Increase Attraction
Functional Fitness a Priority for Second New Age Fitness Club
Having started his career in the fitness industry over ten years ago as a personal trainer, Steven Morley went on to manage local fitness facilities before opening his first gym, New Age Fitness, in his home town of Hamilton, Scotland, in 2014. Now, this young entrepreneur is growing the business and building a brand with the launch of a second facility nearby in Coatsbridge.
The original 12,000 sq ft New Age Fitness Hamilton gym is located in an industrial area near a main road. Offering a personalised service for a competitively low price of £25 per month, the focus of the gym is its class offering with 50, all included in the membership fee. Providing a premium look and feel and providing members with the best quality equipment, the gym features a large selection of Precor cardiovascular and strength machines. A Queenax™ unit takes centre stage and, by offering circuit training and HIIT classes four times a week, gives members the opportunity to learn how to use it to maximum effect and enables them to expand their functional fitness workouts.
New Age Fitness Coatsbridge follows a similar formula as the initial Hamilton site, offering members a premium experience at an affordable cost, capitalising on its success. The gym, previously a nightclub for over fifteen years, is located in a retail park. Following eleven months of building work and refurbishment, the new 2,500 capacity, 10,000 sq ft gym showcases a mezzanine level with indoor cycling studio, the main class studio and offices. The lower floor guests are welcomed by a large Queenax™ modular functional training unit immediately as they walk in the front door.
Morley explains: “Group exercise a massive part of the New Age Fitness philosophy. Both our Queenax™ modular functional training unit and the indoor cycling studio, featuring twenty Precor Spinner® Shift™ bikes, play an important part in our overall offering.”
Morley comments: “The popularity of HIIT is a big draw for members and functional training is an essential part of our gym. We wanted to create a boutique look and feel as soon as members and potential members enter the gym and the Queenax™ is certainly a show-stopping piece; it provides us with a differential. Members walk through the Queenax™ functional training area in order to access the rest of the gym so it creates the perfect first impression. The inclusion of an Assault AirBike Elite and an Assault AirRunner, situated next to and complimenting the Queenax™, adds further to the numerous exercise options available.
“Our staff and independent PT’s love the versatility of the Queenax™ and it helps us to build the business by being able to offer diverse classes. The variety of attachments, such as the boxing bag and the super functional bars, mean members can try different workouts that they can’t do in a regular gym. The classes enable us to get more members interacting with the Queenax™ on the gym floor and this in turn encourages them to continue to use the equipment during their own workout sessions.”
Classes in the indoor cycling studio are also always popular and fill up fast. To accommodate the different types of members, from those working to Mum’s at home, New Age Fitness offers a variety of indoor cycling classes though out the day so that everyone has a chance to attend. “The bikes are easy to adjust, members love the way the bikes deliver a smooth feel to ride and the consoles showing RPM and calorie expenditure, and our beginner classes encourage members who have not tried indoor cycling before to give it a go,” says Morley.
Morley concludes: “The Precor equipment, and in particular the Queenax™ and the Spinner® bikes, enable us to provide members with a superior environment at an affordable cost, while still giving them access to support and guidance that will get results. We have the best class timetable in the area including the highly regarded Les Mills sessions and they are all included in the low membership rate which is a big draw for members.”
The mood of both gyms is modern and contemporary and focuses on a premium look and environment, using lots of mirrors and coloured LED lighting to create a superior atmosphere.
Morley is passionate about getting the right gym location and equipment. Having experienced Precor to date in his career and installing it in Hamilton, it was a ‘must have’ for Coatsbridge. He explains:
“The biomechanics of Precor move and feel better than any other equipment I’ve used. It’s straightforward to clean, trouble- free, works well and members actually comment on how easy it is to use.”
To maximise space and enable functional training to take centre-stage, the gym also features Vitality dual-function, space-saving strength machines as well as Discovery Plate-Loaded and Pin-Selected pieces.
“By featuring Precor equipment we can provide members with a premium fitness experience without the high price tag,” concludes Morley.
