The CV Life partnership in Coventry, UK, helps the local community access and experience more sport, culture and leisure in the city, with its operating division – Lifestyles – running a range of health and fitness facilities across its five city-wide locations.

Chris Panter, health and fitness manager at CV Life, explains how installing Technogym Biocircuit is helping the operator achieve this vision.

Supporting diverse populations
“Our strategic aim to develop Xcel Leisure Centre as a wellness hub will allow us to reach and support more diverse populations, through partnerships and referrals,” says Panter. “It’s about engaging with those who are anxious about the gym environment, who feel unable to attend, or who have never exercised.

“CV Life identified the potential of the Technogym Biocircuit as creating a unique opportunity to cater for a wide range of users, as Biocircuit offers a fast, guided programme that delivers personalised training with no adjustments needed.

“It’s the ideal solution and presents a great opportunity to offer a new service to existing members,” he said.

“We identified many market segments who would benefit from Biocircuit’s user-friendly approach to strength training,” says Panter. “We had some space that was being under-utilised and Biocircuit was a perfect fit.”

Combatting health inequalities
The circuit’s design means users don’t need to set their machines up or manually adjust them, as Biocircuit moves into place according to their pre-programmed workout. This is appealing to populations with musculoskeletal hip, knee, or back issues.

Biocircuit’s fast, efficient workouts also offer an attractive solution to busy members, or parents with children attending clubs elsewhere in the centre and its wide range of workout profiles appeal to the performance market in terms of strength and conditioning.

“It’s the perfect workout if you don’t have much time, or lack confidence when it comes to adjusting machines. It’s almost like having a PT alongside you, but in an unstaffed space,” says Panter.

Biocircuit memberships
Xcel Leisure Centre is using Biocircuit as a commercial opportunity by offering Biocircuit membership as a bolt-on. This has enabled Panter and his team to create new membership categories by combining gym, swim, classes and Biocircuit. These membership categories aid retention and enable CV Life to deliver greater levels of affordability, which is part of its overall mission.

“Biocircuit is a USP,” says Panter, “most people who pop their head into the room out of curiosity take out a membership and the opening period has surpassed initial expectations’’.

Technogym supported Xcel Leisure Centre’s Biocircuit launch with social, digital and print materials that helped users understand the concept in the lead-up to the launch. It also provided a master trainer staff training day to help staff and early users understand more about what Biocircuit can do.

Meeting 2024 goals with Biocircuit
CV Life intends to extend its reach into new populations, developing more pathways into physical activity for healthcare referrals, the care sector, disengaged populations and socially isolated individuals. The centre will also be extending its partnership work with sports teams, corporates and young people.

“Biocircuit is situated in the room next door to the space where our NHS musculoskeletal assessments take place and it’s on the ground floor, making it even more accessible than the gym itself,” he says. “We hope it will be a good solution for local care home residents, helping not just with physical health, but also with social interaction.”

As the fitness industry faces staffing and recruitment challenges, Biocircuit’s unmanned, ultra-personalised solution offers a fast, safe way for diverse populations to increase their physical activity levels.

“As an industry, we’re in a position to improve people’s health, reach more local populations, and even tackle health inequalities,” says Panter. “Innovations such as Biocircuit open up an exciting array of opportunities to support us in achieving these goals.”

Biocircuit™ is a registered trademark of Technogym

• More: www.technogym.com