has sent an email to various

councillors and his local MP to appealfor fair competition in the town and iscurrently awaiting a response.

In the email, he said: “The fitnessand leisure businesses withinWorthing are all concerned about theamount of public money beinginvested into marketing and promot-ing the new leisure facilities in thetown. Whilst we appreciate that it isgood for the people of Worthing tohave updated and modern facilities,Worthing Borough Council shouldalso be mindful of their responsibilityto the businesses who have alreadyinvested into the town, to ensure thateveryone is competing on a levelplaying field.

“I would welcome a meeting whereconcerns could be raised and answersto questions be given, I am sure rep-resentatives from various local healthand fitness clubs would like to attend.

“All we are asking for is fair competi-tion in the town and hope that yousupport this.”

Gym owners call for moresupport from government

Steve Hammond

Do you agree with these comments? Or are you a local authority gym which would like to have your say? Send your thoughts to ce@scriptmedia.co.uk or contact our editorial team on 01226 734463.

UK FITNESS SCENE14

Fitness industry has itssay on the VAT debate ...I HAVE owned an independent healthclub for 12 years and I could not haveexplained how things are any betterthan Steve Hammond.

We have a great private club that isthe centre of the HalesowenCommunity. We find it harder andharder to compete due to the risingcosts of council tax which has trebledsince first setting up the club in theYear 2000 and the VAT which hasincreased from 15 per cent to 17.5 percent to 20 per cent.

It is getting harder and harder tocompete and there are less and lessfunds to buy new equipment due tothe rising overheads.

However, the Government are quickenough to refurbish council run gymson a regular basis to the tune of sev-eral thousand pounds a time.

We are certainly not competing on alevel ground and fully support hisquest to get more support from theGovernment.

Karen Havinga, Fitnessworks Health andFitness Club, Halesowen

THE article makes for interestingreading as it carefully addresses anincreasingly competitive problem inwhat is already a heavily saturatedmarket.

When I started working here in2008, at that time we were one of thecheaper gyms in our five mile catch-ment area as regards our membershipprices. Over the course of four yearswe have become one of the moreexpensive, yet we have not increasedour membership prices once!

At present there are approximately20 gyms in Sutton; a stark increasefrom the situation in 2007/08, whenthere were about 12 competitiveestablishments.

The rise of the “budget gym”metaphorically keeps us on our toesand more and more gyms offer thesame product, which means that gymmanagement needs to be more cre-ative than ever.

I am not writing a letter to rant ormoan – quite the opposite, as suchcompetition drives me, gets me up inthe morning, keeps me up at nightand, as a result, we are maintainingour financial figures as well as we can.

The article highlights the VATcharges, restrictions on opportunitiessuch as GP referrals and the cost ofbusiness rates to independent com-panies.

This is the straw that may break thecamel’s back for independent gyms –not the fresh competition, not theinflation rates and not the turbulenteconomical climate.

The government must look at whatthe aims are for such companies,what they offer as “community hubs”for all ages and, furthermore, HOWthis can be executed.

Independent gyms offer a uniqueand much-needed dimension to thefitness industry and require supportfrom the government to be able tocontinue to do this.

Adam Hewitt, gym manager, The ZONEHealth and Fitness, Sutton.

I OWN a sports club, with a large gym,and I read with interest your article.

I completely concur with all the sen-timents. The VAT on membershipscauses concern to members that thefees are too high, and has a dramaticimpact on my profitability.

Council Tax is far too high, especial-ly as we get no direct benefit from it (Ipay £40k per year). To add to thisHarlow council actually go out oftheir way to restrict advertising mybusiness (signs etc) and I have a con-stant fight on my hands to even letthe local community know we arehere. We too have tried to get involvedin GP referral schemes, but this alsoseems to be blocked by red tape.

We have now involved our local MPRobert Halfon, who is very active andsupportive of our problems.

Dave Hancock, Paringdon Sports Club,Harlow

I AM a small independent ladiesHealthy Living Centre in Bolton andfeel we provide a great service for themore mature member from 40 to 93but the 20 per cent VAT is killing meand I am finding it hard.

Our centre is quite unique I feel aswe can provide exercise for ladieswith lots of medical problems as theequipment is motorised and themember is seated during exercise soanyone with MS/Parkinsons/ME/ladies waiting for ops/ newknees/hips etc can exercise and getfitter before their op.

We also have a healthy eating planto help the members lose weight aswell as tone/firm/lose inches/keepmobile – saving the health service alot of money.

Ann Wood, Healthy Living Centre, Bolton

I FIRMLY believe the NoVat4Gymscampaign is fundamentally flawed.

The campaign we should get behindis VAT4allGyms. Cutting tax is notsomething we can expect at present,nor will civil servants, MPs or minis-ters be particularly persuaded thatthere will be more investment in staff,equipment and reduced membership

rates if VAT is removed from inde-pendent gym membership subscrip-tions.

At the same time, the subsidies onrates for the trust/charity run centresshould be removed.

Where things get more complicatedis in respect of subsidies for equip-ment for the trusts/charities.

I don't know enough about thesources of funds, nor who is eligibleto apply. However, in essence, anequitable, open for all system couldbe used. Even this has its disadvan-tages, as I have witnessed on numer-ous occasions in a parallel area –sports associations such as LTA, SRAetc seem to give their money outquite arbitrarily.

Independent businesses in thehealth, fitness, wellness sectordeserve to see these changes, asbetween them, they help a greaternumber of people than does the sub-sidised sector and they contributemore to the Exchequer for the privi-lege. A great start would be to find atleast one independent leisure sectorowner/director/manager from everyconstituency in the country to form anationwide lobbying group whichensures every MP in the land getsbehind improving the nation's healthfor more people at lower cost.

Neil Boston, Saturn Fitness and Wellness,Abingdon-on-Thames

I HAVE in the past added my supportto the No VAT on gyms and writtendirectly to the government via mylocal MP, asking about the unfairnessin the way public and private facilitiesare treated.

Most campaigns and articles I haveread – with interest – focus on takingVAT away from the liability on privatecentres to make the playing fieldlevel.

I however don’t think this could everhappen on the back of the HealthyLifestyle ticket, especially in a timewhere the public purse is getting cut.

I offer a private service and expectto pay VAT on earnings as does anyother service or private sector busi-

ness, I have to make a profit to sur-vive, have to prove serviceability toget finance, and if I don’t then I willexpect to go under.

In my opinion, under fair trading,and as they are in such a positiveposition due to public funding theyshould be made to charge the ratethat local private centres charge notunder cut them, this additionalmoney returned to the public coffers.

