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October 2010

The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine

Members go on the run to help Russ

Independents merging as owner retires By Emma Spencer TWO independent gyms in WestonSuper-Mare have merged. Sweat FA run by martial arts expert Stuart Davies will take over Gym Central after owner Robin O’Neill announced his retirement. Gym Central closes for business on October 1. It launched in March 2007 as a no frills gym with 250 members but now has 2,000 members who will be transferred to Sweat FA at no extra cost and on the same terms and conditions. Members who don’t want to can opt out and both firms already use the same collection service and database software. Robin stressed the takeover is not for financial reasons – Gym Central is being sold as a going concern and turnover has doubled since the launch. Gym Central’s two trainers Richard Burchell and Gino Fiori will keep their jobs and move over to Sweat FA. Robin said he was keen to do busi-

ness with Sweat FA because he wanted to sell out to an independent because other gyms nearby were chains or hardcore strength gyms which wouldn’t have appealed to his customers. To help with the transition Sweat FA has arranged a free open weekend so members can try the facilities without any obligation. Robin told WorkOut: “Sweat FA made us an offer we couldn’t refuse so effectively it is a take over. “The gym is very well set up, impressive and more than double our size and we wanted to look after our members. “Other gyms in Weston-Super-Mare are a hard-core bodybuilding gym and some chains. “The future is for the independent if they can get together. “I know the name of nearly everybody in the gym and that personal touch makes all the difference. “To make a profit in a gym is quite difficult in this economic climate so we are very happy it is going to a good home.”

No 205 £3

MEMBERS of a gym in North Wales have formed a running club as part of their training for a 10k race to fundraise for a member with a terminal illness. A 20-strong team from the Slaughterhouse Gym in Mold take to the streets twice a week in preparation for the race in October. They have set a target of raising over £2000 for Russ Jones who has Motor Neurone disease and the local Motor Neurone disease organisation based in Flintshire. Russ, in his 50’s, has been a member of Slaughterhouse for almost 20 years but is currently unable to work out because of the severity of his condition. The gym has raised funds for him before and owner Chris Watson said it was sad to see how quickly a previously strong and healthy man had deteriorated. Yoga and pilates expert Mila Lazar has won a competition to show off her teaching expertise in Antigua. She has worked for Fitness First for six years and is the studio and events manager at the Covent Garden Club. Mila, 33, saw off competition from Fitness First experts from around the country to win the trip.

He added: “We are doing all we can for one of our own. He has supported us with his membership subscription over the years so it is the least we can do by giving him something back in some way.”

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Alien campaign pays off as gym gains members By Christina Eccles A MARKETING campaign which sparked controversy as far away as Africa has paid off for an independent club in Bristol. The Club at Cadbury House displayed a banner as part of its new year recruitment drive showing a green alien with the slogan “When the aliens come, they will eat the fatties first”. It generated interest from national newspapers including the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail, as well as radio stations, local papers, Channel 5 show The Wright Stuff and even a sci-fi magazine. Jason received some complaints from people saying the banner was offensive because they had fat friends, but on the other hand he says it brought publicity money couldn’t buy. He said: “We wanted to do something a little bit controversial for the new year and something that would stick out in the market place. “Obviously it did, but it was not meant to offend anyone, but the publicity we

got went further afield than we ever thought. “I couldn’t guess how many publications it went in but it had to be close to hundreds. “We had a member who went to Botswana on holiday and saw a newspaper article about it while they were there.” Despite the controversy surrounding the campaign thought up by staff at Cadbury House and their marketing team Hattrick it had the desired effect on membership figures. Since the alien campaign up to 300 new members have joined the club, taking the total to around 4,200. Jason added: “It definitely helped sales and awareness of the club. People liked us because we are different and the club has gone from strength to strength.” The Club which charges £64 per month for its top-rate membership already has its thinking cap on to see what marketing campaign it can come up with for next year.

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Julie Flynn, lifestyles manager for Coventry Sports Foundation and Hollyoaks actress Melissa Walton

Pole fitness classes attract actress to centre A COVENTRY leisure centre has added a famous face to its membership list thanks to its innovative fitness classes. Former Hollyoaks actress Melissa Walton has become the latest member to join the Alan Higgs Centre after hearing about its pole fitness classes. Another session proving popular with members is the Latin inspired dance-fitness Zumba, which has seen over 3,000 people take part since it was launched in December. Melissa said: “I live locally with my boyfriend and he has

been coming to the Alan Higgs Centre for the circuit training for a long time and I decided to come along and have a look at the centre. “I was pleasantly surprised they had pole fitness classes here as not many gyms do it, which is a shame because it is a really good workout, and a nice break from the standard classes gyms tend to offer. “I also can’t wait to try the Zumba class, I have lots of friends who go and they have been telling me how good it is, plus I love dancing.”

