Workout Weekly September 15

WEEKLY

YOUR REGULAR ONLINE UPDATE FOR THE UK FITNESS SCENE

ukactive unveils National Fitness Day app –page 3

Therapy centre gets paralysed man Mark back on his fee –page 5

ukactive unveils National Fitness Day app

ukactive has teamed up with Endurance Zone to launch the first National Fitness Day app, as the clock counts down to the big day on Wednesday, September 20.

‘Fitness Day Rewards’ app has been designed by sports rewards platform, Endurance Zone, to help people maintain motivation by offering prizes and rewards for being more active –inspired by this year’s theme, ‘Your Health is for Life’.

The free app allows users to connect their wearable fitness device to track their activity levels, accumulating one point for every minute of physical activity, and then using these to enter competitions for prizes from the world’s leading fitness and lifestyle brands, such as Les Mills, Headspace, Brooks Running and many more.

The app is available to download now for both Apple and Android users.

National Fitness Day is the UK’s most active day of the year, with thousands of free activities set to take place in gyms, leisure centres, swimming pools, sports clubs, schools, workplaces, parks, and online.

Fitness Day Rewards app will be

available until the end of the year, supporting National Fitness Day to inspire millions of people to begin and continue their health and fitness journey.

Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive, said:

“We’re thrilled to announce the Fitness Day App with Endurance Zone as a

brilliant addition to this year’s National Fitness Day and we’re excited to see how this can help incentivise people of all abilities, ages and backgrounds to be motivated to move more.

“As we approach the day itself, activity is really starting to ramp up and it’s

been great to hear stories from all of our members about their exciting plans and free activities for the day.

“We look forward to seeing how the nation gets involved and all of the great work our members will be doing on the day and beyond.”

ukactive has also announced Optimum Nutrition as the official nutrition and recovery partner for National Fitness Day 2023, in a collaboration to help this year’s campaign highlight the importance of a balanced and healthy approach to diet, sleep and recovery in our health journey.

Optimum Nutrition joins Endurance Zone and men’s mental health charity, Movember as partners for National Fitness Day, with each organisation supporting activation on the day and at the national launch event.

This year’s launch event will be hosted by ukactive and GM Active at Salford Sports Village in Greater Manchester, where participants on the Prehab4Cancer programme will use group exercise classes to showcase the power of physical activity for their physical and mental health.

Northcroft lido reopens following £5.7m investment

THE major redevelopment of the lido at Northcroft Leisure Centre, Newbury has completed following a £5.7million investment.

Commissioned by West Berkshire Council and developed by Alliance Leisure working in partnership with Myrtha Pools and Universal Civils & Build through the UK Leisure Framework, the new outdoor facilities include a 50-metre, Olympic length outdoor swimming pool, a splash pad and fun slides, beach hut style changing rooms, a sun terrace and a relaxation area, all of which are fully accessible.

Greg Walker, business development manager at Alliance Leisure, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many people enjoying this amazing space again. There has been a lido on this site since 1870 so it’s part of the local DNA.

“The original pool was affected by ground water levels, which, over the years, undermined the integrity of the structure and became increasingly expensive to maintain.

“Now that the pool has been reengineered with the benefit of modern-

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day learnings and technologies, families will be able to enjoy the many physical, mental and social benefits of this amazing facility for generations to come.”

It is forecast that the new facilities will accommodate 50,000 attendances each season.

In addition to attracting more visitors to the facility through the inclusion of the splash pad, main pool, slides, residents will now also enjoy an

extended season.

Greg added: “By shortening the pool from 72 metres to 50 metres and reducing the depth from a maximum of 2.8 metres to a profile from 0.9m to 1.58m, pressure on the structure has been reduced and maintenance demands have been eased.

“This means the facilities can now be operational from April right through to the end of September.

“This not only extends access to this

amazing community provision, but has created a more sustainable financial proposition.”

The UK Leisure Framework, owned by Denbighshire Leisure LTD has supported many community leisure development projects from full scale multi-site leisure centre new builds to 3G pitches and pump tracks.

