Checking the trainers' fitness

Now LILY CANTER examines the safeguards in the fitness suite and talks to those who work there.

FOLLOWING coroner David Masters' verdict of death by misadventure on gym enthusiast Matthew Sperring, The Olympiad Leisure Centre opened its doors to the Gazette and Herald this week to talk about safety, supervision and health.

Adrian Jones, managing director of North Wiltshire Leisure, said he feels passionately about the health and welfare of the local community and is confident that The Olympiad maintains high health and safety standards.

"There is no legislation saying we have to have lifeguards or fitness supervisors but there are strong recommendations for them from various bodies. We follow that good practice and pay to be a member of the Fitness Industry Association, so that we can follow their guidelines and keep our standards high.

"We also have bench meetings with other trusts to see what they are doing and what we can learn from them."

At Mr Sperring's inquest coroner David Masters said he died as a result of lifting weights and not from natural causes. The death in the Olympiad gym devastated staff but Mr Jones told the inquest he was satisfied with the centre's safety procedures.

Mr Jones said The Olympiad and the other five leisure centres in North Wiltshire were about more than just health and fitness.

"Everything we do is in the interest of social welfare and we do make an impact on peoples lives. People may just come in here to have a chat and a coffee. We are a social service and ready to help people with financial advice as much as giving them advice in the gym."

Health and fitness manager Rachel Leaman is also committed to helping her community.

"I need to know when I go home that I have kept the best possible standards in my work. We have a yearly training programme for all the fitness employees.

"We address any problems with individual customers and we look at the health questionnaire we give to gym users, amongst other things," she said.

The Olympiad is also rigorously assessed annually by Quest, an independent body that gives ratings to all leisure centres.

Quest is the UK quality scheme for sport and leisure and is supported by the English Sports Council.

"It is recognised as the industry standard for quality and we received a very good rating in our assessment last year," said Mr Jones.

And to illustrate their methods of supervision and safety in the gym, Ms Leaman put me through my paces in an induction training course.

Personal trainer and therapist Stuart Dinwoodie advised me on what to expect and issued his own safety guidelines.

"It is very important to do a proper warm up and cool down. This should take about ten minutes for each.

"The minimum time that should be spent training in the gym is 45 minutes, so that you have enough time either side for the warm up and down, and to ease yourself into exercise," said Mr Dinwoodie.

My aim was to tone up some of my body rather than an all out body building session and Mr Dinwoodie told me which training to do.

"For muscle tone you need to start on gentle cardio-vascular activity such as a bike or rowing machine and the gym staff should make sure you adjust the saddle to the right height.

"Later, once your heart rate is up you can go on to some light weights and use them with high repetitions."

After receiving this advice I joined staff at The Olympiad gym to see if they put me through the same procedure as recommended by Mr Dinwoodie.

My session began with an informal discussion with Ms Leaman, in an office next to the gym.

She went through the pre-exercise readiness questionnaire to identify whether I had any health problems.

It is crucial at this point that customers are completely honest with staff, so any problems can be referred to a GP if necessary, before any physical activity begins.

We then had a chat about the kind of exercise I wanted to do and what I was hoping to achieve.

Ms Leaman constructed a simple programme and said I would be assessed again after a certain number of sessions.

I asked her if this was the case for every single person who joined the gym or whether some people are just allowed to use the equipment as they like.

"We make sure everyone has a programme and even if they have been training elsewhere for years with their own programme we make sure we know what they are doing and they follow a safe and correct programme devised by us," said Ms Leaman.

Joining a row of fitness enthusiasts I began a gentle five-minute warm up on the exercise bike, once Ms Leaman had adjusted the seat for me.

After the bike I went onto a cross trainer and the instructor showed me how to programme the information in and what pace I should be aiming for.

The compact size of the gym meant the woman on the cross trainer next to me was worried she might have hit my instructor with the handles of her machine when it started moving.

I then moved round to the lighter, more spacious area of the gym to use the weights.

I felt I was a huge source of amusement as I sat on a large inflatable gym ball, legs apart, lifting minute five-kilogram dumbbells.

But Ms Leaman informed me that the exercise was great for my posture as well as toning my arms, so I felt slightly less stupid.

My overall impression of the gym was that the staff were very competent and ready to adapt to my needs.

Ms Leaman explained how to achieve my goals and how to do so gently without pushing myself.

I did feel that I could call upon staff to help me at anytime and they were always in view, but I would still rather play a game of netball any day.

Doctor's advice

After speaking to Jamie Brosch, a general practitioner at Hathaway Surgery, I decided netball was the exercise that suited me better than the gym.

"Regular physical activity is beneficial if not vital to everyone of every age, for their physical and mental health. But going to the gym does not suit everyone," said Dr Brosch.

"For some people the gym is a very good place to exercise because they find it a social environment that is encouraging and motivating," he said.

North Wiltshire Leisure runs an initiative called Vitalis with local surgeries to promote exercise. "For example I would refer a patient with anxiety, depression, or high blood pressure to the scheme so that they could go to The Olympiad and staff there would set up a programme that suits them.

"This does not have to be based completely in the gym, they can be given a home programme and incorporate swimming or aerobics as well," he said.

But whatever exercise people choose to take up, Dr Brosch said there is one clear message: "Deaths in the gym are exceedingly rare and the benefits of exercise of any kind substantially outweigh the risks."