Irish Independent

Record ring sales boost pre-tax profits at Goffs bloodstock business https://buff.ly/3A4ZlbS

‘Everyone from judges to binmen train here, this is our church’ – Ireland’s oldest gym still fitting fit in its 90th year https://buff.ly/3YH3egq

Cian Ó Broin: I was given a metabolic age of 12, but that wasn’t all that surprised me about one of Ireland’s top luxury gyms https://buff.ly/3NPM6i9

Jay Abbey was so frustrated at not being able to get his gym fix during the Covid pandemic that he built one for his own use – and now it’s open to everyone. With a background in construction, Mr Abbey had been heavily involved in building all the gyms in his portfolio alongside his business partners, including his Go Gym chain with locations in Limerick, Meath and Dublin. But the Energise Fitness gym in Greystones, Co Wicklow, was his own personal project and is one of the cheapest in the greater Dublin area. It has been open since 2021 with annual membership costing €300 a year. An Irish Independent gym membership price analysis surveyed 177 gyms across the country, with annual membership ranging from €195 to €749. “I built 90pc of the gym myself,” said Mr Abbey. “What might be €10,000 in construction costs for someone else, I can halve. In this way I have used my skill set to offset costs for our members. “I built Energise Fitness during Covid. My other gyms were closed and it began as a passion project and grew over time. There was no deadline, which meant I could take my time. “I contacted a friend who is an electrician to help and a plumber for the fittings I couldn’t do myself.” The businessman, with a background in shop fittings, said the gym was targeted at a specific market. “We recognised there was a ­market for a less intimidating, more inviting gym for the so-called average gym-goer. “Cost is a part of this, along with the feel of the environment itself. “We are in the era of ‘fitness gurus’ and influencers. It can be off-putting for certain members to watch ­others exercise at a much higher level than themselves or set up tripods to capture social media content. Of course you can’t police this but you can make the space more inviting.” Read more here: https://buff.ly/3YDROtU

Seven ways to avoid losing money on your gym membership

Relief for homeowners as more expensive properties now included in the mortgage-to-rent scheme

Here's the front page of today's Irish Independent

Martin Treacy spent much of his earlier years involved in sports. The 66-year-old has been a member of premier athletics club Clonliffe Harriers in Santry, Co Dublin, since 1978, and during the peak of his athletic abilities, he competed in track and field, cross-country, and ran at least 125km a week. Then in the summer of 2012, the Malahide man, who had been accustomed to intense levels of physical exertion, developed a pain in his mid-back — an injury unbeknownst to him — that would force him to abandon high-intensity cardiovascular activities, and instead, embark on a journey of strength and resistance training in a niche space known as aerial yoga. https://buff.ly/40nwVVc

‘Magic still exists’ – Dublin Marathon team Colin Farrell and Emma Fogarty raise over €775k so far for charity Debra https://buff.ly/3NJI8aQ

Dear Vicki: I need to contact my staff out of hours, but they say they have a ‘right to disconnect’ https://buff.ly/3YEdu97