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Lisa turns to social media to promote gym By Emma Spencer

Why Gordon feels like part of the family at centre OVER 20 years ago Gordon Smith, pictured above, was giving life-saving lessons at his local leisure centre. Now at the age of 88 he is the oldest member at Royston Leisure Centre in Barnsley and still works out in the gym five times a week. He then jumps in the pool after his gym session where he swims several lengths. One of his old pupils on his life-saving courses is now the manager at the centre run by Barnsley Premier Leisure. Neil Mills said: “I still remember the way Gordon taught me on the life-saving course and have used many of the same phrases and methods when teaching it myself. “He’s a real inspiration to other people of all ages that keeping fit and healthy is important at any age. We hope he will be a member here for many years to come.” Gordon added: “Although I don’t coach much anymore, I still really enjoy coming to the gym and using the pool several times a week. “It keeps me fit and healthy and it’s a good chance to meet new people, everyone knows me here and I feel like part of the family!”

A FIRST FLOOR gym in Northumberland is rebranding and exploring modern ways of marketing in a bid to drum up more trade. No Limits Health and Fitness is situated on one of the main streets in Hexham town centre but because it is above a shop and accessed by a stairwell not many people know it is there. The other problem owner Lisa Thompson has is spreading the word it is no longer a male only gym. She is setting about re-branding the business with a new logo and signage, axing monthly memberships and launching the business on social networking site Facebook. She attended a social media workshop where she met other gym operators and swapped ideas. Lisa said: “Because we are such a small business and upstairs it is hard to advertise even though we are in the middle of the town centre. “We struggle from where we are. We do advertise in the windows but people don’t look up so it comes down to being out there and using all the different social media. “You can do it from your mobile phone and it does work.” Instead of handing out leaflets and with newspaper adverts being too expensive the signs will tell potential customers where they can get the information they need by directing them to the website where clients can join the gym and set up their own direct debits.

‘Because we are such a small business and upstairs it is hard to advertise even though we are in the middle of the town centre’

Lisa Thompson Joining on-line also forms part of the process to change the way club memberships work. Lisa found that offering too many pay as you go or one month only contracts wasn’t working as it didn’t encourage people to keep coming and with clients coming and going it was difficult to work out what the gym’s actual membership base was. She added: “We have realised you can give away too many options and short term memberships. We did one, two and three month options but people would come for a month, go away for a month and then come back. “We were still getting income but we weren’t getting the commitment from people so we are going to do six, nine, 12 and 24 months. Once you get people on direct debits they usually carry on.”

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Social events and charity fundraisers at a club near Barnsley are key to keeping members interested. Emma Spencer has a look at Burntwood Court Club and Spa.

Reputation is the key at village health club A HEALTH club in a rural village has told how it keeps its membership which has surpassed the 2,000 mark in less than four years. Burntwood Court Club and Spa opened in October 2006 as an addition to a privately-owned hotel which had opened around six years earlier. Gym manager Stuart Prentice was taken on before the club opened and has seen it develop from day one. Various things like a bar area, nightclub and kids’ play area have been added on over the years which attract people to the complex.

Because it is a family-run venture overseen by managing director John Saul standards have to be high to maintain his reputation. Stuart said: “It starts from the top. It is the managing director’s name above the complex and his reputation – that is passed to the staff. I am the manager of the club and so that is my reputation too.” The reputation is also how new people hear about Burntwood because the firm doesn’t tend to pay for advertising campaigns. And while memberships at £38 per

month may seem higher than budget clubs or chains the use of a personal trainer, nutritional assessment or specialist advice for GP referrals is included in that price unlike some places which charge extra. Stuart said: “We have got some great staff, every club manager up and down the land will say that but it is about the level of service we offer. “We have instructors in their 30’s, 20’s and 40’s. When you are working with people you need that balance of ages, gender and experience so there is something for all.

“And it’s not a case of pay your money and off you go. New members have three appointments with the team in the first three weeks. “We get a lot of people in here that haven’t set foot in a gym since they left school and that would have been under duress. “With a lot of chains and public sector gyms you have an induction and that tends to be it. I don’t understand the mentality of that. For myself with a sports degree background and teaching I would want to manage a club the way that we are.”

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Pair get on their bikes to raise charity cycle cash THE manager of a health club and one of his members raised £2,000 for charity after cycling almost 200 miles from London to Paris in just three days. Stuart Prentice from Burntwood Court Club and Spa near Barnsley and one of his members Ben Jones took to the saddle during the last weekend of July to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer. The independent health club based in a familyowned hotel and bar complex has done plenty of fundraising before for Cancer Research and breast cancer but decided to do something for the fellas. On the first day they rode 60 miles, 51 the following day and a gruelling 70 miles for the last stint. Stuart and Ben were in training for eight weeks beforehand going out on the road for four hours at a time as well as doing sessions in the gym on

exercise bikes and in spinning classes. They got their sponsorship money from members, set up a Just Giving website so non-members could donate, held a coffee morning in a local church hall to raise extra money and put on a race night. Stuart said: “If we hadn’t done the training beforehand we could have quite easily pulled out but I loved it and would recommend it to anybody, it was a great experience.” Unfortunately other members were unable to join them because of the training required and the summer holidays but the event had brought the club together. Stuart added: “It was a good event and win-win for everybody. Me and Ben thoroughly enjoyed it even though it was a challenge and we raised £2,000 for a good cause and brought members together with the race night and it was good for the profile of the place.”

