Weekly Workout - 24 November 2023

ISSUE 1 May

WEEKLY

Issue 158 - 24 November 2023

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

PureGym unveils new partnership with NASM – page 2 Report reveals health and fitness services remain at risk in energy crisis – page 3

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WORKOUT WEEKLY

Gloucester leisure centres reopen again thanks to Freedom Leisure FREEDOM Leisure, one of the UK’s leading charitable and not-for-profit leisure trusts that has been chosen as the new provider of leisure facilities in Gloucester, welcomed its first visitors as the centres reopened recently.

The leisure trust pulled out all the stops to recruit and retrain more than 80 ex-employees within a matter of days, to continue the process of reopening the leisure centres begun by the city council and its partners.

The centres threw open their doors recently and the people of Gloucester responded by taking part in their favourite exercise classes, swimming in GL1’s Barton Pool and playing badminton.

Oxstalls Indoor Tennis Centre, located at Oxstalls Sports Park, was also a hive of activity with lots of tennis players returning as well as those looking to hire the outdoor pitches for hockey and football.

Karl Allen, Freedom Leisure’s area manager in Gloucester, was delighted to reopen the centres and welcome visitors once again.

He said; “It was amazing to see so many people returning to GL1 and Oxstalls. I’d like to praise every single member of the team that have worked tirelessly to get

the centres ready.

“A magnificent team effort that judging by the number of people returning has been gratefully received by the people of Gloucester.

“We had swimmers in the pool from 8am and customers in our first Bootcamp

class at 9am. We also had a customer return later in the morning to present our colleagues with a bunch of flowers to thank them.

“I think this demonstrates the strength of feeling and that people are genuinely very grateful that, thanks to Gloucester

City Council and Freedom Leisure, we are back open again, providing vitally important local community leisure facilities once again in Gloucester.”

While opening hours and the activity timetables are evolving, one change that customers will see straight away is that lane swimming will commence on weekdays from 6am rather than 6.30am so people can access the swimming pool for a fitness boost before starting work.

Councillor Andy Lewis, cabinet member for Culture and Leisure at Gloucester City Council, added: “We’ve had some fantastic feedback and it’s clear that people are delighted to be back in and using the facilities.

“I can’t thank the leisure facilities staff and Freedom Leisure enough, for getting everything up and running so quickly and making sure everything ran smoothly.”

There is more good news for two of the clubs that regularly use the facilities at GL1 with confirmation that the Indoor Bowls Club will be able to return later this week from Thursday and that Gloucester City Swimming Club, who have been training at GL1 since the closure thanks to Gloucester City Council, returned to their full training schedule.

Academy unveils new partnership with NASM THE PureGym Personal Training Academy has announce an international partnership with the National Academy of Sports Medicine to become an authorised seller of NASM specialisation courses.

This partnership will give PureGym Personal Training Academy students and PureGym personal trainers access to a wide range of NASM specialisation courses, including: n Corrective Exercise Specialist. n Weight Loss Specialist. n Women’s Fitness Specialist.

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

www.workoutuk.co.uk

NASM specialisation courses are designed to help personal trainers develop the knowledge and skills they need to help their clients achieve specific fitness goals.

The CES course teaches trainers how to identify and correct muscle imbalances and movement patterns that can lead to pain and injury.

The WLS course teaches trainers how to design and implement effective weight loss programmes.

The WFS course teaches trainers how to train women safely and

effectively during all stages of life.

“We are excited to partner with NASM to offer our students and personal trainers access to their world-class specialisation courses,” said Ryan Johnston, managing director at the PureGym Personal Training Academy.

“NASM’s specialisation courses are highly respected in the fitness industry, and we believe they will provide our students and personal trainers with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.”

“We are thrilled to partner with the PureGym Personal Training Academy to offer our specialisation courses to their students and personal trainers in the UK,” added Dawn Monterde, international account manager at NASM. “PureGym Personal Training Academy is a leading fitness education and training provider, and we are confident that our partnership will help us reach more personal trainers and help them achieve their professional goals.”

empower local organisations.

Locality played a pivotal role in the initial takeover of the leisure centre by providing development funding.

