A PERSONAL trainer who has spent two years working with clients in leisure centre fields and through computer screens has opened his own gym.
Owen Holloway, from Kings Worthy, has launched Holloway Health & Fitness in Winchester after spending the entire Covid crisis promoting the importance of exercise, in a supportive environment, for physical and mental health.
He told the Daily Echo: “I can’t believe how far this has all come. What started as a simple idea to help people stay fit and healthy during lockdown has grown beyond anything I imagined.
"We went from workouts on Zoom, to in the rain and shine outdoors and now into a Winchester city-centre location for an indoor club!”
"Even I couldn’t have predicted how important these workouts would become to the members. Health, the physical and mental, should be looked at as a whole and it is the community that has been created here that has kept each other going.”
The opening of the indoor club acts as an extension to the success Owen has already achieved outdoors. What started as a project to support the health of local people during lockdown, quickly grew to 40 founding members and now has its sets sight on helping many more.
“The club is so much more than a place to work out, its community is at its core” adds Rajh Das, a club member and sales director from Winchester.
“We have all faced difficult times in the last few years, but Holloway Health & Fitness has become a place where we not only stay fit and healthy, but our mental health is boosted by being surrounded by an incredibly supportive bunch of people, with Owen at the centre of it.”
Holloway Health & Fitness runs a busy and varied class schedule through the week combining outdoor group classes and a weekly run-club with the indoor concept which includes Strength, Hybrid, TRX, Stretch, TRX for Yoga and Small Group Personal Training options. Members also teamed together to take on local challenges including the Winchester 10k and The General obstacle course race at the Matterley Bowl.
The club, at Winchester Lido in Church Lane, also houses a coffee lounge, stocked with Winchester Coffee Roasters beans, a Sports Massage room run by assistant coach and massage therapist, Nicky Jobson, a separate Yoga Studio used by instructor, Ellen Burholt as well as shower and toilet facilities.
“A gym environment can be intimidating for some, but I cannot stress enough how welcoming this club is. It’s about community, not competitiveness.” Nicky Jobson, Assistant Coach, adds. “We all celebrate each other’s individual success.
"Being a part of Holloway Health & Fitness helped us forge new friendships during a difficult time."
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