Les Mills unveils new studios and "future-focused" training styles at Auckland City Gym
18 Jun 2019 . BY Tom Walker
One of the two new exercise products is Ceremony, a 45-minute functional training workout
We want people to get excited about being in these spaces, so we’ve designed them as a sensory experience and put an intimate focus on design – Les Mills Jnr
Fitness giant Les Mills has launched three new studio spaces at its iconic Auckland City Gym in New Zealand.
Two of the new spaces have been created to trial and support the launch of new exercise programmes, which Les Mills has designed in-house.
The fresh additions include a "highly tactile" functional studio – which will host a newly-developed training workout called Ceremony – and a design-led boxing studio created around the needs of a new boxing conditioning workout called Conquer.
The third new space is an immersive indoor cycling studio – which Les Mills says is the largest of its kind in the world – featuring a 100-bike terraced theatre environment. It is accompanied by a wall-to-wall curved screen and a five-projector, cinema-quality audio-visual system that delivers Les Mills’ ground-breaking The Trip.
Ceremony is a 45-minute functional training workout with a focus on a whole-body exercise mixing strength, cardio and conditioning within a shared community experience.
“Ceremony is our take on functional training," said Les Mills product innovation team member, Ezra Fantl.
"We use all sorts of equipment; SkiErgs, rowers, agility ladders, sleds, kettlebells – but we aren’t stuck in a mindset that doesn’t let us innovate. We also incorporate explosive exercises, balance and coordination drills, and whole-body flow-based movements like bear crawls.
The other new exercise product, Conquer, is a 45-minute boxing conditioning workout that uses a trio of treadmill running, aquabag punching and resistance-based cardio exercises – such as ball slams and skipping. The workout is structured like a boxing match: three minutes of work, with one minute to recover and transition to your next station.
“We’ve designed the space so that the atmosphere is intimate as you walk into the room, the lights are low and the workout is completely your own,” said Les Mills product innovation team member Adam Lazarus.
“You can be a professional boxer, or never have thrown a punch, and you will get a great workout.”
The new spaces were designed by New Zealand architects Monk Mackenzie and interior designer Rufus Knight, working in partnership with design studio Alt Group.
According to Les Mills Jnr, who led the development of the new studios and workouts, a key objective was to partner with New Zealand’s best designers to create spaces that work at both a practical and aesthetic level.
“We’ve put an intimate focus on design to create the most incredible end-to-end experience for members,” Mills Jnr said.
“We want people to get excited about being in this space, so we’ve designed it as a sensory experience. It looks good, it smells good, and it’s a place they feel they belong in. We want it to be a cultural hub for our members.”
Mills Jnr added that Ceremony and Conquer will now be trialled at the Auckland site, but didn't reveal any details of a possible rollout as yet.
“At the Les Mills Auckland City Gym we’re passionate about designing the best experience we can,” he said.
“The facilities are stepping into a premium space, with more focus on spatial design. We are really trying to provide a great fitness experience – one that represents the essence of Les Mills and what it stands for.”
As well as acting as the "laboratory" space for the new training styles, the new workout spaces are the first stage of a long-term project to transform the home of Les Mills in Auckland – which in its long history has been an industrial building, a nightclub and a boxing gym.
Rather than completely renovate the original space, architects Monk Mackenzie have designed an interior box, essentially creating a boutique gym inside a gym.
The new studios are a response to changing demographics and exercise trends, as well as an aesthetic makeover of a tired area of the gym.
The design of the space has been led with the expectations of the Gen Z and Millennial demographics in mind – due to the two generations currently driving much of the global fitness spend.
The box-like structure containing the Immersive Cycle studio is designed like a mini-building, with its own roof and its own acoustics.
“Rather than being about gyms, it was about creating something experiential,” said Monk Mackenzie partner Dean McKenzie.
“We wanted to make the whole experience feel kind of theatrical, in terms of when you walk in, the spaces we’ve created and the sub-spaces. The Immersive Cycle studio is theatre-like; when you are in the functional studio and the boxing studio, the lighting is calibrated to be moody. The spaces feel intimate.
“It’s an inclusive space, not trying to be masculine like many gym spaces. The brief from Les Mills was very clear about that, moving it away from being an intimidating space. The ‘materiality’ plays into that, making it feel less ‘sweaty and grunty’.”
"We summarise what we do in two words – functional art," says Gian Luca Innocenzi, CEO and
founder of MyEquilibria, which specialises in high-end outdoor exercise equipment.
Cryotherapy supplier Art of Cryo has created a new 12-person walkthrough cryotherapy chamber
at Cryo Center Coolzone Madeira, claimed to be the largest cold therapy treatment experience
in the world.
Egym has introduced Open Mode on its Smart Strength machines, enabling them to be used as a
replacement for traditional weights on the fitness floor, rather than solely as circuit-based
machines.
Myzone has announced the launch of MZ-Open, an access function that enables Myzone gym users
to experience all the benefits of Myzone’s world-renowned heart rate training biome through
their pre-owned Apple or Android smartwatch.
PerformX Live, the premier business of fitness event, has announced Dr Jonathan Leary,
founder
and CEO of Remedy Place, as the headliner for its 2024 event.
Elevate, the premier event in the physical activity, fitness, sports therapy and performance
sector, is thrilled to announce that registrations for its 2024 conference are now live –
and the response has been nothing short of exceptional.