This support was instrumental in building a business case, enabling Love Withington Baths to demonstrate its viability to the Council and ensuring the facility would continue to serve the local community.

Following a vociferous community campaign, the Love Withington Baths team took over The Baths in 2015 on an initial two-year arrangement, which has now been extended to a 25-year lease.

Representatives of Withington Baths, including managing director Paul Smith, facility manager Dennis Shannon and deputy facility manager Natalie Douglas, were in attendance at the Locality 2023 Conference and Awards Ceremony.

Paul said: “This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team.

“We are proud to be part of the network and grateful for the support that has been instrumental in our success. This award motivates us to continue to find new ways of serving our community.”

Charity-run Edwardian Baths win top award LOVE Withington Baths, the not-forprofit organisation that operates community leisure centre Withington Baths and co-working space Withington Works, has emerged triumphant at the Locality 2023 Awards, winning the prestigious Enterprising Organisation Award.

The award honours community organisations that have demonstrated exceptional creativity in developing sustainable business models.

Love Withington Baths was shortlisted alongside formidable contenders, Amble Development Trust and WECIL Ltd, making the victory a testament to the centre’s commitment to innovation and community impact.

Since becoming a Locality member in 2014, Love Withington Baths has been a part of the network’s mission to

WORKOUT WEEKLY

Health and fitness services remain at risk as facilities report ongoing energy cost pressures NEARLY 40 per cent (two in five) of leisure centres and other publicly operated fitness facilities are considering reducing services or closing sites entirely

by March, due to ongoing high energy costs. ukactive’s energy risk survey received responses from public sector operators across 164 council areas in the UK and from private sector operators representing a total of 801 sites.

It found that three quarters (75 per cent) of private facilities are extremely likely to have to increase their customer pricing in the next six months, with 87.5 per cent having already been forced to raise prices over the past year to cope with high operating costs.

Continued price increases would not be a sustainable solution for businesses or for consumers.

In some cases, the rising cost of energy has increased operators bills by more than 200 per cent.

Nearly half (43.8 per cent) of the privately owned facilities that responded said they will be forced to consider making redundancies within the next six months.

Half (50 per cent) of the respondents said they have already reduced their staff numbers within the 12 months prior to September 2023.

Government support has been provided in the form of an Energy Bill

Huw Edwards

Discount Scheme that was announced in April this year.

However, only 9.6 per cent of public sector respondents that received support said the scheme had made a significant impact in improving the risk rating for their facility.

Support for some public sector operators came in the form of the Swimming Pool Support Fund announced in March, however, demand has greatly outstripped supply, with less than 50 per cent of applicants successful.

Many other providers, such as those in the private sector and those without pools, were not eligible.

In August, the Government announced its ‘Get Active’ strategy for sport and physical activity, which laid out ambitious targets to get 3.5 million more

people active by 2030.

Yet, with continued financial pressures forcing operators to make staff cuts, reduce essential services such as swimming classes and health programmes, or even close permanently, the survey findings highlight the ongoing risk to the sector and, consequently, the nation’s health and wellbeing.

Closures have been reported across the regions, with local communities rallying to call on MPs and the Government to do more to support local authorities and local businesses. ukactive has shared its findings with the Government and has set out its asks in a letter to the Chancellor and a full submission ahead of the Autumn Statement.

Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “The Government’s ambition to get millions more people active can only be achieved if continued business support is provided to gyms, pools, and leisure facilities, alongside detailed plans to drive growth in the use of services.

“Our nation’s gyms, pools and leisure centres represent the engine room of physical activity in the UK, but our survey shows that many services remain under threat from high energy costs.

“Operators are doing everything to avoid passing these costs onto customers, but continuing pressure

means service reductions, price rises, and redundancies are highly likely, which will only exacerbate health inequalities.

“If we do not ensure the survival and growth of these facilities with targeted measures, it will have serious implications for the nation’s health, the NHS, and the economy in terms of workforce illness.”

