A NEW gym is set to open at Pitreavie Sport and Soccer Centre in Dunfermline as soon as the Scottish Government gives the green light.

NitraFit, a health programme set up last year, will offer boot camps to clients as well as workshops and seminars on mental health.

Up to now, members have been training outdoors at Pitreavie playing fields, so owners Chris Irvine and Josh McGonigal submitted plans for a gym in Rosyth in October last year.

Those plans were withdrawn due to problems with parking but shortly after the Pitreavie centre approached the fitness instructors with a plan to overhaul an old changing room, turning it into a first-class gym which is almost ready.

Josh said: “There’s no official go-ahead from the government yet but we are hopeful at some point next month we can open up. At the moment we are just trying to make sure everything is ready.

“When Pitreavie heard that we were going to move they approached to us to say they had come up with the idea of the changing room. It’s a really good size and we thought it would be ideal when all our outdoor sessions are at the playing fields too."

Chris and Josh were still working at PureGym when they started the boot camps. Along with fitness classes, they want to help people work on confidence and motivation, through regular one-to-one meetings, daily messages in WhatsApp groups and workshops.

Josh said: “Having worked in commercial gyms for years, it’s very clear that there were numerous women who felt intimidated and anxious in that type of gym environment. It’s left a lot of people paying for memberships they don’t even use. We want to help these women build their confidence and get life changing results that last long term. We have helped a lot of people in Fife get into shape already so trying to get it more scalable to get it out to more people is great!”

He added: "It’s not a typical gym where you can pop in. We will have a booking system so members will be in two or three times a week. It means it is much easier for us to carry out social distancing. For commercial gyms they have a couple of thousand coming into the space every couple of days so it’s much more challenging.

“When only four people are in at a time, it’s not going to be an issue. This next step feels like a long time coming so we’re looking forward to it. When you provide a service you know is going to improve people’s lives it’s exciting."