Cardiff-based gym design and installation company, Absolute Performance, has been awarded
the contract to design, supply and install three gyms for Team GB for the 2024 games in
Paris.
Les Mills unveils new studios and "future-focused" training styles at Auckland City Gym
18 Jun 2019 . BY Tom Walker
One of the two new exercise products is Ceremony, a 45-minute functional training workout
We want people to get excited about being in these spaces, so we’ve designed them as a sensory experience and put an intimate focus on design – Les Mills Jnr
Fitness giant Les Mills has launched three new studio spaces at its iconic Auckland City Gym in New Zealand.
Two of the new spaces have been created to trial and support the launch of new exercise programmes, which Les Mills has designed in-house.
The fresh additions include a "highly tactile" functional studio – which will host a newly-developed training workout called Ceremony – and a design-led boxing studio created around the needs of a new boxing conditioning workout called Conquer.
The third new space is an immersive indoor cycling studio – which Les Mills says is the largest of its kind in the world – featuring a 100-bike terraced theatre environment. It is accompanied by a wall-to-wall curved screen and a five-projector, cinema-quality audio-visual system that delivers Les Mills’ ground-breaking The Trip.
Ceremony is a 45-minute functional training workout with a focus on a whole-body exercise mixing strength, cardio and conditioning within a shared community experience.
“Ceremony is our take on functional training," said Les Mills product innovation team member, Ezra Fantl.
"We use all sorts of equipment; SkiErgs, rowers, agility ladders, sleds, kettlebells – but we aren’t stuck in a mindset that doesn’t let us innovate. We also incorporate explosive exercises, balance and coordination drills, and whole-body flow-based movements like bear crawls.
The other new exercise product, Conquer, is a 45-minute boxing conditioning workout that uses a trio of treadmill running, aquabag punching and resistance-based cardio exercises – such as ball slams and skipping. The workout is structured like a boxing match: three minutes of work, with one minute to recover and transition to your next station.
“We’ve designed the space so that the atmosphere is intimate as you walk into the room, the lights are low and the workout is completely your own,” said Les Mills product innovation team member Adam Lazarus.
“You can be a professional boxer, or never have thrown a punch, and you will get a great workout.”
The new spaces were designed by New Zealand architects Monk Mackenzie and interior designer Rufus Knight, working in partnership with design studio Alt Group.
According to Les Mills Jnr, who led the development of the new studios and workouts, a key objective was to partner with New Zealand’s best designers to create spaces that work at both a practical and aesthetic level.
“We’ve put an intimate focus on design to create the most incredible end-to-end experience for members,” Mills Jnr said.
“We want people to get excited about being in this space, so we’ve designed it as a sensory experience. It looks good, it smells good, and it’s a place they feel they belong in. We want it to be a cultural hub for our members.”
Mills Jnr added that Ceremony and Conquer will now be trialled at the Auckland site, but didn't reveal any details of a possible rollout as yet.
“At the Les Mills Auckland City Gym we’re passionate about designing the best experience we can,” he said.
“The facilities are stepping into a premium space, with more focus on spatial design. We are really trying to provide a great fitness experience – one that represents the essence of Les Mills and what it stands for.”
As well as acting as the "laboratory" space for the new training styles, the new workout spaces are the first stage of a long-term project to transform the home of Les Mills in Auckland – which in its long history has been an industrial building, a nightclub and a boxing gym.
Rather than completely renovate the original space, architects Monk Mackenzie have designed an interior box, essentially creating a boutique gym inside a gym.
The new studios are a response to changing demographics and exercise trends, as well as an aesthetic makeover of a tired area of the gym.
The design of the space has been led with the expectations of the Gen Z and Millennial demographics in mind – due to the two generations currently driving much of the global fitness spend.
The box-like structure containing the Immersive Cycle studio is designed like a mini-building, with its own roof and its own acoustics.
“Rather than being about gyms, it was about creating something experiential,” said Monk Mackenzie partner Dean McKenzie.
“We wanted to make the whole experience feel kind of theatrical, in terms of when you walk in, the spaces we’ve created and the sub-spaces. The Immersive Cycle studio is theatre-like; when you are in the functional studio and the boxing studio, the lighting is calibrated to be moody. The spaces feel intimate.
“It’s an inclusive space, not trying to be masculine like many gym spaces. The brief from Les Mills was very clear about that, moving it away from being an intimidating space. The ‘materiality’ plays into that, making it feel less ‘sweaty and grunty’.”
"We summarise what we do in two words – functional art," says Gian Luca Innocenzi, CEO and
founder of MyEquilibria, which specialises in high-end outdoor exercise equipment.
Egym has introduced Open Mode on its Smart Strength machines, enabling them to be used as a
replacement for traditional weights on the fitness floor, rather than solely as circuit-based
machines.
Myzone has announced the launch of MZ-Open, an access function that enables Myzone gym users
to experience all the benefits of Myzone’s world-renowned heart rate training biome through
their pre-owned Apple or Android smartwatch.
Cardiff-based gym design and installation company, Absolute Performance, has been awarded
the contract to design, supply and install three gyms for Team GB for the 2024 games in
Paris.
As Third Space unveiled its latest club in Wimbledon at the end of 2023 as part of its growth
development into suburban, residential locations, it also revealed a new state of the art
Reformer Pilates studio at the new site in response to members seeking a low-impact, full-
body workout for all abilities.