I think the playing field should belevelled on the other side. I think if alocal authority offers what is funda-mentally a private business model tothe public market it must stand on itsown as a business.

If they want to offer a private busi-ness it should not be able to avoidpaying VAT or get trust status to oper-ate in competition to private centres,and if they lose money they should bein the same position on borrowingmoney to refurbish as any privatefacility. They should pay rent on theirfacility and rates at the same level astheir private competition, this is onlya return of funds to the public purse.The local authority should not be ableto continually use public money toprop up what would be a failing busi-ness, give free facilities, pay little orno rates, and again no VAT to then goout and undercut private facilities.

The local authority should subsidisecommunity projects, athletics, groupactivities like swimming, football andrugby while they are in amateur sta-tus and serving the local communityand with few or no private operatorsto undercut on the public purse. Agym really does not come into thatcategory, this fitness is predominantlyinsular, people do not interact witheach other as part of their regime, it isa private lifestyle decision to pay togo to a gym.

Neil Lyons, LyonsDen Fitness, North Wales

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with theview points of Steve Hammond andfeel, not only are the Government notsupporting independents in the fieldof health and fitness, they are crip-pling them by allowing not for profittrusts to take on council facilities withno VAT and reduced business rates.

I have in recent years watched thesegroups flourish and expand rapidlywhile the independents struggle withincreased VAT and high businessrates.

We occupy units in industrial estatesand yet are subject to the same ratesas large chains who are placed atmariners and commercial parks.

We currently pay around £170,000per year in VAT. If this was to be savedwe would potentially build up a pot ofenough money to be able to fund thedeposit for a new site every fouryears. That would mean an increaseof local employment and taxes associ-ated with that, not to mention thebenefits to the health of local com-munities and future Olympians etc.

How can a Government thatbelieves in fairness and equality forall feel it is right to levy higher costson independent gyms.

Stephen Butler, Senhurst Health Clubs,

Saturn Fitness and Wellness in Abingdon-on-Thames.

UK FITNESS SCENE16

Lorraine regains use of her armsthanks to exercise programmeBy Helen Williams

A FORMER ‘glamour girl’ fromLondon who was left paralysed hasregained the use of her arms – thanksto a specialist exercise programmewhich includes the use of FunctionalElectrical Stimulation therapy.

Mobility solutions specialist CycloneTechnologies helped Lorraine Mack,from Hackney, with a FES programmeused alongside physiotherapy.

In March 2004, when she was 30,Lorraine – also known as Lolly – had afledgling career as a glamour modeland TV presenter.

She was at a nightclub when adrunken 24-year-old man, who wasalso on ecstasy, fell from the balconyabove and landed directly on top ofher.

Lying fully conscious on the floor,Lorraine knew immediately that shewas completely paralysed. Previously,she had a promising career ahead ofher and had featured on Sky TV andMTV, and in The Sun, News of theWorld, FHM and the Daily Star. Herdream job was to become a TV pre-senter.

After 10 months of rehabilitation atStoke Mandeville Hospital, Lorrainereturned home and soon bought astanding frame to retain the muscletone in her legs.

She had also become aware of FEStherapy and began working withfounder of Cyclone Technologies,Stuart Dunne, and the Cyclone team.She obtained her own FES bike,

which stimulates the lower motorneurons and evokes patterned move-ment of the arms and legs.

She uses the RT300, which allowsher to exercise her arms or legs fromher wheelchair, Monday to Friday, foraround two hours. This is part of afour-hour exercise regime with herphysio that includes stretching byusing a standing frame, and using apower plate. Lorraine could seeimprovements immediately afterstarting to use FES. The therapy workson the pulse and heart-rate – impor-tant for this type of injury.

Lorraine said: “I’ve regained someuse of my arms since my accident,which has dramatically improved mylifestyle and let me regain the abilityto do simple things which we take forgranted.”

Since returning home, Lorraine hasretained her passion for travelling,fashion, music and glamour model-ling, and is also a keen supporter ofspinal cord injury research. She hasnow set herself the challenge of asponsored sky dive on March 3, 2013,in support of Spinal Research and theBack-Up Trust.

Lorraine Mack using Cyclone Technologies’ RT300.

David Lloyd Leisure’s flagship spa has been shortlisted for a prestigious award. Amida Spa in Farnham is one of four finalists in the bestday spa category in the Professional Beauty Awards 2013. General manager at David Lloyd Farnham Linden Henson said: “We areabsolutely thrilled to have been named among the four best day spas in the country. It’s a fantastic achievement for the team and arecognition of excellence – we take great pride in offering spa lovers outstanding service and world-class facilities.” The winners will beannounced at The Excel in London on February 24-25 2013.

UNIVERSITY of Birmingham Sporthas piloted a new double assess-ment from quality scheme Quest.

Quest Combo includes both sportsdevelopment and facility manage-ment and is designed to helpschools, further and higher educa-

tion establishments, leisure opera-tors and specialist facilities embracebest practice in both areas.

The three day assessment featur-ing a mix of modules drawn fromboth the facility management andsport development models together

with five ‘choice’ units picked by theclient. The assessment is supportedby a self-assessment process, formalpartner survey and mystery shop offacilities and services, all designedto provide ideas and recommenda-tions for improvement.

University pilots new double assessment

UK FITNESS SCENE18A kids’ fitness programme that runs across 35 leisure centres in Surrey, Sussex and Kent has seen more than 2,000children from 150 local schools take part. Workout’s Nicky Hyde found out more.

Scheme encourages children to dophysical activity during the holidaysNOT-for-profit trust Freedom Leisurerolled out its Freedom Junior SummerFitness Challenge this year whichencouraged children to increase theirlevels of physical activity during thesummer holidays.

Leisure centre staff went to visit theschools beforehand to brief the chil-dren on the challenge and they wereasked to complete 30 lots of activityover their holiday – which includedanything from dog walking, cycling,swimming or circuits.

Marketing manager Rob Price saidthe scheme ran successfully since2004 at Guildford Spectrum – whichFreedom manages for the council –and it was decided to roll it out acrossall sites.

He said: "The aim really was tomotivate local children to improvetheir fitness and well being as a resultof the child obesity levels increasingin the UK.

"We really wanted to promote thatexercise is fun and we want to havethem come into the leisure centresbecause it's a bonus that if they areeducated about fitness it might be

something they are motivated to doand take part in in adult life as well.

"The school holidays is a long timeto be off and we wanted to motivatethem into doing something otherthan sat watching the TV.

“But definitely from a business per-spective they are our future customerand if we get them into fitness earlyon they might want to continue withregular exercise in their adult life andstart to use a gym membership.”

