Tag Archives: Gym

AFT Features, AFTNews, Features Singapore, Men's Health, Women's Health

THE UFIT WAY: UFIT Health and Fitness Celebrates A Decade with New Rebrand, Digital Transformation and UFIT Hubs

UFIT Health and Fitness (UFIT), Singapore’s largest independently owned fitness community, celebrates a decade of success with a recommitment to their core beliefs, the consolidation of the outlets into three integrated health and fitness hubs, and UFIT’s ongoing digital transformation. This signifies UFIT’s growth and focus as they move towards providing a higher- quality holistic service for a personalised health experience. 

UFIT’s purpose is to ignite and strengthen the greatness in everyone, and ultimately, to celebrate the journey with each individual. Every member will receive a health consultation to mark a starting point and set goals. After which, clients will be prescribed the best course for each individual – be it a personal trainer, physio, group classes, a personal nutrition plan or a combination of all these services to suit. 

Will Skinner, CEO of UFIT

Will Skinner, CEO at UFIT, says, “After nearly a decade in Singapore, UFIT is at a crossroads where we take stock of where we are and what we need to do to move forward into the new era. Whether it be our clients or our staff, we are creating the very best environment for all those that step through the doors when it comes to achieving results. Our redefined vision and purpose statements are what has led us to make these changes, and these will continue to be the cornerstones of every decision we make going forward.” 

New Hubs 

Committed to offering a high quality, holistic, integrated service, UFIT will be consolidating into integrated Hubs with the first-ever UFIT Hub at 21 Club Street. The integrated Hub will be a one-stop destination for Health and Fitness and will unite UFIT’s core offerings of Personal Training, Group Exercise, Physiotherapy and Nutrition under one roof. Alongside these offerings, the Hubs will also provide clients with access to Sports Medicine, health testing and an indoor-open floor studio. 

Enhancing the entire end to end fitness journey, the Club Street Hub will also see the opening of Burn, a restaurant with a carefully curated food and beverage menu. Burn will feature a wood-fired oven for grilled meats and pizza, salads that will be chargeable by weight, and kombucha on tap. 

UFIT Club Street lobby artistic impression

The Club Street outlet will be the first of three Hubs that UFIT operates. This destination will see the merging of UFIT’s iconic Amoy Street location, the Clinic at Raffles Quay, and the personal training arm of UFIT’s Tanjong Pagar site. 

Two further Hubs have been created at existing sites at Orchard, linking up UFIT Orchard and UFIT Clinic Orchard, and in the West with UFIT One-North and UFIT Clinic One-North. 

UFIT’s Digital Transformation 

With the integrated Hubs, UFIT will be optimised for data collection to better aid members’ fitness journeys. UFIT will have a bespoke Online Coaching platform that will enable UFIT trainers and professionals to better guide and influence clients on their fitness journey, as well as tools such as full-body scanners and health and performance screenings. Using the data collected, trainers will be able to advise clients better, giving them more individual insights on their clients, and allowing them to better tailor the offerings. 

Furthermore, UFIT will begin offering a credit-based system on their app, enabling clients to purchase credits directly via the app and redeemed across any classes in the Group Training portfolio, including outdoor Bootcamps and Indoor classes at the Club Street studio. 

“As we move to integrate our services under one roof, we want to showcase the best that UFIT has to offer and help create the right environment for our team to ‘Ignite their client’s Greatness!’”, said Dean Ahmad, COO and Co-Founder of UFIT. 

UFIT was founded in 2011 in Singapore with one personal training gym on Amoy Street, and quickly expanded to become the country’s largest independently owned fitness community. The business is multi-award winning and offers Personal Training, indoor and outdoor Group Training, Physiotherapy and sports rehabilitation related services, and Nutrition alongside its other businesses, Youth Academy, Retreats, Education and Corporate Performance. 

AFTNews, Beauty & Health

Keepland Designed by Eight Inc. Launches in Beijing

Experience design firm Eight Inc. has designed a flagship gym experience for digital fitness startup, Keep.

Following a period of rapid growth, Keep recognized the needs of its 185 million maturing users were evolving. With Keepland, Eight Inc. has imagined an exciting, active world where the physical and digital combine to form a mono-channel experience. This experience offers users seamless new ways to follow expert fitness guidance and connect face-to-face with like-minded users.

China’s sports and fitness market was worth $216 billion in 2016 and by 2025 should exceed $725 billion

“The future of commerce is not omnichannel but mono-channel. The omnichannel approach is old news. Today we are not thinking in physical and digital, it should be a holistic mono-channel experience.” – Tim Kobe, Founder and CEO, Eight Inc.

The fitness economy in China is on track for a boom with app creators running to take the lead. China’s sports and fitness market was worth $216 billion in 2016 and by 2025 should exceed $725 billion, according to a report published by The Economist and sponsored by the Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports.

The Keepland experience is focused around two materially and visually distinct zones – Community and Workout

Located at landmark Qianmen development Beijing Fun, the Keepland experience is focused around two materially and visually distinct zones—Community and Workout. Inside the atmospheric, LED-lit Workout zone, users can follow the coach’s moves closely on multiple screens. Results are later relayed into the Community Zone, where friends can discuss performance over a refreshment as they relax post-workout. By hosting a range of workshops and meet-ups, this flexible zone allows Keep’s online community to further extend and develop offline.

“Keepland perfectly complements the digital app that has made Keep so successful, making for a complete fitness experience with a strong social aspect. In bringing together data, technology, content, brand and the physical environment, it offers Keep’s community of like-minded individuals a seamless way to take their passion to the next level.” – Alan Lin, Managing Director for China, Eight Inc.