Gym works out a busy social life BEING a member of the gym and spa at Burntwood Court in South Yorkshire is as much about the social scene as it is the work out. The most recent get together of members outside of the gym was a race night to raise funds for manager Stuart Prentice and member Ben Jones’ charity cycle to Paris. But since the club opened events have been held for Cancer Research and Breast Cancer

Care to name but a few. They are held on site in the Burntwood complex’s restaurant, hotel and bar facilities which helps generate extra income for the company. One of the most successful events was a summer ball last year attended by 300 members. The Club and Spa laid on the party with guests in penguin suits and cocktail dresses enjoying a champagne reception – for free.

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Owner Scott Horton and wife Lindsay, the Mayor of Colchester Sonia Lewis, Karl Borowiec manager of the new gym and Amy Hickey who is part of the Hercules team.

Hardcore gym owner goes for a softer option THE OWNER of a body-building gym has opened another business to try and attract a wider range of clients who might be intimidated by his strength gym. Scott Horton says some people are put off by the stereotypical image of hardcore bodybuilding gyms like Hercules in Colchester. So at the beginning of September he opened Hercules School of Physical Training over the river focusing on old school techniques. It has an indoor assault course, rings, ropes, monkey bars, mats and medicine balls. The idea is a personal trainer can rent the space for their own clients and people from beginners to Olympic champions can train there. Scott has grown up with the fitness industry – he was an army physical training instructor, his dad was a bodybuilder and his grandfather a strength athlete. He is using knowledge gained from 35 years in the game to get his new venture off the ground. Scott said: “Hercules gym is what it is – hardcore strength which specialises in bodybuilding, powerlifting

and strongman. “Joe public has always been intimidated by Hercules, it has a reputation for the guys being massive and people create an image in their mind. “The other place is completely different. It has a Greek spartan theme and appeals to a wide range of people and is geared around body weight to strength ratios. “It used to be a boxing club and I thought it had the potential to be more than it was. I thought I could do something special here.” Rather than be in competition with Hercules strength gym whose reputation precedes it it is hoped the two businesses will complement each other and once people progress in the new gym they might be attracted to the original Hercules. The Mayoress of Colchester borough council officially opened the new Hercules and alongside articles in the local gazette Scott’s Facebook page is the main source of generating publicity. He has 5,000 followers from all over the world and always attracts comments when he posts news and pictures.

Barefoot running ‘increases performance’ NEW research has shown running barefoot can increase energy levels and performance. Eight male runners who normally run in trainers performed a six-minute moderate to hard running task both in shoes and barefoot. Oxygen uptake during the runs was measured revealing 7.2 per cent less

oxygen was used during barefoot running, participants took shorter strides at a higher rate and had shorter ground contact and flight times. Patrick Fordham from Northumbria University presented his findings at the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences Annual Conference in Glasgow in September.

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Will beats off forklift truck, crow attacks and illness to open gym OPENING up a new gym straight after Christmas and New Year is stressful enough but even more so when a forklift truck and a nest of crows put a spanner in the works. Clwb 21 run by Will Lovelock and wife Nia opened in Anglesey on January 4 and already has over 500 members but the couple admit it wasn’t plain sailing in the beginning. Will said: “When we were opening we both had laryngitis and I got run over by a forklift truck. It was ok in the end thank god but it was a very stressful time.” He had been in the leisure industry for almost 20 years and was working for a local leisure centre when he decided to work for himself. Will runs the fitness side of things and Nia takes care of the business side. He said: “I had increased their revenue by 15 and 25 per cent year on year for the last three years by doing different things such as putting on different classes and giving

good service. “I thought if I can do it for them I can do it for myself. We looked for gaps in the market, what people weren’t doing right and concentrated on that.” Will and Nia handed out leaflets, generated publicity with articles in the local paper and after a few months drafted in Creative Fitness Marketing who got 200 more members. Clwb 21 found itself in the papers a few months after opening for different reasons. Will and Nia have tried to create an environmentally friendly gym so had a specially made film put on the windows which cut out 80 per cent of heat and glare from the sun. It means that in summer the gym is cool and reduces the need for air conditioning and in winter it retains warmth cutting costs on heating but not everyone saw the benefit. Crows nesting nearby were seeing their own reflections in the glass and started attacking the windows

hurting themselves and causing a lot of mess. Prior to opening each day Will had to clean up the gym frontage and tried to ward off the brazen birds with scarecrows and toy windmills. He added: “Economically, the windows are fantastic but as a byproduct we had crows attacking the windows but it got us lots of publicity.”

