HEALTH & FITNESS Fitness app usage spikes 62 per cent


As the wearable tech market heats up with firms like Apple, Samsung and Google battling for supremacy, the latest fig- ures from mobile research firm Flurry show that con- sumer appetite for fitness apps shows no sign of abating. Oſten used in conjunction


with wearable tech to provide analytics and workout feed- back – although recent apps outlining celebrity workouts have also proved popular – daily usage of health and fit- ness apps has grown by 62 per cent over the last six months, according to Flurry. Tis rep- resents a growth rate that is 87 per cent faster than the mobile apps industry as a whole. Te growth of fitness apps lagged behind the


Total Fitness sees increase in profits after strong sales


Total Fitness Health Clubs has experienced a significant increase in operating profit – from £620,000 in 2012 to £1.96m in 2013 generated through £29.6m in sales. Te chain’s consolidated group accounts


have been published today (14 July), high- lighting how trading results for the first half of 2014 show an 11 per cent like for like new member sales increase compared to the same period last year. Membership levels have also increased by over 5,200 members (eight per cent) in the last year. Tis improved performance is attributed


to the company’s major investment pro- gramme, with all 16 clubs being upgraded. Details: http://lei.sr?a=B7d6d


Flurry has identified a core group it calls the ‘Fitness Fanatics’ Having analysed usage data for more than


wider app market in 2013, so what is it that has sparked this sudden frenzy of activity? US-based Flurry says it’s a combination of


increased product offerings from tech giants and greater integration with Facebook – making the use of fitness apps a more social experience. But, the firm says, the main driver is a niche group of users with a thirst for fitness.


6,800 health and fitness iOS applications in a sample of 10,000 devices, Flurry has identified what it calls the “Fitness Fanatics” – a group that uses health and fitness apps three more than the average person profiled. Despite only comprising 48 per cent


of all mobile phone consumers, women account for 62 per cent of the Fanatics, who are also most likely to be middle aged. Details: http://lei.sr?a=x3U4F


Sitting down for too long harms fitness levels Gymbox secures £10m funding for expansion


Gym chain Gymbox has gained invest- ment capital of £10m from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), with Clearwater International securing the deal, as well as an additional £7m in fresh loans. Gymbox currently has five clubs


across London and will use BGF’s capital to continue its site roll-out in London with three additional sites already secured. Beyond these, the com- pany now has the funding in place to open several further gyms in London, and beyond that in other UK cities. Founded in 2001 by Richard


Hilton, Gymbox opened its first gym in Holborn in September 2003 and today has clubs in Farringdon, Covent Garden, Bank and Westfield. Te com- pany is expected to turnover £10m this year and currently has 13,400 members on its books. Gymbox represents BGF’s second invest-


Gymbox is set to expand across the UK aſter securing funds


ment in the UK fitness market having backed Yorkshire-based low-cost gym group Xercise4Less in August 2013, which now has a total of 23 health clubs nationwide. “The Gymbox brand has gone from strength to strength in recent years based on


© CYBERTREK 2014


our contemporary club designs, exciting and original classes and our ability to offer custom- ers new and unique ways of keeping fit,” said Gymbox managing director, Richard Hilton. “We look fo r ward to op en -


ing new sites this year and next and introducing the Gymbox concept to a wider in audience in London and other UK cities.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=p4Y5a


Twitter: @leisureopps


Post-workout inactivity ‘harmful to fitness levels’


A new study has suggested that extended sedentary behaviour lasting for two or more hours could be as harmful to fitness levels as short workouts are beneficial. For the benefits received from an hour-


long workout, six hours spent sitting is as harmful to cardiorespiratory fitness, according to the study carried out by a team of cardiologists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre. Using data from 2,223 participants


in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the study examined cardiorespiratory fitness levels in relation to exercise and the amount of time spent sedentary in conjunction with that. Participants included men and women


aged 12 to 49 with no known history of heart disease, asthma or stroke, and fitness levels were assessed through a submaximal treadmill test, which was adjusted for dif- ferences in gender, age and BMI. “Previous studies have reported that sedentary behav- iour was associated with increased risk for cardiovascular outcomes,” said author Dr Jarett Berry. Details: http://lei.sr?a=B7d6d


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