Nuffield Health has extended its partnership with Indoor Cycling Group (ICG) to launch an exclusive group exercise programme – ICG HEAT.

Last year ICG won the tender to provide equipment and programming to Nuffield Health’s NuCycle, its indoor cycling studios and programming concept. The partnership between Nuffield Health and ICG will continue to roll out IC6 and IC7 bikes across its NuCycle proposition, along with the introduction of the new ICG HEAT indoor cycling class.

Nuffield Health members will be able to tailor their indoor cycling workouts using the ICG Coach by Color system, which assigns five coloured training zones to users based on power or heart rate to accurately coach their exercise efforts and provide the best customised results.

“ICG is renowned for its state-of-the-art equipment and programming and technology that’s designed to deliver a personalised workout in a group cycling environment. This makes it the perfect solution for us,” explains Charlie Banfield, Nuffield Health’s national commercial manager – group exercise and swim.

Personalised training
Members new to ICG are encouraged to attend a NuCycle Baseline class to determine their five coloured training zones through a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test. The FTP score is then inputted into the bike at the start of each class to tailor the workout to the member; a feature that underpins ICG’s unique offering.

“Indoor cycling remains incredibly popular in gyms, yet often the training experience isn’t bespoke, so members won’t be getting the most out of their workouts,” says Doyle Armstrong, core ICG business manager. “Through FTP and the Coach by Color training system, facilities can offer a truly inclusive group exercise experience that is entirely unique and targeted to the member.”

A group effort
With 35 ICG propositions set to be open across both consumer and corporate clubs by the end of 2018, Nuffield Health has also recently added to its indoor cycling offering with a new group training programme, ICG HEAT.

This ICG HEAT programme, which will be exclusive to Nuffield in the UK and was launched in its first clubs last month. It’s Personal training is the number one profit centre among leading US health clubs based on a 30-minute HIIT workout that encourages participants to work both with and against each other in order to win team battles and achieve personal bests.

Members will experience repeated periods of hard effort followed by periods of rest, utilising the personal training zones displayed on the bikes’ consoles and studio screens for a unique and engaging digital experience.

“HIIT remains the most popular trend in fitness, with group training a close second,” explains Banfield. “ICG HEAT incorporates both these trends, so it is clearly in line with what gym users want.”

With four successful Anytime Fitness gyms already operating and their fifth about to open, the Hoyle family knows a thing or two about how to run a successful business and what members of Anytime Fitness are looking for.

The family’s first gym opened in a vacant office building in the small historical town of Knutsford two years ago. At just 3,650 sq ft, they needed to maximise space in the gym, but also wanted to capitalise on the current trend towards functional training and boutique facilities, and so incorporated a versatile corner Queenax unit to fulfil the role.

Sophie Hoyle, manager, said: “We wanted to utilise the space as much as possible, and with the demand for functional training on the rise, the 2.5 sq m Queenax corner unit was a natural choice for us.”

The wow factor
Following the same form and principles that worked for their first gym, just over a year later the family opened its second and largest gym in Macclesfield. At 10,764 sq ft the gym showcases a large Queenax Format Unit which stands alone, and, according to Sophie’s brother, James Hoyle, ‘creates a wow factor’ that puts them on the map.

He said: “A favourite with members and personal trainers, the Queenax provides a versatile offering for small group exercise classes and one-to-ones. It also taps into the current trend for a boutique experience.”

Macclesfield was an instant success, which James puts down to its location and the fact that they learnt so much from their first opening. “Our family’s not new to business, but we were new to the fitness industry and so needed a dependable supplier to support us on our journey,” he says.

“The quality of the Precor equipment is high-end, but equally important is the fact that the company is reliable and accessible. Staff are friendly and go out of their way to help – not just to sell equipment. For example, we had an issue with the acoustics at Stockton Heath and our Precor sales representative took time to help us rectify this, even though it had nothing to do with the equipment.”

Fun and games
The Hoyles aim to open around 10 gyms over the next three years and, to date, each one has been fitted with a Queenax, with the most recent, Allerton Road, also benefiting from an Assault AirBike Elite and Assault AirRunner, completing the high impact interval training experience.

James continued: “We’re very happy with our equipment choice of Precor. When members use it they realise just how good it is. The P82 console really makes a difference and benefits from apps such as Netflix and games. My sisters and I are very competitive – we’ll each play the same game while on the treadmill and whoever gets the lowest score has to either raise the incline or go an extra kilometre!”

FitQuest has partnered with The Gym Group to make accurate body composition testing – previously only available to professional athletes – available to the everyday gym member. FitQuest enables gym goers to track their progress beyond just weight loss.

Powered by MIE medical, the machine measures a person’s physical capacity over eight parameters in just four minutes, offering a wider range of data and feedback than other devices available, as well as a much more accurate analysis. This unique testing method can support operators’ goals by offering tailored exercise programming for gym goers, based on a breadth of data on their physical fitness.

Staying on track
Following the installation of 44 FitQuest machines in The Gym Group’s gyms across London, machines are now set to roll out to 76 further locations nationwide, meaning that a total of 120 sites will benefit from the machines. Addressing the growing popularity of fitness tracking in gyms, the machines provide a comprehensive fitness assessment that helps members to improve their overall health and wellbeing.

The new machines for The Gym Group are the first of their kind to be fitted with the MIE FitQuest Body Composition Analyser, which uses standard techniques to determine body composition. Tracking body composition gives a much greater insight into a person’s health than measuring weight loss. Members who track their results are also far more likely to stay on track and meet their fitness goals.

Complete assessment
Through small, varying electrical currents, the machines can determine body fat and muscle percentage as well as a user’s hydration levels. In addition to the standard FitQuest score, which measures fitness against average gender and age groups, the new machines will provide a more complete assessment for users with both a fitness and body composition analysis. Not only does this provide a value-added service for members, the machines can be operated by members without staff supervision, making it the perfect addition to a low-cost fitness operator.

“The FitQuest machine is a tool to help members on their fitness journey,” said John Treharne, The Gym Group CEO. “With an engaging and easy-to-use interface, combined with the comprehensive body composition analysis, the machines provide sophisticated fitness measurements for our members.

“The FitQuest machines are a key benefit for our members, providing them with the tools and information they need to track their progress.”

FitQuest worked alongside The Gym Group to install the machines and will continue assisting with programming. The installation follows a successful pilot programme earlier in 2017. The machines will be available to members of The Gym Group in Spring 2018.