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Click here to return to news articles.Balancemaster Key Factor for IFI Site in Luton
Monday 19th June 2006
Every fitness site wants to attract more members and satisfy as many elements of the local catchment as it can but nowhere is this more true than in an IFI facility.
At the Profile gym in Luton Regional Sports Centre, Health and Fitness Manager Ian Hobdell has spent two years refining his model of what an IFI should present for members and is delighted that all his hard work to offer an outreach facility attracting the young, the elderly, ethnic minorities and disabled people is bearing fruit.
Opened in July 2005, the gym currently enjoys a membership of some 2,300 and that figure is still rising. The centre is a fully functional dry site that forms part of the Active Luton seven-strong not-for-profit trust network that the borough council is developing, Hobdell explains. Ever busy, the centre plays host to local schools and communities during the day.
The 29-piece Life Fitness CV range and 49 Signature stations offer wide scope to deliver strength, core conditioning cardiovascular requirements to a `challenging’ sector of the population, Hobdell believes. But it is in his quest for full inclusivity that Hobdell has turned to a machine that is starting to gain wide acclaim as one of the most effective balance and lower body conditioning aids available to the industry for both physical and medical conditions.
“The BalancemasterR conditioner was brought to my attention at Leisure Industry Week a couple of years ago,” he recalls. “I had previously only worked with a wobbleboard when conducting balance rehab programmes so it came as a revelation to me to learn how the machine was able to help in a whole host of ways.”
Hobdell continues to search for ways to attract new member groups to Profile in order to satisfy local demand. He sees the BalancemasterR as one way to help achieve this. The gym already handles GP referrals and sessions on the machine are prescribed after completing an induction process. Profile is also forging links with local hospitals and MS groups to service rehab and conditioning needs.
Thanks to machines such as BalancemasterR, he is able to satisfy a diverse range of needs, he says, a fact that Peter Hope, Balancemaster UK’s marketing director, confirms.
“Research conducted with the machine has proved its effectiveness in the treatment of a number of conditions. After physiotherapy treatment with the BalancemasterR, patients are being referred on to their local leisure centre where they are using the machine to continue their rehabilitation and improvement. This is helping to bridge the gap between rehabilitation, health and fitness.
The key elements of fitness have been recognised by professionals and practitioners for some years now, Hope enlarges. However, the importance of missing just one element in the fitness equation is the source of growing concern.
“Even with reasonable strength and flexibility, those with poor balance are at greater risk of a fall, which could result in greater treatment costs for both the NHS and the taxpayer. Fitness programmes must touch all the bases to be wholly effective.”
Profile members are feeding back very positive comments about the BalancemasterR, Hobdell reports. “Everyone who uses it enjoys the experience. It’s such an accessible piece of equipment and brings a wide range of benefits.
“If you have turned your ankle over for example and need rehabilitation, your sole option until recently was the wobbleboard,” he continues. “The BalancemasterR gives users greater confidence because they simply stand on the machine and it does most of the work for them.”
Hobdell is well aware of the problems that sports injuries can create. “I’ve been a runner all my life and have suffered prolonged periods with tendonosis of the Achilles tendon. The improved range of mobility the Balancemaster provides has helped stimulate production of proprioceptors to the point where the condition has stabilised.”
But beyond his personal commitment to the BalancemasterR, Hobdell actively promotes the machine’s benefits to the local and regional catchment.
“Our sports injury specialist refers footballers, rugby players, runners and joggers down to us for sessions on the unit, which encourage mobility in joints, knees and hips.”
Ever alert to the opportunities to broaden and deepen Profile’s service commitment, Hobdell conducts free tours of the facility to give prospective members a chance to see that what is on offer is not to be found in every fitness site.
“For example our instructors work on a mix of rehab and fitness using the BalancemasterR and the Fit Vibe to provide what we believe is a different concept to what’s available in the usual gym environment.”
As Hobdell summarises: “BalancemasterR makes our facility inclusive. It is a very good tool that should be in every gym, no matter what age ranges are being catered for, and goes a long way to sorting out many conditions.”
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