Fitness First has started the roll out of its heart rate training concept, BEAT, with the second site having launched at Cottons, in London Bridge, at the end of May.

The first site, Charing Cross, was a standalone club, while at 75sq m (807sq ft), Cottons is slightly smaller and offers a club within a club. A maximum of 16 people can take part in each session.

The area includes a lot of open floor space, cardio equipment and heart rate-based technology. Members can choose to work out on the water rower, curve treadmill, versa climber, indoor bikes, kettlebells, ViPR, TRX, Soft Plyo Box, slam ball and soft tyres.

“We wanted to lead from the front in utilising heart rate based training for targeting a range of goals, such as fat loss, sports performance and cardio training,” says Lee Drabble, UK gym floor experience manager. “We have worked with Professor Stuart Biddle to look into what makes our members tick and a big focus of this was intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

“BEAT covers both of these elements: extrinsic because the area is motivating and inspiring, and training with others motivates us to work harder. Seeing our heart rate on a screen is our intrinsic motivation, as we can actually see how hard we are working and strive to hit the right zones.”

Small group exercise training, 1:1 PT sessions and quarterly training is on offer. Sessions are designed to fit a 30-40 minute window and to encourage engagement between members and the instructors.

“The success of our small group sessions and our insights showed that members who participate in group exercise classes stay longer than those who don’t, so it was decided to launch a series of BEAT Group Training programmes which would provide results, choice and engagement,” says Drabble.

Fitness First has not yet made a decision on how many BEATs will open, but will continue to monitor the impact at Cottons and plan future sites on the back of its success.