Wasps rugby players open new gym at the Gateway

Wasps rugby stars have taken a break from training to open a new gym at the Gateway.

Gateway is our primary facility for homeless people in Coventry and houses people from all backgrounds.

The new facility has lots of equipment including a treadmill, exercise bike, max trainer, two rowing machines and a multi-gym.

To mark the grand opening, players Tom Willis and Owain James visited residents to give them some tips about health, fitness and to maximise their use of the gym.

Our Housing Support Manager Gail Cooper said: “Thanks so much Tom and Owain for making our gym opening extra special for residents.

“The gym opening is so important to us as we believe it will really help both the physical and mental wellbeing for our residents at the Gateway.

“It’s very exciting that it’s now officially open and I’m sure our residents will be taking full advantage of the facilities after receiving some tips from Tom and Owain.

“Thanks again for your support. We really appreciate it.”

Gateway resident, Gabriel Chivesa, said: “The new gym is fantastic.

“It’s going to be great to put health and wellbeing front and centre at the Gateway.

“Thanks to Tom and Owain for showing us all the equipment. They had some great tips and I think I gave Tom a run for his money on the rowing machine!

“I’m really looking forward to using the gym and getting active from now on.”

Wasps’ back row Tom Willis added: “I think this is a great idea by the hostel to introduce the gym as exercise can really help to boost mood and motivation – which are two key ingredients for anyone who is trying to overcome any form of adversity.

“Myself and Owain had a brilliant time offering ideas to the residents on how they can use the gym to improve a basic level of fitness – such as slowly building up their cardiovascular exercises using the treadmill or rowing machine, or advising how many reps they should be doing at a time with the multigym equipment to build up their core strength.

“We also discussed the best carbohydrates to eat prior to a workout and which protein foods would help to recover afterwards to give them a well-rounded diet.

“It was a pleasure to meet everyone and we both walked away feeling like we’d made a real difference to the group and hope that the gym can help spur them to stay focused and positive as they prepare for their next step in life.”

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