The scheme reported success acrossthe board – not only did over 2000children take part but 90 per cent ofthose parents that were surveyed saidthey thought their child would con-tinue with regular exercise. Animpressive 98 per cent said theywould bring their child to theSummer Fitness Challenge again.

The scheme works by issuing eachchild with an active card – it workslike a loyalty scheme and they rack uppoints for activities they take part in.

Once they've completed 10 activi-ties, they are given a rewards (somemerchandise like a pen or fuzzy bugand a voucher for free swimming or

bowling.) They are then issued anoth-er card of challenges to complete.Once the child has completed threecards (a total of 30 challenges) theyhave completed the fitness challengeand are rewarded with medals andcertificates.

Rob added: "A lot of people werevery cynical about it but we made it

clear from the start they they didn'thave to come and use the facilities tocomplete the challenge – they couldgo out walking, go on their bike, swimin the pool on holiday.

"The key is though that they had tostay in regular contact with us to keepus updated of that progress, and themore they did, the higher valuereward they were given. To be honest,we really got a lot out of doing theschool assemblies.

“Once we'd spoken to them, wefound they got quite competitivewanting to be the fittest school andthat was very helpful to the cam-paign."

On average, the campaign led to asix per cent increase in attendanceacross all sites with between five and10 of the 30 'activity challenges' beingdone in one of the Freedom centres.

The scheme will be repeated nextyear, with Freedom considering tak-ing on a healthy food partner tospread the project wider.

It is also considering rolling out thechallenge scheme for other agegroups like adults and the over 50s.

Rob Price

The first Chaos Fitness Convention took place in Leeds last month – attended by 70 fitnessprofessionals. Highlights of the day included guest presentations from Fitladder on theneed for a standardised approach to fitness testing and monitoring and Sharon Jones fromMind Body Solutions who explained how to use questions to help clients overcome barri-ers to change. The event was rounded off by Creating Chaos's Darren Faulkner who gave atalk on why current nutritional guidelines are not working in the fight against fat gain andillness.

Accommodation dealagreed by academyPERSONAL trainer academy TheTraining Room has secured a dealwith Liberty Living to offer specialrates on accommodation for stu-dents near to its academies.

The deal will allow students whichlive away from the venues inBirmingham, Leeds, Manchester,Cardiff, Newcastle and London thechance to complete the six weekintensive course without the cost orinconvenience of travel.

Managing director Jonathan Daviessaid: “A number of our students trav-el as much as two hours each way totheir courses and when completingthe six-week intensive personal

trainer course, that can take its tollas they are training five days a week.

“By securing this accommodationdeal, we can not only save our stu-dents valuable time but also manywill find the £99 weekly cost is lessthan their travel costs.

“In addition, we have heard thatsome students have opted for oursix-month, part time course simplybecause they couldn’t manage thetravel or afford to rent accommoda-tion close to our key academies.“Now with the £99 accommodationoffer, these students can opt for theintensive six-week course and quali-fy quickly and start work sooner.”

UK FITNESS SCENE20

Chorley Fitness chief executive Richard Ellis, trustees Martyn Coyne, Rob Dickinson, ThomasIddon and personal trainer Louis Mayers with the award and presenter Chris Hollins.

Chorley gym winsprestigious awardfor a second timeBy Christina Eccles

THE team behind a successful inde-pendent gym is celebrating after theclub scooped a prestigious award forthe second time.

Chorley Fitness 24-Hour HealthClub won sports and fitness club ofthe year at the Club Mirror Awards2012, beating six other finalistsincluding The BBC Club in Londonand Kings Heath Leisure and CricketClub in Birmingham.

Chief executive Richard Ellis accept-ed the award, which the club also wonin 2007, along with trustees MartynCoyne, Rob Dickinson, Thomas Iddonand personal trainer Louis Mayers.

Richard said: “It's great being rec-ommended, nominated and being afinalist, but to win UK Sports andFitness Club of the Year is amazing.

“It's recognition of years of hardwork. We were told that judges wereparticularly impressed with the clubfacilities, personal and friendly serv-ice, our unique 24-hour opening con-cept and our work within the localcommunity.”

The awards were held at The PalaceHotel in Manchester, with the eveninghosted by BBC news and sports pre-senter Chris Hollins.

Guests included Paralympic medal-lists Natalie Jones and Rik Waddonwho Chorley Fitness sponsor andsupport with their training.

The club has also made the final sixat The National Fitness Awards in thebest regional gym (North andScotland) category and, as Workoutwent to print, were waiting to find outif they had won on the night.

Liverpool Football Club has renewed its partnership with TRX, which will continue to be atraining partner to the team. The squad and staff will continue to train with experts fromTRX, establishing specific programmes to sustain excellent health and fitness levels amongits first team and academy players.

UK FITNESS SCENE22

Twitter: What is it and why do it? By Dave Wright

RUNNING a great club or businesswithout communication or marketingit, is like winking at someone in thedark... you may think you are doingit... but no one else does.

So not only do we as operators haveto run a tight ship, but we need to’tell’ our community about it.

And the best ways to tell your com-munity are ways that are free... suchas Twitter.

Twitter is like sending a ‘text’ to theworld for anyone who is interested toread it. It has many great benefits tohelp clubs build their business, andhere are some of the main ones:

1) Research tool: Hear what peopleare saying about your industry/mar-ket segment and keep up to date withthe latest news and trends.

2) Branding: By communicatingwith others, rather than just spam-ming product announcements, youcan present and develop the kind ofimage that attracts your potentialcustomers and refine your brand.

3) Engage customers: Promotingyour club is an obvious use, butTwitter also allows you to listen to and

find out about your customers andwhat they want.

4) Direct promotion: Twitter allowsyou to communicate real time withyour relevant market. What thismeans to you is that rather thanspending a lot of money and timeorchestrating a large campaign, youcan quickly get a message out to peo-ple in an instant to promote services.

For example on a day you know itwill be slow, post an offer that people

can pass on to their friends and fami-ly that allows them to quote a word orsaying and receive 50 per cent off PTsessions or a month free with anyreferral this week.

Twitter is free, it takes 30 seconds toset up and three seconds to post amessage.