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Pole-dancing gym owner shows cast how to wiggle ... By Louise Cordell THE OWNER of a ladies-only gym has been signed up as the choreographer for a touring theatre show. Pole dancing expert Michele Elizabeth has been teaching the cast of the Naked Truth their moves and routines for their fifth run of the comedy. The line-up includes former Emmerdale actress Claire King, former Hollyoaks actress Julie Buckfield and Maureen Nolan. Michele first choreographed the Naked Truth in 2006 but has been too busy to do it since setting up her own business Felines. She got involved with the show after writing the first nationally-recognised training course for pole dancing and started her own pole dancing class ‘Wiggle and Giggle With Me’.

It was on the back of that she was asked to choreograph the production. Some of the training for this year’s tour has been in the Felines studio in Burton-onTrent or at the rehearsal venue in Derby. Michele said: “Some of them were absolute complete novices and one had been on the tour for three years so I just twisted the technique and gave her some style points. “Leanne Jones from Hairspray and Michelle Heaton from Liberty X had had some lessons but the trick was to find moves and routines which fit in with their characters so it wasn’t just teaching technique. “We had to make them comfortable with the choreography they were performing on stage for a six-month tour. “It was really interesting work.”

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easy new gym chain set to open

Mike shuts ‘too successful’ gym By Emma Spencer A PERSONAL trainer based in Edinburgh had some tough decisions to make when his gym became too successful. Fitness expert Mike Heatlie set up his own personal training business in Edinburgh in March 2009 and a gym to run alongside. There were quickly 70 paying members crammed into the 2,000 square feet premises and more wanting to join. It was compromising the quality of the personal training sessions Mike was able to give so he bit the bullet and closed the gym, making two members of staff redundant. He said: “Because we are in the city centre everyone was coming at peak times between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.

“When you were doing personal training if you wanted a certain piece of equipment someone would be on them and you couldn’t get near a treadmill. “The gym was just meant to complement the personal training but it was hindering it and it was a big source of income. “It was a very hard decision to make and I did wonder if it was a big mistake. I had to make two staff members who had been here since the beginning redundant and tell 70 members who I worked closely with, were getting results and loved the atmosphere we were closing.” It turned out to be the right decision and ended up cutting Mike’s expenditure on things like wages, national insurance contributions (which were £300 per month), main-

tenance and utility bills by 35 per cent. Despite leaving school with no qualifications and entering the fitness industry at the very bottom Mike now has five other trainers working under the brand Mike Heatlie personal training, two selfemployed personal trainers using his premises and plans to do deals on lease terms for off peak times. He has a degree in sport and exercise science, two Masters degrees and plans to do a third one on public health and nutrition. If that wasn’t enough he will be the personal trainer to American singer Gwen Stefani and her band on their next world tour. He has been training Gwen for years after being introduced through a friend.

A NEW gym chain is set to hit the UK next year. easyGroup is to start a new venture, easyGym, in partnership with Fore Fitness an entrepreneurial firm which identifies investment opportunities and raises equity and management teams. A spokeswoman for the venture said it is in the early stages but the intention is to offer quality gym facilities at affordable prices. easyGym will capitalise on the strength of the ‘easy’ brand which brought easyjet, coach travel and car rental among other services. Sir Stelios, founder of the ‘easy’ brand, said: “I am thrilled that in the midst of one of the most difficult economic environments in living memory there are still fellow entrepreneurs willing to set up businesses and have a go at shaking up yet another industry. “As a gym user, admittedly perhaps not as often as I should, I have noticed many inefficiencies in the system and believe there is a simpler and more efficient way to cater for the needs of the consumer. Together with Fore Fitness and their investors we aim to offer value for money in this sector. My own resolution following this deal is to go to the gym at least three to four times per week.”

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Blaze-hit club bounces back even better ... By Emma Spencer WHEN part of a fitness club in Birmingham was ravaged by fire bosses used it as an opportunity to re-launch the club. The Dudley branch of Top Notch now has better facilities and more members than before. In August 2007 an electrical fault in the sauna sparked the blaze which due to the heat quickly spread to the steam room and the rest of the pool area which was completely destroyed. Russell Ribeiro, business manager, said: “That is a date I don’t like to remember. At about 2am the maintenance man was living next

door and heard a crackling sound. “He looked out of the window and saw flames coming through the ceiling. Fortunately it didn’t get into the changing rooms or any other part of the club.” It meant part of the club was out of action for three months while it was being refurbished and inevitably membership numbers took a nose dive with around 200 leaving. Members were given free time back as compensation and Top Notch tried to arrange for members to use other pools in the area but Russell says nobody wanted to know.

