Dynamic duo light up the dance floor with fabulous fitness classes

The dynamic duo set up Clubbercise & Chill in March 2023, which has just been named Wirral’s Best for Fitness 2024.

In April, we launched our Best of 2024 competition and we’ve given out eight awards.

• Best for Hair – LA Hair

• Best for Pies – Pies4u

• Best for Nails – By Taylor Jade

• Best for Roast Dinner – The 21st Amendment Hoylake

• Best for Cocktails – Cow Shed Bar & Grill

• Best for Breakfast – At Gilly Gem’s

• Best for Fish and Chips - SelFish

• Best Beer Garden – The Red Fox

Voting for Wirral’s Best for Tattoos is currently taking place and we’re also looking for nominations in our latest search - Best Independent Shop of Business.

Vote for Wirral’s Best for Tattoos 2024

Nominate your favourite for Wirral’s Best Independent Shop or Business 2024

Ten top fitness instructors in Wirral made the shortlist for Best for Fitness and Clubbercise & Chill took this year’s coveted crown.

The business was set up just over a year ago as a branch of Elevate Wellness Ltd.

Classes are held at Co Op Academy in Bebington on a Monday, Tuesday and Friday and at Christ Church CE Primary School in Birkenhead on Wednesdays.

Kate said: “We started off with Clubbercise & Chill in March 2023 and soon expanded to Kick and Tone by May last year.

“Dance Fit started in August and then Dance Fit vs Clubbercise came in October.

“Demand for classes meant we just spiralled and we have recently run a taster class called Lift, Burn and Tone.

“Clubbercise is a dance workout in a dark room with glow sticks set to a range of dance music including the 90s classics, with easy to follow routines that combine dance, toning and combat moves.

“Chill is a stretch class which has principles in yoga and Pilates and works on a lot of core strength and posture and promotes mindfulness through breath and movement.

“Dance Fit is a dance aerobics based class that combines elements of basic dance with toning movements such as squats and lunges and Kick and Tone is a full body workout where we kick, punch, squat and lunge - basically a full body workout.”

Kate and Leanne have both worked in the gym industry for more than 20 years combined and been instructors at several gyms across Wirral.

They met by chance a few years ago and became good friends, something which comes across in their classes.

More than 40 women attend each fitness class

Leanne said: “We bounce off each other and keep it very real in our classes.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously and members feel comfortable in our classes and we treat them as our friends.

“Many of the members have become friends themselves and we socialise outside of classes - we love seeing on Facebook when they are all celebrating each other’s successes but also picking each other up when anyone is going through any difficult times.

“We take the time to chat to everyone that comes into one of our classes and we ensure that everyone there is valued and welcomed.”

Kate and Leanne found that people who were interested in their classes were put off by the mirrors and gym equipment as they felt it was quite intimidating.

Kate said: “Lots of people have gym fear and find joining classes quite scary so we decided to hire Co Op Academy in Bebington and have seen our class numbers rocket.

“We often get more than 40 people booking on each class and in our reviews everyone says that they feel comfortable with us and the room.

“Our main demographic is women aged between 30 and 70 and what sets us apart is there is always two or three of us teaching at the same time.

“This means we cater for all abilities, as we demonstrate moves suitable for low impact and high impact.

“We pride ourselves on being fully inclusive and catering for every shape, size and ability.

“We never push being perfect in our classes - there is no need to have the best gym clothes or the most expensive trainers.

“We never put pressure on our members to lose weight or push that the classes are for weight loss, although the calories burnt in each class are usually around 500!”

Through personal experience, Kate and Leanne know the benefits of exercise and how it can improve mental health and they understand the pressures of being a working mum as they both have young children.

Leanne said: “We promote our classes as being for self-care.

“Self-care as a mum is not selfish - you deserve that time to yourself so you can clear your mind, make new friends and focus on you for an hour.

“There is plenty of research that outlines how exercise releases endorphins, and improves confidence and your mood and we want people to walk out of our classes not only being worked hard but also on a high that they have just spent the past hour switched off from the world.”

One of the group’s members Gemma has seen her confidence soar and has since qualified as a Clubbercise instructor.

Kate and Leanne have been joined by Gemma, who has recently qualified as an instructor

She teaches the dance classes with Kate and Leanne and they all enjoy seeing some of the women start shyly at the back of the room and then slowly become front row legends.

Kate said: “The chatter round the room before and after the classes is contagious and the members always go above and beyond tagging us in their socials after the classes.

“We love a sweaty selfie!”

What do clients think of Kate and Leanne’s classes? Why did they think they deserved to win our latest award?

One happy regular said: “Their classes are fun while losing hundreds of calories.

“They are what kept me mentally sane this year and I love the energy and passion that Kate and Leanne put into their classes.”

The duo have big plans for the future and want to open their own studio that offers childcare facilities on site so that women can spend time exercising and know their children are looked after.

Classes are held at Co Op Academy in Bebington and Christ Church CE Primary School in Birkenhead

Leanne said: “We want to continue to build our amazing community of women and spread the word about our classes.

“Our reviews speak for themselves and when we were nominated by so many people, we both read every single comment and were blown away that so many people had taken the time to not only just nominate us, but to write some amazing things about us too.

“We will always be biased that what we deliver is unique but to actually see it written in words, by so many people, is very humbling and fills us with pride.

“We are constantly striving to better ourselves - we set up this business around full time jobs and our families, so to find out we won was testament to all our hard work.

“More importantly, it is testament to how much our members think we deserve to win this award.

“They are the reason why our business is so successful, as they bring all the positive energy and vibes each week.

“This means we always want to keep on our toes, learning new choreography, putting together new class concepts and always asking for feedback on what we can do to get even better.

“We would like to thank every single person who took the time to vote online or to go to the shop and buy a newspaper.

“We appreciate every single person who has ever stepped foot through our doors – thank you for continuing to believe in us, a business that started as a little idea over a drink one day in The Acorn!”