But it can provide your small busi-ness with another channel to informand engage your current and poten-tial customers – and in a competitiveenvironment every opportunity to dothat is worth exploring.� Dave Wright is the CEO ofCFM/MYZONE, a company with over300 staff that have served the interna-tional fitness industry for over 21years in 10 different countries;focussing on either getting new mem-bers and/or keeping existing ones.Dave is also the owner of 11 healthclubs across two continents, a boarddirector of the UK’s Fitness Industry,founder of IOU (IndependentOperators Unite), an IHRSA presenterand the creator and global distributorof a new monitoring device used byclubs around the world calledMYZONE. He may be contacted onDave.Wright@cfm.net

Dave Wright

bioDensity creator John Janquish and Gary Rhodes.

THE UK’s first Osteogenic Centre hasopened in Leeds, created to helpusers strengthen their bones andimprove fitness levels.

The centre will feature a bioDensitydevice, which increases bone densityand neurological function, and is setto transform perceptions of preventa-tive and rehabilitative body strength-

ening for everyone from elite athletesto the elderly.

Entrepreneur and personal trainerGary Rhodes has been awarded theUK distribution rights frombioDensity to install and educate inOsteogenic centres and plans to open10 across the country within fiveyears.

He will run the venture with partnerNichola Taylor and Ben Farnham, agraduate in physical education fromLeeds Metropolitan University.

Other features will include a 3Dmassage chair – free to use for thoseon a bioDensity course and availableon a pay per use basis – and the newpro7 Power Plate machine.

First Osteogenic Centre opens in Leeds

A LADIES only club in NewportPagnell raised over £200 for charityin just two hours by organising apink themed Zumba party.

Énergie Fitness for Womenarranged the event to raise funds forBreast Cancer Awareness, with

members taking part in a Zumbaclass and enjoying pink treats suchas biscuits, fruit and sweets. Theclub also held an event on NationalFitness Day in September, raising£172 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Organiser Zoe Neal said: “As a

women only fitness club we feel verystrongly about breast cancer and wewanted to do something as our wayto stand up to it. The last two eventshave been great for bonding every-one together and creating a fun andenergetic environment.”

Pink themed Zumba party raises £200 for charity

UK FITNESS SCENE24

By Christina Eccles

STAFF and members from an EastSussex gym broke two GuinnessWorld Records in one day – and nowreckon they can smash their secondtitle again.

The group from David LloydEastbourne scooped the titles bycramming the most people into amodern Mini – 28 – and then an old-style Mini, with 23.

Following on from their success, theteam now believe they can break theirsecond title by squeezing 24 women

into the classic model.Team leader DL Kids co-ordinator

and swimming coach, Dani Maynard,said: “I’m very confident that I knowhow to get 24 into the classic Mini.

“We broke that world record by twoon ITV’s This Morning live on air infront of millions of viewers, so thepressure was intense.

“We’re still recovering from breakingtwo world records in one day, so haveno immediate plans, but who knowswhat the future holds?”

The group, who were representingthe UK in the eighth annual Guinness

World Records Day celebrations atLondon’s Tower Bridge, first squeezed28 into a new-style Mini in aid ofChildren in Need, breaking the recordof 27 which they set last year.

They then headed for the car park atThis Morning’s studios to attempttheir second record, previously heldby 21 women in Japan.Dani and herteam prepared for the challenges bytraining at the club. They were sup-ported on the day by three DavidLloyd personal trainers and the club’sgroup exercise co-ordinator, whohelped them with warm-up exercises.

Staff and members from David Lloyd Eastbourne cram into a modern mini.

Girls get in a tight squeezeto break two world records

Physical Company appointed by Australian firmAUSTRALIAN company fluidFORMInnovations has appointed PhysicalCompany as European distributorfor the freeFORM board, followingsuccess in the UK group exercisemarket.

Deals are already in progress withequipment suppliers for the

Germany, France, Greece andScandinavia regions, with the boardexpected to be rolled out soonacross Europe.

Sales and marketing director atPhysical Company John Halls said:“The freeFORM board is a fantasticproduct with many training applica-

tions, extremely well suited to theGroup X and small group PT envi-ronments.

“We have seen immediate interestfrom our European suppliers and weare very proud to offer the productand programming in the UK andnow the rest of Europe.”

Paralympicsuccessesfor stadiumAN impressive 41 Paralympicmedals were won by athletes andteams which prepared for theevent by training at StokeMandeville Stadium.

Out of the 41 medal winners,members of Team GB won 26 andoverseas teams – includingFinland, Iceland and Saudi Arabia– won a further 15.

Business development managerIan Seabrook said: “It’s been agroundbreaking year for sportand we’re thrilled to have beenable to offer teams the opportuni-ty to train here at StokeMandeville.

“We’re so proud to be the birth-place of the Paralympics andwe’re even more proud to havebeen in the presence of greatsports people that went on to winmedals for their country.”

‘Best ever’line-up atSportExpoOVER 5,000 visitors attended thefirst SportExpo Festival, whichtook place at Manchester’sEventCity.

Popular events over the week-end included MAI NationalCircuit and IFBB British GrandPrix, which was billed as the bestline-up ever.

Co-founder Neil Hill said: “For afirst year show, I am pleased withthe positive achievements ofSportExpo which have left us witha firm platform that we can buildon for years to come.

“All of the constructive feedbackwe have received will only help usdevelop and improve the show forthe future and I for one amalready excited for next year’sSportExpo.”

Next year’s show will take placeon October 18 to 20 2013.

UK FITNESS SCENE26The team behind a new leisure centre in St Albans has unveiled big plans to bring something different to the localarea – offering members a luxurious experience without the expensive price tag. Christina Eccles paid a visit.

The 25m swimming pool and the gym at the newly opened Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre.

New centre aims to combineluxury with affordabilityWESTMINSTER Lodge Leisure Centreis a club full of firsts for operatorEveryone Active.

As well as being the first facility inthe chain to install kit such as WattBikes and an X Cube FunctionalTraining Rig, it is also the firstEveryone Active club to include a spa.

The ethos of the centre, which willbe managed by Everyone Active inpartnership with St Albans City andDistrict Council, is to combine luxurywith affordability – exceeding people’spresumptions of what they wouldfind at a local leisure centre at a pricethey can afford.

Regional sales and business manag-er Alison Ford said: “The facilities atWestminster Lodge are incredibly

high spec, so we’ve had a lot of inter-est and support from the local com-munity.

“As well as the top quality fitness,swimming and sports opportunities,the spa is an affordable bit of luxurythat many people wouldn’t expect tofind at a leisure centre.”

Full membership costs £49.50 permonth, with the option to include spamembership for an additionalmonthly fee of £20. Stand alone spamembership can be bought for £30per month and day spa passes arealso available for those who want thechance to try the facilities out withoutcommitting to membership.

