Feelfit Gym in Cowley, Oxford, is the city's largest gym. They took advantage of the lockdown period to renovate and refresh.

Feelfit’s functional area was dated and uninspiring, with a standalone rig, separate storage units and worn-out track. Being near the entrance it was a valuable space but, was underused by members and did not provide the club with the engagement or ‘wow factor’ they thought it deserved.

Their brief was to create a functional training and group class area that would provide a strong first impression, acting as a selling point when recruiting new members, and providing inspiration for both trainers and members alike. They also wanted to find a way to make the space feel separate from the rest of the gym.

Their original plan was to install a partition wall, however we saw an opportunity to incorporate this into the design of the equipment. We proposed using the rig / storage system to create the divide, because as well as allowing the space to feel more open, it would derive a functional benefit of additional storage space and enable us to incorporate training equipment along it.

Having our own design team and manufacturing facility allows us to provide bespoke solutions that really are designed specifically to fit in the space available, and work with it in terms of maximizing functionality. The training rig we designed highlights this principle – it covers the full length of the space with legs that are at the perimeter of the room, maximizing floor space.

Underneath the rig is a large turf area, marked out to match the various training areas, and make programming for classes much easier.

This functional space goes above and beyond the original brief provided by the customer and truly does provide a ‘wow factor’ for anyone entering the gym. Most importantly we have created an incredible training space that truly demonstrates what custom designed and manufactured equipment can achieve, with benefits delivered for Feelfit’s owners, their members, and their personal trainers.

Weetwood Hall Hotel hosts many professional sports teams and athletes who utilise the hotel for training camps. However, the hotel did not have a strength and conditioning facility on site, requiring athletes to travel to a local health club for specialist sessions.

So, the brief given to Indigo by hotel GM Steve Kershaw was to convert a conference room into a high-performance strength and conditioning space, able to cater for anything up to 12 to 15 athletes at a time.

Following initial discussions, we designed an initial layout, producing 3D drawings and a walkthrough video, which allowed Steve to really visualise how the training space would look. The biggest challenge was to achieve the functionality required in the limited space available. To overcome this, we designed a bespoke unit that combined two half racks and three storage bays, that would fit along one wall. Doing this created space in the rest of the gym for additional training options, such as cardio equipment.

It was vital that the flooring would be suitable for both Olympic lifting and functional training, whilst reducing the spread of sound and vibration to neighbouring rooms. Because of this there was only one choice, 32mm DuraTRAIN tiles, which we paired with branded inset lifting platforms. This provided a seamless finish to the floor and removed the need for additional lifting platforms.

Wherever possible, we incorporated the Weetwood hall logo and colour scheme, which extended to the storage system, racks, benches, and lifting platforms – helping the gym to incorporate the strong identity of the hotel.

Following the installation Weetwood Hall GM Steve Kershaw commented: “Indigo’s knowledge and experience has been utilised to maximise what we have, which now allows us to go out to market and attract more teams. It’s been a really simple process from start to finish, and shows what you can achieve with good planning and design.”