Milton Keynes is a town that has always been particularly fond of its gyms, studios and fitness groups. In 2017 Milton Keynes was listed as being a town with some of the most gyms per capita anywhere in the U.K. However, since the closure of gyms, clubs and leisure centres on the 20th March the residents who enjoyed these facilities have had to adapt and change their fitness habits.
The government has hinted that gyms may reopen in July, but it may not happen until later in the Summer. National surveys have indicated that gym members are keen to get back, but in the meantime, how are they keeping fit? And what is the future for the gym industry when the doors are finally unlocked? Will people be wary of returning? Have fitness regimes changed forever?
UK Active, the representative body of the health and fitness industry, and Sport England surveyed over 65,000 people on what fitness activity they would most like to get back to and gym topped the list, followed by swimming. It’s a finding that is echoed here in Milton Keynes.
“It ties in with what we have found out from our members,’ said Rob Francis, local fitness, health and well-being expert and owner of energie Fitness gym in Kiln Farm. “We polled our members and more than 90% of them said that they would come to the gym the same amount or even more than they did before Covid. A follow-on question shows that 70% actually value their gym more since being unable to train there.”
Just because the nation’s gyms were forced to close their doors does not mean that exercise went on hold.
“With lock down people had to immediately change their normal way of life dramatically, and this includes their exercise habits,” said Rob. “As a gym we had to respond quickly too. Instead of simply shutting our doors, we immediately switched to a high value on-line fitness business and created class content and a structured programme of classes in a virtual timetable. Members have access through our exclusive member-only community group. This works really well and since Monday the 23rd of March we have developed a really amazing on-line community. We now have members from all over the U.K. and even some joining us for classes from the USA!
“While lock down has continued we have seen lots of changes in the way people train. Gone is the usual demand for live classes during the traditional gym “rush hour” times. People are getting up later and often want to do their evening training a bit earlier too. We’ve learned that as well as attending live classes at set times, our members appreciate being able to download and do them at the times that suit them- and that’s the way most people like to do it. People appreciate the flexibility of “on demand” training but still want to be trained by their favourite super-star local instructors.
“We’ve also found that an important function of the gym for many people is it’s a social and friendly environment, and we’ve tried to keep this going, too. In fact this was given as the second biggest factor that gym goers miss the most in the Sport England national survey.
“We listened carefully to what our members suggested and so we set up social “tea break” sessions twice during the week where members can drop into our private zoom account and just chat, with us, our team and each other. It’s a great way to stay connected and for it’s not necessarily all about fitness. We also have a rather more rowdy Saturday night social event. We try to theme this- we have obviously done quiz nights and bingo, done virtual versions of classic family games, but we’ve also done more unusual activities like wine tasting, with the help of local wine expert George Atkinson-Clark, and we even ran a painting class with local artist Rachel Baker.”
Many people are choosing to replace their gym habits with other more traditional activities.
“The biggest shift that we have seen through our surveys of our members is an increase in members choosing outdoor fitness activities. The most popular is walking, but this has been closely followed by jogging/ running and, a little further behind, cycling.
“These are activities that we’ve been able to support through this lock down by giving seminars on improving running, techniques to strengthen the specific muscle groups most used in running and even workshops on foam rolling and stretching techniques. We have also been setting challenges and generally supporting our members efforts through our social media channels.”
And are people actually as active as they were before Covid-19 closed the leisure sector?
“It has been really heartening to see that, when asked how much people exercise now compared to before Covid, the majority from our gym stated that they exercise the same or more than before. We believe that this is mostly down to the fact that people have more time available to them.
It is also interesting to see how peoples’ training habits have developed as the crisis has continued. At first, many rushed to join in the widely available online content produced by celebrities like Joe Wicks and other internet stars. But as time has gone on, many have come back to the club’s live interactive classes led by our own Milton Keynes based instructors.
One member, Tom Moloney, summed up the attraction of the interactive on-line classes saying, “It helps with motivation. It’s good to have a set time to train too, so that I can maintain a more normal routine. But most importantly, it is great fun seeing your friends on-line and the instructors join in with coaching and banter, which makes you feel that you are part of a group again.”
What’s next for the fitness industry?
“Gyms and the fitness industry in general hold one of the keys to ensuring that our nation is fit and healthy. Being fit and healthy is one of the single best ways to protect yourself from falling seriously ill with Covid-19- we’ve all heard about how being obese is one of the worst risks anyone can run. Boris Johnson himself has made it clear that in his case being overweight contributed to him being seriously ill enough to need intensive care.
“We are already seeing outdoor socially-distanced Personal Training starting in the parks and open spaces and we anticipate that we will be able to deliver outdoor group fitness soon. With our new Be Military Fit franchise we are well prepared to meet this demand,” said Claire Banbury, co-owner of Be Military Fit in Milton Keynes.
“Be Military Fit is the biggest outdoor fitness provider in Europe and has been at the forefront of advising UK Active and the government on how Covid-safe outdoor workouts should be conducted. We know that these classes will be really popular as people are very keen to get back to real life group fitness. Our outdoor spaces will be the safest way to do it.”
Rob said: “We also know that there is an appetite among members to still have the flexibility of on-line training. So while we have been pushed into this space for the short term, we plan to maintain our online classes when we re-open the gym. We recognise that people’s work patterns are probably changed for the medium to long-term, and that people enjoy the opportunity to down load and join in classes at times that are more convenient to them.”
What about the risk to health in a sweaty environment like a gym?
“Most gym goers stated that they would want to see strict cleaning regimes and measures in place at their club before returning. So at energie we have already taken steps to rearrange our machinery, to create more spacing between kit to ensure social distancing and we will be implementing strict cleaning protocols on reopening. We will also be expecting our members to do their part too, by providing them with lots and lots of antibacterial sprays and gels to use. Our club is modern, airy and well ventilated. With the extra procedures we put in place we believe it will be a very safe atmosphere in which to train.”
So the future is looking good for gyms?
“We believe that we will come back stronger in the long-term. I’m also sure that in the short-term, there will be some club closures, big brands will stop expanding so rapidly and may even close less profitable clubs. With a public that is more wary and discerning about cleanliness and hygiene, smaller local clubs like ours should benefit because we can guarantee that level of care and customer service that our members want.
”One advantage of being owners who are on hand all the time running the gym is that we can ensure very high standards of hygiene are maintained.”