They also needed to do further damage limitation when it came to gossip as rumours were going around that all the club had been totally destroyed. Russell said: “We did some cosmetic work to the rest of the club and made it feel as though it fitted in with the completely new pool area. We thought we would relaunch the club. “Memberships had taken a bit of a dip but we managed to get that back within the first few months. We had a grand opening weekend and had 75 sales in two days.” The fire had generated plenty of publicity with articles in local

newspapers and the re-opening with the then Mayor of Dudley also attracted press attention. Now membership figures are around 2,300 – statistics show less then three per cent leave each month – and two members of staff specifically deal with attracting and retaining members. Russell said: “We do speak with people who leave to make sure there is nothing we have done wrong. “We have specific staff for that. Fitness consultants and personal trainers want to focus on what they enjoy the most and not everyone feels comfortable with sales.”

Brothers introduce competition into workouts INTRODUCING the element of competition to workouts could increase results, participation and retention according to two brothers. Phil and Ian Worthington from Preston have created the Konkura concept which is now live on the web. It includes a variety of fitness challenges created by Cheshire-based fitness instructor Steve Hoyles who has a sports science degree from

Swansea University. He said: “Fitness instructors are always seeking new ways to keep their clients focused and motivated in between sessions. “By using Konkura to create challenges, they can achieve this but also attract more clients along the way.” Challenges set could include a range of activities from running to swimming to cycling and to enter

members post their score, comments, photos or videos creating a competition against other members. The idea is that gyms and health clubs can create challenges for members based around particular fitness goals or exercise classes and personal trainers can create challenges for clients. Phil and Ian have been spreading the word about Konkura on Facebook attracting interest from

California. Phil said: “We’d love to get more local competitors so we can show the Americans that Britain is the best when it comes to being competitive. “After that, it’s time to tackle the big one and take on the Aussies.” Steve Hoyles is now planning a series of expert challenges with a focus on weight loss.

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IFI Mark for new £750k facility A £750,000 new sports facility in the centre of London is the first in the city to be recognised for creating opportunities for people with disabilities. Paddington Recreation Ground has been awarded the Inclusive Fitness Initiative (IFI) Mark. Equipment includes accredited treadmills, bikes and an upper body hand cycle as well as adaptive resistance equipment. The new building also has an exercise and dance studio, meeting area, consultation rooms and changing rooms. Coun Steve Summers, Westminster's cabinet member for community services, said: "I'm delighted that Westminster is able to lead the way in offering disabled and non-disabled people equal opportunities to be active together in an inclusive environment. "We are very proud of our sports facilities and remain committed to providing opportunities to all of our residents to get fit and develop healthy lifestyles." Westminster Council has partly funded the scheme, along with £120,000 from London Marathon Trust and £120,000 from NHS Westminster.

Award for GLL LONDON's largest operator of public leisure facilities is one of the first leisure trusts to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard. GLL has taken action on climate change by measuring, managing and reducing its carbon emissions by two per cent between January 2007 and December 2009. By the end of this year GLL will have invested more than £800,000 in energy saving technologies such as automatic pool covers, low energy lighting, variable speed drives for pool and air handling motors across the 70 leisure centres it operates.

Emma and Neil Godly with the local Mayor Anthony Finn at the official opening

Neil sets up in direct competition to health club chain By Christina Eccles A NEW gym owner has set up his business in direct competition with one of the large health club chains. Oxygen Fit run by Neil Godly and wife Emma opened last month in the small community of East Barnet in north London. They set a target of getting 100 members within the first month but achieved half of that in less than a week. Neil says he has a potential membership base of 500 people and that setting up on the back of a recession has actually had financial benefits. He told Workout: “It seemed to me a lot of people were members of one particular club and it was their only option. “It is £95 a month there and is not going to be long before it is touching £100. “This area is very community based and if we had a gym in the middle of the community it would

be a lot easier for people to access. “I can’t offer what the big chains are but we can offer a customer service that is sometimes missing in the industry. “When people see the management team is a husband and wife I think they like that.” Neil did his homework about whether the market was there. At the back of his gym is a train station and another is not far away. He noticed people were getting off one train hopping on another to go to the other gym and then coming back. He has also set up next to a swimming pool with 3,000 members and a lot of parents with time on their hands while the kids are having lessons. Neil advertised his new gym at a local festival which attracted 20,000 people, put 6,500 flyers out in the local area as well as putting up banners. It generated interest from 500

people whose details Neil has on a database and plans to follow up as well as visiting schools, parks and high street shops. The database allows him to monitor who has read his e-shots, who didn’t open them and who forwarded them on to someone else so he knows where to focus his recruitment efforts. While some businesses have struggled in the current economic climate Neil found there were good deals to be had when it came to aquiring equipment. He added: “When I first started looking into this is April last year people were throwing money at you but between then and November it all seized up affecting all the big companies that provided equipment. “It has worked out quite well because I managed to get a good deal on buying the equipment outright.”

