DLL’s outdoor classes on tennis courts will remain a regular feature due to their popularity / Photo: Press Association

Thanks to its tennis courts and green spaces, David Lloyd Leisure was able to erect marquees at 90 of its 99 clubs in March 2020, offering a broad range of classes as soon as outdoor exercise was permitted.

Having launched an outdoor group training concept called Battlebox, in 2019, DLL wasn’t a stranger to fresh air group exercise, however, the pandemic has taken things to another level.

According to Michelle Dand, head of fitness products and programming, 130 marquees from 17 different suppliers across 80 locations were hired, providing a logistical challenge to set up. Added to this it can take the teams two hours every day to set up and take down equipment.

It has been worth it though. “The feedback has been excellent, with a 95 per cent satisfaction score,” says Dand. “Members have told us how much they enjoy the classes. Even in chillier weather they find working out in fresh air invigorating.”

Going forward, DLL will continue to expand Battlebox, as well as offering outdoor classes. “The pandemic has accelerated the trend for outdoor exercise and the closure of our indoor clubs has driven us to develop and adapt our programme to operate outdoors at pace,” says Dand. “We plan to continue to offer an outdoor timetable in the future, particularly in warmer weather. It will also allow us to offer more choice and availability, as well as support social distancing in our clubs.

DLL is also responding to the running zeitgeist by launching running and walking clubs at a number of sites. “During lockdown we built up a fantastic Facebook community of runners and walkers, and our members have loved the new running and walking clubs,” says Dand.

Third Space didn’t have grounds to use for group exercise at its Canary Wharf and Tower Bridge sites, but spoke to the landlords about using the adjacent outdoor space for pop-ups. The first two opened at Canary Wharf, with Tower Bridge launching one week later.

“When the government’s staged return announcement excluded a return to indoor instructor-led group exercise, we knew we’d have to be creative, as up to 50 per cent of our members love to attend our classes and wanted to return ASAP,” says Third Space CEO, Colin Waggett. “So we developed three outdoor group exercise venues with our partner landlords.”

Enclosed, with fully removable partition walls to fall within safety permissions under the guidance of UK Government and ukactive recommendations, the 200sq m venues were erected in the morning and taken down each night.

“There were multiple challenges,” says Third Space MD, John Penny. “Challenge number one was securing a design of quality which fits the Third Space brand – especially as outdoor marquees were in hot demand.

“They also had to be supported by a comprehensive wind safety management plan, which requires team training and lots of health and safety planning checks. This involved removing the correct side enclosures to meet the outdoor space rules and enforce safety based on wind direction. To recreate the experience also required us to overlay proper level gym rubber flooring inside.”

The master trainers had to adapt their programming to suit layout and machine availability and be aware of sound restrictions. In addition to traditional sound system measures, Third Space worked with a silent headphone partner.

Booking facilities had to be created on the app and tested for efficient functionality and capacity management. Finally, all COVID-19 safety measures had to be trained and delivered by the team.

After pivoting to a Zoom programme last year, Cornwall-based, yoga studio, Oceanflow Yoga, was desperate to get outside and offer group sessions at the earliest opportunity. From 12 April 2021, when the sun was shining, outdoor yoga sessions on the clifftops overlooking Fistral Beach were offered.

However, the team was keen to get back to larger events as soon as possible and on Easter weekend ran the first Silent Disco Yoga. With capacity capped at 200 the event quickly sold out. Another date was added, which was also a sell out.

Being one of the first events in the country with a large gathering of people, Oceanflow was fastidious about following the rules and modifying the offering to ensure the event was COVID-secure. “A lot went into the pre-planning, including a thorough risk assessment and several walk throughs on the beach in the days leading up to the event,” says co-founder, Tom Harvey. “The beach is a perfect blank canvas in which we were easily able to rake out 2m spacing in the sand for the arrival queue all the way through the journey to the spacing of the yoga mats. “But one thing we hadn’t anticipated was the changing sandbanks! We’d pre-planned everything from the location on the beach to the queuing system, only to have to change it all two days before, due to the tide depositing pebbles all over the area we had earmarked for the event. The beauty was that it created an even better sandy area at the same time, so our luck was in!”

Oceanflow Yoga co-founder, Jen Harvey, says it was a powerful experience for people to be able to practise yoga in a group again: “It’s hard to describe the energy surrounding the event. To have a large group of people meeting in a COVID-secure way was very emotional. Some people had just taken up yoga during lockdown, so had only ever practised in front of a screen. This experience on the beach with so many others blew their minds.”

• Any outdoor space can be converted: the car park or poolside

• Do a test run – sound carries differently outside so make sure your instructors have the equipment they need

• Make sure the outdoor sessions have a permanent place on the class timetable and that this is communicated to members

• Draw in new class participants by highlighting which classes complement outdoor sports or training events.

• Entice your members back with a motivating challenge or competition to build up their confidence and camaraderie as a group

• Remind members to stay hydrated and to wear sunscreen