ISSUE 1 May
WEEKLY
Issue 36 - 12 February 2021
YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE
Campaign to support PTs during lockdown launched page 3 Harness the power of the iFit craze page 4 New service launched to help operators improve membership conversion rates page 5
Today’s Workout Destination
Italian Dolomites Moab, Utah Mount Kilimanjaro Scottish Highlands Venice Iceland Hawaii Easter Island Antarctica Patagonia Bora Bora New Zealand Egypt Machu Picchu Paris Swiss Alps Grand Canyon Rome Glen Coe WORKOUTS INTERACTIVE Kenya Swiss Alps
Workout in breathtaking locations with world-renowned coaches who auto-adjust the incline, decline, speed, and resistance of your machine to create an immersive experience.
FREEMOTIONFITNESS.COM/22-SERIES
WORKOUT WEEKLY
3
Stourbridge leisure centre refurb work gets under way WORK has started on improvements to the changing rooms and swimming pools at Crystal Leisure Centre. Building contractor Speller Metcalfe has moved in to demolish the existing changing facilities at the Stourbridge site while the centre is shut due to lockdown. Improvements are also planned for the leisure pool at the centre. Meanwhile work is set to start next month at Halesowen Leisure Centre, where a range of improvements have been earmarked including a new indoor children’s play area. It comes as work is well under way on a new £18m leisure centre in Dudley. Councillor Ian Kettle, cabinet member responsible for leisure centres, said: “I’m pleased to see that work has started at Crystal Leisure Centre. “Regular users of the centre told us improvements were needed to the changing rooms. As a listening council we have got the ball rolling on that and contractors are in there this week ripping them out. “There’s a lot happening with leisure centres at the moment. We are already seeing the new Dudley Leisure Centre taking shape but with the potential for improvements at Halesowen and Crystal, the future looks very bright for leisure centre users.” Halesowen is in-line for a new look entrance, adventure play area and café. There will also be major changes to the swimming pool to cater for learner and advanced swimmers. The plans also include new ‘village style’ changing rooms, pool-side viewing area and a state-of-the-art fitness suite. Both Halesowen and Crystal leisure centres will have significant repairs carried out as part of the proposals, led by development partner Alliance Leisure. Group Editor: Judith Halkerston Tel: 01226 734639 jh@scriptmedia. co.uk Group production editor: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmedia. co.uk
Sales and marketing director: Tony Barry Tel: 01226 734605 tb@scriptmedia. co.uk Sales manager: Louise BristoweHarrison Tel: 01226 734699 workout3@ scriptmedia.co.uk
Studio manager: Stewart Holt sth@scriptmedia. co.uk
www.workout-uk.co.uk
Julia Goddard, senior business development manager at Alliance Leisure, added: “Alliance Leisure is delighted to have been appointed as the Development Partner to refurbish both Crystal Leisure Centre and Halesowen Leisure Centre. “This extensive investment in the leisure portfolio will transform the leisure provision for residents throughout the borough, bringing new opportunities for everyone to enjoy a fantastic array of modern facilities. “Alliance Leisure will be managing the project in close liaison with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and all works will be delivered via the UK Leisure Framework, owned by Denbighshire Council and managed by Denbighshire Leisure.” Work is well underway on the new £18.2million Dudley Leisure centre. The plans are part of a wider major regeneration programme bringing over £1billion investment to the town centre. The new Dudley leisure centre will benefit from excellent public transport links through the forthcoming adjacent Metro stop and the nearby bus Interchange. The new facility will include a 25 metre, eight-lane swimming pool and a teaching pool with spectator provision. There will be a four-court sports hall suitable for indoor football, badminton and more. The investment will also include a 100-station gym and fitness suite, two group exercise studios for a wide range of exercise classes and an immersive cycle studio. For families with younger children there will be a soft play area with catering facilities and a party room, and a café open to all users of the centre. There will also be power-assisted gym equipment for specialist support which may be particularly beneficial for those recovering from injury, older customers and those living with longterm health conditions.