The gym side of the business will beheaded up by fitness manager Luke

Charlton, who has moved over fromaward winning Everyone Active clubSpelthorne Leisure Centre in Staines –crowned best rehabilitation facility atthe 2011 National Fitness Awards.

When Workout visited WestminsterLodge, staff were gearing up for aspectacular launch event, takingplace the following day, and Luke saidhe was excited to see the reactionfrom visitors, who he feels will be sur-prised at the amount the club has tooffer and the value for money whichmembers will get.

He added: “One of the challengeshas been to explain to people whatthis type of facility will be like. I can’twait to see people’s faces when theywalk through the doors.”

Olympians support open dayINTEREST in the new £24.7m centreis already high, with a pre-salesperiod encouraging 3,500 people tosign up in advance before the clubeven opened its doors.

To highlight the range of activitieson offer, people were invited to anopen day, attended by specialguests including double Olympicbronze medal winning gymnastMax Whitlock and swimmers Keri-Anne Payne and Steve Parry.

8,000 people visited the centreduring the course of the day, with330 signing up as members and

4,000 registering for free EveryoneActive cards, allowing them to usethe facilities on a pay as you gobasis. Combined with the successfulpre-opening campaign, the centrenow has nearly 4,000 members and10,000 Everyone Active card hold-ers.

Alison added: “The open day was ahuge success. We’re very proud tobe operating Westminster Lodge –it’s one of our best sporting andleisure facilities and, with the luxu-rious spa offering, it really standsout from the crowd.”

The plunge pool at the spa.

ONE of Westminster Lodge LeisureCentre’s biggest selling points is itsluxurious spa – the first one forEveryone Active and a fairly unusualsight at a local leisure centre.

Features include a Tepidarium,Laconium and relaxation room, aswell as a fully equipped beauty salonoffering treatments such as massages,facials, manicures and pedicures, withproducts by Espa, Clarins and Jessica.Visitors will also go through a ‘shoe

ritual’ on arrival – being asked toswap their shoes for a pair of spa slip-pers to become fully immersed in therelaxing experience.

Facilites can be used by both mem-bers and non members who can payfor individual spa days.

To further promote the spa, the clubhas also teamed up with nearby StMichael’s Manor Hotel to offer pack-ages which include accommodationat the hotel and use of the facilities.

Spa is a big selling point

Features at the club include:� 200-station gym.� Separate youth gym.� Group cycling studio dedicated tospinning classes.� 25m x 10 lane main swimming poolwith moveable floor.� 17m x 10m training pool with move-able floor.� Water confidence area.� Four court sports hall.� Luxury spa with sauna, steam, hotand aroma rooms.� Two exercise studios.� Climbing wall.� Crèche and children’s soft play area.� Bistro-style restaurant.

Max Whitlock Keri-Anne Payne and Steve Parry were among the guests at the event.

NEW FOR 201328

An artist’s impression of the new leisure centre.

Centre to open in time for new yearA NEW £7.4m redevelopment projectat Gosport Leisure Centre will be offi-cially opened to the public onDecember 31, just in time for the startof the new year.

Replacing Holbrook RecreationCentre, the improved leisure facilitiesinclude a 25m swimming pool, asmaller learner pool, sauna and

steam room and a 70 station healthand fitness studio. There will also be asports hall suitable for badminton,basketball, volleyball, netball and arange of community activities.

Outside there will be five a-side andseven a-side synthetic football pitchesadjacent to the centre, with two grassmini-soccer pitches to the west.

Once the leisure facilities have beencompleted, the next phase of thedevelopment will be the constructionof a new pub and restaurant and 60bed Premier Inn hotel, which willopen next summer.

DC Leisure was appointed byGosport Borough Council to design,build and manage the new site.

WITH the Olympics and Paralympicsraising all things sport, health and fit-ness to the forefront of the public’sminds, 2013 will be about capitalisingon this.

We’ve heard a lot about legacy, buthow do we translate a successfulsummer of sport into members walk-ing through our doors, increasedretention and improved revenues inthe coming year?

The 2012 Fitness IndustryConfidence survey, carried out byLeisure-net Solutions and sponsoredby LIW, demonstrates that generally,our confidence as an industry is upcompared to two years ago.

Almost half (42 per cent) of seniormanagers across the public and pri-vate sectors of the leisure, health andfitness industry said they were moreor much more confident, with only 12per cent saying they were less so.

In fact, most key indicatorsimproved compared to both 12 and24 months ago.

Another positive area the surveyhighlighted was Primary IncomeStreams, which were up from 23 percent in 2010 to 39 per cent this year.And investment is predicted to risetoo, with 35 per cent of respondentsexpecting more, or much more fund-ing to come their way over the com-ing year.

Employment levels for the next 12

months also look optimistic – a quar-ter of respondents (26 per cent) statedthey intend to employ more people.Only 15 per cent will be employingless – down by 20 per cent comparedto 2010.

However, although confidence hasincreased, converting the public’snew found interest in sport and fit-ness, and breaking through the cur-rent participation barrier of 10-15 percent, remains a challenge for 2013.

Based on sector trends we’ve wit-nessed throughout this year, the keyto success lies in targeting particularmarkets and specialising in order toprovide a bespoke service that meetsthat market’s needs.

The growth of the outdoor fitnesssector, in particular group sessions, isindicative of how the industry isalready specialising with great suc-cess. Clubs will need to increasinglydifferentiate themselves in similarways, either by price, service or facili-ties, in order to compete in the com-ing year.

We predict that the average mid-point, middle-market offering will bethe one that’s most squeezed in 2013as people move either upmarket andpay more money for a better personalservice – for example at a PT-orientat-ed or spa-based gym) or go down-market, to a budget offering withmore basic facilities and minimumindividual interaction.

Although no doubt a challenge, thisneed to differentiate can be seen as areal opportunity.

We already know we can performwell when we specialise – as demon-strated by the success of both outdoorfitness classes and the budget gymsector – so the trick will be to inno-vate, and do it well.� Mike Hill is managing director ofLeisure-net Solutions.

As another year draws to a close, operators are turning their attention to 2013. HereMike Hill looks at the key findings from the 2012 Fitness Industry Confidence Surveyand explains how they can help the industry succeed in the year ahead.

Industry’s confidence isup finds latest survey

Mike Hill

GROUP EXERCISE30

Residents enjoy Zumba toprove age is no barrierBy Christina Eccles

RESIDENTS at a Cornish retirementvillage have been enjoying Zumbaclasses – proving that group exercisecan benefit all ages.

Residents at Roseland Parc, inTregony, near Truro are the latest con-verts to the fitness craze, with the reg-ular classes featuring a mix of oldschool Frank Sinatra and NinaSimone, alongside tunes from someof today’s most popular acts, includ-ing Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am.

