You might find heart rate workouts alongside an Olympian at this boutique Stockport gym.
The H1VE gym in Woodley was opened by former Olympic hurdler Andy Turner last year, and Olympic swimming legend Rebecca Adlington is a regular.
It specializes in high-tech heart rate training classes where you can see how hard you are exerting your body – and everyone else taking part in the fitness session.
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But what is it like to train alongside one of the most incredible athletes in the world?
Olympian Rebecca Adlington works out at the Hive gym
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
There was only one way to find out, so I put on my sneakers to join Rebecca in one of the heart rate workouts at the gym at Stockport Sports Village in Woodley.
When it comes to athletic skill, few can match the double Olympic gold achievements of Rebecca, who broke world records in her incredible swimming career.
Rebecca, 32, who lives in Stockport, has since retired from competing and says her fitness training these days is solely for wellbeing.
In March, Rebecca gave birth to her second child, young son Albie, and was able to go back to the gym after six weeks of recovery and counseling with her midwife.
She now does two to three workouts a week in the gym, although she would like to tell me that there is no competitive advantage with the H1VE fitness courses – despite a large board in front that shows how hard everyone is working, thanks to the heart rate monitor, which everyone sets up at the beginning of the class.
Olympic legend Rebecca Adlington trains at Hive Gym in Stockport – while reporter Dianne Bourne tries to keep up
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Doesn’t she sense that other gym members are trying to overtake her and squat with every movement?
She laughs: “God doesn’t care!
“I’ve been coming to H1VE for 18 months and everyone is super nice, I don’t think it’s competitive here.
“I’ve been to gyms where people compete with each other, but everyone here is very friendly and relaxed and everyone does their own thing.
“You know that I’m no longer an Olympian. The same goes for Andy, who runs the gym. He used to be an Olympian but they know they won’t come in and do some hell of an Olympic workout!
“But because of this Olympic background, he knows how to motivate and drive people.
Olympic heroine Rebecca Adlington at her local Woodley gym
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“I’m only competing with myself. If you see your heart rate on the screen, you can see when it turns red – at first I couldn’t get into that red zone, but now I can.
“I’m not one of the best in the gym at all, I’m not in the top half of the strength, but nobody cares.”
I can’t believe this, and while I’m doing my best to keep my pulse going alongside Rebecca, I’m amazed at her sheer strength – especially when she pushes a giant sled thing across the gym floor with incredible ease.
She also has an amazing squat and weight technique and is very helpful in giving me some tips as we move through the circuit training – which involves a mix of cardio, weights, and boxing.
Dianne Bourne boxes while training her heart rate at the Hive Gym
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Rebecca says that now, as a mother of two, she has adjusted her exercise style and that exercise is a personal reward for her to take time for herself.
She laughs: “I don’t even feel like an Olympian now because I have two children!
“My life is no longer so focused. I come here to switch off and keep fit. I swim once a week and do three different heart rate courses here.
“Being a mom when I’ve been up all night doing whatever I want, coming to the gym and just switching off, be a little mindless about it – to have someone tell me what to do, I’ll work hard and I can Switch off for 45 minutes. It’s exactly the right time, in and out and not too far away from the little one. “
It’s a far cry from her competitive days in swimming – when training dominated her week.
Rebecca at the Beijing 2008 Olympics
(Image: Getty Images)
She says, “Back then, I swam over 20 hours a week, 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, and then three or four fitness sessions a week, which were more like core, pilates, plyometry jumps, that explosive stuff.
“The thing I like about H1VE is that it’s so different from what I’ve done before – I like the music, the different atmosphere, it feels like fun.”
The 45 minute class certainly goes by quickly thanks to the booming dance beats and dim lighting, although I feel like I am melting into the floor in the last few minutes as we are encouraged to take our final push to get on the “red zone”, in which you work with the highest capacity of your heart.
Reporter Dianne with the training boards at the Hive gym
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
I’m happy to have kept up with Rebecca, and the board also delivers the final verdict that at a whopping 700, I burned the second highest calorie intake in the class – although that’s probably because I have a lot more calories on board too to lose!
Rebecca was busy commenting on the Tokyo Olympics for the BBC at her Salford studios – and due to the time difference, she had to go to work all night.
Rebecca was back on the BBC, presenting for coverage of the Olympics
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
But for Rebecca, also mom to Summer, 6, and baby Albie, she says she’s used to it.
She says, “To be fair, I’m used to getting up in the middle of the night.
“I thought it would be two weeks of my life where I would run idle, sleep when I can, and still see the kids during the day.”
As for former athlete Andy, the joy of running from H1VE is helping all different people on their own fitness journey.
Rebecca Adlington and reporter Dianne Bourne work out at the H1VE gym
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
He says, “I have a 70-year-old retiree who comes three times a week to stay active and an 18-year-old who trains for the Navy.
“I’m not sure I could have come up with two more examples of differences if I had tried. The thing is, however, that both are able to draw something different from the same experience.
“This goes hand in hand with not being elitist. Anyone can do that and we want that.”
The H1VE boutique gym is located in the Stockport Sports Village, Lambeth Grove, Woodley, Stockport, SK6 1QX
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