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Membership grows as class link pays off By Dominic Musgrave A GYM which agreed to hold fitness sessions with a local school and problem kids has sold more memberships as a result. For about eight years Fitness 500 in St. Helen’s in Merseyside has been inviting kids from Sutton High School to work out in the gym as part of their PE and games lessons. Fitness 500 has around 450 regular members and on top of that the school buys a hundred six-month memberships for the year which is at a reduced rate. Four or five times a week 16 teenagers from the local school turn up in a minibus for their fitness session in the main gym. Following on from that Fitness 500 has since been asked to work with problem kids from a local inclusion unit who have fallen out with mainstream school – some of them bought their own memberships when the arranged scheme finished. On the back of his work with the school, gym owner John Tatlock ran a

summer fitness camp during the school holidays for mums and daughters. Forty young girls aged around 13 and 14 took part with their mums training for three sessions a week. When the six-week camp came to an end some of the mums and daughters were inspired to carry on with their training and joined as full members. John said: “They needed the exercise, they were overweight and unfit. We did fitness sessions, body composition, blood pressure, cholesterol tests and collated all the information, did a report and gave it back to the school. “We did three sessions per week with myself and a colleague doing personal training. They were seeing results after three weeks and then after six weeks. “We finished it after six weeks but they were happy to see an improvement and obviously it has worked because people have joined through it. We are also getting mums and dads joining through their kids.”

Gym launches campaign to support injured soldier A SOLDIER injured by a roadside bomb in Helmand Province has been given a free lifetime membership at a gym in Doncaster. Doncaster Dome has launched a campaign of support for Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 26, who lost both legs four years ago and also suffered two collapsed lungs, a broken back and brain injuries causing limited speech and memory loss. Michael Hart, general manager said: “When someone with such tremendous courage can recover from an event as traumatic as the one Ben went through, it’s truly awe-inspiring when they train with

the dedication he does.” Ben visits the Fitness Village a few times a week with stepfather Andy to exercise his core muscles while he learns to walk again with his mechanical legs. He said: “I always wanted to be in the army, since I was four years old and I’m still in my regiment which is the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery unit in Colchester and have been since I was 17. “At first no one thought I would walk again, but my advice to anyone else going through something similar is never give up. You will get there in the end.”

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Power-lifting show first for Essex’s Michelle By Emma Spencer

£145k upgrade for gym GYM-GOING students from Newcastle University will benefit from a £145, 000 upgrade to their gym. In total 57 pieces of kit from treadmills, upright and recumbent bikes, elliptical crosstrainers and five Adaptive Motion Trainers® (AMT’s) from the Precor range have been installed in time for students returning from their summer break. The university carried out research among students and

who said they liked the equipment and didn’t want it to change. So the university decided to fulfill current user demand while providing up to date equipment for current and future students. Nick Beall, facilities services manager at Newcastle University said: “As the students really like the existing Precor equipment it was a straight forward decision to retain the account and replace the pieces with new models.”

ONE of the owners of an Essex gym will be the first woman to host two of the country’s top powerlifting shows. Michelle Meade’s gym, Ripped, was given the go-ahead by the British Powerlifting Organisation (BPO) to hold the England Championships in March next year and the British Record breakers in December, 2011. Two of her customers Sebastian Wajncetel and Dominic Fazzini are members of the BPO and Ripped got involved with the organisation through sponsoring them. When she heard the BPO were looking for alternative venues to hold events she had no hesitation in putting Ripped forward. Michelle is now working her way through the strict guidelines and must do’s when it comes to hosting such a big event and has had to pay out for specialist equipment. She said: “All the equipment has to be accredited like the weights, bars, benches and projectors and we have to supply our own staff. There are A4 sheets of paper with lists of must do’s.

“If we were to replace all our equipment with what they use we would have gone out of business. It cost £2,700 to buy 300 kilos of weights. In our gym we have six tonnes of free weights. “These will be locked away in the office and only the people competing will use them. Then they go back in the office and won’t be used until the next event.” However, she says the money Ripped has laid out will pay for itself when it comes to raising the profile of the gym. Michelle added: “We have travelled to quite a few places when we have been members of other organisations and I thought we could do a better job. “We could advertise our gym but it doesn’t give you the atmosphere if you came in when we were having one of these events. “Members will absolutely love it and people will come from all over to watch. Even if people don’t know about this gym if they are interested in power lifting they will come and watch. It gets them through the doors and shows them what we have got. “We were over the moon when BPO said we had a fantastic gym – it means all the hard work has paid off.”

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Oasis for working and working out WHEN people aren’t working out at a Mansfield health club they are working. Members at the Oasis Health Club don’t just use the club to get in shape they use the facilities to socialise, entertain business clients and carry out their day job. In addition to the fitness facilities at the club there is a creche, hairdressers and licensed cafe. Because use of the gym, pool and classes is included in the £35 monthly membership (£30 if on a 12-month contract) the 2,500 clients make full

use of the club. Rob Douthwaite, general manager, said: “We have a lot of business people coming here. The cafe area is licensed and has Wi-fi. People come with lap tops when they are not coming for a work out, they have come to work. It is their club, they can relax, bring clients, look out over the pool area have a drink and a meal. We have a really large car park but sometimes not even that is enough.” Oasis has also inadvertently become popular with families as well because of links the business has

