Weekly Workout - 13 October 2023

ISSUE 1 May

WEEKLY

Issue 153 - 13 October 2023

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

Healthtrack Clubs rolls out ambitious expansion plan – page 3 Ryan primed for success with new fitness hub – page 5

WORKOUT WEEKLY

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Wales’ first immersive studio to open at Club Rhyl DENBIGHSHIRE Leisure Ltd is bringing the first Future Studios immersive fitness experience to Wales as part of its ongoing investment in health and fitness facilities.

The new Studio 360 will be the only immersive fitness space of its kind in the country when it opens next month.

Delivered via the UK Leisure Framework, which is managed by DLL and Alliance Leisure, the innovative health and wellness space will offer immersive, all-inclusive experiences to engage and inspire existing group exercise participants and attract new audiences.

“Our aim is to deliver one of the most innovative and exciting fitness clubs in Wales. Using the Future

Studios technology, we can create any immersive environment that people want to exercise in,” said Jamie Groves, managing director of DLL. “It means users can enjoy a different experience every time they visit a class, our instructors can deliver even more engaging workouts and we can offer something for everyone.

“As the first immersive group exercise experience of its kind in Wales, Studio 360 will take the DLL class programme to another level.”

DLL has worked with creative agency Flareform to repurpose an existing exercise studio at Club Rhyl in Denbighshire to produce a one-of-akind exercise environment that uses 360-degree projection onto all walls of

the room to create seamless animated scenes that transform with each class.

The technology allows the operator to create unique settings tailored to specific workouts complete with soundscapes and visuals that react to sound.

For example, DLL can run mindfulness sessions in woodlands and yoga on mountain tops, or Zumba around dancing flames on a beach and HIIT classes in a nightclub.

The investment will not only enhance the health and fitness offer at Club Rhyl, but will allow DLL to provide experiences that appeal to people of all ages and demographics to help encourage more members of the community to take part in exercise.

Joe Robinson, co-founder of Future Studios and creative director at Flareform, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to collaborate with DLL as we embark on this journey to deliver brand new experiences for the members.

“From the very first interaction, it’s been evident that we are working with a client who shares our passion for innovation and excellence.

“Their enthusiasm for this project is infectious and inspiring, and it aligns perfectly with our creative vision for the product.

“We genuinely feel privileged to be a part of this partnership and can’t wait to see the incredible results we will achieve together.”

Healthtrack Clubs rolls out ambitious expansion plan HEALTHTRACK Clubs – a new chain of affordable, family-focused health clubs – has announced its plans for further expansion across the UK. There are currently five already in development, with international real estate advisor Savills instructed on its plans to open 150 throughout the country by 2030, targeting existing sports clubs, business parks, retail and leisure parks, and underutilised council land.

Its existing sites include a mix of new build 7,000 sqm venues and refits ranging from 4,500 sqm to 7,000 sqm.

The first two clubs, in Swindon and Birmingham, will each be a £6million refit and a £14million investment in two

Director of Operations: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmediagroup.co.uk Studio manager: Paul Hopkinson ph@scriptmediagroup.co.uk Assistant studio manager: Scott Firth sf@scriptmediagroup.co.uk

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phases in 2024 and 2025.

The first five will be flagships, spanning across 7,200 sqm on two floors, with car parking for 300 cars, outdoor fitness areas, trim trails, aerial zip wires, youth urban sports and mini 3G pitches on the roof.

A team of a highly experienced leisure entrepreneurs, teachers,

coaches, property experts, construction companies, technology innovators and brand experts, have been brought together by CEO Andy Baker to lead this ambitious programme forward, by pushing the boundaries of sports and physical activity.

He said: “Clearly the last four years has created a perfect storm of inadequate,

empty facilities that customers do not want to go to, sports clubs volunteers have disappeared and governing sport bodies constantly putting out fires regarding sustainability and culture.

“Add in councils with no real in-house budgets to run leisure centres and we now see a crisis in sports and activity employment.

“With the right investors we intend to change this with the development of 150 new state-of-the-art family-focused facilities over the next 10-15 years”.

Adults can enjoy flexible seasonal memberships programmes via a seamless tech platform linking security to access, information to personal data control and no reception or club barriers.

iFIT and Freemotion Fitness appoint new director iFIT and Freemotion Fitness have strengthened their leadership team with the appointment of Erik Richardson as operations quality director.

Erik will focus much effort on the Freemotion brand – the commercial arm of global fitness leader iFIT – as it prepares for an extended period of growth and global expansion.

In his role, he will oversee Freemotion’s manufacturing processes, with a heavy focus on operations quality across the product portfolio.

Erik will be responsible for maintaining the quality standards and excellence that have led Freemotion to become the industry leader in innovation and connected fitness solutions.

Based at iFIT’s HQ in Logan,

Erik Richardson Utah, he will report directly to Terry Davenport, the VP of quality and manufacturing, under the leadership of Matt Bush, iFIT’s chief operating

officer, and Mark Watterson, CEO of iFIT Commercial.

