Gold COMPANY PROFILE
Les Mills UK
For more than 50 years Les Mills has been leading the way in fitness. We produce 25 group fitness programmes, backed by science, to be experienced in club or at home via Les Mills+. Every week, millions of people get fit in 21,000 clubs, across 100 countries with the help of 140,000 Les Mills instructors, who bring to life programmes such as Bodypump (the world’s most popular barbell workout), Bodycombat (martial arts), RPM (indoor cycling) and Bodybalance (new generation yoga).
Product range and services
Gen Z and Millennials account for over 80% of the fitness market, with 87% exercising three or more times per week. Generation Active want power, athleticism, and fitness that serves mental and physical wellbeing. To cater to this generation, Les Mills are innovating with a range of science-backed programmes designed to launch at speed and drive engagement with younger members.
Digital is here to stay and is undoubtedly a key component of the new fitness landscape. Virtual and immersive Les Mills studios in-club provide high quality digital experiences with the added benefits of member retention and authentic, human connection.
By providing world-class experiences through group workouts and engaging with members inside and outside of their facility, we’ve helped to support thousands of clubs take the leap into digital fitness alongside a live offering via Les Mills+ and providing the tools for clubs to livestream or build their own video on demand content library with Les Mills content.
We offer world class instructor training, with seminars, group discussions, practical workout sessions and teaching practice, assessed by international trainers and presenters, followed up with ongoing development.
For our partners, we also offer CIMSPA accredited Group Fitness Management training at no additional cost – with proven strategies to maximise attendance and delivering the best member experience.
BODYPUMP™, BODYCOMBAT™, RPM™ and BODYBALANCE™ are trade marks of Les Mills.
It has been widely documented that university students across the UK have suffered with increasing levels of isolation in what used to be, social and communal campus environments. But when faced with COVID-19 restrictions Liverpool University sought after an immediate solution for students to remain active in residency halls or at home…
As the academic year still carries obstacles of cancelled social events, online lessons and living alone, inevitably students have suffered from stress and loneliness. In fact, a survey for the National Union of Students (NUS) says more than 50% of students reported their mental health has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Many of the 4,241 students surveyed in November 2020 say they have suffered stress, loneliness, anxiety and depression.
The well-being of their students was at the forefront of Liverpool University’s concerns when the pandemic started in March 2020. With no digital fitness offering in place and immediate restrictions that left students confined, in a matter of weeks the University had launched Les Mills On Demand Affiliate as an immediate solution to keep their students active.
The initial Les Mills On Demand trial gave students 60 days free access to over 1000 workouts across 13 programmes at the click of a button. Hundreds of students began to utilise the trial in April 2020 and have since subscribed with an affiliate discount through Liverpool University, regularly using the platform to aid their fitness goals at home.
On average, the students of Liverpool University use Les Mills On Demand three times a week with BODYPUMP, BODYBALANCE and BODYCOMBAT the most popular workout choices. The addition of a digital fitness platform enabled students to train anytime and anywhere, with 12,000 Les Mills workouts completed during the pandemic.
“The Les Mills classes have been amazing. They’ve been such a help throughout lockdown, not just for my physical health but also from a mental health perspective. I would’ve been lost without them!” Student, Liverpool University
The Office for National Statistics found that young people aged 16 to 29 were twice as likely as the over-70s to be experiencing loneliness in the pandemic.
The physical health benefits of exercise are well-established, but it’s increasingly recognised as a key pillar for supporting mental health as well. Within the wider University sector, Les Mills partners have utilised the LES MILLS On Demand affiliate scheme to provide high-class online fitness solutions, with over 170,000 workouts completed by students across the UK since the pandemic began.
“Thank you for the Les Mills Online classes. I don't know how I could manage without them!” Student, Liverpool University
New-generation yoga program BODYBALANCE has proven to be a particularly popular programmes with University students for staying well during the pandemic. Recent research indicates that regular BODYBALANCE™ classes can help banish the lockdown blues, increase sleep quality by 15% and boost mental health.
The study found that participants who incorporate regular 30-40-minute sessions of this specialist stretching and meditation into their daily life experience significantly improved sleep and cardiovascular health, better recovery from mental and physical stress, and enhanced positive feelings.
Liverpool University is now able to support students beyond its campus with world-class workouts such as BODYBALANCE. With minimal integration needed the LES MILLS On Demand affiliate programme provides an easy digital solution to engage students but also provides additional revenue.
“I have found having access to these workouts at home great for my physical and mental health” Student, Liverpool University
The reach and convenience of digital workouts has been key to supporting students through the stresses of university life. The 2020 Les Mills Consumer Survey showed that 77% of people cited mental health and stress relief as two reasons for exercising. Rebecca Goodwin, Sports and Fitness Centre Supervisor for Liverpool University says “We have to make changes forever from this now and use this as an opportunity to adapt and grow our fitness provision, moving forward we’ll definitely keep an online offering for the students.”
