David Lloyd Leisure (DLL) fired the starter pistol on its new Immersive Fitness offering last week, teaming up with creator Les Mills to launch the new range of group cycling workouts.

The futuristic workout, which takes indoor group cyclists on a virtual tour of futuristic cityscapes and alpine vistas, is one of four Les Mills indoor cycling programmes available at David Lloyd Raynes Park in south London. DLL has the exclusive UK licence for the Immersive Fitness concept until October and chief executive Scott Lloyd told Health Club Management the operator will actively explore the possibility of rolling out across further sites.

Global group fitness giant Les Mills first unveiled Immersive Fitness as ‘The Project’ at a high-profile London launch event in May 2014. The concept – which fuses group fitness with virtual reality – has since been on a global tour to showcase what Les Mills and development partner Reebok describe as the “future of fitness.”

According to Les Mills, Immersive Fitness adds a rich visual layer to music and group exercise. Cinema quality video content is projected onto the screen of a purpose-built studio, while an instructor cues exercise moves that synchronise with music and graphics. Riders in a cycle class enjoy the sensation of riding up steep glaciers, sprinting around digital velodromes or cruising into a peaceful sunset.

Speaking after Thursday’s big unveiling, Les Mills UK chief executive Keith Burnet said: “It was a great launch event and the feedback from everyone who took the TRIP has been incredible; they didn’t want the class to end!

“Les Mills Immersive really is the future of fitness and we’re thrilled that David Lloyd is the first club to launch across Europe.”