Leisure Industry Week 2011
- Tuesday, 27 September 2011 12:25
Ash and I went down to the Leisure Industry Week (LIW) in Birmingham last week, to meet some of our key suppliers and see the new trends in the fitness industry. We first went to the LIW in 2009, when we were brand new to the fitness scene and there was a notable ‘toning down’ of the exhibitions this year round. There weren’t as many suppliers on show and their exhibits weren’t as ‘shiny’, as Ash would say. This may from tighter budgets or less interest from buyers, but the price of the equipment certainly hadn’t shrunk.
Another trend that seemed to dominate the arena was ‘functional training’. At Boddy Language, our definition of ‘functional training’ is training your body for what you do every day, whether it is playing a game of golf or lifting wriggly small children. Every day you will squat (going to the toilet, sitting), lunge (walking up stairs, stepping into the car), push (closing/opening a door, getting out the bath), pull (taking something out of the fridge, putting your clothes on), twist (multi-tasking in your chair), bend and walk (we hope!). We train every client in these movement patterns, because they are FUNCTIONAL, you need them! This year, there were certainly more people interested in the functional training systems like lifting platforms, bars, squat cages etc. than any of the cardiovascular or vibration training machines on offer.
We can only see this as a positive step forward in the fitness industry, as long as people value technique and safety over weight and power.
