Power Gym Guiseley: Meet the owners behind the new Leeds gym making fitness friendly for newcomers

Power Gym, which opened in Guiseley in July, sets itself apart from competitors with its unique ethos.

Its unwavering belief that exercise can be for everyone means that working out doesn’t necessarily have to involve cutting out the things that make fitness manageable.

Owners Callum White and Tom Lamb, both 33, reckon that an “all or nothing” approach can cause more damage than good – and it’s with that mentality that they’re keen to make their new studio in Bradford Road a “home from home” for clients.

The pair, from Guiseley, met through their work at a commercial gym, but felt that bigger companies cannot always serve clients as well as they might need.

"Some gyms just give people an induction and that’s it,” explained Callum. “We saw that a lot of people were getting frustrated and failing. There had to be another way of doing it.”

In their joint venture, they wanted to offer bespoke coaching sessions for clients, while specifically targeting people in their 40s and 50s. It is that age group that can be intimidated by gym settings, they said.

Callum continued: "People want more from their gyms nowadays, but commercial gyms aren’t always that supportive.

"Visitors don't always know what they’re doing and just end up spending 20 minutes on the treadmill, or hiding at the back of a class and hoping it’ll do them some good. We knew that had to change.

"We wanted people to get the benefits of the gym without the stress surrounding it – like having to train five days a week. There are people that have kids, stressful jobs and busy lives, so even getting to the gym is hard.”

Power Gym has a capacity of 220 and is already welcoming 180 people through the door. The studio has limited spots each month, but has sold more than 80% of its available spaces for the new year.

That success can partly be attributed to its comfortable environment.

"It's a home from home space; we know everyone's name when they walk in. We have clients from 16 to 71-years-old. We try to cater to everyone.”

Callum added: “We want to make it enjoyable as well. If you tell people they need to cut out alcohol, drink three litres of water a day, get eight hours of sleep a night and 130g of protein, it can overwhelm them.”

Their message for those setting themselves tough New Year’s resolutions?

"Don't set yourself up to fail. In January, people want to reinvent themselves – but they often try to do it in a way that's unachievable. Why not start with three days a week and build it up from there?”