Shropshire Star

Health club opens new outdoor facility

A health club has opened a new outdoor boot camp area to expand its facilities, after cutting class sizes to allow for social distancing.

Published
The Shrewsbury Club’s new #BASE outdoor boot camp area being used after opening on National Fitness Day.

The latest addition to the Shrewsbury club was launched on National Fitness Day.

It will allow the club – which already delivers more than 100 fitness classes each week at its Sundorne Road complex – to offer more activities.

Managing director Dave Courteen said members have welcomed the new area, adding they have also given positive feedback about the Covid-19 safety measures implemented at the club since it reopened, along with gyms across the UK, in July.

No cases of Covid have been recorded at The Shrewsbury Club, he said, in more than 24,000 visits since receiving the green light to reopen.

Mr Courteen has also highlighted figures which show UK gyms are proving one of the safest parts of society in the battle to beat the virus.

According to figures published by ukactive, gyms and leisure facilities in England have seen more than 22 million visits since reopening, with the fitness and leisure sector reporting a Covid rate of 0.34 per 100,000 visits.

The new large outdoor area is called the #BASE boot camp, and is covered and equipped to be used in all weathers.

Mr Courteen said: “The new facility has generated a lot of interest. Members have seen the #BASE boot camp area under construction and are excited to now be able to use it.

“It looks great and the visual impact is fantastic when you arrive at the club as it really stands out.

"We are delighted to offer our members something new and exciting as we know the importance of continually improving our facilities.

“It’s a really fun facility and when people see it they immediately think that it’s something they want to experience.

“We felt there was no better time to open it than on National Fitness Day. We ran different activities throughout the day suitable for all ages, including children, and the response was excellent.”

The new area will be used as an additional space for classes, including body combat, boot camp and core conditioning.

It will also host mummy fit sessions, and, with The Shrewsbury Club continuing to offer free membership to children, it will also accommodate a range of fitness activities for under-16s, including the opportunity to use climbing ropes and medicine balls.

Personal trainers will also make use of the area to work with clients on a one-to-one basis, with supervised freestyle PT sessions also available to members.

The Shrewsbury Club accessed funding from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to complete the new outdoor area.

Mr Courteen added: “We decided that funds should be used to reinvest in the club to make it more sustainable.

"That’s both in a Covid secure environment as we don’t know how long this is going on for, and we also think it’s very important to provide our members with some alternatives in terms of what they can do.

“The new outdoor area will enable us to offer even more classes, which is important as in order to be Covid secure we have had to reduce the number of people in classes, but they are always great for social interaction.”

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