with ten pin bowling. The Oasis brand started in a ten pin bowling hall in Rotherham years ago. It added a gym to the business which took off and health clubs in Grimsby, Wakefield and then Mansfield followed. Rob is also manager of nearby Mansfield SuperBowl and thought of capitalising on quiet times to cash in at the gym. “I thought how can we throw a bit of business forward and reward members. We had spare capacity in the lanes at quiet times between 4pm

and 7pm. “Anybody that joins on a 12 month contract can go bowling and hire a lane for free. They just pay for shoe hire which is a pound each. “As a parent myself I know when you take the kids out it can cost an absolute fortune so this works really well for us. “It has brought a lot of families through to use the club. We have the creche and family swim times. Families weren’t the target audience but it seems to have evolved that way.”

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How to maximise free publicity for your club ... By Dave Wright Creative Fitness Marketing HAVING a good public relations plan of attack for your club is an essential way to create more members at absolutely no cost to you. It’s all about being ‘in’ the news for the great things that you do for your community so that when a potential member is contemplating joining a gym your club is top of mind. Here are a few ideas on how your club can be ‘newsworthy’ in your town. 1. Do an annual food donation For one month per year (such as December) instead of having a joining/ registration fee, allow new members to donate food or clothes to the value of the joining fee to the club to the charity of your choice. The spin for the clothing would be that the new member won’t need that anymore as they will lose weight and it won’t fit (highlighting your club’s generosity whilst subtly promoting its ability to get results). 2. Run a contest for charity Your members can get people to pledge money for the amount of exercise that they do such as a pound for every mile that they walk on a treadmill or a pound for every

1,000 metres that they row. You want to be creative so that you can put some good news into the public domain about what your club and its members do for your community. 3. Run a contest with a local radio station You can run a contest amongst the listeners of the radio station to see who can lose the most weight in an eight to 12-week period. Give the DJs free memberships to your health club and have them promote the contest, get lots of people to apply to be in the contest, and provide you contact information for all applicants. If there are two DJs it can be a lot of fun for them to form two separate teams and compete as well. It makes for an exciting contest for listeners of the radio station and great free marketing for your health club. 4. Promote one of your members as a local hero Give the media what they want…positive stories! Ask your members to submit applications to be in the ‘Local Hero’ contest. They can discuss how your health club has provided the support to help them reach their goals and be a

local hero. Once a winner is selected, write a press release and send it to all local media groups. It can say ‘Local citizen earns hero recognition’, or something similar. Don't forget to give a prize to all applicants, and maybe even put their success stories on a ‘Wall of Fame’ to show prospects when they visit your health club. 5. Offer to write articles for your local newspaper If your town's newspaper doesn't have a weekly fitness write up, volunteer to write one for them. Send a selection of articles in and also some questions and answers that you often get in your club to let the paper know what you are capable of. By having questions and answers, you’ll know the questions that most of the public (and the newspaper staff) are wanting answers for and will be able to engage more with the reader. Newspapers need constant stories and will only be too accommodating. The one thing to bear in mind with any PR is that it has to be ‘newsworthy’ so that you have to think that the community would want to read about it. If it’s just a

Dave Wright new treadmill or a cross trainer that you want to promote, the newspaper will see right through it. Read your local paper and see what stories are currently ‘making’ it. One final point to consider: money does talk … so if you are seen supporting the press avenue with your own advertising and/or giving generously to charities, then your potential reporter is going to be far more generous in giving you your story the free plug that it deserves.

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First for training academy THE training academy TenPilates has been officially recognised by the Register of Exercise Professionals – a first for the category of ‘Dynamic Reformer Pilates’. To qualify, every TenPilates trainer must spend over 180 hours at the training academy, mastering the Dynamic Pilates programme under the supervision of master trainers David Higgins and Luke Meessmann. Any trainer working through the academy can also earn 16 CPD points by completing the course. The course modules cover every detail of the Dynamic Pilates exercise, from philosophy of the TenPilates technique to an overview of current research into areas such as muscle imbalance, back and neck pain, ante and post natal exercise and core stabilisation techniques and rehabilitation. As well as this, the course covers six modules instructing the trainer on correct use of the Reformer, and the different exercises which make up the TenPilates training system.

How stroke put life in perspective for gym owner Shaun By Louise Cordell GYM owner Shaun Charters puts the cause of a major stroke at the age of 43 down to the stress of running his own business. Now on the road to recovery he says it has made him reassess his approach to the business he started in Morpeth, Northumberland four years ago in a purpose built unit. In 2008 the former army physical training instructor woke up one day paralysed down his right hand side and couldn’t speak or walk properly. Advice suggests getting treatment within the first three hours of having a stroke is essential but it was 14 hours before Shaun saw a doctor. Shaun said: “I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I knew I had to go to the doctors but didn’t want to bother them. “I couldn’t believe it when they said it was a stroke, there is no history in the family and I assumed it was the stress of running my own business. “I have been doing this all my life, I was working ten-hour days, doing

Shaun Charters personal training, running the classes and doing the paperwork.” Shaun, now 45, had to have an operation in September to repair a miniscule hole in his heart which may have contributed to the stroke but being self-employed there wasn’t much time for recovery.

