Classes are the heartbeat
of Gymbox; at Stratford, up to 150 members take part in classes at any one time
On the same upper fl oor of the club
is another gym area for heavier lifting, functional training and martial arts. There’s a sledge track, ropes, plyoboxes, soft medicine balls, a whole row of squat racks – which have also been painted in bright colours – and a vast Octagon surrounded by punch bags and a few bits of cardio (bikes, Turbo Trainers and SkiErgs) for functional classes and PT. “We do classes pretty much
everywhere in the club,” says Hilton.
“At peak times, there’ll be a class going on in each of the three studios, in the functional area and in the Octagon. That’s a total of around 120–150 people all doing classes at once.” That’s not surprising given it’s really
in the area of group exercise that Gymbox sets itself apart. “Classes are the heartbeat of our clubs,” agrees Hilton. The design and location of the large studios refl ect this: they’re the fi rst thing you see as you walk past reception, with a touchscreen board promoting the diverse timetable. One- way mirrors allow exercisers to see a full wall of mirror while those outside can get a taster of what’s going on in the class, and the cycling studio features lasers and a leaderboard. “We design all our own classes and
change the timetable every quarter, introducing four or fi ve new creative slots each time – so at the moment we have things like twerking, drumming-
June 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
based Pound, rave and Nae Nae,” says Hilton. “Those ideas might come from our team – they might have got an idea from a fi lm, or maybe even a dance they saw someone doing at a wedding – or from our members. “Everyone’s allowed to be creative
and you mustn’t be embarrassed to make mistakes – some things will always work better than others, and our members never hold it against us. They just tell us and we change it.
One area of the new gym offers heavy lifting, functional training and martial arts “We have around 90 classes a week
in each club, and every single class is always booked up. Over 60 per cent of our members do group exercise.”
Growth potential This class-focused approach was inspired by the time Hilton spent working in advertising in New York, between 1990 and 1997. “I used to go to Crunch and the classes were utterly unique,” he says. “There was nothing like it in London, so
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 43
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