ISSUE 1 May
WEEKLY
Issue 75 - 12 November 2021
YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE
Community project puts town on the map PAGE 2 #DoingOurBit wins national healthcare award PAGE 3
WORKOUT WEEKLY
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Russ Boaler, Ross McGuigan, Stephen Pearson, John Kenny, Dominic Bell, Hannah Bowler, Gareth Ball and Mark Mitchell were at the unveiling of the maps (left). The maps are on display at First House, Brinnington.
Community project puts town on the map RESIDENTS and organisations across Brinnington have helped design three maps to encourage residents to keep active and spend more time in their local area. The bespoke illustrations, which were unveiled during a launch event), are on display at First House in Brinnington and can also be downloaded via a QR code. All Brinnington residents have also received a free copy of the first map through their letterbox. It is hoped the maps will provide a visual guide for residents to encourage them to explore the area more. The first map includes local landmarks, the second highlights walking routes and ways to keep active, and the third
is a historical map of old buildings and landmarks in Brinnington. Ross McGuigan, active communities manager at Life Leisure, worked with the local community to facilitate the maps. He said: “When we asked residents for ideas of how we could encourage people to get moving more, everyone was very keen on something that would get people involved but also highlight everything Brinnington has to offer within the community. “One of the residents came up with the idea of having some maps and everyone loved it. People started talking about their favourite places and what buildings they remember from their childhood that are no longer there.
“It became such a talking point we thought it was something that would get other people interested too. “Supporting the local community is hugely important to us as Stockport’s local leisure provider, but we understand that doesn’t always mean accessing gym facilities and setting up sport sessions. The maps have already proved to be a useful local resource for residents and visitors looking for ways to explore Brinnington and get active, with local schools using them for classroom activities, and residents and holiday clubs using them for walking activities and trails. We hope the community continues to embrace the maps in lots of exciting ways.”
The idea for the maps came from the That Counts in Brinnington Forum, a focus group made up of residents, Life Leisure, Brinnington Big Local, Transport for Greater Manchester and more local organisations. This is part of a funded programme through Sport England called the Local Pilot, led by Stockport Council. Speaking after the new maps were unveiled, John Kenny, chair of Brinnington Big Local, said: “These maps are just fantastic. We really hope they will provide something for everyone, whether that’s families finding new cycling routes or older adults using them to reminisce and take a walk through some old haunts.”
RLSS UK launches qualification for swim schools RLSS UK has launched a new health and safety qualification for swim school owners and teachers as the sector continues to experience unprecedented demand for children’s swimming lessons. Data from Sport England suggests that almost a quarter of a million children have missed out on learning to swim the length of a standard swimming pool during the successive national lockdowns. Demand for swimming lessons has soared since restrictions eased, and swim schools have reached out to the UK’s leading provider of water safety and drowning prevention education Group Editor: Judith Halkerston Tel: 01226 734639 jh@scriptmedia. co.uk Group production editor: Dominic Musgrave Tel: 01226 734407 dm@scriptmedia. co.uk
Sales and marketing director: Tony Barry Tel: 01226 734605 tb@scriptmedia. co.uk Sales manager: Louise BristoweHarrison Tel: 01226 734699 workout3@ scriptmedia.co.uk
Studio manager: Stewart Holt sth@scriptmedia. co.uk
www.workout-uk.co.uk
for support with health and safety guidance. Developed by leading health and safety and swimming pool experts, the RLSS UK Swim School Health & Safety Award is designed to help swim school owners understand their legal duty regarding health and safety to ensure the safety of children, parents and employees as their business develops. The training is tailored specifically to the swim school environment and gives participants a thorough understanding of how to run a safe and successful swim school. The course shares the experiences
of other swim school owners, best practices, and lessons learnt from previous health and safety issues in the sector. It also includes basic pool plant knowledge, HR policies and procedures and highlights the implications of failing to have robust systems in place. Jo Talbot, RLSS UK director, said: “Swim schools have never been so busy; health and safety must remain a priority for businesses as they service the extraordinary demand for swimming lessons. “There are a lot of generic health and safety qualifications in circulation but, our new award has been
developed in direct response to calls from swim schools and therefore is bespoke to their needs and responsibilities to give them peace of mind.” The flexible training is delivered online, over 18 hours, and in varied formats to suit the demands of a swim school. It includes opportunities for discussions, workshops and questions to ensure candidates get the most from the tutor’s health and safety knowledge and understanding. Learn more at www.rlss.org.uk/ swim-school-health-and-safetyaward
P81 develops merchandise for operator P81 has been partnering with David Lloyd Leisure for a number of years to produce a range of quality merchandise for members. The products have ranged from the practical David Lloyd Clubs gym wear and workout towels to high end, branded luggage including the very popular weekend holdall and wash bag embossed with the David Lloyd Clubs logo. As you’d expect from the David Lloyd Clubs brand, many of the items are high specification and unique… even the water bottles are premium twin-walled metal sports bottles. All items are designed to keep packaging to a minimum and where packaging is used the focus has been on recycled plastic free packaging. Best of all, not only do P81 supply the in-club stock, members can order items direct from the David Lloyd Clubs website with P81 managing full stockholding and fulfilment direct to the member’s home. P81 has helped develop and offer a range of solutions to David Lloyd Clubs from counter top reception displays selling gym essentials such as padlocks to full blown retail stands offering a more complete solution. Recent retail stands would not look out of place on the high street.”