Janine Lewis, West Berkshire’s executive member for public health, culture, leisure, sport and countryside, added: “Working in partnership with Alliance Leisure, we’ve breathed new life into a much-loved facility and created a model that will enable thousands of residents and visitors from far afield to enjoy the pleasures of outdoor swimming and other water activities for many years to come.

“We can now all celebrate the success of this project together.”

Moving forwards, Everyone Active has been appointed under a ten-year term to manage the Northcroft Leisure Centre and Lido as part of a wider leisure management agreement with West Berkshire Council.

Sport for Confidence makes award shortlist

SPORT for Confidence CIC has been shortlisted for a Public Health Champion Award, part of the annual, national Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards.

The awards programme, now in its seventh year, promotes the adoption and dissemination of good practice whilst celebrating the dedication, innovation, leadership and success of individuals and teams.

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The awards are open to all members of the allied health professions community and nominations are made by peers or individuals themselves.

Lyndsey Barrett, founder of Sport for Confidence (pictured), said: “Even just being shortlisted for this prestigious award is an amazing achievement for the team.

“Our application was focused on

the work we delivered as part of a ground-breaking Prevention and Enablement model that embedded physical activity into a whole system approach to adult health and social care.

“The project was a test and learn Local Delivery Pilot in Essex and delivered by us in partnership with

Adult Social Care at Essex County Council, Active Essex.

The project outcomes, independently evaluated by the University of Essex and State of Life, evidenced a £58.72 return in social value for every £1 invested.

We are extremely proud to have made the shortlist for this prestigious award.

Doing so not only helps us promote the success of PEM, it also recognises and rewards the dedication and hard work of every coach, occupational therapist, participant, volunteer, supporting partner and leisure centre team member involved in the project delivery.”

Award winners will be announced at a virtual awards evening on October 12.

THE Harrogate Hydro has reopened its doors having been transformed into the Harrogate Leisure and Wellbeing Centre, thanks to a £13.5million major refurbishment by North Yorkshire Council.

Works, delivered by Alliance Leisure, have included extending the building’s footprint and substantial reimagining throughout to create a bright, modern offering more in keeping with the needs of today’s vibrant and diverse community.

New facilities include a new 400sqm fitness suite, a Les Mills immersive cycle studio, a sauna and steam suite, an Innerva wellness suite plus a reconfigured reception and café.

Existing pool and leisure facilities have also been completely overhauled. In the pool, a new diving

structure has been installed so the centre can continue to support up and coming diving talent in the way that it has done for Olympians, such as Jack Laugher MBE and Oliver Dingley.

Outside, the building has been remodelled to complement the surrounding environment with landscaping, a reconfigured car park, bicycle storage and electric vehicle charging points.

James Foley, commercial director and strategic project lead at Alliance Leisure, said: “Investment in the old Hydro has transformed the facility and future proofed leisure provision for many years to come.

“In addition to the visible improvements, there is so much that has gone on behind the scenes

to make this centre more energy efficient. Air source heat pumps have replaced existing gas boilers and 250 solar panels have been installed along with new energy monitoring and control systems.

“These measures are expected to half the carbon footprint of the leisure centre. This is great news for the council’s net zero targets, great news for residents and ultimately, great news for the planet.”

The project has been delivered by Alliance Leisure, working with ISG Construction and GT3 architects through the UK Leisure Framework, managed by Denbighshire Leisure Limited.

North Yorkshire’s Council’s executive member for culture, arts and housing, Councillor Simon

Myers, added: “We are committed to ensuring that North Yorkshire has a healthy and more active population that is living longer and more independently.

“The re-opening of the new and improved Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre will ensure that continues to be the case. It is also pleasing that energy-efficiency has been at the heart of the project, in line with our climate pledges, and this will serve as an example for other facilities across the county.”

The redevelopment will be followed later in the year with the completion of the new-build Knaresborough Leisure Centre, as part of a generational and regenerative approach to leisure and wellbeing provision in the community. Brimham’s active manages both sites.

Harrogate Leisure and Wellbeing Centre reopens following multi-million pound transformation ukactive and 4GLOBAL join forces to improve data and insight for sector

ukactive and 4GLOBAL have today announced a three-year strategic collaboration to strengthen reporting, benchmarking and lobbying evidence for the physical activity sector.

