At a time when the NHS is under unprecedented strain and local authorities are being asked to do more with less, Mytime Active is pioneering the critical role public leisure can play in shifting from healthcare that repairs problems to a whole system that prevents them. By connecting personalised exercise, member engagement and measurable health data, EGYM is measuring not simply how often people work out, but the difference participation is making to their health.

The challenge: making leisure part of the health solution

Turning ambition into reality means delivering personalised support at scale without placing greater demands on already stretched teams. Traditional gym inductions can take an hour or longer, particularly for members with more complex needs, limiting instructors’ time for coaching and mentoring.

Mytime Active also sought an effective method of capturing and demonstrating the impact of training on health. If leisure was to work alongside health and community partners, it would need to demonstrate tangible changes in members’ health and physical capability, not simply attendance or activity levels.

As May explains: “Our leisure facilities and services have huge potential to support population health, but the key is understanding where the real needs are and designing pathways that genuinely make a difference.”

The solution: a connected ecosystem built around the member

Mytime Active has so far integrated the EGYM Ecosystem into two facilities, The Pavilion in Bromley and The Spa at Beckenham. The sites use EGYM differently, demonstrating its flexibility. At The Pavilion, eight EGYM Smart Strength Series machines are integrated into the general gym space, whereas at Beckenham Spa the eight station Smart Strength Series is presented as a complete circuit. At both sites, the Smart Strength Series is supported by EGYM’s Fitness Hub, and Trainer and Members Apps whilst also integrating with other third-party partners including InBody, Life Fitness cardio equipment and Gladstone’s member management system.

Crucially, EGYM is positioned as part of the mainstream gym experience rather than as a specialist service. Members from the age of 11 through to retirees are encouraged to adopt the technology, with everyone offered an EGYM induction. Member data, exercise programmes and progress are connected through the EGYM Ecosystem.

The transformation: More time for people. More proof of impact. 

The operational impact was immediate. Before EGYM, a member induction could take an hour or longer. Automated setup and guided training have reduced this to around 20 minutes.

“Our teams now spend far less time on setup and far more time on what actually matters, mentoring and coaching people towards their goal,” says May. “This has huge operational benefits but is also critical for inclusion and adherence.”

The scale of onboarding has also increased, with 1,502 Pavillion members onboarded into EGYM in a single month, representing approximately 75% of the site’s total member base.

More importantly, engagement is translating into measurable physical outcomes. EGYM users visit an average of 4.4 times per week, with members recording significant improvements in strength and BioAge.

The results: measurable outcomes for members and the community

At The Pavilion, the latest data shows:

• 1,502 members onboarded in the first month – approximately 75% of the total member base. 
• 20-minute average onboarding time, saving around 40 minutes per induction. 
• 4.4 visits per week among EGYM users, demonstrating sustained engagement. 
• 5.8-year average reduction in BioAge within the first two months of training. 
• 11% collective average strength increase within three months across EGYM users. 
• 14.7% strength increase among under-21s within the first three months. 
• 11.5% strength increase among over-61s over the same period.

The results demonstrate EGYM’s breadth of impact: improving operational efficiency, sustaining engagement and evidencing measurable improvements in physical capability across generations.

The power of data: proving the impact of public leisure on population health

Members can see how their strength, mobility and BioAge are improving, while aggregated and depersonalised data gives Mytime Active evidence of impact across the community. This creates a stronger partnership proposition for health and social care partners. Instead of simply demonstrating how many people visit the gym, Mytime Active can demonstrate what participation achieves in terms of health marker outcomes.

As May explains: “EGYM is enabling us to move from individual success stories to evidence of impact at population level. Members can see the difference their training effort is making to their own health, but when we bring the collective data together, we can demonstrate to our health and social care partners what public leisure can achieve across a community. This gives us a much stronger case for building physical activity into preventative health pathways and recognising leisure as a critical health asset.”

As it develops its network of data-driven health and wellbeing hubs, with two further Mytime Active managed facilities coming on board shortly, the ambition is not simply to get more people active, but to build a stronger evidence base for public leisure’s role in improving population health.