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Gym Floor: Strength training
Strength training is a key part of any gym. But how can you use strength training equipment to differentiate your offering? Steph Eaves asked operators to share their stories
Supplier: Total Gym
Operator: The Fitness Function
Founder and director,
The Fitness Function
“We’ve created an innovative 45-minute small group strength programme, which utilises Total Gym equipment for incline body-weight resistance training.
Each session is carefully split into sections that focus on different areas of the body, to create a total body workout.
We wanted to develop a workout that’s efficient and interesting. Using Total Gym equipment and its accessories we’ve designed a fun programme that uses resistance training techniques.
Within each workout we use different methods of resistance training to keep the sessions alive and challenging for all levels, to ensure members stay engaged and the workouts are effective.
Most importantly, each session must be achievable for all clients.
The members love these classes, as they’re made to feel at ease. They’re getting fitness results and can see marked improvements in their physical strength and wellbeing. They like the way in which they can challenge their bodies in a safe and effective way, while being taught by experienced trainers.”
Supplier: Life Fitness UK
Operator: Solan Fitness
Director,
Solan Fitnes
“We launched Solan Fitness to provide mainstream strength training facilities for everyone; from elite level athletes to first-time gym goers, and to remove the stigma associated with strength training by providing a state-of-the-art facility, where members are educated and supported to achieve their health, fitness and wellbeing goals.
Life Fitness helped us to design a floorplan and install an extensive range of strength equipment that’s accessible for everyone and that provides relevant levels of workouts for everyone, regardless of size, experience or the frequency at which they train.
At Solan Fitness, we’re always looking for new, state-of-the-art equipment and in April 2018 we became the first gym in the UK to install the Hammer Strength HD Athletic Bridge from Life Fitness.
With its several configurations and overhead bridge design, the HD Athletic Bridge has given our gym community a flexible training solution that allows for Olympic lifting, bodyweight training and a range of dynamic, strength-based group workout classes for everyone.
Since its installation, we’ve been able to add a new strength-focused group workout called ‘Ignite’ to our timetable.
It’s also a popular tool for our personal trainers to incorporate into their sessions, thanks to the diverse equipment that is available as part of the Bridge, which includes dumbbells, kettlebells and other functional training equipment.
Using the Bridge this way reinforces our commitment to providing state-of-the-art, mainstream strength training facilities that are accessible to all fitness-goers. It has allowed us to evolve our group training offering with classes appealing to a wide demographic.
It’s brought our community together, with different exercisers training in the same area, further reducing the stigma that inhibits some members from training.”
Supplier: Escape Fitness
Operator: TRIB3
CEO ,
TRIB3
“TRIB3 has been kitted out with all-natural materials and carefully chosen pieces sourced from local antique shops. These include the heavy barn doors that members walk through to get to the gym, and even some old boxing spit buckets. It all adds up to a truly unique (but authentic) environment.
This authenticity extends to equipment, which includes Escape kettlebells, medicine balls and octagon dumbbells (which don’t roll away!), to fit in with the bespoke feel of the gym’s interiors.
Escape also worked with us to create a customised grapple stand-up boxing bag to help us realise our vision of creating a training space that inspires people to join and delivers bottom line results.
In particular, we wanted to deliver a range of products and a level of service to satisfy the millennials market.
We knew that it isn’t just what your club looks like or how good the equipment is that matters, the club has to be viable. It needs to deliver results. That’s the only way a club can go on investing in superior-grade equipment and exceptional facilities.
From very early on, feedback from our clients has been very encouraging.
For example, on Facebook and other platforms, people post their views on how good the workout and experience is at TRIB3. And an objective level of the success of the club is its Net Promoter Score, which is over 68. That seems to put us in line with the likes of Apple.”
Supplier: eGym
Operator: Inverclyde Leisure
Chief executive,
Inverclyde Leisure
“In January 2018, as part of a diversification strategy, Inverclyde Leisure opened a dedicated women-only facility at the Waterfront Leisure Complex in Greenock, Scotland.
Before the development, the space – which is located on a mezzanine floor above the main fitness area – was used predominantly for storage.
It was an under-utilised area of the facility that did not offer members and customers any products or services or provide any revenue opportunity and so our aim was to make it more productive.
The 50 sq m space was transformed, with the installation of a nine station eGym strength circuit core to the offer.
As part of the development, the area was given a dedicated entrance, enabling the centre to market membership independently of the other fitness facilities, creating a new income-generating opportunity, aimed at a very specific population segment.
The eGym circuit is driven by intelligent software, which means that after an initial induction with an instructor, users are able to visit the facility and complete a highly effective, safe workout, under their own steam, without the need for an instructor.
This minimises staffing costs without compromising on the user experience.
We currently have 150 members of our women’s fitness facility. Members often use this membership to become more confident and comfortable in visiting the facility at the beginning.
In most cases this has resulted in an upgrade to a more comprehensive membership category and in members trying new products and services.”
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