Elevate, the UK’s largest trade show dedicated to fitness, sport, and physical activity, returned to London’s Excel in June with a 15% increase in attendance, hosting 6,000 attendees! This year has been coined the ‘most impactful year yet.’
Lucy Findlay-Beale, Event Director, Elevate, said: “Our key objective for building and developing Elevate has always been for the show to be the catalyst for a thriving and united physical activity & fitness sector. Through the innovation on the show floor and the education in the conference, visitors leave Elevate with the tools to drive progress, ignite business growth and raise the importance and standard of physical & mental health.”
Returning as the official education partner for the third year was an opportunity to showcase our ongoing alignment with Elevate, which prides itself on offering visitors the most comprehensive free education in the industry. Future Fit proudly hosted the Elevate Education Platform again this year, on our innovative Flex platform.
Housed in one central location, Flex hosts the collection of insightful slide decks and supporting reports for the Elevate speakers, across all the theatres. This is invaluable for attendees and those unable to attend in person, as it ensures access to high-quality educational content that will empower them to revisit and reinforce their learning, stay updated on industry trends, and drive progress in their own line of work by application.
You can register for the Flex for free here: https://flex.futurefit.co.uk/register/elevate
A significant issue highlighted was the underrepresentation of women in sports science research, which currently stands at a mere 8%. This discussion continued the essential work in female health investment, from member retention to further education. After integrating the leading voices on this topic, iCareiMove, into the Future Fit Group in 2023, we are thrilled to see the sector focusing on awareness, confidence, and education around women’s health. Helen Tite, Managing Director of iCareiMove, has long been an advocate for women in the workplace, supporting women in mid-life, through their menopause, journey. She is known to actively address menopause in the workplace through initiatives such as the Menopause Muse Facebook Group (boasting almost 3,000 members), and advocates for women’s health in government consultations. Helen provides educational sessions within a workplace environment creating a more inclusive culture where women feel better understood which in turn results in an increase of staff morale, staff retention and reduced absence days. You can connect with her here.
A prominent theme at Elevate 2024 was the increasing focus on inclusivity within the physical activity and health sector. Discussions highlighted the need for a more inclusive approach to fitness, ensuring everyone, regardless of ability or background, has access to physical activity and the opportunity to improve overall well-being.
In line with this vision, we announced our industry-first impairment-specific training suite for health and fitness professionals, developed in partnership with Accessercise. The first CPD course, training for visually impaired clients, equips fitness professionals with the skills to effectively communicate and coach across the spectrum of visual impairments. Through this initiative, we aim to offer a broad range of CPD impairment courses, enabling personal trainers to gain in-depth knowledge of various impairments and confidently support their disabled clients. We look forward to launching the additional CPDs in the coming months.
The role of the PT is evolving, as highlighted in the talk ‘PT 4.0’, chaired by Mark Bagnall, Curriculum Manager at Future Fit Training. There is a shift towards prioritising overall physical and mental health and determining how to enable health and fitness professionals to work with a broadened scope.
Management and leadership were common themes at the event, highlighting the need to cultivate influential future leaders to advance our sector, this is a topic we champion alongside industry leaders. At Future Fit for Business, we proudly serve as a trusted partner in development and education for leading organisations.
Throughout the event we showcased our growing Management and leadership education suite, including the renowned Transformational Leadership Programme, an evidence-based course designed with GM Active to steer the transition from being ‘fitness and facilities’ managers to becoming future leaders of public health, well-being and communities. This suite has been designed to provide educational content at different levels and encompasses our Leadership Hub, offering bite-sized content to keep leaders up-to-date and courses ranging from Level 2 to Level 5 in Management. Additional offerings, such as systems leadership, are set for release later this year, with more in development.
Another trend highlighted was the surge in popularity of Pilates Reformer. This equipment-based form of Pilates has become a favourite among fitness enthusiasts for its ability to provide a full-body workout that improves strength, flexibility, and balance. Investing in reformer equipment attracts a variety of instructors and expands offerings, boosting member retention and attracting new members. Pilates reformers’ popularity continues to rise with ongoing education and support developed to match. We’re eager to help more businesses and individuals capitalise on this growing opportunity.
A talk that caught the attention of audiences was the increasing interest in weight loss injections, from the conversation with Tanya Hall of E-Gym, Dr. Giles Yeo of the University of Cambridge, and Sarah Le Brocq of All About Obesity. As the fitness industry evolves, such innovative solutions are being explored and discussed extensively. These injections are not seen as a fast solution but as part of a robust nutrition and fitness plan to positively impact those struggling with weight.
Future Fit was proud to represent the entire group this year, with the teams present from Biomechanics Education, iCareiMove, and Future Fit, who chaired and contributed to a variety of sessions across the two days.
Paul Swainson, Education Project Specialist at Future Fit, kicked off the event’s speaker programme alongside Ali Jawad and Jamie Hooper by discussing the language of inclusivity, focusing on steps forward to drive participation.
Rachel Frances Thompson, Director of Biomechanics Education, spoke on how an understanding of Intrinsic Biomechanics can drive member retention, while Helen Tite, Director at iCareiMove, shared her insights on falls prevention.
Additionally, Andy King, Associate Director at Future Fit for Business and Miova Director, spoke about ‘Preparing for the Pivot’, a topic that has been on all our radars for some time; focusing on community cohesion and wellbeing.
A key theme of Future Fit’s talks was stimulating change. We proudly saw Future Fit Group Chief Education and Partnership Officer Elaine Briggs who is passionate about developing people across our sector Chair an impressive panel of key experts in the arena of promoting systems leadership, including John Oxley, Leila Bendrimia, Jack Murphy, and Andy King. Through positive debate, Elaine posed powerful questions encouraging the panel to share how collaboration, curiosity and to and relationship-building. Equipping professionals with tools and education to develop new skills and drive change is crucial. John Oxley highlighted the need for courage to challenge norms, and initiating conversations is critical to fostering sustainable change led by tomorrow’s leaders. You can connect with Elaine here.
If you missed any of the talks across the event or want to revisit the slides or information from any of the speakers you can register for the Elevate Education Platform for free.
Visit our Flex platform to register for slides from the sessions, recordings of talks, and valuable information from partners across the event!
Elevate 2024 has proven to be an invaluable platform for growth, learning, and connection for businesses within the industry. This is exemplified by the announcement of Elevate’s expansion into India, marking its inaugural B2B event exclusively for the fitness sector. This exciting endeavour will support this rapidly developing industry through a vibrant exhibition and two thoughtfully curated education theatres.
We are excited to continue leading the way in physical activity and health education, ensuring we remain at the forefront of industry trends and innovations. At Future Fit for Business, we are pleased to align with emerging trends and provide solutions to help businesses tackle the most prevalent topics in the industry.
We are Elevated. We are Future Fit. And we look forward to Elevate 2025 as we continue to shape the future of fitness education.