Sudbury Personal Training Centre introduces virtual reality workouts

A personal trainer is breaking new ground after introducing virtual reality training sessions for his clients.

Paul Warner, who runs the Personal Training Centre at the Stour Valley Business Centre in Sudbury, introduced the virtual 3D experience this month.

The move comes after Paul, who recently won an award after diversifying his business to include sessions for people living with depression, anxiety or phobias, teamed up with Orbital Media and Innovation Labs, Stowmarket, to develop the idea.

“The virtual reality sessions are receiving some really positive feedback,” said Paul, 46, who lives in Ballingdon.

“Following lockdown, I was looking to explore new avenues for the business and, as far as I am aware, no one else is able to offer this in the area.

“People can wear the headset either for workouts, or for to cool down afterwards.

“For workouts, for example, they can do virtual boxing or even light saber training.

“For cool-down periods, they can relax on a beach in Florida, Mexico or New Zealand, try tai chi, or even sit with penguins.”

Paul has been a personal trainer for 12 years and says support from local councils and the government during the last 16 months was invaluable in terms of keeping his business afloat.

It was also this period which inspired him to take his coaching in a new direction to cater for people suffering from mental health issues.

“I opened a bespoke centre in September and diversified into both personal fitness and wellbeing,” said Paul.

“This means I have clients now who may be living with things such as anxiety, depression, or phobias, which may have been made worse by lockdown.

“We have a specialist in wellness working with us.

Personal training isn’t just about losing a few extra pounds to go on holiday.

“My clients, the youngest of whom is 10, and the oldest is in his 70s, come for a variety of reasons.

“Young people want to get fit for things like football and rugby and older people for their general health.”

Paul was awarded the Healthcare Provider of the Year award in the 2020 Innovation Awards hosted by Babergh District Council at the end of last year.

“It was for the work we had done during lockdown, during which we held things like Zoom sessions, and also ran virtual support groups,” he explained.

“The award came as a complete surprise but was great to receive.”

The virtual headset can be linked to Paul’s mobile phone so that he can help a client by seeing what they are seeing, and offer advice and guidance. It has been so successful, he is looking to get another one.

“People don’t expect it to be as good or as realistic as it is,” he said.

“It is definitely a great addition to the one-to-one classes I am focusing on. I’m really looking forward to this year.”

Client, Andy Tatum, 51who can be seen in the videos said: "It's weird.

"You feel like you are really fighting someone and it's also one of the toughest workouts I have ever had."

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