Mark said: “We are very excited to welcome Erik to the team. Erik has an excellent quality background and will play an important role in helping us deliver and exceed our long-term objectives.

“He will be an incredible asset to the team and we look forward to making great progress with him on board.”

Erik has an impressive background in manufacturing, spanning from metalworks and automotive safety to the e-commerce sector and protective packaging.

He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, which he followed with an MBA at Utah State University.

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Ryan primed for success with new fitness hub NOTTINGHAMSHIRE based bodybuilding legend Ryan Terry has announced he’ll open his first strength and fitness facility, RT Fit, in partnership with industry giants PRIMAL. Opening in January, the 20,000 square foot facility in the town of Retford will be fully kitted with stateof-the-art strength and conditioning equipment from PRIMAL and will feature a number of other facilities.

These include studios, recovery suite featuring ice baths, saunas, normatec sleeves etc, posing room, a café, seminar room, treatment rooms, barbershop, salon, aesthetics and tattoo parlour.

In this project with Ryan Terry, PRIMAL is collaborating on every aspect of RT Fit’s design, from concept to creation.

State-of-the-art equipment, including a comprehensive range of free weights and resistance machines, have been carefully selected to deliver exceptional performance and versatility.

From a spacious and fully equipped strength training zone to a cuttingedge cardio area that boasts the latest in fitness technology, each space will be strategically planned to offer a seamless flow and maximise efficiency for every aspect of a workout.

Speaking on the anticipated opening of RT Fit, Ryan said: “This is the next chapter in my career. I love the performance range from PRIMAL so it made perfect sense to partner on this new project and collaborate on designs and biomechanics of equipment and the overall layout.

“I trust we can achieve a highquality finish that we will all be proud of with PRIMAL’s equipment.

“I hope to inspire individuals of all abilities to enjoy fitness, creating a place for like-minded people to come together.

“I aim to be involved in building that culture and intend to train in the facility personally most days.

“We’re already making great progress on the project and can’t wait to open the doors of RT Fit in the near future.”

PRIMAL counts major gym chains, luxury hotel groups, top sports clubs, elite athletes and celebrities amongst its global client base.

These include two-time World’s Strongest Man champion Tom Stoltman, cross-fit champion and Gladiator Zack George and TV

personalities such as Holly Hagen, Alex and Olivia Bowen, Adam Collard and Gabby Allen.

Steven Rinaldi, founder and CEO of PRIMAL, added: “Embarking on this partnership with Ryan by providing the equipment for his first bespoke facility is really exciting for us at PRIMAL. “We are aligned with Ryan’s ambitious goals and mindset and are certain it will be a huge success.”

Ryan has enjoyed a successful international career since winning his first competition against the world number one back in 2010 and has since earned all major titles, including being crowned three-time Arnold Classic Champion.

His sights are set on Mr Olympia in November to complete his trophy cabinet.

Edinburgh Leisure teams up with ReferAll SCOTLAND’S largest leisure trust, Edinburgh Leisure, has partnered with ReferAll to manage all its health and wellbeing referral projects.

Edinburgh Leisure, which operates more than 50 venues across the city, is now using ReferAll’s data management platform to administer its Active Communities schemes.

Active Communities operates 18 different projects city wide, which aim to break down barriers to physical activity and help people to lead healthier, happier and more active lives.

Edinburgh Leisure currently supports more than 10,000 people affected by health conditions, disabilities, inequalities and poverty to get active and stay active every year, with projects such as Healthy Active Minds – which uses physical activity to support adults living with mental health conditions – and Steady Steps, supporting adults who have had or may be at risk of a fall.

ReferAll’s easy-to-view dashboard offers Edinburgh Leisure a real-time overview of all its Active Communities projects and their status, including details such as referrals received, uptake and completion rates.

The Reporting Solution enables the Active Communities teams to analyse service performance and patient outcomes. Ultimately, this means Edinburgh Leisure can clearly demonstrate to commissioners and stakeholders the positive impact they’re having on participants’ physical and mental health.

Ryan Martin, wellbeing referral manager at Edinburgh Leisure, said: “We

been working with ReferAll since July 2023 and already have 2,500 referrals on the system. With the ongoing challenges of securing funding from different partners, we needed a much more robust and seamless data platform.

“We were searching for an accurate way to measure our participants’ outcomes and record the positive impact we’re having on people’s health thanks to their involvement in our Active Communities

projects; ReferAll does just that.

“Having the ability to clearly see the number of non-starters and record reasons for non-participation has been especially helpful. Our Active Communities team has a big role to play, working with partners and focusing on individuals and communities who need extra support and ReferAll helps them to do that easily.”

Jerry Saddington, sales and account Manager at ReferAll, added: “During Edinburgh Leisure’s onboarding we’ve been thrilled to help their teams map out key points in their pathways using ReferAll’s automated features.

“This will save their team so much time in managing referral-based health and wellbeing schemes, as well as prioritising GDPR security. Our data management platform was designed and built by industry experts to reduce workloads for service managers and their teams.

“It simplifies and standardises service delivery, as well as the ability to report on specific Key Performance Indicators and outcomes, offering real-time visibility of programme performance providing confidence to commissioners and stakeholders.”

