Companies will take more responsibility for

TWO of the UK’s most experienced fitness experts have launched a new podcast celebrating how the independent fitness industry is evolving to reflect the changing face of exercise in the UK.

‘Fitness Industry Insiders’ is the brainchild of Karl Frew and Steve Watson, who between them have more than 50 years’ experience in the independent fitness sector.

“The idea of ‘Fitness Industry Insiders’ is to talk about everything that is happening in the sector and share some of the brilliant ideas that are out there at the moment,” Karl said.

“Steve and I have known each other for a long time, and we have been kicking about the idea of doing a podcast for a while. Each week we’ll be speaking to guests who can offer advice on every aspect of the fitness industry, from accountancy to marketing, as well as discussing how the independent fitness sector is changing.”

Steve said that while the lockdown had caused huge disruption for the industry, it has also resulted in an explosion of creativity, as trainers reached out to help clients exercise at home.

“Technology has never been so important for our industry, and the way social media platforms and software like Zoom have been adopted by fitness professionals has been amazing,” he added.

“’Fitness Industry Insiders’ will also help to highlight some of that inspirational work being done to keep the nation fit at such a difficult time.

“However, we also want to hear from our fellow fitness professionals to find out what they would like us to cover – this is a podcast by fitness professionals, for fitness professionals and about fitness professionals, so get in touch.”

Steve is a director of Chrysalis Promotions, organisers of The International Fitness Showcase, one of Europe’s biggest fitness conventions, which is held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool every March.

He has been in the fitness industry for more than

32 years and is one of the UK’s most sought-after presenters, having featured in more than 60 fitness DVDs. Steve’s strengths lie in Hi-Lo, Step and Kettle Bell training, in which he consistently delivers fresh and cutting-edge routines using flawless and logical breakdown techniques.

Karl has more than 25 years’ experience in the fitness industry, from creating and producing fitness DVDs and organising tours to publishing the fitness industry magazine Fit.

In recent years he has created Freedom Bootcamp, along with Electric Fitness and Freedom Live Workouts. His latest innovation – called Kick Start 28 – is a complete business management system for the fitness industry.

The first two episodes of Fitness Industry Insiders are available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts/iTunes and Google Podcasts.

Andrew Crawford, who has decades of experience on the accountancy side of the industry, is a guest in episode two.

You can follow Fitness Industry Insiders via Instagram at fitness_industry_insiders and facebook at Fitness Industry Insiders.

Get in touch with Karl and Steve via podcast@ fitnessindustryinsiders.co.uk Steve Watson (left) and Karl Frew – presenters of the newly launched ‘Fitness Industry Insiders’ podcast.

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Scheme aims to inspire people to move more

ANTI-perspirant brand Sure has joined forces with Movement Champions across the UK to encourage the nation to #MoveMoreAtHome.

With traditional forms of exercise and sports on hold and social distancing measures in place across the globe, never has its commitment to inspire people to make movement part of their everyday routine, felt so important.

To motivate people to move more at home, Sure is enlisting the help of fitness experts who will offer inspiration and guidance on creative new ways to move.

From dancers to personal trainers and yogis, Sure is supporting and championing those who have already gone above and beyond to keep people moving – and will be providing a financial boost to these Movement Champions during the crisis; which has seen gyms, leisure and community centres close and led to a heightened need for digital fitness content.

Sure’s launch squad of Movement Champions includes Zoe Purpuri (@Zoe1Louise), Steph Morris (@ StephyMorrisPilates), Nicole Clewer (@ NicoleClewer16r), Francesca and Chloe Townsend (@TownsendTwins) and Ian Jones(@LHDVirtualGym) ), with others set to join in the coming weeks.

For the coming months, Sure’s Movement Champions will be creating and sharing workouts that can be completed at home in order to maintain physical and mental wellbeing – ranging from five-minute desk workouts to 20-minute dance sessions to shake out some energy with the family.

All workouts will be equipment free or use everyday objects to ensure everybody can get involved and feel free to have fun while moving at home. Movement sessions will be shared each week on Sure’s Instagram.

A spokesman said” Our Movement Champions will create workouts that do not exclude based on fitness level, gender nor experience.

“For some, this will be a chance to build positive habits for the long term. For others, facing their fears and trying something new for the first time.

“Together, we will continue uniting people through movement and celebrating those who are helping the nation #MoveMoreAtHome.”

Active IQ joins with fibodo to keep industry moving

ACTIVE IQ has partnered with fit4thefight, an initiative created to help fitness professionals continue offering their services during the current Covid-19 lockdown Using this system, fitness professionals and PTs can offer their expertise and keep earning during the lockdown while consumers can enjoy bespoke, one-toone training plans to keep motivation and fitness levels high.