WORKOUT WEEKLY
Guide launched for operators to support more women and girls to be active UKACTIVE and Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign have joined forces to publish a practical guide filled with fresh insight, guidance and tangible solutions to support fitness and leisure operators in getting more women and girls active within their facilities. The guide, called ‘How to improve your services for women and girls: As told by the 51%’, is designed to help gyms and leisure facilities to reduce the barriers experienced by many women and girls who would like to be more active – with the title reflecting the fact that women make up over half of the population. The work forms part of a shared ambition proposed by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, between ukactive, the Government and its agencies, to grow the membership of these facilities by more than five million people by the end of the decade. Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said: “We have listened closely to the views of women and girls about how they feel using our nation’s gyms and leisure centres. “We know how popular fitness activities can be among women and girls, but there is a huge opportunity for our sector’s facilities to engage many more, as part of our shared ambition with the Government to reach five million new members this decade. “Reducing the barriers to female participation is a fundamental challenge for our sector, with our research showing clear demand from more women and girls to be able to enjoy these facilities. “We are proud to partner with Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign to
Huw Edwards
produce this practical guide for our members, which we believe will be a crucial tool to help improve their services for women and girls.” Before the pandemic, fitness-based activities were a major contributor to female participation in physical activity. Sport England’s Active Lives Survey 2019 showed that 21 per cent of women and girls aged 16 and over had taken part in fitness classes at least twice in the previous 28 days. It also showed rising demand, with a 1.6 per cent rise between 2018-2019 in women and girls taking part in weights session at least twice in the previous 28 days. In September this year a survey of 2,000 women and girls by Sport England and Savanta ComRes showed a desire from women to do more physical activity, with 57 per cent of women stating that they intend to do more physical activity, compared to 44 per cent of men – highlighting a huge opportunity for providers to cater to this demand
and audience. To support the development of the new guide, ukactive and This Girl Can conducted a bespoke survey with 1,030 women and girls over 16, alongside a series of focus groups. They found that while many women and girls do positively engage in sport and physical activity within gyms and leisure facilities, many others do not, for a range of reasons. The guide, which has been welcomed by leading fitness operators, includes practical guidance and checklists to help improve the engagement, experience and confidence of women and girls using gyms and leisure facilities. It features advice on how to improve online communication and messaging to women to reduce anxiety around worries and fears they have about entering this setting, which ranges from where to go when they arrive, to how to perform specific exercises. The guide highlights the importance of increasing awareness of the overall health benefits of being active for a female audience and offers advice on robust policies to tackle personal safety fears. It also includes case studies from operators in both the public and private sector that have implemented successful strategies to improve services for women and girls, from staff training and interaction, to flexible programming, specialist equipment introductions, and commitments to personal safety. Findings from the research by ukactive and This Girl Can are highlighted within the new guide and in a detailed supporting document, so that operators can act on the
latest evidence from women and girls. The reasons cited for not being active in gyms and leisure facilities included: fear of judgement from both men and women; cost; worries about personal safety; knowledge about using equipment; and images used of women in marketing materials that are unrelatable and make women feel negative about themselves. Key survey findings: n Of all respondents, three in five women and girls (60 per cent) have visited a fitness or leisure centre at least once a month, within the past three years. n However, half (50 per cent) of the women that have experience of exercising in fitness and leisure centres in the past three years say they worry about being judged in this setting. n Of all respondents, more women say they are worried about being judged by other women (27 per cent) than by men (22 per cent). n Approaching half (45 per cent) of women say a member of staff showing them how to perform exercises/activities and use equipment would encourage them to participate in more activity within fitness and leisure centres. n 13 per cent of women say they worry about the risk or threat of sexual harassment, intimidation or embarrassment in this setting. n Cost is most often identified as a barrier to participation in exercise or physical activity within a fitness and leisure centre, with a third (32 per cent) of respondents who have attended a fitness and leisure centre in the past three years citing it is too expensive.
#DoingOurBit wins national healthcare award #DoingOurBit – a platform of more than 60 free workouts for NHS staff created by fitness industry leaders Active IQ, fibodo and Study Active alongside NHS keyworker Julie Davis – has won the Bevan Brittan Award for Wellbeing at the prestigious Healthcare People Management Association Awards. The most hotly contested category with 42 entries, the Bevan Brittan Award recognises organisations who can demonstrate how specific employee health, fitness or
wellbeing initiatives are making a positive impact on staff satisfaction, motivation, health or productivity. The HPMA judging panel said it was ‘blown away by the innovation and commitment’ of #DoingOurBit and were ‘keen to ensure that it could be sustained.’ They were also impressed by the ‘vision, energy and strength of communication’ of the platform. “I’m absolutely delighted to have #DoingOurBit recognised by the HPMA in this way and am particularly pleased that our success will remind people in the NHS about the opportunity offered to them by the platform,” said Julie Davis, deputy chief operating officer at NIHR Clinical Research Network West Midlands, who came up with the idea of offering free workouts to her colleagues and the wider NHS community when the pandemic first hit. “I would like to thank Active IQ, fibodo and Study Active for all their encouragement and help firstly in bringing #DoingOurBit to life and secondly in building and sustaining the platform. “While it launched in lockdown, our aim is to continue building and
growing #DoingOurBIt into the future.” #DoingOurBit launched in June 2020 to the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and its 10,000 staff. While born out of necessity during lockdown, #DOB was recognised for its potential to support the wellbeing of the NHS into the future. New Trusts are still signing up with 105 now registered giving access to the free workouts to over 600,000 NHS staff. Ultimately, #DOB is hoping to make the NHS more self-sufficient in terms of managing its own physical activity.
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Its next stage is to recruit NHS employees as #DOB Champions to contribute more workouts to the platform and encourage colleagues to get involved. Each #DoingOurBit workout is unique with the PTs giving a personal message of thanks. Every minute of every workout has been externally verified to ensure the highest level of safety, integrity and quality. From yoga, Pilates and dance fitness to seated fitness, low and high impact sessions, core training and even family fun, there really is something for everyone.