WORKOUT WEEKLY

New report on the transformative power of exercise for older adults A GROUNDBREAKING report shows the impact of power-assisted exercise on the physical and mental wellbeing of older adults and the benefits of engaging with this member demographic.

The release of the End User Impact Report 2023 from Innerva documents the profound effect of power-assisted exercise on the management of longterm health conditions among users, many of whom have previously felt excluded from mainstream health and fitness facilities due to their age, health or lack of confidence.

The headline results demonstrate how the Innerva wellbeing solution helps improves the five elements of healthy ageing – aerobic fitness, muscular strength, balance, flexibility and social wellbeing – to reduce the risk of falls and fractures, enhance coordination, maintain muscle mass and boost mood and overall wellbeing: n 94 per cent of users reported improved aerobic fitness. n 88 per cent felt stronger when getting up from a seated position, with 87 per cent experiencing increased strength for lifting heavier items or carrying shopping. n 80 per cent reported improved balance, critical for falls prevention. n 93 per cent noticed enhanced flexibility, important for everyday days and mobility. n Five per cent reported a positive impact on mental health.

Building on the findings of its previous report in 2020, the new research was

conducted with six Innerva operators across the UK and generated a total of 853 end user responses (80 per cent female and 20 per cent male).

With 94 per cent of users aged over 50 years old and 75 per cent over the age of 60, it shows how operators are successfully using Innerva’s powerassisted wellness solution to engage older adults and forge links with health partners to service the UK’s growing ageing population.

“The Innerva Wellbeing Suite has been a fantastic addition to our facility in Brandon, said Warren Smyth, CEO of Abbeycroft Leisure.

“Not only has it added a new offer to our community, but it has also added a different dimension to our work with community health teams and other partners within the NHS,” The report highlights the loyalty of older adults and their high levels of engagement.

For example, almost half of individuals (44 per cent) visit Innerva-equipped studios three or more times a week, while more than three quarters (77 per cent) use the equipment two or more times in a week.

Notable highlights include the impressive Net Promoter Scores

achieved by Innerva operators.

Net Promoter Score is the world’s leading metric for measuring customer loyalty.

All Innerva operators scored +70 or above, with Pendle Leisure Centre recording the highest NPS score of +87.

The average score across Innerva operators is +78, which is considerably higher the latest NPS score for the UK leisure sector of is 44 (Source: Active Insights 2023).

It also compares favourably to the top 25 per cent of performing organisations which have an NPS of +72 or higher – Apple’s NPS score is +72 and Amazon’s is +25.

Jon Hymus, managing director of Innerva, added: “Our latest research shows the life-changing impact of power-assisted exercise on older adults and those with chronic conditions.

“It also demonstrates the value of meeting the needs of these loyal customers – with Innerva operators achieving an average NPS score that is almost double that of the UK leisure sector.

“As society grapples with an ageing population and people living for longer in ill-health, we hope this report serves as a call to action and encourages more operators to create inclusive environments where everyone can take part in exercise to age well.”

To download The Innerva End User Impact report visit Innerva’s website: https://www.innerva.com/2023-impactreport

our brand values and recognise and reward effort and achievement within our teams.

“Since we launched the EVP, feedback from staff tells us they feel more engaged with our brand values and are proud to work for BPL. “We’re delighted to have been

recognised with this award, particularly being up against such a strong group of finalists in this category.”

Creative director and partner at WPA Pinfold, Richard Hurst, added: “We are very proud of this Gold award for the Best Alignment of the Employer Value Proposition with Corporate Brand Values for our work in partnership with BPL. “BPL are proof that internal alignment is not only crucial but that it’s transformational for organisations.

“They are an example to other companies that have recently got it wrong - you simply can’t stand for different things inside and outside of your company. Customer and employee strategies must align.

“BPL deserve every success. We are so very proud of the work we have done in the past and what is to come in the future.”

The awards, which took place at the London Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, celebrate creativity, innovation and commitment to employer branding, with trophies handed out in more than 20 categories.

BPL sees off strong competition to win at Employer Brand Management Awards COMMUNITY leisure trust BPL has seen off strong competition from the likes of the BBC, NatWest and Total Fitness to win a top award.

The trust’s entry – in partnership with brand design consultancy WPA Pinfold – won Gold in the Best Alignment of the Employer Value Proposition with Corporate Brand Values category at the Employer Brand Management Awards.

BPL, which operates 10 leisure facilities across South and West Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire, launched its Employer Value Proposition last year in order to help staff feel more engaged with the trust’s brand values and better support them on their employment journey.

The EVP aligns with the awardwinning brand work BPL and WPA Pinfold previously partnered on - maximising its impact and effectiveness.

Head of marketing and branding at BPL, Rachel Rinkcavage, said: “We created our EVP to strengthen our offering to employees across the whole organisation from the moment

they join. As part of this, we’ve implemented a new onboarding and induction process for new starters to help them feel more supported in their roles and gain a better understanding of our values.

“We’ve also created our ‘Feel Good’ Awards, which are based on

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