“We’re even looking at how we can adapt other fitness services online, such as initial consultations with our fitness advisors, and we’ve also set up livestreaming for Les Mills classes in lockdown with over 26 online classes per week.”
A ClubIntel report into the post-COVID fitness landscape concludes that fitness providers “seeking relevance to Gen Z and Millennials need to commit to providing virtual fitness content”, as these demographics were the biggest consumers of digital offerings during lockdown and say their ongoing provision will be the most important factor in them returning to their facilities post-pandemic.
Will ‘blended training’ become the norm post-pandemic as we see gym workouts and at-home sessions combined? It’s certain that universities will need to remain in sync with their students’ new found habits and methods of maintaining well-being, with digital fitness solutions at the forefront of evolutionary changes from COVID-19.
Is it possible to launch a digital-only club concept with limited resources, in the midst of a global pandemic?
For Hypervelo founders Jane and Sharron, necessity has proved the mother of invention, helping them to create a thriving online business that brings the club experience into people’s living rooms.
In a bid to stay sane and active during the first lockdown, Jane and Sharron began teaching free online classes from their own homes to a small group of participants.
While some operators were still working how to pivot their club model into the online space, the two LES MILLS Instructors with over ten years’ experience each began doing what they do best. Teaching, motivating and inspiring.
As the number of participants quickly grew through word of mouth, Jane and Sharron established a business plan to Livestream LES MILLS classes through zoom, involving a partnership with Les Mills, the same as any club would which allows them to Livestream the original and newest releases. With over 156 members, Hypervelo now charge a monthly rate from 4 classes at £15, 8 classes at £21 or even unlimited for £31 per month.
“We essentially wanted to replicate a gym environment, but online. For us, that meant a comprehensive offer of weekly classes just like you’d get with a club timetable,” says Jane. “The transition from free classes to charging fees was surprisingly simple. The people who had been attending our classes got to the point where they said, you know, we want to pay you for this".
Hypervelo is an online Club community, offering over 33 LES MILLS classes per week from the click of a mouse or tap of the phone. The team use a combination of social media marketing and e-marketing, finding that investing in LES MILLS classes has added significant clout to the concept.
“We chose Les Mills because it gives the company kudos. We know other people who are doing online classes, and they’re doing it with cheaper alternatives. But it’s not Les Mills. That for us, gives Hypervelo the quality of programming and a strong brand with an edge."
Once the initial foundations of the website were created, Jane and Sharron were able to create monthly membership bundles depending on individual demand, starting from 4 classes per month right up to unlimited class attendance.
“There are lots of advantages,” adds Sharron. “From a practical point of view, each car journey to teach for myself and Jane was a 25-mile round trip. That’s something we’ve heard from our members too: whether it’s a 5-mile or 20-minute journey – it’s all time back. And now, our members will sometimes roll out of bed and workout.
It’s convenient, nobody is rushing back from the office and members can transition seamlessly into a class… Because moving from one room to another still counts!
The online UK Club now has over 150 paying members from Worcester, London, Birmingham, Devon and even across continents; Hypervelo have members tuning in from the UAE.
“What’s really lovely is when they take us on holiday with them. Members like the fact they can take their laptop with them anywhere and they’re not missing out on a workout.” Sharron says. She adds that the portability of digital club concepts help overcome many of the traditional engagement challenges clubs face when members go away on holiday or for work.
A recent Les Mills On Demand survey shows that digital fitness is here to stay, with most users intending to carry on with digital fitness even when their gym reopens (84%). And with COVID uncertainty continuing to challenge the fitness industry, what does the future look like for Hypervelo?
“Well, we’ve actually had a consistent rise in members, whether we’ve been in lockdown in the UK, or not,” says Sharron.
“Hand on heart, when gyms reopened I thought we’d see a lot of members disappear, but they didn’t. People have invested in equipment now, businesses have said they won’t be going back to an office environment five days a week and their lives have changed.
“For good or bad, maybe we needed to adjust how we live in the UK. We were always chasing our tails as a country, and maybe, people now have a better work-life balance.”
Through the Bannatyne Health Club app, Bannatyne’s more than 200,000 members across 72 clubs can now access Les Mills on Demand, free for 60-days. The content includes more than 800 Les Mills on Demand workouts, alongside fitness and goal tracking capabilities. Les Mills on Demand enables users to stream, cast or download world-leading workouts at home or on the go presented by the world’s best instructors and supported by expert training guides.
Since launch, there has been over 10,000 sign-ups, helping Bannatyne members stay connected while all clubs remain closed due to COVID-19.
