The University of Edinburgh was all smiles last month, when it proudly showcased one of the largest single-site cardiovascular installations in Europe.
To help mark the university’s new offerings, guests attended a launch party and were among the first 102 individuals to experience the Precor CV units. Eager participants were challenged to walk, run, stride or cycle as many metres as they could, with the aim of achieving 885 kilometres (around 500 miles) between them. The activity was in acknowledgement of the Precor top-of-the-range 885 series. The Proclaimers’ catchy lyrics to song 500 Miles echoed in the background for added motivation and under-23 cross country champion Rhona Auckland was also in attendance to assist in the launch.
The University of Edinburgh’s director of sport and exercise Jim Aitken MBE said, “We continually seek to enhance member experience and provide the highest level of facilities for our members and the community.”
He added, “The refurbishment is core to our health and well-being advocacy and central to promoting Precor’s Preva networked fitness software, which helps our students and the life-long community achieve their goals.”
The refurbishment was part of a strategic pledge and promise from the university to deliver the most technologically advanced equipment. Proof that the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Sport and Exercise (CSE) was indeed delivering on its promise was present in its later tagline. The description announced that Edinburgh was the first university in Europe to benefit from Precor Next Generation ExperienceTM Series treadmills. Forty machines in total will scatter the gym space, with seven award-winning Adaptive Motion Trainers (AMTs) to add to the 30 already on offer. The entire installed units feature Preva networked fitness, a cloud-based software platform incorporating a suite of tools to help exercisers achieve their targets.
Precor CSE
Jonathan Griffiths, marketing manager at Precor, concluded, “It was an outstanding success and captured the essence of the Precor 885 range and the enthusiasm the centre has for ensuring its members have the best equipment available to work on.”
Griffiths described Precor’s involvement with the event as “an honour” and noted that the equipment was very much in keeping with Edinburgh’s “excellent standards”. Wishing the university well was Precor’s president Rob Barker, who concluded that he is indeed “proud” that Precor is partnered with such a site.
