04 letters
Budget clubs may be inclusive, but do they cut corners on staff salaries and customer service?

08 news round-up
Esporta’s Riverside club re-opens, State of the Industry Report figures are revealed, and the National Skills Academy gets the green light

13 reps update
Results of ground-breaking research show the size of the UK fitness industry and REPs penetration levels

14 international news
ONEwellness opens a club in South Africa and Strata Partners firms up its hold in Russia

16 fia update
Fred Turok pledges to invest £2 for every £1 the government invests in increasing physical activity

20 people news
Richard Baker is non-executive chair at Virgin Active, and we talk to ballerina turned boxer Anne Bateson about her community gym

22 competitive edge
Charity events for staff and members

24 diary dates
Get ready for Leisure Industry Week, coming up in September

26 everyone’s talking about... fit vs fat
Should the government broaden its obesity strategy to include exercise?

28 interview: phillip mills
The creative director of Les Mills International talks to Jennifer Todd about group exercise, green gyms and fighting ‘globesity’

32 opening the door
Kate Cracknell visits the new Harpers gym at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham

36 exercise personalities
Psychologist Jim Gavin reveals how matching a person’s personality to an exercise can improve adherence, and how taking on a new activity could help people develop their emotional or physical self

40 thirsty work
Sports dietician Jane Griffin looks at the role of sports drinks in the gym and how they can help members get more from their time in your facility

44 altogether now
Jo Talbot speaks to the manager of the inclusive Aspire health club and finds out how making a fitness facility accessible to all can make excellent financial sense

48 about turn
Research shows that adopting four key elements of a healthy lifestyle can reduce mortality rates and cardiovascular disease – even if you’re over 60

50 heavyweight champions
Guy Brown finds out if the fitness equipment currently available is suitable for the rising obese population, or whether dedicated kit is needed

54 q&a: michael levy & gene lamott
Levy, the outgoing chair of IHRSA, and his successor, Gold’s Gym CEO LaMott, share their thoughts on the global fitness industry

58 getting off the ground
We take a look at the options available for the procurement and funding of a leisure facility

62 keep talking
We look at the role of telemarketing in the marketing mix – for sales and for customer service

66 figured out
A summary of the second IHRSA Asia Pacific Market Report

70 fitness-kit special: fitness testing
With body fat scales from Bodystat and New Leaf metabolic profiling

72 supplier profile: simon rigg, life fitness
The multi-regional accounts director for Europe, Middle East and Africa talks about a business model that prioritises partnerships with clients

81 lightweights
Runners compete with horses, mood-altering gym outfits, and could expensive petrol get people active?