With a rapid rollout across China anticipated, Eight Inc. has taken a modular approach to all wall panels, fixtures and furniture that can scale and adapt to different sizes of environment. The firm has also used architecture, materials and wall graphics to reflect and amplify the Keep brand culture throughout.

Keepland fully integrates Keep’s digital capabilities into the physical environment

Keepland fully integrates Keep’s digital capabilities into the physical environment. Users browse and sign up for classes using the digital app. On arrival, they are met not at the traditional desk, but at a sign-in wall where they scan a QR code before collecting their heart-rate monitor. After their workout, they can connect and follow each other’s results on the app, as well as on Keepland’s multiple screens.

Since it launched in 2015, Keep’s digital app has galvanized an active community of 185m users around the idea that ‘self-discipline creates true freedom’, providing them with a hub where they can connect and express themselves online. The company’s rapid growth has seen it become a major influencer and contributor to the rising awareness of life quality in China.

Eight Inc. is a global creative collective that specializes in designing innovative, integrated human experiences. Its 200+ business creatives and strategic designers collaborate across 11 studios, 7 time zones, and 3 continents. The firm celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Fitness

Editor’s Note: Ideal Body

Everybody has their own ideal body shape that they want to achieve. Some want their body to be muscular, lean, toned and much more. There is no one ideal shape that will fit all of us.

Science has stated that there are essentially three body types: Ectomorph, Endomorph, and Mesomorph. The gist of each type is as follows:

Ectomorph: Lean and long, difficulty building muscles

Endomorph: Big, with a tendency to store body fat

Mesomorph: Muscular, high metabolism

I had always thought of myself as an Endomorph, and I’m not wrong. But years of doing sports I worked so hard on myself just so I could catch up with my team members. I honestly never thought I was good enough, hence the extra work. I went to the gym to build up muscles and strength. I walked almost everywhere for cardio. I didn’t run because running was already incorporated in most of the sports I did (and I really hated running at the time).

I know you’re thinking “What does this have to do with having an ideal body?” Bear with me for a little while longer.

Now, throughout my life of doing sports and gaining the flab (right after I stopped), I had the type of body where a waist did not exist. I learned to hide or fake one with my clothes. I got used to this and was not embarrassed at my lack of a waist. It was nothing to be ashamed of. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen does not have a waist and nobody cares. Look at her career!

Now, in my late 30s I was diagnosed with a disease and the doctor advised was for me to take 3 x 10 minutes walk daily. No exceptions. I was lucky I had friends who supported me and accompanied me on my walks. I began the prescribed exercises in the month of August, had surgery in September and by October I realized my body had changed.

I had more energy, could lift heavier stuff, and had a healthier mindset about food. I also noticed that my legs changed shape to the point a friend exclaimed they were “amazeballs”. Next thing I realized was when a male friend asked why I was hiding my waist. I had a waist!

I realized then that was my natural body shape. It was a stark contrast to the lean possibly Ectomorph body I was striving to achieve in my younger years. This is my ideal body shape. It had always been but I didn’t think I was built like this naturally.

I have to point out that when I decided to go back to the gym at this time, my personal trainer told me that he will train me so I will have THE ideal body. He pointed to one of the female members who was training at the time and I was shocked. There is nothing wrong with her but she was lean, packed with muscles and no hint of a waist. A musclier version of my younger self. When I told my trainer that wasn’t my goal, he told me to stop thinking so negatively and, of course, that’s the body all women want.

 

The Editor a few years ago. Image is from her personal collection.

That got me thinking and I’ve been asking friends about this ever since – What is your ideal body shape? Everyone has a different answer. But the reasons remain somewhat similar – to be lean, stronger, and fitter. Ok, some of my male friends said to attract girls, but I digress.

 

Point is to have your ideal body shape in mind and work towards it. It doesn’t matter if it’s different from your friends’ ideal. I have since been jaded about exercising but have recently starting to pick it up again. I am nowhere near my ideal body but my current body can be seen here.

Beauty & Health, Wellness

THE RIGHT TIGHTS

Different athletic activities affect different muscle groups. For example, a distance run optimizes the quads, hamstrings and calves; whereas a high intensity workout demands core activation.  In addition to muscle groups, another factor amongst athletes is the desire to achieve the best workout, every time, and they look to products to help them gain the advantage.
                                   

 

“Efficiency is always a key factor for our athletes — they want to get the most out of every workout,” explains Helen Boucher, VP of Women’s Training Apparel Product. “Tights are a huge part of any athlete’s uniform and we analyzed every design and fit detail to ensure key parts of the body are compressed for the right sport.”

With that in mind, Nike’s newest Zonal Strength Tights feature compression zones built directly into the base fabric, targeting key muscle groups to reduce muscle vibration for an efficient workout, without restricting mobility.

Here’s how:

ARE YOU A RUNNER?

Colleen Quigley, elite middle-distance runner, in Nike Zonal Strength Running Tights.

Calu Rivero, athlete, actress, DJ, in Nike Zonal Strength Running Tights.

Nike Zonal Strength Running Tights target thighs and calves to reduce muscle vibration where runners need it most. Flyvent waistband provides breathability and four-way stretch fabric enhances mobility, especially in the hips and knees.

DO YOU HIT THE GYM?

Nafi Thiam, gold-medalist in the heptathlon, in Nike Zonal Strength Training Tights.

Koharu Sugawara, professional dancer, choreographer, in Nike Zonal Strength Training Tights.

Nike Zonal Strength Training Tights provide enhanced support and muscle awareness in the core, glutes, quads and hamstrings. A high-rise waistband provides additional core awareness, which is integral for all training activities, from low impact like yoga to high impact cross training. Flat seams allow for zero distractions.

Nike’s Zonal Strength Tights for both men and women are available in retail and nike.com starting January 12.