The collaboration will focus on building and increasing the value and visibility of data and evidence across the sector. Contributing members will have access to in-depth analysis, with aggregated data providing trends and sector performance that will be shared at regular events and key moments throughout the year.

Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive said: “Our partnership with 4GLOBAL is a pivotal moment for ukactive and demonstrates to our members how serious we are about using data and insight to support the growth and development of the sector.

“Consistent, regular, credible data sets that cover public, private, independent operators, and broadened with fresh consumer polling will give this sector the foundation it requires and deserves.

“The data and insight from this partnership will also form a critical component of our work with the Government over the coming years to ensure the best possible landscape for

our members to grow and develop.”

4GLOBAL is a UK-based data company focused on the promotion and measurement of physical activity.

Their expertise will support ukactive’s Private Sector Benchmarking work that began in 2021 when facilities reopened following the pandemic.

Initially, this will involve the quarterly collection of performance data from private sector operators, including number of facilities, members, and the

total member income that they receive. The data will help ukactive to track the sector’s recovery, performance and emerging sector trends.

Through this strategic collaboration with 4GLOBAL, the data collection is set to be expanded to independent operators and, when combined with the data already collected as part of Sport England’s ‘Moving Communities’, means that for the first time, there will be a quarterly database showing the

performance of the sector as a whole across the UK.

The high-quality data resulting from the partnership will be useful in supporting a range of ukactive stakeholders’ own plans and projects.

The anonymised data from the partnership will also feed into ukactive’s regular reporting to the Government in support of the sector’s policy work and lobbying.

Dr Steven Mann, global partnership director at 4GLOBAL, added: “It’s a distinct privilege for all of us at 4GLOBAL to deepen our relationship with ukactive.

“This important expansion will see data and trends affecting the whole sector being brought together into one place, enabling us to track and analyse how this vitally important sector is continuing to recover, both from Covid and also the inflation and energy pressures we’ve seen shortly after the pandemic.

“We’ve long admired how ukactive has played a leading role in championing physical activity and fitness through some difficult years. We at 4GLOBAL share their passion for ensuring people lead more active and healthier lives, so we can’t wait to broaden and deepen our relationship in the months ahead.”

Therapy centre gets paralysed man Mark back on his feet

A MAN who was told he would never walk again is taking his first steps thanks to the I Can Therapy Centre in Andover, Hampshire.

The centre’s unique exercise approach combines specialist power-assisted equipment with coaching from an experienced team of professionals and volunteers to help individuals move and mobilise their muscles and joints.

The centre is having a profound impact on the lives of people in Andover and the surrounding areas, none more so than 52-year-old Mark, who faced a lifechanging event in March 2022 when he suffered an aortic dissection.

The motorbike enthusiast underwent thoracic arch replacement surgery, but his spinal cord was affected during the operation resulting in the loss of his ability to walk or bear weight using his legs.

Mark was told he would never walk again and after more than four months in hospital was discharged home.

Mark was determined to continue his rehabilitation and approached the I Can Therapy Centre in the hope the service could help him on his journey to independence.

At his first assessment in August 2022, Mark explained his primary goal was to walk again. To achieve this, he aimed to increase muscle mass and strength in his hamstrings and glutes, as well as his overall strength and mobility.

After completing a series of functional tests - zero repetitions on the sit-tostand test, 37kg on the hand grip test and 6/10 for self-perception of his physical and mental health – the team

devised an exercise programme to help Mark reach his goals.

For the next six months, Mark used the centre’s circuit of power-assisted exercise equipment from Innerva multiple times a week. Movement on each of the specialist machines is initiated by an electronic power system, which enables users to be mobilised by the equipment and therefore move passively.

When they are ready and able to progress, users can actively engage their muscles and cardiovascular systems to move their muscles and joints throughout their natural range of movement.

Fast forward to February 2023, and

Mark’s dedication was paying off. He could now bear weight and take a few steps using a walking aid, an impressive improvement from the first assessment. His self-perceived physical and mental health also saw a substantial boost, rising to a score of 8/10.