“We’ve been blown away by the support from the Les Mills team during this unprecedented time,” says Peter Wilkinson, national sales and marketing manager at The Bannatyne Group. “Our goal is to keep members moving and Les Mills on Demand plays a key part in that. Within a matter of weeks, we were able to completely update our app with Les Mills on Demand and communicate the 60-day offer to members, thanks to their support. The production quality of the content is second-to-none and as close as you can get an in-person experience. So far, the member feedback has been phenomenal both from regular group exercisers, but also from those that have never done it before. It has given them the confidence to come and try a live class when we reopen. Les Mills digital will also continue to play a part going forward to complement the fantastic range of fitness equipment and classes within our health clubs. “
Alongside Les Mills on Demand, Bannatyne’s has also launched a live timetable of group exercise classes including Les Mills programmes via its YouTube channel. Led by qualified Les Mills instructors, the classes have proven so popular that the account has grown from just 600 subscribers to nearly 11,000 in the span of a few weeks. Themed days, such as the recent “Les Mills Lockdown,” generated significant member engagement with upwards of 400 members joining live and thousands watching the replays afterwards.
“Supporting our club partners and instructors during this time remains our number one priority,” says Martin Franklin, CEO, Les Mills Europe. “We’re working with each club to provide vital support during the lockdown and we’re thrilled to see the response to Les Mills on Demand from Bannatyne members. We believe that people will be back at the gym for live workouts once the lockdown is lifted. But the shift to digital fitness is helping to break down barriers to fitness for people you might not typically see in the gym, and that’s really exciting. With this expanded member reach, we will continue to support Bannatyne members through their fitness journey, now and once they can reopen.”
All Les Mills club partners have the option of providing their members with a free 60-day trial of Les Mills on Demand to keep them active and engaged if they can’t make it to the club. To further help club partners during this time, Les Mills has created a new weekly club support webinar series with a variety of topics available live or on-demand. In addition to the LMOD offer and webinar series, Les Mills has also provided instructors with access to more than 20 royalty-free workouts that can be live-streamed to members from home with more content being added weekly.
There’s a huge opportunity to engage with Generation Active through our new innovative group training programmes and boutique offering with 'Les Mills Conquer and Ceremony', which will remove the barriers to group fitness for nearly a fifth of all members, resulting in increased participation and engagement and driving activity beyond the studio to the gym floor.
We changed the game by combining yoga and music to create the category’s biggest programme, Bodybalance – delivered in 15,000 clubs around the world and now we’re innovating once more to help club’s grab a bigger slice of the booming mind/body category and attract the next generation of club members.
We are continuing to invest in our instructors with our commitment to training and ongoing development. This includes offering instructors a multitude of platforms to learn from which recognises progression in teaching and enables instructors to achieve mastery in the art of group fitness.
In an industry as trend-driven as the fitness sector, it’s vital to keep pace with changing consumer preferences so we’re always working on the next big thing that’s going to keep our club partners ahead of the curve.
Zing Coach integrates Les Mills workouts to help users unlock the 'omnifitness effect'
Partnership taps into the motivational science behind Les Mills programs to help Zing Coach users maintain training consistency and accelerate progress.
Zing Coach, the leading AI-powered fitness platform, today announced a partnership with Les Mills, the global leader in group training, bringing Les Mills’ iconic group training programs directly into the Zing Coach experience.
For the first time, Zing Coach users can train with Les Mills group workouts while benefiting from Zing Coach’s adaptive AI personalization. The integration combines the motivation and structure of group training with individualized strength and conditioning plans that adjust to each person’s goals, energy levels, recovery, and available time.
Les Mills' research into Gen Z training habits has found that those who augment their gym training with home workouts manage to do 67% more workouts than gym-only exercisers (5.5 per week on average vs 3.3), highlighting how the ‘omnifitness effect’ boosts member engagement by unlocking more ways to work out.
The partnership builds on this opportunity. With 62% of Zing Coach users training in the gym, the integration is designed to support greater consistency and more efficient use of training time. Delivered through Zing Coach’s proprietary AI model, Les Mills programs become part of everyday training, helping users maintain continuity when sessions are missed or intensity needs to be adjusted.
“Our goal is to keep people motivated, engaged, and training regularly,” said Marina Nola, chief digital distribution officer at Les Mills. “By bringing Les Mills programs into Zing Coach, members get the motivation of human-led workouts and the flexibility of AI, the best of both worlds.”
“The integration of Les Mills classes changes how people train week to week,” said Anton Marchanka, CEO at Zing Coach. “Les Mills’ structured strength, conditioning, and progression-based workouts are empowered by Zing`s AI model, making them available in flexible formats that fit busy schedules, whether users train at home, in the gym, or alongside live classes, so consistency feels achievable instead of overwhelming.”
Together, Zing Coach and Les Mills aim to turn the excitement of group training into lasting habits, helping more people fall in love with movement and stay active over the long term.