Three key areas for Government investment: n Accelerate the delivery of Phase 2 of the Swimming Pool Support Fund, which will support public leisure operators to deliver greater energy efficiency within their facilities. n Reduce operating cost pressures in the next two fiscal announcements and help stabilise the sector through the Autumn Statement and the Budget in March. This should include continuing the business rates support next year – with a freeze on the business rates multiplier and extension of the relief for a further year, at 75 per cent. n Drive participation to help tackle our growing health crisis, with rising obesity levels, nearly eight million people on NHS waiting lists and long-term sickness from work at record levels.

The Government should back the work ukactive is leading with other industry partners to integrate our members’ services into the NHS and to incentivise greater participation overall.

Advertiser’s announcement

Matrix Fitness maximises small group training with cardio and sprint intensity SMALL group training has remained popular through the years, but to continually meet consumer demand, it has to constantly evolve.

Steve Barrett, director of global education and training at Matrix Fitness, said: “Three key factors have impacted how SGT has evolved.

“Firstly, the innovation of functional training equipment, secondly, the role of the trainer to motivate, educate and inspire members has become a driver and finally, the personalisation of programming to target specific outcomes; from sport or skill-specific

sessions through to health and longevity.

“Cardio training has been going through an identity crisis mainly because the full spectrum of benefits is misunderstood or overlooked.

“Matrix Fitness realised this over 20 years ago which resulted in the development of Sprint 8, and more recently Sprint 8 GX (SGT) programming.

“Both utilise cardio equipment to train all types of muscle fibres through sprint intensity.

“Small group training has historically

featured in functional spaces and paradoxically, despite the level of investment in the cardio space, it is also the area where the least coaching and interactions occurs. I’d like to see that change.”

Sprint 8 GX combines 20-minute sprint cardio with 25-minute explosive lifts.

This combination simulates fast twitch fibres and triggers chemical reactions in the body.

Steve added: “Until the development of Sprint 8 GX it was rare for instructor-led SGT to occur

on the cardio equipment.

“The Sprint 8 GX sessions quickly become self-promoting because unlike classes which occur behind closed studio doors, Sprint 8 GX is highly visible as it’s split between cardio and functional zones on the gym floor, it creates a ‘crowd effect’, drawing people in and normalising working at sprint intensities.”

To find out how Sprint 8 GX could boost your small group offering visit www.matrixfitness.com/uk/ eng/education/sprint8-gx

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WORKOUT WEEKLY

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New inclusion officer opens more doors at Life Leisure in Stockport A SWIMMING instructor who became a care worker during the Covid pandemic is using his experience to help a leisure provider become more inclusive.

Phil Sutton, who has taken up the new post of inclusion officer at Life Leisure in Stockport, says he ‘can’t wait’ to make a difference to the Stockport community.

An experienced swimming instructor, Phil, 32, developed a passion for inclusivity during his time at Seashell Trust, which supports people with complex learning difficulties.

He said: “I had always enjoyed my career in aquatics, but when I started teaching swimming at Seashell Trust it gave me a whole new love for it.

“I could see that people with additional needs got so much out of the activity, that it gave me a real sense of pride and purpose, being someone who can help them have that experience and the benefits that come from it.

“As a residential support worker, I also became much more aware of how excluded people with physical and cognitive disabilities can be – things we take for granted aren’t always accessible to them and should be.

“When the opportunity arose at Life Leisure, I jumped at the chance. It’s great to offer dedicated services for those who have specific needs, of course it is. But I liked the idea of working on the bigger picture on how to make physical activity more inclusive for everyone.

“To have sessions and facilities where anyone, no matter their ability, can enjoy fitness and experience the benefits of community activity.”

So far Phil has introduced a Stay and Play session for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, as well as tailored swimming sessions.

He’s also working to introduce inclusive gym use, adaptive bike sessions and

Phil Sutton at the Stay and Play with Tristan and Anna Beth Brophy, seven and nine. work placements across the Life Leisure managed to get work in a supermarket. centre’s for young adults with SEND in “I wasn’t getting any job satisfaction the local area. from it but needed the money to afford He said: “Things have been going well. somewhere to live and couldn’t see a We’ve had great feedback from lots of way out. parents and the young people have “When I was 22, I saw an come back again and again. But I’ve apprenticeship position as a swimming still got lots of ambitions for the future teacher at a pool in Tyldesley. I’d always and we have a long way to go to make enjoyed swimming and had been a good the world more inclusive, not only for swimmer when I was younger, so this people with disabilities but for other opportunity to do something I enjoyed marginalised groups.” jumped out at me.

