CBE Winter Report.qk - IHRSA

News & Notes
continued
Vivafit chain donates membership dues to charity
All for altruism (from left to right): Isabel Ferreira and
Viviana Tavares from the Portuguese Osteoporosis Association
APOROS and Constance Ruiz, Vivafit's president
Golfers use Power Plate at Belfry Hotel
> Guests at the Belfry Hotel in the West Midlands, UK,
can now train just like their favourite celebrity pro golfers.
The Leisure Club at the Belfry Hotel recently installed a
machine in its gym—the same equipment that internationally
acclaimed golfers including Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood
and Darren Clarke use in their training to deliver
optimum fitness, strength, flexibility
and range of movement. Guests and
members now use Power Plate pro5
to warm up and train for a round of
golf on the hotel’s famous golf
course, or to relax and unwind with
the machine’s massage setting after
a round of golf, enjoying the fact
that they’re they’re using the same
equipment that pro golfers use.
“The Power Plate machine has
been a big hit with club members
and hotel guests, who love the
fact that they can do a really
intensive workout in such a
short time,” says Samantha
Turner, spa and leisure manager
at The Belfry. “It has been a huge
success at every level.” �
10 Club Business Europe � JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 � www.ihrsa.org
> The leading chain for 30minute
classes in Portugal,
Vivafit, recently contributed
all its new membership
subscriptions to the
Portuguese Osteoporosis
Association (APOROS).
Last August, all 58 clubs
ran a promotion where
women could join for just e10,
and this raised more than
e28,000 for the organisation
which supports osteoporosis
patients and raises awareness
of the condition.
Vivafit, which has 25,000
members, ran the campaign
to encourage Portuguese
women to start exercising to
help prevent or alleviate this
condition. One in three women
and one in five men suffer from
osteoporosis internationally.
“Vivafit’s campaign is an
important contribution to our
efforts to promote the causes,
consequences and ways to
prevent osteoporosis and the
major social and economic
impact this disease has in
our society,” said Viviana
Tavares, APOROS president.
Vivafit runs 30-minute
complete circuit training
sessions using 10 different
hydraulic machines, suitable
for all ages and physical
conditions. The clubs also
feature a Pilates studio. This
year will see seven more clubs
opening in Portugal and the
first location in Spain. �
Norwich and Union Healthcare offer
discounted memberships
> A leading private medical insurer, Norwich Union
Healthcare, has joined with Health Force to produce a
website, www.nugetactive.com, offering discounted gym
memberships at more than 300 health clubs in the UK,
including LA Fitness and Topnotch.
“This website supports our strategy to be a leading
provider of healthcare solutions,” said Rachel Marsh,
proposition development manager at Norwich Union
Healthcare. “It gives us a competitive offering and adds
tangible value for our customers at no additional cost to
them. It also helps meet corporate customer needs to
reduce sickness and absence by encouraging employees
to look after their health.”
Established in 2001, Health Force has pioneered
online sales of gym membership and is currently marketed
through 1,500 UK companies offering up to a 40%
discount on gym memberships.
In addition to new customers, the gym membership
service will be marketed by Norwich Union Healthcare
to existing private medical insurance, income protection,
occupational health and group life customers–covering
more than 2.4m lives. �