Borough leisure centre group Oldham Active is expanding its exercise group timetable by adding virtual Les Mills classes.

From Monday, July 22, Oldham Active will offer the classes in their leisure centres, including Saddleworth Pool and Leisure Centre, Oldham Leisure Centre, Royton Leisure Centre and Failsworth Sports Centre. 

The classes are very similar to the standard versions, except delivered by the "world-class" Les Mills instructors on a big screen rather than an instructor from Oldham Active. 

Les Mills is a fitness instruction company founded by four-time Olympian Les Mills, who started his first gym in Auckland, New Zealand in 1968. 

The virtual classes will include Les Mills favourites, such as Body Balance, Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Attack and Dance.

The Les Mills classes use state-of-the-art technology and large screens with exciting, cinematic-quality versions of ‘normal’ in-person classes.

Lauren Connis, group health and fitness brand manager, Oldham Active, said: "Running virtual classes in our studios, in addition to our 1,500 a month live instructor-led classes, allows us to expand our timetable and offer these ever popular classes throughout the day, every day!

"It means we can offer even more flexibility and choice to our customers.

"These virtual classes don’t replace our in-person instructor-led classes, they are an addition, which may suit people who can’t make it to our classes at peak times, including shift workers and parents of young children.

"They are also perfect for newcomers to group fitness, offering an immersive experience with an instructor on a big screen, making it easy to follow along with the choreography and music. 

"Once in our studios, the virtual instructor will guide our customers through equipment requirements and basic moves before starting the class.

"The sessions include a warm-up, the main workout, and a final cool down."

Deputy CEO of Oldham Active, Simon Blair, added: "We are passionate about providing health and wellbeing for our community, and these fantastic virtual classes mean that even more people will have the opportunity to work out, at whatever time suits them."