YMCAfit Health & Fitness Experts
YMCAfit is home to expert professionals who are experienced at
providing reliable and objective comment to the media, policy makers and to others working in the fitness industry.
We have over 50 YMCAfit tutors who each have specialist areas of interest.
YMCAfits principle spokespeople are Robin Gargrave (Executive Director, YMCAfit) and Denise Page ( Cirriculum Development Director, YMCAfit).
If you have a media enquiry, or seek comment on an issue relating to: fitness; the fitness industry; physical activity and the public health agenda, please contact in the first instance: divya@ymca.co.uk or call: 020 7343 1867 (out of hours: 07930 410 387).
We look forward to hearing from you.
Robin Gargrave
Robin Gargrave is the Director of London Central YMCA Fitness Industry Training (YMCAfit) one of the UKs leading and largest trainer of health and fitness qualifications.
A former physical education teacher, Robin joined Central YMCA as a Programme Director in 1987. Since then he has won the ASSET Instructor of the Year (1992) Award, appeared on national T.V. and radio, featured in over 6 best selling instructor videos and written numerous articles for newspaper, magazines and the fitness press.
A passionate advocate of health related exercise and activity, Robin has developed YMCAfit as a highly respected delivery agency for funded programmes to increase and widen opportunity and participation in physical activity. These include:
The Inclusive Fitness Initiative (training instructors to work with disabled people), YMCA Activate England (Activator training for YMCA workers to support behaviour change and encourage regular activity in hard to reach populations) and the LDA/ESF funded Equalities Project (training and job brokerage for BME women to gain employment in the fitness industry).
Robin was the first recipient of the Register of Exercise Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Denise Page
Denise is the Curriculum Director for YMCAfit. She is responsible for the research and development of all health and fitness courses offered by YMCAfit who are one of the UKs largest trainers of professionals working in the fitness industry.
Denise also teaches fitness classes on a weekly basis. She is a Pure Energy Presenter and specialises in different forms of group fitness as well as personal training. Her own training includes cross country running, and is proud to have completed a100k race from Petersfield to Brighton.
Denise first entered the fitness industry in 1991 when she completed her Aerobics teaching qualification (RSA Exercise to Music) with YMCA.
Denise lives and breathes health and fitness and believes everyone is entitled to benefiting from a healthy life. She ensures the YMCAfit curriculum is varied, informative and relevant to the fitness industry as well as the public health agenda. She also ensures it meets the needs of the students, their clients.
Denise is a passionate advocate of high standards in the fitness industry and is an active member of the Sectors Technical Expert Group (TEG). She feels it is important to stay up to date with issues that affect the fitness industry as a whole.
Denise has a degree in Professional Education Studies and is an advanced qualified Personal Trainer. She is interested in both what and how people learn. She believes the greater an individuals understanding is of the barriers and motivators to learning, the more effective a teacher that individual can and will become.
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