The Movement to Music classes aredelivered by Clare Lawrence, a Zumbainstructor who is also trained in ahost of dance and fitness techniques.

She includes movements from anumber of disciplines, includingZumba, in her classes, which are suit-able for all abilities.

She said: “It’s less about focusing onone particular routine and moreabout simply encouraging people toget moving.

“I try to make the classes a veryrounded experience. The music ischosen to jog memories and some-times I’ll add in a tango move or a lit-tle cha-cha shimmy which many resi-dents are familiar with.”

As well as holding classes in the vil-lage’s function room, Clare also visitsRoseland Nursing home on the samesite and the dementia suite, Penlee.

While some residents are able to

carry out relatively complicatedmovements, even those with limitedmobility are encouraged to take part.

She added: “I’ve been a dancer allmy life and I know how powerfulmusic can be. Just seeing the smileson residents’ faces as they recognise a

piece of music and recall what itmeant to them is wonderful.

“The benefit of the classes is thateveryone can do as much or as littleas they can manage. Anything thatgets the blood pumping and gener-ates a smile is a good thing.”

Residents at Roseland Parc enjoying a Zumba class.

Operator tolaunch newtimetableMEMBERS at Virgin Active healthclubs will be able to shake andshimmy Bollywood style or followin the footsteps of tennis starAndy Murray when the operatorlaunches its new 2013 classtimetables.

Classes starting next year willinclude:� Les Mills’ CXWORX – a short,sharp workout that tightens andtones core muscles, improvesfunctionality and strengthens thebody for mobility and injury pre-vention.� Ugi – a high intensity classfrom Canada, which will make itsUK debut exclusively at VirginActive. The barefoot 30-minuteworkout uses a 15cm diameterball available in various weights tosuit individual needs. � Cardio Tennis – a group classfeaturing drills to give players ofall abilities a high energy workout.� Masala Bhangra – an exercisedance routine that modernises thehigh-energy folk dance of Bhangraby blending traditional dancesteps and the exhilaration ofBollywood moves.

The operator is also predictingthe trend for High IntensityInterval Training to continue.

UK FITNESS SCENE 33Weight loss success stories can provide inspiration to existing members and generatepriceless publicity for your club. PR expert Cheryl Hersey explains how to get yourstory in the news.

Sharing your success storiesand supporting superfansHOW often have you picked up amagazine or paper and read about Joeor Jane Bloggs’ dramatic weight losstransformation?

There’s no denying real life storiessell. We’re fascinated by other people’slives and as such the media love to gettheir hands on a good ‘real life’ story.

So as a personal trainer or fitnessfacility, are you making the most ofyour success stories? You can proba-bly think of dozens of your own greatstories straight away so why not‘package them up’ and use them tomarket your facility?

High percentage weight loss has animpact on so many areas of one’s lifethat it inevitably leads to a dramaticlife transformation. Remember thatthese successful slimmers are yoursuperfans.

They will wax lyrical about you andyour facility, because your help hasbeen crucial to them turning their lifearound. Use superfans in any wayyou can to get the message out there.

Display their story in your facility,share it in e-newletters, invite them toattend events and open days as spe-cial guests and give their story to themedia. Treat them like royalty andthey will be loyal followers, bringingin quality referrals for a long time tocome.

When it comes to working with themedia, some stories will always bemore saleable than others and thereare some golden rules about whatmakes a good story: � Weight loss of four stone or more. � Before and after photos that show

clear and obvious weight loss (thinkoverweight holiday snap to healthy,radiant slimmer).� Details of the effect the weight losshas had on the individual’s life (e.g. “itenabled me to get my dream job as afirefighter” or “it helped me to beatdebilitating back pain and enjoy play-ing with my daughter again.”)

It might seem obvious but you mustalways check that the case study iswilling to share their story. Make surethey understand what will be expect-ed of them.

Some media will want them toattend a photshoot, while others willprefer photos to be provided.

At Action, we work with an operatorthat has a superfan who – after thegym team helped her drop three dresssizes – tweets daily about her visits tothe centre.

She’s been on local radio and in sev-eral national magazines, talking abouther health and fitness journey and therole this particular operator played.This is money can’t buy publicity thatevery PT and operator should belooking to capitalise on. � Cheryl Hersey is a founding partnerof Action PR, a specialist agency sup-porting the health and fitness indus-try. For more information visitwww.actionpr.co.uk

Cheryl and the Action PR team.

A BADLY injured soldier has beencrowned David Lloyd Leisure’s PThero of the year after defying medicalopinion which said he would neverwalk again.

Anthony Cooper lost both legs in abomb blast while on patrol inAfghanistan but just two years later –and with support from personal train-er Rob Darlington at the group’sChorley club – he is set on fulfillinghis dream of becoming a Paralympiclong distance runner.

Anthony said: “I joined David LloydChorley in December 2011 to improvediet and fitness and to build mystrength in my legs so I could walkagain. I met Rob there, and with hisguidance I have built up my strengthand stamina.

“Now Rob helps me train using myprosthetic legs to help build muscle. Ihad one childhood wish – to be a sol-dier. Now with Rob’s help, my dream isto represent my country in the nextParalympics.”

His prize is a year’s David LloydLeisure membership.PT hero of the year 2012 Anthony Cooper with PT Rob Darlington.

Hero awardfor soldier

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT34

Kettlercise mum beatsodds to win challengeBy Helen Williams

A MUM and self-confessed ‘choco-holic’ who battled adversity for muchof her life has gone on to win a topprize of £1,000 in the Kettlercise 2012Challenge.

Wendy Davis, of Durham, lost 14pounds during the 12-week bodytransformation. She also shed a totalof over 21 inches from her waist,chest, hips, thighs and arms afterattending Kettlercise sessions in aclass of 12 at Healthlands Gym, host-ed by trainers Dave and Joyce Ranson.

Wendy was widowed in her late 20swhen her policeman husband was hitby a truck while riding his motorbike.Her daughter Rachelle was only twowhile son Samuel was just fourmonths.

Wendy said: “My weight just crepton without me realising it, and later,when my mum died aged only 58 ofbreast cancer, I think I gave up on life.When I was younger, I had actuallybeen in the England hockey team, butI had a series of operations on myknees and at the age of 21 was told I

wouldn’t walk again.”In addition, Wendy suffered an

assault which left her with damagedhips, back and legs. Unable to exer-cise, she was confined to a wheelchair

for long periods and at one stage evenlapsed into a coma as she was takingso much pain relief medication.

