Mel Spooner / photo: CAWS

Cancer is close to home for all of us and we’ve been proud to partner with the Battle Cancer Charity – with the support of Nike – to challenge the global fitness and medical industry’s view of exercise post-cancer while removing the stigma that can be associated with post-cancer exercise capabilities.

Eighty-six per cent of those who are successfully treated for cancer experience debilitating levels of fatigue afterwards and at the three-year stage, a third of people are still struggling with the same physical limitations and issues.

The most proven way to counteract this is through structured physical activity and graded exercise and with the help of facilities and coaches across the world, we’re determined to provide access to this kind of support.

The Battle Cancer Programme Level 1 Certification is now available, with proceeds from the sale of every course being split directly with Battle Cancer to its support ongoing fundraising.

CAWS insists on providing essential training and education that’s affordable and the cost-effective certification focuses on supporting people after their treatment and teaches coaches and personal trainers how to deliver a new group training programme, providing late-stage rehabilitation for those who’ve experienced cancer.

Ian Fytche / photo: North Kesteven

Physical activity is at the heart of any definition of a flourishing community. Active lifestyles promote health and wellbeing and the network of facilities offering opportunities to be active creates community cohesion, social capital and economic development.

At North Kesteven we have a progressive strategy for physical activity and have invested significantly in facilities in Sleaford and at One NK in North Hykeham to reimagine and transform them into spaces for health, wellbeing and activity. We’ve also created long-distance routes across our district for walking and cycling.

We’re working with Integrated care system partners to tackle health inequalities and the social determinants of public health through investment in active lifestyles, housing options, and economic inclusion, with plans due to be launched in early 2023. We’re also advancing plans to decarbonise our leisure estate in pursuit of a sustainable net zero future and are working with partners to restore nature and promote biodiversity.

It’s a challenging time, but the future is active and the opportunity for positive generational change is one collectively we must grasp, globally, regionally and locally. Taking a lead from Sport England’s excellent strategy, Uniting the Movement, my hope is we can build local leadership and capacity to enable all our communities to flourish.

Marc Jones / photo: FITRONICS

I read with interest your debate about staffless gyms in HCM recently (HCM issue 9 2022 www.hcmmag.com/staffless).

Staffless and automated gyms which are available at all hours are becoming ever-popular and the industry is increasingly looking to this model due to the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis.

However, we know from our research that 87 per cent of members want to be engaged with a member of the fitness staff and that having friendly staff increases the value customers place on their membership 2.2 times. Without team members on the gym floor, it’s also a challenge to build a community.

Operators running successful staffless facilities have invested in digital solutions to support the customer journey, get feedback and motivate customers. Simply cutting staff without such an investment is a risk.

It takes effort to help customers change their behaviour to get results and to keep standards high. The flip side of this – losing customers and having to replace them – is an expensive and time-consuming game. The most effective retention solutions allow operators to focus their limited time and resources in the right areas of the operation to have the most impact. Available solutions include education, coaching and software to help them create change to deliver an experience that will turn members into loyal fans, regardless of the number of staff present.