A gym in mid Norfolk is celebrating after being named strength and conditioning gym of the year in a national competition.

%image(14516894, type="article-full", alt="FG Personal Training based on Bilney Road, Gressenhall, have been named "gym of the year" in the strength and conditioning category at the Human Kinetics 2020 Awards.")

FG Personal Training based on Bilney Road, Gressenhall, has been named "gym of the year" in the strength and conditioning category at the Human Kinetics 2020 Awards.

The business was founded in 2015 by Freddie Grice when he began offering personal training from a shed in his parent's back garden.

After getting increasingly busy, the 26-year-old opened his own gym in 2019 and hired other personal trainers to cope with the demand.

Speaking about the award, Mr Grice said: "It came as a complete shock when we won. I was really humbled as the people I was running alongside were people who had been in the industry for a few years and have followed since I started my business.

%image(14464931, type="article-full", alt="Freddie Grice, 26, from Dereham with the strength and conditioning gym of the year trophy")

"I think the reason we won was down to how inclusive we are. my oldest client is 80 and my youngest is a 14-year-old who has played at Wimbledon.

"It doesn't matter if you are a professional sportsperson, somebody looking to lose weight or exercising for your mental health, we have something for everyone."

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the last year of trade has been "disjointed," he said.

But while the gym may have had its doors tightly closed, the team took to social media to make sure their customers could exercise at home.

%image(14464932, type="article-full", alt="Freddie Grice founded FG Personal Training in 2015")

They have also created a podcast giving people the chance to get to know every member of their team.

"Only a few months after we opened the gym, we went into lockdown," Mr Grice said. "It was difficult but we had time to create a bunch of workout videos for our clients and bought a zoom membership.

"We have still been able to offer personal training sessions to people over Zoom and we're looking forward to seeing everybody back in the gym.

%image(14516895, type="article-full", alt="FG Personal Training based on Bilney Road, Gressenhall")

"Because the only people who are allowed in the gym are PT's and their customers we're able to do social distancing really well and easily."