Olympic standard physical training comes to Weston College

The chance to train at Olympic sporting standard is on offer for Weston College students following the arrival of new hi-tech equipment.

The College's Fitness Suite, on the top floor of the Knightstone Campus, now houses a range of TechnoGym cardio-vascular machines of the kind used in the London Olympic Village.

New equipment includes running and upper-body machines, cross trainers and a dual adjustable pulley. The machines are capable of highly accurate performance measuring and will be integrated into the various sports teaching courses available at the College.

Student Jamie Dulleham, 18, who was studying a BTEC Extended Diploma in Sport and is now an Apprentice, helped staff to source the best products available on the market. Around £60,000 was spent on the equipment, unveiled at a special Fitness Suite re-launch this week.

Darran George, Head of Faculty – Service Sectors, said: "The machines are right up to the minute in terms of their spec. They do all the usual things like monitoring heart rate and calories burned, but they are also linked to the internet and can even be used to help with literacy and numeracy."

Chris Sturgess, education manager for TechnoGym, said: "This equipment is as good as, if not better than, anything you'd find in a commercial gym. The same machines and same software packages were installed in the Olympic Village and they proved very popular among the athletes."