Campaign to support PTs during lockdown launched UK SPORTS nutrition company BioSynergy has launched a campaign to support personal trainers during the COVID-induced lockdown of all gyms across the country. #NothingStopsFitness sees BioSynergy team up with some of the biggest names in the fitness industry to reward the efforts of personal trainers and help promote their brands, in recognition of the difficulties they have faced with the closure of gyms and training facilities requiring them to work even harder to deliver results for their clients through virtual classes and 1-2-1 sessions outdoors. Daniel Herman, founder of BioSynergy, said: “We’re incredibly proud to announce the launch of our #NothingStopsFitness campaign which will provide some much-needed support and recognition for personal trainers across the country. “The gym sector has been hit hard by numerous national lockdowns over the past year, with PTs forced to work twice as hard in challenging circumstances and adapt their businesses in order to continue delivering lifechanging results for their clients. “We want to encourage and support the work of fitness professionals who are crucial to providing the advice and guidance people need to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
“We’d like to invite all personal trainers to take advantage of our #NothingStopsFitness scheme and enjoy rewards and savings from some of the biggest names in the fitness industry.” Every entrant to the scheme will be rewarded with a package worth more than £1,500. The package includes a 60-day free trial of My PT Hub Premium; a free workshop with Escape Fitness; free access to a Your Personal Training Online Business Course; a MyZone gift card; and numerous savings with fitness brands such as Hyperice and Premier Global NASM. Bio-Synergy will also support all entrants by sharing their videos across its social media platforms, reaching millions of fitness enthusiasts. In addition to the entry package, one lucky winner will be rewarded with a prize valued at more than £3,000 which includes bumper packages from fitness brands such as Premier Global, My PT Hub Premium and Escape Fitness, as well as complimentary products from the likes of TRX, MyZone Hyperice and JLab. To enter, personal trainers simply need to email makeithappen@ bio-synergy.co.uk with the subject #nothingstopsfitness and provide their REPs number; a home workout video; and a brief description about themselves and any relevant links.
Repair, recover and rejuvenate with Pulse A MASSAGE using Power Plate’s vibration-assisted technology reduces inflammation by increasing blood flow and lymphatic flush to ease pain, promote faster recovery of damaged muscles & tendons and improve joint mobility. From the leader in whole body vibration for more than 20 years, the Power Plate® Pulse™ is a powerful, yet whisper quiet portable handheld massager. Now available in stylish matte black. n Helps relax and rejuvenate tight and sore muscles. n Enhances range of motion. n Promotes blood flow and fascia release. n Reduces pain. n Accelerates exercise warm up and recovery. Call 0207 317 5000 or visit powerplate.co.uk
WORKOUT WEEKLY
4
Harness the power of the iFit craze REWIND to 2020 – before the world was struck by the Covid-19 pandemic – and the top three worldwide fitness trends, as identified by the American College of Sports and Medicine*, were Wearable Technology, HIIT, and Group Training. Now, in 2021, the number one trend** is Online Training, ranked number 26 the previous year. A colossal jump, but no surprise given the temporary gym closures and social restrictions which have caused the fast-paced adoption and acceleration of digital technology. Forced to take control of their fitness journeys, gym-goers have opened themselves up to a new universe of
online workouts, apps, platforms, and wearables. So, with more content than ever competing for their attention, fitness operators need to leverage every opportunity to generate success. Enter iFit – the world’s leading ondemand fitness streaming platform which provides thousands of ondemand global and studio workouts. Now available on the Freemotion 22 SERIES – the only interactive, connected commercial cardio experience – iFit offers the ultimate solution to bridge the gap between home and gym, joining up the fitness ecosystem. “The 22 SERIES, powered by iFit
enables operators to tap into the highly engaged and growing iFit audience while giving today’s consumers the type of world-class, content-driven experience they desire,” said Tony Ali, UK country manager for Freemotion Fitness. Furthermore, many of the 12 millionplus iFit workouts streamed each month are consumed by individuals who both attend the gym and engage in workouts at home, which Tony sees as a real opportunity and advantage. “Each time a member uses iFit at home, either through the app or their own iFit-connected equipment, they are subconsciously being sent a reminder about their facility and the great
experience and community it offers,” he added. “This, in turn, keeps them returning for more. “iFit has already proven itself as a highly compelling fitness experience to entice, engage and retain its customers; the 22 SERIES puts that power into the hands of commercial operators.” Learn more about the new 22 SERIES and how it can drive commercial results for your facility, visit: https:// freemotionfitness.com/22-series/ *Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends 2020. **Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends 2021.
