When Antonia Duffin, 34, started going to the gym, she wanted to lose weight and tone up.
It became such a big part of her life that she decided to become a personal trainer alongside her day job in operations for a supermarket chain – and now runs her own women’s gym in Manchester.
“Some of my clients want to feel stronger, some want to get in shape for a baby and some are struggling with other conditions like endometriosis and want to feel better,” she says.
Hybrid training, like Hyrox, which is sociable and competitive, seems to have taken over from running on a treadmill or general cardio on a bike, she explains.
Antonia also notes an appetite for more strength training workouts among younger clients, adding: “I think people are now realising the importance of it – we’re preventing osteoporosis and things like that.”
Do numbers bear that out? And how are workouts across the UK changing?