Three options are recommended: n A 20-minute one-to-one session for £10. n A 40-minute one-to-one session for £20. n A 40-minute group session for up to six people for £5 per participant. fit4thefight allows professionals to continue working while social distancing measures are in place. fibodo has removed its usual £9.99 monthly subscription fee until August to allow full and part-time trainers to continue providing their invaluable coaching online, via apps and video conferencing.

From the remaining payment processing fee, fibodo will donate 50 per cent of the net proceeds to charities that help those most affected by this crisis.

Active IQ is working with its learning centres and PT graduates to grow awareness of fit4thefight in digital and social channels. It has also included fit4thefight in its online Skills Hub resource that brings CPD options to fitness professionals.

AN EXPERT is urging personal trainers and fitness instructors to ensure they have the correct insurance in place to cover them in the event of injury to the public during live-streamed classes.

The warning, from Insure4Sport comes in response to the huge rise in participation of online fitness sessions since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

This has ranged from one-to-one client sessions to group classes offered by staff at major gym chains.

However, a survey of more than 700 fitness instructors, coaches and personal trainers has found over a third (35 per cent) are operating without adequate professional insurance to carry out online sessions.

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Instructors urged to ensure they are insured

So, despite the great intentions of the instructor, this leaves both them and their clients open to potential issues should an injury happen during a class. John Woosey, managing director of Insure4Sport, said: “These are difficult times for everybody, so it’s fantastic to see how many fitness coaches are taking the initiative and moving their businesses online.

“They’re doing a great job which means they can continue to earn a living while helping the nation to stay active at a safe distance. However, it’s important that – amidst this upheaval – instructors maintain their professional responsibility to their clients and themselves.

Usually only accessible to Active IQ centres and students, Skills Hub has been opened up to all fitness professionals to help them expand their skills and knowledge during the COVID-19 outbreak. Anthony Franklin, founder and CEO of fibodo, said: “It’s great to have Active IQ on board, as a major influencer of fitness learning centres, and fitness professionals, it will have access to thousands of individuals who need support at this time.

“fibodo and fit4thefight aims to help trainers to continue operating as close to normal as possible, bringing major health benefits to those who train regularly. Professionals must keep working to keep the industry and the wider economy on its feet. We aim to equip and empower as many people as possible to stay home and stay active.” Jenny Patrickson, managing director at Active IQ, added. “Although there are several online solutions available, many are not able to provide the kind of tailored approach delivered by a qualified personal trainer – one that meets the needs of the individual taking their abilities and health conditions into account. “This partnership will help qualified and talented professionals to continue to earn an income, and make sure that the public has access to skilled trainers in a safe environment.”

“Participants should take it upon themselves to double-check that their instructor has the right insurance, so that they are protected should the worst happen. For the personal trainers, let this serve as a gentle reminder to relook at your policy which may not cover you for this type of work.”

Insure4Sport has provided information on how personal trainers and instructors are affected by the coronavirus outbreak via its website.

WORKOUT WEEKLY Join Fleur East and get the Zumba ® experience at home

SINGER-songwriter Fleur East has joined forces with Zumba to show the British public how they can join in the fun of the dance fitness workout with a #ZumbaVirtual class in the comfort of their home – starting with a Zumba ‘basic steps’ tutorial.

The 32-year-old London-born star can be seen in an upbeat video following a Zumba® basic steps tutorial from her living room, smiling as she goes over the core steps with Zumba® education specialist Sandra Harnes.

The video encourages Zumba firsttimers to check out the basic steps tutorial and then visit to the Zumba® online platform zumba.dance where they’ll find a huge variety of instructors ready to teach easy-to-follow one-hour classes to pumping Latin, urban, and world music.

“Just because we’re confined to our homes doesn’t mean fitness has to take a back seat,” said Fleur.

“Now we’re faced with these strange circumstances it’s more important than ever to move our bodies – and nothing gets the happiness endorphins flowing better than an all-out Zumba® dance party in your living room.

GYMPASS has launched Gympass Wellness, a comprehensive digital platform that has brought together an unrivalled number of fitness and wellbeing apps which are now all housed in one place for the first time.

This unique offering gives the Gympass corporate network access to health, fitness and wellbeing programmes from more than 40 partners, including the likes of Fiit, the world’s top-rated fitness app, alongside programmes as diverse as Yogaia, Healing Clouds, Moneyed, iPrescribe and Zen App.

Designed to nurture all-round healthy habits, Gympass Wellness includes mental health, tailored nutrition plans, meditation and relaxation programmes alongside a diverse range of online workouts.