The turning point came when thefamily decided to visit Wendy’s broth-

er who lives in Thailand. Wendy andRachelle joined Slimming World tolose weight before the trip and theirconsultant gave them a leaflet aboutthe Kettlercise challenge.

“It was really a challenge to myself,”said Wendy. “I wanted to prove Icould do anything I put my mind to.We survived the first session but thenext day we couldn’t walk and the dayafter was worse! But soon we weretotally addicted.”

Wendy did the programme threetimes a week and pushed herself atevery session, completing 37 exercis-es in 37 minutes. She said: “It is hardbut there is such a feelgood factorafterwards.”

She added: “I’m very proud ofRachelle who has lost three stonesand I spent the prize money on send-ing her to India to help in an SOSChildren’s village. To have the honourof winning Phase 1 was an amazingachievement and just goes to proveanyone can change their lives if theyreally want to. I hope people readingthis will feel inspired to try aKettlercise class.”

Wendy Davis before. Wendy Davis after.

The elements of a programme THE number one reason for joiningand staying a member of a fitnessfacility continues to be weight loss.

People tend to focus on this is inthe new year and pre-summer. Newyear’s resolutions drive people torefocus on their health and in thesummer as people think of gettinginto summer clothes.

These are ideal times for a fitnessfacility to focus on their members’weight management programmes.

Most clubs have a weight manage-ment programme, which should bemade up of a mix of three elements:

1. Nutritional – food 2. Psychological – mind 3. Physiological – fitness and moni-

toring No single element can stand alone

without a mix of the others and theperson joining up will know which of

these elements is most important tothem.

A health and fitness facility shouldconsider how they can develop eachof these three elements in theirweight management programme.

If a client asks to join a weightmanagement programme, they haveaccepted they want to lose weight.

It is then down to the fitness facilityto nurture their aim and supply theappropriate motivation, measuredtargets, exercise programme andsuitable diet guide.

Measure appropriately, educateand support sensible nutrition, keepexercise fun and everyone wins.Members will change shape andclubs and PT’s will increase theirincome.

Fore more information visitwww.idass.com

A group from the Rotherham Institute of Obesity visited Leisure Industry Week to demon-strate a new piece of kit – and show how it can benefit weight loss and improve fitnesslevels. 11 patients and three instructors were invited by Life Fitness to do a 30 minutedemonstration on the company’s new piece of equipment, the SYNRGY 360. Exercise thera-pist at RIO and owner of Bawtry Health and Fitness Studio Luke Walker said: “The day wasenjoyed by all and the confidence and motivation that all the patients received from theexperience with Life Fitness was first class. Hopefully this is the first step in a strong rela-tionship between the Rotherham Health Service and the fitness suppliers.”

UK FITNESS SCENE36

Fitness and diet expert Rosemary Conley is launching a new book – The Fat Attack BoosterDiet. The FAB Diet combines healthy, low fat, calorie controlled meal suggestions withdoable exercise routines. Rosemary said: “The FAB Diet speeds up your rate of weight losslike never before. It is so versatile it caters for all tastes and lifestyles. Select from the‘high protein’ or ‘carb-based’ menu plans or go for vegetarian choices. There are also readymeals and desserts to choose from. To make your selection even easier they are all colourcoded so you can see at a glance what you want.”

PRODUCT NEWS38

Ffittech take Spinningto a new levelFFITTECH are dominating the spin-ning revolution throughout Europe –the superior design of the SignatureGold model will rival any top brand inthe UK.

Ffittech have spent many years ofresearch and development to createthe perfect ride that is both comfort-able and fully adjustable to meet theneeds of the avid spinner.

They have recently carried majorinstalls in Spain that have seen classesgrow from a standard 20-30 stationclass to studios and classes with over100 bikes. This has come through anobvious increased demand for spin-ning but this has been made possiblefor health clubs as Ffittech havepriced their Signature Gold range atan unbelievable 50 per cent less thantheir competitors without compro-

mising on the quality of the product. So why not spin your way into the

new year with an amazing offer fromFfittech... 10 x Ffittech Gold spin bikesfor just £5500.00 + VAT, saving a huge£450.00.

Call the sales team on 0115 752 9548 orvisit www.ffittech.co.uk

Let the countdown beginTHE UK’s number one fitness, sportand nutrition exhibition is gearing upfor its fifth installment in 2013.Derived from humble beginnings, theBodyPower Expo has grown exponen-tially since its conception in 2009.

Now welcoming just shy of 40,000fitness enthusiasts, BodyPower haswell and truly stamped its name onthe domestic and international fitnessmarket.

Year on year the show builds on resi-dent talent, welcoming masses ofinternational athletes and fitnessindustry renowned experts.

BodyPower organisers have alreadyconfirmed some big name signings

from the bodybuilding community inthe way of 212 Mr Olympia James‘Flex’ Lewis, British Grand Prix OpenChampion Shawn Roden and thebodybuilding godfather Ronnie ‘BigRon’ Coleman.

Promising dozens more to beannounced over the coming months,as well as building on the establishedshow features in the way of the SuperGym, The Supp Store, Endurance Cityand the first ever national fitnesscompetition Fit Factor; it is easy tosee why next year’s show is billed asthe biggest show to date.

The show takes place on May 17 to19 2013 at the NEC in Birmingham.

Company introduceseasy meat systemA SPECIALIST meat distribution com-pany with 25 years in the industry hasintroduced an easy system for gymowners to increase profit margins byselling chicken to members.

Gold Standard Nutrition's revolu-tionary system gives you the opportu-nity to sell frozen chicken breasts toyour customers at less than a poundper portion by providing you with arented freezer, POS and merchandise.

The cost of the freezer rental is cov-ered by just a single bag of chickensold per week.

The appeal of this product doesn'tstop at cost. Gold Standard Nutritionhas made it more convenient too.

The chicken is steamed and frozenwhich means that once defrosted thisversatile chicken is ready to eat coldor re-heat, offering significant timesavings to athletes and fitness enthu-siasts who traditionally have to spenda lot of time preparing their meals.

Breasts are portion controlled todeliver 34g of protein per breast mak-ing nutrient counting easier.

After successful trials in 20 outlets

across Yorkshire, Gold StandardNutrition are now confidently extend-ing this offer across the country andaim to have 300 stockists by nextsummer.

For more information Email:stockists@GoldStandardNutrition.co.uk

Telephone: 01757 211 740 or visitwww.GoldStandardNutrition.co.uk

THE original Blaze was a hard andfast thermogenic beast, a fat burnerso powerful you could rely on serious-ly rapid results.

