A TGO Gym for the body, mind and soul
The key question:
Lisa Dodd-Mayne wants the University of Warwick to become the country’s most active campus – can TGO help Lisa to realise her vision?
The heart of the challenge:
Lisa Dodd Mayne is the Director of Sport and Active Communities at the University of Warwick. Having previously worked with TGO in her role as Director of Sport and Culture at Wakefield Council, Lisa already understands the positive and transformative effects of TGO Gyms. She wants an outdoor gym to help boost activity and wellbeing at the University of Warwick.
When TGO is invited to make our proposals, we know we need to stand out. Lisa’s goal is to enhance their impressive sports and leisure facilities with an outdoor activity and wellbeing zone. The University of Warwick already have stunning indoor facilities including a swimming pool, badminton and squash courts, a fantastic climbing centre and a 230-station indoor gym. Can TGO imagine something completely different in the great outdoors, to inspire students, staff and locals to get active and stay well?
TGO’s answer:
We make a large pot of tea, open the special biscuits and get to work. This is the kind of brief that we love to dive in, really deep!
Our designers know that the University of Warwick will expect excellent opportunities for physical activity. Their zone’s equipment and features must also be different from everything else that’s available on campus. It’s equally important to design for people’s wellbeing – promoting relaxation and connection in the space and inspiring beginners to get active through play and innovation.
We distil all our ideas into a central design concept – an outdoor activity zone for the mind, body and soul. And then, as with the perfect cup of tea, we know we’ve hit the spot. The design comes together as if by magic (well, almost!).
For the University of Warwick’s Body, Mind and Soul Zone, we include:
- A TGO Functional Rig – a multi-purpose piece of TGO gym equipment for up to 11 users at a time. There are playful monkey bars and multi-functional ladders. There’s a plyometric platform for step-ups, dips and leg raise stations, narrow and wide pull-ups and a multi-functional stretch zone. The Rig is inclusive for young people through to older adults – with gentle and intuitive activities for beginners, as well as very challenging reps to test calisthenics pros.
- Two surface mount trampolines and two swings – to inspire people to get active through play, to have fun, switch off from life’s pressures and delight their inner child. Soul food with bonus body benefits!
- A yoga and mindfulness area – to find peace of mind through activity and presence. Come solo at sunrise, flow with friends or stretch with the whole family.
- TGO Energy equipment – we include all four cardio charge pieces in the University of Warwick’s design, a health win for people and the planet. There’s a TGO Energy Cross Trainer, Energy Spinning Bike, Energy Recumbent Bike and a Smart Energy Hand Bike that measures hits at the gym. These unique TGO machines encourage people of all abilities to take aerobic activity, inspiring users with our energy-generating technology that charges devices as they work out. The Energy Hand Bike is equally accessible to wheelchairs users, people with lower limb mobility issues and the able-bodied.
- A streetball court – who can deny the satisfaction of shooting hoops? It’s great for wellbeing and of course it’s brilliant for physical health too. It’s a space to improve cardiovascular fitness, hand-eye coordination, balance and muscle tone.
- A 20m sprint area – to inspire games and friendly competition, as much as for warm ups, cool downs and high intensity interval training.
- Finally, we configure all these elements into a design to represent the human body, mind and soul. We use black and coloured wet pour to define and connect the areas, increasing the intuitiveness of the space.
From TGO’s point of view, this Body, Mind and Soul Zone epitomises everything we're about – it’s such a playful and original space for students and staff on campus, as well as being the perfect family gym to welcome local people.
And we love how the University of Warwick promote and activate their space. We work with them on an energetic launch with trainer demos and student participation. They create Bootcamp, Cardio Fitness and Turn Up & Tone Up classes, as well as promoting the space for basketball, yoga and pilates, sprinting, socialising and fun. It’s visionary stuff!
The University of Warwick’s feedback:
Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Director of Sport and Active Communities, University of Warwick, says:
‘Here at Warwick, we have quite an ambitious vision. Put simply, we want to be the most active campus in the UK by 2020. I’ve worked with TGO over a number of years on a number of projects and I know their service is second to none. The impact that this activity zone has had has already been beyond belief because there is something for everyone.’
Discover our Mind, Body and Soul Gym here. Please call or message us to arrange a Zoom call or site meeting.