It also includes family fitness options enabling Gympass users to engage their children in activities.

Eamon Lloyd, senior director – head of partnerships for UK&IE at Gympass, said: “This concept of housing a significant number of different apps together on one platform is something that has never been done before.

“The scale of the offering is unprecedented, and we’re delighted that some of the industry’s biggest names in fitness are collaborating with us to support every element of people’s wellbeing throughout the lockdown and beyond.”

FIIT, Yogaia and iPrescribe join Gympass Wellness

“It’s easy to grasp, but if you’re nervous, do the tutorial first – then you’ll be confident and ready to go.”

Often coined “exercise in disguise”, Zumba® is perfect for anyone and everybody. It mixes easy-to-follow moves drawing on Latin rhythms like salsa and reggaeton for a calorie-burning dance fitness party like no other.

It’s a total body workout that combines all elements of dance fitness – cardio, muscle conditioning, balance and flexibility. From this week, Zumba is partnering with The Global Foodbanking Network, an organisation that feeds the world’s hungry through advancing food banks.

The initiative means that, for every #ZumbaVirtual class taken, a free meal will be delivered to someone who been impacted by COVID-19 – until a total of one million meals has been reached.

Gympass had been developing Gympass Wellness for several months but pivoted to fast track its launch in response to the Covid-19 lockdown to help answer the demand for digital fitness and wellness solutions.

“As soon as the lockdown was confirmed, we recognised an immediate need to bring Gympass Wellness forward,” added Eamon.

“Our unrivalled collective of fitness and wellness apps now enables people to take a holistic approach to their health and wellbeing. By combining relaxation, mindfulness, financial wellbeing and nutrition programmes with fitness options, we are delivering a truly 360-degree wellness solution.”

To access Gympass Wellnesss, users simply head to their Gympass app and click on the wellness tab which will take them to all the different apps which they then download and use directly, wherever and whenever they choose.

Priority given to health when adapting to the ‘new normal’

Post-lockdown recovery survey provides brilliant intelligence IT has been widely discussed that gyms will face changes when they reopen; questions of continued social distancing, increased hygiene protocols and the sanitising of equipment.

But, perhaps the less discussed topic has been how the industry needs to adapt its focus to overall health, not just fitness, when members return to the gym and how they are set up to accommodate this shift in consumer behaviour.

Naturally, with a global pandemic comes a heightened attention to a person’s health.

The digital fitness industry has boomed during lockdown, but not just with regular fitness goers.

Covid-19 has forced a whole new audience to look at themselves and address their health, especially since according to the World Obesity Federation, “obesity-related conditions seem to worsen the effect of Covid-19.

In light of this, gym owners need to see themselves as responsible for prioritising the overall health of an individual and how they, and their offering can help them on their health and fitness journey while gym assessments just be more health related, gym equipment needs to be able to perform reliable and accredited health tests.

The Wattbike provides the most accurate training data and the Wattbike Hub makes in-built tests and pre-programmed workouts available at just the touch of a button.

To find out how the Wattbike can help benchmark, track and improve health and fitness performance accurately via data-driven training visit www.wattbike.com

MORE than 65,000 people from across the UK have responded to a survey conducted by Leisure-net in partnership with Max Associates and 4Global’s Datahub to gauge what leisure, health and fitness members want and expect from the sector after lockdown.

Forty-five operators from across the sector, including private gyms, leisure centres, health clubs and trampoline parks, distributed the Post Lockdown Recovery Survey to their customers to understand what has worked during lockdown, how customers are planning to respond when lockdown is reversed and what types of actions they expect from operators to keep them safe.

The results have established what customers were doing before lockdown, how their activity levels have changed and their desires and views for reopening.

All of the results can be cross referenced by age, gender, operator type, region and by the responses to the question.

Lucy Brookes, divisional operation manager England and Wales at Energie Fitness Group, said: “It was important for both head office and our franchisees to have a clear understanding about how our members were feeling in terms of returning to our clubs.

“It means we can make informed decisions when relaunching the sites and ensure members feel safe and secure to kickstart their member journey once gain.

“The information received has been super positive and put many minds at rest for the future success of our clubs.”

A full report will be available in the first week of June with detailed insight produced on request.

Dave Monkhouse, director of Leisurenet Solutions, added: “There has a been a fantastic response to the survey.

“These results will offer considerable insight to assist local authorities and industry organisations who are supporting the sector to reopen and informing challenging decisions about services and provision going forward in the new economic climate.”

In the meantime, a FREE four-page summary of the results is available by registering at https://leisure-net.org/ summary-report-interest/

15-16 2020 SEPTEMBER

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