As Mark’s strength and mobility continued to improve, so his goals evolved. His new goal was to navigate between exercise machines without relying on a wheelchair while continuing to strengthen his legs and glutes.

By May 2023, just nine months after his first visit to the I Can Therapy Centre, Mark was able to transition between machines using only a walking aid. His

remarkable progress has real impact on his day-to-day life making getting out of a chair and in and out of a car much easier.

Reflecting on his experience at the centre, Mark said: “The I Can Therapy Centre means a lot to me. I cannot go to a ‘normal’ gym, so it enables me to keep physically active and work on my rehabilitation, knowing I’m in safe hands. It has worked wonders and gives me an excuse to get up in the morning and something to look forward to.”

In addition to giving Mark a sense of purpose and aiding his recovery, regular use of the power-assisted exercise circuit has also boosted his mental health, he says.

“Since starting at the centre, I can now stand and walk with a frame. As I was told that I would never walk again, this has had a significant impact on me. The centre not only helps me physically but mentally as well. It’s a great place to socialise and meet new peopleeveryone is very friendly.”

Mark’s ultimate dream is to walk without any assistance and, in the future, return to his beloved motorbike. He continues to work with the team at the I Can Therapy Centre towards his goals.

“We take great pride in being part of Mark’s inspiring journey,” added Ann, centre manager of The I Can Therapy Centre.

“We are committed to using our tailored exercise approach combined with the support of our dedicated team to empower more people like Mark to overcome challenges and achieve their personal goals.”

Dyaco UK Ltd and Sweatband.com join forces

DYACO UK Ltd, a leading supplier and manufacturer of premium commercial gym equipment in the UK and Ireland, has announced a strategic merger with Sweatband. com, the UK’s leading supplier of sports and fitness products.

By joining forces, Dyaco UK will become the only company in the UK that can supply the entire fitness market - from high-end commercial spaces, home fitness and every sport in between – providing a bespoke end to end service direct to both consumers and businesses.

Dyaco UK’s turnover reached £5million in 2021/2022, and in this calendar year so far, they have reported a 33 per cent growth in sales.

Following the merger, Dyaco UK is on course to achieve £20million in turnover for the 2023 financial year.

CEO of Dyaco UK and Sweatband. com, Dean Jackson, who has 20 years’ experience within the fitness and retail industry leading strategy for key fitness wholesalers including RFE International Ltd, will be instrumental in directing the strategic collaboration, which will bring together the strengths and expertise of both companies to deliver innovative products, superior customer experiences,

and accelerated growth within key markets.

He said: “This merger marks an exciting chapter for Dyaco UK, as we combine our resources and expertise to create a global powerhouse in the fitness industry.

“As an important milestone that will help reposition Dyaco UK as a brand that services the whole sport and fitness industry, our clients can be

confident to approach us as a 360 service that fits their personal and commercial needs.”

“The merger will drive accelerated growth in key markets globally, allowing Dyaco UK to strengthen its market position and expand its reach.

“We’re excited for the future and what the partnership holds for our customers, partners and employees.”

Founder of Sweatband.com, Maz

Darvish, will be remaining as a shareholder, beginning a new venture launching AI technology company Cognition Hub in tandem, and will continue to play a key role in elevating the growth at Dyaco UK.

He added: “As I embark on a new venture, I look forward to continuing to work closely with Dyaco UK to help accelerate what has been a significant period of growth further.”

By joining forces, Dyaco UK and Sweatband.com aim to leverage their complementary capabilities and shared vision to drive innovation and enhance the overall fitness journey for customers worldwide.

The merger unites Dyaco UK’s extensive manufacturing capabilities, cutting edge technology, and vast product portfolio with Sweatband. com’s deep knowledge of the e-commerce landscape, strong brand recognition, and customer centric approach.

Customers can expect an even broader selection of high-quality fitness equipment and accessories, along with an improved online shopping experience.

Offering a bespoke package that fits every need, Dyaco UK will become a reliable one-stop-shop for a range of industries, including sport, fitness, hospitality, education and health.