Growing number of families choosing to work out together, research finds
Families are increasingly choosing to work out together as a way to have quality time, according to a new survey.
Research carried out by health club group David Lloyd found that 39% of families work out together. This is a higher figure than for more traditional ways of spending time together, such as playing board games (38%), reading (36%) or attending sporting events (17%).
The most popular types of exercise for families to do together were walking (71%), bike rides (42%), jogging (26%), tennis (20%) and swimming (16%).
In response to this growing trend, David Lloyd has introduced the Prama system, a new fitness concept that allows parents and children to exercise together in a club environment.
Held in a fitness studio, Prama incorporates pressure-sensitive walls and an interactive floor that lights up as participants run, lunge and skip across it. With a format similar to circuit training, Prama session sees participants move between different exercise stations.
Prama studios can be programmed to a range of fitness levels and abilities, making it well suited to both adults and children.
Open to children from the age of five and over, the sessions feature elements such as hopscotch for kids, and sees families work together to touch targets on the interactive floor and walls.
Carlie Barlow, group family support manager for David Lloyd Clubs, said: “Prama combines great instructors, lights and music with workouts designed for all levels of fitness.
“We’ve designed Prama programmes for everyone to enjoy, from energetc five year olds to our sassy senior members.” The sessions are currently available at the David Lloyd clubs in Bushey and Port Solent in the UK, with a wider rollout scheduled for 2018.
The David Lloyd Leisure Group incorporates 111 health clubs, 98 in the UK and 13 across Europe. On June 1, 2017, David Lloyd acquired 14 health clubs from the Virgin Active group. The company has 584,000 members and 8,600 members of staff.