Your all-new, free marketing channel W W W. H U S S L E . C O M / L I S T- M Y- G Y M
Hussle brings gyms additional revenue via people who don’t currently engage with traditional memberships. ‘Try-before-you-buy’ customers, occasional users and customers requiring multi-venue workout options no single operator can provide. In the last 18 months Hussle has:
66,000 14,000 30,000 DISENGAGED E X- M E M B E R S BROUGHT BACK
N E W C U STO M E R S ENCOURAGED I N TO GY M S
T R Y- B E F O R E -YO U - B U Y C U STO M E R S C O N V E RT E D I N TO D I R EC T M E M B E R S
WORKOUT WEEKLY
5
New service launched to help operators improve membership conversion rates HUSSLE, the first marketplace for fitness in the world, is launching a new service to help its partner operators improve membership conversion rates, grow their membership base and increase revenue. The Membership Conversion Service proactively targets users that are visiting a gym through Hussle to directly join a club they’re attending regularly, offering up high value customers for upsell. This service identifies customers that would be best served by a direct gym membership and so provides a new joiner channel for operators. Jamie Owens, director of fitness partnerships at Hussle, said: “Hussle’s two key principles are increasing participation in physical activity and
generating revenue for operators. “We offer operators extended marketing reach nationally as well as access to additional revenue via people who don’t currently engage with traditional memberships. “Customers discover your gym through the Hussle platform and then the new MCS adds another layer of support, by proactively targeting users to join clubs they attend regularly. “Some customers will always want to use multiple gyms but others use us as a tool to find a gym they like. “We can identify those high value customers and convert them into direct members. “Hussle has always increased direct
membership organically for our gym partners; in the last 18 months we’ve turned 30,000 try-before-you-buy customers into direct club members. “On average, 26 per cent* of customers go on to become members of gyms they visit via Hussle. With the launch of a professionalised membership conversion service we hope the number of members joining directly will increase.” Hussle attracts consumers through a broad network of partnerships with big brand names such as Revolut, Vodafone and Premier Inn, as well as via employer staff benefit schemes with companies including Facebook, CBRE and Decathlon. “Thanks to the huge national
marketing partnerships we attract, plus the corporate members we generate, Hussle can offer operators a ready-made, risk-free national marketing network,” added Jamie. “The scale of the Hussle network creates marketing opportunities no club could achieve on its own.” It’s free to list a gym on the platform and Hussle is always keen to discuss with operators how an effective partnership that plays a part in their membership recovery can be built. * As evidenced through the independently audited White Paper ‘Aggregation in Fitness’ (https://issuu. com/husslehq/docs/aggregation_in_ fitness)
In partnership with
Friday 26th November 2021, The Athena,Leicester NOMINATIONS WILL REMAIN OPEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR CLOSING ON AUGUST 31 2021. WWW.NATIONALFITNESSAWARDS.CO.UK
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES ARE AVAILABLE Call 01226 734605 or email tb@scriptmedia.co.uk for details
14-15 SEPTEMBER
2021
THE FITNESS EVENT OF THE YEAR Visit Tomorrow’s Workout 2021 at Bolton’s Macron Stadium and you could find all that you need in one place - in one day • Over 50 key exhibitors with the latest equipment and services • 8 great seminars packed with ideas for your business • New products to improve your spend per member
Register before 31st July for FREE at:
www.tomorrowsworkout.co.uk Brought to you by
magazine