News and jobs updated daily on
www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk Edited by Tom Walker. Email:
tomwalker@leisuremedia.com Fitness First £77.5 m investment
Fitness First plans to invest £77.5m on renovating clubs, exploring new fitness ideas and developing 15 new sites in major cities across the world. The move comes as
Fitness First’s CEO Andy Cosslett looks to revive the business after it came close to administration last year. It’s thought around £44m
will be spent on refurbishing old clubs and exploring new ideas that could give the chain an edge in an increasingly competitive market. Fi tness First, which
Fitness First is first operator to launch Tabata
High-intensity interval training workout Tabata was launched across London on 1 September, with Fitness First clubs the first in the world to offer the officially endorsed, scientifically-backed programme. Tabata’s first commercial deal –
between Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE), fitness programme producers Big Shot Productions and Fitness First – will see the workout initially available as both group exercise classes and small group training sessions at 50 Fitness First clubs in London. The Tabata system was developed by
Much of the investment will go into refurbishing existing clubs
operates more than 330 clubs across the world, will spend £29m of the investment on opening 15 new sites in Asia, Germany and India. The expansion comes in response
to suggestions that there could be more demand for Fitness First’s upmarket Platinum gyms in foreign markets. The
majority of the new clubs will be based in Asia – in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand – though two clubs are also being planned for Germany, in the cities of Hamburg and Berlin. The investment follows a smaller injection of £20m into the UK business earlier this year.
Your Leisure opens Ramsgate centre
Thanet District Council (TDC) and leisure trust Your Leisure have opened a £4.1m swimming centre as part of the development of the Ramsgate Sports Centre in Kent. The Ramsgate Swim
Centre will be operated by Your Leisure and includes a 25-metre pool, as well as a smaller pool for children and a swimming lessons programme. There is also a spa and a Feel Good Factory toning studio. Your Leisure acquired
The study examined the impact of exercise
Exercise ‘helps depression’ among pregnant women
The newly opened £4.1m leisure centre includes a 25m swimming pool
development funds for the scheme through private sector partner Alliance Leisure. It plans to repay the money over time through increased commercial opportunities brought about by the new spa, while also making savings in other operating departments
– ensuring there will be no additional cost to TDC. The new centre is connected to the existing Your Leisure-operated Ramsgate Leisure Centre, to create one joint facility. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=3z6z1
People who walk to work have lower diabetes risk
People who walk to work are around 40 per cent less likely to have diabetes than those who travel by car, UK-led research has found. Published in the American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, the research analysed data taken from a survey of 20,000 people in
September 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
the UK, to explore links between health and how people travel to work. The study produced a variety of findings
linking weight, exercise and travel means with the prevalence of health issues. Details:
http://lei.sr?a=v4i7A
Exercise could improve the mood of pregnant women and reduce their levels of fatigue, according to new research published in Psychology & Health. The study, conducted at the University
of Western Ontario, examined the impact of a four-week exercise intervention programme on the psychological states of previously inactive pregnant women. The results showed that participants
reported significant improvements in their mood during the study, while also seeing a reduction in their levels of fatigue. When publishing their findings, the
experts also highlighted that children of mothers who are depressed or anxious during pregnancy have higher cortisol levels at birth and adolescence, as well as impaired cognition skills and greater risk of developmental and mental disorders.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 13
Japanese scientist Professor Izumi Tabata while working with the Japanese Olympic speed skating team on their fitness programme. The Tabata method consists of 20 seconds of intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times over a four-minute period. According to its developers, Tabata
has been scientifically proven to be the most effective way to increase aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
IMAGE:
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ELINA MANNINEN
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