Blaze Reborn now has even moreincredible ingredients, in even greaterdosages, to make it better than everand beat every other fat burner on themarket, ever produced.

What makes Warrior Blaze Rebornso good? Is it better than the original?

Yes! The original Warrior Blaze wasan awesome fat burner – thousandsof positive reviews across several con-tinents demonstrate how well itworked for hard training individuals.

It needed to be something special tomake the new Blaze Reborn not onlymatch that product, but beat it.

How was that possible? Simple...ingredients and dosages.

This is a great new addition to theWarrior range which is a brand thathas grown immensely since itslaunch.

Contact Bodybuilding Warehouse for tradeprices on 0161 236 1588 or email

Trade@bodybuildingwarehouse.co.uk

Blaze Reborn builds on a legend

GREAT tasting, all natural, conven-ient, high protein diet meals forsports and fitness.

Performance Meals are based onclinically tested research that clearlyindicates high protein meals help tomaintain a lean, toned body.

High protein meals are also suitablefor building muscle mass andstrength and are especially useful inthe repair of muscle after exercise.

These are complete real food meals,containing no additives or preserva-tives.

High in protein, with a minimum of

40g protein per serving, low fat, lowsalt and ready to eat.

The unique air and watertight sealedpouch ensures the ingredients arekept fresh and keeps the all-impor-tant nutrients locked in during cook-ing. Performance Meals have a shelflife of 12 months and have no specialstorage requirements. No fridge need-ed. Simply display alongside existingsports nutrition products.

Visit www.performancemeals.com for more information.

Trade customers can order direct fromwww.performancemealstrade.com

Performance Meals –a world’s first

Climber added to skateparkSCOTTISH youth activity operator,The Factory Skatepark has embracedthe business of making kids’ exercisefun by adding climbing to theiralready successful skate and scooterindoor facility based in Dundee.

Kids’ exercise is continuing to be atopical issue, with the governmentand lottery based funding schemesavailable aimed at getting kids awayfrom computers and into exercise.

Funding schemes are now availableto a wide range of facilities from com-munity centres, youth groups to scoutand cadet organisations.

The Factory Skatepark obtainedfunding for the Freedom Climber, anew form of indoor climbing systemaiming to make climbing accessible to

the masses. Freedom Climber are now able to

offer funding schemes to communitybased organisations.

Details at info@freedomclimber.co.uk

THE Les Mills SMARTBAR is revolu-tionising how people lift weightsthanks to the cutting edge, awardwinning design that speeds up platetransitions and maximises everyworkout.

At the prestigious 2012 New ZealandBest Design Awards, SMARTBARpicked up the Gold Pin for BestProduct Design and the highly covet-ed Purple Pin, otherwise known as theSupreme Award, and it’s easy to seewhy.

Over the years the barbell weightsystem has hardly changed andchanging weights around can be aslow process.

The SMARTBAR takes all those frus-trations away thanks to a head whichhas retractable teeth (known as the‘gator’). Plates are attached to the barsimply by sliding them on and clamp-ing the ‘gator’ shut. To remove theplates you simply pull the releaseleaver and slide them off. It doesn’tget much quick or easier than that.

The SMARTBAR can be used any-where – in a Les Mills BODYPUMPclass (the original barbell class, whichfocuses on exercises like squats,

presses, lifts and curls for the ultimate60 minute workout), on the gym flooror in a personal training session.

Fancying winning one of five sets ofthe Les Mills SMARTBAR? To be inwith a chance of winning, visitwww.smartbaruk.com/win-a-smart-bar before December 24 and followthe instructions.

For more information visitwww.smartbaruk.com or contactEscape Fitness on 01733 313535.

PRODUCT NEWS40

New equipment equalsnew membersSERVICESPORT Finance is the num-ber one provider of rental equipmentto the fitness industry.

The business was established to pro-vide ‘tailor made’ solutions specific toeach customer’s needs. This includescustomers that may have beenrefused lease finance and new startups. In these tough economic times, itis important for every gym businessto continue to invest in their equip-ment and their offering.

Equipment rental is proving to bethe perfect solution to balance costsand revenue. All types of products areavailable to rent including CV,strength and free weights.

The key advantages of rental are thatthrough monthly payments, gymowners can match their costs againstmonthly membership income.

Rental payments are inclusive ofservice and repair, meaning an end tolarge, lumpy repair costs, giving oper-ational peace of mind.

Rental makes investing in additionalrevenue streams affordable, typicallyan 11 bike studio cycling class willgenerate £8,000 of net profit per year.

New and improved equipment helpsgym owners attract and retain mem-bers, this is particularly important aswe head into the post-Christmaspeak. Treadmill rentals start from aslittle as £90 + vat per month.

For further information on this flexiblepayment option call 08442642473

or email rental@servicesport.co.uk

Get Smart with the SMARTBAR™

Gladiators join the KurvolutionA NEW Unikurve has been tried andtested and is launching in the newyear.

The product weighs 18kg and is notfor the faint hearted.

The public could try it out at LeisureIndustry Week with a three minutechallenge, which consisted of 50 sec-onds’ total core rock press.

The winner was Laurence King, anatural bodybuilder who managed105 reps, becoming the proud winnerof the Unikurve challenge T shirt.

The Unikurve brand is really grow-ing, with the company receivingenquiries from all over the world frompotential distributors.

Fans include celebrity personaltrainers and TV Gladiators WayneGordon and Jenny Pacey.

For more information visitwww.unikurve.co.uk Picture credit Helen Roscoe

Clinically proven treatmentfor sports injuriesWORKING out has many benefits, butanyone regularly exercising will pickup an injury at some time.

Most are relatively minor and RICE –Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation– is recognised as standard first aidtreatment. But there is evidence thatapplying ice (even wrapped in atowel) can lead to frostbite.

A safer and more effective solutionis to apply a Physicool cooling andcompression bandage.

Physicool is a unique reusable band-age that combines cooling, compres-sion and support, providing instanttreatment for muscleinflammation/bruising and localisedsoothing of tendons and ligaments.Physicool draws heat out by rapid

evaporation, rather than just coolingthe skin.

In a hospital-based patient study,those using Physicool had a 50 percent reduction in pain and a 50 percent increase in mobility compared tothose using standard therapy.

Available in Boots, pharmacies andHolland & Barrett, Physicool bandag-es cost between £9.99 and £14.99dependent on size.

If you’d like to try Physicool, sendyour details to info@physicool.co.uk .The first 20 people to reply using thecode WODEC will receive a free retailpack.

For more information visitwww.physicool.co.uk,

email: info@physicool.co.uk

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