£250,000 Refurb for Rodney

Here in Perthshire and Kinross we’re in a unique position when it comes to our sports and fitness facilities.  In all other councils in Scotland the affordable end of this market is provided by the local authority and as such, is often dubbed the ‘cooncil gym’.  I can’t help feeling that’s not meant to be a positive moniker!

These councils own or rent the buildings, run the classes and employ the staff that work there. However, right here in our small city and wider Perthshire and Kinross we are in the very fortunate position to be serviced by the stand-alone leisure trust, Live Active Leisure.

So what’s the difference?  Well, for a kick off, they work exclusively in health and fitness!  They understand the needs and wants of their customer base and strive to fulfil only this.  But because they are a leisure trust (and therefore registered charity) all profits are reinvested back into the pot to improve facilities and services.  They’re not owned or managed by PKC in anyway although they do receive some funding from them to help deliver important services that are normally covered by a local authority.

And why is this good for us – you and me?  Well, on a straightforward selfish level it means you really do have the best of both worlds.  You have affordable health and fitness facilities, without contract or tie in. No need to sign your name in blood and hand over your first born if you want to go sit in the pub instead of the spin class!  You have venues across the area full of well trained, experienced staff who care about you and your health and advise you accordingly – there is no Duncan Bannatyne figure at the top of the tree getting richer if you decide to buy an Active Energy membership for your 10 year old. It’s all from the heart.

Add to this the tremendous reasons that were outlined in the #MoreThanAMember campaign last month with free swimming for under-fives, The Talented Athlete’s Scheme and GP Referral Service and you’ll begin to see the benefits we enjoy day in and day out.

Do they always get it exactly right? Possibly not. Are you fed up with the pool closng due to accidents. You bet.  But these are problems that all gyms have - you cannot change this. And having been a member at a more expensive gym I honestly believe that Live Active get it more right than most. I beleive that they work for our communities and with our best interests at heart and they will provide everyone with a great quality, affordable option for keeping fit. Like everything that belongs to us as a public, we need to support them if we want things to flourish and grow.

And as was demonstrated just before Christmas, they really do put their money where their mouth is when it’s time for a reinvestment.   The £250,000 spend at Live Active Rodney has brought some amazing kit to our small city!  In fact it is the first public gym in Scotland to take in this new line of Life Fitness equipment and I was all over having a tour and reporting back to you!

One of the reasons I said yes to this, is my Doubting Thomas head when it comes to a gimmick. So you can run through the Black Forest… And??? What does that really mean to a workout. I want to get in, get sweaty and get out again! However, with the Christmas Chocolates refusing to budge and the machines all shiny and winking at me when I skip past them on my way to yoga, I was up for the challenge.

I knew from other members and the team that the kit was state-of-the-art. It can talk to your phone and in turn, your PC at home. I knew I could plot my fitness goals and review my gym sessions. But I just wasn’t sure ‘how’ to go about it!

So, on the basis that I can’t be alone in my reluctance to press screens and risk flying off the back of a treadmill, I thought I’d give you a run through of my experience with the new equipment in layman’s terms!  I’m going to describe the full experience here but you don’t need to use the apps or set up an account. You can simply hop on the bike, do your 10 minutes and jump onto the next piece of equipment as you always have in the past.  

First thing you need to do is download the LF Connect app. This is free for all smart phones and is available at the apple store and all android app stores. It talks you through a little set up and asks you to create an account which you can access when you’re on the equipment. This is what allows you to record your sessions.

In the first instance you can set targets for burning calories, you can also set up any regular workouts that you currently do or you can create new ones.  As a side note, if you’re a LAL personal training client then you can ask Ian to add you to his group and he’ll send you workouts and challenges to add to your account. It’s like he’s right there with you all the time!   

When you arrive in the gym, you can login into your account on any of the equipment and it will track what you’re doing, deduct your calories from your set goal, show you how far you’ve travelled on foot or bike, give you your time and store a record of this.  For me, this is brilliant; I like seeing results to keep me motivated.  So, If you’re just starting out you will be able to see yourself progress to quicker miles per hour or more calories burned in a session. It is hugely encouraging as you realise you are peddling further or running faster than you were the week before.  Likewise, for super fit people who are in training for a specific goal such as a marathon or triathlon, you will be able to set targets of times  / miles per hour and train towards this.

The basic screen is the same regardless if you’re on a bike, a treadmill or any other item of equipment. All the usual ‘extras’ are there but they are much, much better!

