There’s no need for the owner or guests to ditch their training regime whilst on board. Josh Richardson looks at bespoke gyms, fitness equipment and outdoor games decks
Games decks and sports courts are the latest must have on yachts, often utilising heli decks when they are not in use. Notable examples include the Feadship’s MY JOY and MY Anna which Superyacht Tenders and Toys (SYTT) have been involved in, amongst a handful of others. Large foredecks or helidecks can create vast spaces for exercising and this utilises these areas that are often left unused for the majority of the time. Exercising outside is often seen as a much more enjoyable and dynamic experience than the traditional indoor gym, also allowing space for team sports. Many yachts comment on these outdoor areas as being a real benefit to crew welfare and team morale.
SYTT recently commissioned and managed the build and delivery of a custom carbon games deck for MY ANNA, currently the largest yacht built in the Netherlands. The focus here was to create a large space on the bow of the yacht which could have 5-a-side football, basketball and any other sports. Removable adjustable telescopic poles with a net going up to 3m high keeps all balls on deck. Critical aspects were to create something which was easy to handle, stow and of course was safe and fun to use.
Not easy when considering the size of this! Features such as LED solar powered floodlights and removable interlinking astro turf were also provided. All of the poles and Dyneema netting are rated to an equivalent impact of 3 adults hitting it in a tackle situation and it being strong enough to support their weight. All poles were made to go into removable deck sockets normally used by the railings around the bow.
FITNESS AND WELLBEING MULTI-ACTIVITY SPACES
In the fitness market, in premium health clubs and specialist fitness boutique studios there is a change from traditional indoor personal training sessions using fixed gear and cardio towards more dynamic multi-activity fitness and wellbeing solutions. Yachts often break boundaries in terms of luxury and design, but often fall short in fitness and guests onboard are offered quite a stale fitness environment due to many new build supply companies not specialising and having knowledge in this area. Many superyacht gyms are beautiful, and are planned by the yacht’s designer but the equipment used is often quite dated in its concept. SYTT believe it is time to break away from stand-alone equipment and introduce owners and guests to entertaining, effective and multi-sensory fitness.
The use of folding training walls, specialist flooring, interactive floors and walls, and the use of music to link to fitness and workouts really helps to improve and motivate the experience for clients. Let’s face it, we all require more motivation at times! Bringing into yacht gyms online racing and training against other competitors, with all key stats such as power output, heart rate and speed can be really motivational and fun.
This also enables clients to review their performance and upload it to their own personal training programmes such as Strava, Training Peaks etc. This is possible over a wide range of sports such as cycling, rowing, running, circuits and strength and conditioning.
Virtual or live instructor options can be provided here and there is not always a need to have a personal trainer onboard. A lot of online training programs can bring in some very high-end professional tuition and training goals to help tailor programs to individual’s needs. Traditional strength training even gets a makeover. Premium, Olympic standard bars, plates, dumbells, racks and benches are uniquely positioned and secured to allow for strength training and space efficiency for even more athletic solutions such as boxing, suspension training etc.
Creating indoor spaces, which can convert to open spaces is important too, with equipment stowing away neatly and leaving room for activities like yoga, suspension training, circuits, boxing and cross training.
Training walls are a revolutionary space for fitness and training equipment that simultaneously exercises both upper and lower body. The training walls demand coordination and balance and are great for all age groups and people of various fitness levels. But, the real beauty of the new training wall lies in their space-saving design. Fundamentally, they can be placed in any space or multi-purpose room, and can even be hidden behind false walls as and when necessary.
One step up the technology ladder and we are introduced to the interactive fitness walls. This is where fitness, fun and technology really interact. The fitness walls can be used by experienced athletes to improve cognitive and reaction speeds, as well as being used by the whole family as a fun way to burn of some of those long lunches on board. Once again, these walls can be designed for any space available on board and using the yachts existing technology can be easily installed.
One further advantage is that the software can be upgraded to include and introduce new exercises and activities for all levels of users, giving different experiences over time.
Superyacht Tenders and Toys are creating some amazing gyms on board yachts as well as outdoor games decks. Whether as part of a refit or a new build project, the options and possibilities are endless.
For more details Tel: +44 (0) 2380 016363 or visit www.superyachttendersandtoys.com