Fun day to celebrate popular Tring gym's tenth anniversary

A fun day is being held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the largest, independently-owned gym in Tring.

Owners Adam and Kathryn Bell are flinging open the doors of On The Limit, on Western Road, on Thursday (March 3) to mark the popular gym's success.

"We want to welcome as many people as possible to say a big thankyou," said Adam,45, a personal trainer. "Some of our members have been here since we opened in 2012.

"We are proud of the fact that not only have we been here ten years, but also that we have managed to get through the last two years of the Covid pandemic."

Times got tough when the pandemic hit, and Adam admits the gym had to take advantage of the furlough scheme, government grants and bounceback loans to help the business survive financially.

But the members-only gym adapted well, despite being forced to close for several months. It transferred many of its classes from the studio or gym floor to Zoom "completely seamlessly" thanks, says Adam, to wife Kathryn "working a miracle".

And it loaned out much of its equipment, including rowing machines, spin bikes and dumbbells, for members to use at home.

"We loaned out so much that it looked as if the place had been ransacked!" joked Adam "But we did everything we could to keep the business going and to help members maintain their daily routines for their physical and mental wellbeing."

On The Limit still lost about half of its membership during the lockdowns. But since being able to re-open, it has built things back to the level they were pre-Covid, with more than 500 members on the books and scope for many more.

It was back in 2010 when the journey started for Adam and Kathryn as he took over a women's gym in Tring that was on the verge of going into liquidation.

The following year, the lease for the building where the gym was located was running out, so they started looking for a bigger and better base. They found an ideal warehouse unit and gave the gym a fresh start by changing its name and admitting male members too.

"We have progressed and evolved from there in terms of member numbers and equipment," said Adam. "We have moved with the times and updated. We have also added new training concepts.

"However, our ethos has remained very much the same. It is an all-inclusive gym that is not intimidating. We want everyone to be happy."

On The Limit offers a gym floor, classes in everything from MetaFit to Pilates and Pump to Zumba, personal training, group training, fitness sessions for slimmers and over-60s, nutrition programmes, indoor group cycling and a creche. It employs ten staff, and works with ten self-employed instructors.

The operation is very much a team effort, with Adam and Kathryn, who live in Weston Turville and have three children, aged 20, nine and six, at the helm.

While Adam spends much of his time on the gym floor, overseeing the day-to-day running of the business, Kathryn, 41, works tirelessly on weekends and evenings behind the scenes whilst undertaking her Health Visitor training.

Thursday will be time to look back on ten years of a project that has proved well worthwhile. The gym will be decorated with balloons etc to celebrate the birthday, while a series of fitness challenges will be held for members, such as number of press-ups inside a minute, to win small prizes. Merchandise will also be given away.

"Not without a lot of stress and worry have we got through the last two years," said Adam. "But we managed to ride the wave and now we are going strong. Long may it continue."