Having left home at an early age, “ It was tough financially – I was living feeling he had no direction in life, Phil off a very low wage while I was getting is thrilled to have found a career he’s my qualifications – but it was one of the passionate about. best things I’ve ever done.”

He said: “I was homeless at 18, sleeping While Phil’s job as swimming instructor rough, or on friends’ couches from time set the wheels in motion for a fantastic to time, even in a hostel at one point. But career, even taking him to work overseas,

it was Covid which brought Phil’s next turning point.

With swimming pools closed, Phil took a job at Seashell Trust, a school for children with disabilities and complex needs in Cheadle Hulme.

He said: “There wasn’t much need for swimming teachers during lockdown, so I got a job at the Seashell Trust as a residential support worker. I worked with a few young people with a variation of complex needs and really enjoyed it.

“When the pools reopened, I was fortunate enough to get a job as a swimming teacher with Seashell, and I found it much more rewarding than working in mainstream pools. I got incredible satisfaction from seeing I was making a real difference to people’s lives.

“Knowing the barriers they face, and then seeing them get so much joy from time in the pool, was amazing.

“Swimming is great for everyone, but especially people with sensory needs and physical disabilities. When you see someone who struggles to walk, then able to swim in their own unique way with a bit of support– it’s incredible.”

Phil, who was recently awarded Bronze as Swim England’s Swimming Teacher of the Year, added: “It was eye opening.

I realised there is a whole community of people with disabilities and additional needs who aren’t being considered in day-to-day life.

Research­­from the Activity Alliance shows that disabled adults are almost twice as likely as non-disabled people to be physically inactive, and only four in 10 disabled people feel they have the opportunity to be as active as they want to be.

“My role at Life Leisure gives me the ability to change things for the better. In our centres, and in the community. It’s a big job but it’s an important one.”

Pentathlon GB set to launch ‘home of obstacle course racing’ at the University of Bath PENTATHLON GB, the governing body of Modern Pentathlon, is launching the UK’s first permanent sprint obstacle course based at the University of Bath, enabling both athletes and the public to challenge themselves on a world-class course.

The new facility, due to open early 2024, will showcase eight obstacles, which are currently used in International Junior Pentathlon competitions and include steps, a big wheel, a 1.5m climbing wall, rings, a balance beam, wheels, monkey bars and a finish wall.

The obstacles are designed to test an athlete’s power, balance, agility, coordination and strength.

Supported by UK Sport and the Union of Modern Pentathlon, the introduction of the obstacle competition course builds on Pentathlon GB’s partnership with the University of Bath to create a centre of excellence for the sport, and will uniquely enable athletes to access training environments for five

pentathlon sports, including running, fencing, laser shooting, obstacles and swimming, all on one site.

Stephen Baddeley, director of sport at University of Bath, said: “The University of Bath is delighted to support our longstanding partner, Pentathlon GB, as it

embraces the exciting sport of obstacle racing. The permanent obstacle course will not only assist their performance athletes, but provide an exciting new sport for our local community too.”

Trafford Wilson, CEO of Pentathlon GB, added: “The installation of a dedicated

obstacle course follows the successful 2023 World Championships held at the University of Bath in August, where Pentathlon GB, in partnership with British Obstacle Sports volunteers, set up a temporary ‘come an try’ obstacle course. This provided the perfect opportunity for hundreds of people of all ages and abilities to experience obstacle course racing for the first time.

“The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with lots of people who were new to the sport giving it a go.

Obstacle course racing is fun, inclusive, challenging and suitable for all.

“We are keen that this new ‘home of obstacle racing’ is used by both our elite athletes and local people and visiting groups.”

Any profits raised through the facility will be funnelled back directly into pentathlon to enable more people, especially the young, to engage in the sport.