In the interests of encouraging my fellow couch potatoes back in, let’s start with the entertainment; after all, you need something to take your mind off the fact that you’re sweating profusely in a public space!  My big tip here is to remember your headphones; the music channels belt out everything from Kylie to Dolly and you can build your own playlists that can be accessed each time you login.  You’ll also find a whole host of TV channels and with the high-res screen it is fantastic to watch.  You can logon to Facebook, search google, tweet out on twitter and browse loads of other websites and apps.  LF Connect also have their own YouTube channel with a great selection of motivational videos and tips to enhance your workout.

For those of you who prefer a more natural environment you can click into the geographical locations and head for a bike ride through the Loire Valley or a run through the canyons of New Zealand.  I did wonder what real benefit this gimmick gave but the truth is you get lost in it all which makes your session go much faster - I was ducking tree branches at one point and leaning in to take a corner of a steep ridge. It is mesmerising!

And then there is the small matter of your performance. (I almost forgot about that in amongst Loose Women and Cash In The Attic!).  If you like simple facts such as calories, time and RPM then this all you need to have displaying and recording. However, if you’d like more sophisticated data then you can select all manner of fitness indicators.  

As you’d expect, there are a number of pre-set levels that allow you to choose from hundreds of workouts based on your specific requirements.  I know that sounds daunting but they are split up into really easy to identify sections and you’ll be hitting your stride in just a couple of swipes! You can also make up your own workouts in line with any training you’re doing. So, Ian created a little ‘back into it’ treadmill workout for me that was based on walking for a minute and running for a minute over 10 minutes. I can go in and tweak this as I progress and up the length of time and gradient for each rep.  

And the best bit is you can do all of this planning part from the comfort of your home!  Take the time you need and when you hit the gym you simply switch on your phone and login. Once you start working out it records everything you’re doing and you can then glean the rewards of progress. 

I’m reading this back and realise that it still sounds a wee bit complex – it’s not! I promise you it’s really easy once you’re on and doing it.  If you’re like me and need a working demo then ask for some help. The team at Rodney want you to get the most out of this they’re inviting you to book in for a free ten minute session where they’ll be delighted to show you how it works.  Or for a more thorough session, book in for a one hour personal training session and they will help you set your goals and plan a workout. For regular PT clients, you’re going to find even more support between sessions via LF Connect workouts through the ‘group’.

I’m going to be honest; I didn’t think I’d use it.  I don’t really like standing there trying to decipher screens just so I can start running but this is much more intuitive and user friendly. I love the idea of planning a workout at home and then putting it into practice. I’m always reading magazines that give me workout plans and ideas for reps but by the time I’m in the gym I’m doing ten minutes on each bit of kit before hitting the shower because I’ve forgotten it all!    

Ian was telling me that if you use ‘track my run’ or similar apps you can use the LF Connect data to help you plan external training sessions.  LF Connect is also set up with standardised tests for the Navy, Marines and other forces. So anyone looking to reach these very specific fitness goals can simply follow the programme – his friend is working through this just now and loves it.

If you don’t use Apple or Android you can connect with Blue Tooth or you can save the data onto a USB to transfer into your own spreadsheet at home.  Other bits I didn’t use include a language changer so you can switch over if English isn’t your first language.

One of my favourite screens came at the end (really!!) when it flashed up telling me how much green energy I’d generated. On these machines, when you hit a high repetition your energy output starts to power your machine so you are literally producing your own electricity! How cool is that…? My peddling was powering Jessie J singing to me!

I loved the kit – I do think a quick run through with one of the team if you’re not used to the various screens is a good idea but it is simple to use. I’ve set my ‘calories burned’ goals, made a couple of little workouts for myself and I’m feeling all fired up to get in and watch my progress build.

If you’ve not been to Rodney since their refurb then my advice is to get in and give it a go.  I’ll see you in the Champagne Region for a run!

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Use the new equipment in Rodney in a few different ways - find out more about all of these on their website here.

Pay And Play – pay for each session as you use the gym

Membership – If you use Live Active Leisure gym, classes or pools more than two or three times a week then you really would be better with a membership. There’s no tie-in and you don’t need to hand over your first born if you change your mind!

Personal Training Sessions – Combine with either of the above and book a qualified LAL Personal Trainer to help you maximise your goals and fitness levels.  Book one or blocks of six - you can win a set of sessions with a friend here on SCBP over February! 

Leave your comments here and please do share this with your friends! You can also share your Live Active Leisure photographs with us. We'd love to see them. As always, tag them #PerthLoveFest and we'll scatter them around our own social media.