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UK FITNESS SCENE
Operator to invest £1.5m in new gym equipment GYMS at Harvey Hadden Sports Village and Clifton Leisure Centre are in line to receive a share of £1.5m for new equipment over the next few months. Active Nottingham, which is part of Nottingham City Council, is set to invest the money over five years across all of its six leisure centres – Harvey Hadden, Clifton, Ken Martin, Southglade, Victoria and Djanogly. Harvey Hadden and Clifton will be the first in line to receive new equipment from the spring. This £1.5m cash injection will make sure each centre has new kit for gymgoers to use. Portfolio holder for leisure and culture, Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis, said: “I am pleased we are investing in our residents’ mental health and wellbeing by replacing the current gym equipment. “This will play an important role in the promotion of getting more people active within our community.” Active Nottingham has set money aside to support the income generated from customers, allowing the investment to be made without the need for
borrowing or impacting on wider dayto-day council services. With increasing membership numbers and by listening to members, replacing old equipment will improve customer satisfaction as well as mental and physical health and wellbeing. It will also allow Active Nottingham to remain competitive in an evergrowing sport and leisure marketplace – especially as today’s gym-goer wants to see smart technology on fitness equipment to enhance the gym experience. John Wileman, head of sport and leisure for Active Nottingham, added: “This is great news for our members and local residents at each of the six Active Nottingham locations. “We are always looking to improve and replacing our equipment means our gyms are not just great to use, but we are directly helping the city of Nottingham.” The state-of-the-art fitness equipment will be purchased by Active Nottingham over the next five years, providing an enhanced gym experience to residents and members at the six leisure centres.
A 3D impression of the Clifton Leisure Centre gym.
Active Leeds introduces low sensory gym sessions ACTIVE Leeds is introducing low sensory gym sessions across some of its gyms. The sessions are designed to offer a safe and inclusive space for individuals with autism, ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions. Loud music and bright lights can be a trigger for neurodivergent people, making activity in a gym environment very challenging; the aim of the low sensory sessions is to remove these barriers and make the gym space more accessible. The low sensory gym sessions started at Pudsey Leisure Centre after learning from people with neurodiverse conditions what would support them to access the gym. And after excellent feedback received from customers they have now been expanded to the John Charles Centre
for Sport, John Smeaton, Middleton, and Pudsey. Customers visiting during those hours that would like to listen to music are encouraged to bring headphones. Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for public
health and active lifestyles, said: “Following fantastic feedback from customers at the Pudsey Leisure Centre, I am thrilled to say that we are now rolling out these sessions more widely. “Regular exercise is crucial to the physical and mental wellbeing of
people, and we want to ensure that we are providing a space in our leisure centres which is accessible to everyone and where customers feel comfortable and supported. “We are continuing to work closely with partners to offer as much support as possible for neurodivergent people across our service. “Working with Advonet, People in Action and Public Health we are delivering specific disability awareness training to gym instructors and staff. “We are also working closely with Breeze Leeds to support autistic and disabled children when activities are held in our facilities.” Session times across all centres will be Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8pm and Sunday from 1pm to 2.30pm.
on factors like range of motion, power and movement speed, while the CV stations automatically set up a personalised programme, which adjust throughout the workout to ensure members stay in the right training zone for their goals. The circuit delivers a full body workout in a simple, safe and effective way in 40 minutes or less. Milon’s Intelligent exercise
equipment provides operators with a solution for a wide range of member groups, from beginners and deconditioned individuals to older adults and even high level athletes looking for marginal gains. Jo Weelen, sales director at InSpace, added: “Operators recognise that they must continue to develop the gym floor to meet the changing needs of the consumer and Milon has a significant role to play in supporting members by delivering time efficient, effective workouts, which offer real time feedback, progress data and personal statistics. “We are looking forward to working closely with Milon to significantly grow the intelligent fitness market.” Since launching in 2021, fitness equipment supplier, InSpace has made a name for themselves by providing bespoke fitness solutions to a wide range of operators from boutique gyms to leisure trusts. Their network of commercial clients and industry expertise will be integral in building Milon’s presence in the UK fitness market once more.
Milon return to UK with upgraded intelligent fitness circuit MILON Industries GmbH has appointed InSpace Fitness as its exclusive UK distributor following a hiatus of almost a decade. InSpace will also take on the relationship with operators who have existing Milon equipment to reinvigorate the brand for members. Over the past 50 years, Milon has seen great success in more than 26 countries around the world. More than 2,500 health clubs, gyms and healthcare facilities offer Milon’s market leading smart exercise equipment. The German-based company has chosen to turn its attention to the UK after recognising a growing interest in Intelligent fitness equipment: Bernd Reichle, CEO of Milon Industries GmbH, said: “After almost a decade focusing on our European business we are delighted to be reestablishing a presence in the UK via our partners InSpace Fitness. “The Milon Circuit has been greatly enhanced and developed over the last 10 years. With both strength and cardio stations, a marketing leading
interface and app, we encourage the industry to reintroduce themselves to our equipment.” The Milon Circuit is made up of eight cardio and resistance stations. Operators create a personalised circuit to meet the needs of their members by selecting from a total of 18 machines in the full range. At each resistance station the user is provided with real time feedback