Les Mills and Life Fitness announce strategic partnership to elevate fitness experiences
Partnership sees two iconic brands with shared heritage and purpose bring together world-class training and engineering to create better fitness experiences for every body.
Les Mills and Life Fitness / Hammer Strength today announced a new strategic partnership that combines their complementary strengths and values to shape the next era of fitness.
The partnership, unveiled at the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) trade show in San Diego, unites world-class training experiences and equipment to create more engaging ways for clubs and partners to move people.
The collaboration will result in exciting new products, live events and connected fitness experiences across the two brands’ ecosystems, with further announcements to be revealed in the coming months.
Les Mills will serve as the Official Cycle Content Partner of Life Fitness, while Life Fitness will serve as the Official Bike Partner of Les Mills for its cycle programmes.
Shared heritage and values
The seeds of the partnership can be traced back to 1968, when two fitness revolutions began, half a world apart. In the US, the first piece of electronic fitness equipment, the Lifecycle exercise bike, emerged and later became the first product Augie Nieto brought to market as he built what would become Life Fitness. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Les and Colleen Mills parlayed Olympic training expertise into a fitness movement for the people. Nearly six decades later, those legacies are converging to shape the next era of fitness.
Les Mills and Life Fitness share a belief in performance, science-driven innovation, and the role fitness plays in improving global health and well-being. Both brands have consistently set industry standards through engineering excellence, world-class programming, and a commitment to creating experiences that inspire people to fall in love with fitness.
Uniting strengths to raise standards
The partnership brings together Les Mills’ world-leading group training content with Life Fitness’ market-leading equipment engineering and global footprint. The collaboration will enable clubs, partners, and operators to deliver more connected, motivating, and high-quality fitness experiences at scale, across a range of environments.
Phillip Mills, Les Mills managing director, said: “Les Mills and Life Fitness are living proof that innovation and passion stand the test of time. Together, we’re building a foundation for the future, rooted in shared values, proven expertise, and a long-term vision to elevate the role fitness plays in people’s lives.
“Our mission is to make people fall in love with fitness - to help clubs deliver more inspiring, more effective workouts that support long-term engagement and growth.”
Jim Pisani, Life Fitness / Hammer Strength CEO, added: "Life Fitness / Hammer Strength has always been focused on building equipment that helps people move with confidence and achieve results. Our alignment with Les Mills is rooted in shared values and a deep belief in performance, science, and quality.
"As global fitness leaders, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the experience for training environments, instructors, and members worldwide — empowering more people to work out and creating healthier lives together. This partnership reflects what’s possible when complementary strengths come together to shape the future of fitness."
Nuffield Health extends strategic partnership with Les Mills to launch Innovation Collection workouts and elevate group training experience
The new, three-year agreement reinforces commitment to innovation, member engagement, and instructor development across Nuffield Health clubs.
As the fitness industry continues to evolve, innovation and member experience remain critical drivers of success. Nuffield Health and Les Mills are doubling down on these priorities with the extension of their strategic partnership for another three years. This collaboration positions both brands at the forefront of group training, delivering cutting-edge programmes and enhanced studio experiences that meet the changing needs of today’s fitness consumers.
Les Mills has announced the extension of its strategic partnership with Nuffield Health for a further three years, cementing a shared vision to lead in group training innovation. This renewed collaboration will see Nuffield Health launch Les Mills’ newest suite of programmes such as Bodypump Heavy, Les Mills Yoga, and Les Mills Shapes known as the Innovation Collection and designed to deliver science-backed workouts that offer flexibility and variety for members and Instructors alike.
The partnership is doubling down on group training and aims to grow attendance, attract new member demographics, and expand Nuffield Health’s team of certified Instructors. By investing in team training and introducing the latest workouts, Les Mills will support Nuffield Health in elevating the studio experience and supporting long-term member retention.
Les Mills will provide a full-service approach as part of this partnership, including:
- Development of internal performance dashboards
- Inclusive Instructor training to support delivery and launch of new programmes.
- Group Fitness Management education pathway.
- High-impact launch events supported by Les Mills Trainers and Presenters
The rollout begins with Bodypump Heavy, a major launch inviting all clubs to participate. Additionally, a 22-club cohort will introduce Les Mills Yoga, with further expansions already planned.
Charlton Clarke, Les Mills UK, Customer Experience Director, said "Our extended partnership with Nuffield Health reflects a shared commitment to innovation and excellence in group training. Together, we’re creating experiences that inspire members and empower instructors."
Joanna Seldon, Nuffield Health, Fitness Innovation Director, said "We’re proud of the strong partnership we have built with Les Mills, which has helped us deliver innovative fitness experiences to our members. As we move into the next phase of our collaboration, we’re excited to further enhance the members’ experience and continue building exceptional group training to our clubs.”
BODYPUMP HEAVY™ is a trademark