Luckily, he took most of his clients to BodyMechanix from his previous gym, the Punchbowl, and relied on some of his military mates to take over the classes yet he was still back to work a month after the stroke. He has been shocked at how long it is taking him to regain full fitness. For example, prior to the stroke he could run two miles in 12 minutes and 30 seconds, now that time is 15 minutes. But his army background, the business and personal pride is spurring him on even though the stroke has made him put life in to perspective. Shaun added: “It is a personal pride that comes from being in the army, I am fit and that is why I was good at my job and I am determined to help clients lose weight and get fit. “But I now take the business as it comes. With the recession I am losing and before I would have been gutted but what can I do. “The most important thing in life is health but I will sort the business, get back in the black and expand.”

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Retention work works for Martin By Christina Eccles RETAINING existing members and maximising what they spend is as important as attracting new ones, according to one successful gym owner. Martin Greene owns Fountain Ladies Health Studio in Nottingham and over the last year has managed to increase turnover by about 11 per cent. He told Workout that the key to success has been placing as much emphasis on retention as on getting new people through the doors – and he has been working hard to encourage existing members to stay longer and spend more. When joining up, members can choose from several different price packages depending on what facilities they want to use and the days and times when they will be in the gym. And many members in lower bands have been successfully talked into upgrading – meaning they pay slightly more in order to be able to visit at weekends and early mornings and use extra facilities such as vibration training – and the gym benefits from the extra revenue. Martin explained: “For people on lower membership packages, we have encouraged them to upgrade. Instead of trying to increase our customer base we have been maximising

our existing memberships and increase members’ spend. “In the region of 15 to 18 per cent of members have been talked up in price, which has increased our turnover by around 11 per cent. “You have to work hard at it but we have found that by spending a little bit more time with members and giving them that support, you can maximise their spend. And speaking to someone rather than just putting up posters carries a lot of weight.” The gym has also had success with a recent advertising campaign, which generated a large number of new members at the start of the year. Martin added: “We hadn’t done a lot of advertising but in January we launched a campaign – ‘no joining fee, no contract, no excuses’ – and we found a lot of people could identify with that. We put a sign outside and delivered 20,000 leaflets and managed to increase our membership by about 25 per cent from January to March. “We are now ready to push on again and do a similar campaign for September and October.” The gym currently has about 500 members and future plans include building an extension – for which it already has planning permission in place.

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Judges look for winners in hundreds of entries By Emma Spencer WORKOUT magazine’s first National Fitness Awards have proved popular with gyms and clubs across the country with hundreds of entries coming in. Designed to give the smaller and independent operator a voice it has certainly done that with entries coming from established and new businesses as well as bootcamps, pole-dancing teachers and personal trainers. With the closing date now past our panel of expert judges has the arduous task of sifting through the nominations and trying to pick a worthy winner for each of the 12 categories. For example in the category for best membership recruitment campaign is the Club and Spa at Hoole Hall in Cheshire. The fitness facilities there are part of a £6 million refurbishment project and six months before the re-opening staff were selling memberships from a portable cabin in the car park with just a drawing to show potential customers – yet sold 1,200. One of the most popular categories has been for strength training gym of the year.

Ministry of Muscle gym in Kent was nominated by a member. It was opened in 2006 by Steve Winter, a former winner of Britain’s strongest man. He has coached members to gold medals in the World Powerlifting Championships and two of his clients were the only two English strongmen invited to take part in the Amateur Arnolds in America. Ministry of Muscle is unique because it has a complete indoor strongman training facility including a fire engine for truck pulling. And in the category for innovation or product of the year entries range from an outdoor fitness bootcamp in Gateshead, a recumbent stepper machine which can be used by both disabled and able bodied people and a Lancashire based company providing a mobile upholstery repair service. The winners will finally be announced at a ceremony and dinner at the National Railway Museum in York on Thursday November 25. It will be hosted by former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies.

Sharron Davies

Trusts are set to merge TWO leading leisure trusts have announced their intention to merge in a move that will see the new group operate more than 100 centres across south east England. If the deal goes ahead, Nexus Community will become a trading division of GLL, but will continue to operate under its own brand and maintain its own head office. It has also been confirmed that jobs at both charitable organisations will remain secure and that, at an operational level, business will continue as usual. The aim is that the deal will benefit both parties, as well as customers and staff, by allowing increased investment into capital projects, business expansion and better career opportunities for employees. Mark Sesnan, GLL MD, said: “This merger offers a fantastic opportunity for GLL and Nexus to take our businesses forward, share resources and build on our strengths. “Having worked in partnership for a number of years, the similarities between the two organisations have become evident and the advantage of working together obvious.”

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