Fit Club York in Redeness Street is one of ten gyms nominated as the best in the city by readers of The Press.
Founder and head coach Chris Hill, who lives in the city centre, said: “It’s fabulous to be recognised by our community.
“They are what we strive to put at the centre of everything we do.
“I feel very proud and it’s a good thing for the community as well, there’s already a bit of a buzz among the WhatApp groups here.”
Chris said independent gyms have to differentiate themselves, and they have to be community orientated.
He said: “Gyms have had to change the way they do things.
“People get much better results when they’re supported and the smaller, community-based gyms encapsulate this.
“As a small business owner, if you can create something beyond just the exercise, then people are more likely to stay.”
He added that the big things the gym do to stand out includes every session being personal trainer led, so everything is under instruction and guidance – all the sessions are programmed, so that members work towards goals – a programme called “build and burn”.
Chris said: “When you come into the gym, it’s very structured, there’s a TV on the gym floor with the daily programme on it.
“There’s three build workouts and there’s three burn workouts in every session.
“They’re only six minutes each but everything we deliver is round that formula.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the gym or not – you work at your own ability around that.”
Fit Club also uses body composition machines to “get more scientific” Chris said, to divide the body up into fat and muscle health readings and markers.
He added that using this device once every four weeks starts to explain the story to the user and reinforce the journey.
He said: “Our six-week intro puts our arms round our clients – we try and nurture them along.
“I know from having an open gym that six weeks is the “danger zone” where you’d have people dropping away – including nutrition, alcohol and among key aspects – even reminding people that muscle is denser than fat to help measurements and reinforce that things are working.”
Chris said “support, community and results” are Fit Club’s three pillars.
He added: “We guarantee results, the support comes from what we give, and the community element comes through a calendar of social events and meet-ups.
“We have things like Padel social nights, pizza nights, hike and bike events on Sundays – people bring their partners and their dogs and we always have a lunch together.”
Chris said one of his mental health and exercise coaches is in charge of the community and support element and one of his roles is to help people’s mental health through exercise.
He said: “Your brain chemistry changes when you exercise, you get the endorphins and serotonin hits and dopamine, but we also want to add ‘how do we make it non-intimidating when you come in the door, and then the next step is ‘can we get you to the end of six weeks?'”
Chris said the biggest endorsement for the business is the client retention, the membership number is up to 200 from around 20 three years ago, and many from existing client referrals.
He said: “If we can make Fit Club where people enjoy their hour there, they’ve done something effective and they look forward to coming back, then we’ve cracked it as a business.”
Chris Hill paid thanks to his coaching team at Fit Club, including “right-hand man” Rhys Derbyshire, Bex Davison and Kaine Barefoot.